Chapter 1973 – 1973. God’S Atlantis
The village chief didn’t have much information. It was even less fruitful than I had anticipated, and I was starting to get annoyed.
The village chief, who had been watching my expression, was startled and continued to speak.
“I, I don’t know where Andvari’s vault is, but I know who does!”
“Who knows?”
“If you go west, there’s another village like ours. The chief of that village will know. We sometimes interact with each other… He said he’s been inside Andvari’s vault before.”
“What kind of guy is he to get into such an important vault related to Fafnir’s power?”
“I heard he went to organize the gold because it was piled up haphazardly. Fafnir had just pushed gold into the vault, blocking the entrance.”
“His greed for gold is enormous, but he loses interest after getting his hands on it.”
Come to think of it, even if Fafnir collected gold here, there wouldn’t be much he could do with it.
‘According to the legend, his obsession with gold was due to a curse, wasn’t it?’
Anyway, I’m going to take that gold. The amount must be at least tens of tons.
“Is that village far from here?”
“It’s about half a day’s walk if you go steadily.”
“How many villages are there in this area?”
“There are four in total. We’re the outermost one.”
“And they all received the system’s transaction guarantee authority like your village?”
“Yes, yes! That’s right. The system said it wouldn’t interfere with how we use that authority!”
I had a hunch.
This was a kind of runaround. A quest runaround where you get information by fulfilling the village’s requests and conditions.
‘System. This bastard only learns the bad things.’
I clicked my tongue. Coaxing the villagers was also part of the original strategy.
‘It’s impossible to clear this in three days. Fafnir will come after three days. Is the plan to get gold from the village or borrow it to offer to Fafnir to buy time?’
Four villages in this area.
They probably have different information about Fafnir as well.
“Those villages are also gold-mining villages, right?”
“Yes. We regularly offer gold to Fafnir. Fafnir doesn’t ask for anything else as long as we offer gold, so… we’ve gotten used to it. Actually, Fafnir isn’t that scary.”
“Is there anything unique about your village that sets it apart from the others?”
“We, we…”
The village chief was sweating profusely. It wasn’t sweat from the pain of his severed arms and legs. He was hiding something from me.
“You know you’ve sworn absolute loyalty, right? You better speak well.”
As my gaze sharpened, the village chief hurriedly opened his mouth.
“Our village has an alchemical elixir that turns gold into other metals. It was created by our ancestor named Arta… so we call it Arta’s Elixir. We were able to mine more gold than other villages with that elixir.”
“Does it permanently turn gold into other metals? That’s a big loss.”
“It returns to its original gold form over time. We use this elixir to change the gold every time Fafnir comes. That’s why Fafnir doesn’t know we’re hoarding gold.”
“I need to see it myself. Hand it over.”
The village chief, with a tearful face, ordered a young man from the village to bring Arta’s Elixir. It was a liquid that looked like mercury.
「Arta’s Elixir
Temporarily turns gold into a random metal.
The transformation lasts for 40 minutes.
Rank: S」
“The metal changes randomly? That’s just my style. How much gold can you change with one bottle?”
“The elixir turns into a gas when it touches gold and spreads in all directions. All the gold that touches that gas turns into another metal.”
“That means I can spray it in Fafnir’s gold vault to weaken him.”
I took Arta’s Elixir.
“Is there anything else in that western village? Something special like you have. Think carefully. You wouldn’t want to be the only one getting robbed, would you?”
I stared at the village chief and asked. The village chief, who didn’t seem to have a good personality, said without much thought.
“They have a treasure called the Valkyrie’s Wings. It’s a treasure that allows you to fly in the sky for a while. They boasted that they were descendants of the Valkyries, and the Valkyrie’s Wings were proof of that.”
“If they’re descendants of the Valkyries, they must be pretty. I’m looking forward to it.”
“No, they’re the same here and there. The descendants of the Valkyries thing is definitely nonsense.”
“What about the other villages?”
“We don’t interact much, so I don’t know well.”
“I figured.”
I didn’t expect to get all the information at once. It’s probably the rule to go to the next village and get information about the village after that.
“Village chief. Don’t be lazy just because you don’t have arms and legs, work diligently. If there isn’t enough gold to satisfy me when I return… I’ll tear you apart and kill you.”
“Heeik! I, I’ll gather the gold!”
I didn’t like the village chief, but there was no need to kill him. The village chief was now my slave, and a slave was property.
I gathered the Omicos Mercenary Group in one place and shared some of the information I had extracted from the village chief.
“There are three more villages like this. Each village probably has something special. I’m going to treat the other villages the same way I treated this village. I won’t force anyone. Those who feel uncomfortable killing villagers or taking their property, stay here or leave the area.”
I didn’t really intend to let them leave. It would be troublesome if the guys who left spread the word about what was happening here. Even though there was a confidentiality clause in the contract, the sharp-eyed guys from other legions would figure out what was going on here based on various circumstances.
