Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: A Dangerous Contract
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“Hmm, then we'd better get moving. We need to create a gate we can use without anyone knowing. But even if we solve everything here, there's still one problem.”
“What is it?”
“Setting the coordinates. Like I said, the hallmark of a necromancer's gate is precisely setting the entry and exit points. We need someone on the other side to help.”
“Didn't you say a mage would be enough?”
“It has to be a pretty powerful mage.”
“Don't worry. I know someone. She's a bit aggressive, but trustworthy.”
“It's Ha-na, isn't it.”
“How did you know?”
“You said she's aggressive, didn't you?”
Wang-sik thought to himself.
“I'll have to watch my mouth from now on. I'll correct that to 'a bit impatient'.”
“Got it. I'll be careful too. By the way, are you officially joining our team?”
“That's the plan.”
“Wow! So we have two combat members now?”
When Wang-sik nodded, Oh Min-jae threw his hands up and cheered.
“You're that happy?”
“Of course! Aren't you happy?”
“To be honest, I feel more secure too. You're an excellent comrade. Also, the secret base is in progress.”
Wang-sik also told him about his meeting with the Guseong Group. But Oh Min-jae, unlike his usual self, shook his head.
“Stop fixating on the water. A secret base obviously belongs in the mountains.”
“I can't budge on this.”
“A door opens on the mountainside, and a fighter jet launches. Isn't that the standard?”
Oh Min-jae didn't back down.
“What if an herb gatherer is nearby?”
“And the sea doesn't have fishermen?”
“We can't take away the animals' habitat.”
“The sea has fish, you know.”
The two glared at each other for a moment.
No matter how much they liked each other, some things were non-negotiable.
Knock. Knock.
Fortunately, a sound broke their tense standoff.
“Shall I prepare a meal?”
It was Aisi. Thanks to her, the atmosphere calmed, and Oh Min-jae sighed.
“It's your money, so I should respect your decision. But really, think about it. Underwater is just too inefficient. Even if I prepare to open the gate right now, where would you even put the exit?”
“Hmm. An underwater base would take a lot of time. And I haven't saved up enough money yet.”
Only then did they start to have a realistic conversation.
They talked for a long time but couldn't reach a clear conclusion.
“For now, I'll start preparing the gate right away. It'll take some time to maintain secrecy on this side, too. The schematics I have aren't exactly ordinary.”
Two-way gates were considered top-tier gate technology even on the Azelan Continent. Moreover, the necromancer's design was a more advanced version and the result of personal research, which was sure to attract pests.
“So should we build a temporary base then?”
“That's for you to figure out.”
“I don't mind building a temporary base in the mountains.”
“Tch. You expect me to be satisfied with just that?”
“Consider it my generosity. Be grateful.”
Wang-sik patted Oh Min-jae's shoulder and stood up.
“Leaving already? Stay the night.”
“I'll be back. I'm stopping by the black market and the Thieves' Guild, so let's talk details when I get back.”
“You have to come back.”
“I will.”
After saying goodbye to Oh Min-jae, Wang-sik traveled to the gate city of Bellaton.
As always, he ignored Bella's advances and descended into the basement, where he sat across from Jackal.
“Let's see if you've earned your pay.”
Wang-sik placed two gold bars on the table.
They were twice the size of the ones Oh Min-jae used, each worth two hundred gold coins.
Jackal didn't touch the gold bars, instead handing over a sheet of parchment.
On it was a list of five names.
The result of a thorough, venom-fueled search.
“We couldn't find the bodies of three of them.”
“Are they all dead?”
Jackal nodded.
A crack appeared in Wang-sik's composed expression.
After a moment of silent, grief-stricken contemplation, Wang-sik collected himself and asked.
“Is there any news about survivors?”
“There's a rumor we're still verifying, as it's not certain yet. I should be able to give you a definitive answer next time we meet.”
“What kind of rumor?”
“We're still confirming—”
“That's not what our contract says.”
The contract stipulated that he be told of any rumor, regardless of its certainty. He would listen first, then decide whether to wait or take action himself.
This time, however, Jackal shook his head.
“The place is too dangerous; we need to confirm it. We can't afford to lose a client over bad information.”
This was the first time Jackal had spoken like this. He had some idea of Wang-sik's capabilities.
What place could be dangerous even with that in mind?
“Tell me.”
Having just confirmed the deaths of five friends, Wang-sik's voice was low and heavy.
“Hoo... it's in the contract, so I have to tell you. But I urge you to reconsider. If you wait just three months, we can confirm it safely for you.”
