Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  The door with the number 77 was made of steel, and the small window on the door was blocked by metal sheets.

  Sherlock extended his hand and placed it on the metal door. After Mana engulfed the metal door, it vanished. Behind the door was a scene that shocked Sherlock.

  “What a bold scene, Lord Sherlock,” Bru said teasingly.

  “Though I obtained similar information, I’m still shocked to see the real thing. Let’s capture the shots.”


  Sherlock took out a square-shaped Magical Item and a round Adamantine Ore, which had great Mana conductivity.

  He put the Adamantine Ore into the Magical Item and aimed the Magical Item at the scene. The pictures were engraved into the Magical Item.

  “These should suffice.”
……

  Winterfell Business Office Building, Office of the Dungeon Lord’s Assistant.

  A well-dressed Orc walked into the Assistant’s Office as the nearby creatures greeted him respectfully.

  “Good morning, Senior Beast.”


  “A very good morning, Senior Beast.”


  “Senior Beast, this is your Sleeping Worm red tea.”


  The Orc took the cup of Sleeping Worm red tea, which was emitting hot air and fragrance. He nodded his thanks and walked into the Assistant’s Office.

  Today was another busy day in Winterfell.

  He sat down and sipped the fragrant Sleeping Worm red tea. Then, he abruptly exclaimed, “S*it!” before spitting out the red tea onto the table.

  “What happened, Senior Beast?” a Gnome heard him and asked with concern.

  “Did anyone enter my office this morning?” the Orc asked loudly.

  “No, Senior Beast, nobody entered your office.” The Gnome looked puzzled.

  “Okay, you may leave.” Senior Beast frowned as he picked up the round Adamantine stone that showed he and another strong male Orc doing “unspeakable things”.

  Though the pictures were small, with a certain Magical Item, the pictures could be blown up big enough for clarity. Without close scrutiny, Senior Beast knew what the images were about.

  Yesterday night, he and another male Orc were at the Successful Educational Bookstore of the 404 Bar doing “unspeakable things!”


  There was a letter on the table.

  “After seeing this letter, go immediately to the innermost private room in the nearby Big Trouble Cafe. I am short of time. Sit down and listen after you arrive without asking questions. If you ask, I’ll send the green engraved stone to your wife and family members.”


  That was all for the letter.

  Senior Beast tore the letter into shreds furiously. If he wasn’t in the office, he would have given a battle cry and hack someone with an Axe.

  He swallowed the torn letter into his stomach and squeezed the Adamantine ball, but it didn’t disintegrate.

  His green face turned red from anger. He put the Adamantine ball into his pocket and rushed out in a fury.

  “Senior Beast? Where are you going?”


  “Urgent matter!”


  While everyone gaped, Senior Beast left the office in a hurry. He ran all the way to the Big Trouble Cafe. It was breakfast time, and the cafe was crowded.

  Senior Beast inhaled deeply to normalize the panting from his run. He tried to hide his wretched face as he clenched his fists, which were as large as sandbags, and walked towards the innermost private room.

  It was much quieter inside. He held himself back from smashing the room door. Instead, he knocked.

  “Come in.” A voice was heard from within.

  Senior Beast snorted, clenched his fists, and felt his primitive power. He was sure he was going to tear the creature inside into half before opening the door.

  A young Devil was sitting inside the room, a superior Devil.

  In front of the Devil were a variety of tea beverages. He had ordered almost all the tea in the cafe.

  The face of the Devil was hidden in the shadows, so Senior Beast was not able to see it clearly. From his folded wings and the aura of the Devil, Senior Beast could discern that he was a superior Devil.

  He was unable to defeat the Devil alone.

  Sherlock looked at Senior Beast. He caught a smell in the air and frowned as he asked, “What would you like to drink?”


  “Sleep…… Sleeping Worm red tea will do.”


  Sherlock chose a cup of tea from the beverages in front of him and pushed it out.

  “Thank you……” Senior Beast said politely.

  Sherlock took a cup of bloody chrysanthemum tea and drank its content like a tornado before saying, “If you had come by a second later, I would have left. Back to business.”


  Sherlock placed a round Adamantine stone on the table and said, “It’s simple. I checked your ancestry. Your name is Beast, age 42, and your wife is the Winterfell Dungeon Lord’s daughter. You got your current position with the help of your father-in-law and hold an important position in the Merchant Alliance Winterfell branch. Your wife loves you and bore you two kids. You lied to your wife to study the Heavenly “Sacred Grace” with a man in the bookstore. You also worshiped the Sacred Lady Coconut, and you were so devout that there was sacred light! By Satan’s grace, if I didn’t witness it, I wouldn’t have believed that two Orcs had sacred light. If this was made known to the Dungeon Lord or your wife, you would be dead.”


  Sherlock stopped for a while. The Orc was as pale as a sheet. Sherlock finished drinking the Bufotenin Milk in one gulp and said, “I know that two days ago, the Gnome Shopkeeper of the FeelAtHome Magical Item Shop looked for you. Let me guess what he asked of you. He asked you to reject a Devil Archaeologist who is coming for an interview in two days. Is that correct?”


  “What do you mean?” The Orc swallowed hard.

  “Let me ask, how much did he pay you?” Sherlock got a cup of Blood Curling Swine Tea and gulped it down.

  “20,000 Magic Stones……” the Orc said with difficulty.

  “Into your account? Full sum?”


  “Into my account, full sum,” the Orc said in agitation. “I signed a contract with the Gnome Shopkeeper. If I renege on the contract, the consequences are serious.”


  Sherlock leaned forward, intertwined his fingers, and placed them under his chin as he said, “That is a tricky problem. I’m not a bada** Devil. Times are different, and Devils have a conscience. Share half the money with me, and I’ll let you accept the Gnome Shopkeeper’s request without reneging on the contract. You can keep the other half, how’s that?”


  “Good…… deal.” The Orc hesitated for a while but eventually gritted his teeth and nodded. Both he and Sherlock took out their Magic Stone cards, and they made the transfer. Sherlock had an additional 10,000 Magic Stones.

  “Don’t think I’m taking advantage of you. I spent thousands of Magic Stones to obtain your information. I also owe someone a favor. To obtain information on creatures like you is difficult. I’m getting my costs back.” Sherlock put away his Magic Stone card and said, “I’ll talk about the second matter.”


  “Sec…… Second matter?” The Orc stood up in agitation. He felt the Adamantine ball in his pocket and helplessly sat down.

  “Hmm, I need you to employ an Archaeologist to participate in exploring an Ancient Ruins,” Sherlock nodded and said.

  “W…… What? Didn’t you say I’m not hiring?” The Orc widened his eyes and looked at Sherlock as though he had schizophrenia.

  “Decline the applicant two days later. Why don’t you hire the applicant for today?” Sherlock took out a certificate with the name Sherlock.

  “This is my Archaeology certificate. I’m a qualified professional. I wouldn’t force you to do things against your will. I’m also willing to take a test.”


  “There’s no need for a test. I know what to do. I hope that you can guarantee, no, draft a contract. If I help you, you’ll never show the recorded images in any format to anyone!” the Orc said with despondence.

  “No problem, I love to sign contracts. The more detailed, the better. Let’s discuss my salary. A fixed fee of 10,000 Magic Stones to be settled now,” Sherlock said as he smiled.

  Beast went outside the room and punched wildly in the empty air before going back and sitting down.

  “I understand. I’ll transfer the amount to you after signing the contract.”


  Sherlock nodded.

  “Settle the bill for the beverages too.”