Sunday, 10 July 2011

LMS: Volume 3





Chapter 1 : My profession: Moonlight Sculptor



Baran village was bustling with a drastically increased number of users.

"All kinds of sculptures! Food for sale! Low durability armor or weapons, will be repaired cheaply."

"Sculpture, What's That?"

"20 silver per piece! Is it Expensive? As expensive as it is pretty: what is art if not original."

The explosion of interested women accepted the user Weed!
The sculptures, which he made one by one, appeared alive.

Big stone sculptures don't sell easily. In order to be popular, smaller means more attractive.
Models were also produced. Some were cute tiny pairs; the female users were enormously interested.

Weed simultaneously cooked while selling sculptures. Attracted by the smell of stews and stir-fry, people gathered. People who came to buy a sculpture were also interested by the smells of the cuisine.

"What are you cooking?"

"It's poison."

"Eek, poison? You're trying to make poison? This delicious scent that's being given off...."

"Yes, you will die twice when you eat it, because it is that delicious, it is a poisonous drug! Taste the cooking. Enjoy even the slightest bit!"

Weed's hand hovered over with a spoon, giving the users a chance to taste the stew.

First of all the smell! The sweet taste was made from water boiled with wild edible greens, which were good for the body. The moment when it entered the mouth, the taste unraveled. With the stew, the eyes of the female users widened.

"Wow, delicious! Brother, can I buy some?"

"Yeah! We want to eat this often... mister, how much is it?

"For the stew, 15 silver."

"Far too expensive for one dish, isn't it?"

The faces of the male users became distorted. As if 15 silver was that significantly high a price! However with price, Weed never compromised. There was no room to compromise with money.

"The reason for my cooking is to allow many people to eat more delicious food. The path always changes, but it feels good. It seems cooking is expensive, since it brought complaints from everyone."

"Well of course it is!"

"I would like to sell really cheap; however, the cost in materials of this is nearly 14 silvers. There is something else, the cost in food skill. When you consider all the effort I make and everything I do, I'm selling for next to nothing. *Sniffle*. The requirements for delicious food are driving me to give up my dreams of using cheap ingredients to create a cheap meal such as stew and other things. Regardless, it is really distressing. *Sniffle*!"

Weed cried detestably, it was an act. If he was stabbed and bled, Weed would not shed a tear. This was an investment. An investment in ingredients for no cost!

"Brother!"

The investment paid off, the female users cried out (lit. the text said cried out, "quack...").

"We can just buy his food! I mean, come on! To cook something this tasty, after all my mom would say cooking is from the heart. It takes time to create good food like this, undoubtedly that is the common case."

"Yeah, I understand. Sorry about that Chef, cook more and sell it."

The couple went and put out as much as 20 silver. Neither of them asked for change. Weed expression changed to a smile.

"You can never know when you will eat delicious food. Once again, money earned."

Weed sold a lot of sculptures and food.

I did in fact say that the materials did not even cost 1 silver.

It was cheap, as most of what he sold was wild ingredients. The remaining materials also were very cheap. In the mountain villages, unlike in towns, the prices related to food were considerably lower.

They saved me from needing to buy cooking ingredients in the city; they were also rich with recipes yielding various dishes.

"Hey! One bowl please."
"Seaweed rolls for us."
"I came back for more, hehe."

There was no end to the customers. Cooking skills and sculpture rose to the intermediate level, and the popularity was absurd. Even jokes grew along, while there was no need to lie when he did business, he had to lie if they got the idea that he was Weed.

It made him feel good to give the customers a more thorough service! However, from time to time, there were customers that annoyed him.

"It's the same guy from the television."

Two women approached, trying to view every aspect of Weed's face, and they stayed.

"You are the Princess Knight, aren't you?"

After participating in the high school play as an adult, he received his prize and attached to it was a nickname! This rapidly spread throughout the internet.

Because of this, there were quite a few people who knew his face. Some people may like to be really popular, but the case is different for Weed. Of the many nicknames, Princess Knight was unmatched.

"That, well, you see, the shape is wrong."

Weed turned his eyes to avoid their attention. Anyway, because of Weeds delicious cooking, as well as the significant rise in health and mana, countless users came even deliberately to eat it. Even some people going out to hunt as a party came to eat.

"15 silver, the price for the special nourishing meal for hunts is 30 silver. Thanks. Have a pleasant hunt!"

As an alternative, if durability was lost they got a free sculpture, and for expensive cooking, repairs were free of charge. Because of this, the price was no problem.

Let's say they bought food for 30 silvers; if users wished to hunt around the town they could achieve enough money to pay for it. Food that increased the maximum amount of health and mana was more than worth that much for starting a hunt.

Of course, there really were expensive dishes. Dishes made by joining the eggs of a signature tribe and the fruit of heaven. Eating either of them can lead to death but cooking them together gives the dish a sweet taste. The fruit of heavens cost was 15 silver while the eggs of a signature tribe was a whopping 95 silver. However, not only was the price to cook the food expensive, it was also very complicated.

Houdini could not have recreated such an equation; to neutralize the strong potency and double the effect giving ingredients; it would have needed to be completed along with the food. Creating a chicken soup with ginseng and dates, with various medicinal herbs without destroying the taste, an effective amount of cooking proficiency was needed to fully pull out the special characteristics.

Those are the difficulties and hardships of a chef.

Thus, after the challenges and failures Weed had to go through in joining the eggs of the signature tribe and the fruit of heaven, this dish was created.

(Four lines were skipped, its pretty much naming of the dish by combining two names into one. Overall, it translates horribly in English. For instance: "Buds on the Main nuts." Real Korean translators would be needed to sort that kind of mess out.)

Combining the eggs of the signature tribe and the fruit of heaven mutually affects strength, intellect and luck, but not just that, this food significantly increases health.

When Mapan joined Weed, he had high expectations for the town.

"Now this is my end as an exhausted merchant! Now a good life will flash before me."

One can say a merchant's road is difficult. In Mapan's mind, he brushed past it now, the suffering had passed.
"Whew, it was a really tough time."

When he initially selected to be a merchant, he had been loaded with hopes and dreams.

As a merchant, Mapan really liked:
Money!
Power and money!
Fame and money!

To eventually live to dominate the world through money.

He majored in economics, capitalism as a philosophy rather than economics itself; his firm belief was to achieve his goal bit by bit.

Versailles became the continent all the money came to, so he wanted to acquire a tremendous reputation and establish a chamber of commerce. The money inside the kingdom is said to be given to (or by?) the aristocrats. In a word, he chose the way of merchants to earn big bucks.
But not everything went the way he wanted!

From the start, the road of a merchant was rough. Not allowed out of the city for four weeks, the only thing he could have done was to run errands. Hotels, weapon stores, exchanges, etc., hard work commissioned to collect a pittance. In order to do the merchant's quest, Mapan jumped, ran and rolled!

T'tiring!



With the progress you made, you have achieved the qualification to gain the merchant's profession:

There is no merchant that is not money hungry:
I urgently need 300 pieces of Rabbit Leather. I will give you one gold coin for them, will you get them?

This is your formal quest to be a part of the merchants of Rosenheim kingdom! However, get it done as quickly as possible. I'd like you to get them within three days.

The Exchange owner requires Rabbit Leather
  • The owner of the Exchange requires a large quantity of rabbit leather. He needs it as soon as possible, your reward will be better the sooner you give it to him.


    • Difficulty: E
    Reward: Merchant Profession
    Quest limit: Three days

    If you fail, this profession's master's confidence in you will decline and you will not receive a referral for one month.

    "Hooray, money to earn!"

    Singing with delight, Mapan accepted the request.

    "A gift of one gold coin and also the beginning of my career as a merchant. With it I'll gain lots of money"

    The rabbits in front of the castle are the common beginning monsters, made for total beginners. One rabbit leather sold for 10 copper to grocery stores, so the total purchase price should have been 3000 copper. So he calculated that 30 silver should have been sufficient.
    Of course the other party needed to have some profit. Now it came to finding an appropriate price for both sides.

    "BUY Rabbit Leather! I will purchase for 11 copper!"

    Mapan cried out with a loud voice in front of the castle. Hoping that massive amounts of users hunting rabbits would come running for a profit. Nearby another merchant shouted even louder.

    "Rabbit Leather 30 copper!"

    Some people next to her rose into a harder cry.

    "Buying Rabbit Leather 50 copper. Unlimited amount!"

    "Damn! What happened...."

    Rabbit leather should have only cost 10 copper, it should definitely not have been purchased at these tremendously high prices.

    "What is happening?"

    Mapan asked perplexed, but the answer made him wail in despair.

    "Did you not know? To receive the merchant occupation, not just one or two people are collecting rabbit leather, and not just for that, they're also collecting rabbit leather for sewing. When people learned that rabbit leather was required by many, the price skyrocketed."

    Mapan was in tears.

    The prices would ruin his starter merchant.

    The merchant occupation had a forced three day time limit. After using up all his money, with no other choice, he stayed up and hunted and just barely got 300.
    Thereby he became flat broke.

    "Thank you, now you are a merchant!"

    The owner of the exchange gave him a pat on the shoulder for a job well done; little did he know that Mapan's shoulders drooped. That had only been the beginning.

    The road of a merchant was a hard one indeed.

    To raise the level of his skill, he had to purchase loot from users at an expensive amount of money. Due to being weak, he ignored combat, but in order to purchase loot a war of dried blood and tears was being waged. Throughout the trip to this remote village, Mapan had hoped that there would not be a lot of sorrow waiting for him at the end of the road.

    Waiting for someone to come to his stall to sell loot was nothing really difficult, but people came and asked for unreasonable prices.

    "The suffering has ended!"

    Ever since Mapan had fulfilled a partnership with Weed, all of his anxiety and fears had been reduced. Recently he only trusted Weed.

    "I will follow him anywhere. My trust has been born anew!" (lit. parturition)

    Mapan was firmly determined.

    A great warrior! Adventurer! Master of battle!

    Knowing that, Mapan had been confident. He sustained that emotion until they reached the town.

    "How does he do that?"

    Mapan wanted to scream.

    He rubbed his eyes to look again, Weed was making food, and in between he sold sculptures. To make matters worse, he was repairing!

    "Euheuheuk!" (I guess its Korean equivalent of wtf!)

    Weed was cooking and someone was secretly weeping. The one crying was Mapan.

    The Weed he knew as the great warrior was now selling food and sculptures.

    "Isn't that of the worst kind of job?"

    This was not something he could solve with but a guess. He needed to know, but Mapan was hesitant. Afraid to know the answer he didn't have the courage to ask.

    "Weed, what is your profession?"

    "Me? Obviously my line of business is that of a sculptor."

    "Sculptor?"

    Just as if he had been smashed in the back of the head with a blunt object, Mapan felt sick.

    "If artists and sculptors are as popular, I'm making a living as a cleaner!"

    Melancholy took a hold of Mapan; he pointed at the boiling cauldron with a trembling hand.

    "Well, what about cooking, then?"
    "It's a hobby."
    "Repairing that...."

    "It's hard to learn the skill of sculpturing. To learn blacksmithing, the way to manufacture weapons and armor I had to advance my repair skill to the intermediate level."

    Since partnering with Weed, Mapan's fate had blossomed, so he could not have gotten discouraged.

    "Well, yeah. So he's not pitiful, but what is it this job does?"

    In his mind, the character called Weed could not fit this condition. It is enough to go down in history as a very luxurious Carrick tea schnauzer! (LMAO, google it)

    (the next two lines I skipped as it is hard to phrase. I think that it is more or less Mapan thinking that it's hard to know from what he sees now and the abrasive Weed he met earlier. Also about him second guessing.)

    "How often do you find characters that become like yours?"

    Mapan had greatly misunderstood Weed's tearful plight.

    He had beaten the scarecrow at the beginner class training center; he had eaten from the instructor's meals and he had grown strong very slowly.

    In order to increase one skill, he had made sculptures that were pleasing to the eye. He also became a cook for NPC soldiers that were part of the punitive group he accompanied.

    He cooked tens of thousands of dishes and bowls, created thousands of sculptures. Weed was barely a child, accustomed to terrible situations, who could only count on his own skills to grow.

    Mapan learned what had happened, one by one every step of Weeds story, right up to this very place.

    'This man is even more commercial minded than me' he thought.

    Confucius had once said: "when there are three people walking, my teacher is bound to be among them. I'm afraid, I must learn from him. "

    Mapan did not regret his choice of partnering with Weed. He actively bought loot besides Weed and opened up his own stall.

    Anyway, quantity was the law.

    While watching Weed's motions as he sold food and sculptures, Mapan found that a new type of merchant had been awakened.

    "What a wretched liar....!"

    Occasionally some were astonished.

    "I'm not drunk; I can see that you are making profits with lousy ingredients!"

    Sometimes people were angry.

    (The line that shows up here is a bit ambiguous. It either means that people walked off too proud to believe in the merchant, or some Korean saying talking about a merchant's pride is like being on foot disappearing from place to place. Either way, real Korean translators would be nice.)

    "You damn crook, you must be a complete impostor, right?"

    Weed gently matched the buyers' obnoxious attitudes with brilliance and eloquence. With just a few words, Mapan watched him change their mind into paying ten silver coins (for cooking) and also fifteen silver coins for sculptures. After two days, Weed stretched and placed his sculptures lightly into his bag.

    "They were pretty much all alike."

    The sculptures had been carved during the trip from Levias. Only half of them had been sold. If you already had a sculpture, much to the artist's bad fortune, you wouldn't buy a second one. Unless you met with a collector, people would buy only one as a souvenir.

    Even if the cost of a sculpture was low at ten silver coins, the price would be higher, about 30 silver coins. Intentionally, selling ten sculptures would only earn you three gold coins.

    This had been quite useful in the early days, when Weed had been poor, but considering his current level the profit from his wood carvings amounted to chump change.

    Among the possible buyers in town, mostly anybody who would have had an interest in sculptures had already bought one. Weed thought he shouldn't bother to sell any more.

    When his repair and cooking skills went up to 40% Weed broke down his stall.

    He looked besides him towards the horses and noticed Mapan buying loot.

    "Let us depart soon"
    "Why? What are you talking about?"
    "I told you in advance that we will go over the Bar Khu mountain range."

    He had to return the cup of Freya to the church in Herridia within three months, and not much time was remaining. So even if he had had a wish to stay, he couldn't have remained in the village.

    Furthermore, a lot of knowledge was required to become a master sculptor, so he had to improve. Weed had only become strong by taking different paths, but he could not forget the main point of his strength: sculpting. Weed went around to the general stores and shops and quickly prepared for the trip.

    "Take care!"

    At the village entrance, the Mayor and the soldiers came to see them off.

    "Come back and see us later"

    "Of course. I will not forget all the help you three gave us."

    Dale, Becker, Hosram. They said goodbye to the chief leaders and the ten others.

    "See you later."

    "Yes, sir! It is time we leave to see the capital, after our business is completed, we will return."

    Weed and Mapan bought the local specialties of the big cities as they traveled south of Rosenheim Kingdom.

    Pearls and jade, white wine, cheese, olive oil, and mithril were all specialties in the southern cities.

    For the Kingdom of Rosenheim, technological and commercial power was not that grand.

    Jewelry, food, and processed ore he knew nothing about were being actively traded.

    Among the kingdoms in the center of the continent, there were some cities and countries that specialized in producing weapons and armor.

    Naturally, the country's weapons were more durable and had excellent attack and defense stats; they were superior in comparison to any other country.

    Thus, users who started in the center of the continent had an advantage. However, in terms of adventure and opportunity, the kingdom of Rosenheim was not that bad of a choice.

    "Jade for 40 please."

    Only Mapan could buy jewels. With the accounting skill, a better deal could be possible, resulting in buying at a cheaper price. However, if you attempted to drop the price down too excessively, the deal could be canceled.

    When that happened, the exchange owner would not do a business transaction with you for a maximum of ten days, so it was necessary to pay attention.

    Weed saw that Mapan was finishing the bargain.

    "The price for the jade is 760 gold. Are you sure you want to buy it?" "Uhm... Can't you cut the price further?"

    "This is the limit with my skills."

    Weed's hands trembled and shivered as they entered his pockets. Then 800 in gold coins came out. Mapan gave the money to purchase the jewels to the seller and passed the change and jewels back to Weed.

    "Where do we go now?"

    "To Falcon village to get some pearls."

    50 pearls were purchased for 690 gold, then, after going to the coal mine village, 3 kg of mithril was purchased.

    As Weed was buying these special items, his pockets were rapidly emptied accordingly. Soon enough, the fortune he had had dwindled, and his innocent money bag lost the fight. At the end of the ordeal 50 gold was all that had been left.

    His former property: 1700 gold.

    The money, painstakingly conserved, ran out in what seemed to be a brief instant.

    In the United Kingdom of Briton, beyond the mountains of Bar Khu, the price for jewels was at least 25% higher than on this side of the mountains. More so, even if one was no merchant, marginal profit from market price and fame could be gained, so a large amount of available goods was purchased.

    "But are you all right?"

    Every time Weed moved to a town to buy the specialty items, Mapan's eyes were questioning.

    In the midst of walking down the street, he stopped. Hard at work, glances were thrown at Weed; eventually he chose and drew out a growing root. He picked up his backpack and transferred what he had worked hard for into his bag. He did it with a pleased smile.

    "Hey Weed, what are you doing?"

    Mapan could not resist his curiosity, Weed's answer was simple.

    "You mean this? I pulled out an herb."
    "If it's an herb...."
    "I learned Herbal Medicine, the terrain here is steeper and there are a lot of medicinal plants."

    Mapan swallowed his breath.

    "Oh!"

    His idol Weed's profession was finally revealed to be the worst and most unpleasant as of this moment.

    "I judged this person too wrongly!"

    Death Knight of the undead were have came from will listen solely because loot just assume bastards want to Holding all your!

    (Wasn't sure how to approach and transcribe this. It is pretty much just Mapan griping and unhappy with Weed's strange actions. Sort of like: "You tricked me with all of that undead loot, and had me holding all this crap." Could be entirely wrong though, so if you have any thoughts/changes feel free to say it. Possibly can also suggest Mapan thinks Weed is holding out on him.)


    Mapan had listened to weed solely because he had been holding the loot of high level monsters like the Death Knights. (Best I could do with what was given to me to work with)

    Fortunately, it couldn't be picked up just anywhere. Even though the chances were slim, Mapan's trust in Weed was extreme enough to barely consider the thought.

    However, Mapan was still a man. A man who believed in justice and providence.

    Thanks to Weed, he had gained many benefits so far. Through the loot he had sold he had obtained a lot of skills and money! He bought the jewels at a reasonable price and raised his skills even further.

    This situation had not really been that bad at all, so there was no need to cancel his decision in partnership.

    "As a man once said, you cannot turn back on your path!"

    Mapan worked hard to buy the specialty items.

    Weed's capital was not that much, so the priority was to buy food, such as olive oil or cheese. Those items would not achieve high profits in transactions, but as a stable low-risk income, it had its advantages.

    The trick to grocery transactions was to buy large quantities separately at cheaper prices loading them in a wagon he had bought.

