Chapter 57 – Artifact (2)

Under the support of Woop Woop.

Austin Roderick’s information was revealed one by one like peeling an onion.

[Additional payment required!]

Every time a payment message appeared, Woop Woop repeated its sponsorship without hesitation.

It was a wall that Henry would not have been able to overcome if he had been alone.

It was the height of irrationality to spend such a large amount of money to verify Austin’s information that was not even his own.

It was true that Austin had become quite an important figure to Henry, but that information was not immediately essential.

But what if it’s free?

It was something I was unconditionally grateful for.

“Thank you. I will check the next information right away.”

Despite the enormous amount, Henry only expressed his humble gratitude.

At other times I would have reacted a little more strongly, but this time the situation was a little different.

[M: It is normal to feel grateful for donations, and it is wrong to make blatant demands. That’s natural. There is no need to add a reason.]

It was thanks to the advice given to Henry by manager, Flame Solo.

[M: However, in addition to such common sense attitudes, there is one fact that drivers should never forget. Receiving support is never begging. That’s probably why they don’t make explicit demands. From that moment on, it becomes no different from begging.]

Sponsorships had to be voluntarily provided by viewers.

Just because I want to give it.

[M: I’m not grateful for giving you money. I am grateful that people like the driver. So much so that he even opened his wallet and spent money for the driver.]

Right now, Woop Woop was exactly the case that Flame Solo was talking about.

It would be sympathy for someone who was begging to receive such a large amount of money, but in Henry’s case, he just wanted Up Up to do that.

‘For the purpose of resolving my curiosity. In addition, I have enough money to not be burdened with that amount, and I guess I just happen to like this person quite a bit.’

No matter how curious I am, if I don’t like Henry, I won’t support him.

Even if they liked Henry, they would not support him unless there was a reason.

Even if you want to sponsor, you can’t do it if you can’t afford it right now.

The three conditions were perfectly met, and Henry was now able to clearly understand the meaning of Fireworksolo’s words.

[All information has been unlocked.]

[Certain conditions must be met to access additional information.]

“Now, it seems that simply paying the price is not enough. We will check the conditions a little later. First, let’s check the information that has been revealed.”

[Austin Rodrick: 4-star knight]

* Level: 33

* Alignment: Chaos

* Main weapon: Dagger (two hands)

* Excellent for hiding and surprise. Avoids direct combat and prefers an accessible combat environment.

Henry opened Austin’s information window.

So far, this was information that had already been confirmed.

Below it was filled with information that had been opened with Woop Woop’s funds.

* Duke Rodrik has a secret that should not be revealed to the outside world. Austin Rodrick is a person directly connected to the secret.

* The succession to the House of Duke Rodrik is limited to the eldest son.

* Austin Roderick is the duke’s second son.

There was nothing special up to this point.

All viewers, including Henry, expected that Austin would have a secret.

But the real story started after that.

* The second son of Duke Roderick is raised as the family sword. No light was allowed on their path. From the year he turns five, the duke’s second son begins to learn skills such as infiltration, tailing, assassination, and various torture techniques.

* Mental training was also part of Austin’s schedule. Austin Rodrick had the mental strength to commit suicide in the face of the threat of his family’s secret being revealed.

This was something I had not expected at all.

The same went for Henry and the viewers.

* Austin’s mind is broken. A normal life was not allowed. Trapped by his twisted thinking, Austin struggled to survive.

“…It’s a lot darker than I expected.”

Henry expressed his short sentiments.

Even now, Austin was smiling beside him.

It just looked like there was a screw missing somewhere, but the background wasn’t very bright.

* Fortunately, Austin found his way and was able to escape the family with the help of his helper **. Duke Rodrik didn’t want his secrets to be revealed, and the Royal Knights Academy of Vallaran was a perfect place to escape from the family’s clutches.

* **** ******* **

* ** **** *****

[Information cannot be confirmed.]

[Certain conditions must be met to access additional information.]

“It’s darker than what I felt a moment ago. Honestly, I feel sorry. I just thought he was a strange guy.”

Questions were put together.

The story about his dream of becoming a wandering knight, the muttering that it would be enough if it was fun, and even the willingness to reveal family secrets.

With this background, it was all completely understandable.

[Why has it suddenly become so dark?]

[For now, I think you can trust it. Anyway, because of that, wouldn’t you be relying more on the driver now?]

[ㅇㅇI think I can trust you too]

“I feel the same way. But regardless of whether it is trustworthy or not, I have to check the remaining information at some point. Not only for me, but also for Austin’s sake. First of all….”

Henry took his eyes off the information window.

Even though there was a microphone for broadcasting, standing still for too long was not a good decision.

“Austin.”

“Have you finally thought of doing something?”

“I was thinking about it. Take care of everything I’m talking about now.”

“Do I take care of it?”

“Ken is the one who buys it, and you are the one who stores it.”

Austin nodded vigorously.

“As much as you want.”

“What should I get?”

Ken’s eyes lit up.

Although he did not receive the previous money due to anxiety, from now on, he was earning as much as Henry was spending.

“You see the candlestick over there? From the candlestick next to it….”

Henry recited the items one by one.

