Chapter 50: The Black Guild’s Net

Central Tower Council.

Urgent news had just been delivered there.

The content of the urgent report was none other than that all the magicians dispatched to Paesna had been detained.

Upon hearing the news first, the Fifth Elder sprang up from his seat and shouted.

“What kind of nonsense is this?!”

The Fifth Elder couldn't help but be shocked.

He had heard before of some dispatched magicians being imprisoned for personal misdeeds, but this was the first time every dispatched magician had been detained.

The Fifth Elder urgently called the other Elders to convene, and those who learned of the news late were also dumbfounded.

“Isn't Paesna the place where Ratel is the Tower Master?”

“For something like this to happen, and in a fallen kingdom no less? What on earth was the King of Paesna thinking?”

“How would I know? We need to send someone to find out the situation right away.”

The Central Tower Council is the home and foundation of all magicians on the Continent of Pantinel.

Moreover, magicians are highly skilled personnel, a significant asset to a kingdom’s strength, so any king who wishes for his nation's prosperity wants to establish a Magic Tower in his kingdom.

In other words, whether they like it or not, anyone wanting a Magic Tower in their kingdom must curry favor with the Central Tower Council.

That’s why one of the main contract conditions set by the Central Tower Council is that, no matter what crime a dispatched magician commits, under no circumstances should they ever be killed.

The Sixth Elder spoke.

“Paesna… for a fallen kingdom, I wonder what sudden change of heart they’ve had. There was even the precedent of them locking up and killing Mongoose in the past, and now they do this again. Seems they no longer need our help.”

“Could it be that the Queen’s power has waned?”

“Yes. A Queen friendly to us would never do such a thing. Something must have happened to her.”

“First, let's send people to grasp the situation. The money Ratel sent us from Paesna wasn’t small, after all.”

“But if there’s a problem with the royal authority…”

“Then we’ll have to intervene from the shadows and restore power to the Queen. Only then will the tributes we receive continue as they are.”

Soon, the council reached a decision, and as agreed, the Seven Elders decided to send investigators to Paesna.

That included both official investigators to assess the situation and unofficial ones who could slip in unnoticed.

---

[‘Quest: Vengeance, Done Personally’ has been completed.]

[Quest reward granted.]

[You have gained experience points.]

[You have leveled up.]

“Hmm?”

He was in the pub, stuffing himself with skewers.

Levan saw the sudden alert and grinned.

It must mean that just now, Mongoose had finally merged with Ratel.

‘Poor bastard, finally getting what you deserve.’

Levan knew very well the depth of Mongoose’s anger. So he felt no pity at all for Ratel, who was only now being punished.

After allocating the bonus stat points he gained to Strength, Levan checked his inventory. But there was an unfamiliar item inside.

‘Munch munch, what’s this?’

He had thought the reward would be nothing more than an Epic Cube, Skill Cube Shards, and a few Treasure Cube Shards.

But apparently, the rewards didn’t end there.

Levan checked the information of the unknown item.

[Mongoose’s Life Fragment]

-Grade: Rare, Boss, Bound.

-Restrictions: None.

-Options

On use: Strength +10.

Intelligence +10.

Health +200.

Mana +200.

The true nature of the unfamiliar item.

Its name was none other than Mongoose’s Life Fragment.

Given the name, it seemed to be a part of the Life Force Vessel owned by a Lich.

Upon checking its options, Levan’s lips puckered into a round O.

‘Jackpot.’

It was a bit of a shame it wasn’t an equippable item he could sell, but the fact that it permanently boosted his stats made the Life Fragment a truly valuable item.

Satisfied with this unexpected reward, Levan nodded and used the Life Fragment.

[Strength has increased by 10.]

[Intelligence has increased by 10.]

[Health has increased by 200.]

[Mana has increased by 200.]

Though Health and Mana weren’t shown separately on the status window, Levan’s stats in those areas already far exceeded those of other players of similar level.

By consuming the Life Fragment, Levan finally pushed his Strength stat over 150.

‘Now it’s really over.’

With even the last Epic Quest cleared, this was truly goodbye to Paesna.

As he sipped the beer he’d ordered, Levan thought.

‘Still, why haven’t those guys shown up?’

What Levan was waiting for was none other than the Black Guild bastards.

Honestly, he had expected to run into them at least once while doing the quest. But they never showed themselves.

‘They’re more cautious than I thought… Maybe it’s because we’re inside the kingdom.’

That would make sense.

No matter how reckless the Black Guild, attempting a kidnapping right inside the kingdom would be trouble even they couldn’t handle.

So Levan decided to experiment a bit.

‘Let’s hunt out in the field just for today. If they still don’t show, I’ll just plan for next time.’

He still hadn’t opened the Epic Cube or Growth Cube, so he hadn’t decided his next destination, but whatever it was, at the very least, it wouldn’t be Paesna.

After all, Levan’s level was now on par with the monsters that spawned in Paesna.

Shoving the rest of his fried chicken and beer into his mouth, Levan stood up.

---

“He’s finally on the move.”

“That gluttonous bastard. How much can he eat?”

The shadows near the tavern.

From there, two voices could be heard.

Their names were Jambo and Simon, members sent by the Plague Guild.

Their job was to monitor Levan’s every move.

In fact, they had been watching him for quite a while.

But they hadn’t found a good opportunity to approach their target, so they’d just been keeping watch.

But today, for some reason, their target finally started heading toward the open field.

“Oh, could it be?”

“Nah, don’t get your hopes up. Last time, he just pretended to go outside and went to the palace.”

