Watching the players who had been hiding near the boss flee, Seong scanned his surroundings.
He had explored the labyrinth quite a bit, yet he still hadn’t come across the Labyrinth Merchant.
He could always use his whistle to summon a trader if needed, but he was curious about what kind of items a naturally appearing merchant in the labyrinth would sell.
He had searched around for one but hadn't spotted any.
He could always look it up, but he figured he might stumble upon one while hunting.
Yet, since there was no sign of the merchant, he had no choice.
If it doesn’t show up, I’ll just look it up.
Even while playing Eternal World, he could do some research during breaks.
Seong was about to sit down and take a break when he thought it would be better to hunt while searching.
So he opened the Gate of the Underworld.
Immediately, the Legion of Death emerged.
Summoning just enough to maintain with his natural mana regeneration, the number quickly surpassed 200.
Most of his subordinates had been summoned as well.
But Drakanos and Leonic were nowhere to be seen.
With a skeptical expression, Seong glanced at Valtar.
Valtar, looking deeply satisfied, spoke.
— Kahahaha! That’s right, Lord. Leonic is currently undergoing training under the Master, so he could not appear.
“Aha.”
Seong figured he would get an explanation sooner or later.
Since Leonic was his subordinate anyway, the opportunity would come soon enough.
Nodding to himself, Seong issued his orders to his subordinates and the Legion of Death.
"Do not touch the monsters that other players are hunting, and don’t attack other players either. Just focus on hunting monsters."
At his command, the Legion of Death and his subordinates responded in thunderous unison.
— Everything for the Lord!!!
— Everything for our Lord!!!
Their voices were so loud that the labyrinth trembled momentarily before they scattered across the dungeon.
A grand march of the undead.
But Seong merely watched without much reaction.
By now, he was completely used to this sight.
It was nothing new.
As the Legion of Death and his subordinates spread out to hunt, notification messages flooded his vision.
[You have slain a monster.]
[You have gained experience points!]
[You have slain a monster.]
[You have gained experience points!]
[You have slain a monster.]
[You have gained experience points!]
...
...
Ignoring the notifications, Seong opened his internet browser and searched for information about the Labyrinth Merchant.
Surprisingly, there was quite a lot of discussion about it.
[Title - The Fifth Zone's Mascot! The Labyrinth Merchant!]
[Author - My Helmet Came Off]
You seriously don’t know about the Labyrinth Merchant?
Never seen it? Damn, that’s sad. LOL.
It’s so cute, so if you find it, take at least a thousand screenshots.
[QuickDagger: LOL yeah, it’s actually cute.]
[NamelessArcher: It doesn’t sell anything amazing, but yeah, it’s cute.]
└ [UnlimitedEnhancer: Nah, sometimes it does sell high-tier stuff, but the price is insane. Like 100 monster kills per unique item.]
└ [PartyGhost: Yeah, good stuff does pop up, but for a unique item, you need to hunt 100 monsters. That takes like ten days with a party.]
"Hmm."
Seong nodded as he read the post.
So the merchant did appear, but its inventory wasn’t particularly impressive.
Judging from the comments, it seemed that the items were random, and sometimes decent ones showed up.
Still...
"100 monsters over ten days?"
Even Seong understood that when hunting in a party, monsters had to be divided among members.
But still, 100 monsters in ten days?
Frowning slightly, Seong glanced at another section of his vision.
[You have slain a monster.]
[You have gained experience points!]
[You have slain a monster.]
[You have gained experience points!]
...
The messages continued to roll in without pause.
He tilted his head slightly.
It still didn’t make sense to him.
"I’ll just assume I’m fast."
By now, he knew that the Overlord class was anything but ordinary.
If other players heard his thoughts, they would probably curse him out.
Shrugging, he stood up.
Now that he had a general idea of the Labyrinth Merchant, he decided.
"I should hunt, too."
He could have left the farming entirely to his Legion of Death and his subordinates.
But instead, he was diving in himself.
If anyone saw him, they might think he was completely insane.
5.
As the capsule opened, Seong stepped out.
He had grinded for quite a while today.
He had killed a ridiculous number of monsters, including several bosses.
"I should be able to afford a Legendary item now, right?"
Thinking that, he stretched his body lightly.
After being inside the capsule for so long, it was only natural that he felt stiff.
After a quick stretch, Seong was about to head to the living room to shower and eat dinner.
But first, he checked his phone.
There was always a chance someone had messaged him.
"Hm?"
Sure enough, there were multiple texts from Lee Geon-dong.
Whining about not being able to talk to a woman.
Seong chuckled, shaking his head.
"Seriously, what a drama queen."
It wasn’t like this was a blind date.
It was just a business meeting and a contract signing.
What was he even panicking about?
Typing casually, Seong sent a reply.
[Seong Yu - It’s just a contract. Just sign it and leave. What’s the problem? Just go and get it done.]
A reply came instantly.
[Lee Geon-dong - Noㅠㅠㅠ but what do I even say??? I have no idea??? And I promised to meet her tomorrow morningㅠㅠ.]
