*Chapter 57: Professional!

As agreed, after dismissing the dispensable corpse mover, Vice President Muir cheerfully returned to his office.

He locked the door, then took out a large money bag from the bottom drawer on the right side of his desk.

"1, 2, 3..."

Counting his savings was something Muir did every day before leaving work, especially now that he had extra income.

Stacks of gold crowns were piled on his desk.

Ten coins in a stack.

Ten stacks in total.

"Adding the 10 gold crowns I just got, I now have 100 gold crowns. That's one-fifth of my goal completed."

Muir calculated silently.

He didn’t plan to remain vice president forever.

What he wanted was the position of president.

And that was no easy task.

It not only required connections within the Royal Medical Academy but also a large amount of money.

Fortunately, he had the former, and soon he would have the latter as well.

Of course, for this, he had to do some things that went against his original intentions.

At first, it was hard.

But now?

Numb to it?

No!

Regretful!

Regretful that he didn’t start doing this sooner!

If he had started earlier, he would have become president by now, with his own big house, carriage, maid, and butler.

Would he still need to live in the hospital dormitory like he does now?

He might even have been able to host a proper surgical exhibition by now.

"Indeed!"

"The old me was too naive!"

"Too foolish!"

Muir muttered to himself as he began to put the gold crowns back into the bag.

At this moment—

Knock, knock!

"Who is it?"

The sudden knock startled the vice president.

He quickly stashed away the remaining gold crowns and stared intently at the door.

"It's me, Vice President Muir."

A low voice came from the other side.

Recognizing the familiar voice, Muir breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It was a client he had just met.

A very generous and discreet client.

Their previous cooperation had been pleasant.

And the client had mentioned that they would have more tasks for him in the future.

So at this moment, Muir was quite happy to open the door.

The client's arrival meant more money!

It meant he was getting closer to the president's position!

The smile on his face didn’t fade, even when the dagger plunged into his chest.

Muir instinctively looked down, opened his mouth to scream, but Tuck quickly covered it with his hand.

Then, three more stabs followed.

Blood splattered all over Tuck's body.

But the assailant didn’t care at all. He dragged Muir's body into the office and quickly began searching—their boss had investigated and knew that Muir was a very greedy man, but he had no private residence and still lived in the hospital dormitory, so the bribes he received must be in the office.

His goal in coming here, besides silencing Muir, was to find that money.

The drawer under the desk was too easy to find.

Soon, Tuck discovered the money bag.

But just as Tuck was about to grab the money bag, a voice suddenly rang in his ear—

"Don't touch my money!"

Then Tuck felt a sharp pain in his throat and his vision went black.

Goethe pulled out the dagger from the man's neck, stabbed him twice more in the chest, and then let him collapse to the floor.

Afterward, Goethe grabbed the money bag.

Clink!

As the gold crowns jingled and clinked, Goethe's main quest panel, in the wealth section, changed: 1/100.

"Only 100 gold crowns equal 1 point of wealth?"

Goethe frowned as he checked the gold crowns in the money bag.

So, 100 wealth points required 10,000 gold crowns?

The gold crowns in this 'Secret Realm' seemed to have a value similar to the gold coins in the previous 'Anchor World.' Goethe knew how difficult it would be to gather 10,000 gold crowns, and it would be even harder to collect 10,000 gold crowns here.

Because...

Identity!

A corpse mover from the countryside, despite having attended a grammar school, being literate, and knowing some basic math, what good does it do?

He has neither connections nor money.

As for the 100 gold crowns in his hand?

It may seem like a lot, but to increase it a hundredfold in a short time through regular means is nearly impossible.

Moreover, his main quest requires not only wealth but also fame!

Compared to wealth, gaining fame is even more difficult!

And then there's...

The extraordinary power hidden from the ordinary eye!

This is the hardest part!

It’s filled with too many unknown variables!

However, even so, it’s still easier than starting in the "Anchor World."

A "Goethe-style" beginning could almost be called nightmare difficulty.

And now?

As his power changes, the difficulty of this beginning is at most slightly below average.

After all, it's just an identity.

Goethe had plenty of similar experiences.

And there’s even one ready right in front of him.

How could a group of kidnappers not prepare a new identity?

He’ll just borrow it for a while!

...

Inside 21 Chuck Street, Jota was patiently waiting for his subordinates to return.

He considered himself a very patient hunter.

But for some reason, today he couldn’t shake a feeling of unease.

"Is it because I plan to retire after this last job?"

Jota frowned.

Kidnapping Andinan was his last business deal.

After that, he planned to kill the hostage,

Then...

Kill his three subordinates, take the ransom, and flee far away to live his retired life.

It’s not that he didn’t trust his three subordinates.

But isn't it better to take the ransom all for himself rather than split it four ways?

“The new guy is the easiest—Tucker dislikes him. If I create a small conflict, Tucker will surely kill him. Seale is a sentimental guy and will definitely be unhappy with Tucker. I can use the ransom to provoke a conflict between Seale and Tucker, let them kill each other, and in the end, I’ll reap the benefits!”

Jota considered his plan.

Simple yet effective.

He hated those overly complex plans.

They had too many uncertainties.

Instead, a simple one offers plenty of room for maneuver.

Of course, thorough investigation and information gathering beforehand is a must.

It’s a good habit!

Besides making each mission longer, it has no drawbacks.

Especially in terms of safety, which Jota valued most.

Otherwise, how could the four of them have killed the "Sword Bearer" without injury?

Thinking about those four fools who regarded him as a friend, Jota couldn’t help but smile,

Feeling very proud!

“What a pity...

This is the last time.

There will be no more Jota after this.”

“I guess I’ll spend the rest of my life in the warm southern seaside under a new identity?”

Jota first sighed with a sense of loss, but then he began to look forward to his new identity and new life.

Unconsciously, Jota leaned back completely into the sofa. His imagination of the future made him totally relax his guard, so much so that he didn't even notice a pair of hands reaching out from the shadows behind him.

The next moment!

Two hands landed on Jota's head at the same time, and with a swift twist...

Crack!

With a crisp sound of breaking bones, Jota's head drooped lifelessly.

Watching the now-dead Jota, Goethe slowly stepped out from behind the curtains, gave two more punches to his chest for good measure, and then calmly returned upstairs.

Goethe had entered the house through the second-floor window of 21 Chuck Street.

It was easier than he expected.

And Jota’s vigilance?

Against Goethe, whose physical abilities were now almost three times that of an ordinary person, it was utterly useless.

In fact, it wasn’t just the physical difference, but also a gap in skill.

Some of Jota’s arrangements, which might seem good to an ordinary person,

Were amateurish in Goethe’s eyes.

Even crude.

Handling them was a piece of cake.

After carefully searching the rooms upstairs, Goethe soon found what he was looking for in an inner room: identification papers!

The set of documents and a revolver were placed in a wicker suitcase.

After checking the ammunition, Goethe tucked the revolver into his waistband and began examining the identity papers.

“Pollo Mapple, a fallen noble’s son, orphaned early, with military experience, and has published articles in several newspapers—he’s a travel writer?”

Goethe reviewed the documents, admiring their completeness. Then, with a slight smile, he softly said—

“Next up...

It’s time for Mr. Pollo Mapple to make his appearance.”

(End of chapter)