Dark Fantasy Guide for the Summoner - Chapter 45

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 45.
Royal Capital V
Back at my lodgings, I dealt first with the memo I’d scribbled while planning yesterday.
Whoosh—
Like something out of a film, I tore it to shreds, burned half, and chewed and swallowed the rest.
Part of me wondered if I was being overly dramatic, but then again, this was a fantasy world.
There might be tracking methods I knew nothing about.
‘Chris.’
Could that bastard be somewhere in this world too?
Maybe the other Players were moving covertly as well, keeping their identities hidden.
What I could infer from this was simple: there was nothing to gain from revealing that you were a Player—a Possessor—in this world.
‘Not that I had any intention of revealing it anyway.’
I opened the window and let out the acrid smoke while considering the matter.
……But why were we sucked into this game in the first place?
Chris—something told me that bastard knew the answer.
“……Let’s handle what needs handling first.”
There was no point dwelling on a problem I couldn’t solve.
I pocketed the remaining Seeds and headed straight for the Delver Guild, but the desk area seemed unusually chaotic.
“Damn it! I’m telling you, next time I’ll bring in everything—every last piece! Don’t you trust me, Autry?”
A man with a scruffy beard was shouting at a Delver Guild employee.
Other Delvers watching the scene muttered among themselves.
“……What’s going on?”
“What else? Failed his Quota.”
“Ah.”
Indifferent reactions, all of them.
It was an obvious scenario, and precisely because it happened regularly enough in the Delver world that no one thought much of it.
“Autry. This is not a matter of trust. It is a covenant between the Kingdom, the Guild, and individual Delvers.”
But something about the voice responding sounded familiar. I turned my head slightly and recognized the face.
‘Camille.’
This meticulous man maintained his mechanical demeanor even against the agitated Delver.
“A Class-4 Delver must submit at least one completed lower-grade or higher exploration report to the Guild annually. While this period may be extended by up to half a year for reasons such as personal injury or party member vacancies, you have already exhausted that allowance.”
“That’s why I’m asking you just this once! Didn’t you see my exploration record? My partner betrayed me!”
“I have naturally reviewed it. The Guild will process the treacherous Delver according to regulations, so rest assured.”
“Ha! That bastard’s already dead—what good does processing by regulations do……!”
The man called Autry’s words cut off abruptly as the door suddenly swung open.
Two knights emerged, and their armor looked familiar somehow.
‘The Parses Knights.’
The royal order of knights to which the White Knight Roland belonged—the sword of the Kingdom itself.
The fact that they’d come all the way to the Delver Guild meant…….
“Where is the Delver who violated the regulations?”
“…….”
Camille silently gestured toward Autry standing before him.
The knights nodded and stepped forward, seizing Autry by both arms as if to arrest him.
“Camille, Camille! Please, just one more chance! I promise I’ll meet the deadline this time! For gods’ sake, let go of me!”
“Are you refusing?”
“N-no, it’s not that……!”
“Comply obediently with the royal command. Unless you wish to suffer a heavier punishment.”
“……!”
Autry, who had been muttering something under his breath, hung his head in defeat.
Then, as if his soul had already left his body, he was dragged away by the knights’ hands.
“Jeez. Grim stuff.”
“So is he being thrown into the ‘Kingdom Support Project’ now?”
“Looks like it. Into that hell with less than a 1% survival rate.”
“…….”
For reference, this too had been one of the game’s bad endings.
A Delver who failed to meet his Quota would be dragged off by the Kingdom and sent on a mission called the “Kingdom Support Project”…….
In plain terms, he’d be forcibly deployed to a super-hazardous zone in the Forest of Eternity with nothing but minimal equipment issued.
‘The duration of service varies depending on the severity of the crime.’
But truthfully, whether it’s a year or ten years makes little difference.
Among Delvers, it’s known as a place from which no one returns alive twice over.
‘I need to work just as hard so I don’t end up like that.’
I felt the tension I’d let slip suddenly tighten around me again as I headed for the desk.
“Hello. I’m Peris, the guide. What brings you to the guild today?”
“I’m here to receive my certification badge.”
“May I have your name?”
“Keindel.”
“Ah! Keindel.”
The guide smiled brightly and immediately produced the prepared badge from beneath the desk, handing it to me.
“Here you are.”
The Wooden Badge, marking me as a bottom-tier fifth-rank Delver, had my name engraved on it…….
Even so, all Delver badges have some form of magical processing applied to them. What’s that supposed to mean?
‘The paperwork finished way too fast, didn’t it?’
I’d come prepared to wait several hours.
Noticing my confusion, the guide’s eyes crinkled with amusement.
“Camille personally requested it. He asked if we could process it as quickly as possible.”
So that’s how it was.
Glancing back, Camille had already vanished.
‘So he’s already an administrator, then.’
The profession of Delver is fundamentally interwoven with the Kingdom in this world.
