Chapter 1974 – 1974. God’S Atlantis
I plundered the third village and secured their loyalty contracts. It was easy, using the children as hostages and threatening them.
“This is the golden chalice, a treasure passed down in our village for generations.”
He presented the golden cup as if offering it.
“A drinking cup, huh? Does the liquor taste better if you drink from it?”
“You must fill this golden chalice with gold, not liquor. Then the gold will turn into liquor. The more gold you put in, the more concentrated the liquor becomes.”
“So, it’s very expensive liquor. What happens when you drink it?”
“You gain some wisdom. We call that liquor the Mead of Mimir.”
“Interesting.”
「Golden Chalice
Transforms gold into the Mead of Mimir.
The more gold placed in the chalice, the more concentrated it becomes.
Drinking the liquor grants knowledge for a certain period.
Rank: SS」
Having obtained such a special item, it’s only natural to want to try it out. I put a 1kg gold bar into the golden chalice. As soon as the gold entered the cup, it melted and turned into liquor.
A transparent liquor with a slight golden hue. It had a sweet aroma, like ripe fruit. It looked like mead.
“Since you have something this good, you must have used it every day.”
“We do not use the golden chalice.”
“Why not?”
“The Mead of Mimir is too delicious, and therefore dangerous. Once you taste it, you become addicted. At the end of addiction, there is only ruin.”
“But you gain wisdom.”
“That wisdom is only temporary. More than anything, that wisdom… is something we mere mortals cannot handle. Please be careful when you drink that liquor.”
Hearing that made me even more curious.
Without hesitation, I put the chalice to my lips and drank the liquor. The sweet liquor flowed down my esophagus and seeped into me.
“Ah, ahhh!”
I exclaimed in admiration.
The taste of the liquor was absolutely intoxicating. Even Elena, who loves wine, would surely fall for this liquor immediately if she tried it once.
“Boobs, pussy, sex. Is this wisdom…!”
“What are you talking about…”
“You ignorant fool. You wouldn’t understand.”
I put 10kg of gold into the golden chalice and drank the liquor. It was very delicious.
By the time I arrived at the fourth and final village, the sun was rising.
The fourth village had less gold than the others. Instead, they used gold like steel. They made sculptures, farm tools, and even swords, shields, and armor out of gold.
“Why do you make weapons and armor out of gold?”
“We were just preparing for the worst.”
“I’ll protect you from now on, so I’ll take all the weapons and armor. You’re good at making sculptures too. Bring out the village’s treasure.”
“If you mean the village’s treasure…”
“Don’t talk back.”
“……”
What the village chief brought was a sword.
A sword made of gold. Not a crude golden sword made by the villagers. It was a sharp golden sword.
After swinging the golden sword a few times in the air, I nodded in approval. This was a masterpiece in itself.
「Golden Sword
A sword made of unbreakable gold.
Rank: S」
Unbreakable.
‘Indestructible? Is it that kind of sword?’
It was a bit underwhelming for an S-rank item.
“Is that all this golden sword can do?”
“The golden sword is absolutely indestructible. It will not be damaged even if you strike it against a rock or heat it to high temperatures. The sword always stays the same, so there is no need to maintain the blade separately.”
“I see. Anyway, I’ll make good use of the sword. Now all that’s left is to deal with Fafnir.”
I looked at the Omikos Mercenary Group.
They had followed me through four villages, and they were smiling happily without showing any signs of fatigue. They couldn’t help but be happy. They had earned 70kg of gold today alone. All of them were holding onto their bags full of gold.
“I wonder how much gold Fafnir has.”
“I’d say at least 300 tons.”
“This is the last job. I’m going to retire and live like a noble. With this much gold, I won’t have to worry about my old age. Heh heh.”
All the mercenaries were happy. Except for one person, Omikos. Omikos was not paying attention to the gold and was checking his equipment.
“In the end, we have to fight Fafnir. Check your equipment and don’t let your guard down.”
“Captain, things are going well. Let’s enjoy it while we can.”
“Only mercenaries who are thoroughly prepared will survive to the end.”
“We may look like this, but we’re thoroughly prepared. We’ve been in this business for at least three years. Trust us.”
“I trust you. Who else would I trust if not you?”
• • •
Far away, the black dragon, Fafnir, spread its large wings and flew away.
The mercenaries and I, who had been hiding behind a large rock, stood up. We released the charms we were holding. The charms were swept away by the wind and disappeared somewhere.
「Invisibility Charm
Conceals presence and appearance.
Rank: C」
It was one of the consumables mainly used by mercenaries and adventurers. I was nervous because Fafnir’s senses were said to be sharp, but it was easily fooled.
I headed to Fafnir’s lair with the mercenaries. A large cave under a rocky mountain. That was Fafnir’s lair.