    Mapan thought that a wagon was absolutely necessary for a merchant.

    It had cost over 100 gold, however the horse had been too expensive, so he bought a near dead mule.

    Weed disposed of the multiple bags he had had this whole time. Instead, he got help from Mapan to purchase a backpack from the general store to put his herbs in, which could hold 20 times its own bulk, and reduced the weight by a quarter.

    Weed and Mapan could now be seen as full-fledged peddlers.

    ***


    Bar Khu Mountains.

    The mountain range was located between the southern part of Rosenheim kingdom, and the eastern part of the United Kingdom of Briton. Both countries bordered them, but they were called the paradise for monsters.

    Overflowing with monsters! Rugged terrain!

    Here both nations had armies of rangers stationed to sweep through the monsters periodically. If not for that, the kingdoms of Rosenheim and the United Kingdom of Briton would have suffered from a general fatigue because of all the monsters.

    Ku Oh-oh!!

    The horrible sound ascended, resonating out of the Bar Khu mountain range.

    It was the roar of a fierce animal.

    It was the sound of rampaging animals.

    Breaking branches and rough screams were audible.

    As expected because of its reputation, it really was the paradise for monsters.

    The amount of non-dungeon monsters appearing on the field would be worth a struggle. Finally, the monsters sluggishly appeared in front of the wagon Weed and Mapan road in.

    Lycanthropes. Werewolves were around level 100 monsters. The Lycanthrope variant was known to some extent to be at level 150. Of course, in these mountains they were the lowest in the food chain. Because of this, they were pushed out of the heart of the mountains and infest places like the ones Weed and Mapan were currently traveling through.

    Like dogs, Lycanthropes often traveled in packs. Even now, over 10 appeared at once.

    That roar a while back seemed to have been howling wolves, perhaps the crying sound of these Lycanthropes.

    Discovering prey in their hunting grounds was the reason for their howling.

    Sitting on the chair in the wagon, Mapan was restless.

    "Oh no, they all appeared, more importantly what do we do!? Hey Weed, Weed you said that you will handle this."

    However, in the meantime Weed teased the carving knife hard from aside the assistant driver's seat.

    Zahab's carving knife. This unique item was something any sculptor could only wish for in their dreams. Depending on how the carving knife flows through the grain of the wood, a sculpture was created.

    The lycanthropes approached slowly. Even as they appeared they resembled wolves, with the exception of the head which had a human-like appearance, as well as their body shape. The gray hair was full of small holes. Transformed into a wild dog or worse; at the end of the attack, they undoubtedly changed back.



    Proficiency in the handicraft skill has been improved.

    Intermediate level of handicraft skill is 4.
    The ability to use hand tools and an additional 5% increase to all stats.

    When the Intermediate level in the handicraft skill rose by 1, the ability was enhanced by 5% across all stats. After having absolved the beginner course at the training hall, a 3% increase was given by itself. When you think about it, the effect could be extremely increased; however, it was even more difficult to raise the skill level.

    "That was quite fortunate."

    Just prior to this, Weed had gone to extreme detail in shaping wood sculptures to elevate his expertise in sculpture mastery by 1.5%.

    After all, there had been plenty of branches and foliage. It took time to work with a piece of wood from ancient trees, and these were also very difficult to obtain. Considering the thousands of years they had lived, to be able to render such a tree, it was more difficult than expected.

    Weed's sculptures were almost as lifelike as they could possibly be. You did not have to be satisfied with the degree of decently made sculptures.

    Sculpture occasionally rose in quality surprisingly well too, though it did not really create much momentum. Rightly, given that he gained intermediate mastery considerably fast, he was at 1.5% of his level. Just as the skill increased, the abilities were also enhanced.

    "Look above, Weed!"

    Mapan's face was full of tears. As with the day before yesterday, Weed put away the carving knife. Instead he took out the black sword and listened. This was the clay sword which had the cold attribute!


    "Do not sit down for too long, it is satisfying to work, yet it is also good to relax and stretch the body a little bit right? It is a pity we missed the transformation process, but that is fine as well. This group here shouldn't be the only Lycanthropes living in the Bar Khu Mountain range."

    Weed watched the lycanthropes personally.

    It would have been good to see the transformation process in order to better create a sculpture of them.

    They seemed to not only have one type of appearance, so he should be able to produce a sculpture step-by-step so that the skill could rise. Weed got off the wagon and held his clay sword, Mapan let out a scream from behind him.

    "Surely you are not intending to fight with that sword?"

    Mapan was freaked out to see a clay sword of all things!

    Because of arduous hunting in Levias, the durability of the clay sword had easily dropped almost to nothing.

    So far Weed had grabbed quite a lot of equipment from the undead monster drops, though the black sword was still only made out of clay.

    He had to use these low durability weapons exclusively, since the axes and maces he received were a pain to wield.

    Also, the Death Knight's weapons and clothes had a requirement for the user to be over level 200, so Weed did not have much of a choice as to which weapon he could use.

    People did not hunt alone in isolated places due to preference. Whenever the clay sword broke, it was replaced, which he had done dozens of times.

    In the meantime, one... two... now the lycanthrope group exceeded over 20 members.

    Mapan saw that their faces were completely black. Weed put the sword away.

    As descendants of wolves, lycanthropes were said to be peerlessly brave. They kicked hard at the ground, springing up, and roaring wildly.

    Keuahang!

    The lycanthropes let out a bestial roar!

    Dominating the battlefield with it, the old mule was terrified and ran rampant, Mapan foresaw his death. The Lycanthropes moved with great speed, so escape wouldn't be possible.

    It was then...

    "Khan heng!"

    Exploding out of Weed's mouth burst forth an intense cry. Dust rose, the dry leaves piled on the ground cracked, crumbling to nothing. Even the branches seemed to tremble, as if they were about to break.

    The roar overwhelmingly swept away those who heard it.



    Skill: You have used Lion's Roar.

    1% rise in the proficiency of the Lion's roar skill! Lion's Roar current skill: level 1, at 1%. As the skill level rises, the power increases.

    The lycanthropes hesitated, turning their heads feeling troubled after the roar. Weed did not miss the opening and ran at them, beating them down with his fists.

    "Form a circle!"

    A complete massacre!

    "Yip!" (or animal noise for whining)

    Weed promptly charged with his bare hands and grinded the lycanthropes to dust!

    It was a great change from Levias, after mostly facing Death Knights; level 100 lycanthropes could not even be considered enemies. It's said that as they number a lot they could cause substantial damage but that was all talk. The horrifying lycanthropes rushed towards Weed.

    "Seven celestial steps!"

    Kicking off the ground, they ran at him, clawing with their nails and teeth, Weed avoided them using his footwork skill, using the battle to rehearse it.

    Until now, the skill was not his chosen method to pass an opponent using footwork.

    The footwork in Royal Road was quite peculiar.

    In the midst of sprinting forward, taking a sharp turn in a 90-degree direction while running would be impossible in reality. That was due to the law of inertia. However, with this step skill, you could achieve the impossible. During a sprint you could switch to the opposite direction, the instant rate of acceleration to reach that speed was almost invisible to the naked eye.

    As the name implied, you could make a total of 7 step changes, instantly twisting in any direction while running, or possibly dropping in speed suddenly, appearing to vanish.

    The value of this skill was what you would expect to be demonstrated from a superior 1st rate martial arts.

    "Seven celestial steps!"

    Although the lycanthropes came in from all directions, Weed's body escaped, breaking through the enemies' encircling net.

    Like connecting the (Big Dipper?), he changed directions instantaneously and created vague after images.

    Illusions!

    As usual, the lycanthropes attacked the illusions. Outside of the encircling net, Weed reversed the charge. Each time his fist landed on a patch of grey fur, a lycanthrope turned to ash.

    The Bar Khu mountain range was overflowing with monsters! The worst word to describe them would have been tranquil. They certainly were not.

    "Khan heng!"
    "WOAH!"

    The tremendous sound of a yell could be heard from the mountain range.

    Weed had just used Lion's Roar!

    In order to improve his proficiency with his Lion Roar skill, Weed yelled, committed to using the skill whenever a monster appeared. Day or night, mighty shouting echoed because of Weed. Most people would have already been sick of all the monsters in the Bar Khu mountain range. But Weed thought otherwise.

    Experience and money! And items! There is no limit to the gangs of monsters to fight, which Weed liked; a place like this truly felt like home to him.

    "Somewhere out there is an undiscovered dungeon, there's got to be!"

    The southwestern part of the mountains had not been explored. Around towns and villages it might have been; however, other users didn't intentionally seek out monsters.

    Rather than to focus on that, he placed more interest in his sculpting skill. Zahab's sculpturing art had also left Weed the swordsmanship skill Engraving Knife! This had greatly enhanced Weed's damage. It was an attack technique that ignored enemy defenses and resistance; as the skill increased, the power did as well.

    Emperor Geihar left the skill to give life to sculptures behind!

    The sculptures would love the master who carved them and fight at his side.

    Higher art stats were required for this powerful skill, until then, further growth is needed to complete it. This was the skill that allowed Emperor Geihar to conquer the continent. If life could be given to sculptures, under any circumstance Weed would absolutely follow that man's will.

    "Skill confirmation! Life Giving!"




    Give life to sculptures: the skill that Emperor Geihar left behind for his successor, the parts of this technique is unknown.

    Limitations: Can only be used with Advanced Sculpture mastery.

    Skill requirements: Mana 5000. Art Stat 10 (permanent consumption). Level decreased by 2.

    CAUTION!
    Sculptures are unique items and have strong personalities and a sense of pride. When they see another sculpture identical to them, they will fight it to prove who's superior.

    In order to use this skill, you first needed to get to a high skill level in sculpture mastery, which was still even farther away than the amount of the Hong Kong's gross domestic product was big (Not sure if its correct like that, sounds kinda weird to me...).

    All these consequences just to give life to a sculpture, art stat points were consumed and the level declined, meaning you couldn't indefinitely repeat this.

    "The requirements of this skill are ridiculous. At least it must be a useful technique!"

    As the engraving knife technique and the skill to grant life to sculptures, techniques left by two Master Sculptors, were this powerful, Weed could imagine how powerful the remaining three skills would be. In addition, he thought, what about after obtaining the five skills and mastering sculpting?

    Weed had had the opportunity to become a Weapon Master in martial arts; however, after much agonizing he had given up the chance and had remained a legendary moonlight sculptor.

    He could learn skills relatively quickly through handicraft and pieces of art, which even benefitted swordsmanship. But even this would not be able to match the tail end of a knight's swordsmanship skill. Sculptors were resigned to this. Though there was a chance, but to take it, one had to take the maximum advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves before him.

    "Sculpture destruction, granting life to sculptures and even the engraving sword skill! While simultaneously maximizing power, I need to find the remaining skills.[I also have to obtain the final non-sculpting (note: not too sure, but I think this means master-of-all crafting).]"

    "I also have to reach the highest level in every other crafting skill" (this was the best I could come up with)

    The rise of sculpting skills would affect everything.

    When no monsters appeared, Weed sat with Mapan and sculpted. He made sculptures of the fighting scenes with monsters or the surreal landscapes and its trees!



    Intermediate sculpture skill has risen to level 3.

    Sculptures well mere delicate and detailed.

    Finally, intermediate sculpting skill level rose to level 3.
    After this, Weed took out the emeralds, pearls and jade that he had purchased from all around Rosenheim kingdom.

    "What are you doing?"

    Halfway through the mountain range, Weed had abruptly pulled out a blue jewel, Mapan's face showed his confusion. He had no doubt that the reason wasn't to boast in his wealth, and certainly not to share the gems with the monsters.

    "Taking a good look at the gems?"

    But Mapan then found himself surprised because of Weed's next action. He had started shearing the gem with his engraving knife.

    "Argh!"

    Mapan unwittingly felt like screaming. He had personally purchased the jewels, knowing full well their worth. He knew it far too well.

    Those were some absurdly valuable jewels!

    Although the gemstones may not have been processed, the price had still been amazingly high. Without hesitation Weed continued to carve the jewels surface with his carving knife.

    "What...what have you...?"

    Just before he attempted to stop Weed's actions, Mapan's eyes widened in surprise, because the gemstone was being gradually carved little by little.

    The degree of the etching wasn't even visible unless you looked at it very carefully. The way the gemstone was cut down, the luster radiating from it deepened.

    Mapan watched blankly as Weed's hands continued to move.

    "It's beautiful!"

    *crunch.

    With Zahab's carving knife every trim of the jewel made slight changes to its form, while Mapan watched the process with admiration in his eyes. The jewel had seamlessly changed from a dull aspect to a gem worth a fortune.

    "Maybe all of those jewels can become that gorgeous?"

    Weed's Intermediate sculpture level had risen, making it possible to work with gems and other special materials.

    By default, skill and dexterity were needed to form the gems.

    It was still too early to do this, even with having reached intermediate level he was still lacking in his handicraft skill. Zahab's engraving knife was a truly a unique treasure for a sculptor!

    Through it the requirement had been met and the jewels were worked into beautiful objects influenced by Weed's art stat.

    Weed's art stat was currently near 300. The occupation of legendary moonlight sculptor gave a +100 for the art stat, and for every created sculpture that was placed as a masterpiece, it would steadily rise.

    Because his art stat was astonishingly high all sorts of effects could be granted to his work.

    "This number looks really good....!"

    Mapan's body trembled and shivered.

    This was because of what he imagined would be the consequences afterwards.

    Buying and selling the raw gems from the Rosenheim kingdom to the United Kingdom of Briton would yield a small profit. However, what would happen if Weed faceted those gems and sold them? Also, if the jewel was worked with the utmost heart and soul of the engraver, how much would they sell for...?

    "There is no way to guess the possibilities!"

    Mapan fell into a deep silence that he refused to break. He was also carefully driving the wagon, so as to not interfere with the work of the faceting.

    It was deceptive to think of the effects of sculpting caused from handicraft.

    The creation of a rough sculpture ended up stunningly beautiful, food became very aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and proved to be even more delicious. Weed's sculpting and cooking were very much indebted to his intermediate level in his handicraft skill (dexterity). This skill was showing itself to be truly worth the work to raise it.

    Back to top


    Chapter 2 : The Stone that gathers Lightning



    Caravans and travelers who went over the Bar Khu mountain range only stayed to camp for short periods of time. Rosenheim kingdom's original resting area for rangers; it was no place that regular people frequented.

    "So far, so good. We took a very big chance by coming this way, now only a couple more days and we might reach our destination."

    "It was a lot of work."

    Halman laughed.

    "This was all thanks to you, Margaux."

    "You ought to say it straight, Levi. It all started 'cause you killed that guy."

    Halman, Margaux, Levi, and Gran, were four famous player killers from the United Kingdom of Briton. They lived for the enjoyment of killing other players and taking away their equipment. The notorious quartet was better known as Dwichigi (note: sounds better than "turn-over").

    However, about one month ago, they had messed with Fearless of the Cloud guild (maybe it is Hermes?). As one of the ten biggest guilds in the United Kingdom of Briton, and also of the biggest in the whole continent it boasted a membership count of over 6,000 players. Altogether, the guild had tremendous influence, to the degree of claiming supremacy of the United Kingdom of Briton without question.

    This meant that even the four members of Dwichigi hadn't wanted to stay in the area.
    In fact, they had wanted nothing to do with it.

    Being on the most-wanted list, the four decided to concentrate their time on calmly hunting and leveling up while drunk on brandy, until they came upon someone named Fearless (note: not entirely sure: might be a class, or a rude term for a type of player, rather than "fearless").
    (Maybe smthg like bastard or asshole, if it's a female then prob. Bitch.)

    "Get out of here. This is our area."

    "What's with that guy?"

    "What utter bullshit!"

    The four were naturally ill tempered. It took a lot of monetary donations to the temple, or some time spent on hunting to remove the red PK symbol. Because of that there was no symbol that made their player killing apparent.

    She had continued to claim that the hunting area was hers, while the four drunkenly trash-talked back at her. Finally Levi had had enough (might have the two sides messed up, either she claimed the area, or they did).

    (Note: Brandy/brandywine, might be the name of a person, place or class. Or they are just drunkards).

    "That's it, I'm killing this bitch!"

    "Fearless, I'll teach you not to mess with me, duel me one on one!"

    Normally, others would not have fallen for this. When dining, it was better to share the hearth of a fire when the area was wide enough, rather than to leave them in the cold. So they had killed her, going all four of them at once.

    Each of the notorious Dwichigi had slipped back into an attacking position. Besides the brandy, the levels of the four, in regards to the other player, were significantly lower. They attacked simultaneously as a group, focusing on fast attacks. Of course, easily enough, the other player had died in vain.

    They had then looted a map.



    The forgotten tomb of the dwarf:
    Durability 1/1.

    The place where the short odd geezer fell into long slumber.
    In the midst of two canyons, underneath the roots of an old tree.
    Rumbling, pounding!
    A narrow road.
    The power from the beginning of the world cannot pass without sacrifice.
    Seek the sound which does not ring.

    Author: Ranger Hans R. Berg

    "What is this?"

    The laughter of the four had vanished. They had found a treasure map, a unique item.
    Ever since then, they had been persistently tracked by the Cloud guild. Only then did the quartet realize that they had attacked a member of the Cloud guild.

    "Holy shit! You bloody fool (or noob). If you had told me that that person had been from the cloud guild I would have never attacked her!"

    "We need to end things with them without getting finished off ourselves."

    "That's why we're at fault!"

    "Somehow we need to lay low for the time being."

    For about two weeks, the four had hidden from people and areas with lots of traffic. Yet the Cloud guild had not lessened their attempts at tracking them even by a bit. To avoid death, the four had barely escaped several times by a hair's breadth. The levels of the quartet had exceeded 220, but they could not have escaped their deaths with just that degree of experience. They had tried to find a way to turn this crisis around.
    Halman finally spoke.

    "This is weird."
    "I think so too, don't you agree?"
    "An entire guild can't be chasing us for just killing one member."
    "Yeah, going to this extent isn't normal."

    "Wait a minute, what about that map we picked up from that girl."
    "What was it, the forgotten tomb of the dwarf..."
    "The map must be extraordinary. Those bastards did not want us, they were after this map."
    "Hehe"
    "Then we should try to find the treasure from this map."

    Since then, the four had begun to discover the secrets of the map. They had crossed over into other kingdoms to research old books and the background of the map, to interpret the meaning of the phrases on it. As a result, they had come to the Bar Khu mountains.

    "Just one can enter the tomb."

    "Yeah, but what's the alternative? Most importantly there is no ranger among us, so the trap cannot be dismantled."

    "It's...."

    "It ought to resolve itself by burning out a body."

    "Thus the whole process goes smoothly, even if the person must die on the way, by the final lightning strike. So...which one of us is going to die?"

    Obviously, no one wanted to die. Like the others, not one of the four wanted to be the sacrifice and die at the end of the excavation of the dungeon. Then Gran held a beaming smile.

    "Who will be picked to die."
    "Who?"
    "No way it's me, where are you pointing?"

    It was Gran's finger pointing towards something that had taken their attention.
    But he did not point at any of them, not even at himself. Gran was pointing towards the bottom of the mountains. Creaking away, Mapan and Weed's chariot was arriving.

