Chapter 54
“Kreeeh! Hurry! Take the boss!”
“Krrrk! Bring everyone who can use healing sorcery!”
“Fairy! Close the warp gate!”
The goblins moved restlessly to save Tutobure, who was reduced to a rag by Lee Kang-San.
Hmmm. The mana density changed. We’re in the second zone, Seong-Hwi, disguised as Miroslav, thought as he looked around.
He saw a crudely designed rectangular stone building before him. It was not decorated in any way, as if practicality was the only thing accounted for—it looked like a mental hospital. Green goblins ran toward them from the building en masse.
This must be Clan Trophy’s base of operations—the place the humans who escaped from it called the Tin Can.
From what Seong-Hwi knew, the base of the infamous black clan Trophy was hidden in the southeast region of the second zone. They were considered a black clan because they trafficked Mirror World residents of various races. It was not just to sell them, but as entertainment for the Trophy Hunters, the clients of Clan Trophy. They paid Clan Trophy with Coins to purchase prey and engage in canned hunting.
Canned hunting was a form of leisure in which prey were let loose in an enclosed space for Trophy Hunters to hunt them down. If their prey was memorable to the Trophy Hunter, the hunter beheaded them and took the head to a goblin sorcerer to cast an anti-decaying spell on it and affix it to a prop or frame. This was the origin of Clan Trophy’s name.
Trophy Hunters could display their prey’s heads in their rooms and relish in the memories of their favorite hunts. The business was a massive success because it was a win-win for both the clan and the Trophy Hunters. The clan could earn more Coins the more prey they secured, and the Trophy Hunters could experience pleasure, entertainment, the clearing of quests, earning Karma, and more in exchange for Coins.
Coins couldn’t be converted to Karma, but the hunters could earn Karma through canned hunting, allowing it to be a partial currency exchange system. Although it was a lucrative business, it was undoubtedly a shady business in the Mirror World, where all races needed to work together to kill the Chaos.
“Kreeeh! Idiots! What is the meaning of this?! Why is the boss in this state, and why are there so few newbies?!” a goblin in golden armor and helmet scolded the goblins who attacked Edu.
“K-krrrk! There was nothing we could do, Sir Homaruba! T-the World Ranker Lee Kang-San appeared and—”
“World Ranker Lee Kang-San?”
“Yes. H-he is a monster!”
“Krrrk. On top of that, Edu wasn’t defenseless! They were ready for us!”
Homaruba, second-in-command of Clan Trophy, gritted his teeth and shouted, “Cowardly humans! They broke their promise!”
I knew someone in the Union collaborated with the goblins on the Edu attack, Seong-Hwi thought as he eavesdropped. It must be one of the factions that are dissatisfied with the pioneering faction’s advancements. Tsk, shame on them for being so blinded by the faction wars that they’re willing to sell fellow humans.
“Krrrk! There aren’t even a hundred newbies! We promised the clients fresh meat who have only been in the Mirror World for a month!” Homaruba clicked his tongue as he looked around and noticed the group of humans who weren’t under mind control. He asked, “What are they?”
“Krrrk. They are the humans who partook in the operation. We were told to accept them as clansmen once the operation was complete.”
“What? Clansmen?” Homaruba grimaced. “Krek! Get them to clean the stables or something! I have to check on the boss!”
Seong-Hwi stared at Homaruba, following the stretcher carrying Tutobure.
Tutobure is a goblin High Ranker. He’s practically half dead. I could heighten my caliber if I killed him.
However, he was in a den of goblins. Assassinating Tutobure was nearly impossible unless he was alone.
The goblins, ordered by Homaruba, shouted at the humans, “Kreeeh! Humans! Take your kind and imprison them in the stables!”
“Krrrk! Krrrk! That’s funny. A perfect job for an inferior race.”
Seong-Hwi’s eyes shone coldly as the goblins chatted.
First... I must get the layout of this place.
The goblins’ Edu attack operation was complete, but Seong-Hwi’s operation had only just begun.
***
The Capital was filled with news of the Edu attack.
“Have you heard? The ones who attacked Edu were goblins.”
“How dare those green midgets lay a hand on our kind?”
“I’ve heard Tutobure, tenth in the goblin ranking, orchestrated the whole thing. This is an invasion!”
Public opinion of the goblins worsened, and hard-liners claimed they had to wage war against the goblins as soon as possible.
“That aside, I never expected Lee Kang-San to take action. I heard he was fighting against the birdfolk World Ranker, Remus.”
“Did you know that this season’s Edu principal, Remy Martin, and Lee Kang-San are best friends?”
