Dungeon Hunter
Chapter 23

He Who Opposes Death, Eder (2)

Destroying the Bone Golem had left countless bones, which were scattered in the vast hall.

"This way."

The green-colored ghost, Eder, pointed to one side of the wall.

Darion waded through all the bones, and found that there was indeed a door.

“I don't think it's a trap,” said Kang Oh, looking at Eder suspiciously.

"Of course not." Eder waved his hand.

But you can never be too careful.

"Darion, will you come in first?"

"I'd rather not."

"So he said. You go first," said Kang Oh, pushing Eder with his demonic sword.

Eder goes in first and Kang Oh follows her.

Like the name of the dungeon, it was a laboratory.

The shelves were filled with an assortment of unknown medicines, and there were technical books on medicine or magic strewn on the table.

On one hand, Eder's body was completely frozen and stored inside a glass tube.

"I'm gonna get that skeleton in there."

Eder pointed towards the skeleton wearing a doctor's robe.

"You know what's gonna happen if you get past me, right?" Kang Oh asked.

"Of course."

Eder enters the skeleton and becomes alive.

"Please sit down."

Eder pointed towards a table and several chairs.

Kang Oh, Darion, and Eder were sitting around the table.

"I need to serve tea... I wasn't ready for this; it's been a long time since I last had a guest" Eder said.

Although the skeletal jaws remained firm, they could hear Eder's voice from his head.

"Who cares about that. Give me the money you promised!"

"Yes, I'll give you some money. I earn quite a lot during my time as a healer."

"How much?"

"I used some of it to fund my research, but there should be about 5,000 gold left."

Kang Oh gaped.

5,000 gold!

That's 50 million won. (~$50.000 USD)

“Good. If you give me 50 million, then I won't kill you,” said Kang Oh.

"In exchange..."

"In exchange?"

Kang Oh scowled and grabbed the handle of his sword.

"Please help me" said Eder.

Kang Oh is conflicted.

'It would be very annoying, but if it was worth 5,000 gold instead ...'

He really just wanted to kill Eder and finish it.

However, he could not make the decision easily when mentioning 5,000 gold.

“Let's hear what you want to say first,” said Kang Oh.

"Please move my body to the Goddess of Death, Deborah Temple. If you do that for me, I'll gladly give you 5,000 gold" Eder said, and a search window popped up.

[Accruing Eder Body]

Eder tried everything to heal himself, but nothing worked.

Now he has only one choice. He must find the Goddess of Death and beg for forgiveness.

If you move the body of Eder to the Goddess of Death, the Temple of Deborah, then you will be rewarded with a lot of money.

Difficulty: Nightmares.

Requirement: Eder's body must remain intact.

Prize: 5,000 gold. Technical books on medicine and necromancy.

Failure: Eder's body is not intact, or Eder becomes an evil spirit.

Kang Oh read the details of the quest and then drew his sword.

'What kind of quest is this!?'

Did he not know what kind of place the Goddess of Death, the Temple of Deborah was?

No one knows the exact location.

All he knew was a rumor; that it was located somewhere in Despia, the land bordering Hell.

So what exactly is Despia?

Song Lee Shen, who was a geography professor at Peking University, played Arth as well, unable to resist studying Arth's geography and topography.

His book, Arth is Larger than China, is a worldwide best seller, containing information on Arth's topography and geography.

Of course, Kang Oh also read it.

In the book, Song Lee Shen chooses seven of the most dangerous locations in Arth, and Despia, the 'land bordering hell', is definitely one of them.

Of course, Song Lee Shen had never visited Despia before. He read all kinds of literature on the matter and listened to what the NPCs were saying. Based on that information, he made an assumption as to what Despia really was.

Despia was an underworld; it was inhabited by monsters above level 300, and the sun did not shine there.

Moreover, Song Lee Shen suspected that his surroundings were so harsh that no one, or player for that matter, could survive in them.

This was just a hypothesis, so it could be worse than he had expected.

In other words, Kang Oh had to be at least level 300 to enter Despia, which would take quite a long time.

There are a lot of problems too. If Eder was killed by another player, or his body was having problems, or he changed his mind and went into hiding, everything would go to waste.

Rather than go through all the trouble, he could have just killed Eder and at least earned the reward for being the first to clean up the hidden dungeon.

"Rest in peace!"

Kang Oh, who had made up his mind, swung his sword.

"Yeah!" Eder yells.

The chair he was sitting on split into two.

If Eder did not quickly dodge the blow, he was the one who was split in half at the moment, not the table.

"Eh, you dodged."

Kang Oh approached Eder, emitting murderous intent.

"I'll give you 1,000 gold in advance!" Eder hurriedly said.

