The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature

“Did you meet the guest well?”

Cromwell’s brokerage office was unusually quiet. The scene from a while ago, where it was so prosperous due to my rapid rise that it was as bustling as a marketplace, felt like a dream. If there was an anomaly, there must be a cause. Perhaps this unique smell that clung to my nose could explain it.

It was a thick smell of blood.

I stared at the table under the dim lighting. A dark stain was on an unfamiliar spot. What it was and whose doing it was, was obvious considering what I had just experienced.

A bloodstain, a vampire.

“A rather ill-tempered friend was looking for you.”

“That bastard came all the way here?”

“He sat here for days waiting for you. The smell of blood was so thick it was about to paralyze my nose.”

No matter how much of a bottom-feeder contractors were, they couldn’t have been relaxed in front of a guy who was reeking of blood. Especially since there were more riffraff than skilled people. This quiet scene was probably because they had been driven out against their will.

I glanced at Cromwell. It was because of something I had done personally that he had suffered damage. My conscience pricked me for just letting it go.

“If you suffered any damage from that bastard, tell me. I’ll compensate you with money.”

“It’s fine, it wasn’t that bad.”

“You don’t have to refuse. This is a bloodstain. Wasn’t there a fight?”

“It’s the contents that your guest spilled from the pack. He stayed up for several nights waiting for you, and he spilled it when he dozed off.”

“……He did all sorts of things.”

Well, that vampire had looked exhausted from the first glance. Was it because he had stayed up all night, not because of a fight?

‘He’s a strangely diligent guy.’

It was absurd, but it was a relief that he hadn’t suffered much damage.

“Anyway, it must have been a nuisance. You could have just sent him to me, couldn’t you?”

“This is a brokerage office that connects clients and contractors, not a contact office.”

“You also double as an information broker.”

“You said it well. He didn’t bring any money. Then he’s not a customer.”

Cromwell said with a chuckle. It was probably half-joking, half-serious. He probably would have kept silent even if he had brought money.

“So, who was it?”

“An executive of the Brotherhood.”

I told Cromwell all the information I had found out. Since he was deeply connected to this matter, I needed to explain the outline of the matter to him. The underboss’s plan, the pressure applied to Councilor Giselle, led by Councilor Sorbet, and even the contact and warning from the Brotherhood’s top brass.

“It seems you’ve unintentionally dug deep into the Brotherhood’s internal affairs. It’s not a good sign.”

It was as Cromwell had said. In order to find a spirit beast, I had followed the traces of Greenwood, smashed Branch 52, and shaken the Brotherhood. It was good that I had dug up the backer called the underboss. It was a simple matter of getting rid of the underboss and getting the information about the spirit beast.

But it seemed I had unexpectedly stepped into the Brotherhood’s internal problems.

‘The vampire who came to me was, in effect, warning me not to contact the underboss.’

The Brotherhood is fundamentally an independent organization that allows competition between branches. It’s not a loyal organization that would retaliate just because I took down an underboss. When one underboss position becomes vacant, those below immediately compete for that position. As long as I wasn’t hostile to the Brotherhood organization itself, they wouldn’t even care about me.

However, unexpectedly, one of the three factions of the Brotherhood had bared its fangs at the underboss. The fact that they were preparing for a purge was just my speculation.

‘The fact that they’re banning outsiders from contacting him and preparing for a purge means that the underboss has a big secret.’

For now, it was none of my business. What was important was that if I ignored the warning and made contact, I could face severe retaliation.

“I could give you some personal advice, but… I don’t think there’s a need for that now.”

“You’re quick on the uptake.”

Whatever their circumstances were, it was meaningless to me. I want a clue about a spirit beast. It was a goal I couldn’t give up. Was it important enough to cause a conflict with one of the three factions of the Brotherhood?

The answer is ‘yes’.

A spirit beast directly affects my growth. In game terms, it’s an indispensable existence, close to a class quest. The vampire guys are a headache, but it was just the worst-case scenario becoming a reality. There was no need to hesitate now.

If there was an obstacle, I would just remove it. In this city, if you don’t run, you just fall behind.

“In the end, only one thing is important. Whatever happens, as long as you are strong enough or become strong enough to handle it, that’s all that matters.”

The logic of power. The group that best embodied this was the Mad House. The powerful outlaws that even the great power of the city government was reluctant to touch. I have no intention of becoming like them. But at least in a situation like this, where compromise is impossible, emulating them was the right answer.

I am now a resident of this city, Gellerg City.

“There are not one or two fools who have died like that, but isn’t this an industry where you put your life on the line? It’s not much different from before, so don’t worry about it.”

“For an encouragement to cheer me up, the conclusion is too gloomy.”

“It’s an occupational hazard.”

“You make it hard to argue.”

A broker was a profession that had to judge a contractor’s capabilities more accurately than the contractor themselves. They had to be realistic, conservative, and even somewhat pessimistic, so it was certainly worthy of being called an occupational hazard.

“I appreciate the advice.”

“Then it seems you’re planning to receive Councilor Giselle’s gift.”

I had come to see Cromwell for a different reason.

“The file on the underboss, hand it over.”

Had he warned me not to inquire about or contact the underboss? The vampire’s concern was right. And unfortunately, it was too late.

I had already reached the underboss.

***

“There are only rumors about the three factions that rule the Brotherhood.”

Hatig said quietly.

“Apart from the history that they originated from the three individuals who created the organization called the Brotherhood, it’s safe to say that everything else is just a groundless rumor. That’s how pathologically they avoid showing themselves in the forefront.”

