A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression – 271



Episode 271

“Salt mine?”

When Zeke asked again Ankel suddenly came to his senses and for a moment regretted why he had answered him.

But it was already spilled milk.

Ankel sighed and nodded.

“Yes. Between the lawless area and Tahuani there used to be a salt mine. Now the mine is closed so there are only a few people living in a small village… but they are sending the children they brought there.”

Zick listened to Ankel’s words and looked at him.

“You were watching their movements even before I asked.”

“…Don’t misunderstand. I was just trying to check if there were any dangerous elements that could disrupt the black market.”

Zeke nodded.

“Okay anyway since you accepted my request I guess I should pay you.”

Zig took out a potion from his bosom. Ankel looked at the potion Zig took out and said.

“Are you saying you want to pay for the quest with potions?”

No matter how precious the potion was the price of just one potion was not enough to cover the commission fee of the Thieves’ Guild.

Zeke said looking at Ankel.

“Aren’t you curious about what kind of potion it is?”

“It’s a potion what’s the difference?”

Zeke took the potion put it in his mouth and swallowed it.

Then he gave the rest to Ankel.

“It doesn’t contain poison so eat it and judge for yourself.”

Ankel hesitated after seeing the potion that Zeke handed him.

It was not easy to put my mind at ease because Shadia a desert flower who specialized in poisons was by my side.

He said looking at Zeke.

“I swear by the title of Knight of Haeju.”

“I swear on my name: This potion contains no poison and even if it doesn’t contain poison it doesn’t contain anything that can harm you.”

Only then did Ankel take a sip of the potion Zeke had given him with an uneasy expression.

Get notified for updates: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

Ankel took a sip and was momentarily startled.

‘Do you feel light?’

The potion that Zeke gave was ‘Wings of the Sky’ which increased agility and was one of the ancient potions that could be made with only materials without spending Karma Points.

Ankel drank the remaining potion.

Then I could feel my body becoming lighter and my agility increasing.

‘If it’s this effective for me it’ll probably be even more effective for my other subordinates.’

For a thief agility is life.

Because it was more important to get out of the place quickly than to accurately reach the set target.

Ankel had purchased potions from many alchemists but this was the first time he had encountered one with such an effect.

Ankel whose expression was completely different from before asked Zeke.

“How long does this last?”

“It varies from person to person but it’s about 30 minutes.”

30 minutes is more than enough time to get out.

Then Zeke took a chest out of his inventory placed it on the table and opened the lid.

It was filled with Sky Wings potions.

“That’s a hundred potions. Is that enough for the request fee?”

Ankel’s mouth opened wide at Zeke’s words.

It wasn’t enough.

These special potions were expensive to summon.

So giving a hundred of these potions meant that he wanted to continue trading with me in the future.

Ankel hesitated for a moment then seemed to have made up his mind and bowed his head toward Zeke.

“Sir Zeke Draker please forgive my earlier rudeness. I am deeply moved by the trust you have shown me.”

Zeke answered with a smile.

“I’m glad you think so. I hope we can continue to have good business relations in the future.”

“Of course. Our guild will be the best friend of Sir Zeke so feel free to use it.”

Ankel’s attitude was completely different from before.

It was good to maintain neutrality but in the end the Thieves’ Guild was a place where thieves gathered.

It was their virtue to change their stance as soon as they saw that it would be profitable.

And Ankel smelled a jackpot from Zeke.

Zig received a badge from Ankel indicating that he was a friend of the King of Thieves and left the guild building.

Zeke said as he tossed the card he had just received to Shadia.

“Shadia this is a good one for you to keep. You’ll probably find more use for it than I will.”

“Is there anything else I need to investigate?”

“No not for the time being so let’s go check out the salt mine together.”

It was Zig who spoke of the place suspected to be the abyss’ hideout as if he were going on a picnic.

The two left Black Market City and ran towards Tahuani.

* * *

Join our discord and ping me to update more chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

Ding! Ding! Ding!

In the afternoon the bell rang from the old monastery in the middle of the village.

The townspeople gathered towards the monastery laughing as the bell rang.

Where the townspeople gathered people in robes were boiling something in a large pot.

The villagers lined up took bowls received the soup they were given then went inside the monastery and sat down.

The table was filled with white bread unmixed wine and a variety of fruits rarely seen in this region.

Soon as all the villagers came in and sat down an old man dressed in robes approached them.

He smiled and said to the townspeople.

“Everyone! Let’s have a big laugh before we eat! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

At the old man’s words all the villagers opened their mouths and laughed shouting ‘Ha! Ha! Ha!’

They could only eat after laughing clapping and reciting prayers together that they did not even know the meaning of following the old man’s words.

The villagers followed their orders without complaint because doing so provided them with three warm delicious meals a day.

It was a year ago that the robed men came to town.

There was a time when the entire town was wealthy thanks to the salt mines but after the mines closed most of the young people left and only the elderly remained.

The village itself was so barren and only the elderly remained so life was bound to become increasingly difficult.

Then when they came the village became lively again.

It didn’t matter where they came from or who they were.

The villagers were not particularly interested in why children from outside constantly came here or why the number of children staying in the village changed periodically.

All they had to do was fill their bellies.

After dinner the townspeople gather in the community hall and spend time burning cigarettes.

