Chapter 41. Aristocrat (2)

Chapter 41. Aristocrat (2)

"It's good that I got this from the Lizardmen colony."

Ian muttered as he looked at the cloak that he was wearing. It was a black cloak that had an eerie feeling to it.

It was one of the items he had gotten from the boss room in the hidden dungeon, Lizardmen colony.

The cloak was called Concealment cloak.

* * *

Rating: Rare

Effects: Defence+10, Agility+8, Stealth+30

Requirements: Agility+50, Level 30

Durability: 170/170

The cloak gained after defeating the Dragon Lizard, Leverill. It is black in color, and there is an eerie feeling coming from it.

*For 10 seconds, you can hide your presence completely, and no one will be able to find you.

* * *

Although it didn't provide much defense, just the ability to increase his stealth and the special ability to conceal all of his presence was enough for it to be a rare grade item.

Ian was lucky to get his hand on this.

As he didn't want to attract much attention to himself, the cloak was the best item for him.

He could stealthily move without anyone noticing him now. He couldn't use it much in battle, but it was an excellent item for stealthy attacks.

'I'm safe now.'

Ian thought as he looked around. The people searching for him were long gone, and there was no danger in sight.

He could finally come out of the alley.

"How can I make a connection with a noble?"

That was the most prominent matter on his hand currently.

Ian was currently in the capital of the Althiem empire, Arth. As it was the capital, there were many noble estates here.

The problem was that those estates were guarded by knights and guards, and Ian would be thrown out if he tried to enter the estates.

He had to find a good reason to meet a noble.

"I don't think I can find any information on the A.L.F community."

If there was information on how one could meet a noble, then all the players would have leaped on it like hungry wolves.

From what Ian knew, meeting with a noble would only occur if one was high leveled or if they had triggered some kind of quest.

Quests connected to nobles were rare too. Nobles would not take help from players usually. Some nobles would even look down on players.

It was not easy at all.

'Leveling up will take a hell lot of time. As for a quest…maybe, I can find one.'

Just thinking of how hard it was, would do nothing for Ian. Instead, he needed to use all the resources in his hand to look for a quest connected to a noble.

If it was a quest he needed, he just had to go to the place that had a lot of quests, and that was the Mercenary association.

Ian quickly moved through alleys and headed towards the Mercenary association. He hadn't visited it after going to the Arth sewers.

He wondered how Gran was.

'I hope he has a quest that is connected to a noble.'

With that thought, Ian quickly went towards the Mercenary association.

* * *

There was a mob of people fiddling around a window. People were pushing and pulling each other to get a look at a better quest.

It was the usual scene in the Mercenary association.

Some people in the crowd were already used to it, and the ones struggling were the newbies who just started the game.

"Hey, don't push!!"

"Stop crying if you are weaker than others."

"Hey, that quest is mine."

"That's the quest I want!!"

As the players were struggling to get the quest they desired, the door of the Mercenary association opened.

A man walked inside, but no one glanced at him.

Players would keep coming in and out of the Mercenary Association. Most of them were players who were less than level 100.

That's why no one would glance at them.

The high-level players would mostly leave one place and look for a better hunting ground after reaching a certain level.

The Western continent was vast, and there were many places to see. No one would want to stay in one place forever.

Every player who would start Ark would look for an adventure. Players who played the game only for money were a dime in the dozen.

One such player was Ian.

'Where's Gran?'

Ian thought as he entered the Mercenary association. He looked around and saw that players were still engaged in front of the quest window.

Then, he looked at the counters and finally saw Gran yawning at one of the counters.

Ian quickly sprinted towards him.

"Hey, Gran. How are you?"

Gran raised his head when he heard that familiar voice. He looked around to find out the source of the sound and finally saw Ian.

"It's been a while since you last came here. I thought you already left Arth like the other chosen ones."

"I found something. So, I was busy with it."

Gran was one of the few NPCs Ian was close within Arth. His affinity with him was the highest among the other NPCs.

It was because Ian had done several quests like the Nar herb gathering quest.

"I can see that you had a fruitful encounter."

Gran said as he moved his eyes to look at the cloak he was wearing. He could see that the cloak Ian was wearing was not a normal one.

"Yes, I had a good encounter. By the way, the reason I'm here is to get a quest."

Ian didn't waste any time talking about trivial things and moved straight to the main topic.

"So, do you want some Nar herb gathering quest? Since you started completing them, the demand for them has increased."

Ian shook his head when he heard that. He was not here to take a herb gathering quest but something completely different.

