Episode 136
Choi Hyun-seok was waving his flag in the empty air.
It’s not like I suddenly became senile.
I was looking for something in the warrior shop.
“Oh! There it was!”
Choi Hyun-seok smiles brightly, having finally found what he wanted.
He looked back at Niccolò.
“Did you upgrade your warrior shop to intermediate level?” “Yes. My companions are all intermediate level, and I even opened a high-level shop.”
Choi Hyun-seok looked surprised at the mention of a high-end store.
‘You’ve already opened a high-end store?’
Choi Hyun-seok is still staying in the mid-level store.
It costs 2,000 points to open a luxury shop, so you won’t be short on points.
However, the reason for putting it off is to prepare for a situation where you may need the points at any time.
And it was saved for future inventory purchases.
‘Because the starting price of the inventory is 5,000 points.’
The smallest size inventory sold in high-end shops is said to cost a whopping 5,000 points.
Including the upgrade cost, a total of 7,000 points are required.
‘Anyway, it looks like he’s collected quite a few points.’
According to Nicolò, you’ve completed a whopping 50 warrior quests, so you’ve probably collected quite a few points.
“You opened the luxury shop too early.” “I overdid it because the advanced warrior swordsmanship is sold in the luxury shop.”
“ah…”
Choi Hyun-seok nodded his head sheepishly.
That kind of trash is sold at a high-end store.
I began to doubt the usefulness of the warrior shop.
‘Oh, isn’t that guy the trash and not the dumping?’
Come to think of it, speculation may not be the problem.
No matter how good the speculation is, if the users are trash, it is bound to become trash.
‘Anyway, I’m past intermediate level, so it shouldn’t matter.’
The items you need now are sold at the intermediate store.
So there was no reason not to sell it in high-end stores.
This is because the intermediate store also contained all the items sold in the beginner store.
“Okay, back to the main point.”
Choi Hyun-seok looked at Nicolo.
“There should be an item called the Warrior’s Oath in the shop. Look for it.”
The Warrior’s Oath.
As the name suggests, it was an item created to promise something.
‘I know because I’ve been hit by Rotak before.’
2nd Corps Commander Rotak, who was killed by Hemis.
He tried to use the ‘Devil’s Oath’ to make Choi Hyun-seok into a test subject.
Fortunately, thanks to Hemis’ help, it was actually used as a tool to tie up Rotak.
Anyway, the important thing is that there is an item for the contract, like the ‘Devil’s Oath’.
Choi Hyun-seok thought that the warrior shop would sell those kinds of items, and he was right.
“Found it.”
After a while.
Nicolo found the Warrior’s Oath in the shop.
“Buy that.”
“yes?”
“Sara.”
“This is 500 points…”
At that moment, Choi Hyun-seok’s face distorted into a fierce expression.
“Sara.”
Nicolo opened the status window with a sad face.
His expression darkened even more as he checked how many warrior points he had left.
‘I only have 600 points now…’
Even without that, I was running out of warrior points from upgrading the store and purchasing items.
If you buy the item that Choi Hyun-seok mentioned here, you will only have 100 points left.
“You haven’t bought it yet?”
Choi Hyun-seok raised his palm.
“Yes, I bought it!”
Nicolò reflexively cringed and bought the Warrior’s Oath.
Only then does Choi Hyun-seok smile happily.
He stuck his head out and looked behind him.
“The lady over there needs to buy it too?”
The only woman in the warrior party, Ellis, was pointed out.
She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth cautiously.
“Why did I do that…”
“You attacked me too.”
It wasn’t just Nicolo who attacked Choi Hyun-seok.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
Ellis also attacked him with magic.
Of course, I intend to hold her responsible as well.
“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to buy it.”
“Me, really…?”
In an instant, Ellis’ expression brightens.
However, Choi Hyun-seok’s words that followed changed things again.
“If you don’t want to be scammed, you should die.”
“huh…?”
“You put my life in danger. Shouldn’t I be compensated for that? Right?”
“…”
“So I guess I’ll have to kill you to get some experience points.”
Ellis’s eyes went dark.
When on earth did that guy ever feel his life was in danger?
Rather, the threat to his life was felt by himself and his colleagues.
And on top of that, you get experience points by killing fellow warriors.
