"That guy's chasing death, to the point he charged Sejuani's entire tribe on his own. Letting a reckless brute like that go would be a waste. I've got to keep him here, for the Soul Erosion Night, seven days from now."
As Duke watched Olaf leap from the sea monster's corpse into the ocean, his lips twitched. That massive beast tooth must weigh at least a ton, and this maniac just hauled it on his shoulder and jumped straight into the sea.
No doubt about it, the League's #1 madman.
Nothing fancy, just pure, unfiltered headstrong insanity.
"Duke, he's not going to drown, is he?" Neeko blinked wide-eyed.
"Maybe...?" Duke tilted his head, then caught a faint stir beneath the waves. "Probably not."
He suddenly realized that he didn't even need to trick this guy. Just explaining how dangerous Soul Erosion Night would be should be enough to make Olaf leap at the chance.
As a berserker from Lokfar, Olaf believed his fate should be to die a glorious warrior's death on the battlefield, not the slow, peaceful end foretold by tossing beast bones into a fire.
Dying of old age in bed? Unacceptable.
Ever since receiving that prophecy, he'd been trying to change his fate, yet his strength and sheer dumb luck always let him scrape through death again and again.
Just look at what happened when he went berserk and cut straight through Sejuani's tribe alone.
That tribe was one of the three major powers in Freljord, with elite warriors everywhere, and yet Olaf, this death-seeking brute, punched right through them like a chisel through iron.
With someone like that, Duke figured all he had to do was describe how terrifying Soul Erosion Night was, and this guy would be swinging his axe at Hecarim by sunset.
As Duke recalled Olaf's lore, the man himself trudged out of the sea, still carrying the massive beast tooth.
Reeking seawater streamed down his armor, making his already savage appearance even worse.
Neeko immediately leapt back, putting distance between them. But both she and Duke wore special respirator masks Duke had crafted, filtering out all harmful particles and purifying the air.
It wasn't the smell, it was the sheer visual impact Olaf brought with him.
And this was Bilgewater's most polluted site, the Slaughter Docks. If you asked locals for directions, they'd tell you to follow the stench.
The worst smell? Right here.
The docks were also crawling with dock-breed rats, unlike normal rats, these had heads shaped more like sharks, no fur, only oily skin, and necks so short they seemed headless. Their shark-like jaws were permanently open, lined with chisel-sharp teeth.
They were the polar opposite of Zaun's plague rats. In fact, the plague rats, with their spiky fur, seemed downright cute in comparison.
The moment Olaf stepped ashore, these rats swarmed him. He didn't flinch, just kept stomping, each kick crushing another dock rat underfoot.
Unfortunately, that only riled them up further.
"Hold still. I'll deal with them," said Duke, pulling out a freeze grenade. Finger on the pin, he asked, "You're not weak to cold, right?"
"Don't insult a Freljordian's frostborn blood!" Olaf roared as he booted another rat across the docks.
"If you've got a way to get rid of these pests, then do it!"
"You asked for it."
Duke yanked the pin and lobbed the grenade toward Olaf, hoping the berserker could take it.
The moment it hit, the ground exploded in a mist of frost, instantly freezing everything nearby in a thick layer of ice. The dock rats were all turned into ice sculptures in a blink.
Even Olaf's legs were encased in ice, but rather than pain, he let out a satisfied moan.
"Now that's the temperature a northerner should feel. It's way too hot and stinky down here!"
With a grunt, Olaf flexed his massive thighs, shattering the ice around his legs and stomping over to Duke, dropping the massive beast tooth at his feet.
BOOM, it hit the ground like a boulder.
"Greetings, outlander. I am Olaf of Lokfar, from Freljord. Pleased to meet you!"
Brushing icy shards off his thighs, Olaf beamed at Duke, eyes gleaming, like he was hoping Duke would throw another freeze grenade his way.
"That little toy you tossed just now reminded me of home," he said, voice warm. "Thanks for that."
"I'm glad you liked it," Duke replied.
The freeze grenade had been crafted using a formula from a certain Cryo Villain reward he'd drawn in the lottery. It could freeze a normal person solid on contact.
But for Olaf, it barely registered.
Duke made a mental note, Freljordian frostbloods had extremely high ice resistance.
"I'm Duke Sanchez," he introduced himself. "A craftsman from Piltover. I'm currently here for some research experiments."
