Chapter 123

123th Chapter

Samaritan of the Black Rock Mountain

123 – Samaritan of the Black Rock Mountain #4

The colossal statue of Pluto, decapitated at the neck.

The dark body of the statue, cracked by the impact with Paranoi, began spilling coins from its chest.

Zoorrrr-.

It looked as though the statue were bleeding from a hole in its heart.

However, it wasn’t bl**d that was falling but golden coins, leaving us too stunned to speak as we simply watched.

“Whoa, shhh.”

The only sound from my slightly agape mouth was a brief exclamation. Beside me, Luna, who was also watching, seemed greatly shocked, her mouth wide open in a circle.

“Hassan, those are gold coins. Gold coins are pouring out…!”

“sh*t, we’re rich!”

Who would have thought we’d encounter a waterfall of gold coins in this hot and humid place, merely from having one in hand?

We hurriedly ran towards the pile of gold coins, counting them eagerly.

“sh*t! Let’s count how many there are!”

Clang, Clack.

One, two, three.

Every time we counted a coin, it felt like gaining 500 chickens.

“Hassan, this is surely a blessing from Lord Pluto!”

“sh*t, is it? Is your nosebleed alright?”

“It’s fine. Rather, how many are there?”

As we all squatted on the ground, counting the coins one by one,

“Brother.”

Malco, who had been calmly observing the scene, adopted a rather serious demeanor, saying “Hm-.”

Among the crowd celebrating over the pile of gold coins, it was strange he wasn’t joining in. I stopped my hand, feeling something odd, and couldn’t help but ask.

“Hey, they’re gold coins. Even if we split them evenly, it’s an insane amount of money. What’s the problem?”

“Brother, these don’t seem like ordinary coins. I thought it was just my mistake, but indeed, these….”

Clack.

Malco picked up one gold coin from the floor and showed me one of its sides.

The face of a man crowned with a diadem was carved in relief, exactly the same as the ones I had received as change earlier. However, there was an X-shaped scar carved as if slashed twice with a kn*fe across the face.

“What is that?”

“Hassan, there’s an X here too!”

“Not only here, but everywhere….”

Not only on the one Malco had picked up, but on each of the approximately thirty gold coins, the X-mark was deeply and clearly engraved.

As we stood there confused, trying to determine the meaning of it all, Malco spoke again.

“Brothers, the kingdom’s law forbids the defacement of minted coins. Let alone the act of carving into our Lord Jupiter’s face, it’s something that normally shouldn’t happen.”

Recalling Luna’s surprise upon discovering my tooth marks on the gold coins, it hit me. Considering my Korean perspective, it was similar to carving a scar across the face of King Sejong or Admiral Yi Sun-sin—extremely disrespectful behavior.

Of course, Jupiter, featured on the gold coins, is an object of faith. Defacing his face carries the additional grave sin of irreverence.

“…Then, what’s the problem?”

“It seems this money can’t be used above ground. This is a mark. A mark of those who live without being struck by lightning, without looking at the sky, in the underground.”

Swoosh.

Malco looked around and then continued in a quiet and solemn voice.

“It’s the thieves’ mark. This gold coin is the currency of the Thieves’ Guild. If we use it carelessly, we’ll surely become targets!”

“Huh? You mean we can’t use the gold coins in front of us?”

Faced with the notion of not being able to use a sum of money that could allow us to quit our adventurer’s work and live comfortably for years, it felt like my heart that had risen so high suddenly dropped to my feet.

“Brother, isn’t there a single intact gold coin somewhere?”

Luna, who also regretted this, scoured the pile of coins searching for one without the marking, licking her lips.

Clang, Clack.

But all of the thirty d*mn coins bore that hateful X-mark. sh*t, it’s like having a winning lottery ticket in front of me, but I can’t cash it in.

I sincerely feel angry as hell.

“Still, wouldn’t a bank exchange this for new ones?”

Fueled by a lingering hope, I remembered that banks in Korea also exchange damaged currency. Even in this uncivilized world, wouldn’t the banks here handle something similar?

Slowly, Malco shook his head.

“It might be able to be exchanged, but thieves’ ears are everywhere like sores. The moment these coins hit the market, we’ll surely be found out, and we’ll meet the blades under the cover of night!”

