episode_0025

The difficulty was easy.

Objectively, as long as I didn’t make any major mistakes, it was something I could succeed at multiple times with my ability.

However, regardless of my ability, if an ordinary person had carried out this mission, how much damage would it have caused?

Therefore, regardless of the easy difficulty, the quest itself was clearly a difficult one.

However, as if unaware of such circumstances, the reward I received, fitting the ‘Easy’ difficulty, was incredibly meager.

Traits didn’t grow all at once like before.

However, despite that, there was definitely something that had changed.

Traits: Autonomy B, Silent Footsteps B, Gloomy Aura D, Villain F

Skills: Military Swordsmanship E, Assassination Blade D

A skill called Assassination Blade had appeared in the skills section.

Since it appeared suddenly, I needed to check what it was to know, so I paused for a moment to rest, stopping my steps and sitting under a tree’s shade to check the newly acquired Assassination Blade.

[Assassination Blade D]

You cut down the innocent without hesitation.

The sword you wield, you who are without blood or tears, makes no sound, and shows no mercy, not distinguishing the innocent. The name of the sword you use is Assassination Blade.

The newly acquired skill was openly criticizing me.

Killing an innocent person probably referred to that child.

“Then in that situation, what exactly was I supposed to do?”

I muttered my dissatisfaction sarcastically, but there was no way a reply would come.

The child, in a state worse than death, directly asked me to kill them, and I did.

Was that my fault?

It’s true that I wasn’t capable enough to help properly.

I was too lacking to achieve the best outcome.

However, since I couldn’t achieve the best outcome, I tried to achieve the best possible outcome.

Giving them peace by killing them, and bringing back their head so they wouldn’t be disgraced, was my best.

The more I thought about it, the unfairness regarding this damned system and, at the same time, only fleeting regret about what if I had been a little more capable washed over me, making me shake my head.

Knowing well that the destination of such thoughts is ultimately nothing but endless self-loathing, I stopped thinking further.

Instead, let’s examine other things.

After brushing off a bug that dropped onto my shoulder with the back of my hand, I rummaged through my bag.

I had seen a notification that some of the possessions entered my inventory even when I caught the Goblin Leader.

And, whether it was considered trash by Riye or not, I had experienced my bag instantly becoming heavy at that moment.

I had only briefly checked what kind of items they were and hadn’t paid attention since.

The first thing I took out of the bag was a foul-smelling book bound in human skin, written in an unrecognizable language.

It was quite a terrible object, and the urge to burn it welled up, but because I wanted to at least try to interpret the contents, I plan to take it with me for now.

In the capital, there must be people who can appraise and interpret such books.

It will be expensive, but since I have quite a bit of money, perhaps it won’t be a big problem.

I didn’t know the market price in this field well either, so it was difficult to say anything definitive.

Besides that, there was a human spine sword.

It seemed to be for performing rituals rather than combat.

It was useless for absolutely nothing to me, so I burned it when I was in the village.

It seemed they wanted to increase their prestige among the goblins by adorning themselves with the body parts of humans, whom the goblins were wary of.

The Goblin Leader had not only the eyeball necklace but all sorts of bizarre things made of human body parts.

As for money, there was none.

Since goblins couldn’t possibly have copper, silver, or gold coins, I suppose it was natural?

Besides those, it was full of literal trash, so I discarded them at this opportunity.

After finishing sorting my bag, I leaned against the tree and covered my face with my hands.

Somehow my head was throbbing; physically I was fine, but mentally I was getting tired.

Moreover….

The voice I heard back then bothered me.

-Achievement! Path of the Villain

You have killed an innocent person.

Without blood or tears, you killed them without hesitation.

People call those like you who have abandoned their humanity villains, so you have stepped onto the path of the villain.

-Negative trait experience greatly increased, Trait: Villain acquired

Negative traits would be referring to the Gloomy Aura, I suppose.

Perhaps it’s fortunate.

The trait didn’t grow another step.

Even now, anyone who makes eye contact tries to attack me.

If it were to grow another step from here, it’s frightening to think what kind of situation I would experience.

And the Villain trait.

