Chapter 235: Fishing (1)
“Can I start worrying a little less now?”
The man yawned as he spoke. The woman walking beside him fiddled with something like a tablet PC and nodded.
“For now, Lord Sigma is expected to arrive soon, and we have a new guard as well. Whether they’re reliable or not, though, I can’t say.”
“I heard it’s confirmed they’re C-rank. With those stats, there’s no reason to doubt them. Plus, they used to be with Medsang.”
“A Medsang guard with high-ranking skills and plenty of money wouldn’t bother transferring to another city. People are saying there’s something shady about them.”
“Maybe they just wanted better treatment. Medsang is a nice place to live, but some say it’s too egalitarian. Something about socialism? Either way, if they’ve got something to hide, that just makes them easier to control. Even better for us.”
“That’s true.”
At a fork in the road, the woman stopped. Checking the time displayed on her tablet, she spoke again.
“About four hours left until sunrise. I’m heading back to the quarters. What about you?”
“I have to switch shifts for Alpha’s surveillance in an hour. The bonus pay is nice, but I’m exhausted. Gotta step out for a smoke first.”
“You’ll attract monsters like that.”
The man scoffed, thinking there was no issue since the Defense Bureau was full of high-ranking guards. He separated from the woman and continued walking alone.
The long corridor was quiet. Since it was an outer section, surveillance was lax, and barely anyone passed through. The man pulled a cigarette made from a plant-type monster out of his inventory. Just as he placed it between his lips, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“…Something feels off.”
He glanced around, but of course, there was nothing to see. The only movement came from the surveillance cameras shifting slightly. He resumed walking.
I quietly extended a transparent string from my hand.
Midway down the hallway, the moment the surveillance camera moved left, creating a blind spot—
Swish.
The string dropped like a snare. It instantly coiled around the man’s neck and yanked him upward before he could even struggle.
“Urk.”
Sticky monster webbing pinned his limbs to the ceiling. The surveillance camera, angled downward, couldn’t catch what was happening above. Loosening the choking string just enough, I whispered softly.
“If you scream, you die.”
The man frantically rolled his eyes, searching for me, then nodded. As a mere D-rank, it was impossible for him to see through my stealth skill. It was pointless to even try.
I removed my hand from his mouth and warned him again.
“I have no reason to kill you since my cover isn’t blown. So be smart about this.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
“First, hand over all the keys in your inventory. Don’t even think about hiding anything. I already know exactly what keys someone of your rank and position should have.”
“B-But there’s a contract in place that cuts off my hand the moment I try to give a key to someone else!”
“What rank is the contract?”
“A-rank.”
Good. If it was A-rank, I could handle it with my now-downgraded S-rank curse resistance. Since it only affected his hand, the narrowed resistance range would still be enough.
“I’ll use an S-rank curse resistance item on your hand.”
I broke a café latte straw in half, placed the pieces against his palms, and covered them with my own hands.
“Are you really…”
“Losing a hand is better than dying. If it gets cut off, you can take it to a high-rank healer and get it reattached.”
The man, though nervous, eventually agreed. He shut his eyes tightly. Moments later, a keycard appeared between his fingers.
“I-It seems fine. Here it is. This is the access key for the Defense Bureau’s main building.”
One by one, various keys were retrieved from his inventory. Not only did he hand over the Bureau’s keys, but also his house key and car key without resistance.
“This keycard—”
“It’s for the mana absorption chamber where Alpha is being held. It changes daily, so it’ll be useless by tomorrow night.”
How annoying. The elevator key leading to the underground mana hall also changed weekly. The security was more thorough than I expected. Still, with my stealth skill, I could just wait patiently for someone else to use the elevator and slip through.
“I swear I won’t say a word. Ask me anything, and I’ll answer.”
Perhaps relieved that his hands were intact, the man relaxed and began talking freely. He even explained the keys in detail.
“If I don’t return the keys, I’ll be penalized and lose any chance of promotion. I probably won’t even be able to keep my position as Alpha’s handler, but honestly, I never liked that job. I mean, why would they assign a normal person to guard a monster? My life is precious, you know.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“…Pardon?”
“You’re already dead.”
A long time ago. Perhaps even hundreds of years ago.
The man blinked in confusion, not understanding my words. Without hesitation, I tightened the slackened string.
He barely made a sound before losing consciousness.
I stored the string in my inventory and covered his face and body with the remaining spider webbing, making it look as if a spider-type monster had suffocated and stored him away as food.
