Chapter 73

Chapter 73. Stop the Movement, Are You Cheating? (5)

Why are there so many mercenaries supporting Keter?

It’s because they all owe Keter a ‘debt’. Both financially and mentally.

The mercenaries supporting Keter were easy to spot. They were all gathered behind Keter.

Luke, with a blooming smile, began counting their numbers.

“Twenty-five!”

“Grrr!”

Cork’s face twisted mercilessly.

As Luke said, a total of 25, a majority, were supporting Keter.

Then, Cork, realizing something, exclaimed with delight.

“Wait! I’m also a mercenary before being a branch leader. I will exercise my voting right!”

“You already did, earlier.”

Keter raised his middle finger.

“Like this.”

“……!”

“A man, a mercenary who lives by trust, would you double-talk with one mouth? Ah, you already did.”

“Grrrr!”

If Cork hadn’t hastily cast his vote, Keter and Cork would have been tied.

According to the rule that a majority must approve, Keter would have lost. Cork had dug his own grave.

Keter, placing a hand on his chest, said.

“Now I’m the branch leader, right?”

“Nonsense! Fine, it seems you’re really determined, so I’ll make you realize your place through the Trial of the Goddess, a mercenary tradition.”

At Cork’s words, the mercenaries couldn’t hide their excitement.

“How many years has it been since we last saw the Trial of the Goddess?”

“It’s my first time seeing it today.”

The mercenaries knew about the ‘Trial of the Goddess’, but Luke had no way of knowing.

“What is this Trial of the Goddess?”

Luke boldly asked Cork.

“Unbelievable. Joining the Mercenary Guild without knowing the Trial of the Goddess. The Trial of the Goddess is a duel and ritual for mercenaries.”

Mercenaries worship the Goddess of Fortune, Nika. When problems arise among them, they compete in ‘fortune and skill’.

Cork pointed to the ‘request tokens’ on the bulletin board. They were thin, hard metal tokens that fit in one hand.

The back of the request tokens was smooth without any pattern, and the front had the request title and rank written on it.

The mercenaries took all the request tokens from the bulletin board and scattered them on the table. The lowest rank was C, and the highest was S.

Cork, placing his hand on the table, continued.

“We’ll mix these request tokens, and Keter and I will divide them. The Goddess of Fortune doesn’t give mercenaries impossible trials. Here, we test ‘fortune’, and the one who completes their received request first proves their ‘skill’ and becomes the winner of the Trial of the Goddess.”

“Not hard to understand.”

There were a total of 30 request tokens.

Among them, C and S ranks were one each.

B rank was 25, and A rank was 3.

In other words, the probability of drawing a B rank request was overwhelmingly high. If really unlucky, one would draw S, and if lucky, C.

Luke thought there was no trick here, purely a test of fortune.

Shuffle.

Cork mixed the request tokens.

His hand movements were not ordinary.

“Keter. Do you have any complaints about me mixing and dividing the tokens? If you want, I can have another mercenary do it.”

“Just do it.”

“Alright.”

Shuffle shuffle shuffle.

Cork mixed the tokens with both hands. Since the backs were perfectly identical, it seemed absolutely impossible to know what the task was without flipping them.

“I’ll draw first. Keter, you’re next.”

Cork took the front token in front of everyone. Just as he was about to pass the next token to Keter.

“Stop the movement, are you cheating?”

Keter roughly grabbed Cork’s right wrist holding the token.

“What, what!”

As Cork panicked and tried to resist, Keter drew a dagger from his waist.

“That token you took. It’s the easiest C rank request, right? And this one you’re trying to give me now, it’s an S rank request.”

“Crazy bastard! Even if what you’re saying is true, it’s just luck!”

Luke, who was watching, urgently intervened.

“Flip that token. Is it C rank?”

“Don’t touch the token!”

Crack!

Keter threw the dagger at the table to stop Luke’s hand. Soon, Keter pulled out another dagger and pointed it at Cork’s face.

“Unfair? Let’s do this. You and I switch tokens. Then it’s as if the cheating never happened.”

“I have no reason to agree.”

“Oh- why not? What if you have the S rank and I have the C rank? No one knows for sure. Why hesitate to switch? As if you know what the tokens are?”

“Stop forcing it! I just don’t want to pass my luck to you.”

“Your tongue is too long.”

Tap.

Keter’s dagger flipped the token.

The mercenaries, who had been holding their breath, were shocked.

“Keter has the S rank request token!”

“Then what about the branch leader’s request token?!”

It’s possible Keter got the S rank request token by bad luck. But the probability of Cork getting the C rank request token here was extremely low.