[Villain F]

You are a villain.

There was no particular explanation.

I don’t even know what function it has.

By the way.

This system message.

Whether it’s male or female is ambiguous, and it’s not even distinguishable whether it’s a child, an adult, or an elder.

The voice itself is like that, and there is no emotion in the words, so there is no rise or fall in pitch.

Therefore, the voice is mechanical, yet unnatural and even unpleasant.

However, for some reason, whenever it speaks about traits, skills, or achievements, I strongly feel like it is mocking me.

I sighed.

As of now, nothing is certain, so continuing to think would only make me frustrated.

I got up from my spot, and just as I was about to continue walking, the sound of hooves was heard.

It was the same wagon I had taken when I left the city.

Though it was just a cargo wagon modified to carry people, I thought it would be better to get a ride than just walk aimlessly, so I waved my hand.

The wagon stopped, and after a short argument with me, I was able to get a ride for 1.5 times the original price.

The passengers who unexpectedly ended up traveling with me did not hide their discomfort.

But when I offered 2 silver coins, they beamed and even made space for me.

It seemed the silver coins made them feel better than my presence made them uncomfortable.

It was too simple, but simple is good.

And so, after several days of journey, I finally arrived at the capital city I wanted to come to.

A whopping 5 silver coins were taken for the passage fee, roughly calculating, nearly 500,000 won was extorted.

Bronze-rank adventurers only needed half of that, and Silver-rank or higher just needed to nominally offer 1 copper coin, apparently.

Since I was an apprentice adventurer carrying a wooden tag, I had no choice but to pay the full amount.

I didn’t feel particularly good, but I couldn’t help but change my mind immediately after entering the city.

Excrement wasn’t scattered everywhere on the streets.

It was clean.

That alone was surprising, but everyone’s attire was neat.

Furthermore, security guards stood everywhere holding spears, giving a sense of being watched, but the public safety seemed definitely guaranteed.

“It’s a completely different world.”

An outer castle wall 8m high.

An inner castle wall a whopping 10m high.

And a main castle wall again 12m high.

The city, enclosed by a triple layer of walls, looked safer than anywhere else.

Tsk- Clicking my tongue at the city’s appearance, so different from the landscapes I had seen so far, I began to do what needed to be done.

I went to a blacksmith and asked them to sharpen my blunted sword.

Then I immediately booked a lodging.

It wasn’t even a particularly high-class inn, yet at the insane price of having to use a whopping 1 silver coin and 50 copper coins to stay one night, my head briefly felt dizzy.

Next, I moved my steps towards the Adventurer’s Guild.

To work as an adventurer here, I had to register with the Adventurer’s Guild.

It was a three-story stone building.

The first floor handled quest brokerage, byproduct sales, and item appraisal, and the second floor operated a tavern just like in other cities.

And the third floor is said to be lodgings for adventurers exclusively contracted with the Adventurer’s Guild.

There were so many things I was seeing for the first time, so I didn’t know well.

By the way, quite a few adventurers wearing silver tags were visible.

In other cities, it’s hard to see even one Silver-rank adventurer.

As expected, is this what a capital city is like?

Even with a quick glance, there were more than 8.

After registering my adventurer activity and briefly observing the adventurers, remembering that I had something to appraise, I headed towards the appraiser.

She was a pretty girl with bright yellow hair like forsythia.

I handed the goblin’s book made of human skin to the girl.

“Can you appraise this?”

“…Hmm, do you have money?”

“Excuse me?”

“No, it’s just that your clothes are too shabby.”

She awkwardly smiled as if she didn’t mean any harm, yet casually spoke sharp words.

“……I’ll buy some.”

I hadn’t paid much attention to it since it was slightly below average in the cities I had been in so far.

But coming to the capital, my clothes definitely felt too shabby and poor, so I plan to get at least one set made.

While I might hear things like ‘An adventurer just needs to solve quests well, why care about appearance?’ appearance is exactly the first impression.

If even I, who already feels bad, have a shabby appearance, it will be hard to be trusted in many ways.

“I have money, so please do it.”

