Chapter 341

Chapter 341

[You Might Enter at Your Own Accord, but You Cannot Leave as You Wish]

[Let’s try working as a Gravity Stone Miner for the Sea Merchant Company!]

[Type: Repeating Quest]

[Progress: 0%]

[Reward: 15 Gold per day]

[Warning 1: It is extremely difficult to run away while undertaking this quest.]

[Warning 2: The job is extremely difficult.]

[Warning 3: You might learn a life lesson while undertaking this quest.]

The quest details looked quite dangerous for some reason, and the quest title alone looked highly suspicious. The warnings also raised all sorts of red flags that reeked of forced labor.

Of course, fifteen gold was quite a lot when taking into consideration the cost of living on the continent, but still...

‘Hmm... Is it telling me to take this quest to hitch a ride on their ship?’ Siegfried felt like he knew what the exclamation mark on top of the NPC’s head was trying to tell him.

In the end, he decided to ask the NPC, “What's our route like? Won’t it be dangerous?”

The NPC flinched at the sudden question and failed to hide his reaction. Still, he cleared his throat and said, “D-Don’t worry about that! We won’t be going anywhere near the habitat of the Silver Sea Serpents!”

“Really? Are we really not going anywhere near them?”

“W-Why, of course! H-How can we work in such a dangerous place to begin with?”

“I see... Hahaha!”

“Yes! Hahaha!”

The NPC was extremely bad at lying, so he accepted the quest.

‘It seems like we’re going to the Silver Sea Serpents, after all.’ He knew from the NPC’s awkward demeanor that the place where they were going was definitely teeming with Silver Sea Serpents.

“Hmm... I guess I’m willing to work.”

“Are you sure? I guess you will be since you’re an Adventurer, and there won’t be any problem if you die—Oops!”

“There won’t be any problems if I die?” Siegfried narrowed his eyes and stared at the NPC before asking, “Are you trying to say that the workplace is extremely dangerous?”

“N-No! I-It’s just that working in the sea always comes with risk, so I just wanted to warn you about it. The sea is different from dry land! The sea is filled with dangers! I mean, even a fisherman can drown while fishing, right? The sea looks calm and tranquil, but it’s quite a ruthless place!”

“Ah~ I see~ I thought we were going to be working in an extremely dangerous place with monsters~ Hahaha!” Siegfried said. He emphasized certain keywords as he spoke.

The NPC’s back was drenched in cold sweat as he replied, “I-Is that what you understood? N-No, you’re mistaken. Hahaha!”

Then, he asked, “A-Anyway, what about it? Are you willing to work?”

“Yes, I’m really in need of money right now,” Siegfried replied as he accepted the quest.

[Alert: You have accepted the Quest – You Might Enter at Your Own Accord, but You Cannot Leave as You Wish!]

The quest acceptance message popped up in front of his eyes.

“Follow me; the ship is over here,” the NPC said. Then, he suddenly turned around and said, “Oh, by the way, you will be only receiving ten gold.”

“Why? Where did the five gold go?”

“Introduction fee.”

“Ha? Introduction fee?”

“Yes, I’m running a manpower recruitment agency. I’m introducing you to work with the merchant company, and I’m taking a portion of your salary as my fee.”

“Why are you taking that from me? Shouldn’t you be taking that from the merchant company?”

“That’s how we do things over here. It’s tradition.”

“Ha? What kind of tradition is that? It’s only right for the merchant company seeking laborers to pay you for your services, no? Why are you taking that from my pay?”

“Why are you asking me that question? You should go ahead and ask the merchant company instead. I’m happy as long as I’m getting paid.”

“...”

“Oh, you won’t get paid if you die, so bear that in mind, okay?”

Siegfried was in utter disbelief. ‘What the hell? I wouldn’t put up with these bastards if I had a ship to ride. Damn it...’

He was upset about losing five gold, but he had no other way to reach the habitat of the Silver Sea Serpents, so he had to go along with it.