Thus, he said.

"Do you have any quest that comes directly from a noble?"

"A quest from a noble? Even if there was one, it's our policy to hide the name of the quest giver. Why are you looking for a quest given by a noble anyway?"

Gran asked as he raised his eyebrows.

There was no reason for Ian to hide it. That's why he told everything to Gran. Of course, he hid the fact that he had a random pet egg.

He just said that there was a book he wanted from the third floor of the library, and for that, he needed a noble's approval.

"A quest connected to a noble..."

Gran muttered as he pondered if there was any quest like that. Suddenly, he remembered something he had heard from his friend.

Maybe, that could help Ian, but every information had a price tag on it.

"I have some information that could help you."

Ian's eyes shined when he heard that.

He didn't have much confidence in finding such a quest in the Mercenary association. Still, it looks like his choice to go to the Mercenary association first was right.

"What's the information?"

"I got this information from my friend who works in a noble's estate. It was not very hard to get this information, but still, it is valuable."

Instead of telling him what the information was, Gran was wasting his time with unnecessary words. Ian knew very well why he was doing that.

"How much do you need?"

Ark's NPCs were just like humans, and because of that, the NPCs also shared the innate quality of humans, greed.

Gran was also the same.

Every information had a value to it, and every info could sell, you just had to find the right buyer.

Both Ian and Gran knew that well.

"10 gold."

"That's too much."

"Seeing that you had a fruitful encounter, you could at least spend that much on information that could help you greatly."

Ian tried to bargain and lower the price, but Gran was adamant about the price.

Ian had no choice but to concede to him.

'I should not have worn the cloak inside the Mercenary association.'

Mercenaries were quick to figure out the value of things. As a former mercenary, Ian knew that better than anyone else.

Ian lamented over his luck and handed Gran 10 gold coins.

Smirk!

Gran smirked as he felt the weight of the gold coins in his hand. He would surely visit the 'sixty-ninth street' tonight to have some fun.

"Now, come close."

Ian moved his head towards Gran when he gestured him with a come close sign.

It was not a nice feeling being this close with a bearded, burly man, but Ian ignored it and focused on the information.

"Do you know about the Griphline house?"

Ian shook his head when he heard that. He had never heard of anything like Griphline house.

"How can you not know about this? It's one of the Count houses in the Althiem empire."

"Ohh!"

The reason he didn't know about it was that Ian had never researched into nobles. There was no way he would know of a Count house.

"Anyway, the current head of the house, Count Ravanstein, has a lot of worries these days. He has not even been able to sleep properly."

"What's the reason behind his worry?"

"The reason is his father, the former head of the house. When the former Count was young, he decided to subjugate a monster called Venomous python."

Ian listened to Gran's words carefully. He couldn't afford to miss a single word. Moreover, he had already wasted 10 gold coins on it.

He has to make the most efficient use of the information.

"The battle between the Count and that python was fierce, but in the end, the Count was able to defeat the monster. Although he killed it, the poison of the python was powerful, and the former Count was badly affected by it."

"It must have been hard to preserve his life."

"Yes, many alchemists tried to make an antidote for the poison, but they were not able to cure it. The Count's life was preserved through expensive medicines till now, but…"

"But?"

Ian raised his eyebrow as he asked. The story was on its climax, so his focus was higher.

"Recently, the former Count's health has been degrading rapidly. They even came to the capital to get a cure from the Royal alchemist, but it was all in vain."

"So, the former Count can't be saved now?"

"That's what everyone was thinking, but recently, there is a rumor that an old alchemist has found out the cure of the Venomous python's poison."

"Then, the former Count can be saved now."

Gran nodded his head and finished the last part of the information.

"Yes, he can be saved. My friend, who works for the Count, told me that the current Count has been looking for someone to go to the old alchemist and bring the cure to heal the former Count."

Ian finally understood everything. He slowly nodded his head and replied. There was a glimmer in his black eyes.

"If I can bring the cure to the Count, then he may give me the approval to use the third floor of the library."

Gran slowly nodded his head.

At that moment, a quest window suddenly appeared in front of him.

* * *

The current Count Ravenstein's father and the former Count, Slavenstein, is affected by the poison of the Venomous python.

The only cure is the antidote made by an old alchemist. Talk to the Count and find out the location of the old alchemist.

-Difficulty: E

-Time limit: Two days

-Conditions: A person who knows about the condition of the Count

-Rewards: Unknown

* * *

Ian smirked when he saw the quest window in front of him. The quest he wanted was finally here.