Capítulo 21: Vikra’s dungeon.

"That bitch! She seriously cut more than half of the pay, tsk!"

Arthur muttered as he navigated through the heavy traffic. Clad in a completely different outfit from before, he wore a black suit and matching pants, accompanied by a half-upper-face demon mask.

This disguise was now a necessity.

After killing the Phoenix Guild's tenth squad member, his name was already on the wanted list, but what truly escalated matters was something no one in Wallen City had anticipated: the massacre of one of the top gangs, Malwa's Circle.

They had hired the Phoenix Guild to hunt him down, but instead, every single one of them was devoured by their own prey.

Soon, the name Arc Wellstone became the talk of the entire lawless city of Wallen. Although he wanted to save what remained of his pay, Arthur had no choice but to invest in a stealth mask.

This high Earth-grade item possessed the ability to hide the user's aura, mana pattern, and even bloodline.

No practitioner below the Master realm could see through its effects. This was crucial, as he couldn't risk the mighty Volford clan discovering that the man they believed to be dead was still alive.

Sitting silently beside him, Claire wore her seatbelt, appearing as her usual self… or maybe not so usual. She kept stealing short glances at Arthur, only to quickly avert her eyes toward the window.

"She even charged us for the drinks we had last time," Claire added to Arthur's complaint.

"Yeah, I thought she forgot, but she sure is stingy for the titled broker of Stafen Street," Arthur replied, frowning. Then he paused, noticing something peculiar.

"Huh?"

Claire wasn't supposed to demean others. It wasn't in her character. Yet, this was the third time she had subtly criticized Leslie, as if she were trying to change his opinion of her.

Why?

Turning to the side, Arthur gave Claire a suspicion-filled glance. She quickly averted her eyes elsewhere, a slight blush colouring her cheeks.

'Now, what's wrong with her?' Arthur frowned slightly but dismissed the thought. This wasn't the time to sort out internal issues.

He needed to focus on the mission.

It was to aid a young lady, most likely from some influential background, in clearing her first dungeon.

Instead of getting support from her family or guilds more adept at dungeon clearing, she hired a contract worker. It was kind of suspicious, but the report mentioned the reason behind it.

She wanted to keep her power and skill secret.

"Well, it's not like I can't understand it. Coming from a competitive family myself, I know you have to do this much in order to survive,"

Arthur muttered as his gaze became colder and his tone heavier. "Or you'd be eaten alive, powerless. You wouldn't be able to protect anyone."

"Master…?"

Claire looked at Arthur, her gaze a mix of concern, empathy, and surprise. She had the rough idea about the pain Arthur was hiding deep beneath, and yet, this was the very first time she saw it.

What was it that was eating her master from the inside?

Living close to him for so many days, she thought she knew about him. But then, what exactly did she know?

His history? His family? Or at least his real name?

She knew nothing.

She knew her duty was only to follow the orders of her master and listen to what he was willing to share. After all, she was just an expendable summon, there was no reason for her to know too much.

She knew her place.

Yet, within her heart, it made her sad.

Arthur's brows furrowed in confusion as his eyes drifted to Claire. She was looking down, suddenly gloomy, a stark contrast to her earlier seemingly excited mood.

'Why is she acting weird today? Do summons also catch colds?' Arthur thought as he drove the car toward Vikra, a town located to the west of Wallen City and the place where his contractor was waiting.

It was about a 10-minute ride. The way he overtook all the cars before him without easing off the gas, he soon reached the designated location: an empty place near the forest of Vikra.

There, his eyes began to search for any person, and soon he spotted one,

A young lady.

But the old clothes she wore didn't give the impression of someone from a big family as he initially thought.

Those clothes weren't poor, but they were too minimalistic, not the luxurious kind of minimalism, but like any common clothes you could find in the market.

As Arthur closed the distance, her appearance became clearer to him. And as his eyes locked on to her, Gulp—only one thought crept into his mind:

'Thank God I'm wearing the mask.'

He could easily recognize her.

No, she wasn't any famous figure known to the world. Instead, she had spent all her life in the northern borders, away from fame.

'So now it's time for her to enter the blood game of the family, huh?'

She was the daughter of Arthur's uncle, the young daughter of Northern Duke Ragnar Volford, and Arthur's cousin.

Having already accepted the mission, there wasn't anything he could do about it now. Driving closer, he stopped the rented car just before her.

Her eyes locked onto him. "Arc Wellstone?" she asked in a firm tone, confirming.

"Yes, ma'am!" Arthur nodded as he walked out and opened the back door of the car for her to take a seat.

Before she sat down, however, she scanned Arthur from top to bottom, a faint smirk tugging at her lips.

"From the report, I thought the summoner would be more professional, but looking up close, you resemble a joker more."

"Haha~ Miss, you've already shown your professionalism by judging me by my appearance." For her smirk, Arthur replied with an equally wide smile. Then, closing the car door, he took his driver's seat.

Their destination: Vikra's dungeon.

Difficulty grade: D.

comentário 3 comentário

Votar

ENVIAR PRESENTE

next chapter

Load failed, please RETRY