Chapter 104- There is No Free Lunch (1)

In Warlord, one could transfer an Item from acquired watch through the fence NPC.

Of course, the fence NPC was located in a neighborhood with a menacing atmosphere.  It was common to see Users, who lost tehir items through PK, to stake out near the fence NPC. This was why sometimes one might meet one’s enemies near the fence.

Of course, fights didn't occur around the NPC.  There was a tacit agreement that forbid PK near the fence.  If one broke this unwritten rule, the User would suffer much more damage than actually losing a single watch.

This was the reason why everyone kept their manners.  The only thing they could do was glare at other Users with murderous intent.  This worsened the menacing atmosphere around the fence. There was a saying in Warlord that said, 'If you want to experience an intense atmosphere, go near a fence instead of going to a Boss Raid!'

“My commission is 1 gold..”

In such a rough atmosphere, those who can't keep their cool became the prey.

Hyrkan knew this better than anyone.  However, Hyrkan’s expression indicated otherwise.

“The commission fee is 1 gold. Are you perhaps trying to cheat me out of my commission?”

The fence NPC continued to speak in a threatening manner.  As if he finally came to his senses, Hyrkan put his hand into his pocket.  When Hyrkan finally took out a coin, Hyrkan's expression changed. It was as if he had a couple screws loose. He had a silly smile on his face.

In the end, Hyrkan handed over the gold coin to the fence.

“Huh?”

The coin wasn't engraved with the number one.  It had the number 10 imprinted on it.

It was worth 10 gold.

This wasn't a small amount of money.  In real money, it was worth around 100 dollars. No one in the right mind would pay 100 dollars for a 10 dollar service.  Moreover, this fence NPC didn't give back change.

Didn't Hyrkan put his life on the line for .1 gold before?

Something extraordinary was going on here.

“My commission is one gold.”

This was something that could be corrected immediately.

“It's a tip.”

However, Hyrkan left the 10 gold in place.  He immediately left after taking the Item.

The fence looked at Hyrkan with its head tilted in confusion.  The fence NPC didn't chase after a User if they overpaid. This scenario hadn't been programmed.

The fence's expression immediately reverted to its normal expression, and it got ready for the new customer.

[Helm Imbued with the Greenstone Imoogi's Soul]

*Main Properties

- Unique-rank Item

- Strength +144

- Stamina +144

- Required Level : 150

*Sub-properties

- The Wearer's Stamina recovery speed is increased by 5%

- If one equips set items‘Imbued with the Greenstone Imoogi's Soul’, class-specific stat increases

- If three parts of the set item ‘Imbued with the Greenstone Imoogi's Soul’ is equipped, all Stat will be increased by +50

- If five parts of the set item ‘Imbued with the Greenstone Imoogi's Soul’ is equipped, all Stat will be increased by +100

- If five parts of the set item ‘Imbued with the Greenstone Imoogi's Soul’ is equipped, the 'Greenstone Imoogi's Curse' is activated

*Miscellaneous

- The essence of a Greenstone Imoogi with a vengeful spirit is dwelling with the Item.

He looked at the Stat of the Item stored in his storage.  Ahn-jaehyun checked the Stats once again, and he let out a sigh that was filled with mixed emotions.

‘Wow.’

He had read the Item's Option so much that it had been imprinted into his brain.  However, his heart started pounding when he started reading the Item's Option once again.  Even if his heart suddenly came to a stop, his heart would probably start back again if he saw the Item's Option.

This was how incredible the Item he possessed was.

Ahn-jaehyun once again let out a sigh admiration.

‘It feels akin to buying a 1st place lotto ticket that I know will be a winner.  This is really incredible.’

It was a level 150 Unique Item.

Moreover, this particular one was produced and circulated solely by the V&V guild. They went as far to never selling it to the public.  They dealt this Item only within their guild.

This was why one couldn't even put a fair market value of the set.

Ahn-jaehyun was well aware of this fact.  Moreover, this fact brought Ahn-jaehyun's heart back to its normal rhythm.

The pounding died down. Ahn-jaehyun drank a sip of his coffee.

‘It's a jackpot, but the problem is I can't sell it to anyone.’

As Ahn-jaehyun surmised, he couldn't sell the Greenstone Imoogi Helm to the public.

‘Wouldn't the V&V guild try to fight me, while foaming at the mouth, when they realize I sold this piece?’

When the helm appeared in the auction, the V&V guild would immediately take action.

'If you purchase the Imoogi helm, our guild will declare war on you as a service!'

He was sure that was how the guild would react.  As a customer, one would probably be too afraid of the V&V guild to purchase this Item.