I felt uncomfortable because he spoke so calmly about an idea that would make even Satan cry.
‘And you’re still a warrior!’
Ellis’s throat was filled with curses.
It felt like it would burst if she was hit, but she desperately swallowed it again.
The one holding the knife handle is that side.
There was no justification for attacking her, as she was the one who had intended to kill him first.
“Okay, let’s hurry up and move on without wasting time. Those people in the back, please buy one too. Quickly. Oh! Except for Sangmin over there.” “Excuse me, why are we buying it!?”
Yakubu and Irfan, who had suddenly become targets, shouted.
“The sin of turning a blind eye to a colleague’s mistakes.”
“…”
“If you don’t like it, there’s also an option to gain experience.”
They say the law is far, but your fist is close.
Unfortunately, this world is a little different.
To be exact, it could be said to be more extreme.
The law is long gone, and the only thing closer is not your fist, but death.
“Okay. Okay!”
Finally, four copies of the warrior’s oath were placed in front of Choi Hyeon-seok.
“From now on, we will begin a legitimate slave contract based on the warrior’s oath!”
***
The warriors who had completed their contract returned to their rooms, grieving.
Only Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson are left at the table.
Abelson took an elegant sip of his beer and looked at Choi Hyun-seok.
“What are you thinking?”
Abelson, who was asking the question, had his usual expressionless face.
It seemed like he wasn’t specifically asking to urge Choi Hyun-seok to act, but was asking purely out of curiosity about his intentions.
“I just find it annoying.”
“…”
“Humble and humble demon tribe
“And mobilizing them for the search. Wouldn’t that be good?”
Choi Hyun-seok didn’t act for any particularly grand reason.
I just wanted to let the senior warriors who don’t know anything about the world know how dangerous this world is.
I get help finding the demon tribe and run some errands for them.
I thought it would be useful in many ways.
“Anyway, I’m starting to get annoyed.”
Suddenly, Choi Hyun-seok frowned.
“What’s going on?”
“Wasn’t that woman our only clue? And now her head’s gone. Tsk.”
I was talking about Hera, who was attacked by Niccolò earlier.
Abelson nodded in agreement.
“Necromancy is extremely dangerous. If my guess is correct, this woman named Hera is just the beginning.” “Does that make any sense?” “I’ve heard that one of the most important factors in necromancy is the density of magical energy in the air.”
“then…”
Choi Hyun-seok’s expression became serious.
This town currently has an unusually high density of magic.
It would not be a coincidence that demons and undead appeared in such a village.
“That demon
“It’s starting to become clear what he’s after.” “Yes. He’s clearly preparing a large-scale necromancy. The reason he’s been killing the villagers so far is probably to check the progress of the necromancy.”
One by one, the puzzle pieces began to fall into place.
A murder case that lasted six months.
Increasing magic density.
Demons and undead who hide their identities.
Everything was connected.
“This is dangerous. Is that necromancy possible against living people? Like turning a healthy person into an undead?” “As far as I know, it’s impossible.” “Then what is it after? Killing all the villagers and turning them into undead?” “The most likely outcome is to resurrect the dead people of this land.”
“ah…”
“A human corpse can be skeletonized in a matter of weeks at the shortest, or years at the longest. However, necromancy can turn even skeletal remains into undead if they are intact.”
“…”
“Even if hundreds of years have passed and not even bones remain… if the vengeful spirit remains, we can create an evil spirit.” “So there is sufficient undead material.” “Yes. If they prepared this thoroughly, it is highly likely that they selected the location after sufficient investigation.” “Is there any way to block it with divine power?”
Abelson shook his head.
“I can burn away the magic energy in the air with my divine power, but it’s only a stopgap measure. If we don’t resolve the root cause, magic energy will eventually gather in this village again.” “So you’re saying that all we can do is buy time.” “Yes. I need to know how the demons gather magic energy in the village.” “Haa… This is a headache.”
Rather the devil
It’s getting to the point where it’s better to fight the mob.
It was very tricky because I was not used to the enemy hiding their face and doing secret work like this.
“First, we should talk to the village chief and ask for help from the lord and the nearby Deusis cult temple.” “Is that okay? Our identities could be revealed.” “This is not the time to be picky… If it’s an incident of this magnitude, they’ll definitely dispatch a large force. If they come, we can naturally leave.” “Hmm, I understand.”