This was a clear gesture of consideration from Jackal. For him, with whom Wang-sik wasn't on the best of terms, to say this much meant it was truly dangerous.
“Don't waste my time. I'm not in the mood.”
Jackal shrugged as if he had no choice and began to speak.
“You've heard of the Dark Moon, I assume?”
It was a name Wang-sik hadn't expected at all.
“The assassin's guild?”
It was one of the famous assassin guilds. Wang-sik had only barely heard the name, and as if sensing this, Jackal gave a brief explanation.
“They're ranked right after Blood Fox and Shadow Angel. But recently, they seem to have succeeded in every major assassination contract. One of their targets was even an honorary knight of the Empire. Thanks to that, there are rumors that the Dark Moon has surpassed Shadow Angel.”
Assassinating an honorary knight was certainly an astonishing feat.
It was a title bestowed upon knights who retired with the emperor's favor. Such individuals typically possessed not only immense wealth and honor but also exceptional skill.
“But it turns out one person was responsible for completing all those difficult contracts.”
“Don't tell me that assassin is an outsider?”
“It's just a rumor for now.”
A recently active assassin is an outsider?
Wang-sik was lost in thought.
“To have confirmed this much, it sounds like you're fairly certain.”
“A fifty-fifty chance. One thing is certain: ten years ago, an outsider entered the Dark Moon as a trainee. There were two of them, with a younger sibling. Our investigation into whether they were alive or dead led us this far.”
“Two of them?”
“A girl and a boy. I heard it directly from the one who handed the children over to the Dark Moon, so there's no mistake.”
“And what makes you think that's the assassin who's just appeared?”
“There was apparently a fight during the assassination of the honorary knight. As he was escaping after killing the knight, someone saw a symbol through his torn clothes.”
Jackal took out a piece of paper from his coat. On it was a drawing of the symbol he was investigating.
“I thought it might be the language of the outsiders.”
Wang-sik's expression didn't change. But he clearly recognized the symbol.
Though obscured by a complex outer design, the inner symbol was familiar.
'Seon-yeo...'
The consonants and vowels were separate, but when connected, they formed those letters.
But as Wang-sik looked at the symbol again, a single name came to mind.
'Seon-yeong!'
Sa Seon-yeong.
She was a small, frail child. The kind who would always watch from the sidelines as the other orphanage kids played.
'In that case...'
She was a weak child, but she was always smiling. She could do that because her older brother was always by her side, protecting her.
Sa Seon-gi.
He was a boy who made his sister smile, but never smiled himself.
A quiet boy who protected his sister with an almost obsessive devotion.
When he finished processing his thoughts, Jackal was watching him with a strange expression.
“You look like you're sure of something.”
Instead of answering, Wang-sik placed another gold bar on the table.
“It was good information. No need to investigate further.”
“You're not thinking of rescuing him, are you?”
“I don't see any reason for you to be involved in that.”
“Of course not. I just hope I'll still be able to see you in three months. As you know, you're a rather valuable client.”
Jackal held up one of the gold bars.
“I'll see you in three months.”
“I'll be waiting.”
As Wang-sik stood up, a man entered the stone chamber. He was there to guide him to the warehouse where the bodies were kept.
Wang-sik followed him out of the chamber and buried the remains he was given in the communal cemetery on the deserted island. Since he had only received bones that had already been buried once, the contents of the coffin were meager.
“Still, you should be buried in your homeland.”
With this, he had discovered the fates of 209 people.
After holding a short, solitary funeral, Wang-sik returned to the Azelan Continent to find the survivor.
It was a journey to meet the 210th person.
Oh Min-jae saw Wang-sik off with a worried expression.
—What are you going to do?
—I have a plan.
That was all Wang-sik said.
Not explaining the details meant it was a dangerous plan.
“Be careful.”
That was all he could say.
Leaving Oh Min-jae's worries behind, Wang-sik arrived at a tavern on the outskirts of Majit.
The tavern, named the Wind's Harp, was a shabby place with six worn-out tables. Despite the early hour, a customer was seated at one of them.
“Welcome. What can I get for you?”
Wang-sik took a seat in front of the bartender, a man in his late thirties, and pushed a gold coin forward.
“I'd like to see the branch manager.”
The bartender studied Wang-sik's face, then nodded toward the customer at the table.
A man a full head taller than him approached from behind, but Wang-sik didn't even glance his way.
Instead, he placed a gleaming black coin on the counter. The bartender's expression changed instantly.
“Hey, you should have shown me this first.”
“I just gave you what you'd like more first.”
“Fair enough.”
