Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Onbiroad's Easter Egg
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- Hello?
“Paeng?”
- Yeah.
“You stirred up a real mess, huh?”
- So what?
“No, I’m saying good job. If we don’t pay back the ones who screwed us over, we’ll just look like idiots.”
- Right? I was worried you might chew me out, Geon-woo.
“Worried?”
- Yeah. I’ve got a favor to ask, and I can’t afford to get on your bad side.
“You’re asking me for a favor?”
- Part of it’s paying back what I owe, and part’s the favor.
“What’s this about?”
- Let’s meet first. Talk in person.
“Sure? Then where?”
- Zaiken.
“Zaiken? That’s Onbiroad?”
- Right. Onbiroad’s western desert city.
“That’s a long way from Veloca. East and west.”
- I’ve got business in Zaiken, so let’s meet there. You won’t be disappointed.
“Well, nothing urgent in Veloca right now, so heading over’s no issue.”
- Big score lined up. Just come.
“Got it. See you in Zaiken in three days?”
- There’s a cafe called Head Drop in Zaiken’s central square. Meet there.
“Head Drop? Like dropping heads?”
- It’s a mercenary hangout, so the name’s rough, but it’s decently run.
“Alright. There in three days, noon.”
- Okay!
Click!
The secret comms line had connected to Paeng, as expected.
But suggesting they meet in far-off Zaiken instead of Veloca?
“What’s this about?”
= Heading straight to Onbiroad again, huh?
“Paeng, this guy. Causes a huge incident and dives right back into Onbiroad? What the hell’s going on?”
= Didn’t he say it’s a big score that settles the debt and the favor?
“Yeah. No point yapping here. Gotta long-range teleport from Veloca to Zaiken first. Won’t be cheap.”
= But with the jiangshi all stored in the dimensional space, you can travel solo, my lord.
“True enough.”
Without the dimensional space, the entire Dark Phoenix mercenary group would’ve needed teleport arrays.
Hiding identities would’ve been tough, and costs ten times higher.
“Alright, let’s head to Veloca. If we hustle, we might even squeeze in a face-to-face with Lord Kolon.”
Geon-woo hopped straight to Onbiroad, spending the next three days meeting Lord Kolon, prepping for travel, and making the most of his time.
* * *
Murmur murmur. Whoosh!
“Whew, it’s scorching.”
= Is it, my lord?
“Desert climate’s nothing like Veloca’s.”
“Welcome to Zaiken. Need directions?”
As Geon-woo chatted with Ilryeong and stepped out of the magic circle, a soldier with a turban approached.
“Ah, thanks. Got a meetup in the central square—mind pointing the way?”
Geon-woo flashed a smile at the soldier.
The soldier pointed one way.
“That direction. Not far—you’ll be there quick.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“No trouble. We always respect outworld warrior volunteers who serve Onbiroad. Happy to help, even a little.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Geon-woo pulled away with an awkward look at the soldier praising users.
Such flattery made him uneasy.
= There, that’s it. Head Drop.
Amid buildings of red clay bricks, a short walk down the wide avenue brought them to Zaiken’s central square.
Ilryeong spotted the Head Drop cafe first.
“Damn, it jumps right out. Solid concept.”
Geon-woo smirked at the cafe’s sign.
The sign dangled with bug and beast creature heads.
Flanking the entrance, demon necks perched atop man-high clay pillars.
Creak!
Pushing through the swing doors like in an old Western flicked open to a spacious interior welcoming Geon-woo.
But the packed hall sat mostly empty.
“This a cafe or a bar?”
Geon-woo scanned the hall, muttering as he headed to one side.
In a dim corner facing the entrance sat Paeng, hood pulled low.
Mercenaries could ID folks by build alone, no face needed.
“You’re on time.”
“Yeah, when’d you get here?”
Geon-woo slid into the seat across from Paeng.
“Yesterday.”
“Yeah?”
“Had some checking to do.”
“How’d it go?”
“Yeah. Oh, order something. Master’s glaring over here.”
Geon-woo glanced at the bar on Paeng’s cue.
A bald giant over two meters tall stared at their table.
“What’s good here?”
Geon-woo called to the bald bartender.
“No booze till sundown. Just meals and tea for now.”
The bald bartender replied to Geon-woo’s question.
“Ah, right—desert rules.”
Geon-woo nodded at the sundown booze rule.
“Been a while since the desert; forgot. Zaiken’s strict on laws.”
Desert religious and cultural customs held that daytime drinking debased the body.
Some desert areas banned it outright while the sun shone, and Zaiken was one.
“Eaten lunch?”
Geon-woo turned to Paeng.
“Ate, but room for more.”
“Cool. Hey! Lunch for two. Add a steak.”
“Got it. Two meals, one steak extra. Right?”
“Yeah.”