"A craftsman?" Olaf looked at him, then slapped the massive beast tooth beside him. "Then you'll want this! It'll make a great crafting material!"
Watching Olaf's hilariously stiff sales pitch, Duke smacked his lips.
Yep, asking a brute to sell something was just cruel.
All his crewmates were asleep on deck from exhaustion, Olaf was the only one left.
He needed to sell the beast to earn money to feed his crew and get back home, so he had no choice but to try selling it himself, with painfully awkward enthusiasm.
But business was business, not charity.
"This beast tooth is way too dense. Standard tools can't cut it, and even specialized gear would raise processing costs. I can't offer a high price."
In Bilgewater, a single Gold Sea Serpent coin had serious value, worth a hundred silver ones. Ten silver coins could buy food for three months.
So one gold coin? That was a big deal.
"I see…" Olaf scratched his head. He was great at killing, terrible at haggling.
"Then name your price."
"Five silver Sea Serpents per tooth. I'll buy however many you can get."
"That work for you?"
Duke offered a fair deal. These teeth, when sculpted by a real artisan, could sell for a hundred times the price.
Even if he didn't resell them, they'd make excellent decor for his Blue Rose Manor back home.
Olaf grinned. "Deal! I'll start pulling out the rest. Where should I deliver them?"
"I'm staying at Highland Hotel. Just give them my name."
Duke tapped the beast tooth and stored it into his inventory with a flash, then tossed Olaf a gold Sea Serpent.
"Consider that an advance. We'll settle the rest later."
Olaf was a little surprised by Duke's dimensional storage, but shrugged it off. In a world this crazy, there was no shortage of weird stuff.
Besides, he'd just earned a gold coin, good enough to make him happy.
"By the way," Duke added, "you'll want to finish this within a day."
"That soon?"
Olaf frowned, glancing toward the colossal sea monster's corpse. Duke followed his gaze.
That body needed to be dismantled, if left until the Black Mist came, it'd rise as an undead.
"Seven days from now is Soul Erosion Night. Bilgewater will become a playground for the dead. It's incredibly dangerous. You have one day to process the corpse. The other six, you can rest, resupply, and head home."
"You said dangerous?"
Olaf's eyes lit up. Danger was good. He loved danger. The kind that might kill you in one step? Even better.
"Correct. On Soul Erosion Night, the Black Mist will blanket the seas, covering all of Bilgewater. With it comes the undead, dragging the living into their world."
"There will also be terrifying foes, the Dread Knight, the Harbinger of War, and the infamous Chain Warden. No one wants to face them."
"I'M STAYING."
Panting with excitement, Olaf pulled out his axe and swung it a few times, the air ripping with each arc.
"I came to Bilgewater chasing that giant worm, hoping for a glorious death. If what you say is true, then this Soul Erosion Night is exactly what I'm looking for!"
Duke glanced at him sideways.
Just as expected, mention Soul Erosion Night, and this madman couldn't wait to throw himself into battle.
"You're really staying?"
"Of course!" Olaf pounded his chest with his true ice axe. "I seek only to die a warrior's death!"
"If that's your wish, I can introduce you to a ship captain who's organizing a defense against the Soul Erosion Night. I think she'll be thrilled to have you."
"YES!" Olaf shouted, practically bouncing. Seeing this muscle-brained berserker, Duke rolled his eyes.
Everyone else ran from Soul Erosion Night like the plague, Olaf couldn't wait for it.
The difference between a normal person and a brute, huh?
"Alright. Then come to Highland Hotel in seven days. I'll take you to her."
"Deal!"
Olaf thrust out a huge hand. Duke slapped it without hesitation, a warrior's pact, sealed with a clap.
"I'll go carve more beast teeth now. Once I'm done, I'll find you!"
"See you then. And if you need a new weapon, I can forge one for you, think of it as a reward for your bravery."
"I've got this axe, and that's all I need. I'll bring some Jawale Ale when I find you!"
With that, Olaf leapt back into the sea, swimming toward the sea monster's corpse.
Watching the straightforward, lovable brute, Duke couldn't help but smile.
"Such a sincere idiot."
"But honestly, I kind of like him."
Still, he couldn't forget his next task, he had to help Sarah deal with the Slaughterhouse Gang.
End of chapter...
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