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Chapter 29: An Irresistible Offer (2)

Derek smiled as if he knew it as well and asked, “Do you have a sense of personal taste, young lad?”

“Taste?” asked Crockta.

“Yes, taste. Your own sense of beauty. Sit.”

Crockta sat down opposite Derek.

“I have clearly defined tastes. For example, there can’t be anything else there aside from yellow tulips,” said Derek as he pointed at the yellow tulips poking their heads out side by side above the green grass. He continued, “There are thirteen fish in that pond. Can’t have more or fewer than that.”

“...”

“I’m very specific about these things. All of these personal preferences make me who I am, and one ethic I have is that I must follow through with every contract. I don’t forgive anyone who violates them, and thanks to that, I was able to gain wealth and authority.”

“What do you want to say?” asked Crockta disgruntledly.

“My tastes have been overturned.” Derek laughed. Crockta could not understand what he was trying to get at. “An issue has emerged that I can’t do anything about. It’s like how I can’t get rid of the sun in the sky just because I don’t like it.”

“Just use a parasol,” retorted Crockta.

“That’s exactly it. I can’t do anything about it, so I should at least use a parasol, but that parasol has to fit my taste. As I said before, I am thorough about my personal tastes,” Derek said and handed Crockta a piece of paper. “This is the kind of person I am. Please understand.”

“...”

It was a contract.

Crockta scanned through its contents. “...”

“You don’t have to look so wary,” assured Derek.

“What is going on?” asked Crockta.

“I’m interested in you, so I got one of my dogs to spy on you.”

Derek had followed and investigated Crockta. It wouldn’t have been possible for this contract to have these specific contents otherwise. Crockta’s lips twitched upon reading the contract, which said that Derek would provide information on the Haedong Balhae clan and those who had received the curse of the stars. In return for Derek providing information on the clan members, Crockta had to kill a few figures associated with the Haedong Balhae clan. The targets were those who hadn’t been cursed by the stars—NPCs.

“Don’t you want revenge?” asked Derek.

“...”

“I have decided to bet on you. I have planned a few investments based on the assumption that your revenge will succeed. The targets are people you will have to kill for your vengeance anyway, so don’t worry too much about it,” Derek said.

Crockta continued to read the document.

The Haedong Balhae clan had been increasing their realm of influence by cooperating with NPCs who possessed wealth and authority in their respective regions. Derek wanted to invest in those who opposed these authorities. If these authorities fell with Crockta’s help, Derek would share the fruits of labor with the new authorities that would emerge as a result.

It was a gamble built on the premise of Crockta’s success.

“I am curious about your motivation,” Crockta said to Derek.

Crockta had been planning to seek Derek’s help, but this was at a much larger scale than he had expected even though it was what he wanted.

“Are you going to get mad if I say it’s because I’m bored?” Derek smiled as he sipped on his tea. “Young lad, I am old, and my life is complete. I am in a state in which I desire nothing. Everything in my life has gone the way I planned, so there is nothing that I’m curious about or find amusing.”

“I understand.” Yi-An, who was now Crockta, might be playing Elder Lord for a similar reason.

“You are kind of fun,” said Derek.

“...”

“That’s why I want to watch over you. The reason I’m betting money on you is that I want to become involved in your journey. If your success becomes my success, I would be able to fully immerse myself in your story.

Crockta nodded. He knew people like Derek in real life. They said similar things while participating in illegal online sports gambling. Most of them gambled away all of their money and ended up placing their heads down on their keyboards in dismay.

“Understood,” said Crockta.

“Good.”

Crockta requested a pen to sign the contract.

“Before that,” Derek said while shaking his head, “I have to test your skills first.”

“What?!” exclaimed Crockta in surprise.

“I’m making an investment, so I want to verify if you at least have the minimum qualifications. I’ll say... you do look stronger than before though.”

Crockta looked at Derek. Derek was still the same. He had broad shoulders that belied his age and a trained and well-toned body. His presence was still as sharp as a blade.