Moreover, if it was a full set, there might be a User, who might risk the danger of crossing the V&V guild.  However, he didn't have the full set, and the Greenstone Imoogi Helm could only show its true worth when it was in a set.

A single piece wasn't that popular.

This was why his potential customer was already predetermined.

‘I have no choice, but to return it to its owner.’

He had no choice, but to sell it to its original owner.

The thought brought a smile to Ahn-jaehyun's lips. Ahn-jaehyun found the current situation to be quite humorous.

The thief was basically selling the goods back to the owner.  It was most definitely a ridiculous situation.

This was a given, but when the owner receives the purchased Item, the owner will  step forward to try to kill the thief.  However, Anhn-jaehyun wasn't too worried about that part.

The bastard would have tried to kill Ahn-jaehyun even if this incident never happened.

He was going to fuck over the bastard one more time, so it made Ahn-jaehyun smile.

Also, from Ahn-jaehyun's perspective, the owner of the Item wasn't the one, who had attacked him.  There was a possibility that Sinclair had been been gifted the Item or the Item had been loaned to him by the V&V guild.

This was why Ahn-jaehyun thought a deal could be struck.  Whether it was a present or a loan, the V&V guild would want to recover something that had been lost.  It would be tough to see the Item in the hands of another person.

The problem right now was the fact that he didn't know the identity of the person, who had ambushed him.  Also, he didn't have any contacts within the V&V guild.  It wasn't as if he could just search out the V&V guild then ask for a deal from them.

There was only one answer left.

‘I'll contact the V&V guild through the Red Bulls. It'll allow me to make some kind of bridge with them.’

He had to exploit a personal connection.

‘I never expected the Red Bulls to be so helpful like this.’

Ahn-jaehyun felt that it had been worth the effort to develop this personal connection.

“I heard you got spanked by the Hahoe Mask, Sinclair?  How can you lose against a User, who is 30 levels below you?  It doesn't make any sense.”

A woman wearing a robe made out of snake leather spoke.  She spoke in a sarcastic manner, and it inevitably brought out a reaction from Sinclair.

“Shut up. The bastard ran away. I didn't lose.”  

It was a reasonable reaction…… He reacted in a temperamental manner.

“I heard he stole your watch?  That means you got spanked.”

“I got hoodwinked by the bastard.  He didn't steal it from me.”

“Whatever.  So which Item did you lose?  Don't you usually fill all three slots?”

An answer came out from another source.

“He is wearing that armor, yet he doesn't have that idiotic helmet on his head.  The answer can be easily deduced.”

When a stolen watch is re-issued to the User, everything was given back to the User except a single Item stored in each slot. Since he wasn't wearing his helmet, it meant the helmet had been taken from Sinclair's watch.

“Is it perhaps the Greenstone Imoogi Helm?  My god.”

The woman had been speaking playfully until now, but her expression became genuinely worried.

“Of all the....  Didn't the V&V guild loan that out to you?”

The woman's reaction made Sinclair’s feelings fall off a deeper cliff. Sinclair gritted his teeth instead of answering.  He didn't want to speak any further. He thought it was fortunate that he was inside a game.  If this had been reality, his face would have been beet red as if it was about to explode.

‘Shit.  That mother fucking Hahoe Mask.’

Naturally, Sinclair though about the Hahoe Mask, and he chewed on his lips.

‘Watchman Style? Son of a bitch.’

In truth, he was in a state of disbelief.  He had fallen for a scam called the Watchman style.  When he searched for the Watchman style online, it returned no result.

This might be a unique method developed to hoodwink a dumb User.  Sinclair had probably been the first sacrificial lamb for this method.

It didn't matter how he spun it.  This was a bad look for him.

‘I'll kill him no matter what.’

The humiliation didn't end there.  Sinclair was in a much fouler mood, because the much anticipated watch of Hyrkan only yielded a Normal Rank robe.  

Even if they weren't on a similar level, he had expected a level 120-130 Unique Item.  It was known that the Hahoe Mask was always equipped with expensive Items.

Basically, he had stolen the Item of an owner, who owned a masterpiece.  However, when one opened the wallet, the only thing inside was two 20 dollar bills and couple coins.

‘Hahoe Mask.  I'll kill you every time I meet you in this game.’

Sinclair had to pay the penalty for losing the Greenstone Imoogi Helmet, and his organization was taking care of the aftermath.

First, he would have to have a conversation with the V&V guild.  Sinclair would have a clear idea where he stood only after he ended his talk with the V&V guild.  It was best to take all the beating in one sitting.  It would be the worst if his punishment came consecutively in multiple parts.

‘Shit.’

Above all else, Sinclair had never experienced failure, so his pride had been hurt.

