Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: From Arthur to Si-eun
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Once they decided to travel together.
Lee Shin and the Orc user started walking back toward Les Port.
Since they had plenty of time, Lee Shin turned to the user and asked a question.
Come to think of it, he still didn't even know his name.
"Name."
"Huh? Oh, my name."
The user, who was walking slightly ahead of Lee Shin (he hated having anyone behind him), answered.
"I'm Arthur."
"Because you're an Orc?"
"Yes."
Arthur nodded.
He said he named himself after the Orc Warlord from the previous series.
Having easily memorized the name, Lee Shin quickly moved on to the next question.
"Are you a guy?"
"Huh?"
"I asked if you're a guy."
"Of... course I'm a guy?"
Arthur, answering reflexively, asked back with a slightly shocked expression.
"...Do I not look like one?"
"That's not it."
Of course, he looked completely like a man.
But could one rashly assume that what you see is what you get?
It was a judgment based on experience.
'He could be a girl playing a male character.'
Just like how he had wandered around dressed as a woman.
Of course, just because it was possible didn't mean many people actually did it.
Arthur blinked and replied.
"Why would I do something like that...?"
"..."
Come to think of it, unlike what Lee Shin had done, there wasn't much to gain from a girl playing a male character.
Feeling a bit awkward at the other's reaction, Lee Shin cleared his throat with a "hmm, hmm" and continued.
"Alright, whatever. Age."
"Nineteen."
There was only a one-year age difference.
He'd thought the guy was young from the way he kept calling him 'hyung', but surprisingly...
No, wait a minute.
"Nineteen?"
"Yes."
"And you're playing a game?"
Lee Shin frowned.
Of course, other people's lives were none of his business, but it was hard to understand from a common-sense perspective.
'Why now, of all times?'
Regardless of his own inclinations, he had been raised by a prim and proper family, with parents and a sister who lived by the book, so it was a natural reaction.
Lee Shin asked bluntly.
"Studying."
"Huh?"
"Aren't you doing it? You're a high school senior, aren't you?"
Arthur nodded.
"Yes."
"Why."
"Because I don't want to."
The answer was so absurd that Lee Shin replied reflexively.
"...You punk. You think anyone actually enjoys it?"
Everyone does it to make a living.
Of course, there were some who enjoyed it (like Lee Si-eun), but most did it for their future.
"It's fine."
But the other guy must have had something to fall back on to speak like that.
"What is."
"I can just inherit my parents' building later. I'll make enough to live on without working."
"..."
Lee Shin's mood suddenly soured.
He frowned and asked.
"...Where is it located."
"Gangnam."
"..."
"Why are you looking at me like...?"
"...Never mind."
Seeing his blank expression as he spoke, it didn't seem like he was lying.
That made him feel even worse, but... if he looked at it from a slightly different perspective, it wasn't all bad.
For one, it meant his studies wouldn't interfere with his login times.
And his basic mindset was perfect.
"Hyung, when do you usually log on?"
"Why do you ask?"
"So I can log on at the same time."
It seemed he wasn't lying about being a fan; a talent ready to perfectly accommodate him.
He hadn't checked his skills yet so he couldn't be sure, but as a slave, he definitely had S-rank potential.
'Hmm...'
He was certainly too good to just throw away.
But he didn't want to travel with him forever either.
So, after a moment of thought, Lee Shin made a cold decision on how to dispose of him.
He'd travel with him for a while, and once he reached a level where his identity could be revealed without issue, he'd ditch him.
It was a cruel thing to do, but...
Lee Shin thought to himself.
'He's a fan. He'll understand.'
* * *
It took a considerable amount of time before they reached their destination.
[You have arrived at your destination.]
[Stopping guidance.]
Confirming the system message, Lee Shin stopped walking.
Looking around, he saw that many other users had gathered nearby.
And in the distance, a citadel city. It was the place Kilgeo had told him about, where the black market merchant was.
"Are we going there?"
"Yeah."
But they couldn't just walk in.
