Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: A Deceptive Gift
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“What!?!?”
Jeong Yu-ra shouted in astonishment.
He was going to personally participate in a quest to rescue the very players they had abandoned just a few days ago?
‘Does that even make sense?’
No matter how she thought about it, it defied all common sense.
She’d be lucky if they just got an earful and were chased away; it wouldn't be surprising if a fight broke out on the spot.
Lee Shin turned his head.
“A fight?”
“Yes!”
“It’s fine.”
“……?”
It’s fine?
At Lee Shin’s bold declaration, Jeong Yu-ra’s eyes widened as she looked up.
Come to think of it, wasn't Lee Shin good at coming up with methods others couldn't imagine?
Of course, most of them were facepalm-worthy, but once in a blue moon, there was a genuinely decent one among them.
If he had a way to get through this situation too….
“I’ll win.”
“…That’s not the point!”
But his answer was beyond imagination!
Jeong Yu-ra let out a short burst of air and cried out in disbelief.
Even Arthur, who usually responded positively to Lee Shin’s words, looked troubled this time.
“I’m also a bit….”
However, the nature of his opposition was slightly different from Jeong Yu-ra’s.
While hers was, ‘How could a person be so morally bankrupt!’, Arthur was seriously questioning the feasibility of the plan.
“Will that even work?”
The other party wasn't a fool.
It was hard to imagine they would accept the root cause of this whole incident, the source of all evil, into their rescue party.
Of course, Lee Shin had considered this, but he still thought it would be fine.
He had a method in mind.
“If it doesn’t work, I’ll make it work.”
“How?”
“In disguise.”
“Ah……”
Arthur let out a sound of understanding.
He had seen Lee Shin’s disguise skills and was well aware of them.
If Lee Shin was determined to deceive someone, it was virtually impossible for the other party to see through it.
“Well, then…”
If Lee Shin handled it himself, it seemed possible to keep their identities hidden somehow.
Arthur nodded in understanding.
But not all his questions had been answered yet.
“But do we really have to go that far?”
“?”
“At this point, I think it would be better to just find another quest. The reward isn't even guaranteed….”
Wasn't the return on investment too low for the effort involved?
Of course, the reward could be negotiated in person, but with so many applicants for the quest already, there was a clear upper limit to what they could negotiate.
From the client’s perspective, if Lee Shin demanded too high a price, they could just use that money to hire several other people.
“Yeah. Let’s do something else.”
Jeong Yu-ra, seizing the opportunity, nodded her head vigorously.
But Lee Shin’s decision remained unchanged.
“It’s fine.”
“What?”
“I can squeeze it out of them myself.”
From the start, Lee Shin had no intention of negotiating with words.
That’s not how you negotiate.
That’s what amateurs do.
“What? Then how will you do it?”
“You have to make it so they have no choice but to give it to you.”
“……?”
“……?”
Despite Lee Shin’s explanation, question marks floated above Jeong Yu-ra’s and Arthur's heads.
It was the same for Gillaim and Cedric, who were listening beside them.
Gillaim, after a quick glance around, asked on behalf of everyone.
“Sir Arthur.”
“What.”
“What is this ‘method to make them have no choice but to give it’ that you just mentioned? It seems no one understands….”
“Huh? Ah…”
Lee Shin looked around at his party and nodded.
He saw them all just blinking their eyes blankly.
Shrugging, Lee Shin answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“We just have to kill all the other rescue team members except us.”
“……!!!!”
* * *
After a brief stop at a nearby town, Lee Shin headed straight for the quest assembly point.
By this time, Lee Shin, Gillaim, and Cedric had already finished putting on their disguises.
Lee Shin had helped them with it.
‘Where is he?’
Lee Shin pushed his long, flowing hair behind his ear and looked around.
He found the client quickly.
The man was standing in front of the plaza’s fountain, gathered with several other players.
They seemed to be the players who had joined the rescue team before Lee Shin.
“Hello.”
