Chapter 24
Chapter 24
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: The Beggar's Plea
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A shabby NPC in beggar's rags approached him.
But in reality, he was someone connected to the previous Salseong.
[Converse with him to obtain information about the Vision Skill.]
After checking the system message, Lee Shin's attitude changed in an instant.
Hiding the hand he'd used to brush off his shoulder behind his back, Lee Shin asked.
“Ahem. Can I help you with something?”
“Didn't you just tell me to get lost…?”
“Haha, I would never. You must have misheard me, right?”
[The target is an evil-aligned NPC.]
[His infamy is very high.]
[Title, <Rotten from the Start…>]
[…]
[…Affinity increases!]
“You're right. My hearing has been a bit fuzzy lately.”
“Oh, dear.”
Thanks to his affinity rising the moment they met, Lee Shin was able to salvage his first impression.
Lee Shin breathed an inward sigh of relief and studied the man.
‘Hmm.’
Looking closer, he saw the man was covered in knife scars.
And now that he thought about it, the man had gotten the drop on him at first.
For Lee Shin, who never let anyone get behind him, this was something that almost never happened!
From this, Lee Shin could deduce the man's identity.
‘A rogue, I see.’
A pure assassin-class rogue, and one with a significant level gap at that.
He hadn't even noticed his approach until the man spoke.
Plus, since the man seemed to be connected to the previous Salseong, the possibility was high.
“So, why did you call me over?”
“……”
Lee Shin asked, subtly putting some distance between them.
In response to his question, the man looked Lee Shin up and down before removing his robe.
Underneath the robe was a rather decent-looking man.
‘Oh?’
Despite his many scars, his eyes were kind, giving him a less menacing impression!
It was a starkly different feel from Kilgeo, who looked like he'd buried a few people in his time.
‘Is he not a rogue?’
Lee Shin tilted his head.
An NPC's appearance usually reflects their class, alignment, or rank.
This is to help players judge NPCs intuitively.
‘I must have been mistaken.’
Lee Shin corrected his thoughts.
But there were always exceptions.
“As you might have guessed, I make my living as a contract killer.”
“……”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…Ah, it's nothing.”
“Hmm, anyway. I sense a familiar aura about you. Would you care to have a word with me?”
[Regreus, the contract killer of the port city, proposes a conversation with you.]
[Your affinity is very high. Through conversation, you have a high chance of receiving a class-related quest.]
[Will you accept?]
It was a question that required no thought.
Lee Shin nodded, looked around, and replied.
“Let's find somewhere else to talk.”
* * *
After finishing his conversation with Regreus.
Lee Shin called for Arthur.
“Am I going with you?”
An undeniable look of anticipation shone in Arthur's eyes.
It was the first quest they were doing since partying up, so it was only natural.
“No.”
“…?”
But Lee Shin shook his head. Arthur had something else to do.
Arthur asked.
“What is it?”
“Chores. You said you'd handle all the equipment repairs and selling junk items.”
“Ah… Right.”
“Here.”
[Transferring item.]
[Transferring item.]
Lee Shin handed Arthur the junk items and all his equipment except for the weapon he was currently using.
Then, just in case, he left a mark on him.
He couldn't just let him go, after all.
[A Mark of Malice is engraved. Infamy is continuously consumed.]
[The curse will remain active until the mark is removed, and the caster can track the mark's location.]
“What's this?”
Arthur asked, tilting his head at the unfamiliar skill.
Lee Shin replied as if it were nothing.
“A curse.”
“A cur—!?”
“It's nothing serious.”
Even though it's a curse, unlike typical ones, it has no lethal power.
It has no damage-over-time or stat-reducing effects.
It just reduces EXP gain and item drop rate by 99%.
“……That's definitely something serious!”
“Hurry up and go, man. I'll remove it when you get back.”
Lee Shin pushed Arthur's back.
Arthur stumbled forward without resisting.
When Arthur was completely out of sight, Lee Shin turned around and spoke.
“Let's go.”
“Mm.”
Regreus led Lee Shin to a deserted, abandoned house.
After confirming there was no one around, he asked bluntly.
“Are you the one who inherited the will of the Salseong?”
Lee Shin nodded.
To be precise, it was more like he'd stumbled into it... but he had changed his class to Salseong.
“Yes.”
[You possess the skill 'Legendary Dignity'. The presence of a legend affects the target.]
[Regreus feels trust in your words.]
“I knew I sensed a similar feeling.”
Lee Shin's eyes widened.
An unexpected skill effect!
With his current low infamy, he'd wondered if the man would believe him, so this was a relief.
‘Perfect.’
Thanks to this, Lee Shin could skip any unnecessary explanations and ask what he was curious about.
“Have you ever seen the previous Salseong?”
If he had, there was a lot to ask.
But Regreus shook his head.
“No. I've never seen him in person.”
“?”
Before disappointment, a question mark popped into Lee Shin's mind.
Didn't he say he sensed a similar feeling? But he's never seen him?
Noticing Lee Shin's confusion, Regreus quickly continued.
“However, I do know something about a keepsake he left behind.”
“…!”
“And many of his deeds that are not yet known to the world.”
A keepsake and hidden deeds.
Hearing this much, Lee Shin already had a good idea of what was going on.
The keepsake would be the quest reward, and after completing it, he'd hear about the unknown deeds, which would likely be a hint for the next quest.
Lee Shin asked.
“What was the keepsake?”
“Well. It was a shabby book….”
