Chapter 10

"Why?"

Ivan shot a mocking laugh at her, who cried out as if wronged.

"I never let those who aim for my neck live."

After saying that much, Ivan added with a touch of wit and humor.

"Senior."

He had known for a long time that Sven was a traitor. He kept quiet because he wasn't sure if Sven was the only one or if there were more.

And just now, Ivan was certain that Yulia was also a traitor.

"No matter how potent the poison, the others fell too easily. It was because you had prepared beforehand. For example, by adding something to the food."

There were many substances that, while ineffective on their own, could intensify toxicity or weaken resistance when combined with others. It was probably one of those.

Yulia, with a defeated look, bit her lip and asked sharply.

"How did you figure it out? There wasn't anything suspicious."

"I don't trust people. I was suspicious when you insisted on cooking dinner last night. Now I have proof."

At that, Yulia flinched and looked somewhere. She realized that Emin, whom she thought was unconscious, was looking at her with a pale face.

"This is—!"

"I don't explain to those who are about to die."

Swish! Ivan quickly approached and swung his sword.

"Choke!"

Yulia's face contorted as she tried to deflect the attack by placing the back of her hand on the blade. The steel gauntlet crumpled, and her hand was crushed. The force was far beyond what she had expected, utterly unreasonable.

Crack! Blue lightning from the ground was blocked. The Thunder Step she used was perfectly countered by Ivan. She had no chance to use any major techniques. She was completely overwhelmed by his skill.

"Aaah!"

Ivan's sword swept past her neck. Her beautiful face, which had once captivated many, floated in the air and then rolled on the ground. Mud, blood, and brain matter.

The beauty that had made hearts race was now meaningless, just a pile of decaying flesh and bones.

Ivan, watching this, felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Welcome to the beauty senior, I meant it."

A martial artist who focused only on training his body had been blinded by greed and betrayed his comrades. A monk who should have been faithful had fallen and summoned demons. A guide who should have led the way had blinded his comrades. A martial artist whose body was etched with greed instead of muscle.

It was a dungeon that left a bad feeling.

"Phew, two out of the four mercenaries I hired were traitors."

Emin muttered in despair. Having grown up in the magic tower, he was struggling to adapt to the harsh reality of the streets. He looked around with a confused face and asked Ivan.

"Are you going to kill me too?"

"Why would I? The traitors were just those two."

"But you never know, right? There could be three or four."

To Emin's fearful question, Ivan replied with a indifferent expression.

"The magic tower's pursuit is troublesome. Even if you had tried to kill me first, I would have thought about it before taking your head. Since you didn't, I have no reason to kill you."

"Is that so? Heh, that's a relief."

To that relieved laugh, Ivan added.

"I'm not a random killer."

As he said that, Ivan felt a bitter taste. How many had he killed today? How many in total?

Was he really that righteous, or was he just pretending?

Most of the mercenaries Ivan had encountered were scoundrels, frauds, robbers, rapists, murderers, and scum. How would he be perceived by others?

"Damn, I feel so terrible."

Even though he hadn't done anything wrong, he felt like a criminal. He had never felt refreshed after cutting off someone's head.

Ding! [Linked Quest: Secrets of the Eastern Forest – 1 (Completed)] [Recently, something strange has been happening in the eastern forest. Investigate the secret.] [Reward: Large amount of experience, Skill Point +1, 3 gold 31 silver]

Ding! [Linked Quest: Secrets of the Eastern Forest – 2 (Completed)] [A foul aura is emanating from an ancient ruin. Eliminate the source.] [Reward: Large amount of experience, Random Box (Magic), Satisfaction of the Nordic Gods]

Several quests appeared and completed in succession.

The rewards were substantial, fitting for a main story quest.

Skill points and a random box.

It felt like he was finally getting proper quest rewards. Humm— Something filled Ivan from deep within.

His drained stamina refilled, and his wounds healed quickly.

His mana was deeper, his muscles tougher, and his senses sharper.

The large amount of experience from the quest rewards seemed to have raised his level by a couple of points.

'People are so fickle.

Just a moment ago, I was so depressed, but now I'm happy because my level went up.'

No matter how he thought about it, he had become too accustomed to this cursed world. It was a bit scary that he found it normal.

"Check if there are any missed treasures. We need to leave as soon as Ralph wakes up."

"Understood."

Ivan glanced at Sven's body, which had been killed by a broken neck.

"The guide is gone, so we need to hurry."

At least, with fewer people, my share has increased. Ivan had unknowingly thought that.

"They're back."

A soldier guarding the wall glanced at Ivan and looked away. Three people, covered in filth and looking pale, had returned. Five had gone out, but only three came back, yet the soldiers didn't ask anything. Losing someone was a common occurrence.

Especially when they had gone to investigate the dangerous forest.

The soldiers only stiffened, realizing that the forest had become so dangerous that two skilled mercenaries had lost their lives. They silently prayed that it wouldn't bring misfortune to them.

No one would have thought that the mercenaries had discovered a dungeon in the forest or that two highly trusted mercenaries had betrayed their party.

When Billy heard the report of all the events, his expression became very complex.

"Sven and Yulia betrayed and tried to kill the party members?"

Billy, looking incredulous, asked again. Emin, furious, shouted.

"Are you saying we're lying now!"

Emin threatened to formally complain to the magic tower, and Billy, looking flustered, tried to calm him down.

"No, no. That's not what I meant. I'm just shocked. Sven, I can understand, but Yulia too? And they worked together? Did they have a close relationship?"

Ralph answered in a strangely low voice.

"They had taken on many of the same missions. Their personalities were opposites, so they didn't get along well, but maybe that was just my impression. They did have a lot of overlapping missions, so it wasn't just a coincidence."

It was a shock to Ralph, who thought he had a deep friendship with Sven.

What had he seen, and what had he missed? Even a veteran mercenary who had experienced all sorts of events couldn't shake off the mental scars.

"Damn, you can never know what's in someone's heart. Doing this job, you see too much filth. How can you trust anyone?"

Billy muttered a curse and fell into thought. This was a significant loss for the mercenary guild. Not only had they lost two capable mercenaries, but those mercenaries had betrayed and tried to kill a mage from the Blue Tower. The original mission was to investigate the strange phenomena in the eastern forest, a public task.

The Blue Tower had officially requested assistance from the mercenary guild to find a reliable mercenary, and that mercenary had tried to kill the mage from the Blue Tower. This was a serious matter.

'Damn bastards.

If you were going to die, die cleanly, not by shitting on the guild.'

Thinking of the dead, Billy gritted his teeth. He wanted to tear their bodies apart.

"I'll send an investigation team to the ruins. That's the procedure. If everything is confirmed to be true, the guild will officially apologize to the Blue Tower and provide compensation. Ralph and Ivan, you will also receive appropriate compensation."

Billy sighed deeply and bowed his head.

"I'm sorry. It was my mistake to misjudge people."

Billy's expression was genuinely solemn. Of course, it wasn't entirely out of guilt or responsibility.

He would likely be demoted from his position as a branch manager due to this incident, which was frustrating. With that, Ivan's job was done.

The mercenary guild would handle the aftermath.

After all, they were paid a significant fee to do just that.

They would usually drag their feet and cover it up, but with the Blue Tower involved, that wouldn't happen. They would handle it swiftly.

The dead would take the blame.

'Might as well blame everything on them and get rid of the headache.'

Ivan shook his head.

He had used his brain enough over the past few days.