Episode 97
Aluin Wilderness.
It is a vast plain that spreads widely in the southwest of Baran Kingdom.
Although it was named Wilderness.
It was also a place as rich as the granary of the kingdom.
At the time of the Orc invasion, the whole country was attacked by Orcs, but this place was fine.
The reason is simple.
Because here is the free city of Aluin.
“Adventurer Fafnir… … . Pass.”
The guards let them in without stopping.
Thousands of adventurers come and go every day, so they don’t really care.
“Oh, what a great city.”
Fafnir looked around.
Citadels and ramparts as massive as mountains.
There are splendid streets in it, and the streets are full of people.
‘As expected, it deserves to be called the center of users.’
Aluin City was like a kingdom within a kingdom.
A territory under the direct control of Grand Duke Garp, a high-ranking aristocrat of the Baran Kingdom.
Now that the kingdom is divided and the orcs run amok.
Since neither the Orcs nor the Kingdom Army were touching this place, many users flocked to it.
‘There must have been something with Grand Duke Gowin.’
Grand Duke Garp is the duke of the kingdom, but when the kingdom was invaded, he did not move for defense reasons.
I won’t strike first, but I have a strong will to kill anyone who enters!
‘There are three things I need to do here.’
Fafnir entered the gate and thought.
The first is to find a blacksmith who can melt the armor.
The idea was to melt Karamit’s Dark Mithril Armor and make a new one.
‘I can’t use that armor, so I’ll have to find a new blacksmith to make it.’
The second is to complete the quest instructed by Gould.
Find the traces of the warlock Lecheln somewhere in the Aluin Wilderness.
Although Aluin Free City is a large city, it is only a dot in the area as a whole.
After searching the vast wilderness and collecting information from numerous villages, they were able to find the advance party of warlocks.
‘Incorporation of promising users… … . I don’t have to do this here, so I’ll put it off until later.’
The most urgent thing is none other than information.
‘There might be an information guild… … . There is a risk that my activities or data will be exposed.’
There were other places more suitable than that.
The back alleys of Liberty City.
Fafnil, who had been looking at the rows of signboards, entered one place.
“Welcome, sir.”
“What are you going to do?”
The place I entered was like a normal bar.
Fafnir went to the counter and said.
“A glass of Shanghai Joe.”
“Ah yes.”
The bartender brought a black cocktail.
Fafnir emptied his glass and said.
“It’s delicious.”
“thank you.”
To the answering waiter, Fafnir handed out 4 gold.
“Four dollars.”
“… … !”
From noble mtl dot com.
The waiter went into the tavern, and after a while left several people on either side.
The grim-looking giant in the middle lowered his head and asked.
“Did Brother Kindorhan send you to come?”
Although it is pretending to be a tavern on the outside.
In fact, this was the branch of the Umigan faction with Kindorhan as the head.
“We are just acquaintances. I was asked by Kindorhan to help out with the branches.”
“Oh oh… … .”
“It’s not free… … . I need some information, can I get it here?”
“That is one of our main jobs.”
Come this way.
Having said that, the grim-looking giant led Fafnir to one of the VIP rooms.
“Come in.”
Shortly after the giant left.
A clean-looking young man with several people on either side entered the room.
“welcome.”
The young man with a clean look said.
“I am Branch Manager Twin Blade. Call me Mr. Tub.”
twin blades.
He was the king of the night who ruled the back alleys of this free city in the past.
Although he was defeated by Kindorhan and entered Sanha.
It was a relationship like the president of a partner company, not a direct subordinate.
“You are the branch manager here… … .”
“Kindorhan asked me very confidently. I want you to look at me as much as possible.”
Tubl clicked his tongue.
“But it doesn’t work for me. It would be a big mistake if you came here thinking you were only going to be entertained.”
It was a double declaration that was cut and declared before he could even speak.
“No, I’m not like that… … .”
“It’s okay, if you want to be treated, you have to take care of things here.”
When I asked not to reveal the fact that the other person was Fafnir, it seemed that he thought it was something like entertainment for a close friend.
“Did you know that there is a lyre during gang-pae work?”
“It is, but… … .”
