Whispers from the Second Relic
Around the time Carpe succeeded in his solo raid.
In the guild house office of Mammonism, guild master Mammon was receiving a report.
"So, you haven't even caught a whiff of him yet?"
"That's correct."
"Man, oh man. Gwak Museong, the great one himself, must be slipping. Too far from fieldwork, huh?"
"...I have no excuses."
Mammon's secretary, Gwak Museong, simply bowed his head.
It was an unfair order—like finding a needle in a desert—but what could he do? The man before him was his employer, the one who paid his salary, and there was a family at home who only had eyes for him.
"Well, fine. It wasn't something you'd wrap up in a day or two anyway."
The silver lining was that Mammon wasn't the type to throw a tantrum over a needle in a haystack.
If the reason was sound, he was the kind of guy who could laugh off a subordinate's failure.
"We still don't have enough leads."
"Leads? Doesn't that Cheonma whatever guy run a channel? Can't we just dig into that?"
"That alone won't cut it."
It was a brand-new channel, only a few days old, with just three videos uploaded.
And they were short clips to boot, leaving barely any info to mine.
Even after looping through them endlessly, all they'd gleaned was: male, magic swordsman using sword and lightning magic, and possibly owning a magic squirrel pet.
Actually, the squirrel might belong to that female knight user, so even that wasn't certain.
"Male magic swordsman, huh. A search in Ruana would turn up truckloads."
"Yes. And unlike beginner cities, Ruana draws players from all over the world..."
"Got it, got it. I'll stop nagging. Handle it your way, Team Leader Gwak."
"Thank you. I'll deliver results. I'll track him down and exact bloody vengeance..."
"Huh? Vengeance? Why the hell would we do that?"
"...Wasn't that the plan? Find him and make him pay?"
"Ha, come on. You don't know me after all this time? How long have you been my dedicated secretary, Team Leader Gwak?"
"A little under a year."
Gwak Museong had been in HR until a year ago, when Mammon personally picked him as secretary.
Because he was a high-level RaSe vet.
"A year should be enough to get the picture. Listen, Team Leader Gwak. Does revenge make money?"
"...Usually not."
Not just usually—it cost money and time to pull off revenge in the first place.
"But making an example..."
"Example, my ass. What is this, a mobster flick? Companies live on image. We're already catching flak for coin fiddling—imagine the backlash if we kick up a fuss over offing one punk."
They'd get triple the hate for thrashing around when they should be lying low.
It could even slam the brakes on their skyrocketing stock.
"Say we spend cash and time on revenge. What's left? Sure, it'd feel good for a bit. But me? I'm fine wallowing in the dirt if the money's rolling in."
The kind who could shake hands and smile with his worst enemy if the dollars flowed.
That was Mammon.
"Find him and scout him. Not just OnePieceCrew, but that sword emperor... wait, Hanjo now? Whatever. The guy's chewing through everyone—we have to recruit him."
"Understood, Chairman."
"Tch. In-game, it's Guild Master. Oh, speaking of scouting—how's Max Sung growing?"
"Yes. He job-advanced yesterday."
"Oh yeah? Into what?"
"A hidden monk class called 'Blood Priest,' apparently."
"Monk, huh. Rare class in our guild. Perfect."
"Suits his high sync rate nicely."
Sync rate measured how well your real body controlled your in-game avatar.
In VR games, there was always a tiny delay between body and avatar—the lower the delay, the higher the sync.
Consensus was you needed at least 90 to train as a pro gamer.
"What was Max Sung's sync again? Over 100, right?"
'He knows damn well...'
Gwak Museong sighed inwardly.
His boss had this quirk: confirming known info from subordinates' mouths.
Especially if it stroked his ego.
"107 when he played as ApolloWorshipper. Two points above Cheongeom's record."
"Ah yeah, 107! Love that number."
Max Sung was Mammonism's top prospect, barely legal this year.
Recruited three months back, but personal stuff and "body conditioning" delayed his RaSe start until yesterday.
With his insane sync and a 8-star Patron Spirit draw, he was the guild's golden boy.
"See? Good deeds pay off. Heaven drops luck bombs on the righteous."
"...Yes. All thanks to your virtue, Guild Master."
"Right, right. Keep a close eye on Max Sung, Team Leader Gwak. Give him whatever he wants."
"Ah, he's already asking for a weapon."
"Weapon? Buy it for him. What's the issue? No stock?"
"It's unique—only one on the market. It's up at auction, but the bidding's gotten steep..."
"How much?"
"Top bid's 10,000 gold."
