Into the Creations 1969

Chapter 1969 – 1969. God’S Atlantis

The areas within God’s Atlantis each had their own unique characteristics.

The 1st area, the Church of Beginnings, was a tutorial, and the 2nd area, Today’s City, was themed around peace. Like this, each area had its own unique characteristic or concept. The area rulers tried their best to maintain these characteristics. They had to in order to gather people to their areas. The more people who visited an area, the more profit they could gain. This was the reason why most area rulers opened their areas.

The 99th area I was heading to was also a place with a distinct characteristic.

The 99th area, the mercenary city of Ropua.

As its name suggested, Ropua was a place where mercenaries gathered. All sorts of mercenaries gathered, and those who needed mercenaries also gathered there.

Having arrived in Ropua, I took a look around the city.

Most of the buildings were taverns combined with lodgings. I looked around the taverns and headed towards the largest one. As I walked, mercenaries would glance at me.

It was because I was moving alone. If anyone tried to pick a fight, I was ready to draw my sword. I was also bored, so I secretly hoped someone would start something first. However, no one tried to pick a fight with me.

I had imagined the mercenary city to be a lawless place, but it was surprisingly well-policed. The level of security was above average.

I entered the largest tavern in the city, called ‘Hermes’ Rest’. Even after I entered, the tavern was still noisy. Everyone was busy chatting amongst themselves.

As I was looking around, a female server approached me. She was quite pretty, but her gait and calloused hands told me that she was not an ordinary server.

‘She seems to be a retired mercenary, but she still seems to be training her body. Is she working part-time at the tavern during her break?’

It wasn’t an unusual thing.

“You’re not a mercenary, are you?”

“I could be a mercenary.”

“Nah. You don’t look like a mercenary at all. You have more of a knightly vibe, I’d say?”

“I have a certain honor.”

“More like a swaggering thug.”

“……”

She had quite a sharp tongue. I never expected her to pick a fight with me like this. But I decided to let it slide. She was quite pretty, after all. If a guy had said that to me, I would have cut off his arm first.

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit rude?”

“I have an eye for people. You can take this as a joke, right? You may look like a knight, but you’re not a real knight. If you seemed truly dangerous, I wouldn’t have approached you.”

“You seem confident in your ability to read people.”

“It’s a skill of mine. My contracted constellation is related to that. I can roughly tell a person’s disposition. I had a feeling that you wouldn’t hurt me even if I was a bit rude.”

This was a world where constellations existed. It wasn’t surprising that she had such an ability, since she received power from her constellation.

‘It’s quite fascinating.’

“You didn’t come here as a mercenary, so you must be a client, right?”

“Yes. I need mercenaries.”

“What’s your budget?”

“Enough to hire a mercenary group.”

“Wow. You’re more of a big shot than I thought. I’ll guide you to the 3rd floor. The 3rd floor is for big clients only.”

I followed her up the stairs. The mercenaries who had been ignoring me all started to stare at me.

“The stares are intense.”

“Going upstairs means you’re not an ordinary person.”

When we arrived on the 3rd floor, a man in a suit was sitting in his office. As soon as I entered, the man stood up as if he had been waiting for me.

“Hello. I’m Norris, a mercenary broker.”

“I’m Sung Yujin.”

“You’re of Korean descent. I’m from the United States. Please, have a seat. What would you like to drink? Coffee? Green tea? We also have black tea and juice.”

“I’d like a cola.”

“C-cola is…”

Norris was flustered. In Atlantis, cola was an expensive item that was not easy to obtain. To get cola, you had to pay AP to the system.

“Never mind. I have some cola myself.”

I sat down arrogantly and summoned a cola from my inventory. As a cold can of cola appeared with a *pop*, Norris’ eyes widened in surprise.

As I gulped down the cola, Norris’ Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. The taste of something familiar was scary. Especially in America, where they were known to drink cola like water.

“You’re the first person I’ve seen drink cola so casually.”

“Isn’t cola supposed to be drunk casually?”

“That’s true on Earth. In this world, even if you want to drink cola casually… the price is not casual at all, so you can’t drink it casually.”

In that sense, I had just gained the upper hand with a can of cola.

“Mr. Yujin. Please tell me your affiliation and the details of your request.”

“Isn’t it possible to hire mercenaries as long as you have money?”

“These days, mercenaries don’t just work for money. The idea that mercenaries are ignorant is also a thing of the past.”

