Chapter 32 – Scorpion Tattoo

Finding the man with a scorpion tattoo in arm was surprisingly easy.

There were only two places he could be: the pub or his hiding place. So Atlas and Ferin went to both places and asked around.

"The pub is empty. The only person who has tattoos is a bunch of Dwarves." Ferin informed Atlas when she came back from the pub after checking it. "And his hiding place is located in an abandoned warehouse. It's a bit away from here."

"Then, let's go check that place." Atlas said, pointing his finger in the direction of the warehouse. "How many HP potions do you have in your inventory? We might need them."

"Plenty. Around 5? It's from the rewards in the past and the ones we got from the first time entering the game. It heals 10-25% of my HP."

"That's enough then."

Preparation was important. Atlas looked at his inventory and saw 10 MP Potions, which should be enough for a single battle. Each MP Potions would recover 50 to 100 MP, it was random. Most advanced players only looked at the lowest amount of the MP they could regenerate to optimize their mechanic.

They arrived at the warehouse without being noticed by anyone. It was dark and dusty inside. The duo ignored the pile of wooden boxes and entered deeper into the warehouse.

For a fantasy game, the warehouse was surprisingly normal. There were no monsters or traps. Only boxes and voices from within.

"Hey! Give me my payment! You promised!"

"Ha! You think I would pay you?!"

"You bastard! I won't give you my gloves if you don't pay."

"You mean our gloves? Now that's a problem."

It was a conversation between two people. Atlas and Ferin slowed down their pace and looked at each other. They nodded and proceeded slowly. When they got close enough, they found a bald man with a scorpion tattoo arguing with a man with a white mask.

The man with the mask seemed more dangerous because of his appearance, but the bald man was shouting louder than him. He was probably the man they were looking for.

However, Atlas and Ferin's attention was on the man with the mask.

"At... Isn't he?"

"Yeah." He nodded, confirming his girlfriend's word before she even finished it. "Man, BunBunBoy didn't really share the full information in the interview. Who know that we would stumble upon Him in this place."

"Isn't this big? But can we get that right now?"

"Maybe not, but we have made a connection with it. Maybe it will trigger something in the future if we follow the main quest that will appear in the next city." He explained.

Main Quest was the quest given to all players. It was a big event that would affect the entire game, including the cities and NPCs. The reward given by the Main Quest was often better than anything a player could get from a normal or hidden quest.

Of course, triggering this quest that could affect the game's future was hard. Not even Atlas and Ferin knew it, as luck and opportunity were needed. Large guilds in the past hid many information regarding the main quest. Because just finishing one branch could affect one's power and gameplay.

'White Mask and Organization.' Atlas thought as he listened to the NPCs conversation. 'They are directly related to the Main Quest. We're truly lucky stumbling upon Him in this place. Hopefully, we can make more connections if we finish this hidden quest and trigger the first Main Quest ourselves.'

He put away his thoughts and focused on the two men again. They didn't look like they were going to fight, but the bald man was angry at the masked man.

"You son of a bitch! Give me my payment or else I will tell everyone about what you did here!"

"Hahaha, will you?" The masked man laughed at him. He walked toward the bald man and patted his shoulder, "I was just joking. I will give you the payment for the gloves, of course. Where is the item? I will pay you after you show me."

The bald man frowned at him, but he was hesitant to hand over the gloves to him. He looked at the gloves in his hands before making his decision.

"Here."

The bald man showed the gloves to him and reached his hand out, wanting to receive his payment.

"The payment, 500 thousand Nar."

"500 thousand!" Ferin exclaimed loudly in surprise at the amount of money traded. It was a reflex, but Atlas immediately covered her mouth and shushed her while signaling her to be quiet.

Unfortunately, they had been caught.

The two NPCs immediately turned to the source of the sound and noticed the duo standing nearby. The masked man's lips curled up like a crescent moon under his mask.

"What a nice surprise."

The masked man said and clapped his hands in excitement while turning toward Atlas and Ferin, "Here we have Pioneers. This is great! You can try your payment right away, my friend."

The bald man looked at Atlas and Ferin with a confused expression on his face before smirking nastily at them.

"You dare to disturb our transaction? How impolite of you!" The bald man growled angrily at them while glaring furiously at them without caring about anything else other than getting rid of this annoyance in front of him.

"Sorry, I guess?"

"Sorry won't cut it." The bald man shook his head lightly and took out his weapon, which was a dagger. "I need my payment, and you are standing in my way. Hey, give it to me! I will take care of them as a bonus."

The masked man chuckled lightly and watched the scene in amusement.

"As promised, here is your payment."

Putting his hand on the gloves, the masked man chanted something. A magic circle shone beneath the bald man's feet before a burst of fire erupted from it and engulfed him completely.

"Aaaagh! Arghhhh!"

The bald man screamed in agony. The gloves held by the masked man flew toward his body, fusing together.

After the fire dissipated, the bald man's body was charred. Then, it convulsed wildly, morphing into a monster. His... Or rather its body expanded and its muscles grew bigger. Shining black armor covered its entire body, and its mouth transformed into a beak with rows of sharp teeth.

Red names hovered above its head.

<Ironbeak 20 - Level> (Unique)