Chapter 197

‘How did they get here faster than us?’

Embris was more shocked by the fact that they were faster than her party than by Helena's provocative words.

It was a shock similar to when the Demon King had dealt with the blood-kin faster than them.

They had definitely been in the room longer than her party.

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't figure out how.

But it was clear that they were faster.

‘They must be incredibly skilled.’

Embris acknowledged Seonghyun's party as such.

Although it was a misunderstanding, it was true that they were incredibly skilled, so her thinking wasn't wrong.

Embris's companions were thinking something similar.

If they had been the same human race, it might have been different.

But…

‘We’re vampires, and they’re still faster than us.’

‘It’s a bit surprising.’

‘I know, right? If Menma hadn't been slacking off!’

‘It’s my fault again!?’

They had all become vampires because of Embris.

Of course, it wasn't that the human race's stats were inferior.

The initial races you could choose from, like Elves and Dwarves, all had similar characteristics to humans.

While their individual traits might differ, their major racial stats weren't that different.

However, the hidden race, Vampire, was different.

They displayed superior performance compared to the initial races, including humans.

It was no wonder they were surprised.

Especially since Embris even had an Almighty-rank class.

They couldn't help but be shocked.

On the other hand, Seonghyun was also quite surprised.

‘Are people usually that fast?’

Even if they hadn't found the clue beforehand, Seonghyun would have won, but Embris's party's speed was definitely fast.

He was now certain that they were indeed that 2nd place party.

The appearance of a new skilled player was always interesting.

However.

‘This quest isn't a competition.’

He briefly thought of it as a competition before quickly dismissing the thought.

Unlike Seonghyun…

‘Let’s not lose the next quest.’

‘We’ll win next time!’

‘It’s not a competitive quest, though…’

‘Whatever, let’s win!’

Embris's party was determined to beat Seonghyun's party one way or another.

Perhaps sensing their competitive spirit, Helena smiled mysteriously and spoke so that only Seonghyun and Fiora could hear.

“Looks like they’re thinking of beating us.”

-…H-Hueh? U-Us?

“……? It’s not a competitive quest, though? Helena, you must be mistaken.”

Seonghyun dismissed Helena's words.

Helena just shrugged and looked at them.

‘It doesn't make sense for them to not compete when they're so fired up. He's so soft in these matters.’

Helena smirked at the thought.

‘Anyway, Seonghyun will win on his own even without going all out.’

Helena didn't think much of it.

Since both of them let it go, Fiora also thought it must be nothing and moved on.

As Seonghyun's and Embris's parties waited quietly inside, a little more time passed and the next party arrived.

“It's just as the merchant said.”

“Phew, looks like we were the last.”

“That’s a relief.”

It was the 7-person party from before.

Including Seonghyun's and Embris's parties, a total of 14 people were now gathered in the room.

Unlike what they had expected, Jarod did not appear as soon as they gathered.

It took some time.

Perhaps because it took longer than expected, Jarod appeared and immediately bowed his head to apologize to everyone.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I was a bit late because I was making deductions based on the traces you brought and the evidence we had.”

At his clean apology, everyone nodded magnanimously and let it go.

In the first place, he was the NPC who had given the request and the head of a major merchant guild, so there were few who would say anything to him.

As everyone let it pass, Jarod looked at them and spoke.

“From now on, please consider these three parties to be the main teams handling our request.”

‘Is he telling us to cooperate from now on?’

At that thought, they all looked at each other.

The 7-person party had already been a little wary of Embris's and Seonghyun's parties, but they showed a sense of relief when the talk of cooperation came from Jarod's mouth.

If it had been another competitive quest, they would have been the next party to be eliminated, nine times out of ten.

And so, the strange tension eased a bit.

Jarod spoke to them.

“Based on the evidence, we've determined that this is a plot by the Khan Merchant Guild to do something to our guild. It's highly likely my father was caught up in it. And with a high probability, my father is no longer of this world.”

“…Hmm.”

“Hah.”

Gasps erupted from the 7-person party.

In contrast, Seonghyun's and Embris's parties narrowed their eyes and looked at Jarod.

They could vaguely sense what kind of quest he was about to give.

As they expected, heated words flowed from Jarod's mouth.

“Now that we know the evidence and what methods they used, we will not stand idly by.”

A cold tone that contrasted with his heated words.

Because of that, paradoxically, everyone present could feel just how furious Jarod was.

And so.

As everyone focused, Jarod continued.

“We have found evidence that they have placed a mage who handles monsters in this vicinity and have been summoning monsters that do not normally appear in the Forest Labyrinth. It is said that victims have been emerging not only from our guild but from other merchant guilds as well. Therefore, I would like to request that you first secure the person of that mage.”

Along with Jarod's step-by-step explanation, a message appeared, announcing the generation of a new quest.

A request to secure the mage, just as Jarod had said.

“If I had my way, I would want the mage to pay the price as well, but there is an order to everything… So please, I would like you to bring the mage back alive.”

It was a polite tone, but perhaps because of that, it felt even colder.

It was clear that he was suppressing a great deal of anger.

“As for the team formation, you may split up according to your existing parties and search separately. You may also cooperate. I will also provide communication crystals to make communication easier. In any case, we just need to secure the person of that summoning mage. Please, I’ll be counting on you.”