A mercenary behind Cork tried to flip the token. Then, Luke, sensing something suspicious, stepped forward.

“I’ll flip it.”

Before Cork and the other mercenaries could react, the token was flipped.

The mercenaries were shocked once again.

“C rank! Just as Keter said!”

“Did he really cheat?!”

Even the mercenaries supporting Cork had complex looks.

Cork urgently shouted.

“It’s luck! It’s not impossible, why the fuss? Keter just tried to force it once! Let go of this hand!”

Just as Cork was about to draw his dagger to counterattack.

Thud.

Keter’s dagger plunged deep into the table.

In between was Cork’s ring finger.

“……!”

Cork’s eyes widened.

He couldn’t react. Keter had no reaction or awareness of stabbing his finger.

The pain came late, but no scream came out. Only this doubt.

‘Was he always this fast?’

The reason Keter was called a madman in Ruquer wasn’t just because he was strong without reason.

It was because of his temperament, like a rabid dog, not afraid of death or becoming crippled.

His weapon was his ruthlessness, not stopping until one side was finished, and his viciousness, not distinguishing means or methods.

But the movement Keter showed now was too smooth and fast. Even Cork, a Diamond Class, couldn’t perceive it at all.

“You played with your hand, so take the finger.”

Keter threw the severed finger to Luke. Luke, startled, reflexively caught the finger.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“Keep it. I’ll make it part of my collection.”

“Ugh.”

Eventually, Luke wrapped the finger in a handkerchief and kept it.

Cork, with his finger cut off, wrapped his ring finger with a bandage and said.

“Cutting off a finger without evidence, you’ve lost your mind.”

“Since when do mercenaries consider evidence before stabbing? If it seems about right, stab first and ask later. If not, fight like hell.”

“Hmph, I agree with that, but I didn’t use any hand tricks. Me drawing C rank and you drawing S rank is purely the fate decided by the Goddess.”

The reason Cork wasn’t excited became clear. At the cost of one finger, he had passed the S rank request to Keter.

Luke, finding it absurd, stepped forward.

“That’s nonsense! Of course, we should draw again!”

“No, let’s do it this way.”

“Keter?! Have you even looked at the request details? This is a guaranteed loss for us!”

In a corner of the guild, the detailed contents of the requests were written.

The C rank task Cork drew was to move heavy loads, a simple errand requiring only strength.

Of course, being C rank, there were many loads, and it was the longest distance from one end of the city to the other. Being Ruquer, there were many robbers, making it dangerous.

But Cork is a Diamond Class mercenary. There are almost no fools who would target his goods. No matter how many loads and how far the distance, it wouldn’t take half a day to complete the task.

However, the task start date was not today or tomorrow, but four days later.

On the other hand, what about the S rank request Keter drew?

-[A rank Named Monster Search and Subjugation]

-Client: Grand Duke Alkione

-Reward: 20,000 gold

-Request details: Subjugate the Named Monster ‘Red Comet’ recently rampant in Ruquer.

-Special notes: Takes the form of a bat, possesses S rank stealth and speed. Undetectable by human senses, so detection abilities through magic, curses, or special powers are necessary. Flies at speeds undetectable even by Diamond Class, so bring plenty of steel nets.

-Appearance area: All over Ruquer’s surface.

The difficulty gap between Cork’s C rank task and this was ridiculously large.

What is a Named Monster?

It’s a title given only to monsters that have killed at least 100 humans and survived for over a year.

Not just strong, but monsters with discernible intelligence are Named Monsters.

An A rank monster would typically require a 5-star knight or master level to face.

However, ‘Red Comet’ was given A rank due to its high lethality, difficulty to find, and hard to catch.

Even so, in the mercenary industry, only ‘Amantiir’ class, surpassing Diamond Class, can face master level knights.

Diamond Class alone is rare enough. The higher class, Amantiir, is so few that it’s hard to find even if you look. In fact, there are no Amantiir class mercenaries in Ruquer.

Luke, being quite knowledgeable about Named Monsters, knew how difficult this task was.

‘I believe Keter can do anything, but this is really not it.’

Being able to confidently say that an A rank Named Monster is a higher existence than Dragon Spear Jordic or the Sword Wing Tribe, Luke tried to dissuade Keter again.

“Keter. Let’s draw again. An A rank Named Monster would normally require 20 Diamond Class mercenaries or a high knight order to take down. No, something beyond a monster. This is really too much even for you. And look. The branch leader took a C rank task. Even if you somehow manage, time is ridiculously short. Can you catch an A rank monster in four days?!”

