Chapter 1972 – 1972. God’S Atlantis
“Their demands have crossed the line. But we’re the ones in a hurry. We have no choice but to accept. Even the system is siding with them.”
System.
At that name, the mercenaries nodded.
All humans in Atlantis revered the system. It was through the system that their physical abilities were enhanced, and they could use skills and unique traits. In a way, the system felt more like a god than the divine seats. In fact, there were many who worshipped or had faith in the system. To them, the system was omnipotent.
Few knew the true nature of the system like I did. Most people tensed up at the mention of the system.
“Omikos. You’re right, those bastards have gone too far. Let me tell you my opinion. We capture them and forcefully extract the information. I guarantee we can get the information we want within three hours.”
“That’s… not ethical.”
“Omikos, stop talking nonsense. As if you guys are so clean. You’re not a knight. As mercenaries, we should pursue profit and efficiency.”
“……I’ve done some dirty work, so I can’t argue with that.”
“Their conditions are absurd from start to finish. They’re just looking out for their own interests. You guys must feel it too.”
I could never accept the villagers’ conditions. If I killed Fafnir, I would become the new ruler of this area. If I kept those guys around, I could mine gold steadily, so why would I accept such conditions?
The mercenaries nodded vaguely. Their position was different from mine.
“I bet those guys have stashed away gold. Secretly from Fafnir. They’ve been mining gold in this village for decades, so there must be at least hundreds of kilograms, maybe even tons. Let’s attack them and share the gold. 50% of the gold is mine, and the other 50% is yours.”
The other mercenaries, except for Omikos, looked tempted. One of them spoke to me with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
“It’s unfair for you, Eugene, to take 50% alone. Our mercenary group has 50 members. 1% per person… that’s too little. Let’s divide it fairly according to the number of people.”
I glared at him sternly.
“Is the contract a joke to you? Everything we get from this job is mine. In fact, I don’t even need to share it with you. I can flip this village on my own. The only reason I’m sharing with you is because I respect you. But what the hell? Are you going to go against the contract of the Grim Reaper? Huh?!”
I even released killing intent, pushing him back. He faltered. He was sweating. He looked around at his colleagues as if asking for help, but the other mercenaries were just as stiff. They must have realized that I didn’t hire them because I lacked power.
Eventually, he lowered his head.
“I was short-sighted. Please forgive me.”
“If you keep being nice, you’ll think it’s your right. If you say that kind of thing again, the contract is terminated. Of course, the responsibility for terminating the contract lies with you.”
“My subordinate made a mistake. I apologize on his behalf. Of course, we will abide by the contract.”
Omikos interjected. He then changed the subject.
“The problem is the system. In Atlantis, turning the system into an enemy… is like turning the universe into an enemy.”
In Atlantis, the system was omnipotent. That was the thought of both the continentals and the exiles about the system.
“You guys think too highly of the system.”
“It seems you see the system differently, Eugene.”
“The system can’t harm us without a reason. The system is just that, a system. If you prioritize, Atlantis is higher than the gods. It values the balance of Atlantis the most, and then the humans of Atlantis.”
“I, is that so.”
Even after my words, Omikos couldn’t shake his prejudice against the system. That meant he thought of the system as that great. Consciously or unconsciously.
“I’ll prove it to you directly. System! You motherfucking bitch!!”
I openly cursed the system. Omikos and the mercenaries were startled and looked around at the sky.
The system, of course, didn’t respond.
“See? The system doesn’t intervene even if you curse at it. The system’s pussy smells like shit! I’ve smelled it!!”
“……!!”
The mercenaries were shocked. Omikos took two steps back from me. They looked like they were afraid that the system’s punishment would fall on me.
Of course, the system didn’t react at all.
“You guys can curse the system too. It won’t react anyway.”
“I, I see. The system basically doesn’t care about us. But aren’t they under the protection of the system?”
“Protection, my ass. It just gave them one authority. And it’s a useless authority at that. They’re just mistaken about it. No one knows more about the system than I do, so trust me.”
“…….”
“Gay sle… ugh!”
My mouth was forcibly shut. The system had intervened immediately.
「Do not mention that in an open place.」
「Is the oath of the River Styx a joke to you?」
“See! The system intervened right away! That means the system is angry! I made the system flinch! I can control the system!!”
「The system begs you. Please shut up.」
“How is it? Isn’t the system not so scary now?”
“I don’t know what it is, but if I were the system, I would have punished you, Eugene…. Since there’s no punishment, it seems the system really doesn’t intervene.”
