“Ugh!”
Some of the soldiers gagged at the sight of the blood-soaked interior.
‘Well… this isn’t exactly a sight for the faint-hearted. I hope they don’t end up with trauma.’
Broken arms and legs were the least of it.
Some had lost limbs, and there were even three people whose heads and bodies were no longer connected.
‘So, it wasn’t a lie that he took down dozens of monsters alone.’
‘That Dwayne guy. I thought he was just a braggart, but it turns out he was telling the truth.’
Some of the soldiers couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.
Not only had he single-handedly defeated so many enemies, but Ian didn’t have a single scratch on him.
Meanwhile, Ian clicked his tongue in annoyance.
His hand, sticky with blood, felt incredibly uncomfortable.
Even though it was his own doing, cutting down people wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience.
He vaguely guessed that the only reason he wasn’t more disturbed was probably due to the game’s adjustments.
But more importantly—
‘This isn’t the time to dwell on it.’
Hesitation could mean death at any moment.
To survive here, drawing his sword was a necessity.
‘From now on, I’ll probably spend more time holding a sword.’
Even if it was unpleasant, he had to endure it. And he had to get used to it.
To live as the troublemaker young lord of Schrantz, he couldn’t hesitate to swing his sword.
He had to live fiercely at all times.
With that mindset, Ian clenched his fist once and then pointed at the soldiers in turn.
“You two, take the survivors and get them out of here. You, go outside and make sure no one comes in. The rest of you, follow me.”
“What about the bodies?”
“We’ll call someone to handle them later, so don’t worry about it.”
“Yes, sir!”
While the soldiers carried out their tasks, Ian, accompanied by one soldier, moved toward the reception area.
Knock knock! Knock knock!
Suddenly, Ian knelt down and began knocking on the floor.
“….”
The soldier watched him with a puzzled expression, keeping their mouth shut. After a while of tapping the floor, Ian finally—
Thud thud!
“…Found it.”
He grinned as he located a spot where the sound was different.
“Aura.”
Whoosh—!
A bluish energy enveloped his sword.
The skill, Aura, enhanced the power of his weapon.
With a swing of his aura-infused sword, he cut through the floor, revealing a staircase leading underground.
“Let’s go down.”
Ian descended, and the soldier followed.
As they went down, Ian’s expression hardened, and the soldier behind him gasped in shock.
The first thing they saw was a set of iron bars. And behind those bars were people, trapped.
Their clothes were little more than rags.
Most were young men and women, but there were also children around ten years old.
“These damn bastards! They were planning to sell even kids as slaves?!”
The soldier cursed as he realized why these people were imprisoned here.
They were people who couldn’t repay their debts and were destined to be sold as slaves.
“You, find the keys and free them. Then guide them to a safe place. I’ll look around some more.”
“Yes, young lord. Be careful.”
Following the visible path, Ian soon came across a door.
He pushed and pulled, but it didn’t budge. It was locked from the inside.
Slash—!
Of course, that wasn’t much of an obstacle.
His aura-infused sword cut through the wooden door like paper.
Once inside, Ian looked around.
The ceiling was broken, and a ladder lay shattered on the floor.
“As expected. They’ve already escaped.”
It seemed they had destroyed the ladder leading to the ceiling to prevent pursuit.
The absence of anyone guarding the slaves made it clear they had all fled upon hearing the commotion.
“How desperate were they to leave all this behind?”
Ian could see numerous documents scattered around.
In the chaos, they must have been too panicked to take everything.
These were important papers that revealed what they had done and what they had planned to do.
There were even ledgers.
Flipping through the ledger, Ian frowned.
“They’ve been at this for a while.”
The names of villagers who had borrowed money were meticulously recorded.
‘At a glance, it seems they targeted those who couldn’t read.’
Even a quick skim made it clear how much they had exploited the villagers.
‘They’ve gone too far.’
At least now, with this evidence, no more villagers would be sold into slavery.
[Gang Defeated: 1/1]
[Quest ‘The Darkness of Schrantz’ Completed.]
[Loyalty of all villagers in Schrantz territory increased by 5.]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
“Huh? It’s over now.”
The sudden appearance of the message window signaled the end of the situation.
Ian assumed Dwayne had carried out his instructions properly.
Anticipating the gang’s escape, Dwayne had likely informed the village chief to block their emergency exit.
Ian turned around leisurely.
“Time to head back.”
Humming to himself, he grabbed the ledger and walked away.
With the quest completed, Ian left the gang’s hideout and headed toward another alley.
“What were you thinking, causing such a mess?!”
“I’m sorry.”
“How am I supposed to explain this to the young lord?”