It wasn’t the time to be picky about this and that.
It was not possible to kill two thousand innocent people just to gain a little experience.
“Let’s proceed like that for now and call it a day.”
“yes.”
“Then, rest comfortably.”
It’s already past midnight.
Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson decided to return to their respective rooms.
I needed to get some rest since tomorrow was going to be even busier.
***
The next day.
The Nicolo warrior party left the forest at the crack of dawn.
It was because of the order given by Choi Hyun-seok.
“You search this direction.”
Choi Hyun-seok instructed the search to be divided into appropriate areas so that the search areas would not overlap.
Thanks to this, Nicolo and his colleagues have been wandering around the forest for five hours.
“Damn it! Why do we have to be treated like this!?” “We signed the oath. We have no choice but to do as we are told.”
The four warriors, excluding Sangmin, signed the oath.
They absolutely have no choice but to be loyal to Choi Hyun-seok.
If you do not follow his orders, the magic power inside you will flow backwards.
If the magic power flows backwards, you die.
Even if you are lucky enough to survive, you will never be able to use magic again.
It might be possible to calm the reflux once it passed a certain level, but at least at their level, it was impossible.
“Isn’t there any way to resolve this?” “There isn’t. I have to tear up the oath or wait until the deadline expires.” “A year of slavery… No matter what, it’s just too much!”
The only good thing is that the warrior’s oath is not eternal.
It expires after one year, so you’re free after that.
Of course, you have to live until then to enjoy freedom.
“Sangmin! This bat-like bastard! You’re on his side even though you’re a fellow Korean!?”
Yakubu grabbed Sangmin by the collar.
“You said so! He said he would forgive me! He said he wouldn’t harm me! And this is the result!?” “What a brazen personality! That guy is just a psychopath!”
Other colleagues also joined in and urged Sangmin on.
Sangmin lowered his head and said nothing.
To be honest, he also felt wronged.
‘If you guys hadn’t started the fight in the first place, and if you hadn’t even tried to kill Choi Hyun-seok, this wouldn’t have happened!’
It was he who started the fight first.
They were all the ones who attacked with the intention of killing first.
But didn’t Choi Hyun-seok at least spare his life?
In this world of survival of the fittest, this is a benevolent enough punishment.
I thought so, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.
“Everyone stop.”
Nicolo, the leader of the party, stopped his colleagues.
“This is not the time for us to fight amongst ourselves.” “But Nicolo…!”
“If you have a brain, think about it! The only person that guy has a crush on is Sangmin. What are you going to do if you harm Sangmin in this situation?”
Nicolo said nervously.
Although the tone was aggressive, it wasn’t wrong.
Harming Sangmin here will only make the situation worse.
Nothing got better.
“For now, let’s continue the search. We have to somehow win that man over. That’s all we can do.”
Now we need to calm our colleagues down and resume the search.
However, things didn’t go the way he wanted.
Ellis came out with a disgruntled expression.
“Then? What happens next?”
“…”
“Eventually, when our usefulness has expired, we will be discarded. They will kill us to gain experience!”
Nicolo’s expression distorted.
This is not good.
The leadership position, which had been absolute until now, was shaking.
Slurp…
Nicolo drew his sword.
He glares at Ellis with cold eyes.
“Don’t talk nonsense and just do as I say.” “Huh! What are you going to do if I draw my sword? Are you going to cut me?”
“If necessary.”
Nicolo has no intention of dying in vain.
I will survive somehow and regain my freedom.
Anything that gets in the way of survival will be cut down.
Even if it’s a colleague.
“That crazy guy… Everyone’s crazy! Everyone’s crazy because of that bastard named Choi Hyun-seok!”
Ellis screamed hysterically.
“I’m going. Try to stop it if you want. Try to kill me!”
Ellis turned and began to walk away with brisk strides.
“Ellis! No!”
“Don’t hold on! I’ll figure out my own life…”
Ellis, who was trying to carve out her own life, could not finish her words.
Push-!
Something burst out of Ellis’ chest.
She lowered her head to confirm its identity.
“uh…?”
Dark gray skin.
A hand that was not human was piercing through his chest.
“shit…”
In his gray hand, a heart that seemed to be his was beating.