A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 218 The Gangster Adventurer and His Young Boyfriend (7)

Arriving at the shop Ankuya had pointed out, Quinn's memories flooded back.

This is a pawnshop without a name, with only a wooden sign that says "Open for Business" hanging above it, and below that, a line of faded words that are almost illegible: pawning, consignment, and general merchandise.

Three months ago, he was given a diamond necklace by Jack, the "merchant," on a bench not far from here.

He removed one of the diamonds from the necklace and brought it to this shop for appraisal, where it was confirmed to be genuine.

Remarking on how small Broom Alley was, Quinn, disguised and looking different, pushed open the door and said in a low voice, "Get the goods."

The small shop has a space of no more than five or six square meters where people can stand. The crowded cabinets around it reach all the way to the ceiling. Each row and column of the cabinets has locked drawers. The orc owner, who has a horse's head on his head, sits behind the cabinets, holding a magnifying glass and repairing a watch in the dim light.

Upon hearing Quinn's voice, he asked without looking up, "The recipient?"

"Shelby".

"120 gold pounds, plus brokerage fee."

Quinn didn't plan to use the credit card with a limit of 1000 gold pounds, since the bill would clearly show who paid. He wanted to keep his identity as 'Shelby' and his role as an academic assistant as separate as possible, but he didn't have that much money on him, so he took out the checkbook that the bank had prepared for large depositors.

He tore off a sheet, picked up the pen on the table, and quickly signed his name 'Shelby'. With extremely precise muscle control, Quinn's handwriting was almost indistinguishable from the ink rubbings of a typewriter.

“The Clock Tower Bank is right next door; you can go and cash it first.” He handed the check to the Kuranta boss who repaired the watches.

Unlike Earth, financial currencies in Taymourne cannot be traded in stores on paper, such as checks and bills. They need to be cashed at a bank in person, and it can take some time to find out the authenticity of the bill and whether the issuer has the ability to pay.

The boss, focused on his work, didn't choose the safer option of cashing the money first. He didn't even glance at the check, and said in a low voice:

"help yourself."

As soon as he finished speaking, a drawer on the tall cabinet to Quinn's left popped open automatically. The drawer had no tracks, but the sound of the wood rubbing together was incredibly smooth.

The pop-out drawer was about three meters off the ground, a distance he could easily reach with a simple jump. But Quinn still brought over a ladder that was lying aside and clumsily climbed up.

The drawer looked narrow, but it was extremely deep. Quinn took out a long strip wrapped in black cloth from inside, and the moment he touched it, he felt its heavy weight.

"You can check it out," the owner said slowly. "Tell me if there are any problems now. We are not responsible for anything after you leave the store."

Quinn unwrapped the black cloth, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

In the cramped shop lit only by a single candle, a matte gray katana was revealed before Quinn.

Compared to the Dark Evil Dragon Ichimonji Norimune obtained in the Abyss, this sword is far less ornate and beautiful. It is only a little over a meter long, with an extremely narrow tsuba (handguard). The blade has no mirror-like silver sheen and is made of an unknown material. It looks very dark and dull, with the only metallic texture being the layered patterns on the blade that resemble Damascus steel.

It looks like a shadowless crescent moon, and the curve of the blade from top to bottom can perfectly sever half a full moon.

What surprised Quinn most about the knife was its weight.

In stark contrast to the wand katana that was as light as a feather and could be easily lifted by Celia, this sword was so heavy that everyone would subconsciously feel as if there was a stone attached to its blade—Quin weighed it and estimated it to be at least a hundred kilograms.

Ordinary people couldn't even lift it, and even well-trained soldiers couldn't fight with such a weapon; just moving it would be difficult. But for Quinn, it was very handy, though a bit short.

With a casual swing, the sound of his slash was like the roar of an airplane engine; it was more like a giant hammer than a katana.

Fortunately, the blade was too narrow, so the wind it produced wasn't a fan shape; otherwise, all the clutter on the pawnshop floor would have been overturned.

The watch repairman finally looked up, frowned, and said, "I only asked you to inspect it, not to test the knife."

“No problem.” Quinn nodded in satisfaction. “Small workshops really know how to use materials quickly. It’s just a pity it’s a bit short.”

“The materials you provided are only enough to make this long.” The shopkeeper continued to repair the watch, but this time he closed the small glass window of the counter to prevent Quinn from going crazy and blowing away the small screws on the table with his knife.

"This knife wasn't made by some small workshop, but the materials used are indeed quite potent."

"What materials were used to forge it?"

Quinn stared at the katana, its blade shimmering with a black, water-like light. It was a fragment of the black sword, but he had no idea what the material of the blade was.