Leaving the soon-to-be-dead man behind, I descended downward.
One of the weakest among those linked to Yuhyun—this D-rank—was now eliminated.
That left two S-ranks and two C-ranks.
‘Should I take out another C-rank next?’
Should I observe their reaction after discovering the D-rank’s corpse?
I checked the cards filling my inventory. It would take quite some time before the D-rank stuck to the ceiling was discovered. After all, not many people look up at the ceiling while walking through an indoor hallway.
‘Since most of the keys have time restrictions…’
Just as I was considering my next move, a message arrived. A sub-quest.
[Know Your Enemy, Win Every Battle
Let’s take a close look at the Achates Defense Bureau. If you check more than one-third of the Bureau’s key buildings, you’ll receive a bonus for the rest!
Reward: Detailed Map of the Achates Defense Bureau]
As expected, Rookie was definitely monitoring my actions. A detailed map—how convenient. This Rookie seemed surprisingly sharp.
I started moving to claim my reward. By now, the man on the ceiling had probably died, but since I hadn’t killed him in an immediate attack, the kill penalty notification didn’t pop up.
Mindiva, being completely drunk, wouldn’t wake up easily, but it was still safer to return before sunrise. Not wanting to waste time waiting for someone to pass by, I simply used a keycard on a monitored door.
“…What the?”
An A-rank guard tilted his head as the door automatically unlocked.
Fortunately, only the central building with the Blue Hole had keycards with identification markers. Elsewhere, a door opening on its own would likely be dismissed as a mechanical error rather than a stealthy intruder.
Avoiding the heavily guarded central area, I roamed around diligently. Before long, the quest completion notification appeared.
[Detailed Map of the Achates Defense Bureau]
The reward wasn’t a paper map but a rectangular cube. Upon using it, a list of building names appeared. Selecting the central building brought up a 3D display. It allowed detailed zooming of each section, showing the shortest routes, security checkpoints, shift schedules, and more.
Not bad. Was this an invitation to rob the place?
‘…Was Rookie always like this?’
It almost felt like they were actively encouraging me to loot the place and burn it all down. They had seemed relatively reserved before. Well, it was useful, so I wouldn’t complain.
There was still plenty of time until sunrise. As dawn approached, the atmosphere in the Defense Bureau grew more relaxed. I put on a pre-prepared mask and pulled out a fake ID.
Approaching an A-rank guard walking nearby, I held up my fake ID right in front of his eyes.
“I’m Nuraun, assigned to Alpha.”
“Oh… Yes.”
The A-rank blinked, studying the ID before looking up at me. Our eyes met, but he showed no suspicion. With no special perception skills and only A-rank stats, he trusted the ID completely.
“Could you tell me where my colleagues, Moas and Hajibun, are? I left my communicator behind.”
“Of course, I’ll check for you.”
The A-rank contacted someone.
Back in my city, it would be rare to see an A-rank treating a C-rank so politely. But here, rank took a backseat to position. As an Alpha handler, I held more authority than a combat A-rank.
“Mr. Moas is in the mana absorption chamber, and Mr. Hajibun is in the second cafeteria.”
The second cafeteria, huh? They say even a ghost who dies while eating looks good. Not sure if just knowing that would turn them into a ghost, though.
After thanking him, I turned the corner and immediately activated my stealth skill again.
Entering the cafeteria, I spotted someone finishing their meal and leaving. I didn’t recognize his face, but floating above his head was the name C-rank Hajibun.
Convenient.
Eliminating the second target was just as easy. Using the same spider web item from the points shop, I staged his death as a monster attack, sticking him to the ceiling.
‘That’s two down.’
Three left.
I needed to keep the last remaining C-rank alive. That was the best way to lure the S-ranks out.
Though my main targets were eliminated, stopping now would be too suspicious. So far, only those connected to Alpha and the engraving had been killed.
To balance things out, I took out a few more people associated with Alpha in the same manner.
Returning to the quarters, I found Mindiva still passed out. There were no signs of anyone having entered.
“Mr. Mindiva, let’s get you to bed.”
Gently, I supported him—then carelessly tossed him onto the bed.
I wasn’t sleepy, so I lounged on the sofa and turned on the TV. Half-reclining, I watched absentmindedly, eyes half-closed, for about three or four hours.
Then, Mindiva’s communicator rang, followed shortly by someone knocking on the door and pressing the doorbell.
“Just a moment.”
Yawning loudly, I opened the door.
