Chapter 52
As Carpe successfully completed the solo raid, elsewhere in the world, events were unfolding that would soon intertwine with his destiny.
At the same time, in the office of Mammon, the guild leader of **Mammonism**, a tense report was being delivered.
“So, you’re telling me you haven’t even found a trace of him yet?” Mammon asked, lounging in his chair.
“That is correct,” responded his assistant, Gwak Mu-seong, bowing his head slightly.
“Tsk, tsk. The great Gwak Mu-seong has lost his edge, hasn’t he? Seems like you’ve gotten rusty since you stepped away from fieldwork.”
“…I have no excuse.”
Despite the difficult and near-impossible task of tracking someone in the virtual world, Gwak couldn’t afford to complain. Mammon, as his employer, paid his salary, and back at home, his family depended on him. He couldn’t let them down.
“Ah well, I suppose it’s not something that can be solved in a day or two anyway.”
Mammon wasn’t the type to lose his cool over minor setbacks. As long as the reasoning was sound, he was a boss who could laugh off his subordinates' failures.
“The problem is that there are still too few clues.”
“Clues? Didn’t you say that guy, *Cheonma*, has his own channel? Why not dig into that?”
“It’s not that simple.”
The channel was new, and there were only a handful of videos, none longer than a few minutes. Despite rewatching the videos over and over, the only useful information they gathered was that he was a male, wielded a sword and lightning magic, and had a magic squirrel pet. Even the pet might have belonged to the female knight, which left them with little certainty.
“A male swordsman, huh? There must be dozens of them in *Luana* alone.”
“Yes, and with *Luana* being a global hub, the numbers are too overwhelming…”
“Alright, alright. I won’t hound you. Gwak, keep searching. You’ll figure it out.”
“Thank you. I’ll find him soon enough and bring him to—”
“Huh? Kill him? What are you talking about?”
“...Weren’t you planning to avenge yourself?”
Mammon chuckled at Gwak’s confusion.
“Do you still not know me, Gwak? How long has it been since you became my personal assistant?”
“Just under a year.”
Gwak had been working in the HR department a year ago before being personally selected by Mammon to serve as his assistant due to his high level in *Laes*.
“One year should be enough to know me by now. Gwak, do you think revenge is profitable?”
“…Usually not.”
Not only was it not profitable, but avenging a slight often required both money and time.
“But a show of force…”
“A show of force? Do we look like mobsters? We’re a company, and we live off our reputation. We’re already getting heat for pulling that coin scheme, and now you want me to go after one random player for vengeance? Imagine the backlash.”
Mammon gestured dismissively, imagining the hit their image—and stock price—would take if they pursued petty revenge.
“And what would I gain from that? Sure, I might feel better for a moment, but I’m the kind of guy who would rather make money than feel good.”
Mammon could smile and shake hands with his worst enemy if it meant making a profit. He didn’t hold grudges if there was something to gain.
“Find him, and offer him a recruitment deal. If this guy can take down the *One Piece Crew* and that swordsman, Hanzo or whatever he’s called now, then we need to have him on our side.”
“I understand, guild leader.”
“By the way, speaking of recruits, how’s Tae-seong coming along?”
“He completed his class advancement yesterday.”
“Oh? What did he advance into?”
“A *Blood Priest*, a hidden *Monk* class.”
“A *Monk*? We don’t have many of those in our guild. I like it.”
“With his high response rate, it’s a good fit.”
Response rate referred to the synchronicity between a player’s physical actions and their in-game avatar. A higher response rate meant smoother and faster reactions in-game. To make it as a pro in virtual reality games, a player’s response rate generally had to be at least 90.
“What was Tae-seong’s response rate again? Over 100, right?”
‘Why do you even ask when you already know…’
Gwak sighed internally. Mammon had a peculiar habit of wanting his subordinates to verbally confirm things, especially when the information pleased him.
“When he played as *Apollon*, his rate was 107. Two points higher than *Cheonma*.”
“Aaah, right, 107! I like that number.”
Tae-seong was *Mammonism*'s rising star, recruited only three months ago. Due to personal matters and a desire to physically train himself, he had only started playing *Laes* yesterday. Still, he had drawn attention with his insane response rate and had managed to pull an 8-star *Soul Spirit* right off the bat.
“I knew living an upright life would pay off. The heavens blessed us with that golden goose.”
“…Indeed, it’s all thanks to your benevolence, guild leader.”
“Exactly. Keep a close eye on Tae-seong. Give him whatever he needs and make sure he’s taken care of.”
“Actually, he’s requested we find him a weapon.”
“A weapon? Then get him one. What’s the issue? Is there no stock?”
“There’s only one available—a *Unique* item in the auction house, but the bid price has already risen quite high…”
“How high?”
“The current highest bid is at 10,000 gold.”