“Then it would be easy to explain. The place we collect is on the streets H1~H36 near here. And zones L1-L13.”
Tubl continued.
“But lately, when I send out the collection team, they keep getting attacked, so I want you to escort them.”
“hmm… … . All right.”
As Fafnir moved his head up and down, Tubul added.
“If you’re going to argue with Kindorhan, you’d better stop. I lost to him, but I’m not that picky.”
“… … .”
Fafnir hid his embarrassment.
‘It looks like they think of me as a subordinate of the collaborating organization.’
His current position is, so to speak, honorary chairman of the entire organization.
Much higher than Tub, of course, Kindorhan.
In terms of the country, he was like a king on top of a king.
‘How can I solve this misunderstanding… … .’
It was then.
Just when Fafnir was drowning in trouble.
Slowly, the door opened and a subordinate entered.
“Brother, what happened… … .”
“what’s the matter?”
A subordinate who came running to Tubul’s shout answered.
“They are here again. out now… … .”
“Ha, those bastards again… … .”
“Those bastards?”
“Rookies don’t have to know yet. Stay still before anything happens. Everyone else, follow me!”
Shuk, Tubul grabs his tools and leaves.
‘It seems that there is a quarrel between the forces in the back alley.’
Aluin City is a large city comparable to the capital.
PVP between factions is not allowed, but existing content such as the back world was an exception.
“I was going to do the quest quickly and leave… … .”
If it’s Kindorhan’s organization, it’s also my organization.
Fafnir called the tough guy who was the first guide.
“Do you have a nickname?”
“Me? ah. I am Duckgu.”
‘How did you get the nickname Deokgu?’
Fafnir cleared his throat once and then continued.
“Can I ask you something for a moment?”
“yes? yes.”
“First of all, who are the kids playing around outside?”
“that is… … . The Yellow Dragon Clan is an organization competing with ours.”
“compete? The district negotiations didn’t go well.”
In an instant, Duke’s face darkened.
“I can’t live with them in the first place.”
“why?”
“that is… … . Those guys are of Chinese descent, Hao Xiangdi? If you are not my brother, I will push you away unconditionally.”
“… … !”
Servers are different for each country, but there were also many Chinese who used servers in Korea, Japan, or Europe.
If intercontinental voyages become possible, the Chinese will become a tremendous force based on population and capital!
‘Besides, that organization is famous for not giving up once it has established a foothold.’
“Then, are they also responsible for being attacked while collecting money?”
“Yes. The same Korean people can talk about it somehow, but the Chinese people are just recklessly engaging in PVP and beating them to death.”
This faction isn’t too far behind in size yet.
However, since there was a big difference in the number of people and capital, I had to accept being subjected to such a minor attack.
“Then those guys must be the commander-in-chief.”
If it is a Chinese organization, I have seen it appear a few times in novels.
At Fafnil’s words, Deokgu shook his head.
“Wheein? oh, no.”
“No?”
“yes. That guy is the action leader, and the commander-in-chief is a guy named Jinpyeong-wi.”
‘The commander-in-chief is Jinpyeong-wi? So, Yu Qing still hasn’t obtained the Lion King’s heart?’
Heart of the Lion King (Immortal).
It is a hidden peace sleeping in the Aluin Wilderness, and it is a tremendous item that raised Wei Qing, who was an ordinary user, to the strongest.
“Do you know how far the exploration in the south of the wilderness has gone?”
“Exploration now… … . I know it went up to about 1/3 of it.”
“It’s 1/3… … . The exploration isn’t over yet.”
If so, your thoughts match.
‘It’s interesting, shall we try that first?’
To do so, he had to first take control of the world behind Aluin City and create an influence.
Following being an organization under Kindorhan.
One more reason to invest in this organization.
‘good.’
First of all, doping!
Fafnir said to Deokgu.
“Can I eat all of this?”
“yes? ah. yes.”
The target is the dishes left on the table.
Fafnil immediately poured the steak and wine into his mouth.
That was the moment.
“Pu-whoop!”
The texture is like chewing rubber and drinking canned soju!
“this… … . what is this… … .”
I wondered if it had gone bad, but I tried eating it again and it was the same.
“Are there any problems with these dishes?”
