It was eleven years ago.
Back when I was still a newbie, having played Lost Elder for only a year.
I received a quest from an NPC.
『......Undead, please grant our request. You are the only hero who can bear this task now.』
Ding—!
〔A new quest has been registered.〕
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【Quest List】
- NEW! Assassinate ‘Karayan, Head of the Ruins Merchant Company.’
......
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It was a request to assassinate Karayan, the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company.
“Oh, a new quest.”
At the time, I did not know much about what kind of guild the Ruins Merchant Company was.
The only meager information I had was that they operated the Underworld Arena.
Wanting to avenge my death in the tutorial as well, I set off with a light heart to assassinate Karayan, the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company.
“Ha, shit...... Why is this so difficult?”
But unlike the lighthearted way in which I had initially approached the quest, the mission’s difficulty was fucking brutal.
Had I not said it before?
The Underworld Arena was a place that could not be escaped from, no matter what method one used.
Conversely, that meant the Underworld Arena was also an extremely difficult region for a player to infiltrate.
Breaking through the high-level guards stationed everywhere and reaching Karayan, who was hidden on the highest floor of the Underworld Arena, was never easy.
“Fine. Let’s see who wins.”
Click, click—.
Naturally, as someone with a stubborn streak, I never gave up on that goddamn quest until the very end.
After hundreds of attempts, I somehow succeeded in secretly infiltrating the important facility.
When I finally faced 「Shadow Knight Loren」, the final boss of the Karayan assassination quest, I spent a long time studying his patterns and methods of countering his gimmicks.
And after all that effort......
『SHNK—!』
......I defeated Shadow Knight Loren and drove my sword into the heart of Karayan, who sat proudly in a chair while wearing a mask.
〔Quest : You have completed ‘Assassination of Karayan, Head of the Ruins Merchant Company.’〕
“Haah, I finally cleared it......”
Exactly fifteen days.
That was how long it had taken me to complete the request to assassinate Karayan.
After checking the notification that I had cleared the quest and the reward, I grinned. It felt as though the hardships of the past several days had been repaid.
“What should I try today?”
A few more days passed after that.
I completely forgot about Karayan, the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company.
I had been so absorbed in enjoying the game’s other content that I had no time to think of her.
“Huh?”
......That was until I saw Karayan, very much alive, at an illegal auction house.
“Fuck, why is Karayan alive?”
At first, I thought it was a bug.
Otherwise, there was no way an NPC I had killed would be walking around perfectly unharmed.
But the other users who heard my story denied the possibility that it was a bug.
[Strawberry Latte] : Come on, what bug could a perfect game like Lost Elder have?
[Kongi’s Dad] : Yeah.
“Hmm......”
Right.
As the other users said, Lost Elder was a highly polished game.
It was an undeniable fact that no one who had played this game for even an hour could dispute.
After hearing the opinions of the other users, I calmly thought it over once more.
Rather than dismissing Karayan’s survival as a mere bug, it seemed more correct to think that there was hidden foreshadowing left behind.
Click—.
Therefore, I threw aside the quest I had been working on.
Then, half doubtful, I tried tracking Karayan and the Ruins Merchant Company.
“Huh?”
Before long, I noticed one shocking fact.
Whenever Karayan appeared in public, the build of the figure beneath her robe changed ever so slightly.
......It was several years later that I learned the “true identity” of Karayan, the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company.
***
Right.
Karayan usually disguised her identity as a maid.
Who would dare expect someone as important as the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company to be dressed as a maid?
It was a simple trick that exploited the darkness beneath the lamp.
‘Of course, that cute little trick will not work on me.’
After all, I was a veteran who had devoted twelve years to this game.
FWOOOOOSH—.
Chilly air circled the highest floor.
Everyone in the room looked at me with wary eyes.
Some of them slowly reached toward their waists.
As though they were preparing to draw their weapons at once in case of any contingency.
“......”
The servants currently in the room were all superhumans above Level 60.
Among them was even Shadow Knight Loren, one of Lost Elder’s named NPCs.
‘In contrast, I......’
I glanced at the MP window.
〔MP : 0/1〕
My Mana was still at 0.
Because the stat responsible for Mana recovery was only 1, my MP recovered slow as hell.
On top of that, I was not even holding a sword.
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【 Soul of the Swordmaster 】
(Unavailable)
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......Naturally, I could not use the skill.
“......”
It was a hair-trigger situation where one wrong move could cost me my life.
Surrounded by high-level enemies, the only thing I possessed was this feeble body, whose average stat was merely 1.
Yet there was only one reason I could act so brazenly.
‘I killed Human Butcher Barba with a single blow.’
Of course, behind that feat was the Twelve-Star skill 【Soul of the Swordmaster 】......
‘......But they have no idea about that.’
From now on, I only needed to take full advantage of that fact.
I carried myself with an easygoing air, making myself appear as powerful as possible.
I put on an emotionless expression, as though I had not the slightest interest in riffraff like them.
‘It is a form of bluffing.’
Fortunately, my bravado appeared to be working well.
