Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Justifiable Homicide
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‘Could this be a trap?’
It was the first possibility that came to Lee Shin's mind.
Luring him into a false sense of security, then deliberately giving him the wrong location to lead him into a trap.
But a moment's thought was enough to see that it made no sense.
In reality, that might have been the case, but this was a game.
Here, numbers were absolute.
If a user's strength stat was 100, they would exert exactly 100 points of strength, regardless of their actual condition.
Likewise, if the affinity between a user and an NPC was maxed out, it was guaranteed to be worth its value.
Unless Lee Shin had done something to break that trust just before….
Lee Shin shook his head.
‘I haven't done anything like that.’
He couldn't recall anything, and besides, he would never make such a rookie mistake.
He'd been through this kind of thing countless times.
Thanks to that, he had reached a point where he could instinctively distinguish between what was acceptable and what wasn't.
There had been a few sensitive questions, but considering his current position and affinity, they were well within reason.
‘…….’
So, this wasn't a trap.
It was a coincidence.
Lee Shin calmly quelled his unease.
How much time had passed?
A few seconds that felt like an eternity went by.
‘Hoo.’
Lee Shin straightened his stiff body.
Fortunately, his stealth was still active, so a little surprise wouldn't get him caught.
But what should he do now?
It didn't seem like an ordinary warehouse….
‘…Should I just go back out?’
Even if it wasn't a trap, he hesitated to just walk in without knowing what was inside.
But turning back now felt like a waste of a golden opportunity.
‘Hmm.’
An ambiguous situation!
As Lee Shin stood there, contemplating his next move, he heard the voice of a pirate on guard duty.
“Tsk. It's starting again.”
“!”
A tone that seemed to hint at something!
Lee Shin pressed himself against the wall and listened intently.
The pirate next to him replied.
“Orcs are all like that. Should I go shut them up?”
‘Orcs?’
So suddenly?
Lee Shin's mind raced.
And his deliberation didn't last long.
‘Ah, could it be?’
Drake had definitely said this was a warehouse.
And a warehouse is, by definition, a place to store property!
Lee Shin instantly arrived at the answer.
‘These must be the orcs they captured to sell.’
Pirates don't rely solely on plunder for all their income.
It was only natural.
Piracy was just a way to make a living, after all.
Pirates were human too; if they spent all day plundering and fighting, even the largest force wouldn't last.
Of course, plundering was their base, but they all had a few connections for emergencies or their own methods of generating income (like selling prisoners, laundering smuggled goods, etc.).
Just as he'd expected.
“Forget it. If they get injured, it'll just lower their price when we sell them later.”
“…True.”
“Just leave them. They'll stop on their own when they get tired. It'll just be a pain for us if their value as merchandise drops.”
The pirates spoke as if it were a common occurrence, thinking nothing of it.
Only after their conversation ended did Lee Shin move deeper inside.
And when he felt he was deep enough, he deactivated his stealth.
“Hoo.”
Lee Shin let out a breath he'd been holding and looked around.
Ahead was a single, straight path with no traps or forks.
Normally, a major warehouse like this wouldn't be out of place decorated with all sorts of traps like a dungeon.
‘No separate guards, either.’
It was clearly an underdeveloped area!
Which made it easier to move around.
How far inside had he gone?
“Grrrk.”
Hearing the voices of orcs at last, Lee Shin turned his head.
Orcs were imprisoned in cells carved out of the cave wall.
Their eyes were bloodshot as they glared at Lee Shin, a sign of how long they'd been trapped in this dark place.
‘There are more than I thought.’
Whether the pirates had managed them surprisingly well or not, about 30 to 40 orcs were imprisoned before his eyes.
“Hu…man.”
“Want to eat… Chwik.”
“…….”
They seemed to have little energy, but that was only because the pirates had starved them for a long time to prevent them from rampaging.
It wasn't a health issue, they were simply hungry!
Once their hunger was sated, they would be fine.
“Grrr…”
“…….”
Lee Shin observed the orcs carefully before moving on.
Only after passing the prison did the place where the treasure was piled up appear.
[You have arrived at Drake's Secret Warehouse.]
[Your fame increases.]
“Hoo.”
Lee Shin meticulously checked for traps before entering.
His steps were filled with anticipation!
However….
“……?”
Contrary to his expectations, the inside was rather empty.
All he could see were dozens of chests, large and small!
Of course, this wasn't a small amount either, but….
for Lee Shin, who had imagined a mountain of overwhelming gold coins, it was bound to be disappointing.
‘He did say they hadn't been settled here for long. Is that why?’
Whatever the reason, Lee Shin sighed in disappointment.
If there had been a lot of treasure, he could have swiped some without it being noticed, but with so little, even taking a small amount would be obvious, so he couldn't touch it carelessly.
‘Can't be helped.’
He'd just have to grab some gold coins that wouldn't be missed and check if the quest item was among the other items.
Fortunately, he was able to find one of the two quest items here.
Lee Shin picked up an old, blue-glowing book from among a pile of gold coins.
[You have acquired an item.]
Old Tome
• A mysterious aura can be felt.
*Tiring.*
[…Your class is Salseong!]
[A change occurs in the item.]
[The item, 'Old Tome', transforms into 'Book of Salseong's Teachings'.]
[Quest progress has been updated.]
• Acquired the previous Salseong's memento (1/1)
“Check item.”
Book of Salseong's Teachings
A skill book personally written by the Salseong.
• Use this item to randomly acquire one of his secret skills. Skills already acquired will not appear again.
• Reading Condition: Class Salseong
‘Random acquisition?’
It was a slightly unusual method, but it didn't seem like a major problem.
