Chapter 28

Just as Dieta couldn’t comprehend the situation, Pasion whispered into her ear. As a knight, he had noticed something.

“These three, their fingers are broken. Knees and ankles too, precisely shattered just enough to hobble on one leg.”

Pasion muttered in a shocked tone.

“This isn’t the skill of a novice.”

Dieta swallowed hard.

Even though she had bet on four days in their wager, it was still a very optimistic prediction. These three bounties were notorious back alley dwellers, troublesome even for seasoned bounty hunters.

But to accomplish this in just one night?

It was an unbelievable achievement. Dieta recognized the boy had successfully completed the task and deserved his reward, but she couldn’t immediately find the words to speak.

“Ah, also.”

While she was still in shock,

“Could you check these out?”

Najin placed a leather pouch on the office desk. Pasion, standing beside Dieta, ensured there was nothing dangerous inside and then emptied its contents on the desk.

Spilled out were gold coins, tampered ledgers, various valuable trinkets and gold bars.

All the money and items these three bounty heads had swindled from Dieta’s firm, along with their liquidated assets, were all tracked down and brought by Najin. Realizing this, Dieta couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“How did you manage all this?”

To this, Najin, who was about to boast of his skills, closed his mouth. There was no need to explain his past profession.

“There are ways to make them talk.”

After a bit of finger-twisting, they all start talking.

Najin added this thought internally.

-I’d like to ask that too. Really.

Merlin echoed in Najin’s ears, incredulously. Despite witnessing Najin’s work closely, Merlin couldn’t grasp the process.

Fragments of information obtained through coercion.

Gathering these fragments, Najin quickly located their hidden safe. How he derived such a conclusion from those fragments was beyond Merlin’s understanding.

Watching him felt like witnessing magic.

Amid Merlin’s voice and Dieta’s incredulous gaze, Najin just smiled. Unbeknownst to them, Najin had been both a debt collector and an enforcer.

“It’s obvious where these types hide their money.”

The way these types hid their money was predictable, and with just a bit of information, locating the safe was not challenging.

“Ah…”

Dieta, who had been silent, let a smile creep onto her lips.

Her eyes, even more deeply yellow than the day before, twinkled. Feeling a shiver down his spine, Najin flinched.

“You’re better than I had imagined.”

Dieta beamed.

She took out a paper from a pile in the corner of her office, scribbled some words with a quill, stamped it with the owner’s seal, and handed it to Najin.

“Here’s your reward. You can exchange it at the trading counter on the first floor. Our company also functions as a bank, so you can leave it with the vault keepers for safekeeping.”

“…The amount is one zero more than what you mentioned yesterday?”

“I was very pleased with your work.”

And then, standing up,

Dieta extended her hand, now gloveless, towards Najin.

“Looks like we’ll be seeing each other often, so shall we formally introduce ourselves? I think I forgot to ask your name yesterday.”

As I mentioned yesterday, my name is Dieta.

What’s yours?

With an attractive smile, the girl asked.

And Najin…

After the boy left the office,

Dieta gazed blankly at her outstretched hand. Her pale, slender fingers were exposed after removing her glove, a signal of her own.

I liked you.

Let’s see each other more often… that kind of signal.

Dieta, confident in her appearance, had once been the subject of several marriage proposals, nearly sold off in a seasonal deal. She was considered the most beautiful among the daughters of the Arbenia family.

A pretty smile, an extended hand without a glove. A scene that would normally attract a man’s attention, right?

“Surely it should have…”

Yet, the boy hadn’t taken her hand. Leaving words about not having a name worthy of sharing, he had smoothly exited the office.

It felt like being rejected without even confessing.

Feeling an odd sensation, Dieta clenched her hand in the air a few times. It could have been an upsetting moment, but instead, she smiled. After all, it wouldn’t be fun if he was too easy to catch.

“He was impressive, wasn’t he? The boy just now.”

Sitting back down and donning her gloves, Dieta spoke. Pasion, standing by her side, nodded.

“Definitely beyond expectations.”

“I think so too. What could be his identity?”

Dieta, who had seen countless adventurers and mercenaries in this city, knew well. Even professional bounty hunters couldn’t handle tasks as cleanly and quickly as that boy.

What exactly was the identity of that boy?

Pondering over the conversation she had with the mysterious boy, Dieta leaned on her chin, deep in thought. The skill the boy showed was too exceptional to have no background.

“A skill cleaner than professional bounty hunters.”

Could he have been involved in this line of work?

As far as she knew, only Rangers had such expertise in stealth, ambush, and pursuit.

…Could he really be a former Ranger?

But the boy looked too young to be a Ranger. If he was, he would have been the youngest ever, and she had never heard such rumors.

“A trainee from the Ranger program?”

But it was rare for a trainee to be so skilled.

“Ah.”

Suddenly, a piece of information flashed through Dieta’s mind. Among the Rangers, those from the “Techo Mountain Range” were considered the elite. Even their trainees were said to be on a different level.