Kang Oh, who was preparing for his follow-up attack, stopped.

"1,000 gold?"

"Yes, 1,000 gold! Taking everything here won't give you even 100 gold!"

Kang Oh pushed the skeleton's jaw up with the tip of his sword.

"Quest has no time limit?"

"Yes!"

"If you become an evil spirit, then I will kill you with this."

Kang Oh brandished his demonic sword.

"Yes." Yeah."

"alright. I will accept the quest if you give me 1,000 gold."

"Understood."

Contract set!

* * *

There's a secret passageway at Eder's Secret Laboratory that leads to a mansion in Altein.

The fireplace opened, and Kang Oh, Darion, and Eder came out.

"I sometimes use this aisle to buy books or medicine."

His skeleton body was covered in a long robe, and his face was covered in a smile mask.

"This is where I used to live" Eder added.

"Is this house expensive?" Kang Oh asked.

"They say it's haunted, so it's really cheap."

"Quick show me where the money is," said Kang Oh, after losing interest in the mansion.

As soon as they left the mansion, they were met with a view of the bustling Altein street.

"I'm going to get out of here and go back to the Holiseum" Darion said.

"alright. See you tomorrow."

Kang Oh was so focused on 1,000 gold that he didn't worry about Darion at all.

If Kang Oh forces him to stay, Darion quickly disappears into the crowd.

“Let's go,” urges Kang Oh.

"Yes." Yeah."

Eder took him to Diana's bank.

Diana Bank is Arth's first bank and has a long history.

That was probably why his Altein branch was so luxurious, with a tower clock to boot.

Its distinctive feature, the emblem with its scale and shield, matched its grand status.

"What can I help you with?"

Kang Oh and Eder approach the receptionist and are greeted cheerfully by one of the bank employees.

"I've come to pick up the stuff that's stored in my personal safe."

Eder took out a gold coin the size of a fist and stretched it out.

The Diana Bank stamp, scale and shield, is on the front, and the other side is engraved with the number 1403.

"Let me call my manager."

The manager didn't ask them any questions and just started directing them to Eder's safe.

They passed through a hallway guarded by security and were left at the door without a handle.

"Please insert your coin," said the manager.

Looking closely, there was indeed an indentation inside the door that was large enough for a coin.

As soon as Eder inserted the coin, the door opened.

"Then, excuse me."

Manager's leaving.

"Let's go in" said Eder.

"Hm. Strange," Kang Oh muttered as he walked in.

There is one door, but it connects you to different locations based on what coins are inserted.

“This is a private safe developed by the Great Witch, Achelini. Bank Diana was quite proud of it,” Eder said after hearing Kang Oh.

"Gold coins are magic artifacts, so they won't work unless used by their proper owners."

So stealing gold coins by force is a prohibition.

"Can it be given to someone else?" Kang Oh asked.

"I won't give it to you" Eder said firmly.

"So it's possible."

"I said I wouldn't give it to you."

"Yes, I understand."

However, there was another door inside the private safe.

It was a door with a padlock.

Eder entered the number. Then, he stretched out his hand, stopped, and looked at Kang Oh.

He covered the padlock with his body and then inserted his password.

Clik.

A golden light seeped out from the crack.

"Heok!" Kang Oh gaped.

The door was fully open, revealing bars of gold (each worth 100 gold) neatly stacked inside.

There are 50 of them!

That equates to 50 million won ($50,000 USD).

* * *

Kang Oh and Eder argue inside the safe.

"Give me 1,000 gold first!" Said Kang Oh.

"You must accept the search first" Eder replied.

Kang Oh had not expected Eder to give him a 1,000 gold advance if he accepted the mission.

Eder believes that Kang Oh will take off with 1,000 gold and not receive a search.

"This is different from what you told me. You said you'd give me a 1,000 gold advance."

"You'll have to accept the search so I can give you a down payment"

Kang Oh gripped the handle of his sword.

Since Eder was afraid of the demon sword, if he threatened her with it, Eder would definitely give up.

Yet...

[The use of weapons is prohibited here.]

Poor message appeared.

"In a person's personal safe, combat skills, weapons, and items cannot be used!" Eder said, smiling proudly.

"Damn. I told you, I will accept the quest if you give me 1,000 gold!"

"No. How can I trust you? Accept mission. Then I'll give you 1,000 gold."

"How can I trust you !?"

They are like two parallel lines that will never intersect.

'This fucking skeleton!'

'The thief who used this sword!'

Kang Oh and Eder stared at each other and continued their confrontation.

Finally, Eder breathed.

"good. I admit."

Although he disliked Kang Oh, it was Eder who would lose more by taking him out.