The boss said as he worked:
"When the capital of Engen fell, the battering ram that broke open the gate was made by the imperialists. When the Grand Duke of Bavaria led his army to counterattack, the battering ram was too big and heavy and was abandoned there by the defeated army. The knife in your hand now is a piece that was taken from the battering ram."

"It has no mysterious properties, only hardness and high density. The Imperials' iron forging techniques are two hundred years ahead of the Southern Continent. To this day, no one has been able to replicate this alloy. However, it is too hard and easy to break when used to make knives. It contains some mithril and military materials from the Eastern Kingdom."

"Because it contains mithril, it has some magic resistance, but other than that, it doesn't have any special functions," the shopkeeper paused. "If you inject mental energy into the fragments you provided, they will cause people to fall into a mild state of mania when they come into contact with blood."

Quinn raised an eyebrow but didn't respond.

"If you're going to use it to kill, I don't think this bit of mania will be of any use. But you can use it to hurt yourself. This emotion can provide a slight strength boost and a little pain tolerance before it fades. It's a lot like the legendary Rage sequence."

"Your research is very thorough."

"That's what the swordsmith told me." The shopkeeper paused, took out a business card from the side, and pushed it towards Quinn.

"He's very interested in the fragments you provided. If you have any extras, or similar items of the same nature or origin, you can sell them to him at this address. He said he can offer a much higher price than you can imagine."

The pawnshop owner's horse ears twitched, and he glanced at Quinn with some fear before shrugging and saying, "Don't look at me like that. People in this business keep their mouths shut. I didn't reveal any information about you when you came to me with the diamonds stolen from that jewelry store. Didn't I say anything? The bounty is worth more than this knife."

Quinn narrowed his eyes. After the makeup, he was completely unrecognizable from his original appearance. Even Ankuya hadn't recognized him at first glance. How could this centaur recognize him? The academy had already investigated the diamond necklace matter, so he naturally wouldn't think of killing him to cover it up. He simply asked curiously, "How did you recognize me?"

"Heh, here's a piece of advice: if you want to play someone else well, don't even think about playing the role. The best way is to hypnotize yourself. I'm Kuranta, and I'm quite sensitive to sound, but you walked in without making a sound."

"And the way you climbed the ladder with such a clanging sound is like you're deliberately trying to tell me you're just an ordinary person." The boss gestured to Quinn with the magnifying glass in his hand. "I just took a quick look. If you want to hide yourself, physical disguise alone isn't enough."

"I've learned a lot," Quinn said, thanking him first, then adding meaningfully, "Since you're so kind, may I ask one more question? Are there any products that can help people conceal their original appearance?"

Some family members had them, so I took out a second-hand massager that I bought from Pinduoduo's 10 Billion Subsidy program.
The boss smiled mysteriously, "You're getting it, kid."

Another drawer opened.

"Five hundred and fifty gold pounds, small and portable, with a restraining effect on mirror-like mystical objects."

Carrying his new katana and a small amulet that could be hung inside his clothes, Quinn left the pawnshop.

[Akenets Tamago Market No. 30]

He glanced at the card the pawnshop owner had given him; besides the address in the Kingdom of Ron, it only had a black cat with blue eyes printed on it.

Aknets is Amamiya Nene's hometown, isn't it? Anqua even decided to run away from Aknets back then.

Didn't he say that this katana was made by the blacksmith in Saoba Alley?
There was no chance to ask him now, so Quinn casually put the card in his pocket. He first went to the Clock Tower Bank and transferred five thousand gold pounds to Ankuya's private account before returning to the Clock Tower Guild.

The adorable catgirl in a black and white maid outfit had already compiled the tasks Quinn needed, a thick stack of over fifty pages, all stamped with the Adventurers' Guild's red "Recruiting" stamp.

Missions of Silver rank and above are divided into two modes. One is a competitive mode in which many adventurers can do it at the same time and whoever completes it first receives the reward. The other is a mode in which no one else can accept the mission for a certain period of time after it is accepted, and an application and a certain deposit are required.

Quinn planned to go back and choose slowly, and if necessary, he could discuss with the boss before accepting a quest. He left Broom Alley through the exit of the Adventurers' Guild with his belongings. Above the Adventurers' Guild underground stood a guild building several times larger in scale—this was the headquarters of the Adventurers' Guild in Eastwell.

Complaining that the doors to Sweeper Alley were either in the toilet or in some nook and cranny, Quinn emerged from the hidden level on the second floor of the Adventurers' Guild. Immediately, he was greeted with invitations to start a game, saying things like, "Hey bro, come play!" To Quinn, the Adventurers' Guild in the secular world was like an urban village in a big city, complete with brothels, massage parlors, heavily oiled barbecue restaurants, and all sorts of scammers offering dubious services.

