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Chapter 19: Free City Veritas (1)
Creak—
An old man stopped in front of us.
A rickety cart piled high with junk, and a dumb-looking donkey alongside it.
Our eyes met—the donkey and mine.
Chomp, chomp—
It was drooling while chewing on a carrot.
“It looks even dumber in real life.”
It looked pitiful enough in the game, but reality was worse.
Honestly, it felt insulting even to compare it to the fine horse the Merchant Guild leader had shown us earlier.
“Whoa there!”
The old man quickly jumped down from the donkey.
He began organizing the pile of luggage on the battered cart.
His hands moved with practiced ease.
Before long, he’d cleared out enough space for five or six people to ride comfortably.
“There! The distance is short now, so I’ll only charge a million shillings per person!”
“……”
“You’re not thinking of turning me down again, are you?”
Grin—
The old man flashed his yellow teeth, beginning to haggle.
Next to me, Adelia couldn’t hide her confused expression.
Understandable—this was the same coachman we first encountered back in the dark city, Dungard.
—Let’s see… Including your companion, just give me two million shillings… Hey! Where are you going?
Adelia gave the old man a once-over with a flustered look.
Tattered and filthy clothes, a wrinkled face, and a wild, unkempt beard.
By any measure, he didn’t look trustworthy.
“But Adelia…”
“Think carefully.”
While we went through all kinds of chaos, this old man had calmly made it here with nothing but his donkey.
Even after the Silk Road barrier vanished multiple times, he came through completely unscathed.
“Despite his shabby appearance… his skills are undeniably real.”
Clink—
At that moment, something sparkled inside the folds of the old man’s rags.
Adelia’s gaze naturally followed.
“Huh…?”
A badge.
The symbol of honor given only to merchants who had crossed the Silk Road over a hundred times.
It was the exact same badge worn proudly by the bald-headed Merchant Guild leader.
And there were seven of them dangling from the old man’s chest.
Adelia’s jaw dropped at the unexpected sight. Her thoughts seemed to freeze.
“Remember this, Adelia.”
Tap tap—
I lightly patted her shoulder.
Then I shared with her a lesson far more useful than all the sloppy swordsmanship advice I’d given so far.
A rule players of Roel treated almost like a sacred truth:
“Anyone who’s survived this long… always has a damn good reason.”
* * *
You know how every game has at least one gag character?
The classic comic relief.
This ridiculous old man was one such NPC.
Nicknamed ‘Donkey Old Man.’
In Roel’s system, his name displayed only as 「??」 — a mystery character.
Many players had tried digging into his background, but aside from a rare few, his true identity remained veiled.
Even after 12 years of playing, I’d barely uncovered a few tidbits about him.
[Kong’s Dad]: Damn it, Donkey Old Man raised the carriage price again.
[StrawberryLatte]: ?
[Kong’s Dad]: The guy wants 5 million shillings just for a ride to the next village.
[StrawberryLatte]: LOLLLLL
[MiwonBoy]: If you don’t like it, walk there yourself. ^^
Yes, Donkey Old Man—‘Dangno’ for short—was infamous for overcharging on his rides.
Four to five times the usual rate, sometimes even ten times higher.
And yet, players often ended up grudgingly paying for his cart.
Why?
[Kong’s Dad]: This is a fragile-item transport quest with a “Handle with Care” tag. If we get ambushed, I’m screwed.
[Me, MiddleFinger]: Then we gotta ride with Dangno.
[MiwonBoy]: What’re you gonna do about the price hike? LOL You have no choice. LOL
Because once you boarded Dangno’s cart… random encounter events never happened.
No monster ambushes, no accidents, no mid-route disasters.
For players who had to cross the Silk Road safely, Dangno was a necessary evil.
Even though he always vanished right when he’d be most needed in the game’s second half…
Exactly.
He’d disappear the moment players needed him the most.
That’s why most players didn’t outright hate him—but held a love-hate relationship with him instead.
[StrawberryLatte]: If Dangno stuck around in the second half, the game’s difficulty would’ve tanked.
[MiwonBoy]: For real.
[Kong’s Dad]: Miss you, Dangno… I’d pay 200 million shillings if you came back… I’ll be good this time…
Anyway.
Someday, I would need to sit down and talk with this guy.
No matter how goofy he acted, he was a very important NPC.
But not now.
There were too many ears listening.
That was fine though. The right time would come later.
For now, I was content just confirming his existence and memorizing his face.