From a very young age, they were trained to kill, lay traps, ambush, pursue, and torture. These trainees, honed to perfection, would spend their lives intercepting enemies in the Techo Mountain Range, oblivious to worldly matters. Dieta knew only a few of them graduated from this hell-like place to be called ‘Rangers of the Techo Mountain Range.’

How could she not know? One of the most famous mercenaries in the city was a Ranger from the Techo Mountains.

‘Could that boy be one?’

It might just be speculation.

But at that moment, Dieta’s mind flashed back to the conversation she had with the boy.

“Did you come from deep in the mountains where you were training? That’s quite basic knowledge.”

The question she had asked the boy, who seemed oblivious to common sense. To her casual question, the boy had answered, “Something like that.”

“Gasp!”

Dieta inhaled sharply.

She slapped the table with her palm and turned to Pasion, who was standing beside her, exclaiming with excitement.

“I told you, it’s going to be very profitable!”

A single meal had connected her with a potential trainee (presumably) from the Techo Mountain Range. Even Pasion couldn’t deny it this time. To him, a knight of high caliber, the boy was exceptional.

Dieta smiled broadly, calculating in her head.

Ah, I smell it.

The scent of gold coins.

The ‘Snake that Swallows Gold’ had caught the scent of gold.

She had left a not-so-bad impression on the boy and established a connection. Now, it was just a matter of slowly drawing him in.

Investing in a talent about to flourish was one of the most efficient businesses, as Dieta knew. A connection with a promising talent would elevate the firm’s status.

“Great. Just great.”

The boy settling in the city.

How much value he held in gold coins and how much more it would increase in the future was still unknown. Since it was unknown, she had to gradually find out.

She pondered what offer to make and what task to assign to gain his favor. Dieta’s eyes shone even more brilliantly yellow than usual.

Cough. A short cough.

Someone broke Dieta’s concentration. She shifted her gaze and looked at the three bounties tied up in front of her. The moment she saw them, her eyes instantly turned cold.

They were worthless.

They were worthless trash that might not even cough up a single gold coin. Dieta had no interest in such trash. She coldly commanded her secretary.

“Take them away and deal with them. Sell off anything of value.”

His wallet suddenly thickened.

Having secured a room at an inn, Najin paid the rent in one lump sum. Despite earning more than expected, he still had plenty of money left after paying for both rent and food.

“This will be my place for a while.”

A room with sunlight streaming through the window and a soft bed.

Even the convenience of having meals downstairs was an unbeatable offer. Common for an inn in this city, but not for Najin.

“No more starving and sleeping on the floor for a while.”

-Good to hear. So, you’ve got the basics down now?

Najin nodded.

He had successfully secured basic funds. He had a place to stay, food sorted, and even managed to get an identification plaque. He took out the plaque from his pocket.

Still just a piece of metal.

The employee who issued it explained that it would only become an official ID after completing several tasks and gaining trust from the guild. This plaque is only proof that you’re part of the city, not a confirmation of your identity.

So now, it was time to prove himself.

“Indeed, this seems like the perfect stage for me.”

Najin smiled.

“A city where I can start from scratch and grow my abilities. As long as I have achievements, I can create means to prove myself.”

Najin rolled the plaque in his hand. Although just a metal piece for now, accumulating achievements and enhancing his skills would turn it into a badge proving his existence.

-Speaking of which.

Merlin smirked.

-You heard about the grades, right?

Starting from black and progressing to white.

The brighter the color, the higher the grade, allowing access to higher-level tasks and facilities. A straightforward rule where anyone with skill can climb up.

-Your path is one of a king.

Merlin said.

-You have to leave a mark wherever you walk, and you must reach the highest point of wherever you step. That’s the way of a king, the way of a hero.

Just like Arthur, you too must follow this path.

Climb to the top, setting unapproachable records. Merlin was saying that.

-You know where you need to aim for, right?

Najin nodded.

-Of course, the white grade.

The white grade. The pinnacle.

The highest rank and the pinnacle of the city.

Currently, there are only five people in the city with the white rank. Among them, two are swordsmen, and Najin had seen their realm on the guild’s bulletin board.

Sword Seeker.

The first goal he should aim for.

-How about aiming for two years?

Two years. Najin knew what that meant.

It was the time it took Arthur to rise from Expert to Seeker. How absurdly short that period was, Najin realized after coming to this city.

‘From Expert to Seeker.’

A talented expert typically takes about 15 years to reach Seeker with proper support.

Geniuses take about 10 years with support.

The unparalleled genius, Karan of the Order of the Sword, took seven years from Expert to Sword Seeker.

Knowing this, Najin understood how absurd Merlin’s two-year challenge was. Yet, he smiled. With a smile, Najin voiced his ambition.

“Two years? That’s too long.”

Najin lifted the corners of his mouth.

“One year is enough.”

To break records, update every ‘youngest’ record, and aim for the highest spot. And among the records Najin had to break, Arthur’s was included too.

It’s not about following; it’s about surpassing.

No matter what anyone says, the boy’s goal was to rise higher than King Arthur.