The thought of being attacked and killed in my sleep filled my mind.

Pssshh.

Critical!

…No matter how you look at it, I don’t want to d*e like that, sh*t.

Under the circumstances, I have no choice but to ask.

“Not that I don’t know, but what exactly is this Thieves’ Guild?”

When walking through the slums, I had overheard the residents whispering about the Thieves’ Guild a few times.

However, since I thought it didn’t concern me, I never paid much attention. At this point, I realize I need to know what they are.

“The Thieves’ Guild.”

At my question, Malco sighed softly and rang his stringed instrument hanging at his waist, emitting a soft tingling sound.

“Thieves are, well, thieves. And Sodomora’s thieves steal various things in various ways—from the candy in a child’s mouth to the life of an elderly widow.”

“sh*t, if they take candy from kids, they really are terrible bastards.”

“You’re right. But no one can catch them. They hide in unimaginable places, and they are so difficult to capture. Even if the city gets rid of them, they manage to come back.”

A city where tax-evading thieves roam freely—sh*t, this world has clearly gone wrong.

When I pictured the name “Thieves’ Guild,” I imagined a dark room with a few hoodlums gathered. But from Malco’s description, I understood it more like organized mafia families in the city or cartel-like organizations in Mexico.

It’s talking about underworld operatives, isn’t it?

These gold coins are a kind of secret currency they use.

“sh*t, then using them recklessly will really cause big trouble.”

The image of black-masked men storming into Luna’s hut and slashing with swords isn’t appealing.

Since tampering with currency is forbidden, finding a blacksmith to melt these coins wouldn’t be easy, especially since the thieves’ ears could catch wind of such actions.

“Then, what do we do? Should we just bury them here and leave?”

Regretfully thinking of having to rebury the valuable gold coins, all I could do was click my tongue. Malco rang his instrument again.

“There’s no need for that. Brother, this money is only unusable above ground. As the thieves’ money, it can be spent freely in the darkness where they run rampant.”

“sh*t, then you should’ve said that first. Let’s quickly put them in our pockets before anyone sees!”

“Stealing from thieves! It feels like we’ve become worse than the thieves themselves, Hassan!”

“Then, should we just leave them here?”

“No!”

And so, we pocketed the 30 gold pieces from the Thieves’ Guild.

Among the four of us, we each took seven coins, and the two remaining ones were given to me, the party leader, and Paranoi, who banged her forehead on the statue to find the gold coins.

“Gold Coins—!”

Paranoi appeared deeply moved by the fact that she had acquired eight gold coins as her share— even though the money wasn’t clean and couldn’t be used in the market.

Nevertheless, the charm of gold coins was enough to make someone excited.

“Indeed, it was a good decision to follow Hassan. I’ll work harder to be more helpful in the future.”

And tears began to trickle down from her large eyes. But who could mock someone for this?

sh*t, it’s understandable to shed tears from the excitement of suddenly obtaining a fortune.

Though it might technically be money obtained through my efforts, isn’t it actually Paranoi’s money since she bashed her head on the statue to find the coins?

Though it feels a bit like a scam, I didn’t want to spoil her small moment of joy, so I stayed silent.

“But, Brother, what can we actually buy with these below ground? We can’t purchase official documents or land, right?”

As Luna put her seven coins neatly in her pocket and asked, Malco flicked one of his coins and caught it in his palm.

“You’ll find out when you visit the black market. While it’s true you can’t buy land, you can do quite a lot with these. Hydra’s belly is vast, they say.”

“Hydra? There’s Hydra in the underground market!?”

Luna shrieked.

I also knew a bit about the Hydra monster and was quite surprised. sh*t, they wouldn’t sell such a thing for money, would they?

But Malco had a different story to tell.

“Hydra is the name of the Thieves’ Guild. The mythical beast that doesn’t d*e even when its head is cut off. Just like their leaders, they are indestructible. An exceptionally fitting name, isn’t it?”

*

After gathering all the gold coins at the temple, we stepped out with relatively light steps. Although the bubbling black lake and the sweltering heat were unpleasant just moments ago, with our pockets filled with gold, everything seemed to improve. This godforsaken environment looked surprisingly beautiful.

