Below the deck of the workboat.
"Hiiik!"
Duko stumbled backward in terror, landing on his rear.
A being with violet eyes, his entire body covered in tattoos.
That being had just crushed the guild official's head.
"You...!"
He was surprised by the situation itself.
But unlike Duko, Rogadu wasn't afraid.
Because he recognized him immediately.
The being before him was Renya, who had been rowing so diligently to the beat of Odongtong's chant.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"How dare you touch the guild!"
The guild members who had followed drew their weapons and aimed at Renya.
Renya paid them no mind, casually cracking his joints with a series of pops.
The corner of Renya's mouth curled up slightly.
As always, our master has excellent instincts.
The sudden breakdown of the power artifact, the rescue team that never arrived despite the signal flare, the environment from which they couldn't escape on their own.
The master hadn't simply let this chain of events slide.
That's why he had left Renya behind, just in case.
If someone had wished for Rogadu and the work crew's deaths, he judged they would react in some way the moment these people returned alive.
"Die!!"
Dozens of projectiles fired from three or four artifacts.
Renya instinctively moved to dodge, then stopped.
Kwagagagak!!
"Y-you...!"
Startled, Rogadu's mouth fell open.
He knew well what those artifacts were.
Mid-to-short-range striking weapons that could easily shatter rocks at this distance.
And Renya had taken them all with his body.
"No need to make a fuss. It's just a sting."
Renya lowered his crossed arms.
Several streams of blood trickled down his arms.
Rogadu's eyes widened.
There was bleeding, but the wounds were very shallow.
Artifacts that could shatter rocks had only managed to scratch his skin.
What kind of body did he have?
"Th-this monster..."
The guild member's words never finished.
A fist swung at an invisible speed, crushing the left cheekbone of the man.
The other guild members tried to use their artifacts, but it was useless.
Renya dodged in an instant and closed in.
What followed was easy.
One by one, he smashed their necks and faces, and the guild members dropped to their knees.
"Ugh... ugh."
The last remaining guild member threw down his weapon and turned around.
A monster.
There was no way to beat that.
"Stop. One more step and I'll crush your skull."
"!!!"
The man who had been about to climb the stairs froze.
He knew instinctively.
This wasn't just a threat or a bluff.
The moment he lifted that foot, his life would be over.
Renya shook the blood from his fist and tilted his head.
"Come here."
His face pale as a sheet, the guild member slowly approached.
Clack-clack-clack-clack-clack.
His teeth chattered incessantly from fear far beyond what he could bear.
His body trembled like an aspen leaf, making even taking a single step a struggle.
He almost wished he could just faint.
When the man was close enough, Renya looked at Rogadu.
"Ask what you want to ask. And you—if you hesitate even for a second, you die."
"Y-yes! Please, spare me!"
After taking a few deep breaths, Rogadu asked the man.
"Did the guild... break the power source?"
"Y-yes."
"Why? What did I and my work crew do wrong to the guild? We've never once disobeyed orders, have we?"
It was possible he had made some mistake without knowing.
But it couldn't be a mistake so great that the entire work crew had to die.
"Th-that, I don't know either. I was just following the orders I received."
A thought crossed his mind, and cold sweat ran down Rogadu's back.
He hoped it wasn't true, but he had to confirm.
"Could it be... this isn't the first time?"
As the man slowly nodded, Rogadu's body swayed.
It wasn't frequent, but it happened sometimes.
People who suddenly left Pamiran and migrated elsewhere one day.
He thought they must have had urgent business since they left without saying goodbye, but that wasn't it.
"Who gave such a horrible order? And why? They were just doing as they were told. Was it the guild?"
"Th-that's..."
"Three. I'll kill you on three. One."
Panicked, the man shouted.
"I-it was the Guild Master! I received it directly from the Guild Master! That's all I know! It's the truth, believe me—"
Kwajik!
Renya's palm struck the man's face.
He flew through the air and crashed into the wall.
He seemed to have said everything he knew, so there was no need to keep him alive.
"Dump him."
Renya picked up all the bodies at once and carried them up to the deck.
From not too far away, a few splashing sounds could be heard.
Renya returned and looked between Duko and Rogadu.
"I'll wait outside. It's better to erase any trace that they were here."
Rogadu nodded and sat down on the floor.
Now that the threat was gone, his legs had given out.
"Duko. I'm sorry for dragging you into such a mess."
"Don't say that. But what is all this...?"
Rogadu covered his face with his palms for a moment, then stood up.
"Let's clean up first, then leave. Duko, you were never here. Understand? Then you'll be safe."
The ones from the guild hadn't resorted to violence from the start.
They had only shown their true colors after realizing Duko had noticed the flaw in the power source.
As long as this fact was hidden, there would be no immediate danger.
"O-okay."