His organization contacted him at that moment.

- The Greenstone Imoogi helm that was stolen by the Hahoe Mask was recovered by the V&V guild. For awhile, Sinclair is in charge of any business related to the V&V guild.  During that time, Sinclair is going to act as a member of the V&V guild.  Try your best to think of this as a volunteer service, Sinclair.

“Yes.”

Sinclair planted the sword of revenge inside his heart.

After the Corrupt Count Raid, the Red Bulls and Stormhunters maintained a close and friendly relationship.

Of course, this relationship was unofficial.  They were two of the top guilds fighting for the top spot within the 30 great guilds.  If their friendly relationship was made official, the other guilds would become alarmed, and they would act accordingly.

Since this close and friendly unofficial relationship had to be maintained, the existence of a hotline was needed.

The Storm Queen and the Matador had established a hotline where they could contact each other unilaterally.

It sounded pretty good saying it like thatl, but it basically meant the two of them knew each other's phone number.

Currently, Che-sulyun was calling Chev.  As she was calling him, Che-sulyun's face was covered with some unknown face pack.

“Chev.”

- I'm in a Raid right now.  If you want to talk to me, you'll have to keep it short.

Chev was the recipient of the call, and he was in a tense situation. He had picked up the phone during a battle.  Of course, Chev would be in a foul mood.

Of course, Che-sulyun wasn't someone, who cared about Chev's mood.

“I heard a transaction was made between the Hahoe Mask and the V&V guild.  I acquired information that the Red Bulls acted as an intermediary.”

Che-sulyun's voice was calm, and her expression didn't change.  This was the effect of the face pack. If she got angry or frowned, the pack would be rendered useless.

Of course, Chev didn't know about this, so he was a bit surprised at her reaction.  He asked her a question.

- Your intelligence capabilities is impressive.  I never realized it was at such a level.

In truth, Chev had expected a call from Che-sulyun.  One of the main sponsors of the V&V guild was run by Che-sulyun's family.   A deal had been conducted between the V&V guild and the Hahoe Mask.  Of course, she would hear about it. It would have been more suspicious, if she hadn't heard about it.

When Chev received a call from Che-sulyun, he had expected her to yell at him with a thunderous voice. Unlike how she looked, she was incredibly terrifying.

“I thought I made myself clear last time.”

Of course, Che-sulyun had called to give a warning.

“The Hahoe Mask is ours.  Don't touch him.”

Chev smirked at the warning.

- I didn't touch him. He's the one, who suggested the deal.  Since I've had couple dealings with him, he wanted me to put down a bridge for him.

“You are lucky I have my pack on.  If we were holding this conversation inside the game, I would have already killed you.”

Face pack.

Chev finally realized the reason why Che-sulyun was speaking so calmly.

- I guess I am very lucky that you have your pack on. Which part of your sentence should I reply to?

“Give me all the information you have on the Hahoe Mask.”

Her voice was still calm.

However, Chev had a feeling that her calmness had reached its limit.

He wasn't going to mince his words.

- I'll put this out in no uncertain terms. I won't lie. I have great interest in the Hahoe Mask, and I want him on my team.  

“Hmmm.”

- If this results in my guild warring with the Stormhunter guild, I'm willing to put up with it.  I want the Hahoe Mask to enter into my team.

“Is that so?”

- However, even after such a resolve, I wasn't able to recruit the Hahoe Mask.  You may glean what you may from my answer.

“Hand over the info.”

- I have no information regarding the Hahoe Mask. I just have a route I can use to make a deal with him. The trade route I am talking about is the Information Merchant, who revealed the identity of the Corrupt Count.

Che-sulyun's brows twitched at his words.  A very small wrinkle formed on her pack.

- That is all the information I can give you.  You should consider it a present .  The fact that I'm even telling you this much is, because I'm taking into account our relationship. Red Bulls are in a cooperative relationship with the Stormhunters.  We aren't in a master and servant relationship.

Che-sulyun didn't give an answer.  Chev was waiting for her to answer, but words weren't coming easily to her.

In the end, Chev continued to speak.

- I’m not speaking as the guild master right now. I'll give you some personal advice.  Hahoe Mask only does deals.  He gives only as much as he receives.  If you really want a closer relationship with the Hahoe Mask, you should try getting him in your debt.

Che-sulyun still hadn't answered him.

- If needed, I can act as an intermediary. I plan on contacting the Hahoe Mask soon.  Are you still on the phone?  There's no answer.  Huh?  Did the call get cut off?

Che-sulyun was finally able to open her mouth.  She had a big frown on her face.

“Are you telling me to become his Daddy Long Legs?”

It seemed she would have to buy a new pack.

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