“Yes?”
As Lee Shin greeted him first, the man turned his head.
It was the client, Yu Han-seong.
“Are you perhaps Si-eun… huh!”
Their eyes met for a moment, and Yu Han-seong gasped in surprise.
It was because of Lee Shin’s radiant appearance.
And the same went for Jeong Yu-ra, standing behind him.
But Yu Han-seong soon cleared his throat with a cough and continued speaking.
“Are you Si-eun? The one who contacted me this morning.”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“And the orc next to you…?”
“It’s my pet.”
“Ah……”
Yu Han-seong looked Arthur up and down and let out a sound of wonder.
Usually, pets were small for the player’s convenience, but Arthur was the size of a person.
“It’s quite big.”
Yu Han-seong muttered, nodding his head.
And that was it.
Though his size was a bit large, compared to hideously ugly player or NPC orcs, Arthur’s appearance was quite cute.
It was the effect of the unique skill he had recently acquired, ‘Raise Me, Master!’
*Pop~ Pop~*
The cute little fanfare effects that kept popping up next to him were an added bonus.
Thanks to this, Arthur easily evaded Yu Han-seong’s suspicion.
“……”
Of course, Arthur, who was suddenly forced to act like a pet, had a look of despair on his face, but Lee Shin didn't care at all.
Lee Shin asked.
“What’s the reward?”
“First, regardless of whether the rescue is successful, you’ll receive a base reward just for participating until the end. And upon success…”
Yu Han-seong fumbled in his clothes and took out an item.
It was a sleek sword that shimmered with a silver light.
It looked valuable at a glance.
And fitting its appearance, its actual specs were also quite outstanding.
Silver Thorn
A masterpiece forged by a master blacksmith who tempered his very soul into the blade.
It features a sharp blade forged from lightweight materials.
Has a low chance to inflict a powerful critical hit when attacking while moving.
•Attack Power: 99
•Durability: 200/200
•When equipped, increases Health by 400 and grants 1% Life Steal from all damage. The Life Steal effect is amplified as the user's current health decreases.
•Skills ‘Decisive Strike’ and ‘Vital Strike’ can be used.
•Unique Effect ‘Chain Hit’: Increases Attack Power by 5% when an attack lands within 5 seconds. Can be stacked up to 100 times.
‘Oh…?’
Lee Shin’s eyes widened.
An item of immense value!
Its attack power was about 20 lower than his current weapon, the ‘Blood-Rusted Dagger,’ but the options that came with it more than made up for the difference.
Increases Attack Power by 5% on hit.
Can be stacked up to 100 times.
Realistically, reaching the maximum stack was difficult, but for a skilled player like Lee Shin, it was a different story.
The more familiar he became with the equipment, the easier it would be to draw out its maximum performance.
Crucially, wasn't this an item without a curse attached?
If he couldn't use it, he could just use it for a while and resell it, so in terms of market value, it was far superior to the equipment Lee Shin owned.
Lee Shin stared intently at the equipment and casually remarked.
“…Nice piece of gear you’ve got there.”
His voice was laced with greed!
Anyone with memories of dealing with delinquents in their school days would have felt a chill run down their spine.
But Yu Han-seong didn't notice and licked his lips.
“Yes. If we succeed, I’ll give you this.”
“There’s only one, though.”
“We’ll sell it and split the money.”
“Ah……”
It made sense; he couldn't just give something this expensive to one person.
Lee Shin nodded in understanding.
“Understood.”
“So, you’re accepting the quest?”
“Yes.”
[You have accepted the quest.]
[You have joined the party.]
[Current Party Members: 40]
“We’ll depart as soon as three of our party members get back.”
“When will they be here?”
“It won’t be long… maybe an hour?”
“Ah, I see.”
Lee Shin kept his eyes on the equipment until the very end before moving away from Yu Han-seong.
‘An hour, huh.’
That was plenty of time.
“…Give me that.”
