Ernest managed to convince the people inside and was able to get out alone. Now the problem was how to get stronger. According to Darian, the easiest way was to join an adventurer's guild and complete missions. Lirien suggested obtaining enchanted items through trade. Eventually, he decided to join the guild and search for enchanted items on the side.

"Excuse me, sir, are you an adventurer?" he said. When he turned to the voice behind him, he couldn't see anyone.

"I'm here, sorry for using a cloak. If you want, come with me to Witch's Cauldron. There, I can show you my face."

He wanted to go with the voice, but he couldn't follow someone he couldn't see. To avoid giving away his position, he sent the man ahead and then opened the map the Lord had given him to search for Witch's Cauldron.

Target Opened: Witch's Cauldron

Address: Inns Street, Sertayaz

Blue arrows at the corners showed where to go. It seemed like a mission, and the game would direct Ernest to the mission site.

Finally, he arrived at Inns Street, one of the bustling streets in the city where the large inns were located. He asked a few people for the Witch's Cauldron. The guide had brought him right in front of the Witch's Cauldron.

"I didn't think you'd come so soon. I thought you were a stranger here. You don't seem like you're from around here."

"Are you the one who spoke to me?"

"Yes. If you'll allow me, I'll tell you my request. Some of the goods under my protection were stolen by Geye Cin last night. Lady Arvina spread rumors that I stole the goods and that the barrier in the depot was for protection against the cins. But no one had entered during the night! Now they accuse me of stealing ten silver worth of food. I will be tried with physical punishment if I am caught. I'm sure they'll believe me if you catch the cin. I'll give you twenty silver for this job."

"If you just gave Lady Arvina the ten silver directly, wouldn't they leave you alone?"

"Absolutely not! Penalties are strictly enforced as a deterrent."

Mission: Clear the Name of the Cloaked Man

Difficulty: Easy

Through the pop-up windows, he could understand which job he needed to take. If this mission was at an easy level, why not accept it?

"All right then, I accept."

"Here, let me give you the key to the depot. If they haven't changed it, you can enter and investigate."

Contract: I swear on my adventurer title that I will only enter the depot for research purposes and will not damage the goods.

Approve Reject

"I approve."

This time, the guide took him all the way to the depot. It was evening. They had not assigned anyone else after the Cloaked Man, so he easily opened the door and went inside.

Skill Unlocked: Researcher

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Skill Being Used: Researcher

Researcher: No signs of difficulty at the entrances. It is protected by a first-level spirit barrier. There is no known monster in the area that can bypass this barrier. The gemstones were untouched; the thief must be hungry.

A hidden child emerged from behind the shelves.

"Sir, please! We just wanted to fill our bellies, don't hurt us! We wouldn't do this if we weren't in a difficult situation!"

"Cat ears, cat whiskers, and claws. You're a hybrid, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's why no one will give us a job. Otherwise, I swear I wouldn't steal!"

The child who had spoken in the plural before was now only speaking for himself. He was undoubtedly protecting someone.

"Okay, calm down. Let the other one come forward too."

"The other one? I'm alone, sir, do what you will with me."

"I'm not going to do anything to you."

Dictionary: Hybrid Rights

Read More

"Read."

Hybrids are a special type of creature created for the king's invincible army 160 years ago. They are made by combining human genetics with animals that can be tamed, such as cats and dogs. Some wizards have also combined them with monsters to make them stronger, but they are mostly domesticated. The failure of the experiment resulted in hybrids being sold as slaves. King Lysander, who ascended to the throne, was one of the first advocates of hybrid rights.

Today, hybrids cannot be enslaved under anti-slavery laws and racial employment laws. In addition, tenth-level merchants are required to employ hybrids for four hundred and eighty days in the last five years.

Close

"Close."

Ernest had completed the mission on his own without doing anything. All that was left was to take the children and tell everything to the Cloaked Man. He returned to the Witch's Cauldron and entered the tavern.

"Ironhelm! You forgot to give me the key. I won't complain."

The person shouting was none other than Arvina, who had brought Ernest into Sertayaz. It seems that Lady Arvina and the slanderous Arvina were the same person.

"I was looking for you too, Arvina."

"You? How dare you show your face again!"

"Calm down, I'm helping you. Here are your spirit jinn. Does it look familiar?"

"Kedrah? Tigrin? Have you been right under my nose all this time, and I didn't notice? Ugh!"

Kedrah and Tigrin were the names of the animal-human hybrid children. Arvina didn't seem too angry.

"My lady, we, we apologize!" they began to cry.

"Okay, okay, stop crying."

The Cloaked Man revealed himself.

"Ironhelm, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you, I hope to see you in the warehouse tonight." He threw a pouch of silver at Ernest.

"Take your reward from me." Ernest could tell what was inside by its weight.

Mission Complete: Clear the Cloaked Man's Name

Mission Rewards: 400TP, 80 silver

Level Up

Next Level Requirement: 1100TP

Statistics Updated

"Was it really that easy? I can't describe how relieved I felt when you went inside with the hybrids."

"Who were they?"

"We can say they were Lady Arvina's children."

"What do you mean, did she give birth to half-breeds?"

"No, she adopted them. Although Lady Arvina seems distrustful of humans, she's very good with animals. Being one of the richest people here, she constantly adopts new animals. She's also very kind to half-breeds. She took in the children as workers, but never made them work."

"So why did the children run away?"

"I don't know. Maybe they weren't used to being treated well. They might have been scared of Lady Arvina's good intentions."

Characters Added to the Dictionary: Lady Arvina, Lord Daelorin, Lirien, Darian, Ironhelm

Achievement Unlocked: 3