“Hey, owner punk... Don’t you feel like being trafficked for organ harvesting? Kyu?” Hamchi whispered.

“O-Organ harvesting...?”

“You shouldn’t hop on someone else’s ship so easily. Who knows? They could be bringing you to an island to enslave you for the rest of your life!”

“Oh? There's gray jelly in the muffin? I wonder what this flavor is... Hmm... Wow! This tastes quite exotic!” Brunhilde exclaimed after seeing, tasting, and critiquing the Cockatrice Poison within the muffin.

It was ridiculous, but she was fine even after ingesting Cockatrice Poison.

‘L-Let’s wait a bit... I’m sure the poison will soon take effect! I just have to wait,’ Carlisle thought. However, five minutes—no, ten minutes later, Brunhilde was still fine.

‘I-Is it because this bitch is an elf?! The poison should have already taken effect!’

“Thank you for the meal!” Brunhilde exclaimed after finishing her snacks, and she rubbed her swelling belly, seemingly satisfied.

‘W-What?! I put poison in all these! How?! Just why?!’ Carlisle was beyond stupefied, and he soon proceeded to console himself. ‘Hmm... Perhaps I stored the poison in the wrong way, and it lost its effectiveness. Yeah, that must be it... I guess I need to use a different poison...’

In the end, he concluded that there was something wrong with the Cockatrice Poison, and he decided to try a different poison on his target.

***

“Ahh... I’m dying...” Siegfried moaned.

He had been rowing for seven hours straight without rest, and he truly felt like dying. Of course, his Strength and Stamina were extremely high, so he didn’t really suffer physically. The issue was that the work was too boring.

He started questioning whether he was a human or a machine after repeatedly rowing in the same pattern for hours like a piece of machinery.

“Ugh... I’m starting to feel dizzy from this mundane work... Huh? W-What?”

Siegfried closed his eyes after suddenly feeling dizzy.

A message popped up in front of his eyes.

Ding!

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: Your character is suffering from lethargy, anemia, dry skin, and boredom!]

It was a sudden and strange status ailment.

“W-What the hell is this?!”

He was taken aback by the system’s abrupt nonsense.

[Alert: Your character has not consumed enough Vitamin C for the past 120 days!]

[Alert: Warning! Being a picky eater will lead to various health problems!]

[Alert: Your character has been afflicted with Scurvy!]

[Alert: Hurry up and consume some Vitamin C!]

A gamer didn’t really have to mind what kind of food their character consumed, as nutrition wasn’t an integral part of the game. However, complacency with food was bound to lead to malnutrition, which would spawn various health complications later on.

“Damn it! This game is too detailed for its own good!” Siegfried grumbled after reading the message that he had been afflicted with Scurvy. He was forced to take out a Fizzy Mandarin from his Inventory.

[Alert: The recommended dietary intake of Vitamin C suggested by the World Health Organization is 45 mg per day!]

[Alert: 1x Fizzy Mandarin is packed with 150mg of Vitamin C!]

BNW tended to provide all sorts of facts to their gamers from time to time, and this was a perfect example of it.

Ah, how wonderful was a game that cared about educating its players?

[Alert: Your character is recovering!]

[Alert: Your character will recover from Scurvy in ten seconds!]

Siegfried brought Fizzy Mandarins along with him because he was curious about its taste. He had truly never imagined that it would get him out of a pinch.

“Kyu! Owner punk! What are you eating?! Aren’t you going to share?!” Hamchi glared at him and lashed out.

“Ah, I got Scurvy, so just let me be...”

“Kyu?”

“But this is really good. Is this something like a natural orangeade? It’s sweet, refreshing, and it pops in my mouth—”

Thud!

Something massive struck their ship, and the vibrations from the collision rocked their ship.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

A giant sea serpent with the head of a cobra shot out of the water and roared.

“S-Sea Serpent!”

“A Silver Sea Serpent has appeared!”

“Aaack!”

Everyone on the ship screamed; they were afraid for their lives.

However, Siegfried clenched his fists and roared, “YEEESSS!”