Chapter 34: Asasel Is Approaching

[Asasel] Secret Chat Group.

ID???1: [How’s today’s quota coming along?]

ID???2: [I’ve killed them three times. That NPC has already begged for mercy and promised not to perform. It’s about time to switch targets, right?]

ID???1: [Keep at it. This commercial commission pays per kill.]

ID???3: [It’s getting a bit difficult. Quite a few Singers have gained the protection of a Lord or the Kingdom. Killing them even once will result in a lifetime bounty.]

ID???6: [That NPC named Hermes among the Hermes group is seriously good at hiding people. And Hermes happens to be a faction we can’t afford to offend. If we lose their affection rating, we won’t even survive as solo players.]

ID???1: [Max out your Identification. Hermes smuggles people by hiding them inside cargo. Use Identification on any freight bearing their trade union’s crest. Also, keep your eyes peeled at the Teleport Point and verify anyone accompanied by a Singer.]

[If it gets too risky, store your items in the guild and reset your account.]

[The reward for killing a target just once is 1,000R.]

ID???3: [We don’t need to worry about the Hermes trade union in Balkan City. It’s a special variant storyline involving the Goblin Tribe.]

ID???9: [A friend invited me to raid that Goblin Tribe. I’ll go double-check on that.]

ID???4: [XX Entertainment is seriously loaded. They’re even counting NPCs who drop out of the performance as kills. This commission must be worth nearly a million in total, right?]

ID???8: [That B-whatever Theater can hold tens of thousands of people, and it’ll be broadcasted worldwide. Just think about how much a real-world concert of the same level would cost.]

[XX Entertainment is freeloading off that massive theater. I heard they’re even planning to run commercial breaks. The investment from a single sponsor will earn back whatever they spent here.]

ID???1: [Anyone with free time should get in on this. Even though it’s a cooperative commission, we’re splitting the cut based on effort. Whoever gets the kill gets the cash.]

ID???5: [Woohoo! Meritocracy is the best! I’m taking a long vacation from work just to stay online 24/7!]

ID???3: [This has to be kept strictly under wraps. We can’t let other guilds find out.]

ID???1: [Where is the Third Seat? His target still hasn’t dropped out of the performance.]

[If we manage to snatch all 50 slots, there’s a bonus.]

ID???7: [Ah! That guy’s target seems to be an ordinary Blessed with no background. He wouldn’t just tie them up and repeatedly kill them, would he?]

[He could easily make a few dozen grand doing that.]

ID???3: [I’ll go hurry him up.]

"Tsk! Everyone else is raking it in, and I’m the only one stuck here having to re-level!" a little girl with pink twin-tails complained. Her face contorted into a Twisted expression that completely contradicted her cute appearance.

"It’s all because of that Black Beast Knight and Marika! All of my assets are gone! Damn it!"

The little girl clutched her head and shrieked in the middle of the street, quickly drawing the attention of passersby.

"Are you okay?"

A hand patted her shoulder.

"Huh?" The little girl’s veins popped at the corners of her eyes. She fiercely swatted the hand away and impatiently turned her head. "Mind your own business! Watch out, or I’ll kill Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma—"

"Are you separated from your mother, Foreigner?"

The Royal Knight Order Leader and one of the Strongest Knights, Red Dragon Marika, was earnestly out on patrol. Upon seeing a child who had lost her mother, she was determined to lend a helping hand—even if the person in question was a Foreigner.

"Wait, why do you look a bit familiar..."

Marika crouched down in front of the little girl. Her physique was exceptionally towering for a woman, so even when she crouched, the little girl still had to look up. The Knight’s aloof and glamorous face was mostly cast in Shadow, exuding an immense sense of oppression.

The little girl maintained a stiff expression, her finger subtly inching toward the [Log Out] button. As the former PK player "BIG Old Man" reborn, she felt incredibly guilty when facing the very person who had once arrested her.

SMACK.

"Never mind. I’ll take you to find your parents right now!"

Marika grabbed the little girl’s hand and stood up. Completely ignoring the fact that she had hoisted the child entirely off the ground, she began to sprint like a rushing whirlwind.

CRACK.

The little girl heard an ominous sound come from her arm, but more importantly, she realized she was losing HP. Rather than being dragged through the air, it felt more like being towed mercilessly behind a speeding truck.

"I... I’m going... to... die..."

"Did anyone lose their child?!"

The little girl’s desperate wails were entirely drowned out by Marika’s booming voice.

In Balkan City, at the branch guild of Hermes’ Travel Hat. As the world’s largest trade union, Hermes’ Travel Hat was also a major investor in the Adventurer’s Guild.

The Adventurer’s Guild accepted commissions from clients, took a percentage of the funds as a processing fee, and distributed the tasks to adventurers. Occasionally, they would directly nominate specific individuals for jobs. Only a massive entity like Hermes’ Travel Hat possessed the capital to act as a guarantor and ensure the continued operation of the Adventurer’s Guild.

"Sometimes I really want to ask if your Hermes’ Travel Hat counts as a financial Empire without borders," Blaze remarked dryly.

Sitting in the Adventurer’s Guild’s VIP reception room, Blaze helplessly watched Herbie, who was sitting with her legs crossed like she was in her own home. He couldn’t help it; every prominent organization he had encountered in Balkan City was, to put it nicely, funded by Hermes’ Travel Hat. To put it bluntly, they were entirely subordinate to Hermes’ Travel Hat.

Normally, Herbie would have laughed triumphantly in an eccentric tone and proclaimed, "This is the Power of money!" However, in front of the Adventurer’s Guild Master, she maintained a cold and highly efficient demeanor as she reviewed the guild’s ledgers.

"In the red," Herbie murmured, pinching the bridge of her nose with a headache. "I’m sorry. Investing in the opening of the Epidaurus Theater has consumed too much of Hermes’ Travel Hat’s funds. We simply have no way of extracting any more capital to pay for your commission fees."

Blaze didn’t know what to say. Hermes’ Travel Hat’s method of protecting those performers involved hiring powerful Blessed as bodyguards through the Adventurer’s Guild, but local Blessed were outrageously expensive.

And the Adventurer’s Guild was bearing that portion of the cost.

"It’s fine. Consider this our thanks for Lady Hermes’s past care toward our Adventurer’s Guild," the Guild Master, a kindly old man, said with a slight bow. "Besides...

"I believe that once Lady Hermes overcomes this difficulty, she will doubly reward our loyalty." He revealed a shrewd smile as he spoke.

"Sly old fox." Herbie shook her head in exasperation and handed the ledgers back to the Guild Master before cutting straight to the point. "Does the guild’s inventory have any bird-type Demon materials? Things like feathers, bones, and so on."

"We have quite a variety. We can head directly to the warehouse to take a look. And this distinguished guest..."

It was only then that the Guild Master shifted his gaze toward Blaze. Previously, no matter how eerie an aura Blaze gave off, the old man hadn’t so much as cast a glance in his direction.

It would have made sense if this elderly man were a Blessed, but he was an Ordinary Person.

"He’s my temporary bodyguard. He only accepts materials as payment, not cash. Very hard to please," Herbie replied.

"As expected of Lady Hermes, to even recruit the legendary Black Beast Knight." The Guild Master placed his hands behind his back and spoke warmly to Blaze with a completely harmless expression. "If you ever have the time, you should register your name under my guild. That way, if you ever need any materials, you’d only have to write a commission request, and you could even earn some extra cash on the side."

"Hey! You sly geezer who once issued an extermination bounty on Blaze! Don’t even think about poaching people from me!"