After he left West Sun, Seo Jun-Ho headed to the imperial capital, Leiark.
“Wow, wooow!” The Frost Queen couldn’t close her mouth as she kept exclaiming in wonder. She was like a country girl who had come to the city for the first time.
‘Well, she’s not exaggerating.’
Even Seo Jun-Ho had been momentarily speechless from the imperial capital’s grandeur. Both the tall inner and outer walls had an enormous statue. It was an entire 30 meters tall, and he couldn’t even begin to describe its exquisite artistry.
“I-I have never seen such a great city in my life. Not even on TV…”
“Weren’t you a queen? Was your place different?” he asked.
“...M-My kingdom stood on a cold, barren land. We were not lacking, but we could not build such enormous structures for the safety of the citizens… I-It was not practical…”
“Wipe your drool before you talk.”
The liveliest city in Frontier that the two had been to so far was Gilleon. But Leiark’s entrance alone made Gilleon look like some remote village.
‘The guards at the gates are also very well-trained.’
Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes sparkled. He finally understood why the fiends couldn’t just attack the Empire carelessly.
‘Their standards are extremely high. They’re stronger than most Players.’
The knights merely a.s.signed to guard the city gates would probably be around level 110. He could even sense the great discipline in their magic. The knights protecting the palace and the inner parts of the city would be even more powerful.
‘Now I understand why all the Big 6 Guilds are panicking because they can’t establish relations with the Empire.’
It wasn’t simply because they wanted to look good in front of the rulers of the land. It was also because they wanted to side with the powerful.
“Hmm…” The Frost Queen eventually closed her mouth, but now, she was sniffing the air. “Contractor, there’s a good smell coming from over there,” she said.
“Is it coming from the cafe?” he asked.
As expected of a cafe in the capital, it had high-quality cakes and bread that weren’t available in other towns.
“Ooh, Contractor! The inside of this bread looks like spiderwebs, but it’s very fluffy.”
“This tea is amazing! The aroma spreads across your mouth the moment you drink it!”
The Frost Queen was very excited about trying all these new foods.
Soon after, Seo Jun-Ho studied his map and started toward the bank.
‘He said it was at Rockford Bank.’
As far as Seo Jun-Ho knew, Rockford Bank was a company from Earth established by the Rockford family from England.
“How can I help you?” the employee asked.
“I want to access a vault,” he said.
“Please tell me the name of the owner.”
“Favo Limisen.”
“You don’t look like him.”
“He gave me permission to access it.” Once he showed the key, the employee nodded.
“Please follow me…”
Seo Jun-Ho was led to a nondescript room. Inside, there was a single vault.
“You must use a spatial skill,” he commented.
“Haha, that’s correct. Property prices are too high in the capital, so we cannot accommodate many vaults.” They were using a skill to move the vaults around. “Rockford Bank has the best security in the world, be it on the 1st floor or the 2nd floor. Vaults are stored between spatial dimensions, so they cannot be accessed without the skill user who manages it.”
“What happens if they die?” he asked.
The employee smiled brightly. “That’s not a problem. We’ve prepared for the worst-case scenario, so we have ten skill users in our employment. All of them know where the vaults are located.”
“I see…”
“Take as much time as you need with the vault.”
Left alone in the room, Seo Jun-Ho opened the vault with his key.
“I expected there to be many items in here, considering that it’s a n.o.bleman’s vault,” the Frost Queen remarked.
“It wouldn’t matter. The only thing I am supposed to receive is the Sun’s Tear,” Seo Jun-Ho pointed out.
Inside the large vault, there was a small, transparent potion bottle. As he picked it up, a glowing, orange liquid swayed inside. “Is this the Sun’s Tear?”
It was beautiful. The contents did look like they were from the sun, and his eyes followed the liquid whenever it moved.
“Contractor, hurry up and check its information,” the Frost Queen insisted. Seo Jun-Ho’s face fell as he did so.
[Sun’s Tear]
Grade: Unique
Description: A tear that falls from the sun once every few decades.
Effect: A liquid that contains the energy of the sun. Grants the user powerful yang energy.
“Hmm.”
“A potion,” the Frost Queen noted.
“Yeah. It is, but…” It wasn’t a potion that just anyone could use.
‘In my case, it’s practically impossible.’
Seo Jun-Ho already possessed two elemental abilities. Both darkness and frost were yin energies, not yang.
“I think this would be poison for me, not a potion.” If only there were someone he knew who could use this…
After a moment, two people came to mind.
‘I think Kim Woo-Joong might be able to use it, and so would Captain Gong Ju-Ha.’
He stirred the bottle lightly and carefully placed it into his inventory. “It’s a shame that I can’t use it, but I’m sure it’ll come in handy at some point,” he said.
After they left the bank, they headed to Leiark’s business district, where Goblin’s base was located.
“Mr. Jun-Ho!” Gong Ju-Ha exclaimed. He contacted her ahead of time, so she was waiting for him at the entrance.
“It’s been a while, Captain Gong.”
“Wow, really! How many months has it been?”
“I don’t know…” She didn’t know this, but it had only been about a month since they had last seen each other. They fought in the matching system after all.
‘Well, it doesn’t seem like she noticed at all.’
Seo Jun-Ho tilted his head as he took her in. “Did you get taller, by chance?”
“W-What are you saying?” As she stuttered, she hooked her left foot behind her right. Unfortunately, since she had two feet, he could still see it.
“Oh, you’re wearing high heels…” Very tall ones, at that. Probably around 15 centimeters or so. He looked at her, slightly disappointed. Gong Ju-Ha avoided his eyes and turned around.
“C-come in!” She ran inside so quickly that her feet blurred.
