Chapter 78

Chapter 78. If You’re Curious, Bring 5 Million Gold (5)

“This is strange. It’s definitely around here.”

Luke had been feeling like he was going in circles for a while now.

He had already arrived at the ‘Tower’ where Keter’s office was located. But no matter where he looked, he couldn’t find an entrance or a way up.

Even feeling around the walls was futile. After all, Luke was a knight, not an expert in mechanisms or an adventurer.

“Ugh, this is creepy.”

The dark Ruquer seemed like a completely new city. The flashing lights of various colors were hurting his eyes. But that didn’t mean the darkness had receded. The lights seemed to blend into the darkness.

His misfortune detector wasn’t working, like a broken compass. It just spun around aimlessly.

Luke glanced at the darkness beyond the street. He had been feeling someone’s gaze on him for a while now.

“…….”

An unknown fear, something he had never experienced before, wrapped around Luke. Even if he tried to deny it, his body betrayed him. His slightly drooping eyes, trembling pupils, and unnecessary gestures gave him away.

At that moment, shadowy figures cloaked in darkness began to approach Luke slowly.

Luke noticed them but didn’t attack or move hastily. He had a strong intuition that he shouldn’t leave this ‘place.’ It was a pure intuition, unrelated to any special abilities.

Suddenly, a shadow moved straight toward Luke.

Luke realized it too late and, in a panic, aimed his bow. The opponent, however, was startled and spoke.

“Knight, what are you doing here?”

It was Daat. The boy Keter casually called Maknun.

With both hands full of grocery bags, he looked exactly like a housewife returning from shopping.

His peaceful demeanor, so out of place in Ruquer, made Luke momentarily suspect that this was a trick to catch him off guard.

“What did Keter send you to do?”

Daat smiled at Luke’s suspicious face.

“Looks like you’ve already adapted to Ruquer. He sent me to get a Portable Artifact.”

“Phew, it really is you, Daat.”

“And you’re definitely Knight Luke. Why are you alone? Where’s Brother Keter?”

“Well… this place seems too dangerous to explain the situation.”

Luke poked the darkness with his finger.

Daat turned around and said, “Ah, those guys.”

The people in the darkness, feeling Daat’s gaze, flinched and retreated deeper into the shadows.

‘What, what’s going on? Why did they retreat so easily?’

Luke looked at Daat. He had felt it the first time he saw him. Daat was definitely an ordinary person. Even now, he seemed so.

Was he an incredibly strong person that Luke couldn’t sense?

Daat, noticing Luke’s gaze, shrugged.

“They’re not leaving because of me. It’s because of the guards Brother Keter assigned.”

“Guards?”

Luke looked behind Daat and around the area, but there was no one.

Daat passed by Luke and said, “Don’t bother looking for them. They don’t like being seen. Anyway, shall we go in?”

Daat placed his hand on the flat wall.

Suddenly, a new space was revealed.

It was an elevator. A product of mechanical magic study. An automatic elevator powered by mana.

“What is this?”

“You could call it a very slow teleportation device. Get in.”

Luke was shocked to find that the wall he had been circling was actually a hidden space. And what did he mean by a slow teleportation device?

As Luke boarded the elevator, the door closed automatically. Soon, the elevator began to rise with a clanking sound.

Luke was startled.

“Is someone lifting us? Is there someone above?”

“Haha, it’s mana lifting us. To be precise, mana stones. They’re disgustingly expensive, so Brother Keter doesn’t use them. Only I do.”

“Huh…….”

Luke leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. Finally, the tension eased as he felt he had reached a safe zone.

Ding.

The elevator door opened. A musty, damp smell wafted in. It wasn’t exactly pleasant, but to Luke, it smelled like heaven.

“After being on the ground, this place feels like heaven.”

“Rest comfortably. I’ll tidy up a bit. Oh, and don’t rummage around too much.”

While Daat organized the groceries in what looked like a kitchen, Luke didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.

He stumbled to the sofa, forgetting his knightly dignity, and collapsed onto it.

“Ugh, I’m dying.”

Whether it was his body or mind, Luke had already reached his limit. He was dizzy from the aftereffects.

“I brought some tea. Even if you’re sleepy, have a sip before you sleep. It’s jasmine tea, good for calming the mind.”

“Didn’t Keter come?”

“He usually doesn’t come at this time.”

“Ugh.”

With great effort, Luke sat up and sipped the tea Daat had made.

“Wow, this is delicious.”

Thud.

As soon as he swallowed a sip, Luke collapsed to the side.

“Ruquer is a place where you can’t even trust your allies, Knight.”

Daat took out thin gloves from his pocket and put them on. He also wore a beak mask, known as the plague doctor’s mask.

“Good thing I found out early. What was Brother thinking, releasing such a rookie?”

