Tesetan Veronio.

A monster who had raised to the very top of the rankings in just one year after its formation.

Any mercenary in Tallocium—including Ripper—knew that name.

To be precise, they only knew the name.

Tesetan’s identity was unclear.

There was only a name. Nothing had been revealed about his age, hometown, or family background.

“He’s crazy in more ways than one.”

Ripper habitually flicked the thumb section of his gauntlet, producing a sharp click.

Across from him, Basto Paerix—rumored to be an executive of Agavert—watched him with a tense expression.

“You’d better be prepared. With that bastard’s personality, it’s obvious he’ll come stir up trouble in Agavert.”

Ripper had come to the capital for the first time in a long while.

Partly to meet a few nobles who had recently given him personal requests, and partly to exchange some leftover cores at the Rewards Bureau.

But then—

‘I... I’ve run out of gold coins at the moment... I only have about ten small monster cores’ worth...’

There were no rewards left at the Rewards Bureau.

At first, he thought it was absurd.

And for good reason—Ripper had never once seen the Bureau run out of gold coins.

But after hearing Ornel’s explanation—

‘Agavert has taken over forty thousand gold in just the past few weeks! In just a few weeks! The treasury didn’t just run dry—it’s completely empty!’

Forty thousand gold.

That was enough for a large-scale mercenary group to live comfortably for an entire year without working.

Even after paying individual wages to every member each month, there would still be money left.

And yet that amount...

A six-member mercenary group had taken it in just a few weeks?

At that moment, a story he had overheard at the border came back to him.

‘Agavert—you’ve met them before, right?’

The mercenaries at the border had all been talking about the King of the Dead and her subordinates.

‘Tesetan is seriously pissed. Seems he doesn’t like Agavert climbing up the ranks.’

Only then did Ripper begin to understand what was happening in the Empire.

Tesetan was strong.

A supreme powerhouse who could face large monsters alone and come away with nothing more than minor wounds.

But that made something feel even stranger.

“He’s a one-track mind. And not just that—obsessively so. For someone that strong, he’s got no composure.”

Tesetan was unnaturally fixated on rankings.

As if besieging magic crystals and cutting down monsters were the only reasons for his existence.

“There’s a lot of talk among mercenaries too. Usually, once you reach a certain level, you settle down and take it easy. But that guy never stops rampaging.”

Some even said this:

That perhaps it was exactly that personality which allowed Tesetan to maintain his number one rank.

But Ripper did not agree.

“He’s like a moth to a flame. The moment someone threatens his position, he charges in like a rabid dog. Even our had a hard time because of him.”

Back when had been rapidly climbing the rankings—

Every single time Tesetan met Ripper, he picked a fight.

Saying things like they should gamble important commissions on a duel, or that Ripper should prepare to be crushed to the bottom.

There wasn’t a trace of basic courtesy or procedure.

Even back then, it had been the same.

Ripper had simply extended a hand, thinking they might as well get along now that they knew each other.

‘A handshake? Why would I shake hands with you?’

‘Hey. What kind of attitude is that for a first meeting...?’

‘I didn’t become a mercenary to make friends. If you’re going to kill monsters, then kill monsters. You’re wasting time offering your hand to a competitor. Seeing the state of you, I can guess what your whole mercenary group is like.’

Even Ripper, who had seen it all, had been left speechless.

It was so absurd he couldn’t even get angry.

Afterward, he had thought it over carefully.

And came to a simple conclusion.

That Tesetan had acted that way because he looked down on him.

But that wasn’t it.

Tesetan treated every mercenary the same way.

He always spoke of “efficiency,” “objectives,” and “competition,” and ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) never engaged in personal or friendly interaction.

“In short, he’s a lunatic. Anyway.”

Shaking his head, Ripper fixed his gaze on Basto.

He rested his gauntleted hand on his hip.

“With a guy like that, what do you think he’ll do to the first mercenary group that threatens his position? I’m telling you to stay alert. The first time you deal with him, you’ll definitely be caught off guard.”