“Wait.”
After eating a piece of steak, Deokgu shook his head.
“Are you all right?”
“okay? Anything else?”
“yes. There is nothing wrong.”
“No way… … . wait for a sec.”
Fafnir realized something and blurted out his words.
‘no way?’
The sweetness you feel every time your tongue touches a fork, knife, or spoon while eating.
‘I came to taste metal, not cooking!’
Any dish tastes terrible, and licking a fork feels like tasting sweet candy or delicious meat.
‘Is it a characteristic of a metal dhampir… … .’
It’s fate that you have to eat metal instead of food to enjoy food!
Vampires are subject to various restrictions based on their characteristics instead of strong power, and this was one of them.
-I had the veal tenderloin steak.
-HP decreased by -1. (10 minutes)
-Drank blood wine.
-Strength decreased by -1. (10 minutes)
Even the status effect was converted into a debuff.
‘It’s not like the intake buff has disappeared at all… … ?’
An alternative was quickly found.
– I took iron.
-Strength status increased by +5. (10 minutes)
– I took stainless steel.
-Movement speed increased by 3. (10 minutes)
‘… … really nasty… … !’
Instead of food, you have to eat metal to feel the taste and receive buffs.
‘I can’t.’
Surprisingly, the knives, forks, and chopsticks were quite delicious.
Fafnir finished eating the tableware and food and immediately stood up.
“older brother! It’s dangerous outside right now, so here for now… … .”
At Deokgu’s words, Fafnir shook his head.
“I was asked to help, so I have to help.”
It is also my organization.
“Ah, do you have any spears left?”
“If it’s a window… … . There’s one here, but… … .”
Dude, Deokgu holds out a normal window displayed in the store.
“thanks.”
Fafnir took it and walked out slowly.
* * *
“You’re finally crawling out.”
The entrance to Third Avenue, where the Umigan branch is located.
A muscular man with a catfish beard spoke with dozens of men.
Across the street were the Umigan gangs from the tavern.
“Jinpyeongwi! Is it you again?”
In the middle of Umi Ganpae.
Tubul, holding a double sword, asked with a tired expression.
“If you were beaten that way last time, isn’t it time to give up?”
“conflict! Today, I will definitely take down your signs.”
Dropping the signboard among gangsters means giving up on this city!
Tubble sighed and said.
“I don’t even want to have your yellow earthworm signs… … .”
“Yellow earthworm? This baby insults our Hwangryongpa! ”
Jinpyeongwi’s face turned red.
The Huanglong faction is a gang organization that has the Huanghe faction, a major organization in the Chinese server, as its backing.
He was always proud of that fact, and it was only natural that he would get excited when he heard something like that.
“hehehe, that’s what you’re talking about.
Jinpyeongwi, who grumbled at this, smiled sinisterly.
“I won’t be able to do tricks like last time this time.”
“… … ?”
“Guys!”
At Jinpyeongwi’s shouts, his subordinates moved aside.
Then, players and NPCs lying there began to appear.
From noble mtl dot com.
“These are our children! You are this baby… … .”
“I caught you playing the collection.”
Jinpyeong-wi said with a grin.
“I’ve only paralyzed it now, but it depends on what you do.”
“… … You’re not going to threaten them into leaving as hostages, are you?”
“No way.”
In the back alley world, especially in virtual reality, hostage taking is far less valuable than real life.
The most you can do is kill the hostage, but even so, you just have to reconnect after a few days.
“The conditions for getting it back are simple.”
“What?”
“If we fight with all these guys on, won’t our losses be enormous?”
In large-scale PVP, the victor gets a big advantage, but in a big way, more experience and gold are lost in the end.
Especially in gang fights, it’s normal to be wiped out in an instant once you’re pushed!
“So let’s stick heads together one-on-one and finish it. Don’t make the children suffer.”
“… … .”
Tubble pondered for a moment, then nodded.
“Are you going to keep your promise?”
“of course. I swear by the signboard of the Yellow Dragon faction.”
“… … Give me some time to think.”
“However much.”
sh*t. There was poison in the eyes of Jinpyeongwi, who smiled sinisterly.
‘Because you guys will always lose anyway.’