    "Wow... Hello, my name is Mapan, I did not expect to meet people in a place like this."

    "I'm Gran, and this here is Levi, Halman, and this one is Margaux."

    "Nice to meet you."

    The quartet all had big smiles on their face, rejoicing with the arrival of Weed and Mapan.

    "The Bar Khu mountains are no place for people, you have come a long way.... what brings the two of you to these remote lands?"
    "Yes, we came in order to trade."
    Mapan went ahead and replied.

    "For trade? Then the two of you are merchants, right?"

    "Yes, I am a merchant, and Weed over here is a sculptor."

    "Oh, I understand."

    Gran had a wide smile. Halman, Margaux and Levi also were trying to hold back their laughter.

    'A sculptor!'
    'What kind of stupid person would choose that as a class?'

    That's what they thought, however, when they dealt with Weed and Mapan, they were entirely polite. This was because their task still needed to be resolved. Of the four, Gran asked thoughtful questions. After being under the influence of brandy, you could read other people even better.

    "Anyway, I understand. But you should have met with monsters often if you came across the Bar Khu Mountains? How did you fight against the monsters?"

    "That's due to Weed over here...."

    Mapan was about to take a moment to explain, but Weed pulled him to the side.

    "Weed?"
    Weed tried to keep Mapan from divulging the story. Weed had noticed that something was not right, regardless of their attitude. Gran's eyes were drawn to them, laughing.

    "Well, feel free to tell me. Wasn't it difficult?"

    In truth, Weed had a feeling that these four travelers wanted to hide something.
    On the broad continent of Versailles, no matter how numerous and overflowing with users it may be, the Monster Paradise is different. You did not meet people here often.

    Typically, when you met other people in out-of-the-way places like mountains you would greet them, maybe even eat food with them. And if your destinations matched you would travel together for a while; but these people were far too happy.
    They had also been indirectly too delighted when Mapan had told them of their class.

    Weed naturally observed their lineup (note: other possible translation, "Weed naturally saw the possibilities for their herpes." Lol google-fail). Gran was standing at the front, talking to the two beside him, and the last one stood behind him.

    'They are bandits.'

    Weed thought.

    If you think that monsters were the only risk on the continent of Versailles, then you were absolutely wrong. Rather, encountering users in a place like this was far more dangerous.

    Weed told Mapan to act naturally. (could also mean that Weed decided to act "normal" for a sculptor)

    "I am a sculptor, but I have a unique technique."

    "What kind of technique?"

    "It's a kind of yell. When the monsters hear the sound they run away. Want to see it?"

    "Yes, I'm curious."

    Weed gathered his mana to cast the overpowering skill, Lion's roar.

    "khu heng!" (Weirdest roar I ever read! ;P)

    At the first sign, Mapan placed both of his hands over his ears, but the quartet, not knowing Weed's skill, had been caught off guard and its members significantly reeled.

    "Damn!"

    "What bullshit is this, with just his voice....!"

    Gran restrained the hot-tempered Margaux and Levi, winking back at Weed, while smiling widely.

    "What a tremendous roar. Hrmm, that reminds me. I thought I didn't see anything in the area for a while now, I guess this was the reason for the lack of the monsters?"

    The Lion Roar skill.

    Weed had not yet formed a party with Gran, so his leadership has not increased.

    The additional effects also didn't take effect.

    The only thing they felt was a loud voice.

    "Yes, monsters hesitate when they hear this sound, during that moment I escape."

    The quartet laughed after Weed's explanation.

    'It's really not a big deal.'
    'Yet they seem to be the perfect bait?'
    'We should use these guys at that place.'
    'We only need 1...'

    'Why not? We take out the remaining one with our own hands; we use this man because the merchant will drop plenty of loot.'
    'Good, let's do it.'

    The four came to a conclusion without even talking, communicating through their eyes.
    Gran turned a serious face toward Mapan and Weed and said.

    "So far, this trick may have let you pass through safely, but the Bar Khu mountain range is a really dangerous place. You could call this meeting fate, so from here on we are going to be your escort. Anyways, I think the road we offer is in good faith, there is no reason to refuse. We would be grateful to accompany you, haha."

    "Haha! If it is like that, why should we refuse?"

    Mapan laughed out loud deliberately. As a weak merchant, it wasn't a bad idea to accompany a group of 4 strong players.

    "It is a pleasure to work with you."

    Weed also quietly nodded in acknowledgement. He had noticed the situation turning worse, and by the looks in the 4's eyes he could do nothing but follow...for now.

    The fun of an adventure, to travel and see unexplored lands, lies in meeting colleagues. Reliable teammates you can trust. Hunting while getting acquainted with friends, was the kind of fun that made it worthwhile to play Royal Road. At times Weed enjoyed hunting with other players. Since he played so much of the time, it could be unreasonable always being alone, so it was a cool thing to be together with the multitude of other players.

    However, this was not the case with this dangerous-looking quartet.

    Around the wagon, the four assumed the role of fighting monsters; yet out of the corner of their eyes, they observed Mapan and Weed.

    'Well, he is quite unusual.'
    'The one engaged in sculpting?'
    'It seems you are right about the sculptor.'

    The four had their mind set. After that build up yesterday, the sculptor was far too aware of their notoriety. Just then, Weed pulled out one of the gemstones. The Dwichigi four turned the focus of their attention on it, and one of them asked.

    "Huh? Is that a jewel?"

    Immediately, Margaux revealed a deeply curious expression. Mapan replied with a smile.

    "Yes, Weed is currently crafting jewels."
    "Oh, jewelry manufacturing?"
    "Nope."
    "Wow, that jewel.... it's enormous!"

    Margaux's young eyes were full of greed.

    'Freaking jackpot.'
    'I'd like that to fall into my lap...'

    Weed clenched Zahab's engraving knife while engraving. But the four were not encouraged enough to start a fight.

    'No point attacking for a standard jewel, we have something far better to hope for.'

    The quartet had already taken the ruse, their thinking biased when they look at Weed and Mapan.

    But Weed and Mapan deceived the deceivers!
    Now they had to pretend that they had been tricked!

    "It is just about time to prepare and eat a meal."

    "Thank you for offering to your escort, but.... meals served cold...better not."

    "Haha, no, you just watch."

    Weed had Mapan give him the items that the quartet had taken from the monsters.

    "This is not some kind of poor quality food being served here."

    "Colleagues, this goes the same way right? It is natural to share the spoils of the monsters we kill."

    "Go right ahead."
    The quartets eyes burned with murder.
    "This is the absence of shame..."

    Mapan smiled widely, but Weed's suspicion of the situation deepened even more.

    'A favor without reason... such a thing does not exist. If you are not going to attack us, why the hell is it?' (ok...I seriously don't know what to do with this! So I left it as it is.)

    Typically, anyone who gives a gift does it as a favor to people who were nice; however, Weed had seen that this was a situation that did not call for the dividing of the spoils, and suspected the situation was drastically wrong. Trying too hard was an even more awkward sight. Nevertheless, Weed did not express anything otherwise. In fact, their concerns had almost been buried completely thanks to Mapan. And he truly believed in the good heart of the quartet.

    The next day they arrived at a canyon, dozens of meters separating them from the other edge, with dense mist paving the deep valley below.

    Crossing the bridge was not as hard as they had first thought anticipated.

    "What a bridge! It is far sturdier than it looks."

    As Mapan went to drive the wagon, Gran came along and obstructed him.
    "Gentlemen, gentlemen. Are you adventurers or not?"

    "What?"

    "I enjoy the beauty of this magnificent view, as much as any adventure. There seems to be something underneath, way down over there. Wouldn't it be interesting to go that way for a bit? What do you think?"

    Mapan was hesitant at Gran's words. The thing about the continent of Versailles was, that it was well structured. You could go into a forest, you could even climb a mountain, there was no need to move in some kind of wagon or cart. It was common sense, however, that it was easier to cross over steep canyons than to dive down practically into them. What the quartet had proposed just did not seem right.

    At the end of those words, Mapan had the weird sense that something about this was odd.

    "Well, is that really necessary...?"

    You wouldn't need a philosopher to identify why Mapan tried to refuse. Any merchant would desire to take the safer path. The quartet was completely against that thought.

    *seueuk (think of the metal clinking of a sword about to be slid out of its scabbard)

    Halman, Margaux and Levi all placed their hands on their scabbards. Weed and Mapan found themselves entrapped already.

    A merchant and a sculptor... Although there was no reason to be tense in a situation like this, if you were prepared for it, it still was a touch-and-go kind of moment. Mapan's strong moment of refusal and duty!

    "Let's go for it. If anything, it sounds like fun."

    Gran approved with Weed's words.

    "Haha! Knew you'd come around. This will be interesting."

    Gran and the rest took their hands off their scabbards. Halman smiled.
    Weed and Mapan continued moving downwards in the carriage with the Dwichigi quartet leading them. The slope of the canyon was very steep, and the wheels of the carriage were stuck several times. Respectively, they would never have been able to go down, if it wasn't for the help of the quartet. Gran and Halman pulled from the front, and behind Levi and Margaux pushed.

    "Sorry about all of this."

    "Haha! Not at all Mapan. This amount of work is nothing!"

    Gran and Halman acted as if they owned the carriage. Considering the fact that it would be soon, no was no reason to spare some sincerity, the quartet thought.

    "Oh, I think there is a trail over there..."
    Gran led the way. He went around here and there, occasionally going back the same way.

    "Ah, the scenery looks far better over there. It would be preferable if we go back that way."

    Gran checked out the area in the canyon several times.
    Weed took the time to scavenge around!

    "Whoa! This one here is a red medicinal herb. Over there is a blue Ceylon plant...!"

    It had been reported that there were medicinal herbs at the Bar Khu mountains, and he had heard that at the bottom of a canyon, more sunshine would allow various herbs to root and grow sporadically. Weed eagerly pulled them out and placed them in his bag.

    "What are you doing?"

    "What do you think I'm doing? I'm pulling out weeds."

    With Weed wandering around they were delayed and the route took even more time.

    "Dammit!"

    "I'm going to kill him with my own hands!"

    The veins on the foreheads of each of the quartet were pulsing.
    After a couple of hours, Mapan was exhausted, and the quartet was as well.

    "Hey Gran. Didn't you memorize the location correctly?"

    "Is it just ahead?"
    "Wait a minute, we're drawing too much attention. Weed doesn't matter, you can easily see that he is just an idiot. But now eve that guy Mapan keeps watching what we do, he's starting to make me nervous."
    "Okay. Let's get on with it!"

    Margaux approached the wagon.

    "Hey Mapan, I'm actually quite interested in those sculptures. Would you mind asking Weed if he can make something good for me?"

    Just to the other side, Levi looked for Gran's next action. In the meantime, Gran spread out a map of the current location and confirmed the location of the tomb. Gran's eyes were beaming.

    'Well, we finally made it. Just walked passed it by just a little!'

    "Now, let's go this way."

    Gran and the quartet had the wagon turn back towards where they had come from.
    They searched through the bushes and trees at the end, and finally found the monument marking the tombs entrance. Of the four, only one was smiling.

    "Huh? So this lump is a dungeon?"

    "A dwarf's grave?"

    "Come on! We are fortunate. It's about time to go in. We will never get to see what is there if we don't go inside."

    "Mapan, Weed! Naturally, you'll go in first, right?"

    Back to top


    Chapter 3 : Instruments and intrigue





    Notice:
    You are the first adventurers to enter the cave of the instrument-loving dwarf who lies in slumber

    Benefits:
    Fame increased by 200.
    Double experience, 2x item drop rate.
    The first monster killed will drop a good quality item.

    "Wow!"

    "Awesome."

    "We're the first to find this!"

    The quartet shouted ecstatically as they entered into the dungeon. Their levels may appear to be higher than the average, but most of this growth came from player killing rather than hunting. Therefore, this was their first time discovering a dungeon.

    "Come! From this point on, we can only trust in ourselves."

    Gallantly the quartet took the lead. Originally, the purpose of going through the canyon had been for this exploration, so after having arrived at their objective their enthusiasm rose to an all-time high.

    "I'm psyched! Right, Weed-nim?"

    Mapan was happy. Quiet contrary to how the merchant normally reacted to going on an adventure.

    Weed only nodded his head silently.

    'So the aim of those guys was to bring us here.'

    Now he began to understand the quartet's behavior. It completely explained why they were so strangely and openly kind, why they got them to go down into the canyon.

    'These guys were not trying to go over the Bar Khu Mountains; first and foremost they were trying to arrive here. They are after one thing, treasure.'

    So taking us had had a purpose, Weed thought. If not, there was no recognizable need for them to embark with the four. Weed pretended to be completely oblivious of this.

    "This an amazing experience, and it's all thanks to you Mr. Gran. Sculptors do not find experiences like this so easily..."

    "Yes, that's what I believe: The fun in Royal Road lies in hunting together with others."

    The quartet bored a path deeply through as they entered. Weed and Mapan followed slowly after them.

    "Keeek! Enemy."
    "Enemies appeared!"
    "These humans enter our nest."

    Werewolf predators!

    The origin of the response was a little bit inside the tomb, a lit campfire at which werewolves were relaxing. A good number of werewolves were living inside this dungeon.

    Lycanthropes were widespread in the Bar Khu Mountains. The werewolfes inside the cave transformed into wolfs and attacked

    "What the... just Lycanthropes?

    "What a huge disappointment!"

    While unsheathing their swords, the quartet separated and gently managed (don't know what to do with this...maybe surrounded.) the lycanthropes. Lycanthropes in the field were just a little above lv 130 normally. Gran and Levi were not concerned.

    'Those four are strong.' Weed judged.

    It wasn't just their level. They also had good reflexes and judgment. They knew where and what to attack and how to properly strike an opponent. They were gifted in combat!

    '4 players... could they be the Dwichigi quartet?'

    The movie Weed had seen on a website flashed inside of his mind. Videos uploaded with the vague hope for revenge. Up till now he hadn't been able to put a finger on why they seemed familiar, now, after he had seen how they fought he had a guess. Weed sighed.

    'A group of beginner adventurers...yeah, sure!'

    The first slain monster would drop a good quality item; that was the effect of being the first to discover this dungeon. Therefore, it would have been preferable to chase away the lycanthropes, which were too weak to give proper items, and focus on finding and taking out a boss-class monster. But the quartet didn't seem to care and hunted the wolfs, advancing further into the cave. The benefit of being the first to find this dungeon had been wasted before Weed's eyes.

    "We trust only ourselves."

    "Then become cancer." (No clue as to what this should mean...)

    The four senselessly laughed as they butchered the lycanthropes.

    Either way, one couldn't ignore the quality of their combat skills. A player killer's growth in skill proficiency was much higher compared to that of normal players of similar level. There was a lot of hands-on experience when you fought both people and monsters, you found yourself more challenged. Their skills were superb, they attacked without missing even a single opening.

    But Weed did have a point of criticism: They spent money like it was nothing, gulping down mana, health and regeneration potions, which cost four gold coins each, as if it was water while they ventured further and further into the dungeon. They acquired money by selling portions of the items they gain from player killing, so they rarely had shortcomings in their purses.

    Hunting monsters by yourself was far from a lucrative business: you could make a penny and you felt lucky when you made two by chance. But the quartet didn't even bother to pick up loot worth copper! It was disturbing for Weed to see people waste items that could be sold for as much as one silver coin in a general store. It was a clash of entirely different worlds.

    'Should I also become a PK'er? All that money, but... my fame would drop!'

    Watching Weed pick up the copper around the area of the fight, Mapan found himself in a crisis. The quartet penetrated right through the approaching waves of lycanthropes.

    "Oh crap! A lycanthrope..."

    He looked at Weed, pleading to be saved, but Weed completely surprised Mapan instead. He had seen Weed extinguish many a lycanthrope.

    Many, many lycanthropes!

    As soon as they had appeared, Weed had ripped them to shreds.

    "Kuhaha ha ha!"

    Because of him, lycanthropes were mercilessly mashed into pulp. When his sword had needed repair and couldn't be used, kicking and head butting had been the way to go for him. Weed not being able to fight was impossible. It may have seemed strange seeing such confident behavior from a merchant, but you couldn't be even remotely frightened by lycanthropes when Weed was around. Mapan had the solid belief that Weed would protect him. He was the ace in the sleeve.

    But...how could this be?

    Weed showed signs of being far more terrified than lycanthropes justified. His face had turned into a deep blue color; his body was shaking in fear, in complete and utter desolation.

    "Um...Weed?"

    Weed couldn't even hear him.

    "Are we going to die?"
    "......"

    For once, Mapan was left speechless. He had no clue about what Weed was thinking.

    The Lycanthrope attacked!

    "Kuwoeo!"

    The werewolf charged at him but Mapan avoided it by rolling on the ground without a second. Even so, he had been extremely lucky. The lycanthrope focused most of his attention on fighting Weed. He performed straight lined assaults, his claws and fangs making it a dangerous but close-quarters attack. Due to that, Mapan had been barely able to avoid it. Even Weed had to roll along the ground to avoid his fierce attacks. The dirt left his clothes stained.

    The lycanthrope pursued Weed.

    Weed was able to escape with an intact body. Fortunately, three of the quartet came back soon while Margaux finished off the remaining lycanthrope.

    After the battle, the quartet apologized to Weed and Mapan.

    "We are sorry about this. This one time we forgot about you, it was a big mistake."
    "No it's ok; we are still alive after all. Thank you for saving us there..."

    Hearing Weed's words, Halman grinned.

    - Guys like these are common, they afraid of fighting.' (As a side note –is the sign to show that the players are whispering, a communication method that allows only friends and party-members to hear what is being spoken)

    - When he becomes tense any weapon he's holding becomes useless.'

    - Well, classes that do not fight monsters are prone to be unable to wield weapons. It's my guess that at most he is just a simple level 100. He's probably even carrying a weapon he's not accustomed to.'

    - There are all kinds of people!'

    With thoughts like that going through their heads the quartet finally dropped their guard; they were unaware that since entering the tomb, Weed had known all too well that they had black intentions, and that he was waiting for this moment.

    Lycanthropes, ha!

    Weed had watched as just one escaped the quartet's slashes.

    It seemed coincidental that one of them went past the quartet to threaten Weed and Mapan, but it was obvious that they had planned to do so from the beginning; given that the combat capabilities of the quartet would have been enough to stop them all. The logical result of Weed's play of thoughts was that they had intended to evaluate the skills and the behavior of both him and Mapan. And Weed's act had tricked them.

    Kwadang! Crack!
    Wareureureu!

    "Aaaaahhhh!"

    Without a thief in the party, the risk of traps couldn't be removed.

    They had triggered traps 10 times so far, struggling through sand as steel bars popped up to crush them. There were traps everywhere, sometimes one of the four was caught and escaped only to fall into another trap. To Weed the traps were far too obvious, he could see the pitfalls far in the distance.

    "Gah, this can't be happening."

    Halman screamed after seeing his own blood oozing out as his health vanished.

    The underground dwarven tomb had two floors. After having found the stairs down, Gran headed towards it without the slightest hesitation.