In other words, an administrator ranks nearly as high as senior civil servants in this country—and that’s a man who doesn’t look to be much past his late twenties.
‘Well, if the story progresses as it should, he eventually reaches the position of sub-guild master anyway, so it’s only natural.’
Regardless, Camille is the sort who champions perfectionism.
He seems to still be bothered by how he nearly framed me without cause, and since he’s bound to skyrocket, I should make good use of this connection.
‘If luck is on my side, I might even manage to recruit him as a party member.’
Of course, to do that, raising my reputation would be the first priority.
After collecting my badge, I left the guild immediately and headed to a nearby plaza, where I hired a carriage.
“Five hundred Seeds, please.”
This time, my destination was Royal Capital District 3.
District 3 is known as a Special Zone.
Though it exists within the Royal Capital, it maintains autonomous governance rather than royal authority.
Hofmann may be a kingdom where the authority of the crown and nobility runs deep, but anyone who sets foot in this district will have no choice but to acknowledge its independence.
“Hm…….”
I beheld the tower rising toward the sky.
“…….”
To be honest, I was overwhelmed.
Since it’s fundamentally a fantasy world, most buildings don’t reach great heights, but this tower is different. It’s the tallest structure in the Royal Capital, and according to the setting, it exceeds a thousand meters in height.
‘Then this tower is taller than the Burj Khalifa?’
Thinking of it that way, being overwhelmed makes perfect sense.
This structure is called the Magic Tower.
Yes—District 3 is what’s known as a magical special zone, and its master is none other than a sorcerer.
“Excuse me, coming through!”
“Hey there! No cutting in line!”
“Ow! Who just touched the back of my head?!”
The area around the Magic Tower was crowded with people, but there wasn’t a peddler or street vendor in sight. Even the boldest merchant wouldn’t have the nerve to hawk goods here.
‘Today is Saturday.’
In other words, the Magic Tower isn’t open today, but that doesn’t matter. I didn’t come here to see the sorcerer in charge of the tower.
After scanning the first floor’s surroundings, I quickly found a spot where people were gathering particularly densely and joined the line. Before long, it was my turn.
“Welcome to the Porto Auction House. How may we assist you?”
“I’d like to submit an item for auction.”
This is the reason I came to the tower today—to put the spoils I’d gathered from the forest up for sale.
Beyond matters related to the sorcerer, the Magic Tower handles a variety of operations, with auction submissions being a primary one.
‘The commission is a bit steep, but it is what it is.’
It’s still the safest auction house in the city despite the cost.
“Of course. I’ll guide you through the process. First, the maximum submission period for the main auction is twenty-eight days, and…….”
What followed was the exhaustingly familiar auction system from the game, details about commissions, and a lengthy unnecessary explanation about how legitimate and historically rooted their auction house was.
I listened patiently.
There might be differences from my memory, after all.
‘Nothing stands out though.’
Once the guide finished the explanation, they turned to me.
“……Well then, please show me the item you wish to submit.”
“Here it is.”
I held out the spoils I’d claimed after disposing of the black tree—the Mysterious Branch.
“Confirmed…….”
The attendant’s words trailed off. Then he swallowed hard, his throat audibly dry.
“This Branch…… surely it contains Mana?”
Exactly the reaction I’d been hoping for.
The whole reason I’d made the trip to the Magic Tower’s auction house.
Naturally, the Porto Auction House was run by mages. Which meant.
‘Even the attendant handling the auction submissions would be a mage.’
Not a fully-fledged one, admittedly—still an apprentice with some distance to go before independence—but someone with at least a modicum of discernment all the same.
I kept my expression neutral and answered casually.
“That’s correct.”
“Th-that’s remarkable……. I’ve only seen a Branch with such concentrated Mana a handful of times.”
So that’s how valuable it is? I knew it was expensive, but I hadn’t been certain of the exact worth. Watching the attendant’s reaction, though, certainty crystallized.
‘This is a jackpot.’
The man, who’d been cleared his throat a moment earlier, spoke up.
“Might I ask where you acquired this item?”
This bastard, looking to muscle in on information for his own profit.
“Are you seeking to purchase that information?”
“……Ah, no. That’s not it.”
At my pointed question, he hastily denied it. As I’ve emphasized countless times, every scrap of knowledge from the forest is currency.
The attendant, still studying the Branch, spoke again in a measured tone.
“Ah. Then, what opening bid did you have in mind……?”
I’d been thinking of starting around 3 million Seeds, but watching this man’s behavior, I reconsidered.
“I was thinking of beginning at 10 million Seeds, if that suits you.”
After I spoke, I studied his expression intently.
“Understood.”
The attendant’s face remained unchanged. It meant the price I’d named wasn’t far off the market rate.
The unexpected response came next.
“……But would you perhaps be willing to sell this Branch to me personally, outside the auction?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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