Luke doesn’t underestimate Keter’s abilities. Given enough time, he believes Keter could somehow catch an A rank Named Monster.

But now there’s a time limit. The request must be completed faster than the opponent.

Cork’s C rank request can be completed in half a day. However, since the task starts four days later, there’s a four-day time buffer.

But conversely, it means having to find and kill an A rank Named Monster within four days.

How to find a monster with top-tier stealth in four days, and even if found, how to catch it.

The opponent is said to be a bat. A flying bat.

To catch a bat flying at super high speed, even the sky paths must be blocked. Such a scale of operation is by no means easy.

“Seems impossible?”

At Keter’s question, Luke nodded vigorously.

“Do you all think so too?”

Keter asked the mercenaries. All the mercenaries had faces as if asking something obvious.

“Do you think so too?”

Cork, under Keter’s gaze, crossed his arms.

“Then?”

“Say it clearly. Do you have confidence to win, or not?”

“I have confidence.”

“Can you bet your entire fortune?”

“What?”

“Aside from the trial, let’s make a bet. Bet your entire fortune.”

“Obvious. You’re thinking of ignoring the request and killing me to win.”

“Typical of you. If you’re uneasy, I promise. I won’t win by doing something to you in the trial, but by completing this request faster than you. Know why?”

After a brief pause, Keter smiled brightly.

“Revenge, you see, is best served satisfyingly. There’s nothing more thrilling than crushing your opponent when they’re sure of victory, right?”

“…….”

“By the way, my total assets are about 2 million gold. 700,000 in cash, and my possessions, even if sold urgently, would fetch at least 1.3 million gold.”

Everyone was amazed at Keter’s assets.

“I thought he had money, but not that much.”

“With that money, he could even become an Upper Noble.”

“That’s an unbelievable amount… seems like a lie.”

Even Luke couldn’t believe Keter’s words. So he whispered.

“Keter, is it true?”

Keter also whispered back.

“It’s a lie.”

“Ah, as expected.”

“Including things I can’t sell, it’s over 5 million gold.”

“……!?”

Keter then spoke to Cork again.

“No confidence? With a C rank request, confident to beat me with an S rank request.”

“…….”

Cork couldn’t answer easily and stalled for time. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

‘Keter, what’s your scheme?’

No matter how deeply he thought, Cork couldn’t figure out Keter’s intention. To win by completing the S rank request fairly without killing or hindering him?

According to Cork’s calculations, that was impossible by any means.

The subjugation of Red Comet was a request even the Grand Duke, called the god of Ruquer, failed and passed to the mercenaries!

But Keter was so confident, even betting his entire fortune, making Cork uneasy, thinking there must be some trick.

‘Damn, too many eyes.’

If there were no one around, Cork wouldn’t have accepted the proposal to bet the entire fortune.

But there were too many mercenaries.

Each one of them was at least Gold Class. If it were Silver Class, maybe, but he couldn’t show an ugly side to Gold Class and above mercenaries.

“How can you hesitate? If it were anyone else, they’d accept immediately, fearing I might change my mind. Won’t you?”

Keter’s provocation continued.

Cork’s eyes widened at the provocation.

‘Right, it’s clear. This is… a bluff!’

Keter’s crazy gamble to nullify the request! There was no other answer.

“Fine! I’ll also bet my entire fortune.”

Cork confidently shouted. It was a belated confidence, but not bad.

Keter smirked and pulled out a contract and a fountain pen from his pocket.

“Don’t just say it, let’s leave it in a contract for mutual convenience.”

Swish!

Keter wrote the contract in an instant.

Cork was no longer scared. He judged all of Keter’s moves as bluffs. Even writing the contract, he judged it as the final bluff.

“The loser of the Trial of the Goddess transfers their entire fortune to the winner. No other toxic clauses.”

Cork took the fountain pen. The fountain pen absorbed Cork’s blood and turned it into ink.

Swoosh.

The moment the signature was made on the contract, a faint light emitted.

Now Cork and Keter couldn’t nullify this contract, and lying or pretending not to know was impossible.

Keter, putting the contract in his pocket, stretched.

“Ugh- Getting a contract from a scaredy-cat is harder than an S rank request.”

Cork responded with a cold tone.

“If you’re done, take the request token and get out.”

Whoosh!

Keter caught the S rank request token Cork threw and tossed it to Luke, who caught it and put it in his pocket.

“Branch leader- No one advises you, so I’ll do it. If you think you’ll lose, just run away.”

Keter left the Mercenary Guild with those words.

The mercenaries who supported Keter naturally followed, and Cork glared at their backs until the end.

His eyes were full of killing intent.