A keepsake of the Salseong, a book he'd acquired by chance at an auction house. But apparently, it wasn't particularly useful.
“There was nothing written inside.”
“Ah…”
‘It's a skill book.’
Normally, Vision Skills cannot be learned by someone of a different class.
It seemed this game mechanic was implemented for NPCs as them being completely unable to read it.
“Anyway. So I just kept it in storage.”
“Yes.”
“But a while ago, it was all stolen.”
“…Stolen!?”
“Yes.”
Regreus nodded.
To be precise, while he was away for a long time on a job, he was completely cleaned out.
Since this city is overflowing with thieves, it was something that could easily happen.
The problem was that it wasn't just the keepsake that was stolen, but also the safe that contained nearly his entire fortune.
Regreus muttered, a sorrowful look on his face.
“That's why I'm in this state.”
“Ah…”
Indeed.
He had wondered why the man was dressed like a beggar, and it all made sense if his entire fortune had recently been stolen.
Regreus looked out at the distant sea and continued.
“By now, it should be on a pirate ship.”
“Pirates…? Ah.”
Lee Shin nodded.
He wondered what he meant at first, but after thinking it over, it made sense.
It would be difficult for them to dispose of the stolen goods themselves.
So.
‘They must have made a deal.’
It wasn't strange to think that there were thieves who dealt with pirates.
Not when smugglers openly existed.
As Lee Shin nodded in understanding, a notification window popped up before him, just as expected.
[A quest has been generated.]
“…So, I need you to retrieve my stolen property!”
Regreus's Request
Regreus has been active in Port Les for a long time. He is a famous contract killer known by everyone in the area. However, while he was away, all his possessions were stolen, leaving him destitute.
Regreus wants you to find his stolen safe and the keepsake of the previous Salseong. If you grant his request, he will give you a fitting reward.
•Quest Clear Conditions: Secure the previous Salseong's keepsake (0/1), Secure Regreus's safe (0/1)
•Quest Reward: Keepsake, Gold Coins, ???
The quest appeared as expected.
But before he could think about the rewards, a question came to mind.
A fundamental one.
“How am I supposed to do this?”
Regreus's answer to this was simple.
“You just have to take it from the pirates.”
“I'm asking *how* I'm supposed to take it.”
“Isn't that something you should figure out for yourself?”
What a ridiculous NPC!
Lee Shin's expression soured.
“You son of a…”
“What did you just say?”
Normally, he would have stopped mid-sentence.
But this time, it was hard to hold back.
Despite his kind-looking face, true to his rogue class, his true nature was no different from Kilgeo's.
“…bitch!”
“…!?!?”
For a moment, Lee Shin's filter disappeared.
But thinking rationally, he couldn't refuse the quest.
Unlike common skills, there were no alternatives for class-exclusive skills.
In the long run, it would create a massive difference in combat power.
Lee Shin belatedly tried to fix the situation.
“…is what I almost said.”
[You have accepted the quest.]
[Regreus is relieved.]
[The lowered affinity has been restored.]
“Haha, I thought as much.”
“Yeees…”
Fortunately, thanks to his already high affinity, no problems arose.
Lee Shin sighed and left the abandoned house. Then, he immediately located Arthur.
[Tracking the mark.]
[Tracking…]
A red line appeared above Lee Shin's head.
Following the red line, Lee Shin checked the quest details.
The reward marked with question marks seemed to be the information about the previous Salseong's hidden deeds.
He wasn't certain, but it had been mentioned before he received the quest.
Lee Shin clicked his tongue.
‘This means I have to clear it.’
The problem was ‘how’.
How in the world?
Come to think of it, he didn't even have a ship….
‘…Do I have to steal one?’
As the situation grew difficult, Lee Shin naturally thought of extreme measures.
With few options available, his mind naturally drifted toward familiar methods.
‘Or maybe I could curse a player with a ship and blackmail them…’
Lee Shin instantly came up with several brutal methods. But before he could refine them into a practical plan.
-Hyung!
“?”
A whisper arrived from Arthur.
His voice was laced with anxiety.
‘No way.’
Did he already run into some PKers?
Lee Shin's eyes narrowed.
“What is it.”
-Help me!
“…!”
At Arthur's words, his leisurely pace turned into a sprint. Lee Shin shouted, his voice filled with urgency.
“My items!”
-What?
“…I mean! Stay right there! Don't provoke them!”
A sense of unease began to creep up from his feet.
Lee Shin's speed increased even more.
However.
‘…Hmm?’
When he arrived at Arthur's location.
That anxiety vanished completely.
Instead, another emotion took its place.
Utter bewilderment.
He couldn't help it.
Arthur was breaking out in a cold sweat, surrounded by a group of foreign-looking men, not knowing what to do.
“……”
As Lee Shin stopped in his tracks.
Their conversation reached his ears.
“Hey! You alone there?”
“Huh? Ah, no?”
“Oh. In a party?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, but why are you alone?”
“Uh…!? I'm just running some errands…!?”
‘…This is painful to watch.’
Truly terrible acting!
Lee Shin slapped his forehead.
“Hmm. Doesn't look like you're in a party.”
“!?”
Just as he'd expected, the excuse had no effect.
Realizing he would have to solve this himself, Lee Shin sent Arthur a whisper.
-Go somewhere with fewer people.
[Stealth has been activated.]
[First Hidden Blade has been activated.]
[Mana will be consumed for the duration.]