The guild earns money and spends it all; don't even think about taking a single penny home. This is the Shenzhen of another world.

When Quinn left the guild, she had changed her appearance and clothes, reverting to her original look in the trench coat. All her disguise cosmetics and the newly purchased knife were stuffed into the arcane briefcase she was carrying.

Two sculptures stand at the entrance of the Adventurers' Guild.

One of them is Link, the first hero, riding a tall steed, holding a holy sword, looking majestic and very heroic.

The other is Tiresia, one of Link's wives, an arcanist from the first generation of the Hero Squad, and the Elf Queen.

Compared to Link's somewhat blurry face, Tiresia's features were depicted with remarkable realism. Quinn found it hard to reconcile the stunning beauty in the feathered robes on the sculpture with the old lady in the academy.

Even though it's just a stone sculpture replicated by later generations, this last elf is still breathtakingly beautiful. Among the women Quinn knew, even Amamiya Yu, hailed as the most beautiful woman in the Southern Continent, or her daughter, or Celia and Shadel, none of them could match Tiresia's ability to embody the highest level of human aesthetics in terms of pure "beauty."

Perhaps only Lin can rival her.

However, compared to the sculpture of Tiresia, the little girl seems to lack a bit of human warmth. It is precisely because Tiresia has the charm of a married woman that her beauty is so captivating.

Beneath her statue stands a separate stone tablet inscribed with the fact that the sculpture was erected in the time of the hero Merlin and was carved by Merlin's student based on Tiresia. It is hailed as the most accurate replica of the sculpture in the world today.
Quinn looked around and saw that it was indeed a replica. There were also some strangely yellowed tissues on the ground, which seemed to have been left by an adventurer who couldn't sleep and came to pay homage to the ancients in the middle of the night.

In addition, the stone tablet also records a lot of information about Tiresia, one of the founders of the academy, Merlin's close friend, and the only hero teammate who defeated the Demon King twice. She disappeared without a trace after Merlin's death.
Quinn knew that she was still in the academy she and Merlin had founded.

As a member of the academy, he naturally knew more about this history than the outside world, which is why Quinn couldn't understand what Tiresia was doing at the academy.
If she had a deep-seated hatred for the demons, then she never appeared in the Demon King conquest battles after Merlin. Although Tiresia was old, she did not seem to have been injured or had her abilities diminished.
What exactly was the deal she mentioned when she handed over Merlin's ashes to me?
Quinn took one last look at the elf on the sculpture, then turned and left.

Around the Adventurers' Guild, there's a commercial street selling weapons and miscellaneous items, as well as a casino that's not much smaller than the guild building—all tools for exploiting the adventurers.

Here, adventurers can be seen everywhere, sitting on the ground or simply rolling up in a small blanket and sleeping by the roadside. If there is a chair, they sleep on the chair; if there is no chair, they sleep on the grass. They all look like they are on drugs, just ordinary people living day by day.

Quinn was already used to it. Those with extraordinary power who dared to seek out monster dungeons were ultimately a tiny minority. The vast majority of adventurers in this world were just like the ones he had seen, contrary to the stereotypical portrayal in isekai anime, pure and simple gods.

These are people below the Silver rank, of all ages, and their combat ability is negligible. They can't take on dangerous missions, and they don't have the brains for complicated ones. They can only find day jobs in factories or hourly jobs. They spend their money at the guild, gambling, whoring, and smoking weeds, walking on the edge of illegality.

Every city has a large number of such people, and the Adventurers' Guild actually serves as a place for them. Those who don't want to work honestly but don't have the guts to join the underworld can become adventurers; at least they can get some work and not starve to death.

At 7:10 p.m., when the moon was high in the sky, Quinn returned to his rented apartment in Eastwell.

It's not far from Ankuya's house; it's a quiet residential area with excellent security. The apartment building is newly built, with gas and hot water available 24/7, and the rent is 11 gold pounds per month.

As Quinn inserted the key into the lock and stepped inside, hurried footsteps came from the kitchen, and a soft, warm body jumped up and threw herself into his arms.

"What did you make? It smells delicious. How about we eat first? Then we can go out on a date or something?"

"Now it's time for our date!"

"A date should include food, drinks, and fun. I feel like I'm meeting a mistress, ha!"

"I'm already having a great time eating, drinking, and having fun, hmm."

"Oh, okay."

He picked up the girl wearing flowers, smiled, and walked into the room to enjoy the night.

(End of this chapter)