    "Haha, fortune smiles on us."

    Gran boasted.

    Weed didn't take him seriously, including his laughter.

    They came to the Second floor.

    The place was even more dangerous; traps were installed everywhere. Sometimes lycanthropes appeared, but, compared to the traps that made their dungeon-walk truly miserable, they seemed to be the lesser evil.

    Hwareureuk!

    Oil poured from the ceiling, igniting into flames. Standing under the fiery rain, Halman, who had already been seriously damaged, soon died and became a gray flame.

    Following slowly behind, Weed and Mapan were still safe.

    "This...Wasn't this trap a bit extreme?"

    The remaining members of the quartet didn't shed a tear for their fallen comrade. They looked at the result with a slightly different approach: One less person meant a higher share for those remaining.

    'I should try to kill another one, so that just two survive this...me and one more.'
    'Well, if one more dies, I will get....'
    'I want to be the only one left alive.'

    They did not care about loyalty.
    After Halman's death, the others quietly wished for the deaths of the rest. They already had had the intent to murder Weed and Mapan, so one or two more deaths amounted to nothing.

    "But..." Gran suddenly spoke.

    "It is a little unfair that we are the only ones at risk."

    Margaux and Levi were surprised with Gran's words.

    - Gran, what the hell are you doing?

    - We need someone to sacrifice when we get to the thunderbolts. There's no way you plan to deal with them right now, right?

    - Just watch. I have an idea.

    "I beg your pardon?" Mapan asked awkwardly, but Gran only smiled in response.

    "It's not a big deal. It is my intention to distribute the risk. One of my own colleagues died; don't you guys feel a responsibility?"

    "Then, what do you want of us?"

    "I would like for one of you to take the lead. We take the center and the other one of you takes the rear. Like this we share the same risk"

    Mapan was clearly hesitant. In his mind, it didn't matter which way you stacked it, the result was the same. But somehow, the atmosphere made it a bad time to speak out. He had the impression that he should never have come to this place!

    'Still, I am truly indebted to Weed...'

    At that moment Mapan decided to take the lead.

    "I want to take the lead."

    Weed came out and volunteered first.

    "As a sculptor my offense is minimal, but I do have HP to spare, so please allow me."

    "Oh, then you have my thanks."

    From then on, Weed played the lead. You couldn't call them a party because Weed and the quartet had never proposed it!

    They had not invited him to their party as they had been against the sharing of experience. They only gave away the cheap common loot that they didn't want.

    Player killers were usually not allowed to enter most towns. In very serious cases, village guards could attack player killers. There was also the chance of finding someone that had a grudge against them, so it was better to refrain from visiting a town. Anyways, they were only willing to share the loot they thought worthless.

    'This is an interesting place.'

    Weed had explored many dungeons and places with monsters. Swarms of bloodthirsty monsters moving about in packs, dangerous hunting grounds infested with wandering Death Knights. Of the many dungeons he had been to, this was the first one with traps.

    'Need to stay alert, or I will find an immediate death.'

    Just a little bit ahead of him was a place where blue and red tiles were arranged like a board. A trap-finding skill should have been implemented; however, there was no thief or ranger in their group able to use it.

    "Hey Weed, we have to keep moving." Gran encouraged him from behind.

    Weed advanced slowly while pressing lightly on the floor, in order to quickly respond to any traps.

    'First let's try a blue tile.'
    Nothing happened.

    'What a relief.'
    'Next I'll step on a red tile.'

    Again nothing happened.

    It's a pathway, but Weed was still not even close to the end, more than 50 meters remained.
    With no clue when a trap might spring.

    'Blue tile. Red tile. Blue tile. Red tile. Alternating steps and nothing happened. If this was the way to dismantle a trap, then it was far too easy. If it is like that...?'

    Weed had a thought: he stopped alternating the colors. He stepped on blue tiles twice in a row. Still nothing happened.

    This made him even more wary.

    'This colored walkway is a deception. It is not meant to be anything. It was made as a distraction. If that is the case....'

    Weed's eyes became sharper.

    'There...'

    He saw it just ahead, an almost invisibly thin thread extended at the height of an ankle. There it was, at the boundary between the red and blue tiles. Unless you concentrated hard, it was a difficult to find thistrap.

    'The person who trips it is in trouble.' (Wanted to go with "is in deep sh*t"...such a shame! :D)

    Weed naturally stepped past the string. Gran followed directly behind him. Rather than sticking close, there was a little bit of distance. Weed had no intention of bailing him out if he tripped the trap! Ten steps away, Gran avoided it safely. Those left were Margaux and Levi. Mapan, the one person he wanted to keep alive, was last in line, the safest place he could have been.

    Gran had also seen that thread. Though it was very faint and thin, being keen on Weed's cautious movement had allowed him to discover it. Weed must have been lucky, seeing as even he had almost fallen for it himself.

    'Hmm, this trap...Is it just coincidence that he silently avoided it? Or....'

    Gran lightly passed over the thread. But he didn't stop to say anything to the person behind him. If they didn't know about it yet, they would know soon enough after one more step.

    *tuduk (sound effect of trap being sprung)

    Levi had moved carelessly onto the thread, no doubt cutting it along the process. At that moment, the walls to the left and right opened up and a rain of arrows poured out.

    "Keuahak!"

    Levi was overwhelmed with shock from the arrows flying into his body! The only thing he could do was scream helplessly as arrows penetrated hi armor.

    "Someone, help me!"

    As Levi begged, Gran and even Margaux stood still on the spot. Eventually Levi died from the numerous arrow wounds, and a single breastplate dropped where he had been standing until a moment ago.

    "Fool."

    "How pitiful to die at a place like this."

    Margaux took the armor for himself. Gran and Margaux just grinned at each other. They considered the other to be an ally, seeing as neither of them had moved a finger to help Levi.

    After all, the four members of Dwichigi had met each other as murderers in the first place. The group was merely formed to kill others for fun and deprive them of their items. They had never cared about friendship and loyalty was a thing that one could part with at any time.

    Kureureung!
    Boom! Boom! Kwaang!

    The pathways appearance changed.

    A single, straight tunnel appeared before them, leading through the underground cave.

    Thunderbolts crashed just into the road. White lightning blasted randomly inside the passage ahead. Although it was a magnificent sight, it was also endlessly dangerous.

    Lightning-bolt.

    A three circles spell with a mind of its own, striking without any kind of pattern.

    Weed looked back.

    "I'm supposed to go through there?"

    Gran pulled out a small stone.

    "We're fortunate. This is a stone that collects lightning. With this, we can safely go across."

    "I see."

    Weed identified the stone as he took it, just to be on the safe side.



    Lightning stone:

    Durability 100/100.

    This stone is considered special because of its high iron content.

    It has the power to attract and resist electricity. If it is refined it can become good quality iron.

    Options: Electric Resistance 99%.

    As Weed read through the stone's description, Gran and Margaux laughed coldly.

    'We will cross while he takes the lightening.'

    'When we have passed this last obstacle a mountain of treasure will be waiting for us.'

    One victim was necessary in order to cross this road. This lighting-collecting-stone stated that you would probably survive.

    "Hey weed, just go through it already. You may die but then we would be safe, isn't that worth the risk?"

    Gran gave a toothy grin.

    At that moment, they finally revealed their true colors!

    Weed consented.

    "It is a good thing if only I die and everyone else can cross."

    "Of course"

    "What are you going to do on the way back?"

    "....!"

    Gran and Margaux looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions.

    They had only thought about getting the treasure. They had not even thought of how to get back. It had completely slipped their minds.

    "It's...."

    "You've got to be kidding me."

    They had obtained only one lightning stone! It was irrefutable that they would all die trying to get back.

    Gran drew his sword.

    "I won't spare you guys, now that I know that you're good for nothing. Drop dead." Gran shouted as he fell into an attack posture. He was on the verge of his breaking point.

    "You dirty bastards...."

    Mapan snapped back as he grasped the reality of the situation. Yet Mapan still had his ace up his sleeve. Weed.

    Weed would deal with them. From observing till now, Mapan knew that Weed was more than enough to fight against Gran. However, Weed still had a terrified look on his face. In that condition, he wasn't able do anything. Even pulling out his sword seemed improbable.

    'Why... just why? Weed is enough to handle this...'

    As Gran began his attack, Mapan thought that something seemed odd about Gran. He didn't try to attack Mapan or even Weed, no, Gran targeted Margaux, much to Mapans surprise.

    "Die!"

    "Gran, I knew this would happen!"

    Gran and Margaux started a fight to the death.

    Gran thought was that he could kill Weed or Mapan at any time he wanted to. As a professional, Margaux had to be the first to die. They had not trusted each other from the beginning, so Margaux was prepared as well.

    "Sword of flames!"
    "Cold blade!"

    The elements of Fire and ice.

    Gran had finished the test for his second job advancement, he specialized in fire fencing. Margaux's specialty as an assassin was the assimilation of darkness. He tried to inflict damage while he remained hidden. Skills ran rampant as flames and drops of blood sprayed. Both men were very offense oriented killers, wholeheartedly devoted to offense rather than defense. Their skills were evenly matched but Gran eventually got him. Maybe as a person optimized as an assassin, he couldn't achieve victory in straight forward contest.

    "Fare well, Margaux."

    "Dammit, I was so close, just a little bit further to that treasure...."

    Though Margaux was betrayed, there were no hard feelings between them as he lay dying.

    Justice, friendship, nothing! Taking pleasure in the face of deceit is a useless subject. Margaux was near death. Gran stabbed his sword into Margaux's throat.

    "Keuhahaha! Now the treasure is mine."

    Gran's smile turned into a smirk. Where Margaux had died a shield dropped.

    "Weed, Mapan. Two of us will go inside with one of you holding the stone. When we return you will give the stone to me and I will give you the shield instead. The requirement of the shield is level 200 or higher, it is sufficient to include the possibility that you won't die once the exchange is complete. It is better if you do not reject. I will kill the remaining person now, as I only need one."

    Gran finished the calculations in his head.

    When you enter, sacrifice one person and obtain the treasure.

    The chance of losing the treasure when you died was low. If you did drop that special treasure, it would be very bad luck. In all probability, if you died, the possibility of dropping the treasure which you got from the dungeon was really low. In addition to that, it was more acceptable that he dropped his own items.

    Gran was already savoring the joy of the treasure in his grasp. That was until Weed drew his sword.

    *Seureureung.

    The clay sword slipped softly out of its scabbard. Gran's tone immediately changed, in response to the affront of Weed daring to lift his sword against him.

    "Whoa, you plan to defy me? If so, then die here, Mapan you'll guide me then. I may be considerably injured but this is hilarious, I thought you'd know better than to attack me. Okay, I'll take any of you attacks for three seconds, try as much as you want."

    "You have my thanks."

    A three second concession like out of a chivalry novel. Weed did not refuse.

    "Your choice, have it the way you like. Engraving sword!"

    As the sword gathered light, a new sense of insecurity showed in Gran's eyes.

    'Is it too late to yield now? Yes, you should have anticipated that before you pretended to be chivalrous!' (Weed should be the one thinking that, no sense otherwise...)

    Head shaking, Gran could not imagine Weed wielding a sword, swinging it towards his neck.

    "Sculptor....."

    The moment before his death a mask of disbelieve covered his face.
    Weed executed just one attack with absolutely no chance for a counter; perfect to such an extent that that single attack caused Grans lowered life to be completely drained. Mapan breathed out a sigh. He had predicted as much. This ended the schemes of the quartet, at least for a while.

    "So what do we do now? Shall we go back now?"

    "We've come this far so I'm going to find out about this treasure. Though I find it questionable."

    "How? Once you enter, you can't come out.... we were brought here to be sacrificed by those four."

    "That does not necessarily mean that you necessarily have to die. These people were novices when it came to adventures; they failed to choose the correct path, that's all. Although the place is fixed strongly, it does not mean the route itself is, if you understand me."

    "Enlighten me"

    "Flying."

    Weed chanted a spell and pure white wings sprouted from his back. Since the beginning he had been confident about flying over the Bar Khu Mountains. The reason why he was so confident lay in these wings.

    Taken from the Mireukan tower of Lavias, with these wings for 10 gold pieces one could fly for the duration of one month.

    Avoiding the falling lightning and thunderbolts, he flew to the opposite side. There he saw smaller pipes and a thing that appeared to be a musical instrument, a harp.

    'This is the treasure?'

    Weed took the musical instrument.

    "Identify!"



    Harp of Vino the Dwarf:

    Durability 20/20.

    Performance.
    Vino was a short and fat dwarf.
    But he was in love with a human woman.
    Exceeding race, a love that could never be returned!
    Human women despised dwarves, so Vino was in despair.
    Thus he heard of music.
    Indeed music contained an artistic beauty, one that could buy the favor of women

    Ability: 30% Rise in Female NPC popularity.

    Weed looked at the harp, stunned. Eventually his mouth broke into laughter.

    "Puhahaha!"

    Halman, Margaux, Levi, Gran.

    For all their conspiracies, only to die by their own schemes! And the treasure was a simple magical harp. It could have been stronger weapons, better armor, but no, it was an instrument to earn a woman's favor, and the map had even indicated it.

    Back to top


    Chapter 4 : Van Hawk's Humiliation



    Lee Hyun's computer was connected to a trading site that deals in items. He would check the site for the common gold prices of trade goods almost every day, but this time it was for a specific reason.

    "Absolutely amazing."

    Royal Road's popularity was increasing day by day. Although it was only last week, the listed number of registered items was around 160,000, and today it went over 165,000.

    But for auctions from last week, when they are unsold, they are not attached to the following week. People place them on high or very absurd prices, and save for the unwanted items, almost all were sold.

    The items that were sold after the end of the day are purged from the list and afterwards new items are registered. Lee Hyun looked for a list of the more mundane.

    "This week, this many items are usable."


    Sword of Melak:

    Durability 105/105.
    Damage 40 to 43.

    Sword is of a long sword style, made by mixing a small amount of mithril. A sword considered to possess superior strength, a blacksmith of some renown in Melak produced this item directly.

    Restrictions:
    Strength 200.
    Level 100.

    Effects:
    50% additional damage to the undead.
    +25 Strength.
    +17 Agility.

     



    Krakow's bracelets of forty-two:

    Durability 40/40.

    A creative, yet eccentric wizard was familiar with forty-two enchantment spells. He infused his wrist items which granted magical abilities; this item has become something that everyone on this continent desires.

    Restrictions: Level 150.

    Effects:
    Maximum mana increased by 30%.
    Magic effect amplified by 20%
    +10 to all stats.

    These kinds of items were very few and were coveted. Weapons and accessories with special abilities, they broke through Lee Hyun's greed.

    "How much?"

    The Melaka black auction started at 1.5 million won. However, the prices continued to soar, currently exceeding 2.5 million won. Limitations based on class were absent, and it could be used at relatively low levels, because of this the item can be sold at an expensive price.

    Krakow's bracelets of forty-two is a unique item that exceeded 3 million won, and its current price was more than 5 million won.

    "A blessing from heaven."

    Lee Hyun licked his lips.

    From the start, he planned to buy things from the auction site. Of course, the strategy was to make a good investment in items to hunt with. He set aside for himself about 30 million won to use.

    But talking about buying items, there is no end to spending money. Gain a good item then seek for better items; ultimately even the purpose fades.

    Roughly, Lee Hyun decided to search until the auction ends.

    He wanted to sell the items he had obtained from hunting things in Levias. Mainly with the Death Knight's weapon, the loot did not sell due to them being so unusual, or of specific importance.

    In case of the Loot, there are some that are needed for quests and can be sold for cash. Others might just discard these, left to be sold in grocery stores, or placed in auction postings daily in search for those who need it; Lee Hyun did not forget this option.

    The limit for an auction is one week.

    At about 4 weeks of game time.

    Weapons dropped from the Death Knight.

    Weed posted the best one by itself, and decided to start the remaining weapons and armor at 10,000 won. Auctions are preferable with the advantage of having many people bidding. As the competition heats up the price will rise, and at least there is no worry as the starting cost was already determined.

    Loot can only be listed if the beginning is at least designated at 3000 won. Anything less is an inconvenience as it would not make sense to bother with it. Simply because, it would a waste of time. Lee Hyun had registered more than 30 items on the auction site.

    "Price, please climb a lot."

    He was anxious as this was the first time he listed his own items from Royal Road for sale.

    "Now, how much will they rise?"

    He knew that he couldn't force it by wishing for it, but he could not help but be excited. Lee Hyun is with the highest rating for the transaction site-- a triple diamond rating.

    With 1 month limit to 100 and the transactions commission being obviously exempted, the goods which are registered the most are arranged to the place which catches the eye well. Per month he is exempted commission fees for 100 transactions, and the items that he registers are listed in a prominent way. With red font, placed in a separate box and raised to the middle of the auction item screen.

    "If this is the case, then at least it will not be buried."

    At the start, people proposed bids for the usual weapons of 20,000 won, then 30,000 won for the Death Knight weapons. The auction for a duration of one week. It was already posted, so it was good not to have expected too much.

    In the beginning, the continent of Versailles was the ancient Arpenian Empire!

    After 300 years, the glory of the empire did not last and was divided into dozens of countries. Since then, all that was left were the written accounts of historians.

    History is founded on blood and death!

    The Principality and the weak forces of smaller countries allied to survive in the era of war. Respectively, this sparked the establishment of the United Kingdom of Briton. In its early days, the seven kingdoms shared a strained atmosphere of distrust and suspicion; now the kingdoms have integrated into one through laws and regulations, as well as with arranged inter-marriages. The lords of each nation can go to other countries and be treated as equals. They also had a thriving economy. Geographically, they were situated somewhat to the east of the centre of the continent, and thus were able to prosper while avoiding major wars. Born of these free cities, merchants were able to advance in trade and technology. Due to this reason, quite a number of users decided on the United Kingdom of Briton to play and spread out from.

    Tomlin town. The best town in the east of the United Kingdom of Briton.

    "BUYING rabbit skins!"

    "Seeking one more for hunting in Peschiera cave!"

    "Cleric preferred. Level 50 priest or higher. Item share distribution to the two people who hit."

    A huge crowd gathered at the square. Users dressed in colorful clothing and equipment. Also there were an astronomical number of traders. The United Kingdom of Briton is a kingdom highly advanced commercially, so a fair number of merchants are involved in the business of trade.

    "Purchasing strong spices?"

    "Buying cheap stuff could save you quite a bit of money in the long run."

    Tomlin village was primarily low level beginners, and then there were the traders. With merchants frequently droping by, quite a variety of goods were sold and exchanged.

    A wagon was slowly approaching the east entrance of the village; these men caught a lot of attention.

    "Huh? What's that?"

    "This doesn't look very good...."

    The wheels were wobbling as it was tumbling down the road, the condition of the canopy covering the wagon was almost a rag; however, the state of the wagon was not what gathered their attention. The reason was that it was coming from the East.

    Weed was carving away on the coachman's seat and Mapan also was sitting while working hard at his expense calculations.