They all had strong waves of mana.

There weren’t a lot of them, but it took some time to buy them all.

In the meantime, I wanted to check Austin’s ‘conditions’.

“I’ll hurry up and get back! Just trust me and wait!”

“I’ll come back too. Wouldn’t it be better to get it handed to me right away if possible?”

“good idea.”

Austin also left.

Henry stood alone and looked at the chat window and then back to the information window.

“Let’s check the conditions first.”

[1. See Austin Roderick’s fight scenes in person. However, the weapon must be a dagger.]

[2. See Austin Rodrick’s fighting skills in person. However, the assassin’s skills, including stealth, must be confirmed to be at least 90%.]

[3. Hear the secrets about yourself from Austin Rodrick.]

[4 Austin Rodrick… … ]

The conditions were simple and intuitive.

This meant that it was impossible to find out everything just by purchasing information.

It seems that the more Henry learns about Austin, the wider the range of information he can find out with donations.

“I may be able to achieve some of the conditions today.”

It was also one of the reasons Henry headed to the black market in the first place.

Because I wanted to check what Austin was hiding.

That’s why they’re openly throwing money away and collecting artifacts, aren’t they?

“This has also changed.”

Henry once again raised the information window.

[Austin Rodrick: 5-star assassin]

* Level 46

“Austin’s information has changed from Knight to Assassin. His star rating has increased, and so has his level. It seems to be some kind of… hidden information. So that it cannot be easily confirmed.”

That wasn’t all.

Below the basic information, Austin’s ‘characteristics’ section was added.

[Vision Attribute: Rodrik’s Eye]

* You can 100% detect lies by looking at the flow of mana.

* The effect activates with a 50% chance.

[Characteristic: One who walks the line of fire]

* All stats increase by 25% when on the brink of death.

* Evasion rate increases by 50% when on the brink of death.

[Attribute: One Sword, One Kill]

* There is a 0.5% chance that the attack will hit the enemy’s vital spot. Ignores evasion.

Characteristics laid out in a row.

Unlike Henry’s characteristics, which were closer to those of a ‘knight’, Austin’s characteristics were all similar to those of an assassin.

“It’s only natural that his occupation is listed as an assassin. To be honest, it’s shocking. I don’t know if giving him a dagger was the right choice. It could be that that action awakens instincts that were suppressed with difficulty…”

In fact, there was a time when I was sparring with Austin repeatedly.

Even with all the unique weapons he wields, Austin has never once held a dagger.

“but…….”

This was correct.

While Henry was hesitating, Upwop sent one more message.

It was a final blow.

As Ub-Up said, the black market was a hotbed of all kinds of incidents.

Even if a serious situation were to arise, it could have been resolved here.

‘If anything happens, I can subdue it. Because there were appropriate items in the sponsored store.’

As expected from a store that sells all kinds of products, the sponsor store also sells nets that bind humans for a certain period of time.

The downside was that it was extremely expensive and could only be used once.

however.

Up Upp blew away Henry’s last worries in one go.

***

“Wow, that’s amazing. Such firm determination!”

“What determination?”

“It’s not common for people to buy as many items as you do. Even though it’s a market that relies on luck… you’re probably an appraiser, right?”

“no.”

“That’s right! You’re on a different level from customers who are chasing luck and just buy a couple of pieces at a time. How easy is it? Investing 1,700 gold in an uncertain item.”

A corner of the black market.

In the corner of Artifact Alley, Ken was talking excitedly.

The gold that Henry had entrusted to him had long since run out, which meant that he received a large amount of money, close to 170 gold.

To raise this money, Ken would have had to rot here for at least half a year, so he couldn’t help but be excited.

“Now Brother Cromwell will look at you a lot differently. With such financial resources and good judgment! He must have known for sure that you are different from those idiots who just look at each other!”

“That doesn’t really matter. I knew Ken to be a capable guide.”

“Perhaps the moment you tell me you’re taking me again, there won’t be any room for me here? Anyway, you’re going to look for an appraiser now, right? I’ve already made a list, so all you have to do is choose and go….”

“No, I’m not going.”

“Huh? Oh, I guess you know someone else! You’re amazing as expected. I’m almost afraid of where that connection will end up.”

“Just calm down first, Ken. I don’t like noisy ushers.”

“yep.”

Ken closes his mouth with a very serious expression.

Henry turned his gaze to the side.

“Can you lift it all?”

“Me? These? Of course! It may not be as good as you, but I haven’t neglected physical training either.”

Austin grinned.

He was carrying a bundle filled with all sorts of things on his shoulder.

The size alone was enough to easily fit one person.

Considering that it was carrying metal objects, it was clear that it must have been incredibly heavy.

“I guess I should repay them for their hard work, right?”

“I didn’t ask for it, but I’m glad you gave it to me? What are you going to give me?”

“It’s in that bundle.”

“It’s a gift left to chance!”

Smirking, Austin opened the package. The entrance was directed towards Henry.

“Take it easy, buddy.”

“It’s right at the top.”

After some rattling, Henry took out a ‘gift’.

Two daggers.

It looked as if everything had been painted black, and not even the blade was shiny.

BJ Sword Master