CHAPTER 18: JUST A D-CLASS EXECUTIONER

"Come in," Abraham declared and moved aside for them to enter.

Two seconds in, both Donny and Roy raised their hands to cover their noses.

"What the fuck is this?" Roy voiced, his voice muffled. He had to complain, but he was also afraid that if he spoke with a mouth too wide, the repugnant stench might enter, and he would taste it on his tongue.

"It takes a lot for an executioner to be allowed to remain off grid," Abraham voiced, maybe feeling guilty for putting them through this.

"I-I understand," Donny said through tightened lips. He, too, was afraid the stench would get on his tongue.

Donny and Roy were still looking about his abode, and both had their noses covered. Empty drink cans, fast-food wraps, unfinished meals, and so on. There was trash littered everywhere. The stench almost made them throw up.

Abraham led them into his room, which wasn’t any different from the parlor and kitchen. And then, he opened the wardrobe and pushed aside his clothes.

Behind them, there was a scanner, and he placed his hand on it. Instantly, the wardrobe’s inner wall split open, revealing an elevator in pristine condition.

Abraham didn’t bother to glance back to see both Donny and Roy’s shocked expressions and just entered.

"There was a hidden elevator?" Roy voiced in a daze full of awe. This D-Class Executioner was living the life of a movie character!

Even Donny, too, was struck with awe and stood dumbfounded. It was now that he really understood what Abraham meant by saying it took a lot for an executioner to remain off-grid. All this ’madness’ was for the Executioners Association and Guilds to deem him as a lost cause! As a great talent who had lost his mind!

Waiting in the elevator, Abraham frowned and urged the two brothers, "Are you coming or what?"

Quickly, they entered, and the elevator went down. They were on the top floor of the apartment building, but now they were going underground.

"Wow. Do you own the building too?" Roy asked.

Abraham just glanced at him and scoffed. "Of course."

’No wonder it’s abandoned. He wouldn’t want people to find out,’

Roy realized. ’And here I was thinking being just a D-Class Executioner sucked.’

"How did you get the money for all this?" Donald asked, although he already knew the answer. Executioners were at the top of society, and for one who was skilled and had enough growth potential? The benefits of joining a guild were through the roof.

But then...

"I thought you gave all your money to the poor and gambled the rest away?"

Abraham scoffed again and just said, "People can only see what you want them to see."

The elevator stopped shortly after and its doors opened to reveal a sweet man cave, with old-world wooden furniture, a sprawling bookshelf, three robot assistants, weapons and armors in show-glasses, and more.

After the initial awe and wonder subsided, Donny and Roy sat down on the long furniture, whereas Abraham sat in his more comfy-looking chair.

"So what is this offer?" He asked.

Donny looked at Roy and cleared his throat.

"I want you to lead a raid party that will protect my brother when he ventures into a Gate, presumably a Rank 1 one. And you will also assist him by letting him finish the killing of abyss creatures so he can—"

"Do you remember my system’s name?" Abraham suddenly asked.

Donny furrowed his eyebrows. "Yes..."

But a second later, Donny had a look of realization and let out a resigned sigh. "You figured out that Roy levels up by killing abyss creatures, didn’t you?"

"I did," Abraham answered plainly.

"Bloody system users," Donny cursed under his breath.

Abraham leaned forward. "So you want me to help mentor... him?"

Roy frowned. ’Why did he refer to me like that?’

Donny spoke slowly, "I was going to offer you a hundred thousand dollars every month, along with the energy crystals of all the creatures killed. But then..."

He looked around. Abraham didn’t seem like an individual who was lacking money.

Abraham stood up and paced about with an aloof expression, and spoke as he did so.

"I am more interested in your brother’s system. What’s the name?"

"GAME," Roy answered.

"Game..." Abraham repeated.

"What is your plan for him?" he asked Donald.

"Uh... well, hire capable executioners and challenge a Rank 1 gate for starters," Donny said.

Abraham halted and faced Donald. "Are you mad?"

Donny shrugged and retorted, "What’s wrong with my plan?"

"Everything! Do you even know a sliver of what it takes to clear a Gate?" Abraham yelled.

"Of course, I do. With proper planning—"

"There is no such thing as proper planning when it comes to God’s Abyss." Abraham shut him down, a dark expression settling over his face.

The atmosphere turned sour, and even Roy sensed that Donny hit a nerve by saying that.

Abraham massaged his temples and sighed.

"I’m entertaining you for no reason. My answer is no."

Donald let the silence simmer for a few seconds before voicing, "Five million."

Roy’s ears perked up, and so did Abraham’s.

"What did you just say?" The D-Class Executioner asked, not believing his ears.

"Five million dollars. And all the energy crystals from felled creatures are yours too," Donald explained further.

Abraham seemed awestruck and oscillated gazes between Donny and Roy, that is, before bursting into short laughter.

"Where are you going to get five million dollars from?"

"Do you have a mobile terminal?" Donny immediately asked, a shadow hanging over his eyes.

"Of course, it’s in the drawer beside you," Abraham said, not believing Donny one bit. His robot assistant rolled in with a glass of wine, and he took it.

Donny helped himself with the terminal, and as soon as Abraham saw him pull out a black credit token, his smile vanished.

’It can’t be... can it?’ He thought.

However, just a few seconds after Donny’s hand left the scanner, his intercom buzzed with the sound of a new notification.

Abraham grabbed the intercom and read the details of the message. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Donald opened his mouth to say something, but Abraham immediately pointed at Roy and said, "Get ready, kid! We’re going on a trip."

’Just like that?’ Roy wanted to laugh, but the pain of losing half his net worth in the same morning he gained it made his heart bleed. But it was necessary.

Before Donny could ask the question, Abraham took the initiative to explain, "If Roy levels up by killing abyss creatures, why does he have to enter a gate to do that? That is too risky. However, we can just go to a dead district."

"Because— Hmm..." Roy was about to say something, but he couldn’t reveal the truth.

But then he thought about it. Since abyss creatures were from the GOD.exe environment, was it really essential that he entered the abyss to gain exp from them?

Donny had a similar question and looked to Roy for the answer.

’System, can I still earn exp from killing abyss creatures that aren’t inside a Gate?’ Roy asked, but there was no response from his system. It was obvious that this was one of those questions it couldn’t answer, similar to the host of LOVE.exe asking what the next stage would be about. Of course, the system would ignore the host.

"Is that possible?" Donny finally asked.

"I don’t know."

"Then we should find out first," Abraham said.

A curious thought resurfaced in Roy’s mind, so he asked, "Yes, Mr. Abraham, what’s your system name?"

The D-Class Executioner raised an eyebrow and answered passively, "MATH.exe."