“What’s the matter?”
“Mr. Mindiva—”
“He’s still sleeping. He drank a bit too much last night.”
The Defense Bureau employee looked slightly relieved.
So, the bodies had been found.
“Well… um…”
“Sounds urgent. Come on in.”
The employee entered and shook Mindiva awake. Mindiva groggily opened his eyes and looked around.
“Huh… What’s…”
“You were pretty drunk last night. Do you remember drinking with me?”
“Oh, yes. I think so. I must’ve gone a bit overboard.”
“You finished more than half the bottle.”
“Oh dear, I’m sorry.”
Mindiva apologized for nearly emptying such an expensive wine.
I assured him it was fine, then the Bureau employee spoke up.
“Last night at the Defense Bureau, um…”
“Go on. It’s fine.”
The wine was working wonders.
The employee hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
“A spider-type monster infiltrated the Bureau.”
“What?!”
I mirrored their shock, my expression a perfect mix of fear and disbelief. What a horrifying turn of events.
“Moreover, it specifically targeted individuals who were primarily responsible for handling Alpha. It seems to have sensed the presence of an SS-rank Awakener, caught their scent, and then hunted down the weaker ones. Intelligent monsters often start by attacking the weakest guards in a combat unit. It must have mistaken Alpha’s handlers for part of its team.”
“That’s… Did they manage to capture the monster?”
“Not yet. Now that the sun has risen, it might have burned up on its own.”
“If it was strong enough to infiltrate the Defense Bureau, it had to be at least A-rank! There’s no way it just burned up!”
The employee explained that strict orders had been issued forbidding anyone from moving around alone. A-rank and higher guards were currently conducting a thorough search of the Bureau.
“S-rank guards have been mobilized as well, so we should be able to track it down before nightfall.”
Mindiva let out a long sigh at that.
“I’m sorry to have shown you such an unfortunate situation.”
“Not at all. In times like these, incidents like this can happen at any moment. The swift response is actually reassuring.”
Mindiva offered to assign me personal protection, which I politely declined. Considering that spider is me.
“Oh, and we received word that Lord Sigma of Solemnise is expected to arrive this afternoon.”
…What? That’s way too soon.
While I panicked internally, Mindiva looked delighted.
“Perfect timing. The high-ranking guards accompanying him will ensure there are no security concerns at the Bureau.”
There are plenty of concerns.
I had assumed I’d be fine until the end of the day, but this threw my plans off completely.
‘Should I try to persuade Sigma in person?’
Damn it. I had hoped never to run into him again. He must have figured out by now that I ran off with those items. Could he also suspect I was behind the explosion?
If I were Sigma, I’d grab me by the collar the moment I saw me.
Still, if he was anything like Seong Hyunjae, as long as I kept him entertained, he might be lenient.
“In that case, I’ll stay put in my quarters. As long as I don’t leave the room, I should be fine, right?”
“Yes. The place is built to be secure, and if anyone tries to force open the door or break through the walls, the emergency alarm will go off, summoning guards immediately. You have nothing to worry about. Just rest easy, and if you need anything, press 0 on the phone to place an order.”
Mindiva excused himself and left with the employee. Shortly after, another Bureau employee and an A-rank guard arrived to escort me to a new room.
I took the opportunity to ask when exactly Sigma was expected to arrive and where he was coming from.
“He departed via transport helicopter. Since he took off just before midnight, barring any complications… he should arrive at the Defense Bureau’s rooftop helipad around three or four in the afternoon.”
The employee chuckled, mentioning that helicopters were generally too loud and difficult to conceal, making them risky in most places.
So, even this city uses helicopters.
Flying in a straight line at speeds more than twice as fast as vehicles navigating rough terrain—it made sense that the trip wouldn’t even take a full day.
After the employee and guard left, I remained alone in the room.
Originally, I had planned to go outside and bait the S-rank guards, but now, Sigma was my top priority. If he got in the way, I wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything.
‘…He has to focus on me.’
It would be a pain if he became interested in my younger brother instead. But there was no way an SS-rank Alpha suddenly going berserk wouldn’t intrigue him.
Had he also received reports about the guard with the skill to calm Alpha? That could be another useful piece of information. And on top of that—
As I sorted through everything I had, time passed quickly.
After informing them that I’d be taking a nap following lunch, I activated my stealth skill and made my way up to the rooftop.
Some time later, in the distance, the heavy silhouette of a military transport helicopter appeared.
–TL Notes–
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