The tobacco they provided made me feel drowsy and happy when I burned it so I could sleep well at night.

As usual the townspeople gathered in the community hall laid out mats lit cigarettes and stared blankly into space.

Meanwhile those wearing robes were moving busily.

Come on! Come on!

In the darkness a carriage came into the village.

The carriage stopped behind the monastery.

The man riding the horse dismounted and spoke to the robed man who was waiting.

“This week’s quantity.”

A man in a robe walked to the back of the carriage opened the tightly locked door and looked inside.

Inside children were chained and shivering.

The robed man counted the children and tilted his head.

“There’s one more than the record?”

The man waved his hand as if it was nothing.

“If there was one more quantity that would be good right? It must have been accidentally omitted when counting.”

The man in the robe nodded thinking that it was a common occurrence.

“Okay. When is your next appointment?”

The man took the parchment out of his bosom and looked at it then said:

“Next week is skipped and it’s set for the week after that.”

“There’s no volume next week? What do you mean there’s a big contract coming up next week!”

At those words the man stepped back and said.

“I don’t know much because I’m just a messenger.”

The robed man gritted his teeth and then made a rough gesture as if he understood.

Then the man quickly got the children out of the carriage.

Charrrrrr!

More than ten children had chains tied to their hands and feet.

The man who had dropped the children off quickly drove the carriage away.

As the carriage disappeared a robed man headed into the monastery gesturing to the children.

“Follow me quickly.”

The children followed the man into the monastery.

The robed man opened the door leading down to the basement with the children and let them in.

“Move quickly!”

The robed man treated the children like prisoners and yelled at them.

The frightened children could not even breathe properly and went down the stairs carefully so as not to trip over each other.

When we went down to the basement there was a very wide space inside.

The robed man unlocked the chains on the children’s legs and arms with a key.

While the handcuffed children were massaging their crushed wrists and ankles the man came forward with two baskets prepared on one side as if he were used to it.

“I’ll only say this once so listen carefully. Put the clothes you came in here and change into the clothes on this side.”

The children frightened followed the man’s orders and took off their clothes one by one and put on clothes from another basket.

Each piece of rag-like clothing had a number attached to it.

After the children were all dressed the man counted the numbers again.

“Huh? What the heck? The numbers are right again.”

The man tilted his head.

Then soon realizing that he had made a mistake earlier he clicked his tongue and handcuffed the children again.

Then he grabbed the chain and led the children back.

The children shivered as they walked barefoot on the cold stone floor.

So he moved again and arrived at an underground prison.

He opened the prison door put the children in four at a time locked the door and then threatened the children.

“If you cry whine or scream I’ll show you a bad taste so just be quiet.”

The children held their breath in fear at his words.

A man who finished his work for the day walked out of the prison cell whistling.

As the man left the prison was plunged into pitch-black darkness.

The cold air continued to rise from the cold floor. The children huddled together trying to warm themselves with each other’s body heat.

Then something slowly walked out of the darkness.

‘Those guys are worse than beasts.’

He was none other than Zeke.

He had been chasing a carriage into the village and was hiding in disguise to see what would happen to the children.

‘First I need to figure out what kind of place this is.’

Zeke turned on the minimap and examined the structure.

It appeared to be a converted storage facility in the monastery’s basement but surprisingly it was connected to a passage deeper underground.

Zeke left the prison and looked around another area connected to the basement.

While wandering around hiding his body with his stealth skill Zeke discovered a passage leading to another place.

‘Where is this?’

When I went inside I saw that it was a road leading to a coal mine.

‘The monastery’s basement is connected to a closed mine.’

Zeke recalled the conversation between the robed man and the man pulling the carriage.

‘You said there was a big contract next week. If by contract you mean a contract with the Demons…’

Zeke’s eyes sharpened.

‘This is most likely the place where the contract ceremony with the demons in the abyss is held.’

If Zeke’s guess was correct then he had finally caught the tail of the abyss.

The wizards of the Abyss had the magical eye to see through stealth skills so before moving further in Zig raised his spirit skill ‘Silver Will’ to completely hide his presence.

As he went deeper into the mine Zig felt something coming from ahead.

He hid himself in the darkness.

Thud! Thud!

A group of figures appeared in the darkness.

Zeke knew immediately who they were.

‘The Wizards of Mine and the Abyss.’

The black-armored minions and the black-robed abyss wizards were heading somewhere.

Zeke followed carefully so as not to be noticed by the wizard.

The mine was a complex maze of long intricate pathways.

The wizard passed through the maze-like path and arrived inside.

In front of the door leading to the entrance there were minions standing guard holding spears.

As the wizard approached the minions cleared their windows and opened the door.

Kookookookookook!

As the door opened the wizard led the minions inside.

And soon the door was about to close.

Zeke who was watching this thought about it for a while and then grabbed his sword and used his spirit transformation skill.

Woohoo!

Standing on the border between the spiritual world and the phenomenal world Zigg was able to pass through not only the mines but also the already closed doors without difficulty.

Once inside he followed the wizards and minions again.

Only after passing through one more door from the inside did the wizard finally stop walking.

Zig released his spirit transformation skill and looked around the place he arrived at clearing his mind of any traces.

‘Here?’

The place he arrived was none other than the place where the baptism ceremony of the Abyss was held.