Lee Shin took something from Cedric and then approached Jeong Yu-ra.
* * *
Vigor Potion
•A potent concoction of concentrated, high-energy ingredients. Drinking it grants the <Burning Vigor> buff and increases stats.
“……”
Jeong Yu-ra squinted her eyes.
She looked down at the pile of Vigor Potions in her hands and asked, unable to understand.
“You want me to hand these out?”
“Yeah.”
“……Why?”
Her eyes were full of distrust!
She had been like this ever since Lee Shin said, ‘Now that we’re in the same boat, how about we hand out some potions to our party members?’
Lee Shin shrugged and replied.
“It’s just a friendly gesture.”
“…Stop lying and tell me the truth!”
Of course, it didn't work on Jeong Yu-ra at all.
Now that she knew his tendencies well, instead of being persuaded, she showed her wariness.
‘Friendly gesture, my foot!?’
“You’re trying to make me do something weird again, aren’t you?”
“I told you, I’m not.”
“Then why are you giving these people potions? You’re just going to kill them all any…”
*Hup!*
Jeong Yu-ra stopped mid-sentence, startled by her own words.
There were many other people around.
She quickly scurried closer to Lee Shin, lowered her voice, and said.
“…You said you were going to kill them all.”
“Did I?”
“…It’s not a matter of ‘Did I?’, I’m asking why you’re doing this when you’re going to kill them anyway. It looks suspicious to anyone.”
It wasn't like they would drop more loot if she fattened them up before killing them, so why bother?
To her question, Lee Shin shook his head and answered.
“No.”
“Huh?”
“We still have to succeed in the rescue to get the reward. So even if we kill them all in the end, we have to stick together until right before we clear it.”
“Ah……?”
At Lee Shin’s explanation, Jeong Yu-ra blinked her eyes.
Hearing it now, his words made some sense.
This was a quest to rescue a player trapped in a lord's castle; if they sabotaged the party with tricks before it even began, clearing it would be impossible.
“……Is that it?”
“Yep.”
“Alright then. Sorry…”
Jeong Yu-ra scratched her head with an embarrassed expression.
She even apologized for misunderstanding him.
“I’ll go hand them out.”
Yu-ra disappeared, holding the armful of potions Lee Shin had given her.
Just then, Arthur, who had been quietly watching their conversation from behind, approached and asked.
“Is that true?”
Unlike Jeong Yu-ra, who had believed him right away, his expression was still one of doubt.
Lee Shin flatly denied it.
“Nope.”
“…Hah!”
“That’s poison. A slow-acting one.”
“!!!!!”
It was something Lee Shin had prepared in the city they had visited before coming here.
While Jeong Yu-ra and Arthur were taking care of personal matters, Lee Shin had ordered Cedric to create a poison with a special effect, and this was the result.
Vigor Potion
•A potent concoction of concentrated, high-energy ingredients. Drinking it grants the <Burning Vigor> buff and increases your main stat.
*Has a hidden effect!
This potion was crafted under the influence of powerful dark magic. Its effects can be converted into a toxin at any time in response to the creator’s magic (spell).
The creator was, of course, Cedric.
And Cedric was currently in a position where he was completely under Lee Shin’s thumb and had to follow his orders.
In other words, it was a potion that could be turned into a toxin at any time upon Lee Shin's command.
With this, Lee Shin planned to easily and secretly eliminate his competitors later.
Of course, preparing this had cost a significant portion of the bounty on Cedric’s head, but Lee Shin believed it would be more than worth it if the plan succeeded.
The only problem was….
“Won’t she be angry?”
Arthur asked worriedly.
Even the kindest person would surely explode this time, wouldn't they?
Lee Shin stroked his chin for a moment in thought before answering.
“If I get a big reward and give her a large share, won’t she understand?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, that’s just too bad for her.”
“……”
If you get fooled, it’s your own fault—a phrase Lee Shin always had on the tip of his tongue.
This applied even to his own party members.