“Alright. Then it’s 10 silver coins as an advance.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Why?”

“Isn’t the money usually paid after the appraisal is finished?”

“The labor required for appraisal is the same regardless of what kind of item it is, isn’t it? Whether it’s a very expensive item or a ridiculously cheap one, we charge a fixed rate of 10 silver coins.”

We don’t charge more because it holds immense value,

nor do we charge less even if it’s trash.

Saying so, the girl didn’t say anything, as if giving me time to think.

“……Alright.”

I pulled out silver coins from my inner pocket and offered them.

“You, you have quite a bit of money despite wearing shabby clothes? Then go buy yourself clothes right away. If you pull out silver coins so readily like that, you’re likely to be mistaken for a pickpocket.”

While no ill will was felt at all, it was a subtly condescending tone, yet when listening to the content, it seemed like she was genuinely worried, making it hard to react.

“Anyway, since I’ve received the payment, please wait a moment, it won’t take that long.”

With those words, the girl took the book and went into a certain room.

After waiting for about 2 hours, I wonder?

Around the time the whispers about me from the surroundings became increasingly hard to bear, the girl came out of the room and returned the book to me.

“…Hmm, can I say this?”

“Is it a bad item?”

“Deciding whether it’s good or bad isn’t for me to do. Anyway, if I were to tell you the item’s true identity, it’s a scripture of the Thunder God.”

“Thunder God…?”

“You know goblins are sensitive to sound, right? That’s why, perhaps, they tend to worship thunder, the great sound resonating from the sky, as a god. This is a scripture written by goblins worshipping such thunder.”

Even with the promise to translate the general contents and hand it over within two days, I couldn’t hide my feeling of awkwardness.

“It’s… subtle….”

“Right? It’s not just plain trash. Even though goblins worship thunder, instances where they leave it as a book like this are extremely rare. If you only consider rarity, it’s quite significant.”

“But it’s not valuable either?”

“Exactly. Because they’ve just written a bunch of useless nonsense.”

While wondering if I had just wasted 10 silver coins for nothing, thinking there wouldn’t be any harm in finding out the contents just once, I shrugged.

“By any chance, could you burn this book for me?”

“Huh? Why?”

“I was curious about the book’s content, but the book itself was made by insulting the victims. I hope you would erase it from this world by burning it.”

I could burn it myself, but thinking it would be better to leave it to an expert if possible, I spoke, and the girl stared at me without even hiding a complicated and subtle expression.

“Well… alright. I’ll burn it cleanly. It’ll be too late even if you ask for it back later?”

“Just translate it well and give it to me.”

“Leave it to me! Even though I look like this, I’m one of the top seven appraisers in the capital!”

“Not even top five, being in the top seven is quite a subtle number.”

“There’s my teacher, two royal appraisers, three appraisers who only deal with nobles, and then me?”

The way she puffed out her chest and placed her hand on her waist made it obvious what kind of reaction she was expecting, but

I wasn’t a person energetic enough to react according to expectations.

“That’s amazing….”

At my soulless exclamation of admiration, the appraiser gave me a look like ‘What kind of person is this?’ and then sharply turned her head away.

“Then I just need to come back in two days to pick up the translation?”

At the appraiser’s reaction, who answered by nodding while still turned away, I unknowingly burst out laughing.

She’s cuter than I thought.

It was childish behavior in many ways for a girl who seemed to be about 18 or 19 years old, but

she seemed overflowing with vitality compared to any people I had met so far.

“Then I’ll come again next time.”

Saying goodbye, I turned my body.

I was thinking of buying a new set of clothes as the appraiser advised after leaving the Adventurer’s Guild.

It felt like I was spending money too freely, but ultimately, it was all necessary investment.

“Stop.”

“……Yes?”

At the sudden low voice stopping me, I kept my gaze fixed on the floor and only turned my body in the direction of the voice.

“You, why do your movements make no sound?”

“…Yes?”

“At first, I thought it was a mistake… but it wasn’t.”

Raising my gaze, just a little, I looked at the voice’s waist.

A silver tag was glittering, revealing its presence.

It was a Silver-rank Adventurer.