He was exhausted and lonely, as a result of being a ghost for a long time. Plus, there was no way for him to take care of his body.

If he releases Kang Oh, then he will be alone.

"Good choice. Give me 1,000 gold."

Kang Oh stretched out his hand.

However, instead of money, Eder gave him something else.

[Eder has thrown Attach. Do you allow this?]

Like a poltergeist, who lives in one area forever, ghosts can cling to someone and follow them everywhere.

'You think what are you doing!?'

“What the fuck are you..” Kang Oh frowned, but then he changed his mind.

'He's a boss monster. Plus, he used to be a very famous healer.'

In other words, isn't he useful?

"Hmphs. Can you fight?" Kang Oh asked, changing the topic.

"Yes. My necromancy is better than most. I can throw various curses and I also specialize in bone magic" Eder replied.

"What level are you at?"

"429."

"What?"

Kang Oh felt he heard wrong.

"My original body level is 429. However, in the body of this skeleton, I can only bring out the strength of a level 80."

"Can your level go up?"

"I can't level up."

'Then it will be difficult to carry it for a long time.'

In other words, he ended up being a burden.

"In exchange, I can use more of my strength if you get a stronger undead body for me," Eder said.

"The body of the undead is strong..."

"Like the Lich who lost the container of his life."

'Let's think positively here; even if we fight together, he won't take any experience.'

Kang Oh gradually warms up to the idea.

"Can you heal too?"

"I can't, as long as I don't get my body back."

'It's too bad!'

Eder is a legendary healer!

If he could recover as well, then he could make a lot of money with illegal medical treatment.

Whatever the case, Eder must be useful. He also has a lot of money.

"I have one last question. Will you do your best to help me while I fight?"

"If you try your best to find the Temple of Deborah!"

"Good."

Kang Oh decides to hire him like a horse. Like Darion!

However, if he was not careful, it was clear that Eder, like Darion, would have denied his orders, disobeyed them, or messed up.

'If that's the case ...'

"Write the contract!"

Kang Oh took a piece of paper from his inventory.

It was the Goddess of Contract, the Sabra Contract. There is an amphibian on the back of the paper, which symbolizes the goddess.

If a contract is formed through the Sabra Contract, the game will check if the contract is enforced.

If the contract is not enforced, anyone who breaches the contract will be punished.

Of course, due to how powerful the effect was, it could not be used carelessly.

If a contract is forced, unfair, or the contract is torn apart, then they will be tried accordingly.

The punishment that came after this assessment was no joke!

'So, you have to follow the contract to the best of your ability.'

Kang Oh took out a pen and started writing the details.

Eder watched from beside him.

As soon as he finished writing the contract, Kang Oh signed next to his name.

"It's okay, right?"

"Yes." Yeah."

Eder nodded and signed next to his own name.

The letters written on the Sabra Contract began to glow dimly.

No lines are erased.

If there are unfair or inhumane conditions such as 'Absolute compliance with no strings attached.', or 'You will be my slave forever', then the system will remove those conditions automatically. Not to mention that the contract will be void by law.

However, there was no problem with Kang Oh's contract.

The contract becomes two, containing the same information recorded in the Sabra Contract.

Both Kang Oh and Eder each checked their contracts.

The contract is as follows.

Kang Oh (the first one) and Eder (the last one) have signed a contract with the terms below.

The former allows the latter to cling to him and the former receives the latter's quest.

The latter would give a down payment of 1,000 gold to the former.

The latter, attached to the former, will actively participate when the former engages in battle and will do their best to help the former.

The latter would obey the former during the battle without question. However, the first commandment must be logical and precise.

The first one will do his best to complete the last mission. But if there was a logical and proper reason for the former to delay completing the quest, he was fine.

After violating the above statement or destroying the contract, the violator will be subject to the penalties prescribed by the counterparty.

When the first one completes the mission, the contract is completed. However, the contract can be waived if both parties agree before that time.

This contract has been notarized by the Goddess of Contract, Sabra.

[According to the contract, Eder has been attached to you. Now, Eder will follow you around.]

[As per the contract, you have been paid 1,000 gold.]

"1,000 gold!"

Kang Oh clenched his fists to earn a sum of 10 million won ($10,000 USD).

At that moment, Eder, as if he suddenly recalled something, said, "If you have a Sabra Contract, can't you use it from the beginning?"

"Aah!"

Kang Oh's face momentarily became empty.

Seeing that, Eder looked dumbfounded.

'You are a fool!'

"Hgm."

Kang Oh was shaken with shame.

Then...!

Eder could not see it, but Kang Oh's expression had changed.

He grins.

No doubt about it.

Very bad at that time!

THANK YOU FOR READING