Episode 58
Chapter 21: Tesing Underground Auction (Part 1)
Zet couldn’t believe his ears.
Had these rookies, who were clearly new to Akin, suddenly lost their minds? Still, a customer was a customer, so he decided to handle the situation politely—for now.
“Sir, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden? Haha, even if you’re a guest, it’s not okay to start cursing out of nowhere… ahem!”
Crack.
Before he could react, Murakan’s left punch landed squarely on his ribs. The breath caught in his throat reflexively, and before he could even register the pain, a follow-up heel stomp shattered his shoulder muscles.
Not only his ears, but now his eyes refused to believe what was happening.
‘I’m a five-star knight, aren’t I?’
Though he’d been living a mediocre thug’s life lately, Zet had once been a seasoned mercenary, battle-hardened and tough. Five-star knights rarely got beaten up like this. This was the first time in ages he’d been on the receiving end of such a one-sided thrashing.
“Murakan! What the hell are you doing? The innkeeper’s going to die!”
“I intend to kill him, Strawberry Pie. This trash tried to poison our drinks.”
Fortunately, Zet was quick-witted, adaptable, and had a strong will to live. He knew that the best course of action was to immediately drop to the ground and beg for mercy.
“Wha—cough, ugh!”
Of course, Murakan didn’t give him a chance to apologize and kept hitting him. His mouth spat out curses like “worthless vermin,” “trash,” and “scum,” but his expression was eerily emotionless.
That was what terrified Zet the most.
“Look at you, Zet. Pathetic.”
Seeing his old nemesis mercilessly pummel him stirred a strange satisfaction deep inside. But Zet was useful—if they didn’t stop now, he’d soon be nothing but a cold corpse.
“Murakan, stop. Let’s hear him out first.”
“You want to talk to the guy who tried to poison us? Kid.”
Murakan paused the beating briefly, and Zet’s eyes gleamed as he prostrated himself like a defeated man.
“Oh, my lord! Please spare me! I’ll do anything to make amends!”
His ribs were broken, his nose half-crushed, but his words were surprisingly clear, fueled by sheer will to survive.
Before long, Zet crawled over and grabbed Jin’s pant leg. Murakan sneered, but when a millennium-bound contractor spoke, you had to listen.
Smack!
“Let go, you’re bleeding.”
Jin crouched and slapped Zet’s cheek.
“Y-yes! I’ll let go! I’m sorry, just please spare me…!”
“I’m going to ask you a few simple questions. Lie, and you die. Tell the truth, and you live. My judgment is based on my own feelings and instincts. Understand?”
Zet nodded repeatedly, blood splattering with each movement.
“Good. What exactly are you?”
Normally, Jin would have asked if he really poisoned them and why, but this was a more fundamental question. Zet realized once again that Jin was no ordinary man.
With people like this, feeble attempts at sympathy wouldn’t work. He had to be as objective and truthful as possible.
“I’m the innkeeper and an informant. I also do a bit of pimping and, well, human trafficking… I have some expertise in that. If you spare me, my lord, I can be very useful! I know everything about Akin.”
Gili’s face twisted at the shocking self-introduction. Murakan just shook his head, as expected.
“Cut the crap. So you tried to poison us to sell us off somewhere?”
“I’m terribly sorry… yes.”
“Where?”
“Huh?”
Crunch! Jin grabbed Zet’s pinky and the back of his hand, forcing them together. Zet couldn’t even scream, only squeaked out, “Tesing, Tesing!”
“Tesing underground auction!”
“Explain.”
“Yes! The Tesing underground auction is run by a dark organization called Tesing. They mainly deal in slaves, drugs, smuggled goods, and stolen artifacts!”
“They bring people in, heal your body by evening, and then you know what happens next, right?”
“Of course! Thank you so much, my lord! Thank you!”
Sensing his survival depended on it, Zet was practically ready to kiss Jin’s foot.
He would be a valuable tool during their time in Akin. Jin despised him, but respected his efficiency.
They sent Zet upstairs. The day’s “Find Zet at the entrance” business was over.
“Kid, wouldn’t it be better to just bury this trash in the back mountain than waste money on his treatment?”
“I agree, young master. If we spare him, he’ll probably stab us in the back.”
“A dark organization, an underground auction… Is there a better opportunity to build our reputation than taking this down? We can kill him afterward.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Let’s trust him for now. We could use a guide in Akin.”
Without further argument, they agreed. To ensure smooth progress, the party leader’s opinion had to be respected.
Murakan and Gili kept an eye on Zet while Jin left the inn to find a healer.
They were good friends, but as soon as Jin stepped outside, he felt a breath of fresh air. When moving alone in Akin, he could freely use his knowledge as a Returner.