    Mapan's ears were still covered. Weed was shouting as they crossed over the Bar Khu mountains! He had heard so much of the Lion's roar that he was near the point of neurosis. It put pressure on the enemy, and the warrior's war cry technique enhanced stats, unlike the Lion's Roar skill which was still vague in its usefulness. To be able to raise the morale of an entire army, cancelling the chaos in a military engagement. In fact, the usefulness of this is not usually shown. As for Lion's Roar, which is a combat oriented skill, the use is questionable, but the skill improvement was very quick. Once he yelled for a long time, the level of the skill climbed rapidly. Weed raised the Lion's Roar skill to Advanced Level 3.

    Thanks to this, Mapan vowed to never attend Weed on a similar trip, even with a warrior.

    "Really, this is quite a lot of people."

    This was Weed's first impression of Tomlin village.

    Despite the village being in the fringe areas of the East, there is a large number of players. Though it does not change the fact that realistically no one crosses over to the centre of the continent from a nation like Rosenheim Kingdom. It takes nearly one month of a march of suffering over the Bar Khu Mountains to finally arrive at the United Kingdoms of Briton. Giant spiders, then basilisks, ogres, and loads of various other beasts in their way! Once, Water demons had seized Weed by the ankle by the lakeside, and with their limbs and roots attacked fiercely.

    Bar Khu Mountains truly had to be heaven on earth for monsters. First the lycanthropes came out droves, with more force than necessary. The multitude of monsters increased and did not lessen for more than 10 hours, and they had to fight to break through.

    Through these odds, Weed crafted all of the jewels he had. In truth, intermediate sculpting does not rise well by anything at this point. Then, for sculpting he gained the new ability to facet gems. Yet, this type of crafting did not even give as much as 2 or 3 times the proficiency for sculpting; however, thanks to this, sculpture mastery rose to level 4 intermediate. But what was more delightful, intermediate handicraft finally rose to level 6. The rapid growth in handicraft affects throughout all the areas, in a sense, it is second only to sculpting in importance.

    "Weed, is this the first time you left Rosenheim Kingdom?"

    "Yes."

    "I've been through other countries to meet a few friends, though most people do not start in Rosenheim Kingdom. Even the Kingdom of Brent has a lot of people."

    "There are a number of people who start up in the kingdom to get many benefits."

    If there are nearby possibilities, the law is to be the first.

    And in the case of a special dungeon or a demon's lair, there was the notion of ownership. When a guild takes ownership, they have several advantages. Firstly, guild members have 20% additional experience, and non guild members in the dungeon could not enter due to a number of restrictions emplaced. A friction that was often the cause of many wars.

    This can be seen from the activity of the developed guilds in the United Kingdom of Briton. The Ohdein battle fortress is also one example.

    'You and I have very little timeto do irrelevant issues. We do not have the time to waste with guild fighting or their pride.'

    Startled eyes followed Weed and Mapan, they ignored the used and their first order of business was to drive the wagon to the stock exchange; because small exchanges in rural villages are grungy. The owner was a nice old man.

    "Came in order to sell a few things."

    Mapan's luck should be mentioned, the master of the exchange showed great joy.

    "Yes? A lot of traders come by these days. It is greatly appreciated. What kind of goods do you have for sale?"

    One by one, Mapan pulled out all of the cheese and bottles of olive oil from the wagon.

    "These items are for sale."

    "Oh my! Those are from Rosenheim Kingdom, aren't they? Coming from so far away, I'll pay 4 silvers and 8 silvers respectively for each."

    In the manner of disposing a major annoyance, for a moment, Mapan tightly closed his eyes. Until now, the entire journey in the wagon was just short of revolting because it was loaded with the smell of cheese and olive oil. Every time the wagon hit a bump his stomach toiled; Royal Road's outstanding realism rather felt more of a drudgery to Mapan.

    "I am grateful. It was a hard thing to purchase in the town, 470 gold should be enough."

    "My pleasure."

    Through the transaction, Mapan's profit was about 200 gold as well as a little rise in fame and expertise. At last, the month long trip was worthwhile in the end. After all, the greatest happiness as a merchant is the feel of success and the feel of being satisfied when you obtain wealth after a long haul.

    Next was Weed's turn.

    Mapan looked at Weed with eyes full of envy.

    Groceries reap this much profit, seeing the jewelry, how much more profit will be gained from that.

    'The gems Weed directly faceted and formed into jewelry....'

    Mapan gulped.

    Weed opened the backpack, and one by one pulled out brooches and bracelets.

    "How much would you pay for these?"

    At that moment, the exchange was in an uproar as users spat out comments.

    "It's a jade!"

    "Those are jewelry. That one is an emerald.... if I'm not mistaken, that must be a sapphire!"

    "Where did you find these precious stones?"

    "It's so beautiful."

    The reaction was hardly surprising. Traders who come to the Tomlin exchange are people with relatively low level, and this would be the first time for majority of them to have seen jewelry.

    The exchange owner looked carefully at the jewels Weed passed forward, and he expressed disapproval.

    "Things like this are impossible to deal with in a small town like this! What do you see this as, a big city?"

    Mapan gave a helpful comment.

    "Jewelry is classified as a luxury; rather than selling in a small town, it would be profitable to sell in a big city with developed commerce. Maybe it would be better to sell directly to the jewelry stores rather than to the exchange, would be a hit on the price."

    "Is that so?"

    Weed put the jewels back into the bag.

    Anyway, they did not necessarily need to dispose of them in Tomlin town right this moment.

    Each and every town or city had a different value on jewelry So the current price in the United Kingdom of Briton required further examination. Instead of selling food and clearing the rest of the purchased inventory, Mapan ended the day at Tomlin village.

    Even after the two men rode slowly westward in the second-hand wagon, and were gone, their visit to the merchant in Tomlin village was a hot topic.

    "If the exchange in the town could not afford it, how expensive might it be?"

    "For that handcrafted jewelry, I'd wager they would be incredibly expensive when sold!"

    "Where on earth did those people come from?"

    "East! There is only the Bar Khu Mountains...."

    "They seriously passed through the Bar Khu Mountains?"

    "Rosenheim Kingdom! Jewels imported from Rosenheim Kingdom, but where did they get crafted..."

    After a few days, Weed and Mapan arrived at the capital of an ally of the United Kingdoms of Briton, Regus of Keurion Kingdom.

    In the broad plain sight in front of a castle, beginner monsters such as rabbits and foxes moved about as users pursued them with effort.

    Leisurely, Mapan spoke.

    "That's a very peaceful scene."

    "Yeah."

    Weed was also in agreement. Being used to the bloodthirsty encounters with monsters in the Bar Khu Mountains, indeed the little rabbits and foxes looked cute.

    A blue sky, with white clouds passing by. The sun is warm, golden fields of grain as far as can be seen. Red brick, built to blend well with the surrounding landscape of Regus castle. The Kingdom of Rosenheim could not compare to Serrabourg, it is beyond beautiful.

    Looking at the peaceful sight of Sarah, you get the feeling of wanting to make a poem.

    T'tiring!



    Art stat increased by 2

    The art stat, it not only climbed by creating works, but also by travelling and even seeing new things Keuroin Kingdom, where there are the most travellers!

    Here the performance of the town, its extreme beauty, brings back many visitors. A famous resort regarded as a place for couples and for prayer.

    Weed and Mapan enjoyed the moment of relaxation for a while. In the meantime Mapan was genuinely cleansed of his fatigue and his suffering, as with keen eyes Weed analyzed the castle.

    "Well, I suppose I can create a sculpture of a scaled down model of the caste. I think it would be fairly thoughtful to others. How much will my fame and skill rise?"

    Weed took in the shapes of the spires, the heights of the ramparts; he roughly sketched as he walked along the interior.

    A sculptor's instinct.

    Anything he views he absorbs fully in memory.

    Weed and Mapan reached the front of the city gates. Mapan dragged forward the horse drawn wagon.

    "I'll go in first."

    The castle has two main entrances.

    You need to enter through the front gate!

    Of course, that is where Mapan chose to go. But the armed guards stopped him.

    "There is a toll here. And also you need trade permit."

    Mapan threw 2 gold to the guards without any hesitation. After earning a considerable amount of money by trading in the previous village, two gold was nothing.

    "Welcome, merchant."

    The guards prostrated themselves as if in front of nobility, and they opened the gate. A big place whosethe front door is usually closed, it is only open to people who paid gold up front. This momentum! It's exciting!

    "Wow, it's enormous!"

    "That person just gave out 2 gold without a second thought."

    Nearby users were commenting with interest. Around the castle, the beginning players that were hunting small animals were shocked. Mapan just shrugged.

    "Hey Weed, come on in!"

    In a minute, Weed headed toward the side door. The small door was bored into the side of the main gate; however, this time the armed guards directly prevented him.

    "Stop! You are not part of the United Kingdom of Briton. What brings you to Regus castle?"

    Just by looking at people, the guards could tell where they were from. Although he was only from Rosenheim Kingdom, it was not a simple procedure to visit the capital of a foreign country, as it needs to be reported. If the incident was not reported, there comes the possibility of getting trouble with the authorities.

    "To trade, and to sell handmade goods, honorable guards!"

    "Yes? If that is so, you need to pay a toll in accordance to our country's laws."

    "A toll for passage?"

    Weed immediately began to praise the guards for their efforts to make them more agreeable.

    "It's admirable to see that the Regus castle guards enforce such tight security, it really is unequaled."

    "Well, well! Something like that isn't bad."

    The simple guards laughed.

    Weed had already mastered how to fully deal with soldiers through eating with the instructor at the training center.

    "It's hard, right? But to keep such a great castle safe seems to be a great honor. Is everyone stopped to keep the castle safe?"

    "Why yes. If you come to the castle for trade, you still have to pay the toll."

    "How much is the toll for passage? Because all the money I have is 7 silver..."

    "That is sufficient. The toll will be 5 silver."

    Weed's face went stiff for a short moment. And he pulled 4 silver out of his pocket.

    "Oh! I only have 4 silver..."

    "......"

    As Weed and Mapan entered the city of Regus, they decided to look into their own business.

    "I'll stop by the exchange and see if I can purchase loot. Maybe I'll find something to do. Then in one day I'll meet you back here."

    Merchants have their own unique quests. Commonly they are called story procurement commissions.

    How to get some different goods, or requests, or even entrusted to transport particular items.

    "Well..."

    Weed parted with Mapan and made his first priority to look for a jewelry shop around the busier streets. Of course this was in order to sell the jewels.

    Regus castle, the capital of Keuroin Kingdom surrounded a bustling city, so it was not difficult to find a jewelry store.

    1st and 2nd floor. The jewellery store ran a business on two layers that were packed with the nobility. Users like to buy gems for items with sockets. If you combine those items with gemstones, special characteristics may emerge.

    "What are you interested in buying?"

    Weed was greeted by the shop dealer. A woman! The elegant beauty is the NPC of the jewellery store.

    "I came here to sell."

    Weed took out the gems from his backpack. The various kinds of gemstones shined brightly.

    Deeply green emeralds, dark blue sapphires and pearls.

    "Wow, those gems."

    "I think I've never seen many gems like that."

    It was not very different from the reaction in Tomlin village. After viewing the dealer weighed the jewels and proposed a deal.

    "Oh, I think I could possibly part with 2900 gold! But wait, you a famous adventurer and you have a related profession to this business, it would be proper to go up to 3200 gold."

    At the capital he had spent 1,700 gold, which turned in a moment to over 3000 gold. Gemstones from Rosenheim Kingdom bought for a cheap price was processed and sold as highly expensive jewellery in Keuroin kingdom.

    'So this is a profit of 1500 gold? Considering the transit time and effort of crafting, the large profits could be seen.'

    When you hunt for one month, you get that revenue and the experience! Stopping with the trade at this point would abandon the chance at gaining further profit. If you were a merchant, you can bargain. Depending on your trading skills, you could sell things for a higher price; however, Weed is not a dealer. So instead he pulled out the harp.

    Ttiriring, Ding, ttingtting.

    Which could increase favorable impression as much as flowers could. A bard or a harpist has the power to charm people through a performance. Eliciting favor and goodwill, even to benefit prices. At a high level, a bard can earn the love of the masses and be a guest at inns or restaurants for no charge.

    "Wow! That guy is playing the harp." "He's decent."

    "Does it sound good?"

    Weed's performance was basic, but it was not bad. He deliberately set aside some of his spare time to learn it and broaden his horizons.



    By listening to the performance, the NPC's impression of you has increased.

    Weeds mouth curved into a smile.

    The shop dealer's eyes were gently closed, in appreciation of the music.

    His objective was achieved.

    However as the dealer opened her eyes, she said:

    "The music is good, but the song is lacking something."

    "Singing?"

    "Yes. You can sing can't you?"

    Weed could not bear to refuse. A roaring rocker!

    In real life, it was once upon a time a goal of his. Yet, those referred to as a Rocker require several things that can't be ignored. Ignorance of pitch! Ignorance of tempo! Ignorance of lyrics!

    He was once told that he was severely tone-deaf. Only, Weed never accepted that fact. So as he plucked the harp, Weed began to sing.

    "It's bright! The sun rises today! Return again! It's sunny! And! It's up! Courtyard! Day!"

    "Kkyaah Argh!"

    "Crap, I'm going to go mad."

    "Run away!"

    Really, what is the difference between the Lion's roar skill and singing a song.

    Weed's singing made the users to become both shocked and horrified. If you only listened for a little bit, the head becomes dizzy and your breathing becomes labored. To the extent that it will even get a turtle to pop out of its shell.

    "One day! Your thoughts! Walk down! Look! Ha! Always! The!"

    Weed roared eagerly as he sang.

    With no care about melody. Only in making noise!

    As if singing in a loud voice is the best way for a song.

    When Weed finally finished the song and the stampeding crowd of ten thousand users and two male shopkeepers were flocking to get out, only one was left. Her expression was turned to stone.

    "How much will you give?"

    She shook her head as Weed spoke.

    "No trade."

    "....."

    "Get lost! Otherwise, I'm calling the guards."

    "Have to play the harp again...."

    He had to give up singing. Weed played the harp again with much effort and raised the favorable impression of the shop dealer.

    "I'll part with 3240 gold"

    "That much is good."

    Weed, unencumbered of the gems, departed with 3240 gold.



    Reaped a large margin of profit through trading. Fame increased by 150.

    Weed's reputation rose again.

    "From this I have gained 2000."

    The higher your fame, the higher difficulty of quests you can receive, and it was possible to receive discounts on item values. However, fame in itself is worth being proud of.

    - Do you know of Corona? That guy did some extraordinary work. He took out a twin headed ogre in the Dodge mountain range.

    - Meanwhile, Batun safely accomplished the Archduke Samiel's mission to round up thieves. Archduke Samiel gave him knighthood and a position in the military.

    This is the power of fame.

    Sometimes a large quest to resolve, or taking out a hard monster, even an NPC with a story quest.

    It is the same through gaining merchant trades.

    In Royal Road, you can become famous in the minds of NPCs.

    - Have you ever seen Bansen on his inspections? If you see him be careful. He is committing murder indiscriminately to those in groups. A bounty has even been made.

    Sometimes you can be infamous in the way of notoriety.

    In Weed's case, he hopes to create a statue in the town of Freya and then become a celebrity there. Having finished his business at the jewelry store, Weed thought of jewelry as turned to the exit. He had obtained the Crimson Necklace of Life at Levias. Weed was interested in its ability, but his skill level was too low to identify it.

    When he first picked it up, the necklace was somewhat white in color. Yet the name of it was the Crimson Necklace of life. The color remained unchanged when he met Mapan. Then as he crossed the Bar Khu Mountains, it began to gradually shift. Now it has turned to full crimson.

    To discard or abandon something by selling it to someone was distasteful to him. It might eventually cost Weed more, but he had to exactly know what the identification of the trinket was.

    "If this is a crappy item, I'm going to smash it."

    Many users looking for identification services crowded the shop.

    "Here, please identify this item I picked up from hunting!"

    "OK, this ring has the property of...."

    There is a separate bin with them in a marketplace. Taking unidentified items for identification can be like scratching off lottery tickets. You don't know how it will end up. Even picking up a tremendously unique item.

    Weed went through the first floor and immediately went up the stairs to the second floor. The first floor was for simple checking of items, with Weed's identification skills, he could do a decent identification check. There was a considerable number of users upstairs. Weed hesitated for a short moment, as he was tempted. So far, until the Crimson necklace of life, he was able to determine all of his items, so he firmly believed that the item was not common.

    Finally Weed rose to the third floor, the top layer of the building. The rooms were completely sealed. Thoroughly so to guarantee confidentiality. Weed went into one of the rooms.

    "Welcome!"

    The blond female wizard greeted Weed enthusiastically.

    'She's a user.'

    In general, when you cannot get out of the castle for those 4 weeks, users experience a wide range of quests. Certainly Weed specifically strengthened himself with the scarecrow, but that occurrence is excessively rare. So they spread out to do things like side jobs at an inn, order books from the book store, even improve manufacturing skills.

    But for users who chose the wizard route, very few work with identification. Judging an item's magical properties can improve your skills, but if you're lucky you can earn a significant amount of money.

    'Whoa! When you run out of people, only 3 gold left!'

    Wizard Lindell rose her level to 200 just to finish her second job advancement. Upon completion, a wizard is able to learn a new spell. The choice of a specific AOE spell, naturally for Lindell it was lightning shower. Numerous seeds of lightning fall down from the sky with really beautiful effects and can inflict great damage on monsters; it was a very useful magic skill.

    However, the price of the skill book is a whopping 540 gold!

    Even after finishing the second job advancement, a poor wizard could not have that kind of money. When you are a low level, you need to buy various magical amplifiers, the reagents for spells, and as your level raises little by little, you need to buy all the skill books, then there is your robes, the staff and equipment.

    On the battleground, it may be the most colorful and shinning profession, but wizards always have to live in poverty. It was inevitable for her to work part time in item identification in order to get the three gold to satisfy her skill selection. But since the very first customers, it was terrible. Lindell's tender forehead was covered in lines from the frowning.

    'Now what does this beggar want?'

    As soon as she saw Weed's appearance, that was what came to mind.

    'He should go wash up.'

    Lindell could not believe her eyes.

    Talk about quality, torn cloak and shabby armor. The durability is decreased and the leather has lost its lustre, and the peculiar equipment seemed like dust cloth. There can hardly be an outfit even more bizarre!

    What was in the back pack behind his shoulder was a complete mystery, but it smelled repulsive. The hard smell of medicinal herbs was gleaned.

    Aside from her thoughts, Lindell forcibly smiled and spoke to the guest. Being unkind to customers is grounds for being cut off from the identification store, and her feasible way to raise money.

    "I am sorry, but this place is for the identification of more advanced items. General identification of magical items is downstairs."

    It is the same wherever you are, people are judged by their attire. An NPC would react based on your fame, but it is different for a user like Lindell. Without any comment, Weed pulled out the necklace and held it out to her.

    "Please determine this."

    "The price is expensive. To do an identification, the charge is 50 silver."

    Though money was precious, he was already determined at this point.

    "Here it is, 50 silver."

    "Oh, so you are going through with it. Do not regret your choice when the item is listed as meagre."

