25 To Hoogvansin Plateau

-Muntenero, Truscan Empire-

Muntenero was a province to the south of the newly-formed Truscan Empire.

It was largely mountainous, and extremely fearsome monsters called this mountain range home, driving away any human activity.

The area had a very special type of black rock, that granted it the title 'Black Mountain' in the ancient Truscan language.

In this desolate location, however, a black brick castle battled against the environment, and it could be said that its owner was bold to choose such a location, or simply a fool.

Unlike its extravagant exterior and architecture, the way the structure was built did not allow for much sunlight to peer in, hence, the interior was dim.

The lack of light and a certain strangeness to the lack of decorations granted the castle a very uncanny feel.

Inside the castle, there was an uncomfortably spacious and empty hall.

A cloaked man sat down in a lotus position in the center of the hall.

Unlike his calm demeanor, his appearance inspired the complete opposite, instead, giving a sense of terror to whoever saw him.

This was because the object that ornamented his head was rather unusual.

It was not a crown, nor was it a piece of jewelry or a hat.

The man was wearing a...human skull on his head.

This covered the entirety of his face, except for his lifeless eyes.

Suddenly, someone burst into the hall.

"Lord Pluto, you have a guest!" The person who came in was a...living skeleton.

Its voice was screeching and hoarse, and who knew how it could even speak without vocal cords...

The man did not move in the slightest, and just nonchalantly replied, "Bring them in."

Upon finishing that sentence, a bald man in a white, full-body suit also came into the hall.

"John Doe of Muntenero Mountains, you have received a letter," The bald man's tone of voice was completely emotionless.

"Huh?"

The man put an arm on the ground, and a line of skeleton arms arose from the soil.

One arm took the letter from the bald man's hand and passed it to the next arm, and it continued so on and so forth until it was in the skull-wearing man's hand.

A bony hand carefully opened the latter, and lifeless eyes skimmed through the contents.

"Fascinating."

The man swung his arm, and the skeleton arms retreated into the ground.

Then, with another swung, a mass of dirt soared in front of him.

Under his command, the dirt compressed upon itself, and soon, a bony ribcage and a skeletal torso stood in place of the dirt.

From the torso, the various other bones of the human body appeared in succession.

A strange phenomenon soon took place.

The man opened the lower jaw of his skull helmet and exhaled into his fingers.

When he did so, a green fire ignited on his fingertips, and like a match, he brought it up to the hole where that the eyes normally occupied, and that part caught on fire.

As if it was magic, the skeleton could now move autonomously and observed its surroundings.

Then, it bowed down to the man, and screeched, "LORD PLUTO."

Even while facing this divine feat, the bald man kept an undiscerning facial expression.

"Go to Hoogvansin Plateau in the Republic of Savoy, and see if this woman is worth becoming a full-fledged Necromancer."

"She's a mortal, but don't go too hard on her, will you?"

The skull of the living skeleton went up and down, making a strangely creepy nod.

Afterward, the man wrote a letter of his own and sent off the bald man.

"Chu Wang, huh? It's been a while that a mortal has joined our ranks..."

"Or maybe..?" The man muttered out loud.

"Lord Pluto, did you need anything?"

"No."

______

-Cape Immergroen, Republic of Savoy-

Chu Wang and Cyrus looked at the beautiful jewels on display outside of the shop before entering.

The interior smelled of essential oils, and a spicy fragrance made their nostrils twitch.

"Good evening, how may I be of help?"

In the game, tomorrow would be a rest day for the citizens of the Republic of Savoy, so shops, restaurants, and pubs remained open much later than usual.

Cyrus avoided looking at the blindingly reflective gemstones, and instead, he immediately inquired with the jeweler on his demand.

"Good evening, mister, I'm wondering, would you have some polished black quartz on sale?"

The man rubbed his chin, and his eyes moved to the side.

"Black quartz, huh?"

"Unfortunately, the demand is rather low for it, and the only source of it in the republic is quite dangerous..."

'That's a shame...' Cyrus sighed.

However, he still needed to get it, or he would fail his class quest, which only lasted 1 week.

"Where is this dangerous place you speak of?" Cyrus politely asked him.

Fortunately, the jeweler was rather kind and immediately replied, though he had a worrying expression upon his face.

"Hoogvansin Plateau, to the north, but, I really don't recommend going there, even though black quartz is found at relatively shallow depths, monsters roam the surroundings, and there have even been several sightings of the undead in that place..."

'Now that you've said it, do you really think I won't go?' Cyrus shook his head and bemused internally.

"Thank you, mister, I'm ashamed to say this, but can I ask another question?" Cyrus rubbed his hair.

The shopowner chuckled and answered, "I've quite the free time right now, the rich clients only come by later, so go on!"

"Do you know where I can get double-distilled water?" He asked about another material he needed for his class quest.

"The only place I can think of is the tannery, honestly."

Cyrus thanked the man once again, and they left the jewel shop.

"For a blacksmith, you sure seem to need more than just some metal and a smithy..." Chu commented and side-eyed him with an enigmatic look.

"Uh, I'm not...an average blacksmith.."

She giggled and said, "Figures."

"Uh, do you want to go to the tannery or the bank fi-

"Lady Chu Wang," The voice of a woman interrupted his sentence.

When the two looked, they saw that it was the same bald woman that attended to them in the bank earlier.

"You have received a letter back from 'John Doe'."

"That quick?" Chu looked rather stunned by the speed of the postal service.

"Headquarters has personally taken care of your request, we hope to keep you as a customer."

'Headquarters of the World Bank? Is this a big deal?' Cyrus was curious.

"Thank you," Chu took the letter from her, and proceeded to read it.

...

Cyrus perceived that Chu Wang had a strange, listless expression on the intact half of her face.

"Cyrus?"

"Y-yes?"

"Isn't Hoogvansin Plateau the place where you're supposed to go?"

Cyrus furrowed his eyebrows and nodded.

"Well, I guess I also have a reason to go now."