She walked a few more steps and turned a corner.

There, a man leaned against the wall with his eyes closed.

Freesia approached the man and said, “The famished snake has finally opened its eyes.”

A bizarre line of poetry.

Undoubtedly, it was a code phrase.

The man opened his eyes and glanced down at Freesia.

“Are you Broza?”

“Yes, I am.”

She replied, sounding a bit surprised.

Freesia’s tone had completely transformed from a cheeky child to a proper young lady.

It was refined and polite yet irritating.

It was an unusual combination of attributes, but she didn’t seem to have any trouble pulling it off.

‘Is it because of this that she told me to keep my mouth shut?’

The man stepped away from the wall and pushed a rough wooden panel.

With a creak, it slid like a poorly greased sliding door, revealing stairs leading down.

Freesia and Reed descended the stairs.

The smell of sewage made them think it was an abandoned sewer in the kingdom.

There was a single table and four men and women gathered around it.

They seemed to be in the middle of a conversation, but they greeted Freesia and Reed warmly when they saw them.

“You’ve arrived, Broza.”

One of the men greeted Freesia first.

“Do we really have to announce our plans in a place like this? You could have found a better location.”

“If we had that kind of money, would we be gathered here like this?”

The bulky man with a scowl glared menacingly at Freesia.

Judging by his size, it wouldn’t be surprising if he could engage in a bare-handed fight with a bear.

If it had been the usual Freesia, she would have been consumed by fear and tormented him endlessly, but now she just smiled brightly.

“By the way, who’s the guy next to you? I heard you were coming alone.”

A woman with her arms crossed pointed to Reed with her chin.

Freesia smirked and casually leaned on Reed.

Before he could react, she drove her point home.

“He’s my older brother. He loves his little sister more than anyone, so he came with me.”

“…”

Was his black hair made for this?

She portrayed the image of a loving younger sister clinging to her brother.

He wanted to make a fed-up expression, but since he had vowed not to get involved, he just stood still.

“It would’ve been nice if you had told us beforehand.”

“I’m sorry. But what can we do? He’s inseparable from me.”

“Enough. Let’s stop the chitchat.”

They didn’t care about trivial matters.

The only thing that mattered to them was keeping their promise.

That’s why they focused on their plans, treating Reed as if he were just a folding screen.

Reed sneakily took a peek at what plans they were making.

It was a common event that occurred on the royal road in fantasy games.

‘Are these guys criminals?’

Of course, he had suspected this to some extent when they entered the dark alley.

Reed examined them with an eye for talent.

Name: Sneaky John

Occupation: Thief

Age: 21 years old

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Health: 500/500

Stamina: 310/310

Mana: 0/0

[Traits]

「Quick Hands」

[Abilities]

“Stealth Lv. 2”, “Eloquence Lv. 3”, “Agility Lv. 3”, “Thievery Lv. 2”

[Unreleased Traits & Abilities]

None

Thieves, bandits, swindlers……

They were just mediocre people, living off the crimes they committed in the shadows.

‘Even if they do commit crimes, they’ll be easily subdued, right?’

At best, their highest level was a measly 3, just small-fry specs.

Reed was expecting a blockbuster but ended up watching a low-budget film.

He couldn’t understand why Freesia was working with such people.

She was helping with their crimes under the name of Brosa.

Reed became curious about the crime that the Black Tower Tower Master was involved in and examined their plans more closely.

And if he were to evaluate their plans honestly…

‘Crude.’

It was just like the hostage drama and swift heist commonly seen in movies, followed by escaping over the city gates.

That was all.

‘Without any countermeasures, they just planned whatever they wanted.’

Reed couldn’t help but sigh at the plan, but what would Freesia say about it?

A moment later, Freesia opened her mouth.

“That’s a good plan.”

Reed could tell that she was subtly mocking their plan.

“However, I’m still worried about the escape. Isn’t it difficult to steal the guild’s cargo and leave through the city gates?”

“We know it’s impossible. That’s why we called you, Brosa, isn’t it so?”

Freesia smiled slyly.

Then, Reed saw mana bursting from her body.

It wouldn’t have been strange for the people of the tower to step back at the ominous presence, but the rest of the people, who couldn’t feel mana, showed no reaction at all.

“What I do is amplify your desires. Do you know what that means?”

“It means you give us the power to become superhuman, like the knights and wizards of the kingdom, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Some people even say it’s a power given by a demon. Do you know why?”

Shriek!

Freesia’s mana engulfed the men and women surrounding the table.

“Ugh!”

Their bodies stiffened as if they were being electrocuted.

Not knowing why, they rolled their eyes, bewildered by the strange sensation in their bodies.

Freesia answered the question she had asked.

“Because no human who has ever been under my spell has remained sane.”

“Ugh!”

“Do you think you can overcome your desires?”

For a moment, they looked at each other.

And they nodded at her question once more.

“We understand.”

With those words, Freesia snapped her fingers.

Snap!

With a clear sound, her shadow enveloped their entire bodies.

A moment later, their bodies, completely swallowed by the shadows, began to squirm.

Crack! Crunch!

The sound of something breaking and being crushed.

Despite the terrifying sound that should have elicited screams, they didn’t even let out a small moan.

How much time had passed?

The shadow curtain that had tightly wrapped the thieves began to melt.

Soon, their figures were revealed to Reed and Freesia.

The atmosphere of just moments ago, like a bunch of weaklings, was completely gone.

Even Reed felt a little cautious at first glance.

Moreover, their bodies had grown 1.5 times larger, and the once bulky man had turned into a bear itself.

“Huff, huff…!”

“Is this, is this me?”

“Why does everything feel so slow?”

“Aren’t you just speaking slowly?”

Their consciousness speed had increased, making others’ speech seem slow.

They all looked at their bodies with eyes full of ecstasy.

‘Could it be the magic she used on them was…’

At that moment, Reed realized what it was.

The worst magic Freesia had suggested to the protagonist when he was playing “Disaster 7”.

A skill that could be considered the identity of the character Freesia.

“Desire Massacre”.

Unlike ordinary buff magic, this dark magic was characterized by consuming mental power and using desire as a medium to maximize abilities.

‘With this, their pathetic planning won’t be a problem at all.’

The party, which had been full of weakling vibes, transformed into a monstrous party in an instant.

With them turning into monsters, such a crude plan wouldn’t pose any problem at all.

“Ha-ha-ha! This is amazing! Yes! With this level of power, it won’t be a big deal at all!”