The level of civilization in most of this world was similar to the Middle Ages. However, people’s level of knowledge was not that of the Middle Ages. There were many exiles from advanced civilizations. It was impossible to easily manipulate mercenaries by deceiving them.

“I’m affiliated with the A-Plan Legion.”

“I’ve heard of it. It’s a legion that’s been gaining popularity lately. And I heard they’re sponsored by the Illusionary Duke.”

“You’re well-informed about this kind of thing.”

“Legions and mercenaries have a close relationship. As a broker, I always keep an eye on the trends of major legions.”

After finishing one can of cola, I took out another and drank it. Norris looked at me with envious eyes.

“Burp. I got some good information this time. I’m planning to catch a dragon.”

“……You’re planning something huge.”

“I’ll be participating directly as well. What I need is a reliable, small legion-level mercenary group. It would be good if they were a famous and capable mercenary group.”

“This is a city of mercenaries. There happens to be a famous mercenary group that is currently taking a break. But since they are high-level personnel, they require a high hiring fee.”

“How much?”

“You’re hunting a dragon. May I ask what kind of dragon it is? And please tell me the approximate hiring time.”

“The dragon I’m targeting is Fafnir. I plan to hunt it within two weeks at the latest.”

“F-Fafnir, you say. Are you serious?! You’re going to take down such a huge beast with just one mercenary group!”

The broker was shocked.

Fafnir was a very famous dragon from Norse mythology. It was also known as an evil dragon.

“I know how to hunt it. For security reasons, I can’t tell you the method. One more thing. I will also be participating in the hunt directly.”

“Directly, you say? Then your credibility will increase.”

“All the rewards obtained from killing Fafnir are naturally mine.”

“That’s a given. The mercenaries will have to agree to that as well. But…”

Norris’ eyes wavered.

Mercenaries were just mercenaries after all. They could be blinded by greed at the end and betray their employer. If they killed their employer and wiped their mouths clean, who could hold the mercenaries accountable? Even if I had the A-Plan Legion behind me, they could disband the mercenary group and go into hiding. There were many places to hide and escape in this vast Atlantis.

“Does the broker not trust the mercenaries?”

“I’ve experienced too much to simply trust them. I’ll talk to the mercenary group. I would appreciate it if you could come back at this time tomorrow.”

“I will.”

After leaving the room, I asked the server where the brothels were. Not the kind of place that riffraff frequented, but the kind that only the real deal went to.

The female server smiled suggestively and gave me a hand signal, putting her thumb between her index and middle fingers. I nodded.

She quoted a rather high price, but the muscular body was satisfying.

• • •

The next day, I met the broker Norris. A man was sitting next to him. A large physique, flawless muscles, and light armor. My first impression was that he was a man of steel.

“You’ve arrived. We’ve been waiting for you. This is…”

“I’m Omikos of the Omikos Mercenary Group. Nice to meet you. I heard the general details of the request from Norris.”

The Omikos Mercenary Group.

I knew that name as well. It was one of the top mercenary groups in this city. And they were also known for their integrity.

“Have you decided to accept my request?”

“There’s a condition. If you can guarantee that condition… I will accept the request.”

“Let’s hear what that condition is.”

Norris took out a document and placed it on the table. It was his job as a broker.

“First, let me tell you the request fee. The fee is 1 billion pennies. It’s a 2-week contract, and it increases by 30 million pennies for each day that passes.”

That was roughly 10 billion won in Korean currency.

1 billion pennies was considered appropriate for hiring an entire famous mercenary group.

“I guess that’s not the condition you mentioned earlier. Tell me the condition.”

“It is said that Siegfried bathed in dragon’s blood and gained an immortal body. In this world, that legend cannot be ignored. The leader of the Omikos Mercenary Group here wants to bathe in Fafnir’s blood. Since Fafnir is a dragon, it will be huge, so I don’t think that will be difficult…”

Norris stared at me intently.

Frankly, I had no interest in immortality. Even if there was immortality, there would also be a power to kill immortality. The legendary Siegfried was not completely immortal either.

“The condition is not to give you the blood, but to let you bathe in it. Is that right?”

“That’s right. I’ll clearly state it in the contract.”

“I have a condition too. I’ll reduce the fee to 500 million pennies. Then I’ll accept that condition.”

Norris looked at Omikos, who was sitting next to him.

Omikos readily nodded. He didn’t even hesitate. As if the fee didn’t matter to him.

I knew what state he was in.

‘He’s blinded by immortality.’

Immortality. Any living being would be tempted by it.

[The Golden Collector chuckles.]