Seong-Hwi and the others entered the hotel as they pushed aside the lambs.

“Stop pushing!”

“W-who the hell are you guys?”

“H-huh?”

The lambs backed away, intimidated by Seong-Hwi’s and the others’ gear and bloodstains. A young man in a blue suit hastily ran toward them as they entered the hall.

“Welcome, dear customers. I apologize, but this hotel only accepts Lambs. You are Baptists, correct?”

Lambs referred to those who were Lost without going through the mandatory quest, while Baptists did go through the mandatory quest.

“Is Jurie here?” Seong-Hwi asked.

“Jurie? Oh! You must be the manager’s acquaintance! I received word not long ago, so I’ve been waiting for you. This way, please,” the young man replied courteously.

“What a weird place. Look at that,” Frank said as he pointed at a wall.

There was a massive bulletin board with countless pieces of paper attached to it, and lambs were crowded around the board as they read through them.

Black Dog Subjugation

Subjugate the Black Dogs around Grillend Farm, west of the Capital. Ten Coins are rewarded per Black Dog.

...

Steel Ore Acquisition

Collect steel ores mined from the mine in Mutun, Bolivia, east of the Capital. Coins are rewarded by the kilogram, and prices may vary depending on quality.

...

“Oh, that bulletin board is filled with manually written quests from the Network,” the young man clarified.

Yuri tilted his head in wonder and asked, “Why do you need something like that?”

“Baptists can easily pay Network users Coins to find such information, but Lambs can’t afford such a luxury.”

“But wouldn’t Network users complain about that?”

“That’s why we only add low-ranking information that Lambs can handle. There is only one rule the Lambs must follow to stay at this hotel: to clear at least one quest on the bulletin board every three days.”

Seong-Hwi nodded and thought, Jurie’s put a lot of thought into this.

She was not coddling them, but helping them grow so they could adapt to the Mirror World. Instead of hunting for them, she was teaching them how to hunt.

“Whoa... This is pretty interesting,” Enrique remarked as he skimmed through a thin book shelved throughout the hotel.

The book, shaped like a hotel pamphlet, was titled Living as a Human in the Mirror World - Skill Combination Part 1.

“Oh! That is also a special product of our hotel. Lambs are required to read that book. Its credibility is so high that even Edu has requested permission to add it to their curriculum,” the young man said proudly as the hotel employee.

Jurie and Lina have joined forces. I didn’t think it’d be distributed this way, Seong-Hwi thought as he smiled, seeing their visible efforts throughout the hotel.

“This way, please. The manager is waiting for you,” the young man said as he courteously extended his arm toward a cafe terrace.

***

“Hm?” Yuki frowned, sensing an unsettling presence once she set foot on the sunny cafe terrace.

There’s... a thick scent of blood, she said inwardly.

“I thought I was gonna die, Friend Jurie! Seong-Hwi looked like he had lost his mind!”

“Really? That guy was crazy from the start. What else? Anything is fine. What the hell does he go around doing?”

“Ahem! Then why don’t I tell you about our escape from Trophy? Before that, gimme more of this soft and sweet thing!”

Thumper, the rabbit beastfolk who had been with Seong-Hwi and the others since earlier, was chatting with a beautiful blonde woman with blue eyes. The woman asked Thumper questions as she played with his ears, and Thumper extended an empty ice cream cone toward the woman.

However, they were not why Yuki was frowning, or the sun. Her eyes were fixed on a white-haired old man in a tailcoat.

“My lady, are you sure we can give a rabbit vanilla ice cream?” the old man asked Jurie.

“I’m sure it’s fine, right?” Jurie remarked.

“I’m fine, old human friend!” Thumper said.

“Being called an old human friend hurts my feelings, Master Thumper. I am still in my prime,” the old man, Gerard D’Armont, replied as he slowly turned to Seong-Hwi and the others. “We have guests.”

His eyes were also fixed on Yuki.

Jurie waved as she greeted Seong-Hwi. “Seong-Hwi! I heard you caused more trouble!”

“Yeah, and I’m about to cause even more. You made it, Thumper,” Seong-Hwi replied.