    Lindell went over the precautions. Among items that you discover through identification skill you can get good things as expected, but realistically the item is often much more disappointing. Because identifying can lead to this, some people will be firm in refusing to pay, so it needs to be mentioned in advance. Lindell took hold of the necklace. From then on, she noted what seemed to be an unusual flow of mana.

    A type of magical flow that even as a wizard she couldn't determine!

    That means it contains at least 4 magic circles or more. But her extremely high identification skill should be able to see what the magic is.

    "Item identification!"

    Lindell's hands shined as she touched the Crimson necklace of life. And the information of the item was revealed.



    Necklace of the Death Knight:
    Durability 100/100.

    A summoning item crafted by the Warlock of Darkness, Balkan! (Balkan)

    This necklace contains the life of the Death Knight, Van Hawk. With this item, you can summon Van Hawk; however, removing his loyalty to Balkan is not East.

    Restrictions:
    If the master is not recognized, he will attack.

    Effects:
    Summon Death Knight.
    Enchantment 'Call Death Knight'
    Effects of black magic enhanced by 50%
    +20 Intellect. +10 Wisdom

    Lindell's eyes were wide open with shock.

    "Th, This is a unique item that has not been made public yet..."

    "Stop, please return it."

    Weed's necklace was identified.

    After finishing their errands, Weed and Mapan left Regus castle and headed toward the free city of Somuren!

    Weed asked for the wagon to be stopped at a deserted place.

    "What's going on?"

    "Just watch and you will see."

    Weed jumped from the coachman's seat. He held out the necklaced and chanted the spell.

    "Call Death Knight!:

    At once, black smoke gathered and within appeared the Death Knight, Van Hawk. The boss of the Balkan catacombs.

    "Keueoeoeo!"

    Just the same as before, except that the clothes had changed quite a bit. His last glance in the Balkan catacombs, Van Hawk had great items and equipment. But now the Death Knight is wearing only a basic sword and equipment.

    The reason is simple. Since afterwards Weed had already stole it all.

    The Death Knight's body faltered from the bright light, but he soon found his balance. Since he is a level 200 undead monster, the sun caused such a big reaction. The Death Knight brushed past Mapan and his line of sight was fixed on Weed.

    "You human!"

    Tremendous hatred!

    Unmistakably he came back to life.

    The Death Knight clearly remembered it was Weed who killed him.

    "You summoned me! You believe I will betray Balkan and follow you? Grrr! You're also a sculptor! I'll kill you, human!"

    The Death Knight assaulted him.

    Weed intentionally took the hit and slowly his blood spilled. Then since his life force was reduced to less than 20% he used his skills.

    "Engraving sword!"

    Weed's sword went through the Death Knight as if he was an egg.

    The Death Knight was recalled and the necklace changed back to white. As the monster returns to life, the necklace will turn back to crimson.

    And from that time on.

    On the road to the free city of Somuren, every time the necklace turned red, he called back the Death Knight.

    "Engraving sword!"

    "Seven celestial steps!"

    Eagerly he used the skills to catch the Death Knight!

    It never left his hands as he was establishing a record. Kill the man, return him to life, kill him again!

    At this time, the Death Knight was crying. However, this is a highly desirable thing for Weed. Laid out on the wagon beside the sculptures were large numbers of health and mana potions. Because there was a need to be at 100% full, but depending on natural restoration of health and mana is inefficient and a waste of time.

    However he always liked recalling the Death Knight, it could not be any better. Even if he cannot get experience due it being a summons, he can still continuously improve his skill mastery!

    After the tenth time was reached, of beating him to death, it was the first time the Death Knight sounded ill.

    "Ugh, you are strong."

    When he died five times more, the Death Knight heaved a sigh.

    "I seem to forget Lord Balkan's grace little by little."

    And again Lazarus died about five times more, he spoke more drastically.

    "It seems your leadership qualifies you to rule over me, but do not know yet."

    After that, he was killed twenty more times. Weed did not even bother to keep count.

    He's moving in a wagon full of health and mana, and has a cool Death Knight on call to fight against.

    The vitality of the necklace he held filled shortly with a little aid. The Death Knight has finally announced his intention to yield.

    "Master!"

    An aloof Death Knight! The strongest Death Knight, General Van Hawk, recognized Weed as his master. However, Weed's answer was unexpected.

    "No, I cannot trust you. The evil warlock is a tricky one, you must be planning something!"

    "No, it's not like that..."

    Weed did not listen to the Death Knight and killed him another 300 times.

    "I will serve you master, so you can stop now..."

    Even after he heard this, he killed him about 500 more times.

    From then on, whenever the Death Knight appeared, he appealed desperately, but it was to no avail.

    Weed's goal was to help master his skills, so there could be no mercy.


    Notes:
    Keuroin Kingdom ------- might be Crow Kingdom.
    Balkan ------ Balkan, I will keep that change from this time onward.

    Back to top


    Chapter 5 : Return the Holy Relic



    Weed put the Death Knight items for sale at a price between 10 to 15 thousand won.

    "I don't think the price is going to be that high, it's not incredible equipment..."

    Level 200 weapons.

    Royal Road had many weapons and armor, whose names did not match.

    Monsters had a lot of silver and loot.
    This meant a lot of different types of gear.
    This was true in other games as well.

    High level monsters would drop weapons that could be sold for cash.

    He sighed. Such items did not come to Lee Hyun easily. Unique and rare items, magic items from the system could be sold for a fair price.

    Loot for quests sold for unexpectedly high prices, from 30,000 to 50,000 won.

    The prices were increasing because of the nature of the users.

    In Royal Road, the appearance of monsters was very realistic and detail oriented. The rotten corpses of monsters stank fiercely.

    Not many people could hunt with the smell.

    Undead monsters!

    They were among the most avoided hunting locations.

    Because people were unwilling to hunt the undead, the price for quest items increased from scarcity.

    The items would be sold at more expensive prices.

    "In total, it must hit at least 2.96 million won."

    Then he looked at the e-mail he had ignored earlier.

    The Dark Gamers invitation!

    He read the e-mail which said that the invitations were only sent to those that were chosen.

    Lee Hyun was chosen to join in their meetings.

    Such was the content of the invitation.


    A skeleton holding money in one hand was pictured on the site's background.

    "It's..."

    The Dark Gamers' Union.

    There were rumors about this famous organization, but the truth was unclear.

    "It's probably not them and it's got nothing to do with me."

    Lee Hyun clicked the trading site to confirm the bid. After sending a PM to the buyer, they decided on a trading location.

    They decided to have the trade a day later.

    Somuren Liberty City.

    Liberty city had characteristics suited to a feudal lord, where there were few taxes and tariffs.

    Thanks to that, many traders and adventurers stayed here. Most of the group of general users was always looking for better weapons.

    In other places, the purchase price in stores included the taxes but in Liberty City the tax price was very cheap.

    The city was a paradise for merchants.

    Weed and Mapan arrived in the city at the last day of the time limit for the quest.

    "Then I'll be trading over there."

    Mapan left to go sell the loot.

    There had been an incredible amount of monsters in the Bar Khu Mountains. Over the course of a month, the wagon was filled with loot.

    A merchant's inspiration was the excitement achieved through trading. It was a pleasure to sell in bulk and to buy expensive things at cheaper rates.

    Mapan realized the pleasure of trading.

    That was the benefit of accompanying Weed.

    The luxury of trading without taxes!

    'Coming to Somuren Liberty City wasn't so bad.'

    Weed checked inside his backpack for the Herrera Cup again.

    The purpose of coming here was just about to be completed..

    The quest to return the holy relic to the Order of Freya.

    Rather than heading to the church immediately, Weed went to the central fountain and looked around.

    Liberty City was crowded with a tremendous amount of merchants.

    They had opened stalls to sell stuff and were trying hard to find customers.

    "I can repair any damaged items to maximum durability!"
    "Selling food that recovers satiety."
    "Silk clothing for sale with +15 electrical magic resistance directly made to order."
    "Check out the various weapons and armors that I have made."
    "Get jewelry with various attributes for only 1 gold!"

    Craftsman characters occupied one spot on the fountain for selling stuff.

    "How much?"
    "I came to pick up the clothes I ordered yesterday."
    "100 pieces of bread, please."

    The craftsman classes were treated the same as before.

    Every day they sold near the fountain. The main classes like miners, blacksmiths, and tailors sold their goods around the fountain.

    All sorts of other crafting classes were quietly buried off in a corner.

    "This is fun, people gathering like this..."

    Blacksmiths and Enchanters engaged in fierce competition with each other.

    This sight couldn't be called unfamiliar for Weed.

    He had always had less competition when selling sculptures.

    Down the eastern side of the square was a large red wooden building.

    Weed headed to the location of the appointment. There were more than 10 people there waiting.

    "I'm here to sell."

    Weed said to see their reaction.

    People bought stuff from item trading sites.

    Just say the name and the transaction number and you would receive the item.

    "I've waited so long for this. This quest was so hard to do. I couldn't fight against those undead monsters."
    "Thank you. It's good to see that someone is selling a lot of the items."

    With those words, the buyers left.

    Aside from the Dark Knight's weapon, the rest of the items were sold for (the) Japtem quests. (no idea whatsoever how this quest should be called...left it as it is)

    At dawn, his backpack was much lighter.

    "This is the first profit from Royal Road."

    Weed was comfortable with the result and headed to the church.

    The church of the Goddess Freya had been built with white marble, a symbol of beauty and prosperity. It had been built in the heart of the city and was thus easy to find.

    Somuren Liberty City was built next to the Somuren River.

    There was a white arched bridge built near the church building of Freya. Many users wanted to get the holy water, a type of blessing, so the area all around the temple was crowded.

    In the distance, clerics and paladins were going in and out of the temple.

    Whenever they raised their levels and learned new techniques and whenever they returned to the church, they would receive contribution.

    Weed went inside, passing a little statue of the goddess with golden letters written on her.

    Collection box, pay at least 10 silvers or more.

    Weed wanted to turn around and leave without paying it.

    "May the grace of the Goddess Freya be with you."

    Those that donated received a blessing from the priests.

    The church's Holy Spirit Blessing would increase defense for a period of time, also increasing health regeneration by 5.

    It was the church's main source of income.

    "Get out of my way real quick."
    "I think he was the last person in line."

    Weed paused temporarily, and the users who had been waiting in line started complaining.

    Waiting for turn to receive the blessing was a rule that the priests made the people adhere to.

    Weed was here to return the Herrera Cup to the priest and did not want to give an excuse to the complaints that were erupting from the crowd.

    "I am here to return something."
    "Yes?"

    The priest blinked when he saw the Herrera Cup. Then a look of surprise came upon his face and he shouted in a loud voice.

    "Oh, thank the Holy Goddess you're here! This is a miracle! Come right this way, inside the High Priest will meet you."

    The surrounding temple priests took Weed inside. All the users gathered to receive the blessings were left alone because of priest scarceness.

    "What the hell..."
    "What the hell's going on?"

    The Inner Sanctum.

    The High Priest's room.

    It was a place filled with symbolic murals and statues of the goddess, a solemn and noble atmosphere.

    Here, Weed was able to return the Herrera Cup. Kneeling down on one knee like the knights from the Middle Ages, he said.

    "I have, on behalf of Prospects, brought the Herrera Cup here."
    "Oh, this is it! How magnificent!"

    The High Priest, his face full of wrinkles, was ecstatic as he held up the Herrera Cup.

    Ttiring!



    Delivery of the Herrera Cup Quest has been completed.

    The lost Herrera Cup has been returned to the Church of Freya.

    Balkan's past efforts to lead the Immortal Legions to war devastated the entire continent.
    Even with the beauty and prosperity of the Church of Freya, they could not have covered the post war damages.

    But now, through the holy water from the Herrera Cup, reconstruction can resume.

    Fame has increased by 400.

    Contribution to the Church of Freya has increased by 15.
    Public value of the Church of Freya has increased by 1200.
    The church's religious public value can be seen in the window.
    Church of Freya's Public Value : 1490

    By fulfilling the relate quests, the public value of religious groups has increased to fight against evil.

    Level Up.
    Level Up.
    Level Up.
    Level Up.
    Level Up.

    Weed thought while kneeling down.

    'This is amazing.'

    The rewards from completing a quest from one of the three main churches had always been good.

    But normally not this good!

    But this was the not the end. The High Priest sat down in his chair and looked over to Weed.

    He said to a Paladin.

    "As compensation to this great warrior, bring the Paladin equipment and the Sword of Agatha."

    "Yes, High Priest."

    After a while they came out with a Paladin's armor and a sword on a red cloth.

    "Take it."

    The Paladin gear was laid down in the red cloth in front on Weed.

    The High Priest handpicked the items in the cloth.

    Items earned as compensation for the quest.

    Weed was moved to tears.

    It was a happy moment for him. But at a time like this you had to maintain composure.

    'I have never been lucky in Royal Road. I cannot rejoice just yet'

    Weed decided not to prostrate and began checking the items.

    Do not put off till tomorrow what you could do today, like immediately identifying something.

    First was the sword, together with an antiquely engraved scabbard.

    "Identify."



    Agatha's Holy Sword.

    Durability 130/130.
    Damage 55-60.

    A sword of the Church of Freya made by the Dwarven Blacksmith Roban, which boasts superior strength. Many types of metal, like steel and mithril, were forged together.
    However, the damage is weak because of the materials used to preserve the dignity of the church.

    A gift of the High Priest.

    Restriction:
    Level 130

    Option:
    Strength +30.
    Dexterity+20.
    Faith+100.
    200% damage against undead.
    Injury recovery speed increased by 200%.
    Holy blessing can be used to bless yourself five times a day.
    2 hours cool down in between each blessing.

    To avoid startling the High Priest and the Paladins, Weed quietly admired the items.

    'This is much nicer than the Death Knight's sword.'

    It was usually better to have items with higher stats. But sometimes it was useful to have items with low requirements.

    The Clay Sword was such a case. It was difficult to sell for a lot of money, but because there were few prereq
    uisites, it was the perfect weapon for low level characters and could be sold for a higher price. A Clay Sword was the absolute weapon against rabbits and raccoons.

    "Identify."



    Rose engraved gloves.

    Durability: 90/90.
    Defense 20.

    The official gloves of the Paladins of Freya.
    Covering your wrist might seem very uncomfortable but they, in fact, were made to move stuff.

    Restriction:
    Level 200.

    Options:
    Faith +50.
    Strength+20.
    Agility+5
    Damage from Black Magic reduced by 50%.

    Ring of the High Priest. Durability 100/100.
    A small diamond was embedded in the center of the ring.
    Course design but it is not available on the market.
    Restrictions: Warlock, Assassin, Rogue disabled.

    Disabled in murderer state.

    The High Priest's Blessing can be used once a day.
    Fame +150. Faith+200.

    Weed had difficulty breathing.

    "Such a windfall of items..."

    Up until now, he sparingly used thoseo bloody old gloves to conserve the durability, but now he no longer seemed to need them.

    At level 200, his gear would all be set except the helmet.

    'A very wholesome reward, indeed.'

    Weed got up from kneeling and then on the spot, put one hand on his chest and made a light bow with his waist.

    "Now that I have done my duty, I will take my leave."

    It was time to go to the item trading site to check prices. Fisrt, he would look for a better sword as a replacement and then sell the Sword of Agatha.

    However, the High priest looked up into the air. Clear tears were running down his cheeks.

    "Brave warrior, you have shown your courage by defeating Balkan's evil servant and retrieving the Herrera Cup."

    "...?"

    Suddenly the High Priest was glaring.

    'Balkan stole the holy relics of the church and had them hidden by his servants.'

    Weed decided to stay after looking at the Priest and paladins.

    Weed did not know in the slightest of the increase in the familiarity he had gained with the church.

    Weed replied as he hurriedly got down on one knee again.

    "Yes."

    "Did you know? Our church has lost one more holy relic."

    "Yes?"

    Weed was puzzled for a moment.

    When he got the Herrera Cup, he had collected information from the Royal Road website.

    The Church of Freya had three artifacts: a sacred cup of flowing holy water, Fargo's crown of prosperity, and the Rending Sword.

    "But..."

    Weed noticed the white, rosewood-painted hat that the High Priest was wearing.

    It was not the Holy Crown of Fargo.

    "How did they dare to, in a time of chaos, have the undead steal the crown. Beings that are alive despite the fact that their death is contrary to the will of the Goddess."

    The High Priest said in his fury.

    Then Weed instinctively replied.

    "You are absolutely right"
    "Those undead dare to endanger our peaceful land!"
    "I wish to restore the peace and progress of the continent."

    It was always good to get to know secrets.

    It was the cycle of blame. (?) (A translator should sort this out.)

    Thanks to it, the relationships between humans did not disappear permanently.

    "The monsters of the Versailles continent deserve to disappear from under the Goddess' eyes. The undead must be defeated for the era of prosperity to dominate the continent."

    "Yes, I agree as well."

    Weed told the High Priest the story of what happened in Baran village, of the time the Lizardmen had invaded the village.

    Thereafter he had been asked to sculpt the statue of the Goddess Freya in the form he considered the most beautiful.

    Through the sculpture the possibility of another invasion through Lizardmen was diminished, leading to flourishing of the village.

    "Oh, I heard the story about that sculptor! So it was you!"

    The High Priest was impressed with the Statue of the Goddess Freya.

    "Fortunately we were able to determine the identity of the one that stole the Crown of Fargo. We dispatched knights over three times, but to no avail. I believe that it would be better if you were to lead the attack instead."



    Locate the Crown of Fargo.

    The Church of Freya spares nothing to reclaim the Holy Relics. As a result, they have received information that the True Blood Clan of the Vampires has taken the crown to the town of Morata. The High Priest dispatched three groups of Paladins to recover the crown but all of them have failed to return. They have been turned to stone by a curse. Save the Paladins and retrieve the crown.

    Difficulty: B

    Compensation: Unknown

    Quest limit:
    Church of Freya's public value becomes zero upon failure.
    Fame decreases by 1000.
    Rewarded Items will be taken back.

    The quest-rewards were colossal. In chain quests, the rewards increased with each successive mission. Weed cheerfully read the contents of the quest but then his expression changed.

    Balkan had shown the strength of his minions.

    Their army had waged war against the powerful kingdoms and churches. Especially the powerful True Blood Clan Vampires.

    The clan counted more than one thousand members and the lowest level a vampire had was 270. The head of the True Blood Clan, Tori, the leader of the True Blood Clan, was a known boss monster with a level of 400. It didn't matter how strong Weed was right now, since no users was even close to reaching level 400.

    'It's absurd to fight the True Blood Campire Clan and bring back the Crown of Fargo...'

    Weed looked at the difficulty level.

    'Difficulty B! Three dispatched groups of Paladins have failed the quest. I can't possibly complete it.'

    You couldn't clear this kind of difficulty level without forming a party with the most powerful users. No matter how high the rewards were, this fact remained unchanged.

    "I'm sorry. I believe it would be tough to complete this mission with my lack of ability."

    It was inevitable since he couldn't hope to complete the quest. He could only refuse.

    But the High Priest smiled gently.