Daat carefully examined Luke’s entire body. He also sorted out the equipment Luke had and washed them in clean water.

“The contamination level is low. It’ll purify itself.”

Daat took off his mask and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

At that moment, green liquid dripped from a gap in the ceiling.

“Popo. This person is a guest. You saw him during the day, right? Don’t eat him.”

The slime, Popo, which was about to cover Luke’s face, seemed disappointed and climbed back up to the ceiling.

* * *

“Ugh, ugh… I can’t breathe…?”

Luke woke up feeling suffocated. When he opened his eyes, a green blob was clinging to his neck.

“Ahhh!? I’m being eaten! I’m being eaten!”

Luke flailed around, even drawing on his aura in desperation.

But the slime didn’t budge. Instead, it tightened its grip.

“Popo! Come here.”

At Daat’s call from the next room, Popo finally let go of Luke.

“Huff, huff… I thought I was going to die.”

“Our Popo is a bit too affectionate. How’s your body?”

“Fine. But I remember drinking tea last night… Why do I keep passing out so often?”

“It’s common in Ruquer. The bathroom’s over there, so wash up and come out. You need to have breakfast.”

“Breakfast sounds good… Morning? It’s morning now? Didn’t I just close my eyes for a moment?”

All the windows in the office were closed, and the glowing stones on the ceiling made it hard to distinguish day from night.

Daat kindly opened a window. A faint sunlight streamed in.

“…Keter, where is Keter? It’s urgent. We don’t have much time.”

Cork had already left. He would arrive at his destination by tomorrow noon and return by evening.

In other words, there were less than two days left.

Daat leisurely brewed some black tea and said, “What’s the matter?”

“Well…….”

Luke began to explain from the beginning.

Keter had decided to participate in the Southern Sword Tournament and had come here to fulfill three conditions for it.

“…So we need to catch the Red Comet as soon as possible.”

Daat sipped his black tea, seemingly uninterested in the whole affair.

“Brother came back yesterday and left an hour ago. He said he’s going to collect some debts.”

“Debts?”

Luke knew what the word meant, but the kind of debts he knew were of a very bad nature.

“It’s more like reclaiming bonds. I’m not sure why he’s doing it now. He usually says it’s fine whether he collects them or not.”

“What does that have to do with catching the Red Comet?”

“I’ve given up trying to figure out what Brother is thinking. You should give up too. It’s easier that way.”

“…Did he say where he was going?”

“I wish I knew. He disappears when you need him and shows up when you don’t. I’m thinking of putting a bell on him.”

“I’ll just take this.”

Luke stuffed a large piece of bread into his mouth, quickly equipped his gear, and stood in front of the elevator.

But the elevator didn’t open.

“Only I can use that.”

“…Can you open it for me?”

“Just jump down. Brother doesn’t like others using his stuff.”

“Yes…….”

Luke, who had hoped to descend comfortably, ended up jumping from the same terrifying height as yesterday.

Whether it was the first or second time, it was equally scary, but Luke managed to land on the ground and catch his breath.

“I feel like I can breathe easier than yesterday. Is it just my imagination?”

Luke examined his body and was shocked.

His improved condition wasn’t just his imagination. His total aura had significantly increased. In just one day, he had gained half a year’s worth of aura.

“How is this possible?”

There are two main ways to increase aura.

The more common method is through ‘physical training.’ It’s easy but extremely inefficient. The maximum amount you can accumulate in a day is just one day’s worth, and beyond that, it’s negligible.

The second method is enlightenment. This method can’t be taught. You just have to wait for that vague enlightenment to come. It’s considered luck among knights.

‘I didn’t gain any enlightenment yesterday, did I?’

Luke denied it, but he was wrong. He had gained a lot of enlightenment, and that was the essence of it. It’s simple once you know, but the process of realizing it is difficult.

“First, let’s find Keter.”

With his energy restored, Luke began to move using his abilities.

But Luke stopped after a while.

“Keter must be moving too. The distance is increasing.”

After a brief pause, Luke started running again.

“Then I just need to move faster.”

He said it boldly, but it took him a full hour to catch up with Keter.

“Huff, huff. Keter!”

Luke called out urgently, afraid Keter might move away again.

Keter waved back at Luke.

“Oh- You’re here, Luke?”

“I don’t know what you’re saying, but listen to me first. This isn’t the time to be doing this.”

“I’ve heard that so many times, my ears are going to bleed.”

“I got some information from the Hunter Guild……”

“It’s hard to find, right? That’s what you want to say, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes. But I think we should search the area where the Red Comet was sighted. It’s a monster, so it must have a nest. Let’s find that.”

It was the most reasonable judgment Luke could make, but Keter responded indifferently.

“You want to do it with me?”

“What if I find the Red Comet alone? They say it’s incredibly fast. If it escapes, we’ll never find it again.”

