Main Character Hides His Strength

elp you out.”

The bandit turned around and led the way.
Sungchul didn’t like the bandit, but decided to play along and followed behind him..
It was a small gamble that Sungchul enjoyed doing once in a while.

Unfortunately, Sungchul’s first gamble in a long time soon fell through.
The bandit had led him to a den of bandits filled with all sorts of villains.
Their hostile glares made Sungchul feel as if his face was continuously being raked by speartips.

“Don’t be so nervous.
My friends here are ex-convicts and some murderers, but once you get to know them, they’re all quite good people.”

Being at one’s home turf gives one confidence.
So, even this young bandit was in high spirits once he arrived at the den.
As expected, shortly, two men appeared in front of Sungchul and blocked his path.
One was large and the other was small, but the smaller bandit supplemented his inferior physique with the tattoo of a murderer on his forehead..
The tattooed man spoke with a husky voice.

“Give us everything you have.”

It was uncertain whether they were good or not, but Sungchul thought that they were quite the honest people.
He peered over at the young bandit smirking from behind the two ugly bandits.
Once their eyes met, the young bandit shrugged his shoulders and made an impish expression.

“…”

Sungchul pulled out 3 silver coins from his possessions and held it out toward the men.

“Is this it?”

They were unsatisfied, so Sungchul pulled out another silver coin and held it out to them.

“Is this it?”

They asked again, and Sungchul held out two more silver coins.

“What are you doing? If you’re going to pull them out, take them out all at once.”

At this, Sungchul lastly pulled out another single coin from his possession.
The bandits roughly collected the silver coins and smirked at each other.
They were finally satisfied.
As he saw this, Sungchul thought to himself.

‘These friends aren’t excessively greedy.’

They would live long lives.
They tossed over a single silver coin toward the young bandit and left the place.
The smile totally vanished from the young bandit’s lips.

“Hey, Seniors! My take seems a bit small.
Are you sure there wasn’t a mistake in your calculations?”

He followed closely after the rough looking bandits, and his reward was a fierce beating.
The young bandit was met with a heavy punch that broke his nose and bleeding.
The bandit sat looking angry and stared dumbly for a bit before heading down the dark tunnel.
Sungchul followed after the young bandit.
Other bandits had watched Sungchul be extorted thoroughly and paid him no mind.

The young bandit sat atop a beer cask set before a passageway with flowing sewage, silently staring off into space as he listened to the water droplets.

“Hey.”

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Sungchul called out to the young bandit.
The young bandit peeked over toward Sungchul before turning away again.
Sungchul called out again.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“This isn’t what you promised.”

“The one who gets tricked is the idiot.”

The young bandit spoke with a smirk.
Sungchul stared at him piercingly before pulling out another silver coin from his possessions.
The young bandit’s eyes glinted as he saw this and watched with interest.
He quickly extended his hand to snatch the coin away.
His movement was rather quick, but it was child’s play in Sungchul’s eyes.
Sungchul easily evaded the bandit’s hands reaching out for the coin and spoke in a calm voice.

“Tell me how to get outside, and I’ll give you this coin.”

“Hey, have you been tricked all your life? Just give me the coin and I’ll lead you.”

“I thought you said that the one who gets tricked is the idiot?”

The bandit’s brows creased as though Sungchul’s words had hit their mark before raising his body from above the beer casks.

“Follow me.
Where do you want to go? Outside of the Sewers? Or maybe inside La Grange?”
“Of course inside La Grange.”

“Inside La Grange? That’s considerably dangerous.
If you insist, it won’t be enough with a single silver coin.”

“Are 2 coins enough?”

“3 coins.
I’ll lead you inside the city for 3 coins.”

The young bandit might have thought he was haggling with Sungchul for a better deal, but to Sungchul, they were all immeasurably cheap.
Sungchul nodded before leaving the bandit to lead the way, and when he did, the bandit finally said his name.

“I’m Fast Hands Bobbin.”

Sungchul did not reveal his own name.
And that was how the journey toward La Grange resumed again.
Sungchul asked Bobbin about their current location.

“Is this below La Grange?”

Bobbin shook his head.
“Not exactly.
This is below the old section of the city.”

“The old section?”

“They’re old roads that existed back in the days of the Holy Kingdom of Rutheginea.
People new to La Grange might not be aware of this, but no one lives in the old section anymore.”

“Is that so?”

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Sungchul looked surprised as there had been a fair number of people living within the old section 8 years ago before he left the capital.
The large majority were poor people with nowhere else to go, but even the old aristocracy of the former kingdom had taken root there.

“The Emperor declared a purge upon the region.
Cults were running rampant around those parts, so they just completely chased everyone away so that no one could live there.”

“Then where did all those people who lived there go?”

Sungchul’s question was soon answered.
Within a dark clearing where not even a speck of sunlight could peek through, there was a village of people amidst the filthy stench.
That place that was mostly made up of sick and elderly who had such a thick aura of helplessness that not even despair could squeeze through.

‘If it’s like this, it’s no different from the past.’

An event in the past more than 10 years ago passed by Sungchul’s eyes.

“Now, from here on just keep walking forward in this direction and you’ll be met with a tunnel that leads to the capital.”

After a bit more marching, Bobbin looked at the dark tunnel with nervous eyes before speaking.
Sungchul held out all the silver he had promised toward Bobbin.
Bobbin grabbed the coins and grinned.

“Sorry for tricking you earlier! I only did it because my seniors made me.”

“Don’t concern yourself.”

“Quite a cool customer.
I’ll tell you one more thing as compensation.”

Bobbin narrowed his blue eyes filled with fear and peered into the tunnel.

“I shouldn’t be saying this after having brought you here, but honestly speaking, it might not be so good to go any further.”

“Is there a reason?”

“There’s a monster living here.
Just ahead.”

“A monster?”

“Even I don’t know what exactly it is.
There are rumors that the Emperor let it loose, but the important thing is that no one has met the creature and lived to tell the tale.”

Bobbin spoke while trembling as though just speaking about the monster was enough to cause terror.
Of course, none of this concerned Sungchul.

“Don’t blame me if you die.
I warned you.”

Sungchul heard the young bandit’s warning, but stepped forward without a moment’s hesitation.
Soon, metal grating that separated boundaries appeared within the darkness.
It appeared sturdy and well maintained which was starkly different from the one at the entrance.
Sungchul eyed the metal gate blocking his path.

[ Access forbidden except for Imperial Sewer management personnel.]

Strange and dismal cries faintly echoed from beyond the metal gates.
Surprisingly, he had heard the sound before.
The image of the soldiers with the strange forms he had seen on Aquiroa’s airship came to mind.

‘Were those monsters the Soldiers of Salvation?’

He wasn’t certain, but there would be value in confirming it.
Sungchul shoved the door open and walked into the darkness.