“All they have is the system’s contract guarantee authority. Since we didn’t make a contract, there’s no room for the system to intervene. If you’re still scared, put all the responsibility on me. I’ll take the lead. Those who don’t want to can stay here. But those who back out won’t get any gold.”
I turned my body and headed towards the village. The Omikos mercenary group followed me without exception.
I walked confidently.
The village chief was standing in front of his house with the other men. They were holding tools, as if preparing for an emergency. They were miners who did hard labor, so they looked quite decent on the outside.
I strode towards the village chief.
“Have you decided to accept the conditions? We will never compromise on the conditions. …Wait. You’re getting too close. Sto… ugh!”
I grabbed the village chief’s neck with my left hand and swung my sword.
Swish!
The village chief’s left arm fell to the ground.
“Chief!”
“You bastard!”
The village men reacted belatedly. That showed their level. Those who had seen combat would have stopped me the moment I approached.
“Don’t move. Can’t you see what I’m holding in my hand? I can stab this knife into his chest right now.”
I scattered killing intent. The mercenaries already had their weapons in hand and were preparing for battle. Over 100 miners who weren’t properly prepared for battle and 50 mercenaries who made fighting their profession. It was obvious who would have the upper hand.
And this was Atlantis. It was nothing for five mercenaries to turn this village into a wasteland within 10 minutes.
“Chief. Let me tell you the contract conditions. You will pledge absolute loyalty to me. If you don’t accept my conditions… I’ll just kill you all. Kids, women, whatever, I’ll kill them all.”
I slightly loosened my grip on his neck so he could speak.
“That, that’s absurd… Kaaak!”
This time, I cut off his left leg.
“I’ll make sure you’re neither dead nor alive. I’m also the ruler of hell, so you can trust me. It’ll be a great time.”
In the 6,700th district, the Kingdom of Entertainment. There was a living hell there. If necessary, I could put the village chief there. The only reason I wasn’t killing him was because of the contract guaranteed by the system. In Atlantis, it would be absolutely upheld, more so than the River Styx.
“Will you do it? Or not? If not, I’ll turn you into a human slug.”
The village chief’s eyes lost their venom and were filled with fear.
“I, I will.”
“Then tell the system to make a contract. That you will pledge absolute loyalty to Eugene.”
“Chief! You can’t!”
“If we do that, we’ll become real slaves!”
Some of the villagers shouted. The village chief hesitated, his mouth trembling. I swung my sword at the villagers who had interfered unnecessarily. Blue sword energy flew out and cut them down. In an instant, two men lost their lives.
The villagers froze. Even the remaining resistance had disappeared.
“Sy, system. Help us. Please….”
The village chief said, sobbing.
But the system would ignore this kind of plea, just like when I cursed at it.
When the system, their last hope, did nothing, the village chief cried.
“Hurry up. My patience is about to run out in 10 seconds.”
“I, I will. System, a contract….”
「The contract is being processed.」
「The Sotrami Village pledges absolute loyalty to Eugene.」
「Do you really want to make a contract?」
“Good.”
I put the tip of my sword to the eye of the hesitating man. He answered, trembling.
“I, I will make a contract!”
「The contract has been completed.」
I threw the village chief I was holding onto the ground and said.
“Kneel, you bastards.”
All the villagers knelt. The birth of slaves guaranteed by the system.
“First, bring all the gold you’ve collected.”
The village men brought the gold with tearful faces. They went down through the tunnels dug in various places behind the village and brought the gold. It took them three hours just to bring the gold up. They had hidden a whopping three tons of gold from Fafnir. They had even refined it separately and stored it as gold bars.
I took exactly 1.5 tons, and gave the remaining 1.5 tons to the mercenary group. The mercenary group cheered. They had gotten 30kg of gold each for free.
“It’s real gold!”
“With this, we can live comfortably for years.”
The mercenaries laughed and rejoiced. On the other hand, the villagers were biting their lips and suppressing their anger. Regardless, I asked the village chief, who was panting with bandages on his cut limbs.
“What is Fafnir’s weakness?”
“Fa, Fafnir stores gold in a place called Andvari’s Warehouse. The more gold there is in Andvari’s Warehouse, the stronger Fafnir becomes.”
“Conversely, if there is no gold in Andvari’s Warehouse, Fafnir becomes weaker?”
“That’s right.”
“Where is Andvari’s Warehouse?”
“I don’t know that well….”