The servants’ expressions, stiff with tension as they stared at me, were proof enough.
“Who are you?”
Not long afterward, the real Karayan, who had been disguised as a maid, cautiously opened her mouth.
“Who are you to know my identity? No, more importantly...... What have you come all the way to the Underworld Arena for?”
Without a second of hesitation, I gave the answer I had prepared.
“This is not the sort of matter to discuss with so many ears listening.”
“......Pardon?”
Karayan’s eyes widened.
“Are you asking for a private audience with me right now?”
I silently nodded.
Then the response from the Ruins Merchant Company came immediately.
“Absolutely not, Master!”
A voice rang out from behind me.
The eagle mask that had been pretending to be Karayan hurriedly rose and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Who knows what that man might do when he is alone with you......!”
WHOOSH—.
At that moment, Karayan raised one hand.
At that gesture ordering silence, the eagle mask immediately shut his mouth.
Karayan stared at me expressionlessly for a while before slowly opening her mouth again.
“My subordinate is right.”
“......”
“It is dangerous for me to be alone with you. All the more so if you are a fighter capable of killing Human Butcher Barba with a single blow.”
Karayan spoke in a voice faintly tinged with tension.
“So prove it. Prove that you will not harm me when we are alone.”
I scoffed inwardly.
Prove that I would not harm her when we were alone?
It was a truly absurd demand.
No matter what I said, Karayan could simply insist that she did not believe me, and that would be the end of it.
‘Of course, I have a sure way to change her mind......’
I would use that important card a little later.
For now, I needed to show strength.
In a situation like this, taking the initiative in conversation was more important than anything else.
“Proof, huh.”
I let out a small scoff.
Making sure that the derision carried an air of ease.
“I believe I have already proven myself sufficiently.”
“......Pardon?”
“You are rather slow to understand.”
Karayan slightly furrowed her brow, as though asking what I meant.
But I paid her no mind and continued in an even voice.
“If I had intended to harm you, I would have killed everyone here long ago.”
“......!”
“......!”
Flinch—.
The moment my words, which were close to a threat, ended, everyone in the room recoiled.
A suffocating silence weighed heavily on the air.
‘......Did it work?’
Of course, I was doing nothing more than making an outrageous bluff.
In my current condition, I probably could not defeat even Karayan, who was no more than an ordinary person, let alone Shadow Knight Loren, the strongest person here.
‘But as I said earlier, they do not know that.’
And no matter how full of bravado a line might be.
If the person saying it was someone who had killed Human Butcher Barba with a single blow......
“......”
“......”
“......”
......No one would be able to ignore my warning.
‘Well, perhaps that is enough pretending to be strong.’
The initiative had completely shifted to me.
Now it was probably time to reveal the card I had prepared.
‘Karayan, the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company.’
According to the game’s story, she had been searching for someone for a very long time.
When she was young.
During the days when she and her father wandered the uncharted lands without settling in any city, while fierce monsters swarmed throughout the unexplored territory.
There had been a life-saving benefactor who saved Karayan and her father when they stood at death’s door.
『SHIIING—!』
The traveler who appeared wearing a robe cut down the monstrous creature that had been about to swallow Karayan and her father in a single blow.
『Are you all right, little miss?』
『A, ah......』
That memory seared itself into young Karayan’s mind.
From that day onward, Karayan desperately wanted to find the unknown traveler who had saved her life and repay her debt.
But that was never an easy task.
At the time, the traveler’s face had been hidden beneath a robe, and even his voice had gradually grown faint as it became buried beneath the ravages of time.
‘Of course, I am not the benefactor Karayan has been searching for.’
But......
That did not mean I had no reason to make use of the “information” I knew.
“Lea.”
“......!”
“Lea de Karayan.”
Flinch—.
At my words, Karayan’s eyes widened.
She was severely shaken.
It was a stark contrast to the way she had tried not to reveal her emotions until now.
“H-how do you know my name......?”
Lea de Karayan.
That was the full name of Karayan, the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company.
Very few people in this world knew her full name.
Lea de Karayan herself.
Her parents.
The unknown benefactor who had saved her life.
And finally......
『My name is not Little Miss, Mister.』
『I am Lea de Karayan.』
『Though I am merely an insignificant girl wandering the uncharted lands right now, I will definitely become a major figure who rules this world ten years from now.』
『So please find me if you ever need help later. I will surely repay the debt of saving my life.』
......Having played the game for twelve years and learned the stories of every important NPC, I knew her full name as well.
“Think carefully, Karayan.”
“......”
“What reason would the benefactor who already saved your life and your father’s once have to come after you now?”
Right.
I was not the benefactor Karayan was searching for.
But that did not mean there was any rule saying I could not pretend to be that person.
‘Especially when I do not even need to fear the consequences afterward.’
According to the original story, the benefactor Karayan was searching for had already died by this point.
That meant there was not a single problem with me impersonating that NPC.
‘Sorry about this, but......’
......I would swallow up the credit for his deed.
Since I had been unfairly dragged into the world of this game, I intended to survive by any means necessary.