    "You are far too modest, but that is not necessary. I leave this request to you."
    "No. I cannot accept this request."
    "There is no need to be too modest. A famous adventurer such as yourself is perfect for this kind of mission."

    Weed wanted to cry when he heard the words of the High Priest. To have humility misunderstood so much that it would result in a tragic ending.

    'Blindly put... intimacy of relationship.'

    Because of the high reliability, the High Priest believed in him.

    To make matters worse, the High Priest did not give up.

    "In the legends, stories have been passed down in the church that when the church's influence falls, a Hero will appear before a coming war and reclaim the lost treasures. You are that Hero!"

    Weed could feel his ears failing when he heard the High Priest say this outlandish legend.
    Then he heard a familiar sound.

    Ttiring!



    Quest has been received.

    Weed hurriedly checked the quest and it was the B rank difficulty quest in the quest window.

    'The quest is forced on the person who finds the Herrera Cup? I can't help it then. Maybe a chance will appear'

    His judgment was shrewd, fast but realistic. There was always an opportunity to live.

    However, the High Priest plunged him into despair with his next words and there was no room to escape.

    "Twenty years ago, the Paladins managed to make teleport gates and succeeded to set up the last one to Morata. With the teleport gate, one can be moved instantly without needing to travel."

    "So you're saying..."

    Weed's lip trembled slightly.

    "It is urgent and you must not delay any further. You will be departing tomorrow at this time and one priest will be sent to accompany you and aid in your mission. He will play an important role in saving our brothers and children that have been petrified by the vampires."

    Back to top


    Chapter 6 : A Bad Cold



    A single day...

    Much too little time to prepare!

    "Buying armor and weapons. Buying for less than 1 gold coin."
    "Looking to buy an unlimited number of herbs and food materials. Please sell them cheap."

    Weed bought these items in great numbers.

    Mapan had left his party and Weed could understand the reason why.

    "I'm going to have to teleport through a gate because I have to go hunt in a faraway place for the quest."
    "Congratulations, by the way, am I able to come as well?"
    "Well, I have to go alone..."
    "That's too bad. I wanted to go along with you..."
    "It's Difficulty Rank is B..."
    "...Good luck. Bye."

    Mapan specialized in trading skills.

    Weed did not have the required skill to be a merchant.

    However, bringing Mapan along would have been a bad choice.

    He was too weak to keep up with him, so Weed headed to the Church of Freya for the rest of the day.

    Inside the church were the High Priest and the group of Paladins.

    "Hello. It is good that you have come."

    Weed trembled when the High Priest finished his sentence.

    What were the odds alone? I thought High Priest Ossan was supposed to be a benevolent person. (It either the high priests name or a suffix in Korean, remember having heard that somewhere...don't know what's it in this case though)

    It was a staunch and dense situation, without the slightest opportunity to escape from.

    Weed was not going to give up the quest unless it was in the worst case possiblity with no return.

    However, the day before, the high priest had said:

    "This is a very important quest. I cannot predict the future of humanity. However, I do know that this matter is urgent. This could change for the worse in a matter of days."

    Weed wanted to nod.
    Personal circumstances!
    This could not be any worse.

    Depending on the circumstances that arise, he could very well never be allowed to come back to the church.

    However, the High Priest placed him in an even worse situation.

    "I founded this Church of Freya in this town. I trust that you are the Hero of the legends and that you will find the relic as quickly as possible."
    "What do you mean?"

    "This time tomorrow, when you arrive, a priest of this church will be at your command. If you return with him safely then you will be rewarded based on how much stronger he has become. Do not be anxious about tomorrow and we will see you soon."

    "..."

    Everything was set up so that he could not escape.

    Somuren Liberty City, with the liberty lost! It was now like a prison without bars.

    The Crown of Fargo had been stolen from the Church of Freya and Weed was not allowed to get help from other players. Weed was only allowed to use the people that the High Priest had provided.

    "Now, I will introduce you to the person that you will rescue the Paladins with."

    The High Priest opened a door with a small key. Inside was a small boy that was wearing a white hat and white priest robes.

    "This is our church's candidate for the next Pope, Alveron. Thank you for your help."
    "It's a pleasure, Weed."

    Alveron wasn't a user, but an NPC.

    Weed and Alveron headed deep into the church. In the center of the capital of the Kingdom, there existed a complex rune that had been engraved into the ground and served as a teleport-gate.

    Kkolkkak!

    Weed swallowed.

    Riding the teleport gate would instantly send him to Morata. But he had not forgotten that the province of Morata was inhabited by the infamous True Blood Vampire Clan that was frighteningly powerful.

    Not the entire Versailles continent was full of users.

    Adventurers had discovered the Northern Continent but people did not approach it because the monsters were too strong.

    He stood there and they began to start the teleportation.

    "We absolutely must rescue our knights."

    The High Priest and the priests gathered large amounts of mana to operate the teleport gate.

    Light came out of the gate, surrounding Alveron and Weed, and soon both of them disappeared from the Church of Freya.

    150 years ago, the Nipplehaim Empire in the northern continent was destroyed by monsters. While the nobles were busy fleeing, the Templar army was wiped out. Afterwards the Nipplehaim Empire became territory infested by monsters.

    A single law governed here.

    The survival of the fittest.

    The strong takes all.

    "So this is Morata."

    Weed appeared at the opening of a cave.

    The Church of Freya's teleport gate and the cave were connected.

    "Ohh, its cold!"

    As soon as Weed arrived and went out of the cave, he felt a severe chill.

    The terrain and climate on the continent differed enormously depending on the location.

    Morata, in the northern continent, belonged to the cold regions.

    In this zone, all seasons long, it was a perpetual ice zone.

    "Never thought it would be so cold..."

    Weed's body began to shiver more and more from the cold.

    His body began to shrink back from the random wind that was blowing into his collar.



    -You have caught a cold. The body has become more rigid and the physical ability has reduced by 5%.

    The speed at which satiety is reduced has increased by 25%.

    In order to overcome the cold, it is recommended to wear thick clothing or sitting near a fire.

    If the severe cold were to continue for a long period of time, then it may worsen.

    Shivering shivering.
    The message had said that the cold could get worse.
    But he could not stay around in the cave!
    He had to look around and scout the area.
    He looked around the snow-capped ridges.

    Past the devastated city.
    The deserted, lost city.

    Across the center of the second of third rows of houses was the mansion of the nobility.

    Over the rooftops with snow heavily piled on top, the collapsed ceiling of the buildings could be seen.

    Though the interior was seemingly empty, there was random furniture inside. It seemed that the houses had been uninhabited for a long period of time without anyone to maintain the buildings.

    "This must be Morata Village."

    Weed gazed across the town.

    A black gigantic structure.

    It had a large fence and didn't have any lights on; the windows were also closed.

    Crows flew over the roof.
    The castle of Morata.

    The black brick castle was covered in white snow. A strange combination that sparked a slight bit of inspiration inside of Weed. Jet black crows were circling around the top of the castle.

    Usually, birds would easily freeze and die, but crows were tougher. The crows had been turned into vampires.

    Because the crows had been turned into vampires, they could not die and were still able to move their limbs.

    "It seems that this is where the True Blood Vampires are. This really won't be easy."

    Weed finished scouting and returned to the cave.



    -Temperature has risen slightly.

    The cave with the teleport gate was a little bit warmer. It was fortunate that the cold winds did not blow into the cave.

    "So this is the province of Morata."

    At an earlier time, the uncle of the Queen Natalya, Archduke Morata had ruled the province.

    It had once been known for the outstanding quality of its leather and cloth and was quite prosperous, but now it had succumbed into a desolated village.

    Humans were nowhere in sight, it was a ghost town!

    In the capital city of the Nipplehaim Empire, Mordred, all the inhabitants had been killed.

    Rescue the paladins, get rid of the True Blood Vampire Clan from the city, and find the Crown of Fargo.

    That was all he had to do. It was a simple, easy plan.

    But Weed was frustrated at the reality of it.

    He was the Legendary Moonlight Sculptor.

    To expect to do such a high level quest, he would need to have an amazing class to make up for the 68 levels he was short. He regretted that he had not gained more experience before returning to the ground from the flying city of Lavias.

    "Now what am I going to do?"

    Weed went back into the cave to ask Alveron some questions. Fortunately, the NPC Alveron had absolute trust in Weed and listened to him.

    "So, before I start, I want you relax and sit down. I don't believe that I have properly introduced myself. My name is Weed. I am older than you so address me respectfully. Okay?"

    "Yes."

    Weed spoke a little bit more politely as he asked carefully.

    Alveron looked like a very young and fairy like boy, so he didn't want it to get awkward if he was overly polite.

    'A kid...'

    Weed wanted to ease the difficulty of hunting the monsters.

    "This is a very difficult so I will need to know what level you are..."

    "It's 320."

    "..."

    The candidate for the next Pope was at an enormous level.

    Weed had not known that a NPC could be so high.

    Even so, priests did not have much combat ability, an area in which he excelled in.

    The question this time was not about levels but about fame. From completing the quest, Weed's fame had risen to over two thousand.

    "Your level is fairly high. But I want to know how truly you have lived your life. How high is your fame?"

    "Let's see, 150,002."

    "..."

    Weed tried not to sound condescending when he spoke to NPCs.

    However, because Alveron looked like a little boy, he had forgotten that he was a master level candidate for the position of next high priest.

    "What's the matter?"

    "Nothing, rest for now."

    Like a good child, Alveron went and sat in the corner. Sitting in his white robe, his posture seemed to indicate that he was engrossed in a pious prayer.

    "Now that the small tasks have been taken care of, it's time to start."

    Weed laid a blanket on the floor.

    Blankets were, in fact, essential items for travelling because they could prevent the chilling effects.

    'I did not realize that I needed to prepare clothes.'

    Rosenheim Kingdom and Someuren Liberty City all belonged to the warmer provinces so there had been no need to carry additional clothing. He had never thought that such a difficult problem would arise from not carrying around basic travel clothing.

    Weed's body trembled as he flipped open his backpack and called out commands to retrieve items from his inventory.

    He retrieved the weapons and armors worth 1 gold he had stocked up on in Liberty City.

    Kwajijik!

    Weed struck the breastplate with his fist firmly. He struck it several times here and there until it broke in several places. The items were cheap, with weak armor and durability, so it broke quickly.

    "Now I do this."

    Weed pulled out a hammer he had bought from the blacksmith shop to repair the breastplate's durability. With it, the power of blacksmithing and related skills increased by 10%!

    He had purchased it in Somuren Liberty City.

    "Repair."

    He hit it on the breastplate.

    Fixing a breastplate's durability was hard. He hammered the steel plate a few times until the damaged area was fixed.

    Weed then continued to break and repair the armor.

    About 10 minutes later, a message window popped up.



    -Repair skill proficiency has increased.

    Due to the repetitive damage, the durability of the breastplate has dropped permanently.



    -An item has been lost due to frequent destruction.

    The breastplate that Weed was holding in his hands had been destroyed and had finally been torn to shreds.

    Repairing broken equipment could contribute to skill in some cases, but if it was frequently broken artificially, then you would have no use for a breastplate made of inferior steel.

    Weed continued to break all the breastplates, then the leg guards and once those were broken, he took out the helmets.

    8 hours later!

    Weed was able to earn 10% repair skill proficiency.

    At the cost of 100 gold, the items of broken debris were piled up to the ceiling.



    [Repair Skill: Level 9 89%]

    Only 11% more until the repair skill reached the intermediate level. Then the durability of equipment could be repaired to maximum.

    "Ah-choo!"

    He had been repairing items without taking a break. Weed sneezed. He had a runny nose and soon thereafter he also had a sore throat.



    -You have caught a cold.

    20% reduction of the body's abilities.
    30% reduction of skill effects.

    The cold can lead to other problems.
    Reduced maximum health and mana.
    There is a possibility of damaging a sculpture while working due to the cold.

    "..."

    Weed was at a loss for words.

    He had only had a little cold but now it had gotten worse. He had been sitting in one place for far too long without moving.

    "Damn it!"

    There were three tragic things to look out for when one slept alone.

    Hunger, the cold and sickness!

    Struggling with hunger was harder in cold climates since barley bread was no warm food.

    The cold had affected his skills since it made his body more frigid. Weed was depressed that he had caught the cold.

    'It's unbelievable.'

    Weed sighed.

    Life had been so difficult ever since he started this game. He had gotten a class that he hadn't wanted; he had also gotten into all sorts of trouble like the present cold.

    Weed took comfort in the fact he wasn't alone though.

    'Alveron's probably is the same.'

    Alveron was sitting over in the cave dressed in his white robe.

    'He's probably feeling colder than I am because he's only wearing his robe'

    Weed felt a little bit of satisfaction, being better off than someone else put him in a good mood.

    However, he didn't know that Alveron's robe had a special option, preventing the cold to penetrate.

    Lee Hyun exited his capsule so he could start cleaning the house.

    He swept the corners, wiped the window, scrubbed the bathroom sink and changed the lights.

    Today was cleanup day.

    "Make sure that grandma's house isn't too messy."

    Lee Hyun mumbled as he continued to mop the floor.

    His grandmother told him while she was still in the hospital. It looked like she had a disease.

    Degenerative arthritis.

    Working too much when young could put a lot of strain on the joints.

    The hospital's doctors told her not to worry.

    - Modern medicine can fix this degree of joint damage without any trouble. Don't worry about it.

    Lee Hyun was willing to pay for the medical bills. Expensive drugs were required for joint regeneration.

    Grandmother's illness, however, was beyond what was diagnosed. Because she had not received regular health checkups, the disease in her body had grown significantly. The test result stated that cancer cells had spread throughout her body.

    In modern times, there was no longer anyone dying from cancer. It does, however, require surgery and several months of hospitalization.

    'I need to keep saving up money; I can't stop earning.'

    Aside from the money from the high school festival, Royal Road brought in a considerable amount of many.

    The entire process was faster than originally planned.

    Thanks to hunting in Lavias and the Royal Road item trading site.

    When Lee Hyun finished cleaning the house, his sister came home from school.

    "The house is so clean today. Were you cleaning?"
    "Come on, let's not waste time. Grandma is waiting for us to visit."

    Lee Hyun took his sister to the hospital to see their grandmother.

    "Hello."
    "Grandma, were you lonely?"

    Hyun spent most of his time in the game capsule and his sister was at school. It was difficult to hire a caretaker for his grandmother since he didn't have that kind of money.

    Lee Hyun cleaned up the room and threw away the trash. After he finished, he sat next to the hospital bed and took his grandmother's hand.

    "I'm sorry, dear. You're always coming to see me."
    "..."
    "I hope it's not too much, but can I ask you a favor, dear?"
    "Yes, go ahead and ask anything."

    "They say it's never too late to learn. I would have loved it if you had been able to finish high school normally...will you get your GED?"

    He could understand what she meant.

    When Lee Hyun quit high school, his sister had cried. When he had insisted that he should drop out of school she hadn't said anything else.

    Being harassed and humiliated by loan sharks at school, such an education was far from normal.

    It was a disappointment that he had failed to get his education.

    Lee Hyun replied.

    "I will get my GED."

    Lee Hyun headed home alone while his sister stayed behind at the hospital. The next day was a holiday so she could stay longer.

    Lee Hyun would have preferred to stay and enjoy the moment. But he had work to do.

    'GED...what do I need to study?'

    When he had gone to school, his grades had not been that bad.

    'Reference books and textbooks from the bookstore...no, it's better to buy them used from the bookstore.'

    He went to the used bookstore that he remembered in the city. It was right next to the swordsmanship dojo he had attended in the past.

    The swordsmanship dojo was still there.

    "Yiyahap!"
    "Tahat!"

    Excited shouts.

    Lee Hyun was intrigued and headed to the dojo.

    "There doesn't seem to be that much talent."

    Ahn Hyundo complained about the performance of his students.

    "Even since I put down my sword and started teaching..."

    Ahn Hyundo had locked his heart in depression. No matter what he did, they did not understand the way of the sword.

    'The sword... will soon disappear and there will be no one for me to talk swords with.'

    Ahn Hyundo's heart ached as he looked over to the swords on the wall, when he had opened the dojo with a passion. It had been 10 years since he started the dojo where he taught adults instead of children.

    "Master!"
    "What is it? What's so important that you're making so much noise about?"
    "He's here!"
    "Is it those guys...?"

    Because everyone was talking at once, he was unable to understand anything since it was incomprehensible.

    Then, at that moment, Ahn Hyundo thought about a familiar face.

    'That young man! The one I was going to make my successor!'

    Lee Hyun.

    Lee Hyun would have been chosen.

    He had never disappointed him since the moment he showed up at the dojo.

    Ahn Hyundo stood by as he listened to what was happening.

    "So he's here at the dojo?"
    "Yes, that's right."
    "Come on, let's go."

    Ahn Hyundo had wanted to see him again. He wanted to see what the person he chose as his successor was capable of!

    "But, there is a problem."
    "What is it?"
    "He is asking to spar with people."

    "So what's the problem if he wants to spar? I don't know what could be the problem since they should be strong enough."
    "Yes, I judged it the same way, so I had Dog Sun spar with him but it was a one sided victory by Lee Hyun."
    "Ah ha!"

    Endless training.

    The practitioners at the dojo all have been coming for more than three years. Even in such a limited amount of time they had achieved some grade of proficiency.

    So the students were tough opponents.

    In sparring, beginners tried to avoid major injuries, but experts controlled the flow of the fight.

    "I cannot believe that Dog Sun was defeated..."
    "Yes, it took less than 2 minutes."
    "I'm sorry for Dog Sun but, for something as little as this, what does it matter?"

    Ahn Hyundo asked Chung Il Hoon about what was wrong.

    "Well after Dog Sun was defeated, Lee Hyun asked the others to spar as well."
    "Those guys have been learning the sword much longer than Dog Sun right? So who did he fight with next...?"
    "Chang Guk."

    "He's been learning the sword for over six years now. He was careless to fight after he was tired from fighting Dog Sun."
    "I tried to get him to reconsider but..."
    "So he's badly hurt?"
    "No. This time too he won."
    "Oh!"

    Ahn Hyundo had not been wrong when he had seen him.

    'He can't hide his fighting spirit. His will to become stronger...the desire for strength!'

    That quality let him win the fight against Chang Guk.

    "But the real problem is that Chang Guk was just one of those that he sparred with."
    "Who else?"
    "Yes, well, six practitioners."
    "You mean he continuously fought six men?"
    "They were all unable to do anything to him."
    "Come on, let's go take a look."

    The dojo instructors and practitioners gathered to watch the sparring.

    "Such incredible stamina...!"
    "That's the ninth one that has lost!"
    "He's using the right amount of force...no matter how much stamina one possesses, it's not easy to fight nine people consecutively."
    "Never mind fighting one after another. Just fighting against another practitioner is difficult enough."
    "But how can he win like that?"

    "Strength and technique, it seems that he found a compromise in the middle of the two of them. He reduces the amount of unnecessary movements of his lower body. Even so, he would have to train his lower body for a long time to achieve such skill."

    "But how he is able to fight like that?"