“Speaking of finding, how did you find me?”

“That was with my ability… huh?”

Luke felt like he had been hit on the head with a hammer.

Soon, his body began to tremble.

“Why was I making it so hard when there’s such an easy way?”

If he could find ‘something’ using his misfortune detection ability, then of course he could find the Red Comet too!

Luke immediately closed his eyes and concentrated. He recalled the appearance of the Red Comet from the books.

‘Red Comet. Named monster. White bat. I want to find that guy.’

Just as he was rejoicing at finding a way, his head spun, and the sky turned bright yellow.

That was Luke’s last memory.

Keter was dumbfounded.

Luke, who had suddenly closed his eyes, was bleeding from his nose and fell backward.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

He tapped Luke’s cheek and opened his eyelids. He had fainted.

“He tried to find it with his ability and failed. These ability users always think their powers are omnipotent.”

Keter scratched the back of his head and pressed hard on Luke’s temples with his fingers.

“Ugh!”

Luke made a strange noise and woke up from his faint.

Luke held his head and looked around.

“Ugh, what happened? Why do I keep fainting so often!?”

“You know your body, not me. Next time, faint somewhere else, not in front of me.”

“I was clearly trying to find the Red Comet, but I couldn’t feel anything.”

“Now you’re ignoring me too. I’m leaving.”

Luke grabbed Keter’s wrist.

“Don’t be so cold. This is important to you too. If you don’t want to catch it, just tell me. I’m feeling the pressure too.”

“I’ll catch it, but not now. It’s not ripe yet.”

“Argh! I don’t get it! Please tell me! What are you thinking!?”

Finally, Luke begged Keter, wiping his face.

But Keter peeled off Luke’s fingers one by one and said, “If you’re curious about my thoughts, bring 5 million gold.”

“…….”

With that, Keter left the stunned Luke behind and resumed his work.

Collecting the scattered bonds was, of course, because he would need a lot of money soon.

‘Saving is for fools.’

He already knew this, but in his past life, he hadn’t used the power of money properly.

When he was in conflict with the Queen, even buying the same item cost at least three times more. The price of water sold on the street and in the desert couldn’t be the same.

The utility of money is, after all, the best remedy for saving time.

Elixirs, the best means of obtaining aura and mana for free. While equipment has its limits, elixirs have none. They’re ridiculously expensive but incredibly effective.

Keter planned to cash in the bonds and buy elixirs in Ruquer.

‘Nothing beats the World Tree Elixir that Vulkanus gave me, but I’ll scrape the bottom of the barrel.’

I’ll take the best one for myself and sell the rest to those who can use them.

If Luke had known Keter’s thoughts, he would have raised his hand and said, ‘Why don’t you have a plan to catch the Red Comet?’

What on earth was Keter thinking, not catching the Red Comet that needed to be dealt with immediately? The reason remained unclear even after tonight.

Luke continued to struggle alone, trying to find the Red Comet, and eventually returned to the office. Another day passed like a flash.

Finally, today.

Tonight, or even sooner, Cork could return.

Luke anxiously chewed his nails. Keter was still wandering around Ruquer. However, it wasn’t for the purpose of finding the Red Comet.

Contrary to Luke’s burning anxiety, there was someone who felt relieved.

“As expected. What’s there to catch about the Red Comet? Hahahaha!”

Cork, who had received the news that Keter had done nothing, finally felt at ease.

The ambush plan had failed, and losing the magical tool was painful, but he thought it might have been for the best.

“Take it as a warning. Don’t mess around and just stay still.”

Cork, who had been too anxious to sleep, felt a weight lifted off his chest.

“I’ve almost won. It was a game I was destined to win from the start. Now it’s 200% certain.”

There was no need to rush now. Even if he gave Keter a week or a month, Keter wouldn’t be able to catch the Red Comet.

But he had no intention of giving more time. He wanted to settle things with Keter quickly and destroy him.

“Now, no one can stop me!”

Just as Cork spread his arms to celebrate his victory, the communication crystal ball rang loudly. Cork stopped laughing and cleared his throat.

“What’s going on?”

“B-boss! Where are you! Come quickly, damn it!”

The urgent voice of a subordinate tasked with monitoring Keter. But Cork, confident in his victory, was in no hurry.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Why should I come quickly?”

“K-Keter! Keter is! Huff, huff.”

The subordinate was panting, unable to continue.

Cork, hearing the name he didn’t want to hear, felt irritated.

“What about Keter! He swore he wouldn’t interfere with me. Is he trying to block my path now?”

“He’s fighting the Red Comet! Damn it!”

Upon hearing that, Cork’s eyes widened. He grabbed the crystal ball with both hands and shouted.

“Do whatever it takes to stop Keter! Don’t let him catch the Red Comet!”