There, a group of soldiers had gathered, and the village chief was scolding Dwayne.
“What do you want me to say to him?”
As Ian arrived, the village chief greeted him.
“You’re here, young lord.”
“I am. So, what’s all this about?”
The village chief let out a sigh, and Dwayne hung his head as if he had committed a crime.
The chief soon explained.
“We captured the gang leader alive, but…”
The chief glanced to the side, and Ian followed his gaze.
A man lay on the ground, stabbed by a sword.
It was the gang leader.
The remaining four captives were either high-ranking members or ordinary gang members.
They were all bound and covered in blood.
‘What’s this? Why are they dead? I don’t think I’ve seen this situation before.’
A scenario he hadn’t seen in any strategy videos.
Originally, the village chief would defeat and capture them all, marking the end of the quest.
‘This means there’s been a variable.’
“Who did this?”
The village chief silently turned his gaze backward again. At the end of that gaze was Dwayne, quietly raising his hand.
“You did this?”
“…Yes.”
Dwayne answered in a trembling voice.
“How did this happen?”
“He cut the rope with a hidden dagger and charged at me, so I had no choice but to…”
‘He took down the gang leader alone?’
The gang leader was someone even the village chief struggled to defeat.
And a mere soldier like Dwayne took him down?
‘This guy, there’s definitely something special about him!’
The instincts of a seasoned gamer kicked in.
No matter how well-armed he was, it was rare for a soldier to achieve such a feat alone.
‘What on earth is the young lord thinking?’
Meanwhile, Dwayne grew more anxious the longer Ian remained silent.
Especially that smile Ian kept giving him whenever their eyes met!
‘Ah, I’m doomed!’
Despite what he had seen during the monster subjugation, Dwayne’s fear of Ian’s infamous reputation lingered.
He imagined the punishment Ian might inflict for disobeying the capture order, and it didn’t look good.
After a long moment of thought, Ian finally spoke.
“Village Chief.”
“Yes, young lord.”
“I’ll take this soldier with me.”
The idea that the infamous troublemaker young lord would personally punish him made Dwayne’s head spin, and the village chief was equally shocked.
“Y-young lord, there’s no need for you to handle this personally!”
He had the same thought as Dwayne.
“I’ll ensure he receives a proper punishment, so please leave him to me.”
“Punishment? What are you talking about?”
“Huh?”
Realizing there was a misunderstanding, Ian clarified.
“I’m taking him to see if he has what it takes to become a knight.”
Everyone’s jaws dropped at the unexpected statement.
‘M-me? A knight?’
Dwayne, suddenly faced with unbelievable luck, pinched his cheek to check if he was dreaming.
The pain confirmed it wasn’t.
After wrapping things up, Ian returned to the mother and daughter.
“You’re here, young lord.”
“You’re here, young lord.”
The two women, who had been waiting for him, greeted him respectfully.
“Yes. You don’t have to worry about those scoundrels anymore. We’ve captured all of them.”
“Thank you, truly, thank you!”
The mother and daughter expressed their gratitude, relieved they wouldn’t have to suffer under those villains anymore.
“I don’t know when, but even if it takes a lifetime, I will repay this kindness.”
As they bowed to Ian, he looked at them as if they were saying something strange.
“You’re talking as if this is the end.”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t help you out of the goodness of my heart. Your daughter will have to come with me.”
“Wh-where are you taking her…?”
“To where I live, of course. Since I helped you, she’ll have to repay me by serving me wholeheartedly. Pack your essentials immediately.”
‘This is probably how the real Ian would’ve spoken.’
He was doing his best to imitate Ian’s original tone.
‘I could’ve been an actor, couldn’t I?’
Ian inwardly praised himself for his acting skills.
The reason he had come to the village and taken down the gang was solely for Sera.
She was one of the few NPCs in the game with exceptional talent.
‘It wasn’t until the DLC that allowed playing as Schrantz came out that people realized how useful Sera was.’
Although she was an existing NPC, her true value wasn’t discovered until much later, after the Schrantz DLC was released.
This was because players had to complete the monster subjugation quest at the start of the game and immediately seek her out to rescue her.
If they were even slightly late, she would be sold into slavery, and players would never encounter her again.
Even if players stumbled upon her after she had been enslaved, her body and spirit would already be broken, making her useless.
Most players didn’t bother recruiting her because her stats weren’t particularly impressive.
But the world is vast, and there are always exceptions.
Some players paid off her debts to save her, while others went out of their way to rescue her despite the cost.
Ian chuckled to himself.
‘It’s funny how the first player who discovered her value did so for such a trivial reason.’
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