If Crockta had to fight with Derek now, it wouldn\'t be easy. There was a high chance he would lose even if he exhausted all of his strength.

Derek laughed at Crockta’s expression.

“It’s not to fight me. We don’t have to clash swords since we’re in the same boat.”

“Then...?” wondered Crockta.

“Here.” Derek handed Crockta another document. “If you accomplish this, I will trust you and seal the deal.”

Crockta’s eyes widened. After he finished reading through the document, he nodded.

***

The city of freedom, Anail, had been founded by runaways of different species. Thus, Anail was scattered with alleyways that had their own strict rules. The first rule was ‘Don’t kill the innocent.’ Unwarranted ambushes sometimes occurred in the underworld of Anail, but they couldn’t kill the victim. Even Derek, who dominated Anail’s underworld, did not get blood on his hands unless it was due to the terms of a contract.

It was an unwritten law that had been passed down since the founding of Anail. The city of runaways was made up of inhabitants who had fled to avoid death, so Anail’s citizens thoroughly understood that death was irreversible. However, the unspoken rule had been broken.

“What did I tell you?” said a woman while gasping for breath.

The two men with her nodded. A man who had suffered a blow to the head lay collapsed on the ground as they hovered over him. The woman stabbed the man in the back with her dagger to make sure he was dead. He did not respond. Instead, his blood leaked out and seeped into the ground.

“NPCs are no big deal,” the woman remarked.

“It’s because we have leveled up a lot,” said the man standing next to her.

“Once we level up more, let’s leave this place,” she replied.

They were a trio.

It was the group of player killers that had ambushed Yi-An but ended up being slaughtered by him back when he had yet to become an official warrior. These player killers were no longer able to lure and stab players in the back as Youvidser Laney had made their misdeeds widely known. Thus, they now ambushed NPCs instead. It wasn’t an easy thing to do, but they had developed a knack for it and continuously leveled up from hunting NPCs. Their tactic was to loiter in the streets once it got dark and attack whoever seemed to be easy prey.

However, they had no idea that they had become targets of Anail’s underworld as a result of their ceaseless murders. Moreover, the king of Anail’s underworld was the cold-blooded Derek, and he had already dispatched an assassin.

“...”

While in hiding, Crockta confirmed their faces. He had his doubts after reading Derek’s documents, but now he was certain who the targets were. He couldn’t help but laugh. Those guys still hadn’t fixed their old habits. Crockta could understand why Derek had assigned him this task as a test. There was a strange bond among those who had received the curse of the stars, so Derek was testing Crockta to see whether he could carry out the assigned tasks despite this bond.

Crockta walked toward them.

The trio turned their heads at the sound of Crockta’s footsteps. Their faces turned pale. A lone orc with a familiar face had emerged from the darkness. Although he was now larger in stature and had tattoos across his body, he still had that fierce gaze and black bandana the trio were unable to forget.

The trio took a few steps back when they saw the orc’s hand inched toward the hilt of the greatsword that poked out from behind him, right between his shoulders.

“That dude... Isn’t it the guy from before?”

“I think so.”

The trio realized there wasn’t any possibility of escape. They had chosen a dead end to ambush NPCs, but they had dug their own grave in doing so. The trio of player killers clenched their teeth grimly.

“We can’t run anyway.”

“Are we just going to die again? We suffered so much that time.”

“There’s no other way.”

They looked at each other’s faces and sighed.

“Let’s fight.”

“Yeah, we were just careless last time.”

“Let’s protect Brown while fighting this time.”

Jackson, Brown, and Eri assumed their positions. Jackson, the spearman, would keep the enemy in check at all crossroads, Eri would distract the enemy, and the wizard, Brown, would bombard the enemy with spells from the periphery. This was their winning formation.

Crockta raised his greatsword in response. A faint light ran across the blade.

This was when the player killers realized the greatsword wasn’t just a regular sword, and their eyes filled with greed.

“If we win, that... will become ours.”

“We need to share it equally,” said Brown as he began chanting a spell.

