Chapter 62

In a luxurious office in an undisclosed location, a man stood by the window, paying no attention to the elegant chair and stunning desk behind him.

The blond hair on his head was a lot longer than a man’s, but a tad shorter than a woman’s. He had a few wrinkles on his face, indicating his age, and a short beard that was neatly trimmed.

His outfit matched the layout of the room—elegant and clearly expensive.

He was watching the events of the marketplace—the Black Market—with a smile on his face.

As one of the six members of the Obsidian Council, it pleased him to see the community thriving.

As he savored the taste of his wine and reminisced, a sharp knock interrupted his thoughts.

The man’s emerald eyes snapped towards the door, his smile slowly fading.

“Come in.”

The door creaked open, revealing a man dressed in a lavish waistcoat and formal attire. Despite his youthful appearance—likely in his early thirties—the wisdom reflected in his gaze betrayed his age.

This was Aldred Winsley, one of the many brokers of the KariBlanc Group.

“Lord Blanc, I have reports for you,” he announced.

Blanc was his code name in the Obsidian Council. Each member of the council operated under a code name, with Blanc’s choice ironically contrasting with the group’s name (obsidian was a black rock).

“It’s fine, boy. There’s no need for formalities here. Just address me normally…”

Sure, the broker was younger than Lord Blanc, but not so young as to be considered a ‘boy’.

Still, he nodded in understanding.

As the older man slowly turned to Aldred, he deactivated his Identity Concealment Item.

Soon, Aldred’s appearance transformed into a younger version of Blanc.

“I understand… father.”

The previous Aldred, who seemed to be a man in his thirties, vanished, replaced by a boy who was barely twenty.

“Hehe… that’s much better.”

Blanc chuckled as he settled into his comfy chair, gesturing for Aldred to do the same.

Without hesitation, Aldred accepted the invitation and took a seat across from his father.

“So… talk to me. What’s all this fuss about?”

Blanc was a man of many means. Even before Aldred had arrived, he had a faint idea of what was going on in his company.

However, just how much did he know?!

“Alright father. The thing is…”

***********

“G-good heavens!”

Blanc’s face contorted in downright shock as he listened to his son conclude his story.

“That’s preposterous!” He yelled.

“Exactly! I couldn’t believe it either, but it’s all true—every word.”

It sounded like a made-up story that someone of such caliber would just casually walk into their place of business like it was nothing.

‘What kind of man is this masked seller?’

“Did he give a name? Anything to identify him as?” Blanc asked, desperately hoping for a clue so he could use some of his connections to dig up something.

The look on Aldred’s face told him, however, that it would be pointless.

“He just told us to call him Yer. But even among the accomplished Adventurers, none bear that name.”

Blanc furrowed his brow, his fingers idly tracing his beard as he thought about his son’s words.

His son wasn’t wrong.

‘Adventurers typically used their real name or flashy titles and pseudonyms. This seems like the latter, but…”

If Yer was an extremely strong or accomplished Adventurer, surely they would have heard of him by now.

“What a mysterious fellow…” Blanc whispered. “You did good by bringing him to our side, boy.”

There was just one more thing.

It was a matter of utmost importance that Blanc needed to make sure of.

‘This’ll determine how we consider our future with him…’

“You used your [Eye Of God], right? What was the type of Skill he had?”

[Eye Of God] was an Enchanted Item of the 4th Grade. It could detect a person’s Stats to a limited degree, but not without the other party finding out.

The only thing it could do very subtly was read how strong an individual was by measuring their Skill.

“What was the Tier?”

In response to this question, Aldred Winsley had a conflicted expression.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the question, but rather he couldn’t decide how to answer it.

After a tense moment, he decided to throw aside his uncertainty and just be as straightforward as possible.

“It… it didn’t work, I think.”

“It didn’t work? That’s a Grade 4 Item. It should work perfectly!” Blanc responded with a deep frown.

Grade 4 was the highest Grade anyone could obtain in the market at the moment.

Whether it was raw materials or finished products, it existed at the pinnacle of the current chain.

Why would such a sophisticated item be broken?

“I-I know! After our meeting, I tried to retrieve the data, but all it displayed was an ~Error!~ message.

That had never happened in the course of doing business. Aldred didn’t know what it meant, so he just chalked it down to a malfunction.

Blanc, on the other hand, had a different expression on his face.

“D-did you just say… ~Error!~?”

The sheer horror reflected in Blanc’s expression sent a shiver down Aldred’s spine, though he managed to nod in acknowledgment.

‘I’ve never seen Father this shaken before…’

As the realization settled in, Blanc rose from his seat as if it suddenly had a thousand needles in it.

He simply wasn’t comfortable any longer.

“The [Eye Of God] is designed to detect Skills ranging from the F-Tier to the A-Tier…” He began, his breathing seeming a little uneven.

Even Aldred was growing increasingly restless just listening to his father.

“When it displays an error, it means it has encountered something beyond its analytical capabilities.”

In essence…

“N-no way!” Aldred’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Indeed…” A grim frown tugged at Blanc’s lips as he stared hard at his son.

“The S-Tier. Realm of Heroes and Gods.”

Only the strongest of beings—like the Dragons—had such power.

Even their most powerful Mage only had an A-Tier Skill at most.

“Listen carefully, boy…”

Aldred had never seen his father this shaken before. Fear, mixed with a grimness so deep that it defied explanation, clouded his face.

It was a rare sight to see even one of the esteemed Obsidian Councilors display such fear.

“Never, under any circumstance, provoke that man.”

Aldred nodded nervously at his father’s wise words.

“He could destroy us all.”

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

A nice grasp into the criminal underworld before we resume our grind!

Let’s goooo!!!