“Is he really that unpredictable?”

Ripper nodded without the slightest hesitation.

“Not just unpredictable—dangerous. If you were just another average mercenary group, I wouldn’t even bother saying this. But you lot...”

Ripper’s eyes swept across the interior of Agavert’s base, which resembled a noble mansion.

A vast interior.

Luxurious decorations and expensive treasures hanging on the walls.

Despite having been formed not long ago, Agavert had already achieved a great deal.

According to Olek, their growth rate was even faster than in its prime.

“You look like the ones who could actually push Tesetan aside.”

Instead of answering, Basto gave a small nod.

“Thank you for the advice.”

Ripper waved it off as nothing.

Then, just as he was about to turn away, he noticed something and widened his eyes.

“King of the Dead. You were inside?”

From the second-floor stairs, the King of the Dead—whom he thought absent—was walking down.

Ripper approached with a pleased expression.

“Is this the first time since we met in the weapon district? After being trapped in subspace, any aftereffects—”

But for some reason, the King of the Dead stared at him, puffing out her cheeks.

Then—

“...The King of the Dead doesn’t talk to bad people. Doesn’t even greet them.”

“What?”

Tie let out a huff and walked right past Ripper.

“Talking behind someone’s back is bad! Calling someone crazy, calling them insane—that person is worse, way worse!”

Tie stomped loudly and disappeared straight into the kitchen.

A baffled breath escaped Ripper’s mouth.

“I came to warn you, and this is what I get...”

Ripper stood there for a while, staring at the kitchen where Tie had vanished.

Meanwhile, in the Oracadia Sanctuary on the Northern Continent.

“...What do you mean? A state commission that came in after two years is being canceled?”

Tesetan, who had been sitting on the altar of the empty sanctuary, stood up.

Allerik let out a sigh.

Victor, Ribia, and the other members behind them all wore dark expressions.

“Leader. I’m telling you, this is all because of that King of the Dead. Everything was going well...!”

Ribia shouted in frustration.

Tesetan stepped down from the altar without a word. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Looking at Allerik, he asked in a lowered voice—

“Are you saying the state commission was taken by Agavert?”

Allerik answered reluctantly.

“...Yes. The Association won’t officially acknowledge it, but that’s the most likely possibility.”

“The reason?”

“For the past few weeks, Agavert has been besieging magic crystals across the outskirts of the capital—no, across the entire Empire—at an incredible pace. They’re already ranked fourth, so naturally attention shifted toward them...”

“Hah.”

At that moment, Tesetan burst into laughter.

After briefly rubbing the corner of his eyes, cold fury burned across his face.

“This is ridiculous.”

Tesetan had left Tallocium the very next day after meeting Valentis in the weapon district.

There were several reasons.

The first was that seeing Valentis had stirred an inner disturbance that should never have existed.

The second—

“I came all this way just to catch the Emperor’s attention. Some of the members even got injured...”

Because, due to the nature of the Northern Continent, it was a region where magic crystals gathered in large clusters.

“Leader. That doesn’t erase the achievements our mercenary group has made. Even if Agavert has overshadowed them...”

“If they’re overshadowed, they mean nothing.”

Tesetan hated clustered magic crystals.

Because in the wastelands of Tallocium, he had once lost his mother with three clustered crystals behind him.

And yet, he had still come to the Northern Continent to save time.

For mercenaries, the only path to recognition was increasing the number of sieges.

To do that, they had to shorten siege time.

And the best way to shorten siege time was to target clustered crystals.

Until recently, everything had seemed to be going well.

Two days ago, the Association had even contacted them for the first time in a long while.

They said a state commission might be assigned to Trevaga, so they should prepare to return.

And then—

“It’s canceled? Because of Agavert? Because of that King of the Dead—that freak?”

Tesetan’s eyes darkened, sinking into a cold, chilling depth.