Mercenary Systems: The Eternal Life
Chapter 8 Before the Act

At that time, near midnight, it turned out to be longer than expected. If the two mercenaries were to fall asleep where they had fun, I would have waited for them in vain.

"They really came here, yes" I murmured softly as I arrived at the entrance of a building with a sign on the door that read "Hotfly".

Imagining roughly about this place, I gulped. Anyway, I'm a normal guy. The temptation of women is one of the things that is dangerous for me, who has not interacted with anyone for so long. Before actually entering, I inhaled a deep breath of air. My hand remained hesitant to pull the door handle despite having mentally prepared.

The room that was filled with a gentle fragrance immediately caressed my nose. As it was purposely built for this business, I noticed there were rows of doors on the left and right sides. From inside, there are voices****** as well as cries.

Ah, goddamn. My mind went wild just from hearing it.

Have fun here, well, it's such fun. An activity that should only be done by adults, two people of the opposite sex mix each other's body temperature. I have of course watched such things, as a pitiful guy, which is so regrettable that I have never felt it in person at all.

But, I was young, a lot of time for me to get a chance to do it. First of all, I need to feel first the lips of a girl....

I immediately shook my head quickly as my thoughts were even more muddled.

"Eh?"

My steps stopped as soon as I realized something. Since I did not expect the design of the Hotfly room to be like this at all, I now have no plans to deal with the two mercenaries who are still not out yet.

Did I open one door at a time to find them? It was indeed good to try, maybe I could see the stunning scenery....

Oh come on, how easily my mind gets distorted!

Hotfly interior design actually looks simple. At the end of the main room, which was directly connected to the entrance, there was an administration desk that managed this place. There's a door behind the desk, maybe an attendant's entrance or something. Besides, there's nothing else. There are only facilities that are deliberately made for the business of providing pleasure services overnight, which is a closed place that is lined next to the main room.

The administrative worker appeared to be sleeping leaning against a desk. So, my arrival became an ordinary visit, without inviting any commotion.

There was an urge to at least open a little one of the doors, had it not been locked, wouldn't it have been great? When else can I peek at the exciting scene? In the meantime, they're on my left and right now. In fact, maybe I can taste it.

I gulped violently, staring at one of the doors that made the loudest sound of the others.

THE CLUCK!

That sound almost let my heart loose. When I turned my head, a man whose face I knew enough seemed to have just walked out of one of the rooms with a woman. He was a mercenary who had chatted with me, his face looking satisfied.

"Oh! Are you that kid? What are you doing here?" He walked towards me. "Don't tell me you want to have fun too?"

"That-that's..."

"Well, it's good to do it at a young age. Young passion is indeed tempestuous. So, don't be embarrassed like that" the man patted me on the shoulder as he walked past me towards the administration desk.

He misunderstood. My existence here is undeniable other than aiming to indulge my passion, but that is not my goal!

Never mind. I can't bear to linger here. After all, I already have the Full Paladin Armory. It can make me look different from ordinary people. After I observed, mercenaries are not regular individuals. They have their own weaponry depending on their fighting style.

Supposedly, wearing a Full Paladin Armory alone was enough to make me look like a mercenary. As long as, of course, I don't meet the man earlier.

By the way, I tried to wear the metal vest part. I thought it would be very inconvenient just to wear or take off one by one equipment. But I feel like I have to get used to it.

Although in the end I had wasted time just waiting for two people who were having fun, the experience of being on Hotfly was quite memorable, really.

"Perhaps, sometime I will go to such a place," I murmured involuntarily.

This is the time where I hid in a dark alley to wear the Full Paladin Armory.

The parts of the Full Paladin Armory are a metal vest, helmet, arm and leg protection, metal shoes, and shield. There is no special design, just a plain grayish-white color for all the parts. Perhaps a Paladin had no particular weapon, other than a shield, hence it was not included in the Full Paladin Armory list.

It took about half an hour to put on the Paladin Armory in its entirety. The most troublesome part was that when I was wearing the metal vest, it seemed like there had to be someone helping to pair it up from behind. The arm part is also quite difficult because ideally pairing the equipment using two hands. Anyway, actually I just found out that the System provides some kind of automation feature when I put on the gear. Otherwise, maybe I will give up first before successfully wearing it.

Luckily, in order to use the automation services of the System, I just need to place each piece of the Full Paladin Armory. Later,

[Do you want to automatically install Full Paladin Armory?]

[Yes] [No]

I whistle. How impressive a sensation I felt, as if I had abundant energy. Drowsiness disappeared completely, but I was a little worried because my eyelids started to feel heavy.

After I wasted time just to make the first step of my plan, I felt like I had no way to go back.

No matter what happens, I must succeed in obtaining evidence that shows that the Slave Merchant is a criminal. If I had the chance, I might have been able to defeat five mercenaries while I was conducting this operation.

So, after I was near the building where the Slave Merchant operated, my steps became heavy. There are doubts, such as the appearance of the shadow of the worst possible that will happen. But come to think of it, I feel the need to get used to keep going when my feet are heavy. It reminds me of my old self. How sad I am, sitting in my comfort zone, can only be envious of the achievements others have achieved.

"alright. Whatever happens, I will face it. I know, it's just my fear, not reality."

There were about seven people standing guard around the building. The mercenaries, of course.

As soon as they saw me, their gazes were immediately fixated, as if they were being blown away by my presence. It was undeniable, even though the Armory Paladin did not have a grandiose design, it still looked impressive with a metal that glittered when exposed to light.

I have established my resolve. The way I speak should sound firm. All right, I can do it.

Three mercenaries approached me.

"Sorry, can we see your face? This is for security," said one.

It shouldn't matter if I show my face. The effects of the Armory Paladin when worn whole would be temporarily lost, but this was only for a short while.

"No problem" I said, before grabbing the helmet that covered my head.

***

Note:

Debuff Immunity: An ability given by the Armory Paladin when worn whole. This allows the owner of the ability to have immunity to adverse influences on the mentality, such as hallucinations, lured effects, the influence of dreams from succubus, and others.

Full Paladin Armory (VIT +30)

2.1. Sacred Armor: Reduces damage from projectiles by 50%.

2.2. Sacred Armguard: Gives the ability to strengthen the arm with holy light.

2.3. Sacred Helmet: Natural Regeneration +150%.

2.4. Sacred Greaves: No wavering.

2.5. Sacred Boots: No wavering.

2.6. Sacred Shield: Neutralizes magic and reduces impact impact by 50%.