“What a lucky coincidence. Thanks to him, newbie casualties were kept to a minimum.”
“Even so, many died. The newbies of this season experienced the brutality of the Mirror World so early.”
The humans were enraged by the incident and surprised by Lee Kang-San’s appearance. They wondered if the appearance of Lee Kang-San, the symbol of the pioneering faction, from the front lines held special meaning—they wanted to know if he supported the war against the goblins. The countless humans who looked up to Kang-San waited for his statement, and so did his enemies.
***
Chaya Singh Rai looked down at the chatter outside from the window of the Lodi Hotel’s Room 206. He closed the curtain and recalled the mission his employer, Cheon Seong-Hwi, had given him.
I don’t know how he knew about this, but... It would’ve been a disaster if not for him.
Chaya realized after the fact that Seong-Hwi had known about the Edu attack in advance and had been preparing for it this past month. He had even infiltrated the base of the attackers. He was a fearless hero, but all that everyone talked about and worshiped was the man named Lee Kang-San.
Even if no one knows, I will remember it, hyung-nim.
Seong-Hwi had not intended it, but Chaya’s respect for him only grew, and that respect was converted to a mercenary’s determination to fulfill his mission without fail. He fulfilled his first mission of moving Miroslav’s corpse to Edu once the attack began. Then, he placed a letter inside his little sister Shaya Singh Rai’s pocket and protected her whenever she was in danger.
You’ve grown stronger, Shan, Chaya smiled as he thought about his little sister.
She had met trustworthy comrades and seemed much brighter than he had worried about.
I can finally rest easy and focus on my next mission.
He left the room, grabbing letter envelopes and a glass bottle filled with blood.
***
There was one building with a powered-off Chalishi neon sign among the long line of buildings in North Earth’s Hong Kong street. A paper reading closed due to personal reasons was stuck to the door of the building, resembling a diner.
A letter envelope and a glass bottle were suddenly placed in front of the door. The sounds of someone pounding on the door echoed, but no one was on the street. A woman with black hair and eyes, wearing purple-framed glasses, cautiously opened the door and scanned the surroundings. She noticed the glass bottle and envelope in front of the door and ripped open the envelope to read the letter inside.
“I thought he’d given up since he hasn’t been visiting for a while, but I guess not,” Lina mumbled as she grabbed the glass bottle filled with blood.
It was the blood of the specialist human whom she referred to as a match, Cheon Seong-Hwi.
“That aside, you’ll bring me something good, huh? I’m looking forward to it.”
Of course, she was not hoping for flowers or a golden ring.
“I wonder if he’ll come back with an intermediate race Semi Ranker’s corpse or something?” she mumbled as she closed the door.
The street grew silent again.
***
A similar event occurred at the Vivienne Information Center located at the entrance of South Earth. A blonde woman with blue eyes opened the door as the bell attached to the door chimed. She grabbed the letter envelope in front of the door and went back inside. She frowned as she opened the envelope and read the letter.
“Hah! What the hell is this guy talking about? Is he insane?”
Jurie read the letter carefully again, but its contents were unchanged.
Hello, twenty-five-year-old, type B blood, Miss Jurie from France. Did my card reading help? If it did, I suggest you become a regular subscriber. Since you were my first customer, I’ll make it cheap.
The contents of the letter, which started playfully, became odd.
I’m sending you this letter because I have a favor to ask. My reading told me that you would become my benefactor. I had an odd divination in my morning tarot card reading. It was about innocent lambs being released into a field en masse. There were no fences or herding dogs, so many of them were devoured by wolves. I would like to make a suggestion based on my interpretation of the reading.
“What? He wants me to buy as many buildings in the Capital as possible, mainly lodgings?” Jurie said as she snorted.
Seong-Hwi’s letter read like a real estate scam. Real estate throughout the Capital had become dirt cheap due to fears that a war would break out between the goblins and humans. Just like how the many buildings of Edu were destroyed in the attack, the buildings throughout the Capital couldn’t serve as passive Coin income if they were demolished in the war. Now was the perfect time for property speculation.
“Is he using me to buy real estate? How shameless can he be?!”
Jurie wondered if the results of his card reading had been just a coincidence. She thought the man might not even have a prophecy D Weapon and was just a swindler who was an expert in taking advantage of others’ universal insecurities.
Besides, his reading about a hidden truth being revealed didn’t come true.
The wooden door behind the counter opened while Jurie was in thought after reading the letter. An old man in a tailcoat walked out.
“How did it go, Gramps? You’re not gonna say you lost him again, are you?” Jurie asked.