"Oh, why? If it's because of the toll, I can pay."
"That's not it."
It was because his infamy was incredibly high.
To get in, they had to sneak in through the route Kilgeo had told him about.
So Lee Shin was about to explain this, but...
"...Ah, right."
"?"
For some reason, the conversation flowed smoothly without any explanation.
*With Lee Shin, anything's possible!*
Thanks to that, he was spared a tedious explanation... but he had a slightly uneasy feeling.
Lee Shin called out to Arthur with a strange expression.
"Yes?"
"Time for a disguise."
"Ah..."
Changing from an Orc to a human was a good start. This way, he could at least enter the castle.
The problem was that he looked exactly the same.
To avoid arousing unnecessary suspicion from the soldiers, he needed an additional disguise.
And Lee Shin would apply that disguise himself.
"Stand in front of me."
"Okay. But why is the wig long...?"
"It's all I have."
Finally sensing something ominous, Arthur hesitated and took a step back, but it was already too late.
Lee Shin grabbed the retreating Arthur and began the transformation.
A short while later.
"Nice."
"..."
Inspecting the result, Lee Shin smiled with satisfaction.
"From now on, you're Lee Si-eun."
At those words, Arthur, who had been staring blankly at his own reflection, snapped back to his senses.
After a moment, he replied in a voice mixed with various emotions.
"...Yes. Hyung."
Unfortunately for him, the ordeal wasn't over yet.
Lee Shin tilted his head.
"Hyung?"
"Yes?"
"It's not 'Hyung'."
"...!"
Arthur hesitated for a moment, then squeezed his eyes shut and opened his mouth.
"O-O...!"
But despite his courage (...), he couldn't finish the word.
The sight was more disgusting than he could have imagined, and Lee Shin slapped Arthur across the face.
*Smack!*
"...Why'd you hit me?!"
"Because it was disgusting."
"B-But you told me to...!"
He had a point.
But that only mattered if the other person was prepared to accept it.
Lee Shin clicked his tongue and blamed Arthur instead.
"You don't just do something because you're told to."
"...?!"
"Ugh. Gross..."
Regardless of Arthur, who looked like he was about to die from injustice, it was clear that a different name was needed.
Something less disgusting, and preferably easy to remember.
"Then let's just go with Arthur."
"But that's my name."
"I told you, you're Lee Si-eun."
"Ah... I see."
Lee Shin was Arthur.
Arthur was Lee Si-eun.
After quickly settling on aliases.
Lee Shin started walking again.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
* * *
The city's security was quite tight.
The number of soldiers stationed at the checkpoint was noticeably higher compared to other cities.
As expected of a city with developed trade, its wealth was apparent even from things like this.
Still, entering the city itself wasn't difficult.
He never planned on going through the checkpoint in the first place.
Lee Shin followed the secret route Kilgeo had told him about and snuck into the city.
[You have entered Les Port.]
[Skill proficiency and currency acquisition from trading will increase by 3%.]
[This is the first city you have arrived at.]
[Map has been updated.]
[Areas where a base can be set have been added to the map.]
[Map...]
[...Your infamy is extremely high!]
[If you are spotted by soldiers, there is a high probability you will be imprisoned.]
[If you are spotted by knights, there is a low probability you will be executed...]
[...]
[...Be careful!]
A series of grim messages popped up!
But Lee Shin wasn't particularly worried.
He was already used to this sort of thing.
'I just have to not get caught.'
Lee Shin followed the deserted streets to find the black market merchant Kilgeo had mentioned.
The merchant was running a shop tucked away in a quiet corner of a commercial district.
Lee Shin entered the shop and called for the owner.
"Is anyone here?"
"..."
The merchant approached with a sleepy expression, then scanned Lee Shin from top to bottom.
"An adventurer?"
"Yeah."
"Got money? If not, get the hell ou..."
[The target is an evil-aligned NPC.]
[Your infamy is very high.]
[You possess the Salseong class.]
[You possess the 'Incarnation of Malice' title...]