They knew how to cleverly use the emotion of fear. Why do people feel fear towards ghosts? It’s because they don’t know what it is, because it can’t be seen or caught, that it’s scary. The secret rule that took place under the surface was just like a ghost.

As a result of such a strategy, the Brotherhood, without collapsing under its bloated size, had established itself as the largest force in the underworld, both in name and reality.

“Even if false rumors spread, they leave them alone, and sometimes they intentionally leak rumors. They hide the truth in a flood of information.”

There is a saying that if you want to hide a tree, you should plant it in a forest. It was the same principle. It’s not easy to distinguish the truth from the falsehood in a flood of information. Isn’t that how modern public opinion wars are?

“Even to fellow members of the Brotherhood, the ‘three factions’ are a mystery. Among the branch managers of the 100s like me, there are plenty of guys who don’t even believe in their existence.”

It’s treated as a kind of urban legend and a ghost story. It was understandable. Even in the database inside the Public Security Bureau in my memory, their identities were classified as top secret.

“Are you getting scared now that you know that such guys have approached you and warned you?”

“Not a chance.”

Hatig’s answer came back without a moment’s hesitation. He grinned, revealing his large teeth that were as big as his physique.

“On the contrary, my mouth is watering. It means the underboss’s importance is that great. The fruit I will take after eating him will be truly sweet.”

“You crazy bastard.”

“A leader who leads a tribe must be different from others. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

It was a silly exchange, but I felt like I knew why Hatig had instigated the internal strife of the Brotherhood. He had the ambition to rise to the highest position within the organization. The three factions that ruled the Brotherhood were, to him, just competitors and obstacles to be removed. Even if he hadn’t been ostracized as a different race, his troublemaking would have been an inevitable result.

“Thanks to you, I found out that a vampire is involved in one of the three factions. It’s a big harvest.”

Vampires are ostracized in all five cities on this continent. It was because they were designated as monsters and were not even treated as people. But despite such severe oppression, the vampires had not been exterminated. If they had survived by cooperating with the Brotherhood, it would be a clear answer.

The rumors about the three factions of the Brotherhood were complicated and confusing. If a single vampire was mixed in among them, it would be just another groundless rumor to others, so it was perfect for hiding their identity.

‘The truth is the opposite, though.’

It was a hidden setting that I, a veteran who had delved deep into FP, knew. It wasn’t that the vampires were hiding in the Brotherhood. It was that the vampires had created the Brotherhood to hide. As one of the three factions, the core of the Brotherhood, the Blood Alliance.

“If you’re not going to back out in fear, that’s fine. That’s all I wanted to confirm.”

“I was the one who proposed we take down the underboss together. I can’t be called a warrior if I chicken out in embarrassment.”

“Then you must have finished confirming the information I gave you.”

“Of course.”

Hatig nodded his head and continued.

“Taser Gale, he’s the guy from the file you gave me. I’ve dug into his personal details, both inside and outside the organization.”

What was in the file that Councilor Giselle’s office had given me was the personal information of a man named Taser Gale. There was nothing else. That alone was enough.

“He was the underboss. It’s information that has been cross-verified by multiple informants.”

Because he was the underboss.

“In the open, he also served as the president of a transportation company called Penicill. It’s a status befitting an underboss who controls about half of the smuggling market within the organization.”

In Gellerg City, the smuggling market was even somewhat popular. It was an open secret that transportation companies got a piece of the action and took a commission. Taser Gale didn’t just stop at building a cooperative relationship with them. He directly established a company, made it his own limbs, and used it for his underworld business.

“It seems the underboss creates several identities like that and uses them whenever necessary. That’s how he creates alibis and hides his identity. The higher you go, the more enemies you have. It’s a behavior worth noting and learning from.” Newest update provıded by N0veI.Fiɾe.net

The resident management system of Gellerg City was not very strict. Brokers took advantage of such security loopholes to create virtual individuals and revive erased resident information, providing suitable identities to those who wanted them. If the price was right, it was also possible to provide multiple identities to one person. It meant that the same person could live as a different person administratively. The underboss seemed to have actively used this method to hide his identity.

“And that over there is his business, Penicill.”

Hatig pointed his finger. Across the road was a single building that stretched horizontally. It had a different appearance from the other buildings in this city, which were either modern or so excessively futuristic that they were bizarre. A huge clock was embedded in the central building, which had a dome-shaped roof, and numerous windows glittered on each floor.

A beautiful view that followed the art style of the Middle Ages or the modern era. The interior was probably also luxuriously decorated with works of art and carpets. It was a luxury that a mere transportation company couldn’t even dream of. That fact proved how much money this company had sucked from the underworld.

“It’s a funny thing that the underboss of the smuggling market, who is as good as a target for a crackdown, is operating his own business in the center of the city without any problems.”

“It’s something you couldn’t imagine in your hometown.”

It was a contradictory scene that could only be encountered in Gellerg City, where the boundary between the underworld and the open world was blurred. Although it was called a barbarian city, Pershia was clean in that respect.

“Since you called me here, it seems that the company called Penicill has an important meaning to the underboss, right?”

“More than that.”

Excitement was mixed in Hatig’s stiff tone.

“Penicill has stopped its business. They say they’ve declared a temporary closure in line with the unsettling atmosphere of the city and have sent their employees home.”

In the garage, numerous trucks were neatly parked in rows. The main gate, made of steel bars, was firmly locked, refusing the approach of outsiders. The quiet building, alone in the busy center of the city, created a stark contrast and gave off an atmosphere closer to a permanent closure than a temporary one.

“But strangely, the lights are bright at night, and there are circumstances that a not-so-small number of people are coming and going through the back door.”

Hatig sniffed the air, as if there was a fishy smell.