The Free City of Vertas (1)
Screeech—.
An old man stopped in front of us.
He was accompanied by a dilapidated cart piled high with junk and a foolish-looking donkey.
Suddenly, my eyes met with the donkey the old man was riding.
Chomp, chomp—.
The beast was drooling as it chewed on a carrot.
'Seeing it in person, it looks even dumber.'
It had looked pathetic in the game, but the reality was even worse.
It felt like an insult to even compare it to the fine horses the merchant guild leader had shown us.
"Up we go!"
The old man quickly dismounted the donkey.
He began rearranging the luggage piled high on the dilapidated cart.
His movements were fluid and practiced.
Before long, enough space was cleared to easily accommodate five or six people.
"Alright, since the distance has shortened, I'll charge you just one million Shillings per person!"
"..."
"Surely you aren't planning to reject my offer this time too, are you?"
He grinned—
baring his yellow teeth as he began to haggle.
Beside me, Adelia could not hide her confusion.
And for good reason—this old man was the very first carriage driver we had encountered back in the dark city of Dawnguard.
"Let's see. If you give me two million Shillings including your companion... Huh? Hey! Where are you going?"
"..."
I saw Adelia scanning the old man with a bewildered expression.
Torn and dirty clothes, a wrinkled face, and an unkempt, bushy beard.
No matter how you looked at him, he did not inspire a shred of trust.
'But, Adelia.'
Think about it carefully.
While we were going through all that chaos, this old man managed to arrive here driving nothing but a single donkey.
And he did so without suffering a scratch, even when the Silk Road's barriers collapsed multiple times.
'Doesn't that mean that despite his shabby appearance, his skills are the real deal?'
Clink—.
At that moment, something glinted from inside the old man's rag-like clothes.
Adelia's gaze naturally drifted toward it.
"Huh...?"
A badge.
A symbol of honor granted only to merchants who had traversed the Silk Road more than a hundred times.
The exact same badge that the bald merchant guild leader wore on his chest was dangling there.
And there were seven of them, no less.
Seeing this, Adelia's jaw dropped. Her train of thought seemed to halt at the completely unexpected sight.
"Keep this in mind, Adelia."
Tap, tap—.
I lightly tapped Adelia on the shoulder.
Then, I imparted a lesson far more useful than any of the vague swordsmanship advice I had given her so far.
The maxim that was treated as an absolute rule among the players of Lost Elder.
"Those who survive to old age always have a reason for it."
You know how every game has that one gag character?
A so-called laughingstock.
That ridiculous old man was one of those NPCs.
'Commonly known as the Donkey Geezer.'
A mysterious character whose name appeared as "???" in the system of Lost Elder.
Countless people tried to dig into his background, but except for a tiny handful of players, his identity remained shrouded in mystery.
Even as a twelve-year veteran of the game, I had barely managed to uncover a few scraps of lore, which said it all.
The Donkey Old Man, shortened to "Donkey Geezer," always charged exorbitant prices for his carriage.
Prices that were four to five times, sometimes even more than ten times the market rate.
Completely unreasonable, yet players were occasionally forced to bite the bullet and use his cart anyway...
...The reason was that if you rode in the Donkey Geezer's cart, random events would never trigger.
Meaning you wouldn't have to deal with the monster ambushes that frequently occurred on the Silk Road.
Thus, players who absolutely had to cross the Silk Road safely had no choice but to seek him out.
'Though he's an NPC who suddenly vanishes in the mid-to-late game.'
Indeed.
The Donkey Geezer always disappeared right when his abilities were needed most.
Which was why players didn't just hate him, but viewed him with a sort of love-hate relationship.
'Anyway.'
I would have to talk to the Donkey Geezer in front of me eventually. No matter what, he was a highly important NPC.
But now was not the time. I couldn't have a deep conversation with him when there were so many listening ears around.
Well, that was fine. A proper time to speak with him in detail would present itself later.
So for today, I would be satisfied with confirming his existence in reality and getting acquainted with his face.
There was still plenty of time before he would disappear.
Above all, there were a couple of things I had to do before that.
"Well, I'll be."
It was while I was lost in thought.
The bald merchant guild leader sitting across from me suddenly gasped in admiration.
"That donkey is strong as an ox, despite how it looks."
The guild leader's eyes gleamed. He was clearly coveting the donkey.
And it made sense.
Unlike its foolish appearance, that donkey possessed unrealistically immense strength.
This was obvious just by looking at the scene unfolding behind us.
Drag, drag—.
Behind the old cart, sacks placed on a massive wooden plank were being dragged along.