“The world, sh*t, it’s so beautiful. Let’s quickly tie up loose ends and return to the city!”

Thinking about using gold coins at the black market, I couldn’t help but let the corners of my mouth rise.

Isn’t it the happiest thought in the world – spending money?

I haven’t visited the black market yet, but having eight gold coins must mean I can do unimaginable things.

In a hurry to tie up loose ends and return, our steps were light. As we approached the slope near the black lake and stared at the bubbling surface,

“Here’s the important part, Brother. After collecting the spring water, the guardian of this spring might attack us.”

Malco advised me seriously.

“Guardian? Is there anything here?”

“There is. There’s a harsh creation of Vulcan. You’ll understand once you see it.”

I didn’t fully grasp what Malco was saying, but somehow, both Luna and I had already prepared the basin to fill the black water into the jars.

Chuurdurk, Churdurk.

The black spring water was much thicker and stickier than expected, feeling more like asphalt than water. With its hefty weight, I wondered if we would manage to carry it down the mountain—right at that moment.

Dreeeeeek-.

A sound like flying arrows suddenly sounded under the heavy clouds sky.

Prrrr, Prrrr-.

Soon, the flapping of powerful wings followed, casting a huge shadow over our group. Looking up, a giant bird with a massive body was visible.

sh*t, what is that? Can you really call that…a bird?

It was as big as a well-fed hunting dog, with steel plates more dazzling than my chest plate on its beak and claws.

An armored bird, huh? Is it a well-off bird? The steel it’s wearing looks better than mine.

Dreeee-!

The thing began a steep dive straight toward me. sh*t, it’s like a bird missile—fucking terrifying!

“Hassan! Something’s coming!”

“Hey, sh*t, what is that!?”

“Didn’t I tell you! It’s the guardian of the lake! We must sing to drive it away! The merciless heart of steel hates music! Uh, uh, ah.”

Dirring-.

Plucking his stringed instrument, Malco readied his voice. I finally understood why we always have a bard in our party. sh*t, this musician quota system actually has a real purpose!

Ding, Ding.

“Uh, uh. Ah.”

But Malco simply cleared his throat, unaffected by the rapidly approaching bird.

“Hey, just sing something! Hurry up! We’re going to collide!”

“J, just wait! I can’t think of what to sing suddenly!”

Anyone might be tongue-tied when faced with a sudden situation, but pros are different. They are supposed to be able to perform their duties no matter the situation—that’s what makes them pros.

But Malco wasn’t a pro!

“sh*t, just sing something—.”

Dreeeee-! Bam!

Moments later, the bird missile slammed onto the ground with a massive impact.

The strong shock scattered hard pebbles all around, pelting my body like shrapnel.

“Aaaaaargh!”

Though I managed to avoid being pierced by the steel beak, the rock shrapnel was genuinely quite painful, making me tear up due to the cuts on my stomach and chest.

“Kuh, hey, are you all okay!?”

“Seems fine!”

“I-I’m okay too…”

In response to my inquiry, Luna and Paranoi got up from where they fell and replied.

“Hey, sh*t, Malco! Respond!”

However, there was no reply from Malco. As the dust and smoke began to clear, I saw him lying on the ground, twitching as bl**d streamed from his nose.

“Grghhh…”

It looked like he got hit in the face by one of the flying pebbles and fell.

“I, sh*t, we need to sing, right!”

Thud, Thud-dud-dud.

Then, from the large crater in front of me, pebbles started falling with a loud noise.

Soon, accompanied by a loud metallic sound, a massive bird clad in iron appeared before us, its piercing yellow eyes glaring at us.

Ssswrll.

Its wings had feathers made of either steel or copper, sharp enough to cut like metal.

I was worried that even getting slashed by this guy’s wings might cause grievous injuries to my torso.

Upon closer inspection, not only its beak and talons, but the entire body of the creature was covered with iron armor.

Grreeeek, Steel-click.

Clearly, this was not normal. Could this even truly be called a bird?

Screetch-a-a-a-aack!

The steel beast spread its wings wide and let out a deafening roar.

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