Order confirmed, a kid in his early teens appeared with cups and a long-spouted teapot, poured Geon-woo’s tea, and left.
“Why’d you spare Arthur and Alphonse?”
Once the boy left, Geon-woo eyed Paeng.
“Spare them?”
“Wasn’t that it? With your skills, you could’ve taken their heads.”
“Hmm. Would’ve taken more time.”
“Yeah? So you grabbed just the Ark Capsule for time reasons?”
“Yeah.”
“I see. That lack of time related to dragging me here?”
“Exactly!”
Paeng nodded at Geon-woo’s question.
“That it?”
“Yeah. Honestly, beyond Arthur and Alphonse, there’s more scum to deal with.”
“Right. Five of ’em teamed up, you said.”
“But rushing to Onbiroad after just those two? There’s a reason.”
“Hmm. Spill.”
“When you unlocked that shrine, the 50,000-soul perk came out, right?”
“You’re sure it was me?”
“Wasn’t it?”
“Nah, it was.”
“Knew it. Anyway, problem is Cheon Su-wan and Tucker’s crew suddenly look like chumps.”
“Fair point. Even if not public, plenty fused 50,000 souls.”
“Even if it’s just you, they’re still screwed.”
“Whatever. So?”
Everyone knew the 1st Expedition Team got soaked.
But Geon-woo figured Paeng had more.
“I poked around for revenge on what they did to me, and found out these five were up to something in Onbiroad.”
“Not on Earth, but Onbiroad?”
“Yeah.”
“So you called me to mess with that?”
“Mess? If just that, I wouldn’t call it settling the debt.”
“Ah, so there’s big gains too? Sabotage them, snag what they’re after?”
“Exactly. Sharp as ever—love it.”
“So, what exactly?”
“You in?”
“Big score from your mouth? Hell yeah.”
Paeng was top-tier worldwide.
If he called it big, passing it up would be weird.
Plus, Geon-woo brimmed with confidence in his powers.
Indestructible Divine Body, mighty telekinesis, eleven jiangshi including Ilryeong.
Who could block him?
“Know what an Easter egg is?”
Paeng tossed out the random question.
“Those fun bits creators hide in games, movies, novels, right?”
“Quoting the dictionary?”
“Try seven years cut off from Onbiroad, swimming info oceans. You turn trivia nut in spots.”
“Trivia nut?”
“Near-expert.”
“Yeah. So you know games decently? Perfect—my talk’s Onbiroad Easter eggs.”
“Onbiroad ain’t a game—Easter eggs?”
“There’s beings here like game devs or creators.”
“System?”
“Right. Balancers for dimensional equilibrium.”
“So the System hid Easter eggs in Onbiroad?”
“Users coined ‘Easter egg’ for ’em. Only insiders use it.”
“I see. Easter egg...”
Geon-woo’s mind flashed to the underground giant he’d met.
“What? Something?”
“Not sure if Easter egg, but I’ve seen spots and stuff outside System reach.”
“Whoa, Geon-woo—you’ve hit an Easter egg already?”
“Lots of ’em?”
“Not tons. Varies by case.”
“Varies?”
“Value differs. Some huge payoff, others just fun.”
“Yeah?”
“Worst: bust your ass and get zilch.”
“That happens?”
“You know Onbiroad has native monsters and magic beasts beyond demon bugs and beasts?”
“Yeah—Onbiroad’s basically fantasy world.”
“Right. Easter eggs got zero demon ties. Natives or magic beasts as guardians sometimes. Even raid-level.”
“But you smash through and still empty-handed?”
“Yeah.”
“That sucks. No souls? Useless for users...”
“Right. But seems natives get user-locked rewards sometimes.”
“Got it. Anyway, Cheon Su-wan and the other two are tackling one now.”
Arthur and Alphonse out, left Cheon Su-wan, Ivan, Tucker.
Paeng ditching Earth for Onbiroad meant they were close.
“Arthur and Alphonse met in the UK for that too. Prepping the raid.”
“But you trashed their capsules? Doesn’t that delay ’em? Whatever they were prepping...”
“But intel already reached Cheon Su-wan’s side. Even after Arthur and Alphonse got hit, Onbiroad op went on.”
“They figured they’d need the others to return to Onbiroad.”
“Yeah, that.”
“Ah, food’s here. Eat first, then roll out.”
Geon-woo said as servers brought plates.
“Roll out?”
Paeng blinked at ‘roll out,’ eyes screaming ‘This fast?’
“Situation grasped—time to head to the site.”
“Whoa, straight there?”
“Decided? No hesitation. Already max beef with Cheon Su-wan’s crew. Plus, I wanna send ’em a warning.”
“Hahaha. Still got debts to settle—perfect.”
Paeng burst into a hearty laugh at Geon-woo’s words.
Soon, Zaiken-specialty sauced steaks arrived, and the pair focused on the feast they wouldn’t see for a while.