"Mmm, hmmm… Tsk."
Milphage smacked his lips regretfully after suddenly bursting into laughter.
“Hahaha! I see. I must have gotten ahead of myself.”
In fact, he had instinctively realized it. With what Seo Jun-Ho showed just now, his future wasn’t just bright; it was blinding.
‘Perhaps...’
It may be premature to judge right now, but the day when this ridiculous newbie would take the position of ‘Tenth Heaven’ could come.
‘No, I'm getting too ahead of myself.’
Calming down his trembling heart, Milphage put his arm around Seo Jun-Ho’s shoulders.
“Well, thanks, anyway.”
“Excuse me? What are you suddenly…”
“Tch.”
“XX, this is ridiculous.”
“No fun.”
Several Players around them threw gold coins one by one at Milphage. Milphage snatched them from the air, opened his mouth wide, and spoke while biting the gold coins.
"We made a bet about whether you’d be able to make it this far."
"Did you bet on a safe arrival?”
"I told you earlier. I’m an impulsive spender."
The Hallem Guild's mercenaries complained at this.
"Who knew that our leader who keeps on losing in betting would win here?"
"I'm jealous. I'd have earned at least 20 gold...”
"It's the first time I've ever seen people giving gold coins to a human ATM.”
"You punks! Who's a human ATM?!"
Milphage introduced the pouting mercenaries one by one after giving each of them a whack on the head.
“As you can see, they belong to my mercenary group. Their skills are the best."
He introduced quite a few mercenaries, but frankly, only three were memorable.
“This is Kiora, the number two of the mercenary group. She’s also one of the few gold-ranked mercenaries in the Empire."
"Hi, we've met before, haven't we?” Kiora raised her hand and greeted unenthusiastically.
Seo Jun-Ho could still remember her face, so he nodded lightly. "We've met once before."
Seo Jun-Ho first met her when she had come to recruit him to Hallem. He remembered trying to stop her from fighting with a Silent Moon Guild team leader in the conference room.
"I didn't know you were a gold-ranked mercenary. You must be very capable."
"It seems deceitful for someone who walked fifty steps in a hazing to say that. Just to be clear, if you hadn't stopped me that time, Heo Jun-Su’s waist would have folded in half.”
"Hahaha! Do you know that Jun-Su’s staring at you right now from over there?"
“So what if he stares at me? I’ll win, anyway."
Kiora then proceeded to have a brief staring contest with a man wearing glasses on the other side.
"It’s a good thing that I stopped you, then…” Seo Jun-Ho muttered and turned his head.
pᵃпdα-ňᴏνê|·сóМ Gardo and Verdo were silver-ranked mercenaries. They were the archer and the healer of the team and were the most memorable along with Kiora. As for the reason why that was the case, it was simple.
‘Besides Milphage, these three people have the greatest aura.’
The most important thing to consider for a Player's first impression was their aura.
"What's the plan? There hasn’t been any message yet."
"Oh, don't worry. It's not that important."
Milphage's upper body muscles flared up as he waved his hand.
"We’re going inside! Kill all the monsters you encounter!"
"Hmm."
It wasn’t that there wasn’t anything important; there simply wasn’t any strategy. Kiora received Seo Jun-Ho's uneasy gaze, and she replied with a look that said she understood.
"It’s tiring, isn’t it? Just be more understanding. This musclehead’s brain cells are dead."
"Uh-huh, Kiora. What do you mean, musclehead? That's harsh."
Milphage scolded her, but Seo Jun-Ho nodded unconsciously.
‘Full of people like Palmo and Rahmadat...’
First of all, Gardo and Verdo? They had been introduced as an archer and a healer, but their bodies would remind you more of savage warriors. The funny thing was that they weren't the only ones.
‘Is more than an hour of weight training per day a requirement for male Players to join the Hallem Guild?’
Fortunately, the female Players were normal.
"Forget what he just said. Let me explain the proper operation." Kiora kicked their butts and shoved them away, then began to explain, "The goal of our party is reconnaissance."
"Reconnaissance?”
"It's an essential mission, so it can't be left to just anyone. Even more so in a place like that."
Kiora looked at the black wall as she said that. Certainly, no one knew what kind of monsters were in there or how strong they were.
"That's why we're going to take the initiative. It’s all because we're the strongest four in Hallem. And with you, who’s being protected by Specter, there would be nothing to be afraid of. Moreover, you have just proven your skills."
"The initiative… That's not bad."
Seo Jun-Ho did not dislike this method. However, that one word alone was enough for him to change his evaluation of the Hallem Guild.
'They’re famous as a tough bunch of people who only sought after money.’
Regardless of the rumors, it was clear that the four people in front of him were willing to sacrifice themselves for the other guild members. Seo Jun-Ho felt like he could understand the underlying personality of the group.
‘Mercenaries are often compared to knights, but the former is often ignored.’
The mercenaries who committed crimes in exchange for money would be grouped together and cursed at altogether. However, thanks to that, the Hallem Guild members trusted each other like family members and were united as one. The Hallem Guild, the most powerful mercenary group of the Ruben Empire, was probably born that way.
"Then, I'd like to ask you a question.” When the conversation started to get on track to some extent, Milphage rubbed his hands and looked around. "Where's Specter? I'd like to say hello before we leave."
The impact of the word “Specter” had never been small. Even the Players from the other guilds stopped talking and looked their way.
"Oh, Specter-nim...”