Akin was a city slow to develop due to Tesing’s tyranny. Most of the facilities and groups Jin knew from before his return were still there.
Finding a healer who kept their mouth shut didn’t take long. Even if the patient was a top-tier wanted criminal, a man named Maltrang, who ran a magic shop, would treat anyone for the right price.
“I hear you’re good at illegal healing.”
“Where’d you hear that?”
“None of your business. I’ll pay well.”
Though he looked like a pot-bellied middle-aged man, Maltrang was clearly fifteen years younger than before. He rubbed his belly thoughtfully.
“…What’s the patient’s condition?”
“A couple of broken ribs, one dangling finger. Not much blood.”
Ting. Jin flicked a finely crafted ring with his finger. As soon as Maltrang caught it, he sprang up.
“Lucky day. Let’s go.”
Maltrang was indeed a skilled healing mage.
Within five hours of entering the inn, he had erased all signs of the beating from Zet’s body.
Sweating profusely as he cast healing magic, he looked every bit the devoted cleric.
“The Magic Federation is something else. To think a street healer could be this skilled.”
Gili whispered, watching the healing closely. Having lived in Runkandel, she rarely encountered magic and was especially impressed.
Zet was deeply moved, bowing repeatedly after the treatment.
“My lord, though our first meeting was rough, I swear eternal loyalty to you. Please allow me.”
“We’ll see. Healed yet, healer? No chance of those bones falling off again in a few hours?”
“Boring joke. Well then, if you need me again, call. If it’s not serious, I’ll treat you once for free. I’m worth my pay.”
“Excellent service. Farewell.”
Maltrang left.
Zet sat between the three, sipping black tea, carefully watching their expressions.
‘No matter how I look at it, these guys smell like big shots. I should’ve recognized it from the start! Why on earth have they come to this backwater town of Akin?’
The young man who beat him was incredibly skilled, the maid seemed used to scenes like this, and the boy who looked like a spoiled noble treated them like puppets.
This was a type of person Zet had never encountered before.
‘Heirs of a powerful warrior clan, or the Biment Special Task Force? Either way, if I cross them, I won’t even be able to pick up my bones.’
After a moment, Zet concluded they were the Biment Special Task Force.
He even convinced himself that their sudden approach was a calculated move. Bringing a top-tier healer within an hour without him knowing made sense under that assumption.
‘They must already have all the info on me. They approached me to open the path to the Tesing underground auction, planning to carry out some mission there…’
Once the mission was done, he’d be nothing more than a hunted dog, doomed to die.
Thinking this through, Zet gritted his teeth and resolved to become indispensable enough that they couldn’t kill him. He would show them unwavering loyalty.
No matter how powerful Tesing was, their influence was limited to Akin. The Biment Special Task Force was renowned worldwide. There was no need to overthink which side to choose.
For a while, Zet shared everything he knew about Tesing and the underground auction. Since he assumed they were the Special Task Force, he gave them only the most valuable information.
“Tesing’s public boss is a man named Salka, but the real boss is someone else. Salka is just a figurehead. Among us, he’s called ‘Spider-Hand Alu.’”
“Is that so?”
“Unlike me, Alu is extremely dangerous. Rumor has it he has ties with the purebloods of Runkandel across the sea, and it’s likely true. As for the underground auction…”
Jin already knew all this dull information but let the others keep talking anyway. That way, his comrades would also gain knowledge from before his regression.
‘Wait, there’s a connection to Runcandel? So those ridiculous rumors about Alu were actually floating around. But among the brothers, I can’t imagine any of them hanging out with the thugs from the Lutero Magic Federation…’
He paused, then set down his teacup as a thought struck him.
‘The one who tried to curse me—that guy might be the key. After all, this is Lutero Magic Federation territory, Ziphl’s land.’
He couldn’t jump to conclusions. A curse like the “Blade’s Madness” was only something a top-tier mage could cast, and there was no way those thugs had access to such a powerful sorcerer.
Still, he had to grasp at any straw. Ten years in the Storm Castle, five years in the Garden of Blades—he’d spent all that time trying to find the culprit behind the curse, but hadn’t uncovered a single clue.
“Are you done explaining now?”
“Yes! If anything comes up while you’re out there, just say the word. I, Jet, will explain everything sincerely. I swear it on my son.”
“You have a son?”
Jin asked, surprised. In his previous life, he’d been quite close to Jet’s son—a little boy who was kind and gentle, unlike his father.
“Yes. Since I’ve pledged loyalty to Nari, you should meet my son before you leave. It’s to show you I have no intention of betraying you.”
The boy must be about two years old now. Using such a small child as a symbol of his oath—Jin shook his head again at Jet’s character.
“Enough. Let’s just go.”