“Damn.”

Phiunel scratched his head as he looked at the messy room. This disaster only took 10 minutes.

About 20 minutes ago, 5 country bumpkins arrived at the mansion for a guard team position. They looked no different than any other outsider. However, Phiunel didn’t want to let them pass. The entire test was a farce to begin with, but he had a bad feeling about this one.

He also hated the group’s arrogant demeanor. As such, he brought in the strongest assassins at his disposal. However…

— Uuugh…

— Kuuuk…

The elite soldiers all groaned on the floor and not a single piece of furniture he had purchased with care remained undamaged. He couldn’t even recognize his own mansion after all the chaos.

“How dare they.”

Phiunel angrily muttered. He had heard about the outsiders, seekers of truth who entered the tower from another world to reach its peak. However, he didn’t believe any would reach the top and viewed them like thugs.

“…”

Phiunel clenched his teeth as fury rose in his old eyes. He didn’t care about his subordinates, but that group’s arrogant words still lingered in his ears. He recalled how they insolently sat and mocked the demon race in front of him. After that, he simply concluded that they had to die. Everyone knew outsiders had 7 lives, but he would find a way around that. Phiunel took out a small notebook from his pocket.

[Lv.11 Directory]

His most precious treasure allowed him to see the name and details of every individual he ever met. It showed their nickname, real name, and current location.

“Fools.”

Demons specialized in assassination and torture. They would surely find a way to take seven lives with one death.

Phiunel wrote the names of these ruffians onto his kill list.

***

[8-3F, Main Street Outside Phiunel’s Mansion]

We became [Guard Team 2] after passing Phiunel’s test. He also gave us mysterious name tags with communication magic in them.

Then we headed to Crevon’s western side, which bordered demon territory. It took us 40 minutes on a carriage traveling at 120 km per hour to reach the Ironblood Duchess’ mansion.

“Ah, you’re here. My friend and friends of my friend.”

Tomer welcomed us with a delicious meal. We lived like aristocrats compared to other players who returned to Prestige just to sleep because of Crevon’s high prices. I couldn’t help but feel grateful for my relationship with Tomer.

We each received our own rooms after our meal. I got the biggest one while the rest received slightly smaller rooms, but equal nonetheless. However, I had no plans of staying since my waiting room felt much better than most places.

“Create a waiting room ticket.”

[An entrance ticket to player Extra7’s waiting room has been created.]

I almost tore the ticket when… Tok, tok. Someone knocked on the door. I tilted my head and opened it to find Boss.

“Boss?”

She looked at me intently with a single book under her arm.

“Is that a skill book?”

“Yeah. I looked through the auction house and found what seemed to be a good basic skill book. I came to ask whether I’m right.”

Boss bashfully handed me the skill book. She looked like a student getting her homework checked. I lightly smiled and took a look.

[Basic Skill Acquisition Book – Lv.1 Touch of Fire]

“How much did you pay for this?”

“… 5000 TP.”

Boss swallowed her saliva. Her eyes faintly shook as I laughed. I didn’t mean much by it, but her shoulders flinched.

“W-W-What’s wrong? Did I pay too much for a trash skill?”

“No, it’s a decent skill and you got it for cheap too. Well done. You can learn it if you want.”

“Huhu, I see.”

Boss smiled as the skill book transformed into a current of magic power that flowed into her.

“By the way, what’s that?”

Boss pointed at the robe and jewels on my bed after regaining her confidence.

“Oh, they’re for the upcoming craftsmanship tournament.”

“Craftsmanship tournament?”

“Yep, I want the first place prize.”

First place at the craftsmanship tournament would win [Hephaestus’ Chisel]. I didn’t know what it did, but it wouldn’t hurt to have it.

“Mm, I see. Good luck then. I’m going to train this skill.”

“See you later.”

She spun around and hopped away with a smile, probably towards the training room.

“Oh wait, Boss.”

She turned back. “Hm?”

“You can sleep in my waiting room if you want.”

I generated entrance tickets to my waiting room for the Chameleon Troupe members.

[You have sent a waiting room entrance ticket to your friend, player Boss.] [You have sent a waiting room entrance ticket to your friend, player PhantomThief.] [You have sent a waiting room entrance ticket to your friend, player Goryeo’sStrongest.] [You have sent a waiting room entrance ticket to your friend, player Hurabono.]

Of course, I excluded Kaita. He and Zurahan had recently been fighting Kim Suho’s group.

“Your waiting room?” Boss looked at me suspiciously.