“What kind of quest is he doing that he keeps going in and out of the palace?”

“Maybe it’s an important quest. That’s why he keeps going to the palace.”

“I hope it’s important. Would be nice to get some sweet rewards this time.”

“Oh, hey! Look, this time it’s really the field, not the palace.”

“Huh, you’re right. What’s going on?”

“What should we do? Should we check with the squad leader?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

They were watching Levan in order to find the right timing for a kidnapping or quest steal.

And now seemed to be that time.

Simon, after contacting the squad leader, spoke.

“He said if the two of us can handle it, go ahead and grab him.”

“The two of us?”

“What, you don’t think we can?”

“Of course I do. He’s probably only level 50 or so.”

“Then let’s take him down. That way, we can claim a bigger share later.”

“Okay.”

After reaching an agreement, Jambo and Simon geared up and began to move slowly.

---

[Critical Hit!]

[You have hunted a Thieving Monkey.]

[You have gained experience points.]

Levan chose the Outer Trail instead of the Sad Plains.

The reason was simple—there were fewer people on the Outer Trail than on the Sad Plains.

‘Fewer eyes make it easier for them to approach.’

There were maybe three or four hours of playtime left.

He didn’t plan to wait long.

If the bastards didn’t show up today, he’d just move to his next destination.

‘Even if I’m not in Paesna, they’re bound to show up eventually.’

He’d paid a whopping fifty million gold for this information. Unless money was no object, they were sure to come.

With that resolve, after hunting Thieving Monkeys for about two hours,

Levan encountered the Boss Monkey again.

KIAAA!

The Boss Monkey’s roar.

As unpleasant as ever, scraping at his ears. Levan warmed up and prepared for a frontal assault.

‘If I trigger Roaring Strike again, that’d be amazing.’

Unlikely, but the possibility made his heart pound with anticipation.

Ready, Levan gripped the Black Iron Staff and charged the Boss Monkey head on.

“Agh!!”

[Roaring Strike is activated.]

[Targets who hear the roar are stunned for 2 seconds.]

KII!

KEE!

Five Thieving Monkeys gathered at the roar.

But Levan’s level was now higher, so Roaring Strike worked perfectly.

He shoved aside the stunned Thieving Monkeys and took out his Bookmark.

“Memorize, Energy Bolt!”

[Energy Bolt is activated.]

[Critical Hit!]

The memorized Energy Bolt gathered in his left hand.

As soon as it was ready, he let it fly—striking the Boss Monkey square on the head.

The Boss Monkey’s HP dropped dramatically. And then—

[Mirror Ring activates Skill Guard.]

[Skill Guard nullifies Rope Arrow.]

[Rope Arrow is activated.]

[Critical Hit!]

[You are temporarily Bound by the hit Rope Arrow.]

It happened just as he landed the Energy Bolt on the Boss Monkey.

Levan was about to follow up with Thunder Strike, but at that moment, the Mirror Ring triggered and ropes wrapped around his entire body.

Two skill attacks landed on Levan in succession.

‘Damn!’

THUD!

Caught mid-move in a bound state, Levan lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Right after he hit the ground, the Boss Monkey’s piercing scream scraped his ears again.

Thud-!

And then, the Boss Monkey fell too. But it wasn’t because of a bind. The Boss Monkey had been killed—by someone else.

Right after the Boss Monkey fell, an unfamiliar voice came from behind.

“Nice shot.”

A strange voice.

Levan instantly knew.

Those voices definitely belonged to the Black Guild bastards.

Levan thought,

‘These bastards, they waited for just this moment to strike.’

Careful bastards.

If they were Black Guild, their level had to be pretty high, but for them to be this cautious…

They say a lion gives its all, even when hunting a rabbit. For a moment, Levan felt like the rabbit.

So Levan quietly attempted to log out.

‘Logout.’

[You cannot logout while bound.]

‘Of course.’

He tried just in case, but as expected, the debuff prevented him from logging out.

That was the rule in Warlord.

Levan turned his head toward the sound.

There, he saw one user in a white crow mask holding a huge bow, and another crow-masked user with nothing in his hands, shrugging his shoulders.

They walked toward Levan.

Now it was crucial.

As soon as they were close enough for conversation, Levan pretended to be furious and recited the lines he’d prepared in advance.

“What the hell! Fuck! Who are you guys!”

“Hey, look at this guy—he’s got some attitude.”

“Yeah. If we hadn’t tied him up first, I might’ve smacked him already.”

“That’s what happens when you get the jump on someone. Wouldn’t anybody react like that?”

“That’s true.”

The two of them exchanged jokes and laughed unpleasantly, clearly at ease.

So Levan strained his neck and shouted again.

“I said, who the hell are you! You trash bastards!”

“Oh, he’s so damn loud.”

Annoyed at Levan’s yelling, the crow-masked archer slammed his bow into Levan’s body.

WHACK!

Levan’s HP instantly dropped by 20%.

The guy who’d attacked him grabbed Levan by the hair, forcing him to meet his gaze.

“Come quietly. Act out, and I’ll pull all your teeth out.”

“W-what did you say?”

“You don’t even know who sold you off, do you? Tsk tsk, pathetic bastard.”

Levan knew all this already and was just acting, but hearing it directly made his blood boil.

So Levan—

“So what, asshole! Hah! Ptooey!”

…spat a thick gob of phlegm right in the guy’s face.

“You little shit!”

“L-logout!”

[Exiting game.]

FLASH!

Levan logged out.