When Seong brandished the bloodstained dagger as evidence, the NPCs around him immediately burst into laughter.
"So what? Lint, you got caught?"
"Puhaha! What a dumbass."
"How the hell did you screw this up!?"
"I thought this was something serious."
"Hey, outsider, you should’ve said something earlier."
"Eh, not like it would’ve mattered. If you gave Lint a heads-up, he would’ve just run away."
"Yeah, that’s true."
The veteran criminals in the tavern simply shrugged and went back to drinking.
They couldn’t care less whether Lint got arrested or executed.
He wasn’t part of their crew.
There was no loyalty to uphold.
But Lint, furious at their indifference, refused to go down quietly.
"Fuck off! What the hell did I do!? I could’ve just happened to have the same dagger!"
Even through the pain of his twisted wrist, he growled in desperation.
But unfortunately for him—
His opponent was Seong.
"I heard Melisia’s dying words myself."
"...What?"
Lint’s eyes trembled violently.
That reaction was all the confirmation Seong needed.
Just moments ago, Lint had been loud and defiant.
But now—
All the strength drained from his body, and he collapsed onto the floor.
Seong let go of his broken wrist and stared down at him.
Still, he needed to finish this properly.
But before he could speak—
"Wait, Melisia!?"
"Lint, you bastard! You killed Melisia!?"
"Fucking hell! I should’ve known after she rejected you! We should’ve just killed you back then!"
"Goddamn it! Ever since she died, we’ve barely been getting by without her potions!"
The entire tavern erupted.
The atmosphere turned murderous.
Seong had originally planned to hand Lint over to the city guards, but...
Looking at the crowd, he reconsidered.
Did he even need to?
They hadn’t moved yet because Seong was clearly the strongest one here.
But if he stepped aside, Lint would probably be beaten to death within seconds.
Seong shrugged and looked at him.
"So, are you coming quietly?"
"......Damn it."
Knowing he had no options left, Lint dropped his head in defeat and stood up.
And the moment he did—
[ Rare Chain Quest 『Bloodstains in the Alley』 has been completed. ]
[ You have obtained a large amount of experience. ]
[ Level Up! ]
[ You have reached Level 123! ]
[ You have received a Rare-grade item: 『Random Box』. ]
"Oh."
The experience gain was insanely good.
Seong, pleased with the outcome, dragged Lint out of the tavern.
After exiting the dark alley, he entered a quieter street.
Then, as if he had just remembered something, he turned to Lint.
"So, where’s the item you stole from Melisia?"
"...Damn. You must’ve actually been close to her if you know about that."
Lint sighed, fully resigned at this point.
Melisia’s ghost had told Seong to take it, so he pressed further.
Of course, Seong already knew what the item was.
『Fragment of the Abyssal Dragon’s Heart』.
A high-tier alchemy material, essential for crafting powerful artifacts.
It wasn’t something Seong particularly needed for himself.
But loot was loot.
Might as well take it.
"So?"
"...I already sold it."
"Hmm. That so?"
A bit disappointing.
But oh well.
Even if he had gotten it, he wouldn’t have known what to use it for.
Seong decided to let it go and continued walking, planning to turn Lint over to the city guards before heading to Melisia’s lab in the labyrinth.
"Shit... I got greedy for that Abyssal Dragon’s Heart Fragment..."
Lint muttered bitterly.
But regret changed nothing.
Seong glanced at him, unimpressed.
And then—
[ 『Abyssal Dragon’s Heart Fragment』 keyword has been acquired. ]
[ You have discovered a method to enhance 『Staff of Young Helena』. ]
[ If you obtain 『Abyssal Dragon’s Heart Fragment』, you can strengthen 『Staff of Young Helena』. ]
Seong’s eyes widened slightly.
This... changed things.
He turned back to Lint.
"Where exactly did you sell it?"
0.
Lee Won-sang watched in stunned silence as Seong cleared yet another quest in the most absurd way possible.
How the hell did he do it?
Finding Lint Spencer? That was one thing.
But locating the murder weapon in a river? Instantly?
Just what was this guy?
And on top of that, he had activated that strange power again.
Lee Won-sang stared at the screen like he had just witnessed an impossible event.
Not that staring would help him understand any better.
"...What the hell is this guy?"
At this point, his confusion had turned to disbelief.
How could someone consistently stumble upon Hidden Pieces as if they were casually picking up trash?
Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.
The quest to capture Lint Spencer was a standard Rare-grade quest with no Hidden Piece involved.
That, at least, made sense.
But the real problem was that Lint had somehow acquired Melisia’s stolen item, the Fragment of the Abyssal Dragon’s Heart.
A powerful alchemy material, highly valuable even to other dark mages.
But for Seong—
It meant something even bigger.
"If he gets that..."
"...His 『Staff of Young Helena』 can evolve into a Legendary item, right?"
"...Yeah. Exactly."
Lee Won-sang nodded in response to Oh Jin-hyuk’s question.
The fragment was a reinforcement material that would allow the staff to evolve.
Of course, since it was only a fragment, there was a chance it could be found elsewhere.
But if Seong managed to get it now—
That would be a serious problem.
"Goddamn it... how is this guy so lucky?"
Lee Won-sang managed several users at once, all of whom were top-ranked players being monitored by the User Management Team.