Seeing the bartender's reaction, the big man simply backed away, and a mug of beer was placed in front of Wang-sik.
“Have a drink. It's our branch's specialty brew. Not like the token stuff other branches serve.”
“It's an unwritten rule not to eat food given by the Thieves' Guild.”
The reason Wang-sik had sought this place out was because it was the Thieves' Guild, which dealt in information.
After retrieving the black coin—the proof he was a client of the Thieves' Guild—the bartender shrugged and went up an internal staircase to the second floor.
“Come on up.”
Wang-sik went up to the second floor and came face to face with a gaunt man in his late forties.
“I need a new identity. A drifter with no friends.”
The Thieves' Guild in Majit was the largest branch, aside from its undisclosed headquarters.
There were more than five executives who could hold private meetings like this.
Accustomed to this kind of work, they didn't ask for any reasons.
“Is that all?”
The executive who had accepted the request as if it were nothing asked. The reason for his question was simple: Wang-sik hadn't paid yet.
In cases like this, it meant there were more requests to come.
“I want to place a contract with the Dark Moon.”
The executive's eyebrow twitched.
“Will you be making the request yourself?”
This implied that the Thieves' Guild could make the request on his behalf.
“It doesn't matter who does it.”
It was just a matter of paying the commission.
“Having us do it will be better for concealing your identity.”
“Then do that.”
Wang-sik nodded and placed a gold bar on the table. Next to it, he placed a pouch full of gold coins.
A single gold bar and a pouch containing fifty gold coins.
It was more than enough for both requests.
“I'll tell you the target on the day I receive the identification. I'll pay the Dark Moon's fee then as well.”
“We'll have the identity ready within a month.”
“Ten days. Make it a recently retired mercenary. It's not an identity I'll be using for long.”
The executive was silent for a moment before nodding.
“Understood.”
It was possible because Wang-sik's payment was sufficient.
“You can pick up the identification in ten days at our branch in the eastern port city of Allat. As of now, that's the fastest way to forge an identity within your timeframe.”
“I'll do that.”
“It would be good for maintaining your cover if you go there in advance and show your face around.”
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Wang-sik stood up from his seat.
He arrived in Allat, a port city on the eastern coast of the Azelan Continent.
It was the continent's premier fishing city and held exclusive trade rights with the Seven Islands, a confederation of island nations in the eastern sea.
Once the second-largest city on the continent, it was one of the last places to resist the current emperor during the unification of the empire. As a result, major trade is now permitted only to nobles close to the imperial family.
The lord of the city was also one of the emperor's men, leading to the collapse of the market economy and making it the most corrupt city in the empire.
In the end, despite its prime natural environment, its economy had fallen to the point where it barely scraped into the top ten of the empire.
Allat was a long city stretching along the coast, with fishing in the north and trade in the south. Wang-sik had arrived at the southern trade port.
“The sea is the same everywhere.”
As he walked along the port, listening to the sound of the waves, he soon saw countless laborers carrying crates from docked trading vessels.
Their skin was red and raw under the scorching sun, but despite the sweat, not a single one complained.
They were afraid of the whips wielded by the overseers.
State-owned slaves.
They had once held various statuses, but now they were state-owned slaves, fated to work until they died.
Leaving behind the people treated like livestock, their eyes devoid of hope, he looked for a tavern.
It was to make his face known, just as the Thieves' Guild had advised.
Ten days later.
Wang-sik left the inn where he was staying and went to a shabby pawnshop located behind the port.
Inside the dusty pawnshop, he presented a coin, and an iron door reminiscent of a prison cell swung open.
“Please, come in.”
It wasn't as large as the branch in Majit, but their attitude toward Wang-sik was far more courteous.
“This is the identification of a man named Relic. He was twenty-eight and worked as a guard for the Sunrising Trading Company. Six months ago, his transport caravan was attacked by bandits, and half the guards were killed. He was shaken by the incident and quit his job, but he was killed by a monster on his way back. He had always said he wanted to save up money and retire here in Allat.”
It was an identity with a solid backstory.
“Only our guild knows of his death, so you don't have to worry about being exposed.”
This was one of the methods the Thieves' Guild used to forge identities.
They would identify someone who had died on the road and simply not report it.
It wasn't as foolproof as the black market, but it was more than sufficient for temporary use.
“Now then, will you tell us the name of the target for the Dark Moon contract?”
Instead of answering, Wang-sik pointed to the identification he had just received.
The executive thought for a long moment before understanding the meaning and asking again.
“Are you saying you want to put a hit on yourself?”
Wang-sik nodded.