Seo Jun-Ho was nervous for the first time since he had arrived here. He had to choose his words carefully here. If he messed up the first step, it would only snowball from there. He brought up the words he had prepared in advance.
"Have you heard of the technique called Night Walking?"
"Hoh."
As if he had heard of it, Milphage nodded.
"You’re referring to the legendary concealment technique that hides one’s smell, presence, and even magic power."
"Yes."
"So, you’re saying he’s already here? I can’t sense him at all."
"It's a technique for that purpose in the first place."
Nod.
Milphage looked around and nodded. Other than him, the other Players also heightened their senses and looked for Specter just in case.
"Iya, this is unbelievable. I really don't know... He must be here, right?”
"I can swear. Specter-nim is here."
"Is it really that hard to show his face, at the least?"
"As I said, Specter-nim’s purpose is to protect me. He will never show himself unless my life is in danger."
"When your life is in danger... Hooh, Is that so?”
Smiling, Milphage's lips opened, revealing a row of even teeth. And as soon as Seo Jun-Ho saw his enigmatic smile, he knew that something was wrong.
Ting- Ting- Ting-
His instincts strongly warned him.
‘Don't tell me, even if he’s really a musclehead...’
When his thoughts reached that point, the air in front of him distorted. Milphage’s fist shot out from his hip and went straight to Seo Jun-Ho's heart.
Baaaaang!
“…”
“…”
The spectators fell into silence. Some couldn’t even swallow their drinks and it spilled out of their mouths.
"Hmm, did I do something wrong?"
Milphage's fist was only about a centimeter away from Seo Jun-Ho's heart. Seo Jun-Ho was fine despite the deadly fist, and it looked as if Milphage hadn’t intended to kill him in the first place.
"I was determined to trick you, so I even made sure to muster a lot of killing intent… Did you see through all my deception?" Milphage looked for the cause of his failure, while retrieving his fist. "Well, that's what happened. Why don't you move it now?”
“…”
A sword was placed at Milphage’s neck. The tip of a white sword reflecting sunlight was in the hands of a man with eyes as cold as the winter sea.
"…Be thankful that I didn't doubt your intentions."
The Sword Saint, Kim Woo-Joong, withdrew his sword with a cold warning. Then, the high tension in the air loosened up as if it hadn’t existed. Of course, there were still some people who couldn’t calm down.
‘Crazy... I think I barely saw the leader punching, but wasn't the Sword Saint on the other side of the room?’
'I didn't even see him approaching, let alone pulling out his sword.’
‘If this were a real battle... the leader's head would have already fallen to the ground.’
The Hallem Guild's mercenaries had their hands on their weapons in cold sweat, ready to enter battle in a moment.
"Everyone, remove your hands from your weapons if you don't want to die."
Milphage waved his hands and dissuaded his subordinates. When the situation was smoothened out, he apologized to Seo Jun-Ho while scratching the side of his head.
"Sorry. I wanted to see Specter with my own eyes, so I overdid it. I scared you, didn’t I?”
"Yes, a little…"
Seo Jun-Ho nodded with a puzzled look.
He didn't show it, but he was in a state of great surprise.
‘I was almost ruined.’
He saw exactly how Milphage punched. However, it had been very hard to pretend he hadn’t seen it.
'It was much faster than I thought. So, my eyes almost followed instinctively.’
Milphage was faster than Pride. Of course, Pride wasn’t an expert in physical strengthening. But even considering that, Milphage's strength had slightly exceeded Seo Jun-Ho’s expected range. If Seo Jun-Ho hadn’t felt Kim Woo-Joong approaching at the last minute, he would have reacted first.
'I’ll have to pay more attention to him...’
Seo Jun-Ho had no idea if Milphage’s senses were just that good or if he was simply pretending to be dumb. Still, he was dangerous.
- Hmm, was I mistaken?
Milphage's murmur after the punch was very meaningful. He might start to suspect that Seo Jun-Ho and Specter were the same person.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh, yes. Thank you for your help."
"Would you like to meet a doctor of our guild? There may be aftereffects."
"No, thank you. It's really not that bad."
After Seo Jun-Ho said that he was fine a few times, Kim Woo-Joong finally moved his heavy feet back to where had come from.
"Your connections are unexpectedly broad. I can't believe you knew the Sword Saint.”
"It just happened…”
"Then, do you perhaps know the Saintess?"
"The Saintess?"
When Seo Jun-Ho asked, Milphage pointed to one side. There stood a Player wearing a priest's uniform and a big hood.
"This commission actually started with her report. The imperial family seemed to have entrusted the Silver Constellation Guild with the mission to escort the Schumern Saintess. It's probably because she’s a Player and is affiliated with the Church of the Sun."
"Schumern Saintess...”
Seo Jun-Ho thought he had heard the name once before, and it was at the Goblin Guild.
‘A guest like me. We almost entered Forever Land together.’
At that time, he was told that she was absent because she suddenly had urgent business to handle. He didn't expect to meet her here.
"No, unfortunately, we aren’t acquainted."
"Really? Makes sense. She also turned her head away."
"That kinda hurts."
Did their eyes meet? The moment he thought of that, the Saintess turned her head, cold to the point where he thought it was excessive.
Of course, the reason why the Schumern Saintess—no, Player Cha Si-Eun turned her head coldly was simple.
'Oh, what do I do? Did I just make eye contact with Jun-Ho-nim?… I'm so embarrassed...’
Seo Jun-Ho's secretary was still embarrassed to meet him as a Player.
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