‘I’ll secretly kill anyone who says they’re leaving.’
None of the mercenaries said they would leave. Their eyes were shining with a strange desire. Some were openly fiddling with the gold in their hands. It was worth giving them gold. Greed blinds people. The old saying is true.
‘That’s just how mercenaries are.’
The only one who was frowning at my words was Omicos, the leader of the mercenary group.
‘Omicos is a very rare person of character for a mercenary. That’s for sure. Inflexible? He was inflexible by mercenary standards.’
But even Omicos had a desire.
Fafnir’s blood.
Immortality.
Because of that desire, he remained silent even when he saw his comrades’ greed. In a way, Omicos was the one with the biggest greed.
‘No matter how I think about it, these bastards are going to betray me in the end.’
I hid my true feelings and smiled.
“There’s at least tens of tons of gold in Fafnir’s gold vault. If you follow me to the end… I’ll give you 20% of the gold in the gold vault after everything is over.”
“Really?!”
“As expected of Eugene! I knew you’d be so generous!”
“We will serve you to the best of our abilities, Eugene!”
“Hahaha! I can retire after this request.”
The mercenaries who held the gold laughed cheerfully.
“We don’t have much time. The village chief said it was half a day’s distance, but… we can probably get there in less than half that time. Let’s go! For gold!”
“For gold!!”
•••
We advanced like a storm towards the western village. As soon as we saw the village, we charged in, knocked people down, cut off the village chief’s arm, and sat him on a chair.
Bang!
I slammed the table and pressured the village chief. Next to me, a ten-year-old kid who had been taken hostage was trembling with fear. The mercenaries’ swords were pointed at his neck.
“Sign the contract! Quickly!!”
“I, I understand. Just please spare my grandson’s life…”
「Proceeding with the contract.」
「Hatel Village swears absolute loyalty to Sung Eugene.」
「Do you really want to sign the contract?」
“…I will sign the contract.”
The village chief said with difficulty.
The contract was completed.
“Bring the hidden gold. And that Valkyrie’s Wings thing.”
The hidden gold was less than in the first village. Still, each mercenary got 10kg of gold. The mercenaries, who had obtained a total of 40kg of gold, were grinning from ear to ear. Their bags were heavy with gold. Some mercenaries were throwing away their clothes to make room for the gold.
「Valkyrie’s Wings
You can fly freely in the sky.
You can summon the Valkyrie’s Shield.
Rank: A」
The Valkyrie’s Wings were a blue cloak.
I put on the cloak myself. The shape of the cloak changed into wings. When I thought about flying in the sky, the wings flapped and my body floated up.
‘This is how it works. Honestly, it’s quite uncomfortable.’
Using the Thunder God’s Flash Step of the Thunder God Style was faster and more convenient.
‘This is more about the Valkyrie’s Shield than the flying effect.’
I summoned the Valkyrie’s Shield. It was a circular metal shield.
「Valkyrie’s Shield
Blocks all forms of enemy attacks.
If the Valkyrie’s Shield is destroyed, it can be used again after ten days.
Rank: S」
The shield, which was a summon, had a higher rank than the Valkyrie’s Wings, which was the main body.
“The Valkyrie’s Wings will be helpful when fighting Fafnir. I’ll use it well. Village chief, where is Andvari’s vault?”
“It’s behind Fafnir’s nest.”
It was a slightly disappointing answer. The village chief from the first village acted like it was in some special place.
“Hmm. Well, I guess so. Since it’s an important place, it would be close to Fafnir. Is there another way to get to Andvari’s vault? You guys seem good at digging.”
“We can’t dig tunnels. Fafnir has sensitive senses… If we try to dig a tunnel, he’ll notice immediately. But there is another way.”
The second village chief was more cooperative than the first.
“What way?”
“Fafnir doesn’t just stay in his nest all the time. He sometimes flies around the area like he’s taking a walk.”
“Wait for him to leave? How do we know when he’ll leave his nest?”
“He comes out at regular intervals. That’s when he goes around the villages to collect gold. Fafnir’s collection will start in two days. Go to Andvari’s vault then.”
“That’s useful. Do you know the locations of the other two villages and what they have?”
“Yes, yes. I’ll tell you everything. Please, just make sure you kill Fafnir. That bastard killed my wife. For the ridiculous reason that she dropped gold on the floor…”
There was a reason why he was being cooperative. I patted the village chief’s left shoulder and expressed my sympathy. The area below his left shoulder was empty. Because I had cut it off.
“I’ll make sure to avenge your wife. But don’t even think about showing your teeth to me. Unless you want to see your remaining family die in front of you.”
“I, I would never do that. Please, just spare my family…”
“Mercenaries! Let’s go! For gold!”
“For gold!”