“Friend Seong-Hwi! Nice humans showed me the way when I asked them where to go!” Thumper shouted.

“I can see why. You look like you’d get lots of love from humans. More importantly, did you do what I asked you?”

“Don’t worry! I gave it to Friend Jurie!”

Seong-Hwi turned to Jurie, who shook her head and said, “What the hell were you thinking, bringing me those disgusting things? I almost had a heart attack.”

“You were the only person who could deliver them to Lina,” Seong-Hwi responded.

“Even so, what kind of man sends a maiden severed heads and a vertebra?!” Jurie shouted, staring at Seong-Hwi exasperatedly.

Seong-Hwi had entrusted Thumper to deliver the black sack, containing Seriel’s and Saurix’s heads and Krypta’s vertebra, to Jurie.

“I’m sure Lina loved them,” he remarked.

“Unnie... Huuu, she jumped and screamed with joy. Why is there not a single ordinary person around me?”

Seong-Hwi stared at the sighing Jurie and thought, Once Lina extracts the birdfolk, angel, and undead genes... the Wings of Evolution will evolve again!

He asked Jurie, “Where’s Lina?”

“She locked herself in the lab as soon as she received what you gave her.”

“Then what about what I asked her for?”

“She left it with me. Here, take this horrifying thing away from me already,” Jurie said as she pulled out a small glass bottle containing a small amount of red fluid.

Seong-Hwi took it and examined the Akasha Message.

[Dragonblood Poison (Consumable Item)

Rank: A

Description: A mana poison, made from extracting only the negative components from the blood of one of the purest members of the race Dragon. Its effect is slightly reduced because it was extracted from a hatchling.

Effect: Mana discharge upon ingestion due to the random coiling of one’s mana patterns.]

“Incredible,” Seong-Hwi said with a smile.

Seong-Hwi had also entrusted Thumper with a letter for Lina, asking her for the strongest poison she owned—strong enough to debilitate even a High Ranker. He instantly recognized where this poison had come from.

She must’ve made it from Illechebra’s blood, he said inwardly.

Dragons possessed more mana than other races could imagine. Their mana was abundant throughout their body—their heart, bones, blood, and everywhere else.

They could only hold that much mana thanks to their durable physique. If any race other than a dragon, especially an inferior human with a weak physique, tried to absorb their mana, it would be no different from poison.

I almost died, even when I used the Wings of Evolution to do it. This should be enough!

Seong-Hwi handed Enrique the Dragonblood Poison and asked, “Can you do it, Enrique?”

“Of course. My powers also shot up after this excavation. The stealth drone is already carrying out its mission,” Enrique said as he smiled charmingly and grabbed the Dragonblood Poison.

He used the Spy Drone Controller to summon a tracking drone.

“I’ll leave it to you,” Enrique remarked as he placed the Dragonblood Poison in the tracking drone’s storage compartment.

The tracking drone quickly flew away from the cafe terrace.

“What are you doing?” Jurie asked as she stared at Seong-Hwi.

Seong-Hwi smiled and replied, “I told you I was about to cause even more trouble, didn’t I?”

“What?” Jurie asked with a frown.

However, Seong-Hwi did not elaborate further and continued, “More importantly, Jurie. Do you know any warp gate users?”

“Of course, I do. Many clans specialize in warp gates. Clan Taxi is the most prominent. They’re expensive, but highly reliable.”

“Get in touch with them. The destination is Windhoek,” he remarked as he turned to Yuki, who nodded in gratitude.

“Windhoek? Oh, the city in the northern first zone? You’ll probably have to transfer twice to cover that distance.”

“Look for one who’s willing to do a round trip. The passengers will have to be back by tomorrow morning.”

***

Leo stared at the darkening sky in the Kigali mansion’s backyard. Kabuka had ordered that the backyard would be Leo’s alone for the rest of the day.

There’s no surveillance, he thought.

He did not know if this was a token of Kabuka’s trust in him or just an act.

If what Seong-Hwi told me is true, it’s likely an act. But...