“Yeah, I have a good bed and even a hot spring. I sent entrance tickets to the other members too, so tell them to drop by whenever they want.”

Boss’ expression returned to normal after she heard the other members also received an invitation.

“Okay.”

Boss left with a smile.

***

I did what I had to do for the next 9 days.

First, I got myself a citizenship ID through Tomer’s help. Then I traveled around Crevon with Sannuri to find the dwarven steles.

Demons lived in the western territory and monsters lived in the mountain ridges. I acquired quite a bit of valuable resources while clearing my way through them. Of course, my luck played a major role.

First, I found an herb called Crevfort, which could be used with a mandrake and shamrock plant to brew an elixir. I could easily sell it to an NPC for 20000 TP.

Next, I found two dwarven steles. The first stele contained information about installing magic circuits into weapons, a miraculous technique that allowed weapons to possess magic power. Unfortunately, the knowledge wasn’t permanent and would disappear from memory after one use.

I decided to install a magic circuit on aether. A faint magic circuit appeared on it after the procedure. It should polish and expand this magic circuit on its own since it possessed intelligence.

The second dwarven stele was a diary about their own existence and the world known as the tower. This philosophical book contained musings about their birth, their reason for existing, and where they lived. I felt surprised by some of their accurate guesses, but it contained nothing else.

I spent my days productively until the Banquet of Honors.

“You ready?”

I asked the other members. Currently, we stood on the back lawn of the [Lv.16 Phiunel’s Grand Mansion], a special mansion recently constructed for the banquet. It looked rather ancient because of the architectural style. The banquet would begin today at 5 P.M.

“I’m ready.”

“Me too. Looks like it’ll be interesting.”

Jain and Jin Yohan replied excitedly while Boss nodded in silence.

“Do we have to wear this?”

Cheok Jungyeong seemed bothered by our robes. I made him a bigger one, so it fluttered around too much.

“Don’t you have a robe like yours?”

Cheok Jungyeong looked at mine with a hint of envy. For the record, I wore a different robe that looked more like light leather armor with an eagle hood.

“You can rip parts of it off as long as you keep your face hidden.”

“Oh, okay.” Cheok Jungyeong easily accepted that.

“By the way, you know my disguise won’t work on you, right?” Jain added in.

“Yes, I do.”

They placed a heavy restriction on players’ abilities because the royal prince and princess would attend. Jain could still use her gift, but only on herself. Her ability would bypass even magic barriers in the outside world, but someone’s skill restricted it in this mansion.

“Be careful everyone.”

I glanced at my smartwatch. It read 2 in the afternoon.

Music rang out from the grand mansion and luxurious carriages arrived one by one at the front entrance. On Earth, these carriages would be like Bentleys and Rolls Royces.

The nobles came out of their carriages and walked gracefully inside.

***

[Lv.16 Phiunel’s Grand Mansion]

The Banquet of Honor began at 3 P.M. as beautiful classical music played. The nobles either danced or talked and enjoyed the atmosphere.

However, the highest ranking nobles from Crevon’s central region couldn’t do the same. Atalos, the clan that became the rightful owner of Crevon under Agamemnon and Moses’ blessings, could only enjoy the view from the 2nd floor balcony. They didn’t join in to maintain their dignity.

“This is why I didn’t want to come. It’s so boring. I’m a good dancer too! And I practiced so much!”

Araha Von Atalos Diana, Crevon’s fifth princess, had just turned 18 and complained.

“Be quiet.”

The fourth prince, Aruon Von Atalos Philip, didn’t feel too pleased with his younger sister’s antics.

“This is why I didn’t want to come. Didn’t the demons send a threat? I guess it’s my fault for being lower ranked.”

The demons sent a letter that they would attack the Banquet of Honor. However, the Atalos Royal Family only scoffed since the administrators ordained the Banquet of Honor.

“Don’t say that anywhere else.”

“I will. I’m going to.”

“…”

Aruon sighed. He wouldn’t succeed the throne, but still needed to maintain the royal family’s reputation. He wasn’t the only one who felt this way. The Atalos Royal Family name never suffered a single speck of dirt even after generations. Of course, the immature Araha might be the exception.

“Oppa, how much money can you spend? I want to buy the Crane Feather Fan no matter what. I saw it in the auction catalog. It’s so pretty.”

“I’ll buy it for you, so be quiet.”

“Yay!”

Araha giggled. She turned sideways and saw a huge, muscular man towering over her.

“Um… Sir Lü Bu?”