Jarod once again took a humble posture and made a polite request.

After handing out the communication crystals, Jarod returned to his duties.

With only the parties left in the room, someone from the 7-person party spoke.

“That’s intense. It's a bit sudden, but he seems really, really angry.”

Fortunately, no one said things like, ‘The NPC implementation is amazing.’

There were few users who had come this far who would say something to break the mood.

In any case, the leader of the 7-person party gave a signal to discuss what to do, and Embris and Seonghyun also stepped forward.

As the leaders of the three parties gathered, the leader of the 7-person party spoke first.

“My name is Junu. As you can see, I'm the leader of the 7-person party.”

As he introduced himself first, Seonghyun was about to say it was nice to meet him, but Junu spoke first.

“Ah, nicknames don't really matter. If you're uncomfortable, you don't have to say anything.”

The man who had identified himself as Junu spoke as if it were no big deal.

It seemed he had noticed Seonghyun's hesitation and felt he was in a difficult position.

It didn't really matter to Seonghyun, but he nodded as if to say he understood.

Embris also agreed.

At their reaction, the user who had identified himself as Junu stepped forward and spoke.

As he was the oldest of the three, the flow of the conversation was quite natural.

Was this the wisdom of an elder?

“What do you think would be the best way to do this?”

Junu asked for their opinions first, and Seonghyun was the first to answer.

“For now, it seems better to split up rather than stick together.”

“Hmm, that is more efficient. What about you?”

“I think so too.”

Junu and Embris also agreed with Seonghyun's words.

It was far more efficient for parties that hadn't worked together before to search on their own rather than try to coordinate.

After all, it wasn't a combat quest, but one closer to an investigation.

As all three leaders agreed, they decided to split up by party to find the target.

They would have to gather here again anyway.

As the parties split up again, Junu looked at his party members and said.

“Whew, that was intense. I was scared.”

“How was it up close? Does he seem real?”

At the sudden question of whether he seemed real, Junu nodded, breaking into a slight cold sweat.

“I think it’s him. He’s really the Demon King, the Demon King.”

“Wow, he’s really the Demon King.”

“Hasn't the Demon King kept his real face hidden?”

“I know, right? I thought he'd look average, but he's so handsome!?”

“The 10% customization is a big factor, but the base appearance is important too.”

They chattered on, gulping.

The reason Junu guessed this was because of the red-haired woman chattering away next to Seonghyun.

One of his newly acquired vassals had red hair.

It was just a guess, but seeing that he didn't state his nickname right away, he was almost certain.

The evidence was weak, but it fit perfectly.

On the other hand, in the Embris party…

“We decided to split up and find the mage.”

“Let's not lose this time.”

“For real! Let's win this time.”

“…It’s not a competition, but it does feel bad to keep losing.”

“This time, let's leave later than them and still win.”

“Yeah, that’ll make it a fair fight.”

Everyone was chattering with one mind, determined to beat Seonghyun.

Meanwhile, Seonghyun…

“Ahaha! Didn't I tell you it was a competition?”

-W-We'll win, Lord!

“I told you, it’s not.”

He kept saying it wasn't a competition.

In any case, after the parties talked amongst themselves, the first to leave the room was the 7-person party.

“We'll be on our way first.”

“Yes, good luck.”

“Let’s all do our best.”

Junu said, and Seonghyun and Embris replied.

As the Embris party showed no signs of moving, Seonghyun moved first.

But as he tried to leave, it seemed like the Embris party was watching him strangely.

It felt a bit off, but Seonghyun didn't think much of it and went outside.

This quest had nothing to do with Vitor's memories, so he shouldn't expect an easy ride.

He thought he should start with the investigation and was wandering around when he felt a strange yet familiar aura.

‘Could it be?’

Just in case, he quickly and discreetly headed into an alley.

As Seonghyun turned his head with a sense of foreboding, figures in black robes appeared.

Just as he expected.

“We greet the true heir of the great Over Palace.”

“We greet the heir of the great Over Palace!!!”

“Hmm.”

‘As expected. The Over Palace again.’

However, it was different from his encounter with Branch Manager Belmore.

“I apologize for only greeting you now, as I was worried I might interfere with your work, heir. I am Penelope, the Branch Manager of the Over Palace Pentamir branch, and I offer my greetings.”

She also had more sense than Branch Manager Belmore.

It seemed she would back off if he told her to.

After exchanging greetings with Penelope, just as he was about to say he needed to get going for his quest…

“It seemed you were looking for an item, so we have appeared so suddenly.”

“An item I’m looking for…?”

3.

After Seonghyun left, the Embris party quickly went out and began their investigation.

They might not be the best at other things, but they were the best at this kind of investigation.

First, since it was said that the Khan Merchant Guild was behind it, they headed straight for the Khan Merchant Guild.

They needed to conduct a raid or something similar, and there was a risk of being caught, yet they went straight to the Khan Merchant Guild?

For others, it would have been a foolish choice.

But the Embris party was different.

Their race was Vampire.

They could use Charm on NPCs to interrogate them without leaving their memories intact.

The field was tilted in their favor.

This time, they were sure to win.

Just as they were about to move, convinced of their victory, a familiar voice echoed from the communication crystal.

[I've caught the mage.]

“…???”

It was none other than Seonghyun's voice.