[Seong Yu - Just talk business. Why are you acting like this? You can text, but you can’t talk? Just think of her as a superior at work.]
[Lee Geon-dong - But I’ve never had a job before?]
Seong hesitated for a moment.
"...Huh."
Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t either.
Well, whatever.
[Seong Yu - Then just think of her as a drill sergeant.]
[Lee Geon-dong - Our drill sergeant was a dude, though?]
Fair point.
Whatever. Seong sighed and typed back, a little annoyed.
[Seong Yu - I don’t care. Just deal with it.]
Even after that, Lee Geon-dong kept whining.
But Seong ignored him, took a shower, and sat down for dinner.
If he responded, there would be no end to it.
It was just easier to ignore him.
And so, Seong completely ignored Lee Geon-dong.
The next day arrived, marking the much-anticipated meeting between Lee Geon-dong and An Yoo-jin.
"This is the contract. Since you're Seong’s friend, I didn’t add any extra conditions or anything. As you’ll see, the terms are better than most other places."
“......!”
Lee Geon-dong simply nodded, his mouth slightly agape.
An Yoo-jin, seeing his reaction, explained further.
But all Lee Geon-dong could do was nod.
Then—
"That’s everything. Do you have any questions or conditions you’d like to add?"
“.......”
Lee Geon-dong shook his head without saying a word.
An Yoo-jin nodded back.
Once the contract was signed, An Yoo-jin stood up.
"Then, I look forward to working with you."
"!!!"
At those words, Lee Geon-dong bent at the waist in a deep bow.
With that, An Yoo-jin took the contract and left.
"Might as well take a break before heading back."
Meeting in person had been a necessary step for the contract.
But An Yoo-jin’s real motive had been this.
Taking a break under the pretext of an external meeting.
Satisfied, she stepped outside.
Watching her go, Lee Geon-dong mumbled to himself.
"Phew... I-I can do it too!!!"
And yet, during the actual meeting, he hadn’t managed to say a single word.
6.
While the two were having their meeting...
Seong was back in the labyrinth, once again sweeping through monsters.
Before long, word spread that Seong was in Pentagrid.
And soon, suspicious figures began gathering there.
None of them bore guild crests.
At this level, most players either joined or created a guild.
Being guildless was a significant disadvantage.
Of course, some lone players existed.
But they were rare.
Especially among skilled players.
After all, joining a guild came with plenty of benefits.
Yet, here was a group of obviously skilled individuals, all without guilds?
That wasn’t impossible.
But when the number of such players surpassed ten.
Then twenty.
That was suspicious.
Among them, one man stepped forward and addressed the group.
"Is everyone here?"
They all wore equipment that covered their faces.
It was clear they were planning something dangerous.
The leader looked around and spoke.
"The Demon King’s location?"
"We’re tracking him."
"It’s difficult to pinpoint since he has undead spread across the entire area."
Hearing this, the leader nodded.
"Our target is ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ none other than the Demon King himself."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
This was an elite force.
And not just members of a single guild.
Some were hired by guilds that had a grudge against Seong.
Others were former guild members who had defected.
Each of them had completed a third-class advancement and was at least of Unique rank.
An assassination squad in all but name.
Moreover, these were veterans from major guilds.
Their skills were undeniable.
"Echo Willow’s elites failed, but we’ll be thoroughly prepared."
"We can’t afford to be sloppier than those emergency event mercenaries."
"To think he dares to challenge the guilds..."
They had already made all necessary preparations.
Their goal was simple—eliminate Seong.
Hearing that Seong was currently active in the labyrinth, they had gathered.
With his Legion of Death and subordinates scattered throughout the dungeon, this was their chance.
They discussed their plan.
"The Demon King alone is still formidable, even without his subordinates."
"He fights like a swordmaster."
"We have to immobilize him from a distance and take him out as quickly as possible."
"His undead are spread wide. We could disguise an assault as a mere protest against him."
"If we divide into stealth and disguise teams and strike at once, even he won’t stand a chance."
Twenty highly skilled players.
Even for Seong, this could be dangerous.
If he had his Legion of Death and subordinates, victory would be easy.
But they knew that, too.
That’s why they were targeting him when he was alone.
Their plan was airtight.
Only one potential variable remained.
"What about the Overpalace Branch Manager?"
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At this, the leader shook his head.
Even among players, Overpalace was a name that inspired fear.
But no matter how powerful Overpalace was, they still had rules.
"He’s an NPC. He can’t interfere excessively. We’ve confirmed that already."
"Hmm... if you say so."
The others nodded.
After all, NPCs weren’t supposed to interfere in player conflicts.
That was simply how the system worked.
"And besides, do you really think an Overpalace Branch Manager has time to deal with us? Even if he had ties to the Demon King, he wouldn’t personally watch over him or send his men constantly."
With their plan set in stone...
Meanwhile, as Seong swept through the labyrinth, he scratched the back of his head.
"Hmm."
He could feel people following him.
That presence was unmistakable.
Scratching his cheek, Seong sighed.
"They’re really tailing me too obviously."
He thought about saying something.
But he decided to let it go.
After all, the Overpalace Branch Manager was watching.