Princess Araha carefully called her guard’s name. The great general standing next to her looked over. He had well-defined facial features and wore his hair in a bun. Furthermore, his fiery eyes seemed to pronounce his greatness to the world.

“Yes, Princess Araha.”

He addressed her in a neutral tone that sounded neither respectful nor disrespectful. Prince Aruon furrowed his brows, but Princess Araha liked this royal guard’s attitude.

“What will you do if the demons attack?”

“I will dispatch all who dare to harm Prince and Princess.”

His words also meant he only cared about them and not the other nobles. Fortunately, Lancelot stood on the opposite side of Lü Bu and scouted the banquet hall.

“Hehe, how very trustworthy. Do you mind if I like you, Sir Lü Bu?”

“…”

“I’ve never dated anyone before.”

Lü Bu remained unfazed by Princess Araha’s daring remarks and closed his eyes. Lü Bu already knew about the fifth princess’ well-known mischief.

“Do you dislike younger women? Isn’t this dress pretty?”

“Araha, please just shut up.”

Aruon couldn’t stand her jokes any longer and placed his hand over her mouth.

— Everyone, the Auction of Honor will begin soon!

The host’s voice rang out at 5 P.M. Then the grand mansion suddenly rumbled. Lancelot placed his hand over his sword, but bitterly smiled when he realized it was part of the event. The walls slowly drifted apart to create more space as the podium in the middle rose to change the mansion’s design into that of an auction house.

“Phiunel made this mansion solely for this banquet? Amazing.”

Aruon smiled for the first time since the banquet began.

“By the way, elder brother, who are those people?”

The prince and princess could see the busily moving guards from the second floor balcony. Aruon also followed Araha’s line of sight and looked at them downstairs. The outsiders communicated with each other and ran to their stations.

“Outsiders…”

Aruon strained his eyes. The players’ names floated above their heads: Nayunjajangman, CaptainBritain, StraitTeamLeader, WindSamurai, CrazyMan, etc. The royal family didn’t possess any special ability. The nametags these players wore displayed their information.

“They’re outsiders?”

Aruon nodded at Araha’s question. “Looks like it.”

“Wow, it’s the first time I’m seeing outsiders. They look somewhat different from us.”

“Stay put, please.”

The host continued as the siblings bickered.

— Please take your seats, everyone.

Luxurious chairs suddenly rose from the ground.

“Make sure you keep your poker face.”

Aruon nudged his sister and put on an imposing expression. The host soon pointed at them and thanked the royal family for coming.

— Let us thank the Atalos Royal Family’s Prince Aruon and Princess Araha watching from above before we begin this auction.

A spotlight fell on the siblings as applause rang out. Clap, clap, clap— Araha and Aruon forcefully smiled. Huge sums would exchange hands at this Banquet of Honor in Crevon, the city of the rich.

***

[Backyard of Phiunel’s Grand Mansion]

[6:15 P.M.]

— The next item is… Kteron’s Mantra! This treasure will grant you wisdom in times of need!

I stood guard in the backyard for most of the day and threw away my nametag when the auction approached its end. Then I disguised myself by coloring my armor with aether and entered the mansion. The guards in the backyard decreased from 5 to 4, but Boss’ shadow puppet filled in for me.

— The starting price is 30000 TP! Ah, it already became 40000 TP! The bid comes from Hail family’s Young Lord Yoten!

I infused stigma’s magic power into my thousand-mile eyes and watched everything inside.

— This is the Crane Feather Fan… Confirmed. What’s the next item? … I think it’s Kreton’s Mantra.

I could also see and hear Phiunel’s subordinates swapping out the real items for fakes. Phiunel kept the real items deep underground, but I already knew how to reach them.

A small pillar at the mansion’ right corner held a silver candle and a secret room would appear after slightly turning it. However, one also had to infuse demonic energy into the door, which only demons possessed.

This stopped players and human NPCs, but I already had a source of demonic energy from a crystal I obtained with [Extraction and Permanent Materialization].

I walked as quietly as possible to the corner. Phiunel didn’t dispatch any guards here to avoid suspicion, so I should be enough. However, I suddenly sensed a presence from behind. Tak. Someone’s footstep rang out. Was it really another person? I didn’t feel anything just a moment ago. It didn’t make sense since even aether didn’t notice.

Soon, I understood why.

The Tower of Wish could make the impossible possible with skills. It must be a high level [Stealth] skill. I bit my lips, but it shouldn’t be that bad. I should be able to suppress them without difficulty.

“Who are you?”

A soft voice came from behind.