Leo recalled the difficult times when he and his tribesmen were drifters. On Earth, the Maasai were an eastern African tribe and mainly nomadic. Some villages had been reduced to theme parks after being dyed in abundance due to tourists, but true Maasai people were nomads.

However, such a life was impossible in the Mirror World. Humans did not own the Mirror World like Earth, and none of the tribesmen were safe at night due to the endless attacks from the Chaos. On top of that, some of their tribesmen died during the mandatory quest, which reduced their numbers even more.

However, Kabuka built a village for the Maasai people one day in the southwest plains of the Capital, resembling their home on Earth.

On the day Kabuka visited the village, he had said, “I only helped because I’ve heard my fellow African brothers were suffering without a home. I did not do this to be rewarded.”

Leo, touched by his words, decided to follow and serve him as a member of Black Market.

But what if it was all a lie?

Once a seed of doubt was sown, it continued to grow. He even resented Seong-Hwi for making him feel this way.

Just then, he heard a noise from the sky. He looked up to see a drone slowly descending. The tracking drone’s storage compartment opened, revealing a glass bottle containing the Dragonblood Poison.

“What a terrifying poison,” Leo mumbled as his expression hardened after reading its description.

Seong-Hwi’s plan was simple: for Leo to switch the Elixir with the Dragonblood Poison in the decisive moment.

But... I don’t have absolute certainty that Sir Kabuka betrayed my people and me yet!

Static-filled voices suddenly sounded from the tracking drone.

—I’m worried... that the spies... were exposed.

—It doesn’t matter anymore... The Elixir is... in my grasp.

The voices grew clearer over time.

“Is this... Sir Kabuka’s voice?” Leo said.

One voice belonged to Kabuka, and Leo recognized the other as well. It belonged to Roef Ragas, the information director. Roef was worried because only the spies Nakivarro, Gardner, and Khanh Huyen had died in the dungeon.

— We must call back the item director, Sonya, and interrogate her about why she allowed them to die.

— Forget it. Sonya was the main spy from the beginning. The deaths of the three A-rank humans are unfortunate, but it was a necessary sacrifice.

— But...

— Roef. You may see Sonya as a competitor, but you are all my precious successors.

— I apologize.

“This must be Enrique’s doing,” Leo said as he listened to the voices coming out of Enrique’s manipulation D Weapon.

As Leo guessed, Enrique had hidden a stealth drone in the hall where the party members were given their rewards from Kabuka. The tracking drone was emitting sounds that the stealth drone picked up.

— At last, my life will be extended tomorrow! Are you happy, Roef?

— I am. Black Market still needs you, Sir Kabuka.

— Haha, it might be unfortunate news for the successors. I’m sure they wanted me dead.

— Not at all. We still have much to learn from you.

— I appreciate the lip service.

Leo paid close attention to the conversation between Kabuka and Roef and thought, Nothing out of the ordinary.

Just then, Leo’s name was mentioned

— But Sir Kabuka, would Le-Yeyo truly sacrifice his life for you?

— He will. That’s the kind of man he is, Kabuka said, his voice filled with confidence.

— How can you be so sure?

— The Elixir only takes effect if the one using it genuinely cares for the one they’re using it on. However, there’s a flaw in that condition. Genuine care is part of the easily manipulated human mind. Le-Yeyo has genuine care for me. After all, I manipulated him so that he would.

“What?” Leo said, his expression slowly crumpling.

— Hahaha! I needed a keeper willing to sacrifice their life for me. Le-Yeyo was a tank with latent potential coveted by every clan, so my investments to bring him to my side were more than worth it.

— Oh, you’re referring to the Maasai village.

— That’s right. Come to think of it, there will be no more use to that village once Le-Yeyo is dead. Cut all support to the village starting tomorrow.

— Yes, sir.

Le-Yeyo gritted his teeth. He could taste the bitter blood in his mouth.

“He... tricked me!”

An endless sense of betrayal surged inside Leo along with the confirmation of his doubts. Seong-Hwi’s firm voice replayed inside his head.

“That man is not worth your life. Not even close.”

“He was right! Kabuka is not worth sacrificing my life over!”

Leo glared at the bottle containing the Dragonblood Poison with blazing eyes. He had made his choice.