Steeling himself, Kaian sent a message to Soo Hyuk.
-Kaian: Soo Hyuk-nim!
-Soo Hyuk: Yes?
Soo Hyukâs reply a few moments later, and Kaian started to carefully construct his story.
* * *
[Romianâs Request.]
One of the three temples of Hadrac, Copine Temple. As its head, Romian had been plagued with a worry recently, however, the topic was too sensitive to expose easily. Solve Romianâs worry.
Soo Hyuk looked at the quest as he strolled towards the Copine Temple
âI hope the request doesnât take a long timeâŚâ
The quest âRomianâs Requestâ was a promotion quest, and it was one of the mystery request types. Originally, he didnât have any plans to attempt this kind of request quests, but for some reason, these were the only kind of quest in the mission catalogue. So left without choice, Soo Hyuk had ended up picking âRomianâs Requestâ.
At that moment.
-Kaian: Soo Hyuk-nim!
He received a message from Kaian.
-Soo Hyuk: Yes?
Soo Hyuk closed his quest window after replying to Kaian. Then not long after, Kaian sent another message.
Kaian: I have a proposition that I hope you can listen to.
-Soo Hyuk: A proposition?
It hadnât been long since they separated, and they had finished all their business. But then a sudden proposition out of nowhere?
-Kaian: Yes.
-Soo Hyuk: You can tell me.
-Kaian: We received a mission from the agency about the underground sewers. Itâs not a solo quest, itâs a guild quest.
âUnderground sewersâŚâ
Soo Hyuk opened his inventory. He then took out item no.4, the âSecret Map of Hadracâs Undergroundâ. Shown on the map, was Hadracâs underground sewers.
âIs he telling me to give back the map?â
Perhaps he was asking for the map.
âNo, he just said that I could keep it.â
During his talk with Kaian, Soo Hyuk decided to return the map. So, he told them that he would return it, but Kaian had refused. In other words, unless they were going back on their words, this suggestion was not about the map.
-Kaian: But the difficulty is too high, so itâs impossible for us to complete it. We still have some time left, but itâs not enough to get stronger. However, I believe that the quest will be possible with Soo Hyuk-nimâs help, so I ended up contacting you like this.
Soo Hyuk figured out Kaianâs intentions from this text. He wanted his help in a raid on the underground sewers. HoweverâŚ
-Soo Hyuk: Iâm sorry.
He didnât accept the proposition.
-Soo Hyuk: I have something urgent on right now.
His plan was too climb to A-rank without rest. Of course, if someone like Yeon Jung had needed his help, then he wouldâve gladly helped. But it hadnât even been a day since he met Kaian, so he wasnât familiar enough with him yet
-Kaian: Ah, I see.
-Soo Hyuk: Iâm sorry.
Kaian: No, itâs nothing! Rather, itâs you whoâs been inconvenienced by us, so I should be the one whoâs sorry.
-Kaian: If you want to reconsider the offer, then please contact me!
-Soo Hyuk: Of course.
-Kaian: Have fun!
-Soo Hyuk: You too!
And as he ended his chat with Kaian, he arrived at the Copine Temple.
âHello.â
Soo Hyuk approached and greeted the guard guarding the entrance.
âWelcome!â
The guard replied with a booming voice. After exchanging greetings, Soo Hyuk cut straight to the point.
âIâm here to see Romian-nim.â
âDo you mean the head?â
âYes, could you please tell him that I was sent from the Mercenary Agency?â
âAh, I see. I will, so could you please wait at the reception room?â
âOf course.â
Soo Hyuk entered the reception room after his conversation. As expected of a temple, many people were waiting around in the reception or waiting for someone. [TL: Like churches in the western society.]
Creak.
A few minutes later, the previous guard and an unfamiliar person entered the room. They then both approached where Soo Hyuk was sitting.
âNice to meet you. Iâm Romian.â
As expected, the man was Romian.
âI heard that you came from the Mercenary Agency, is that right?â
At Romianâs question, Soo Hyuk opened his inventory and took out his certification sent by the Mercenary Agency.
âYes, here.â
âAh, so you are.â
When he received the certification, Romian cautiously looked around him, then faced Soo Hyuk again.
âFirst, shall we go to my room? My matter is a bit too sensitive to tell hereâŚâ
âOf course.â
Soo Hyuk stood up from his seat and followed Romain outside the reception to his room.
âI have 2 requests.â
Romian spoke the moment he stepped in the room.
â2 requests?â
Soo Hyuk couldnât believe his ears. 2 requests? The mission had clearly stated that the was only 1 request.
âMy first request is this.â
Romian continued as he held out a scroll of paper.
âThere is a person called Ketan on the first peak of the Kamian Mountains. Send this to him.â
[Romianâs First Request]
On the first peak of the Kamian Mountains, lives a person. Climb to the peak and give him the scroll!
[Quest Reward: ??? ]
When the quest appeared, Soo Hyuk thought to himself.
âAh, how annoying.â
The main reason Soo Hyuk had chosen âRomianâs Requestâ over other missions, was because it said a âworryâ, not âworriesâ or ârequestsâ.
âI have to wait 3 days if I cancel.â
But he had already started the quest, so if he gave up, he wouldnât be able to receive missions from the agency for 3 days. In other words, he had to choose.