At 1 gold = 1 dollar in the current RaSe market, that was about 12 million won.
Chump change for the wealthy, but Mammon couldn't stomach wasting even 1,000 won, let alone 10 million.
'He's gonna flip.'
Gwak Museong smiled bitterly. His boss wouldn't drop coin on lowbie gear you'd trash later.
But.
"Buy it."
"Pardon?"
"Buy it. From now on, grant Max Sung's requests as much as possible. No need to report—handle it yourself."
"Pardon?"
Stunned by the unexpected, he stared at the guild master, but Mammon shot back a 'what's with the questions?' look.
"...I'll proceed."
"Oh! You said top bid was 10k gold, right?"
"Yes."
"Bid 30k. If you're showing off, do it right."
Mammon hated wasting money like poison, but he wasn't stingy on investments.
Yeah, investment. This was an investment.
'Our guild values you this much.'
A few million won to build trust with a top prospect? Pure profit.
Money was king, but people made the money.
"Never skimp on talent."
It always paid back in spades.
Mammon grinned, utterly convinced.
"Thank you! You've eased my worries!"
You have completed the Security Officer's request.
Reward: 5 gold and experience gained.
"Yes! Leveled up!"
-Good work. Finally hit 25.
Right after the solo raid, Carpe's level was 23.
Farming the remaining mushrooms and hunting a bit more got him to 24. Back in town, clearing two sub-quests nailed exactly 25.
"Finally, the second relic scenario kicks off."
-Don't forget to upgrade your Room, too.
"Obviously. First things first... Huh?"
As Carpe moved to advance his class scenario, a window popped up.
Your auctioned item has sold. Collect payment at the nearest auction house.
"Oh right. Totally forgot."
-You've been nonstop. It's right nearby—grab it quick.
With that, Carpe headed straight to the auction house.
Your account is rated 'Black.' No fees apply.
"...Huh?"
The numbers were on another level, throwing him for a loop.
"...30k? 1 gold's a dollar, dollar's a bit over 1,000 won... Holy crap?!"
-Tsk tsk. Looks like some chaebol kid went wild with the cash. So many flexers out there.
There were always those types.
Guys who needed top gear even in lowbie zones to feel good.
They knew it'd be obsolete later but grabbed rares on impulse.
Middle Eastern oil barons did it most—bet that 30k gold was one of 'em.
-Generous estimate's 10k tops... Must've been a bidding war between rich kids.
"Whoa... Whoa...!"
Selling one item for millions? Straight out of a novel, and now it was real—words failed him.
-I get it's a fortune to you, but chill. You'll add a zero later—what then?
"...Items hit hundreds of millions? For real?"
-For real. Old games had that Execution Sword or whatever going for that. Korean-only games did it—with RaSe's 500 million global players? Tens of billions per item ain't impossible.
"Still doesn't click."
-You're lowbie. It'll sink in. Give it a year: 30k gold? Pocket lint! You'd scoff.
As Carpe and Cheonma painted a rosy future, Tina spoke from under his robe.
"My liege."
"Yeah?"
"Out of the blue, but a memory surfaced."
Totally random. No warning, just "memory."
"A memory about the second relic."
"Oh."
Obviously, Carpe had asked Tina about the other relics since day one.
If the Magic King's relics were the seven dolls, she'd know best as one of them.
But sealing aftereffects made her memories of the others hazy...
-Hm. Probably unlocks at certain levels.
"So hitting 25 triggered the quest like this."
Tina's next words hit hard.
"The second doll is Illusion's Mirage. A doppelganger."
-...Doppelganger?
"The shape-shifting monster? That one?"
"Yes. Precisely, a homunculus with doppelganger traits. The Magic King's second creation."
"Hm. Juicy lore. So where's this second doll?"
"If my memory holds, Mirage is in the Forgotten Forest."
-Forgotten Forest? Never heard of it in RaSe.
Even top rotten water like Cheonma tilted his head, but Tina nodded like it was obvious.
"No surprise. The forest's residents distrust humans intensely—they've veiled the whole area with perception barriers."
That was the moment.
Magic King's Second Relic (1)
📍 Classification: Class Scenario Quest
📍 Restrictions: Inheritor of the Magic King's Will
The Magic King's second relic slumbers in a forgotten ancient forest. But its residents are deeply hostile to humans. To retrieve the relic, first earn their recognition.
🎁 Clear: Links to next quest, unlocks new area 'Forgotten Forest'
🎁 Fail: Relic acquisition fails, 'Elf' affinity locked at worst
"...Huh?"
-Elves? Why elves there?
Carpe was stepping into uncharted territory once more.