But even among those elite players—
Seong stood out.
And it all started with that mysterious power.
Lee Won-sang rubbed his temples in frustration.
Meanwhile, Oh Jin-hyuk seemed to have had an idea and turned to him.
"Senior, wait... Do we even know where that item is right now?"
"The Abyssal Dragon’s Heart Fragment?"
"Yeah. We don’t actually know who Lint sold it to, right? Should I track it?"
"Yeah. Look into it."
Lee Won-sang agreed immediately.
Oh Jin-hyuk moved quickly, tracking the item’s location.
And then—
"...Huh? It got sent to the auction house."
"The auction house???"
"The one in PentaGrid. The city holds an auction once a week, right? And NPCs can participate too?"
"Yeah, that’s right."
"If it went there..."
"Then it won’t be easy to obtain."
The auction house system had no level restriction—even a Level 1 player could participate.
But PentaGrid’s auction wasn’t just any player-to-player trading hub.
It was an exclusive event where NPC nobles and powerful figures gathered to bid on rare items.
Not just any player could walk in.
Lee Won-sang felt somewhat relieved.
Players weren’t outright forbidden from entering the auction, so it wasn’t impossible for Seong to get in.
But—
"How the hell is he going to outbid noble NPCs?"
"Hahaha, yeah. No way."
"This time, he’s definitely not getting it."
Just to be sure, Oh Jin-hyuk checked how much gold Seong currently had.
And after seeing the numbers—
Both of them felt at ease.
Of course, Seong could gather gold through Rapid Guild or even real-money transactions.
But—
"The auction is tonight. That’s the real game-changer."
There was no way he could gather enough money to outbid the nobles in a single day.
It was impossible.
"For once, we can actually relax."
Lee Won-sang let out a sigh of relief.
Oh Jin-hyuk also felt reassured.
And then, suddenly, he hesitated.
"...Senior, but—"
"Don’t. Say. Anything."
"Ah. Yes, sir!"
He immediately shut his mouth.
He had been about to say something important—
Something along the lines of:
‘Isn’t it weird how ever since that "Unknown Power" activated, he keeps finding Hidden Pieces?’
It was a rare moment of insight from Oh Jin-hyuk.
But since Lee Won-sang told him not to say anything, he swallowed the thought.
And eventually...
He forgot about it entirely.
Regardless, one thing was clear—
There was no way Seong could get that item.
Not when a noble NPC obsessed with dark magic was involved.
1.
Seong stared at Lint.
Lint grinned mockingly at him.
"Heh... You really think I’d just tell you where I sold it?"
Seong scratched his head, looking a bit annoyed.
What a pain.
The quest was already completed, so technically, it didn’t matter what he did with Lint now.
But it would have been easier if the guy just told him.
As Seong debated his next move—
Melisia’s ghost floated closer and spoke to him.
— If you kill him, he’ll turn into a ghost anyway! Then you can just absorb his memories, right!?
"...That’s..."
It was definitely the most effective method.
But...
It felt a bit wrong.
Sure, this was a game NPC, so it technically didn’t matter.
And Lint was a murderer, so there was no penalty for killing him.
Still... It felt a bit much.
As Seong hesitated—
— W-What if we summon Noctrynnium?
"Noctrynnium?"
— T-The land knows everything, right?
"...The land?"
Fiora slowly nodded.
Now that he thought about it—
Noctrynnium had always been reliable for gathering information.
Maybe it was worth summoning him.
Seong made up his mind.
Just then—
"W-What the hell? Why are you talking to yourself all of a sudden...?"
Lint muttered nervously.
Of course, he couldn’t see Fiora, who was using Concealment, or Melisia’s ghost.
To him, it just looked like Seong was muttering nonsense to himself.
Ignoring him, Seong opened a gate to the underworld and summoned Noctrynnium.
This was the most certain way.
The moment Noctrynnium appeared—
"I am honored to be summoned, my lord."
The entity knelt before Seong.
And Seong asked—
"Lint here sold the Abyssal Dragon’s Heart Fragment. Can you find out where it is?"
At this, Noctrynnium smiled—as if Seong had just asked something laughably simple.
"This is far too easy. Please wait a moment."
"W-Wait! What the hell are you—WAAAGH!!!"
Noctrynnium suddenly grabbed Lint and dragged him underground.
It wasn’t teleportation.
It was like he was being devoured by the earth itself.
The ground rippled like water as Lint sank beneath it.
For a moment, the ground trembled as if a giant mole was burrowing beneath it.
Then—
Boom!
Lint shot back up, coughing violently.
"PUHAAGH! Cough, cough! KUWEEEH!!"
Sand, dust, and dirt poured out of his mouth and nose.
Then—
Before he could recover, Noctrynnium’s hand reached up again—
And dragged him back down.
"NOOOO!!!"
Seong’s eyebrow twitched.
...So this was what Noctrynnium meant by "the land knows everything."
It was disturbing.
Seong had heard of water torture before.
But earth torture?
Watching Lint struggle, Seong felt a shiver run down his spine.
A moment later, Lint was dumped onto the ground, unconscious.
Noctrynnium emerged as well, bowing deeply.
"It is in the auction house."
"...The auction house?"
"Yes, my lord. He sold it for cheap and put it up in tonight’s auction."
"Oh-ho."
So it was in the auction house.