âIf it looks like the quest would take over 3 days, then Iâll cancel.â
Of course, he could be able to complete Romianâs requests within 3 days. Deciding to first wait and see, Soo Hyuk replied,
âI understand.â
[You have accepted âRomianâs First Requestâ.]
âThe second request is,â
Romian continued speaking at Soo Hyukâs answer while a notification appeared in front of Soo Hyuk.
âInside Ketanâs home should be a red marble. Bring that back. Ketan will store it in a box if you tell him.â
[Romianâs Second Request]
Inside Ketanâs home is a red marble. Store that marble in a box and bring it to Romian!
[Quest Reward: Romianâs mission confirmation]
âItâs basically just one request.â
Soo Hyuk smiled as he read the quest information. Fortunately, the requests were as good as one.
âI understand.â
Soo Hyuk stored the scroll in inventory as he replied to Romian.
[You have accepted âRomianâs Second Requestâ.]
[You have acquired âRomianâs Letterâ.]
Then before he stood up, Soo Hyuk asked Romian a question.
âHow will I know where the house is on the 1 <sup>st</sup> peak?â
The man who lived on the 1 <sup>st</sup> peak, Ketan. However, the 1 <sup>st</sup> peak wasnât small in anyway; in fact, it was very wide. It would definitely take him some time to search for a house.
âAt the centre of the peak is a massive red tree. Ketanâs home should be around 1km south of that tree.â
âAh, yes. Thank you.â
Soo Hyuk then stood up after hearing the reply.
âThen Iâll see you next time.â
The Kamain Mountains were located near Hadrac, so he should be able to complete this mission today. Soo Hyuk said goodbye to Romian and exited the room, heading to the Eastern Gates.
* * *
Ketan was silently staring at the tabletop.
Shuaak.
On the table, stood a crimson marble excluding a strange light. As he stared at the marble, Ketan muttered,
âTo think that this was the key.â
He had always suspected that this marble wasnât ordinary, because of the strange chill he got when he stared at the spot the marble was stored in.
âMnnâŚâ
However, he had never thought that this was the key to âthat placeâ.
âWhatâs Romian going to do with this.â
It was a too much for him to keep, as he would be killed if information about this marble became known.
At that moment.
Tap. Tap.
Knocks rang throughout the small house. Ketan quickly turned around with surprise at the sudden knocks.
âWho is it?â
Where Ketan was staying at currently shouldnât attract any visitors, yet he could tell that it was a person from the knocks. He also knew that it was Romian. Romian wouldnât need to knock.
âIs no one here?â
A voice called out from the outside.
âIt doesnât look like anyoneâs here.â
âTwo?â
There wasnât only one visitor, there were two.
âWhat should we do?â
âWell, our aim isnât to meet with the house owner.â
âThen just destroy it?â
âHmm, should we? Maybe just the door. It could be in there.â
Listening to the visitorsâ conversation, Ketan looked back at the red marble. It seemed to be their objective. It looked like the information on the marble was leaked somehow.
Ketan quickly grabbed the red marble and hid it inside a secret space he had created inside the left wall.
Bang!
The moment the marble rolled into the secret space, the door exploded with a loud bang. Thinking that standing near the secret space could give it away, Ketan slowly shuffled sideways before the smoke cleared.
âMmm?â
âHeâs here?â
The two invaders exclaimed in surprise as they passed through the ruined doorway. One of them was a tall, muscular young man and other had a dwarf-like body.
âYou wanna do it?â
âYou do it. You said youâre going to reset your infamy score soon.â
Ketan thought as he stared at the two invaders.
âThey want to kill me.â
Looking at the atmosphere, it looked like they werenât going to back away nicely.
âExcuse me.â
The man with the dwarf body spoke.
âThe red marble? Where is it. The key to the Phantom Celtaâs secret cave!â
As expected, their aim was the red marble.
âA red marble? Who the heck are you guys?â
However, as giving up the marble wouldnât change his fate in anyway, Ketan pretended to not know about it and asked in an irritated manner.
âEi, right, right. There no way heâs going to tell us.â
âHey, finish it quickly. We have more places to go.â
âOkay.â
In response to the tiny manâs words, the muscular man approached Ketan intimidatingly. Staring at the muscular man approach him, Ketan readied his dagger hidden in his bosom.
Puk!
At that moment.
At a searing sensation in his stomach, Ketan looked down at his body. He could see a dagger impaled on his stomach.
âAh, when?â
When had he thrown the dagger?
âPoison?â
Also, his body refused to move. It seemed like the dagger was coated in paralysis poison.
Puk!
Then another dagger flew towards him and stabbed him again. Ketan could feel his consciousness slowly fading as he desperately tried to move. As his vision gradually darkened, Ketan suddenly saw a familiar face.
âRomian, looks like Iâll be the first to go.â
He instinctively knew that there was no way he could survive. Even now, he could feel his life slipping away from his fingertips.
âLiveâŚgetâŚrevenâŚâ
Ketan slowly collapsed before he could finish his will.
Meanwhile, the two men stared at the fresh corpse of Ketan before moving on.
âHurry up and find it.â
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âIt doesnât look like its here though?â
âLook more care-full-y.â
âHey, it could also not be here. How many more places do we have to check? One, two? No, we have five, five more places. Plus, we already finished our quest with this.â
âWhat if it is here!?â
âOkay, okay. Ao⌠You search too. Donât just stand there.â