Picking up a nearby mop, Duko and Rogadu began wiping away the bloodstains.
Rogadu's face twisted.
A situation he could hardly understand.
What in the world was happening?
Here, on this island of artifacts, Pamiran.
* * *
A dim dawn, just before sunrise.
The sound of a door opening made me sit up.
Rogadu must have returned.
I quietly climbed out the window and up to the roof of the house.
"!?"
I stopped in my tracks, startled.
Renya?!
It was the first time.
Seeing the demon Renya bleeding.
"It's nothing much."
I quickly walked over and examined the wound.
Probably because his body was so well-trained, the wound itself was shallow.
But I couldn't just leave it.
I took a small bottle out of my bag.
"Elia said this is a really good disinfectant."
"Leave it. That medicine makes me more uneasy."
I was surprised again.
Renya, saying he was uneasy?
Just how widespread was the infamy of Elia, the first alchemist?
"Still, I have to disinfect it. Don't worry. I tried it myself first. It doesn't hurt at all. She said just to spray it on, so... spray?"
Renya nodded with a skeptical look.
His expression seemed to say, "How bad could it be?"
I opened the lid and swept the bottle from left to right.
With a splash, the Elia-brand disinfectant drenched the wound.
Renya's eyes flew wide open.
A faint crease even appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He seemed to be clenching his molars with all his might.
"A-are you okay? That's strange. When I tried it last time, it didn't hurt much... Ah."
Realizing something, I scratched my head.
"I applied it to unbroken skin. Sorry, Renya."
Since I hadn't been injured recently, I had just sprayed it on my intact arm.
Renya trembled for a long while, then let out a deep sigh.
I could say with certainty that this was the worst.
None of the pain he had ever experienced could compare to this.
"Oh."
I pointed with my finger, and he lowered his head.
"Huh."
With a hissing sound, the wound began to close.
The recovery speed was so fast it was visible to the naked eye.
I had no choice but to admit it.
This party, in a good way, was anything but normal.
"It's healed, so it's okay, right?"
At my forced thumbs-up, he shrugged.
Then he told me what had happened on the galley earlier.
"I thought about bringing him back alive, but I didn't."
"Good. He must have said everything he knew."
The keyword "Guild Master" had been given.
That was enough.
"I'll have to go for a meeting tomorrow. To the guild. Good work, Renya."
Renya nodded lightly and turned away.
"Oh."
As if remembering something, Renya looked at me.
"Be careful. There's something strange on this island."
"Something strange?"
"A strong one."
Renya, the one in the party with the keenest senses.
It was a bit different from Yodel Ranger Kancho's detection of presence.
How to put it... it was closer to an animal instinct, and at unpredictable moments, his perception would become absurdly sharp.
For Renya to say that, there really must be something serious.
"Okay! I'll be careful."
Renya dismissed his manifestation and vanished from sight.
I rubbed my chin and looked around the island.
The head of the Edilen family.
The strong one Renya mentioned was probably that person.
For my martial arts teacher to rate someone so highly...
I was getting more and more curious.
How strong was he?
I wanted to meet him soon.
* * *
As soon as dawn broke, I headed out to the main street of Pamiran.
I came to get a feel for the terrain and also to visit the guild at the end of the main street.
'The morning breeze is refreshing.'
I must have had too many preconceptions because of the sticky, pitch-black sea.
The wind was no different from any other coast.
I walked slowly, enjoying the pleasant breeze.
Before long, a large sign appeared.
# Artisan's Street.
Ding!
[You have discovered the Artifact Street of Pamiran Island! The clear condition for the 25th floor of the Myth Tower has been updated!]
[Pamiran is home to numerous artifact artisans! You must find an uncontaminated artisan among them and hear their story! Basic personal information of the artifact artisans residing on the island has been updated!]
Whoosh!
As the names spread out in the air, I frowned.
Judging by the thin scroll bar, there were at least several hundred.
And all of them on this one small island?
Was this for real!?
It reminded me of the dozens of original Anheung Steamed Bun shops I saw in Anheung.
[Meet the artisans on the list! Once you gather a certain amount of information, you can determine whether an artisan is contaminated!]
No way.
Meeting all of them would take at least a month or two.
[Spirit Eye]
As soon as I opened my eyes, my brow furrowed.
Thanks to the murky divine power, the whole world had turned dark and murky.
It kind of suited the Black Sea now, I guess.
I walked leisurely, looking around.
An artifact artisan here, an artifact artisan there. Murky energy here, murky energy there.
Then, I stopped walking.
Because of an energy flowing out from a certain alleyway.
It was the first time since arriving in Pamiran.
Seeing divine power that was completely untainted.
I smiled and followed the energy.
At the end of this energy would be the one.
The clear condition for this floor, and the only uncontaminated artisan.
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T/N:
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