These were the goods the guild leader had handpicked as the most important.
They were so heavy that the pile of cargo, tightly bound with iron ropes, left deep grooves in the desolate earth.
Yet, the donkey silently pulled the heavy load and forged ahead.
"To think it can drag even the corpse of the Heavenly Dragon Bird so easily..."
I shifted my gaze.
At the guild leader's words, I silently looked over.
The corpse of the Heavenly Dragon Bird, cleanly sliced in half, came into view.
Didn't the guild leader say earlier that he had only loaded the most important items?
Without a doubt, that massive corpse was the most valuable thing here, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say so.
'The corpse of the Heavenly Dragon Bird will fetch a fortune anywhere.'
At this point in time, the corpse of a Divine Beast had never once appeared on the market.
As a one-of-a-kind specimen, the corpse and byproducts of the Heavenly Dragon Bird would likely command whatever price the seller named at an auction.
Naturally, there would be no shortage of eager buyers.
'However...'
There was one serious problem that followed.
'...Explaining the reason for killing a Divine Beast won't be easy.'
Divine Beasts.
They were not mere lowly monsters.
As agents carrying out the will of the ancient god Elder, their very existence was considered sacred and special.
Since we had killed such a creature, we would have to present a justifiable reason.
Otherwise, we would have to deal with an immense backlash.
'All eyes will probably be on us the moment we enter the Free City of Vertas...'
Interrogations by high-ranking officials, and various rumors about us spreading among adventurers.
To quiet the commotion, we had no choice but to prove the corruption of the Heavenly Dragon Bird and our self-defense.
That process wouldn't be easy. But we had to manage it somehow. If persuasion failed, we could be executed on charges of blasphemy.
Even if we fled, once branded, we wouldn't be able to rest easy in any city other than the dark city of Dawnguard.
'...Well, Adelia will probably handle that worst-case scenario for us anyway.'
Fortunately, I had a cheat key that was highly useful in situations like this.
Adelia von Goldheart.
As a daughter of a Holy Family, if she explained things well to the higher-ups, she could steer the situation in a favorable direction.
The Holy City of Midtemple wouldn't dispatch an investigation team, and no one would press us further.
Of course, from Adelia's perspective, invoking her family's name wouldn't be pleasant, but given the circumstances, she would do whatever it took to resolve this.
'Besides, it's not like there are only one or two witnesses.'
It was the Heavenly Dragon Bird that had attacked us first.
Although no one had witnessed the actual battle, there were over seven survivors who could testify to the circumstances.
In particular, the bald merchant guild leader's testimony would be of great help.
Since he had received the Silk Road badges, he must be a merchant with considerable influence in the Free City of Vertas.
"..."
However, if there was one catch, it was that we would inevitably draw a massive amount of attention in the process...
'Well, whatever.'
I had no intention of hiding my power completely. Rather, showing a moderate amount of strength would help with my future plans.
'But that doesn't mean I should show off my power either.'
That would only attract pests and cause random incidents to occur more frequently.
The key was to find the right balance.
I had to maintain this delicate balance without drawing excessive attention.
That was a challenge I would have to continuously tackle from now on.
'...What a headache, seriously.'
In the end, there was only one way to break through all these complicated situations.
'I need to raise my stats as quickly as possible.'
Namely, getting stronger.
Acquiring overwhelming power was the fundamental solution to overcoming any problem.
It aligned perfectly with the very first goal I had set after falling into this world.
Fortunately, my path of growth was clearer now than ever before.
The rewards obtained from facing the Heavenly Dragon Bird were the starting point.
Passive Skill: Ultimate Auto-parrying has been acquired.
The sealed talent Sword Lv. Max has been unlocked.
The notification windows were still flashing before my eyes.
The newly acquired passive skill.
And the overwhelming swordsmanship talent worth 179,312,341 points that had finally been unlocked.
They were talents with truly limitless potential.
'I want to test those two out as soon as possible...'
It was while I was lost in these thoughts.
"Sir Gaon."
Rattle, clack—.
Snapped out of my reverie, I emerged from my deep thoughts.
The old cart was passing over a high hill.
Adelia, sitting beside me, continued speaking.
"We will arrive at our destination shortly."
Hearing her words, I slowly turned my head to the side.
A massive city wall revealed itself.
Beyond it, colorful roofs beautifully adorned the city.
In stark contrast to Dawnguard, a vibrant atmosphere could be felt even from afar.
'...The Free City of Vertas.'
The heart of Lost Elder had finally revealed itself.