“Hm, so this is the Goblin Guild’s base. It is quite beautiful,” the Frost Queen admired. The both of them took in the grand appearance at a leisurely pace. They had somehow created a traditional Korean-style mansion in the middle of the imperial capital. It was a testament to Goblin’s enormous wealth.[1]
‘But I noticed something earlier…’
Seo Jun-Ho could sense an enormous amount of magic from the estate. Was it coming from the base itself? Or…
‘Is it coming from someone inside?’
He entered the mansion with an amused expression on his face. Once inside, it resembled Gyeongbokgung Palace.
“Contractor, is it required for establishments in the capital to use spatial magic?” the Frost Queen asked.
“Of course not.” Like the bank, this place was also using spatial magic. However, there was a clear difference between the level of technique.
‘There’s a huge difference between merely moving vaults around and enlarging a s.p.a.ce.’
Beyond the dozens of buildings was a large pond, and beyond that stood a large palace.
“It must be the Guildmaster’s skill.” If it wasn’t for the spatial magic user Shin Sung-Hyun, such large-scale magic would be impossible.
“What are you doing? It’s this way!” Gong Ju-Ha waved. At some point, she had gotten way too far ahead of them. She was… she was supposed to escort them, right?
A sharp-looking man smirked as he approached Seo Jun-Ho. “Please excuse her. I think she’s embarra.s.sed that she went through the trouble of wearing high heels.”
“Oh, Mr. Ha In-Ho.” The Guardian Knight. He was a famous tanker from Goblin. Seo Jun-Ho smiled when he saw the man.
“I’ve been keeping up with you in the news. I was so shocked when I heard about the Cave of Trials that I nearly fell over,” Ha In-Ho said with a smile.
“I just got lucky...”
“Lucky, you say…” Ha In-Ho muttered, sounding suspicious. 99.8% of Players in the world challenged the Cave of Trials. Unless there was an exceptional case, most of them would enter it at some point.
‘Tens of millions of Players have entered the Cave of Trials until now.’
And the man who had been the first to reach the 10th level was standing right before him. But he was saying that he had simply gotten lucky?
‘How modest of him.’
Or perhaps he was cautious… Ha In-Ho chuckled.
“It’s a little surprising that the Goblin Guild is having a dungeon campaign open to the public…” he said.
“Oh yes, this is quite rare.”
“Is there a reason you’re doing this?” Seo Jun-Ho asked.
“To put it simply, it’s simply business.”
“...Business?”
“Yes.” Ha In-Ho counted on his fingers. “There are… there are three people that we have invited as guests this time around.”
“Oh, so I’m not the only one.”
“The Goblin Guild invites unaffiliated Players every now and then like this,” he explained.
It was a smart business model.
‘They can show off the Guild’s base and show off the skills of their members while they clear a high-level dungeon…’
And they could pull it off properly…
Smaller Guilds, or even other big Guilds wouldn’t be able to do anything like this. This was the power of the Big 6.
Seo Jun-Ho started to get curious. “What are the requirements to receive an invitation?”
“The Player must either have a good reputation that will benefit the Guild or otherwise have outstanding abilities. As long as they meet one of these two requirements, they can be invited.”
“I see. Who was invited other than me?” He asked.
“We invited the Schumern Saintess. She came out of retirement a few months ago… But unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like she will partic.i.p.ate.” Ha In-Ho looked disappointed. “I think there was some kind of emergency in Schumern. I really wanted to meet her personally. It’s a shame.”
“The Saintess… She must be an amazing person,” Seo Jun-Ho noted.
“Yes, she’s an incredibly talented healer.”
To think that there was a Player with such a name. Seo Jun-Ho nodded. “And who is the other person?”
“He calls himself Gasman,” Ha In-Ho said.
“Gas…Man?”
“Yes. He received an invitation because it was deemed that he would have good synergy with the Princess.”
“That makes sense…” After all, gas explosions were extremely destructive. Even now, people still considered Gong Ju-Ha’s Ruler of Flames (S) as one of the most powerful offensive skills in existence. And if she had a supporting a Player who could strengthen her flames with gas?
‘It’s scary.’
To their opponent, their combination would be the incarnation of fear itself.
“What are you guys talking about?” Gong Ju-Ha asked, waiting in front of the palace. She seemed a bit jealous.
“Just this and that. Mr. In-Ho explained things to me very well,” Seo Jun-Ho said.
“Haha, thank you. Then, I’ll take my leave.”
After he left, Gong Ju-Ha led Seo Jun-Ho over and stopped right in front of the palace. “Alright, we can just head right in.”
“Okay, but… What is this place?” Seo Jun-Ho asked. It was too big to be his lodgings.
“Since you’ve entered his house, shouldn’t you greet the owner first?”
“So you’re saying…”
“Yes. Otherwise known as the heart of the Goblin Guild, this is Goblin Palace.” A palace where goblins gathered. As Seo Jun-Ho looked up at the large estate, Gong Ju-Ha continued. “Go and meet him. Meeting one of the Nine Heavens is an incredible experience.”
“...”
Gong Ju-Ha had no idea that Seo Jun-Ho had met Kim Woo-Joong before.
‘But I have no reason to refuse…’
This would be the second of the Nine Heavens whom Seo Jun-Ho would meet.
- Come in.
A male voice came from deep within the palace; his voice sounded business-like. He walked down the long hallway and opened the sliding door. Unlike the rest of the palace, the room looked like a modern office. A man was sitting at the desk.
The man’s expression seemed cold, but he had an expectant smile on his face.
“So I finally get to meet you. I am the Guild Master of Goblin, Shin Sung-Hyun.”
He stood up and swiftly held out his hand.
1. For reference, traditional Korean mansions are typically made up of several single-floor connecting buildings with a lot of open s.p.a.ce. So when they talk about the mansion, it may not necessarily be referring to the inside of the building. ☜