Black Online-Chapter 127: Golden Grimoire
When it turned dark in the sky, the locals made their way to the streets of the Snowberry Village.
It was the first time since the start of the Guild War that they left their apartments, and they looked scared to be outside.
Because, outside of the village walls, a small army of murderous players awaited, and they wouldn’t spare any of them.
They all gathered at the village square, and there, Miranda and Rock were standing on a small stage.
It was lit with torches.
"...Hello, everyone. As all of you already know, we’re looking for workers to help us in the quarry, and the mansion.
"If there are any willing spirits, raise your arm."
Miranda said.
The locals exchanged glances, and none of them raised their arms, as they didn’t want to be the first person to do it.
"...Nobody?"
Miranda asked with a frown.
"We all want to work, but what is there for us?"
At that moment, a local man said with a rough voice.
He looked like a strong one, and he used to be a lumberjack before the Guild War, and since then, he’d been just staying at home with his wife and two children.
"If you are afraid of small pay, do not be afraid. You will be well compensated for your work."
Miranda said with a serious tone.
"What about the food shortage? We’re barely surviving on rice and bread. Our families are starving!"
A local woman suddenly shouted.
"Yeah, we need food!"
The rest of the locals shouted, and it turned quite rowdy with people demanding answers.
"We got you covered!"
In that moment, Rock shouted—he had to shout for them to hear him over the loud crowd—and slowly, the locals quieted down.
"Food and good pay—you’ll get both of them. Starting tomorrow, we will start giving food deliveries to everybody.
"Nobody will starve under Rose Records watch and that is a promise."
Rock said sternly.
It quieted down the rowdy crowd, and they still whispered—hesitant to believe him—but they also wanted to believe.
"Now... We need ten men for the quarry. Raise your arm if you’re interested. The pay is 10 square coins in an hour."
Rock said.
Hearing the pay, the eyes of the locals widened in shock, and after a moment of hesitation, ten arms were raised.
They were all men—former lumberjacks, and hunters—who currently have no way to earn a living.
10 square coins for an hour’s work was actually excellent pay for locals, as their normal jobs give either 2 or 3 square coins per hour.
For them to earn 100 square coins in one day would be enough to feed the whole family for one whole week.
"We need servants for the mansion—the job is to keep the place clean, wash the clothes, and shovel the snow—the pay is also 10 square coins per hour."
Miranda said.
This time around, a lot of arms were raised. Mostly women, but there were also some children, and Miranda wrote all of their names down.
There wasn’t a specific number of servants they wanted. Whoever was willing, they were willing to put them to work.
"We are in need of a blacksmith—the pay is twenty square coins per hour."
Rock said.
Three arms raised—they were Snowberry Village’s only blacksmiths—and they were people that they definitely needed.
Blacksmiths were extremely valuable during time of war.
...
"...And then we need..."
Watching from the shadows, Devon saw Miranda and Rock talk to the locals, and he just chuckled.
’I wish I’d be there to see their expression when they see their food burning to ashes. You won’t be that nice to the locals in a week’s time when they start killing you for food.’
Devon grinned, and he sneakily crossed the street under the guise of night darkness.
After a moment, he arrived at the Old Street and saw the Old Bakery building at the corner of it all.
This street was been planned for demolition for some time now, and thus, nobody was living around here.
’That’s the place...’
Devon ran straight to the Old Bakery and slipped inside the building through one of the broken windows.
It was dusty and dark.
’Basement... basement... basement...’
After a moment of looking, he found a locked door, and he just tackled straight through it.
A wooden, unstable-looking staircase went down to the dark basement, and Devon carefully stepped down.
He pulled out a torch from his inventory, lit it up, and walked across the dark basement until he reached the end.
There was another locked door at the end of the basement.
’It sure is locked behind a lot of locked doors, but hehe, this is nothing for me. I am Master Lockpicker, after all.’
Devon crouched before the locked door, pulled out his lockpicking tools, and started to work on the lock.
Click!
In that moment, he heard a sound that he wanted to hear at home, and with a smirk on his face, he opened the door.
The room behind the locked room wasn’t dark. It was well-lit. And there were shelves and shelves of canned food.
"Damn!"
Devon exclaimed.
’They really weren’t lying when they said that there was food for years... The siege plan would’ve definitely failed if we hadn’t found out about this.’
Devon thought with a chuckle.
He then started looking for his arsonist tools in his inventory, but in that moment, the door behind him closed.
THUMP!
It was loud, like a sledgehammer hitting metal.
"Who told you about this place?"
In that moment, he heard a voice behind him, and Devon had already retrieved his dagger and turned around slowly.
His eyes widened.
"It’s... You!"
He shouted in complete shock.
Della looked at him coldly with the grimoire floating right beside her, and she really looked grim.
"Haha... What unlucky timing of me, aye? To come across you of all people."
Devon chuckled nervously.
"I knew there had been a spy in Rose Records for a long while now, but I’ve never been able to find one.
"I revealed this location to my close friends to make sure that the spy is not among them, and I’ve been here... Waiting in case someone really shows up.
"This makes things easier. Why don’t you tell me who the spy is, and I’ll let you live?"
Della asked coldly.
"...Fuck you!"
Devon lunged at her with the dagger.
The golden grimoire started exploding outwards with bright light, and the room was flooded with a bright light.
"Light!"
"Ahhhhh!"
The light blinded Devon, and he tried slashing at Della, but since he couldn’t see, he was nowhere close to hitting her.
Della pushed her hand against Devon’s chest and sent him flying across the room.
THUMP!
Devon came to a complete stop, with his body crashing against the wall, and he slid down to the floor in a daze.
[-445 HP]
[HP: 465/910]
Devon looked on as his health dropped drastically, and a grave expression filled his face.