Since they were secret skills, whatever he got would be guaranteed to be powerful, and it said he wouldn't get a skill he already had.
[Reading conditions met.]
[Would you like to use it?]
“Use it.”
Lee Shin used the skill book immediately.
A bright light emanated from the book, and a message appeared before Lee Shin's eyes.
[Absorbing the mysterious aura.]
[The item, 'Book of Salseong's Teachings', reverts to 'Old Tome'.]
[You have acquired the secret skill, <Justifiable Homicide>!]
“…?????”
A skill name he couldn't make heads or tails of!
Lee Shin narrowed his eyes.
Even for a veteran player like Lee Shin, it was difficult to infer anything from the name alone.
Justifiable Murd… no, anyway.
What on earth is this?
‘It seems like an attack skill, but…?’
To get a better look, Lee Shin opened the skill information window.
Justifiable Homicide
• You can arbitrarily designate someone as an 'evildoer'. When attacking the designated evildoer, all stats increase significantly.
• Killing an evildoer does not increase infamy; instead, fame increases by half the amount of infamy that would have been gained.
“…….”
…Well, he understood.
What kind of skill it was, and how much potential it held.
‘It's like an immunity clause.’
For a player who mainly engaged in PK, there was no better skill than this.
In other words, thinking of the future, it was one of the most necessary skills for Lee Shin.
But if there was one thing that bothered him, it was that this was a 'secret skill' of the Salseong.
‘Why?’
Secret skills don't just appear out of nowhere.
It might be different for a common class, but it was especially true for the skills of past legends deeply rooted in the world's lore.
They are always related to past achievements or an associated storyline.
In other words.
‘This means he created it himself.’
That meant the previous Salseong must have had many occasions to commit 'justifiable homicide'.
So many, in fact, that he had to turn it into a secret skill.
This was the part Lee Shin couldn't understand.
‘But why?’
If he had been a righteous thief or a revolutionary, it might have made sense... but for someone with the moniker of Salseong, it was a strange skill.
Why would a criminal of the century try to justify his actions like this?
‘Didn't he just go around slaughtering anyone he pleased?’
Lee Shin was lost in thought for a moment.
But there was nothing he could deduce from the skill information alone.
He needed more information to solve this mystery.
‘…I'll have to look into it later.’
For now, Lee Shin pushed the question to the back of his mind.
There was nothing he could figure out just by thinking about it now.
More importantly, how to use it was the immediate concern.
‘The skill isn't bad.’
Aside from the question of its reason for existence, its performance wasn't bad.
A skill that perfectly suited Lee Shin's tastes!
Plus, it seemed to apply to both users and NPCs, giving it considerable versatility.
[Secure Regreus's Safe (0/1)]
It would have been great to find the other quest item here too while things were going well, but….
that was too much to hope for on the first try.
He'd have to find it by slowly taking down other pirates.
‘And….’
Lee Shin started walking toward the exit.
Lee Shin's gaze turned cold.
‘It's about time to clean up.’
He was talking about Drake.
For now, he was sticking close and flattering him out of necessity, but he couldn't stay with the pirates forever.
In the end, he too was a target to be subjugated.
‘…….’
The problem was how.
How could he take down someone who had already built such a powerful force in these waters?
He couldn't rely on his allies, since he himself had half-destroyed their forces.
So, Lee Shin had a method in mind for this.
‘I'll make them destroy each other.’
Drake had definitely mentioned another force of a similar size to his own.
If he could just make the two of them fight with all their might, he could aim for their mutual destruction and monopolize all the achievement points.
Of course, the prerequisite...
‘How can I make them fight without thinking about the consequences?’
…was the problem, but Lee Shin had a way for that too.
Lee Shin's eyes turned to the orcs.
Orcs.
Arthur's original race.
If I can use this well… couldn't it lead to something?
“Guruk?”
“…….”
Lee Shin walked outside.
* * *
-It's done.
As soon as he got outside, a message came from Arthur.
It seemed to be about the instruction to make some allies.
'How many.'
-Seven of them.
‘Good job.’
-I think I can get more... Should I?
'No. Stop there.'
Seven allies are enough.
In fact, getting too many on his side could provoke antagonism from the others.
To maintain a certain level of public sentiment, it was safer to be content with this number.
-...You've really thought this through, huh?
'Enough talk. Just maintain it.'
-Got it.
Lee Shin waited for the ship's maintenance to be finished, then went to see Drake.
“Captain.”
“Hmm?”
He had already formulated a rough plan for what to do next, so he needed to move quickly in accordance with it.
“They say the preparations are complete.”
But at those words, Drake made a troubled expression.
“The ship is ready, but the crew is exhausted.”
“…….”
A gentle refusal.
But Lee Shin had no intention of backing down over something so trivial.
The chance to build up achievement points using someone else's power didn't come every day.
*Bang!*
“Captain!”
Lee Shin shouted, slamming his hand on the table.
I have to squeeze out as much as I can before cutting ties!
“……?”
“Even as we speak, pirates who do not follow you are roaming the nearby seas.”
“Still, we need to prepare...”
“Are you going to stand by and watch those fools run wild, not knowing their place? This is a disgrace to your name, Captain!”
I don't care about preparations, let's go now!
Lee Shin urged Drake on, mixing flattery and rebuke appropriately.
“We must go out and kill…!”
“Ugh… hmm.”
Faced with Lee Shin's firm attitude, Drake slowly began to be swayed.
The result of high affinity and the special position of second-in-command!
Noticing this, Lee Shin offered a suitable solution.
“…And if the crew is tired, we can just put those guys on the front lines!”
Lee Shin said, pointing to the users who were resting, oblivious to everything.
It was a single sentence that completely erased Drake's worries.
“…That's a fine idea!”