Unlike in the past, Jackson and Eri held their ground from behind and let Brown take charge of the main offense.

Crockta moved forward.

Jackson’s spear swooshed toward Crockta and collided with his greatsword. After Crockta deflected the spear, he rushed toward the trio. The wizard’s arrow came for him from the front while Eri’s dagger flew at him from the side. However, Crockta ignored the magic-infused arrow and swung his greatsword at Jackson. Jackson dodged the attack, but the magical arrow successfully hit Crockta.

“Ahh!” Crockta was stunned by the shock of the damage.

Next, Eri’s dagger slashed his skin. Crockta had to pull back after only suffering damage. The player killers weren’t easy opponents.

“See. We can win if we take our time,” said the trio.

The player killers were in high spirits. They nodded confidently as if they had gotten a sense of how to succeed in this battle.

Crockta assumed a position and was ready to charge. Seeing this, the player killers grew tense. Crockta rushed toward them. Jackson prepared for an attack by holding his spear up front. Behind him, Brown’s chanting was soon coming to an end.

At that moment, Crockta moved his body sideways and situated himself between the wizard and Jackson. Brown tried to move out of the way, but Crockta charged toward him using Jackson as a shield.

“I can’t see right now!” exclaimed Brown.

“What?” yelled Jackson.

Jackson jabbed with his spear, but Crockta was able to dodge it effortlessly. Then he grasped the spear with one hand. Eri sprung at Crockta, but he flung her back easily. She fell to her knees from the impact of the force. Brown, who felt a sense of urgency, stepped to the side and fired magic at Crockta.

Using his tremendous strength, Crockta then moved Jackson and made him into a shield. Brown’s magic ended up hitting Jackson in the back really hard. Seeing what he’d done, Brown’s mouth dropped open.

“Aarghh!” gasped Jackson.

“S-Sorry!” apologized Brown.

Crockta’s greatsword split Jackson’s arm in two, sending the severed part of the limb flying into the air.

“Aahhhhhhhh!” screamed Jackson.

Crockta then tossed Jackson to the side and struck the defenseless Brown with his fist, causing Brown to faint.

Eri, who was alone now, began retreating while holding her dagger in front of her. She was no match for Crockta by herself. Crockta approached and looked down at her from above. The imposing orc shadow covered her completely. He knocked her out with his fist in an instant.

The fight ended without Crockta killing anyone. One by one, he began tying them up with the ropes and gags he had received from Derek. Upon realizing what Crockta was trying to do, Jackson threw a fit, but Crockta knocked him out again.

After Crockta finished tying the trio up, he dragged them out of the alley like luggage to where Derek’s subordinate was waiting for him.

“Great job,” the subordinate commended.

“What are you going to do with them now?” asked Crockta.

“We are going to lock them up,” the subordinate replied and laughed.

His name was Jeremy, and he was the next in line after Derek. Jeremy was the strongest among Derek’s subordinates.

“It’s annoying to deal with those who have been cursed by the stars. They disappear out of nowhere, and even if they die, they are quickly revived. We are going to wrap them up, so they can’t do anything except breathe.”

This was a somewhat well-known method among players of Elder Lord. It was called ‘concrete.’ Its original meaning had been altered, but it contained the same intention of completely sealing off a person.

Players didn’t die in Elder Lord. Even if their breaths stopped, they were revived in a safe place nearby a few hours later. Thus, players would be tied up and gagged instead of killed. Even if they disconnected from the server and logged back on, they would still be tied up. It was the cruelest way to prevent them from playing the game.

Because of this, there were some people who were referred to as ‘fixers’ in the world of Elder Lord. They were players who received money to execute the ‘concrete’ method on a player or rescue or assassinate the player in question so they could start the game all over again.

However, the opponent this time was Derek. Unless these player killers completely reset their characters, they could no longer play Elder Lord.

“How thorough.” Crockta nodded approvingly.

Crockta would avenge Lenox with this ‘concrete’ method. He would bury the Haedong Balhae clan as a group and make them quit the game.