“What if Fafnir suddenly comes back?”
“According to the villagers, we have at least an hour.”
“An hour is enough time to raid Andvari’s vault. Heh heh. If all the gold is stolen, Fafnir will lose most of its power.”
Things were going smoothly, so the atmosphere was cheerful.
Fafnir’s lair was surprisingly crude. There was a wide open space. There were no decorative items like sculptures. However, there was a small door at the back. A door that was too small for a dragon to enter.
‘That must be Andvari’s vault.’
The mercenaries fell silent. Their eyes sparkled with anticipation.
I strode forward and grabbed the door. Of course, the door didn’t open. As soon as I grabbed the doorknob, sparks flew as if rejecting me.
It seemed like there was something magical. I had a feeling. This door had to be opened in a different way.
‘I can’t back down now. I have no choice.’
I took out the golden key from my inventory. Light emanated from the golden key and seeped into the door.
「Golden Key
The golden key can unlock any lock.
Remaining uses: 2
Rank: SS」
The power blocking the door disappeared.
As soon as the door opened, golden light burst out. Inside the vault, dazzling gold was piled up haphazardly. Everyone’s mouths dropped open. Hundreds of tons of gold. It was hundreds of tons in words, but the sight of it was enough to make people feel overwhelmed.
“T-there’s so much!”
“There are gold coins and gold bars! There are gold statues, and just gold lumps!”
“How are we going to carry all this? It looks like 300 tons!”
“Let’s take it! Let’s take it!! Before Fafnir comes back!!”
The excited mercenaries were about to rush in. I frowned and blocked their path.
“Calm down. My share is 80%. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”
“Wait. Wait. Are you saying you’ll only give us 20% of that? There are over 50 of us! We have to divide 20% by 50! That’s too little!”
“What did I say last time? That if you keep receiving favors, you’ll start to think of them as rights. You’re exactly like that. According to the original contract, all the gold is mine. I don’t even have to share it with you. Is this how you repay my kindness?”
“Even so, 20% is too little! Half… no, give us 70%! There are 50 of us, so we have to divide it again! And Sung Yoojin will have the most gold!”
“You bastards… are you blinded by greed?”
I glared at the mercenaries with a distorted expression.
“You’re the one who’s blinded by greed!!”
Someone from the mercenary group shouted. The mercenaries began to agree with him.
“That’s right! We’re the ones who are going to go through all the trouble to catch Fafnir!”
“We should get more gold!”
“If you don’t give us more gold, we’ll go on strike!”
“No. How about we just get rid of that guy? Then we can have all those hundreds of tons of gold!”
“It’s not like you die right away for breaking the Reaper’s contract. If we have enough money, we can avoid the Reaper’s contract or pursuit, right?”
“We can just kill the Reaper! We can do it if we have that gold!”
The excited mercenaries began to cross the line one by one. I looked at Omikos, the leader of the mercenary group.
“Calm down! We are the Omikos Mercenary Group! Not robbers! Are you going to throw away the pride we’ve upheld until now?!”
Omikos shouted. But the mercenaries, blinded by greed, did not stop even at his shout. They had already succumbed to greed.
Just like Fafnir, who was blinded by greed and cursed into an evil dragon.
“It’s not us who have upheld pride, it’s the captain.”
“What pride for a mercenary. The captain is confusing mercenaries with knights.”
“Captain, join us. You don’t have to pretend to be clean. Let’s get dirty together.”
“If you throw away your pride, you’ll just become beasts!”
“…Come to think of it, I don’t think the captain is in a position to criticize us. The captain also accepted this request because he was blinded by Fafnir’s blood.”
“The captain at least gets Fafnir’s blood. We have nothing. Are we supposed to step back with just a small reward? Absolutely not.”
“Captain, move aside. If we kill that guy, we can have all the gold.”
“You guys…!”
Omikos and the mercenaries faced off. I watched the scene with ease.
‘I knew it would turn out like this.’
It was as expected, you could say.
I watched their farce and took out the golden chalice. I picked up some gold nearby and put it into the golden chalice. The gold turned into liquor and pleased my tongue.
‘The liquor tastes good.’
-It’s coming! It’s coming! The dragon is coming!
‘Huh?’
I heard a voice.
No. Should I call it a voice? It felt like I was hearing someone’s will. I lowered my gaze to find the source of the voice.
Inside the vault, a rat was hiding.
Squeak, squeak.
The rat squeaked in a very small voice. And that squeak sounded different to me.
-The dragon is coming!
I couldn’t have been drunk and gone crazy. There was no way I, with my absolute mind, would lose my mind from being drunk.
‘They said drinking the liquor would temporarily grant wisdom… Was the wisdom to understand the words of a rat?’