“Of course not. That boy’s skills have significantly improved since last month, but I kept all my focus on chasing him this time.”
Jurie’s eyes shone. “Then lead the way. I’m sure that man is there too. I need to ask him why he sent me this kind of letter. I will find out once and for all if he’s a swindler or the real deal.”
“That is... impossible,” the old man said as he shook his head.
“What? I thought you didn’t lose sight of him.”
“Yes. I even confirmed which building the boy with the stealth ability entered.”
“There’s no problem then, right?”
“There is a huge problem. The building the boy entered is... Cecil Hotel.”
Jurie’s eyes widened in shock.
***
“Huuu,” Chaya took a deep breath.
He completed the second mission Seong-Hwi gave him and walked deep into South Earth to fulfill his third mission. There was a hotel at the heart of South Earth, the lawless zone, where various big-shot criminals gathered. It was the Cecil Hotel, located at 640 Main Street in Los Angeles.
Nothing stood out about its exterior. There were typical signs of the times for a business hotel built in 1927. There was no door; anyone could enter, and only two languid people stood guard at the entrance.
The guards simply smiled as they watched Chaya enter the hotel. The floor was all red carpet, and a chandelier hung from the ceiling. Nearly a hundred people were in the lobby, either sitting on couches or leaning on the walls. Each of them was a Black Human on the Union’s wanted list.
“Fuuu, haaa,” Chaya breathed deeply.
Such intense bloodlust! he thought.
He had only entered the lobby, but the stench of blood attacked his nose, and his survival instinct screamed at him to run. He fought the desire to grab his kukri whenever he felt some of the people in the lobby scanning him.
Don’t! Hyung-nim said not to pull out my weapon in here, no matter what.
Chaya pushed through the bloodlust as he recited Seong-Hwi’s words in his head and headed to the front desk. The sharp bloodlust, ready to tear him apart, disappeared and was replaced by an aura of trees, filled with life and vitality, once he reached the front desk.
“Welcome to the Cecil Hotel. How can I help you?” a man at the front desk asked.
Chaya stared at the man. He was not human. If there were a pinnacle in beauty, it would be him. His grey skin and long ears did not feel out of place; rather, they only made him more beautiful.
“A-an elf?” Chaya wondered.
“Yes, I am a grey elf. Is this your first time seeing an elf?” the male elf asked as he scanned Chaya with his green eyes.
“I-I’m sorry. I’ve seen a few on the streets, but... I’ve never seen one up so close.”
“Hehe, I see. How long have you been in the Mirror World?”
“About a month.”
The people in the lobby laughed mockingly.
“Kekek! Did you hear that? A snot-nosed newbie brat entered the Cecil Hotel.”
“Does he not know what this place is?”
“He’s cute. I wanna eat him up!”
“Keheh! If you’re gonna make a mess, do it outside. Unless you want to be dismembered by the executioners, that is.”
“That’s true.”
Chaya gulped as he listened to the chatter behind him.
If things don’t go as planned... I’m as good as dead.
Just then, the male elf smiled as he looked around the lobby and said, “Excuse me, everyone. Can’t you see that I’m talking to someone? Please remain silent when in the lobby. If you do not, I will have no choice but to use my privileges as the front desk manager to remove you all from the hotel premises. Those without a room key are not guests.”
Everyone immediately shut their mouths.
The male elf turned back to Chaya and asked, “Do you have a room key? If you do, you can show it to me and I will guide you to your room.”
“N-no, I don’t have a key,” Chaya answered.
“That’s a shame. If that is the case, you cannot become a guest at this hotel,” the man said as he prepared to leave the front desk.
Chaya quickly shouted, “I’m not here to become a guest!”
“Oh? Then why have you visited our establishment?”
The man looked at Chaya as if he had found an interesting toy. Chaya thought about the words Seong-Hwi had told him to say.
Will this work?
Based on the situation, the male elf seemed extremely powerful. One needed courage even when speaking to such people.
Don’t falter! It’s do or die!
To a mercenary, their mission was all that mattered. Chaya couldn’t betray his employer’s trust when he had already received an astronomical advance fee.
He hardened his resolve and shouted, “I-I’m here for a job! Please allow me to work here! I’ll do anything you ask, whether it be odd jobs!”
Chaya’s voice echoed throughout the lobby. The people in the lobby stared at Chaya dumbfoundedly, but the elf at the front desk laughed.
“Pfft! Bwahahahaha! I see. You’re hoping to be hired! Hehe, it sure has been a while since I’ve seen such a brave job seeker.”
They were in the Cecil Hotel, the den of criminals not even the Union could touch.