[...]
[...The target is overwhelmed!]
"...Huuuhhhk!?"
The merchant's eyes widened in shock!
He shot up from his seat.
As expected of a black market dealer, his evil alignment caused this reaction.
"Is there something you're looking for...?"
He swallowed hard and approached.
His demeanor had become strangely, excessively cautious.
"...Hmm?"
Lee Shin narrowed his eyes.
While Kilgeo had shown trust due to his infamy, this one seemed to be driven more by instinctual fear.
It was an unintended consequence of the opponent's low level.
'I see.'
Quickly realizing this, Lee Shin straightened his back and stiffened his neck.
Then, he lowered his gaze, looking down on the merchant.
A high-and-mighty posture!
Normally, it was something you should never do to an NPC with low intimacy, but...
[You have created an atmosphere of fear.]
[The target is already in an overwhelmed state.]
[The target will not attempt to haggle.]
It didn't matter now.
In fact, by using it with appropriate restraint, he had triggered a beneficial effect.
Lee Shin spoke to the merchant, who was now approaching him, rubbing his hands together.
"Hmm. I'd like to see some equipment."
"Is there a specific type you're looking for?"
"Cursed equipment."
"Pardon? Ah, we don't carry items like that in our sto..."
Lee Shin drew his dagger. Then, in a chilling voice, he said one short word.
"What?"
The effect was dramatic.
[The merchant is terrified...]
"...I'll bring it right away!"
The merchant scurried upstairs and returned a moment later with a box full of equipment.
He then spoke, cautiously eyeing Lee Shin.
"...You can look through them here."
Lee Shin examined the equipment one by one.
After filtering for items that matched his class and level, only one remained.
A dagger, about 40 cm long, with patches of red rust.
"Item Check."
Blood-Rusted Dagger
A piece of equipment imbued with sinister energy.
• Durability: 150/150
• Attack Power: 120
• Agility, Stamina +30
• Recovers health equal to 3% of damage dealt on attack.
• Infamy is fixed at '99,999'.
"Oh...?"
The specs were better than expected. Lee Shin nodded in satisfaction.
'The damage is certainly no joke.'
The dagger he'd gotten from killing Kang Woo-jin had an attack power of 67.
This was nearly double that.
With the added stat bonus, there was no comparison in terms of damage.
'And it has life steal.'
Of course, the trade-off was its extremely low durability, but that was a manageable problem.
He could just switch to another weapon when no one was around.
Lee Shin took the equipment and asked.
"How much?"
"500,000 gold."
500,000 gold.
As expected of a smuggled item, it was quite expensive.
That was 500,000 won in real cash.
But even so, Lee Shin didn't think it was a waste.
It wasn't like he was buying it for its cost-effectiveness, and he had more than enough money.
He'd still have plenty left over even after buying it.
'I should use the remaining money to get some other gear.'
Lee Shin paid and left the shop.
* * *
[Infamy is fixed at '99,999'.]
His infamy stat had dropped significantly.
A moment later, a series of messages appeared before Lee Shin's eyes.
[A change has occurred in your current state.]
[The 'Incarnation of Malice' title is now locked.]
[...]
[...Your infamy is very high!]
[Soldiers now have a low probability of arresting you.]
The warning message was much more lenient!
Lee Shin let out a sigh of relief.
At this level, he probably wouldn't have any problems even if he ran into soldiers in the city.
And even if he got unlucky and ran into trouble, it seemed like something he could solve with gold.
'Alright then...'
It had been a while since he'd been in a city, so he had a lot to do.
First, he had to empty his full inventory and buy consumables like potions.
As he walked, Lee Shin organized his to-do list in his head.
Just then.
"Excuse me."
*Tap, tap.*
Someone called out to Lee Shin from behind.
It was an NPC dressed in rags.
Thinking he was here to beg, Lee Shin frowned and brushed his shoulder.
"Get los..."
[You have encountered someone related to the previous Salseong!]
[Speak with him to obtain information about a hidden skill.]
"...!"