Considering the real-world exchange rate, 10,000 gold was around 12 million won. While it was a relatively small amount for the wealthy, Mammon despised spending money unnecessarily, even small amounts.
‘He’s going to blow his top,’ Gwak thought, feeling resigned.
Mammon hated wasting money on low-level equipment, especially items that would be replaced later.
But to Gwak’s surprise…
“Buy it.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, buy it. From now on, give Tae-seong whatever he wants. You don’t need to report to me about it—just use your judgment.”
“…Understood.”
“Oh, and you said the highest bid is 10,000 gold?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Make it 30,000. Let’s show him just how serious we are.”
Mammon hated wasting money, but he was not stingy when it came to investments.
This wasn’t wasteful spending—it was an investment in Tae-seong, a way of showing him how much the guild valued him. If spending tens of millions now meant earning the loyalty of their best prospect, it was well worth it.
Money was important, but it was people who made the money.
“You can’t skimp when it comes to talent.”
Mammon was certain that his investment would pay off.
---
Meanwhile, back in *Luana*.
“Thank you! I feel much more at ease now.”
[You have completed the guard captain’s request.]
[You’ve earned 5 gold and experience points.]
[Level Up! You’ve earned bonus points.]
“Finally! Level up!”
- "Well done. You’ve hit level 25."
After his solo raid, Carpe had been at level 23. A bit of hunting while gathering mushrooms had pushed him to 24, and completing two side quests brought him to the coveted level 25.
“Now I can finally advance the second artifact quest.”
- "And don’t forget to upgrade your room."
“Of course, that’s next. But before that… huh?”
Just as Carpe was about to proceed with his class scenario, a notification popped up.
[Your auction item has been sold. Please collect your payment at the nearest auction house.]
“Oh right, I completely forgot about that.”
- "You’ve been pretty busy, so it makes sense. The auction house is nearby, so let’s swing by."
Carpe headed to the auction house and checked his sales.
[*Fanatic’s Scythe* has been sold for 30,000 gold.]
[*Cadlac’s Carpenter Gloves* have been sold for 1,130 gold.]
[Your account is rated *Black*. Auction fees are waived.]
“...Huh?”
Carpe blinked, staring at the figures.
“...30,000? At 1 gold per dollar, and 1 dollar equals… whoa?!”
- "Tch, must’ve been some rich idiot flashing their cash. There are always people like that."
Occasionally, there were players who would throw their money around, unable to resist showing off their wealth by buying the rarest items even at low levels, just to stand out.
- "That scythe was worth maybe 10,000 gold at most. Looks like there was a bidding war between some wealthy idiots."
“Whoa… whoa…”
Making millions from a single item?
It felt surreal to experience something like that firsthand.
- "I get that it feels like a lot to you right now, but keep calm. Later on, those numbers will have an extra zero on them. What are you going to do when that happens?"
“…Items can go for hundreds of millions? Is that even possible?”
- "Definitely. Remember those classic games where rare swords sold for millions? It’s no different here."
With over five billion players worldwide, it wasn’t hard to imagine items eventually fetching astronomical prices in *Laes*.
“Still hard to believe.”
- "That’s because you’re still a low level. Give it a year or so, and you’ll get used to it. By then, 30,000 gold will feel like pocket change."
As Carpe and Cheonma reveled in their future prospects, Tina, who had been quiet until now, suddenly spoke up.
“Master.”
“Hm?”
“I’ve remembered something.”
Without any preamble, Tina’s declaration took Carpe by surprise. Remembered something? Out of nowhere?
“The second artifact—it’s the *Phantom Mirage*, a doppelganger.”
- "…A doppelganger?"
“The shapeshifting monster? That kind of doppelganger?”
“Exactly. More specifically, it’s a homunculus with doppelganger traits—the second puppet the *Magus King* created.”
“Well, that’s certainly an interesting backstory. And where is this second puppet now?”
“If I recall correctly, Mirage is in the *Forgotten Forest*.”
- "Forgotten Forest? Is that a place in *Laes*?"
Even the veteran player Cheonma scratched his head, having never heard of such a place. Tina nodded.
“That’s understandable. The inhabitants of the *Forgotten Forest* are extremely wary of humans, so they’ve placed an illusionary barrier around the entire area.”
Just then, a quest notification appeared.
Ding.
[**The Magus King's Second Artifact (1)**]
[Category: Class Scenario Quest]
[Quest Requirements: Heir of the Magus King’s Will]
[Deep within an ancient, forgotten forest lies the second artifact of the Magus King. However, the inhabitants of this forest are hostile toward humans. In order to retrieve the artifact, you must first gain their acceptance.]
[Quest Reward: Next quest chain unlocked, new area *Forgotten Forest* unlocked.]
[Quest Failure: Artifact retrieval failure, permanent hostility with the *Elf* race.]
“...Wait, what?”
- "Elves? Why are there elves involved in this?"
Carpe was once again about to embark on a path no one had tread before.
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