He wouldn’t disappear for quite a while yet.
And before that… I had more pressing matters to handle.
“Phew…”
While I was lost in thought—
The bald-headed Merchant Guild leader across from me suddenly let out an exclamation.
“That donkey’s stronger than it looks.”
His eyes gleamed. I could tell he was eyeing the donkey with desire.
And who could blame him?
Despite looking dumb as a rock, the donkey’s strength was unreal.
Just look behind us.
Scrape, scrape—
Bags piled on massive wooden planks were being dragged along.
Only the most critical cargo had been loaded—carefully selected by the merchant leader himself.
The bundles were so heavy they left deep gouges in the barren earth despite being tied down with thick steel cables.
Yet the donkey pulled the load steadily, without complaint.
“It’s even dragging the Heavenly Dragonbird’s corpse like it’s nothing…”
Shift—
At those words, I turned my gaze.
There lay the cleanly bisected body of the Heavenly Dragonbird.
Didn’t the merchant say he only loaded the most valuable items?
That massive corpse… It wasn’t an exaggeration to call it the most precious thing among all our belongings.
A Heavenly Dragonbird corpse will fetch a fortune anywhere.
At this point in time, no Divine Beast corpse had ever appeared on the market.
Being the only known specimen, its body and materials would go for any price at auction.
Naturally, there’d be no shortage of buyers.
But…
There was one serious problem.
“Explaining why we killed a Divine Beast… won’t be easy.”
Divine Beasts weren’t just any random monster.
They were considered sacred agents carrying out the will of the ancient god, Elder.
Killing one meant we’d need a very convincing justification.
Otherwise… the consequences would be catastrophic.
“The moment we set foot in Veritas, eyes will be on us…”
Interrogations from officials… Rumors spreading among adventurers…
To quiet the uproar, we’d need to prove the Dragonbird’s corruption and that we acted purely in self-defense.
That process wouldn’t be simple.
But it had to be done.
If we failed, we could end up executed for heresy.
Even running wouldn’t save us—once branded, no city except the Dark City Dungard would shelter us.
“…But well, Adelia will probably handle it.”
Luckily, I had a cheat key for situations like this.
Adelia von Goldheart.
As a noblewoman from the Holy Family, her testimony alone could smooth things over.
The Holy City Midtemple wouldn’t send an investigation team.
And nobody would dare question us too hard.
Adelia wouldn’t like leveraging her family name, but given the situation, she’d have no choice.
Plus, there were more than enough witnesses.
It was the Dragonbird who attacked us first.
True, no one saw the actual battle—but over seven survivors could testify about the lead-up.
Especially the bald merchant leader—his words would carry weight.
Having a Silk Road badge meant he held significant influence in Free City Veritas.
“……”
The only downside… was the inevitable attention we’d receive.
“Not that I care.”
I didn’t plan to hide my strength anymore.
In fact, showing some power would help with my future plans.
“But I can’t flaunt it too much either.”
Too much attention would attract pests and unexpected incidents.
Striking the right balance was key.
Staying just below the threshold of excessive interest—that’s where I needed to stay.
That was a problem I’d have to manage from here on out.
“…What a headache.”
In the end, there was only one real solution to all these complications:
“I need to get stronger. Fast.”
Pure and simple.
Overwhelming strength was the most fundamental answer.
It lined up perfectly with the first goal I set after falling into this world.
Thankfully, my growth direction had never been clearer.
Fighting the Heavenly Dragonbird had earned me huge rewards.
〔Reward: Passive Skill 【Ultimate Auto-Parrying】 acquired.〕
〔Reward: The sealed talent ‘Sword Lv. Max’ has been unlocked.〕
Notification windows still flashed before my eyes.
A new passive skill.
And finally, the awakening of my colossal 179,312,341-point sword talent.
Truly limitless potential.
“Can’t wait to test these two out soon…”
While I was lost in thought—
“Sir Gaon.”
Rattle, clatter—
Snapping out of my deep pondering, I returned to reality.
Our battered cart was now cresting a high hill.
Adelia, seated beside me, spoke.
“We’ll be arriving soon.”
Shift—
Hearing that, I slowly turned my head.
Massive city walls came into view.
Beyond them, colorful rooftops painted a beautiful skyline.
In stark contrast to Dungard, even from afar, the city buzzed with life and energy.
“…Free City Veritas.”
The heart of Lost Elder finally revealed itself.