    The practitioners had overseen Lee Hyun's training when he attended the dojo as Chung Il Hoon and Ahn Hyundo had. Ahn Hyundo took a look and nodded.

    "I know why he seems to be fighting."
    "Why is that Master?"
    "When you are bored, you want to fight whoever you can."

    The practitioners looked over at Ahn Hyundo.

    "Then it's just to relieve stress, Master?"
    "When you're up against opponents, it feels good to hold and swing the sword, doesn't it?"
    "Well, I guess..."

    "Sometimes I would want to let loose and fight without reason. But we do not want to know these strong primal instincts. Nowadays, swords hang on walls and because of that the view about yourself changes inevitably. Now few have the instincts of a hunter, the fighting spirit of a wild beast."

    Kwajik!

    Another practitioner was forced to kneel down in front of Lee Hyun. Lee Hyun walked towards him with his wooden sword.

    "Stop, stop! I lose."

    Lee Hyun stopped the sword in front of the trainee's forehead.

    "Who's next?"

    Lee Hyun's potential was astounding. His uniform was soaking wet with his sweat, showing off his powerful chest.

    A drop of sweat flowed down the wooden sword and fell onto the floor.

    But he did not seem tired. In his eyes, his fighting spirit seemed to be burning.

    Those were eyes intent on the hunt!

    Just a lone wolf's silent roar threatened the position of the others.

    More than 100 of the practitioners in the dojo were feeling the intimidation.

    "Let me move away."
    "Call out the masters!"

    The trainees could not take the heated challenge and Chung Il Hoon just shook his head.

    "Seriously you guys..."
    "Masters!"
    "If the rumor spreads that 10 people lost, then the dojo's honor will decrease. I will fight him."

    Chung Il Hoon was going to fight directly. He won silver medals at the Worldwide Swords Fighting Tournament twice, he was an expert.

    Practitioners had never seen him fight seriously and only seen him teach others how to fight.

    'The masters are going to fight'

    'Are they really going to fight?'

    The practitioners looked at Lee Hyun anxiously. He should give up because there was no guessing what would happen to him if he decided to fight.

    They were speechless.

    Lee Hyun held the end of his sword towards Chung Il Hoon. Chung Il Hoon was also ready to fight.

    After the two of them picked up their swords, Ahn Hyundo yelled.

    "Stop!"
    "But master, if this guy leaves, then the pride of the dojo will..."
    "I know that he beat 9 or more guys, but he is from our dojo so it will not damage the pride of our swordsmanship."
    "I suppose..."
    "If fact, to fight a weary opponent would be a disgrace to us instead."

    Ahn Hyundo tried to preserve the peace in the dojo. Fighting a student and fighting an instructor were two entirely different things. Chung Il Hoon decided to stand back and talk. But Ahn Hyundo smiled as he said.

    "Don't you think that it would be fairer if an old man like me fight a tired opponent?"
    "Master!"
    "Master you...!"

    The entire dojo was brimming with excitement.

    Even though Ahn Hyundo was old, no one thought he was weak.

    Ahn Hyundo was the World Swords Fighting Champion for four consecutive years.

    He was not someone anyone in the country could beat even if he only had a stick.

    The entire dojo was quiet as Ahn Hyundo walked to the center of the dojo.

    "We're going to see the Master's swordsmanship..."

    'Such a small opportunity comes around once in a lifetime?'

    The practitioners in the dojo held their breaths for the confrontation between the two fighters. If Ahn Hyundo's swordsmanship were to be seen it should be in a more glorious manner. However, each of the instructors was perplexed by his actions.

    'Even if Master was interested in the kid, to think that he would personally take a look at the matter himself?'

    'If this keeps up, then everyone will want to challenge him...'

    The Master was the pride of the Republic of Korea when it came to swordsmanship but he did not speak his mind much.

    Lee Hyun had defeated nine people, even though they were practitioners. There had been a big gap between the practitioners and the challenger. But the difference was huge between the practitioners and the disciples directly taught by Ahn Hyundo.

    No matter how many practitioners Lee Hyun defeated, the instructors were not agitated in the least. They admired his swordsmanship, his amazing stamina, and his fighting spirit.

    But there was another problem.

    Chung Il Hoon thought.

    Ahn Hyundo was fighting.

    This was unusual.

    'Perhaps he won't get serious?'

    Chung Il Hoon shook his head back and forth. Ahn Hyundo came by at least once a week to compete with him in the way of the sword.

    Endlessness.

    Despair.

    And awe.

    Ahn Hyundo had reached the pinnacle. Only those below him could see that. Chung Il Hoon could not even dream of even reaching the level where he could touch his collar. There was no way Ahn Hyundo could lose.

    'There is no way that I can do anything. He will fight his favorite disciple moderately. Good luck, Lee Hyun.'

    Chung Il Hoon's eyes were cold as ice as he exhaled.

    Hyun's Lee's stamina had already reached its limit. His willpower had lasted this long, but soon it would be shattered.

    Chung Il Hoon saw that as the problem.

    With his stamina gone as the practitioners had fought him wholeheartedly, no matter which practitioners he had fought, Lee Hyun's body had reached an extreme state because of fighting 9 men.

    Chung Il Hoon thought that his overwhelming skills had come to an end.

    'Master doesn't have to do much to subdue a guy that's already done for.'

    However, Chung Il Hoon was completely mistaken.

    It was a heartwarming scene as their eyes met as Ahn Hyundo said to Lee Hyun.

    "Do you like a wooden sword? I have a wooden sword in my hands but wouldn't you want to fight with real swords?"

    Back to top


    Chapter 7 : Ignorant Beginner



    "This is ridiculous!"

    Chung Il Hoon screamed.

    He had never stopped Ahn Hyundo's decisions before but this time he couldn't stand by.

    "The opponent is a beginner. Beginner swordsmen do not know how to properly use a sword in a fight!"

    "Argh, Hoon! I did not ask you. I was talking to my opponent! You are going to interfere with my duel!"

    Ahn Hyundo's voice rang throughout the dojo.

    Honestly, nobody could stop Ahn Hyundo. If they tried, then they would be subject to a severe repercussion.

    They could not afford to take that risk.

    The instructors were silent, glancing to Lee Hyun to reject the proposal.

    'It is better if you flee now than to get beaten.'

    Competing with real swords.

    When fighting with real swords, literally anyone, no matter how skilled, would be scared witless.

    However, Lee Hyun stood his ground.

    Ahn Hyundo applauded him.

    "That's good. You didn't back off. Just like a real man. Sun Hoon, go up to my room and bring the two swords on the wall. Do you know where they are?"

    "Boss..."

    Matter had gotten worse.

    The iron swords were great at cutting.

    Chung Il Hoon sensed that the outcome of the fight would be relentlessly horrible.

    'Sword'

    Lee Hyun stood holding a sword.

    He felt as though his mind was clear and he had woken up.

    'Huh, why am I here?'

    Lee Hyun had come from the hospital to go to the bookstore.

    Then he saw the dojo.

    He was not there to fight.

    He just wanted to clear his mind of a little frustration.

    Training and working up a good sweat was refreshing.

    Challenging the dojo.

    To compete with the sword.

    Lee Hyun did not object.

    Wooden sword vs. wooden sword.

    It was a fair match.

    There was no reason to refuse.

    The first opponent was a little weak.

    He felt that the opponent's technique was a little weak. Strength training was not necessarily the path to become stronger.

    One should use the potential power of the muscles properly. It emerges when one utilizes breathing and core body flexibility.

    The first opponent was lacking in that area.

    Another challenger had appeared after the first opponent lost. Against a sword expert with a lot of experience, Lee Hyun looked for weak spots.

    Defense-orientated swordsmanship.

    However, it was not perfect.

    In that very moment, he was able to find the flaw.

    Considering the speed of the movement of the opponent's sword, Lee Hyun used that difference to attack the weak point.

    'It's thanks to Royal Road. I've been fighting over tens of thousands of times.'

    Virtual reality games.

    In Royal Road, if everyone became a sword master, then the world would be full of strong people.

    Most users typically relied on skills and the game instead of their own bodies to fight. Someone like Lee Hyun who had earnestly learned the sword to play the game was a rare find.

    So he knocked down the second practitioner.

    But then another challenger appeared.

    'Why don't you want me to win? Why do they want to beat me?'

    He was angry.

    He did not know that his eyes were like those of a hungry wolf, provoking the others.

    Tough like a beast!

    Using all his strength until they were cornered.

    He grasped the sword.

    'Cool'

    Lee Hyun shook his head as he took the sword.

    As he took the sword, he could not remain still. At that moment, it felt as if every cell in his body was latching onto it.

    Until now, he had felt as if he had been seeing everything at about 20%, about 5 times less than he was now.

    Early in the morning, his body was normally extremely sensitive to everything around, he was stressed and in an agitated mood.

    Lee Hyun calmly collected his breath.

    He felt as if by simply holding the sword his mind had been cleaned.

    Ahn Hyundo did not attack immediately.

    Thanks to that, he was able to rest for a brief moment.

    A very short moment.

    He rested his muscles and blood vessels. The heart spread oxygen throughout his entire body.

    In his hand, the sword felt very cold, but heat in his chest kept rising.

    'So this is how it feels to hold a real sword.'

    He did not seem to know why he was here and in this situation.

    He had just come to have a sweat and could not believe what had happened.

    'Surrender'

    It was not worth it. There was no need to fight without having something to fight for and he could easily get injured holding the sword.

    He apologized and admitted defeat, laying down the sword.

    Then Ahn Hyundo examined Hyun Lee's eyes and said.

    "Are you scared? Don't have the courage to fight? That's okay. The law of nature states that in the wilderness, wild beast turn tail and run when they meet someone stronger than them."

    Lee Hyun was enraged.

    He wanted to fight.

    In a moment, a sharp came from his chest as he wielded the sword. (A sharp what?)

    He had unwittingly decided to pick up the sword despite having fought over nine times.

    Chaeaeaeng.

    The sword let out a metallic sound.

    The metal sword let out incredibly clear sounds.

    Ahn Hyundo also took his sword lightly as he stepped back a step.

    "It is better to put down a sword that you cannot swing. You have swung it once already but you swung it too hard. Care to try a second swing?"

    Instead of answering, Lee Hyun swung the sword. It was about 60 percent the speed of the original swing but it was a good attack.

    Jjanggang.

    Gripping the iron, he could feel the subtle vibrations flowing to his fingertips.

    Lee Hyun could hear the good, clear sound of the sword in his hand.

    'This is a good sword.'

    From listening to the sword, he felt as if it was part of his body. To some extent, he could tell how sharp the sword was and the small difference that made it a good sword.

    Ahn Hyundo blocked Hyun Lee's attack very gently, and then raised the speed of his sword to attack.

    However, because of the concern over bodily harm, it was possible for Lee Hyun to prevent the attack.

    If there were swords flying towards the body from the front, then there was plenty of room to let them graze past.

    Ahn Hyundo struck away Hyun Lee's sword like a tyrant.

    His sword swung away from him. He pounced towards Lee Hyun as if he was a wild beast to kill.

    Ahn Hyundo's sword came stabbing towards Hyun Lee's heart.

    The sword!

    'I do not want to die.'

    Lee Hyun struck Ahn Hyundo's sword to interfere with its path.

    His consideration toward his opponent's wellbeing had disappeared.

    He struggled to avoid being hit with his colossal will to live.

    A clear sound of the wind.

    A flash of light would appear over their chests as the iron swords clashed.

    The practitioners had their mouths hanging from their fierce attacks.

    "In..instructors! This needs to be stopped, doesn't it?"

    The practitioners asked anxiously.

    Chung Il Hoon could not believe the current situation.

    It was very difficult to subdue Lee Hyun without injuring him.

    However, for Ahn Hyundo's level of proficiency, it was possible.

    For him, it was a simple task of hitting the wrist, the sword hilt, or temporarily immobilizing by hitting a vital point on the forehead.

    It was simple for Ahn Hyundo to put Lee Hyun in that state, but he did not have the slightest intention of letting him do so.

    With goose bumps all over his skin, he was barely managing to survive.

    'Instructors, think of something! Surely you have an idea of what to do...?'

    'I don't think so. But why am I so anxious?' (first option)

    Chung Il Hoon had not known what would have happened once the swords were brought into the situation. Once they were brought out, it was dangerous to try and stop the situation.

    But soon he was able to relax and watch. The swords continued their exchanges.

    Hyun Lee's strength was being dragged out by pushing his will to live in front of a strong opponent.

    More vigorously, stronger, faster.

    These thoughts gradually awakened.

    Lee Hyun had complete control of his own body. This caused his body to rebel.

    Chung Il Hoon watched as Lee Hyun changed by beginning to penetrate deeper into the way of the sword.

    The skilled practitioners could see it with their eyes but soon even the others began to feel something.

    "Huh?"
    "It's a little different."
    "What has changed?"
    Ahn Hyundo cut a path to prevent the attacks.

    Diagonal slicing sword.

    Lee Hyun lowered his body at the same time to avoid being stabbed by the sword, moving on instinct rather than thought. Lee Hyun struggled against Ahn Hyundo's outrageous sword fight without hesitation.

    'Why are you having fun? This is a dangerous moment...!'

    The corners of Hyun Lee's mouth curled into a smile.

    Not knowing why himself, he decided to focus on the duel.

    Sword fighting. Challenging others to a fight. The fight itself was good.

    'I've been thinking too much. When I'm faced with a fight, I do not need to think...'

    Swinging the sword felt good; when Lee Hyun moved towards Ahn Hyundo he swung his sword. His body began to show an unsteady reaction.

    Lee Hyun let go of his sword completely exhausted, he had terrible muscle pain and his legs gave out and he could not stand.

    "Drink this. It will calm your body down a little."

    Ahn Hyundo gave him a cup of tea that had a deep and profound smell.

    "This is good."

    "Yes. This is wild ginseng tea from Baekdu Mountain."
    "The price would be expensive..."
    "There is nothing more precious than the body, don't you agree?"
    "Yes, that's right."

    Lee Hyun unreservedly drank the tea. He mixed a bottle every day.

    It was good for the body.

    "That's some good drinking. Have some more."
    "Thank you. I'm thirsty and tired."

    Lee Hyun drank five cups of tea.

    Ahn Hyundo took the time to start a conversation.

    "Ahem, I'm curious. This is the first time you have held a sword, correct?"

    "Yes."

    "You did not panic very much. However, for the dignity of the nine men you beat, did you learn the sword anywhere else?"

    "That's not it. I learned the sword..."

    He brought up the story of Royal Road.

    How he mastered the sword while hunting monsters and how he had hit the scarecrow.

    Lee Hyun did not trust others easily.

    He did not open up to others because of the memories of how he had lived up till now. However, he seemed to somehow trust Ahn Hyundo.

    During dark times, people tried to hide their problems. Ahn Hyundo helped people in need and people came to trust and rely on him. A man who believed that training was more valuable than a thousand words.

    "I see. You must have had a difficult struggle to develop your swordsmanship."

    "However, thanks to it, I have managed to learn the basics up to this extent."

    "So you're telling me that there are really monsters? Living, moving monsters that you can catch for items and money...and you gain experience? Are there dragons?"

    "Yes, yes there are."

    "For now, you are tired, so go rest. I hope that you can come by the dojo sometime later so we can spar again sometime."

    "Goodbye."

    Lee Hyun finished his break and then left the dojo. Then Chung Il Hoon was surprised.

    "Master you don't want to get him? So you have changed your mind of having him be your successor then."

    "No, he's busy with his game."

    "So you will just let him leave?"

    "Leave him be for now. In time his skills will mature. I will watch him for the time being and guide him. However, this thing called Royal Road..."

    When Ahn Hyundo was young, the idea about a fantasy world had been rampant. The idea of modern people traveling to another dimension to establish a fantasy kingdom!

    Or meet the talented hero of legend. His journey as he travels the world with only his chivalry and practice his swordsmanship.

    "There are monsters...and Wyverns and Dragons! So there are even Dragons too?"

    "Yes? At least that's what I've heard. Nobody has managed to catch one yet though."

    Chung Il Hoon replied a little nervously.

    He seemed to have guessed what Ahn Hyundo was planning to do.

    "Go into a fantasy world, become a hero of men, defeat Orcs, slay the dragons. Emperor? Becoming the Emperor? ...hmmm!"

    Ahn Hyundo's chest rose arduously.

    It was the best place to learn the sword. The real question was how useful the sword actually was. Having learned the sword did not meet the desire for fame and riches.

    "To fight monsters...Monsters threaten the humans so...Hoon!"
    "Yes, Master."
    "It requires a capsule right?"
    "Yes it does."
    "Order it!"
    "Yes sir!"

    Chung Il Hoon quickly took out his phone and ordered to have the capsule installed, which usually took two to three days most of the time. He made them install it the same day.
    The capsule was installed just as he had demanded.

    However there were 5 capsules instead of one.

    "What is this?"

    Under Ahn Hyundo's sharp gaze, Chung Il Hoon confessed.

    "It is the duty of the disciples to follow the Master, is it not?"
    "So you mean that you and the other guys are going to follow me into Royal Road?"
    "Yes."

    The instructors replied courageously.

    "What about the dojo?"
    "It's not like we're going off to a foreign country, and aren't there the secondary instructors?"

    Ahn Hyundo chuckled.

    "So it's such a nice game that you want to play as well huh?"
    "Master! Please give us permission!"
    "Then my name will be Geomchi, so Il Hoon you make yours Geomchi2."
    "Yes sir."
    "And you will be Geomchi3. Next, you can be Geomchi4 then."
    "Yes."

    In the Republic of Korea, the username of the disciples of the sword style was in numerical order.

    "Keukkeuk."
    "So I'm called Geomchi4..."

    The other instructors tried to conceal their bursts of laughter, but they could not avert their fate either.

    "Then the next name will be Geomchi5."

    They leaned forward and gave their thanks to the teacher.

    However, cold sweat broke out on their backs.

    'What a childish name...'

    'I would be so embarrassed to tell anyone my name wherever I go!'

    Ahn Hyundo entered his capsule and made his account and character. Then he told his disciples his name and that he was starting in the Citadel of Serabourg of the Rosenheim Kingdom.

    "Oh, this is surprising."

    Geomchi accessed the world and stood in a single spot for a while.

    "I've never had this feeling before."

    He could feel everything. He could see and hear the people chatting and laughing in the completely medieval city.

    All sorts of talk could be heard.

    "Need to find four more people of the same level."

    "Selling steel axes for cheap!"

    "Leaving to the southern villages to trade, looking for other merchants to come along."

    *Sniff.*

    Geomchi's stomach growled as the smell of delicious food reached his senses.

    He turned his head and saw someone making food.

    "Selling delicious food made with beginner cooking skill level 7, delicious Mung Beans!"

    Geomchi swallowed. He wanted to eat it but he didn't have any money.

    Then the others logged on.

    Geomchi2, Geomchi3, Geomchi4, Geomchi5!

    "Master, so you logged in first."

    "So you're here!"

    "Yea, you're here as well!"

    He had enjoyed teaching his disciples how to use the sword, but seeing them in Royal Road left a different impression.

    Geomchi4 was startled when he looked inside his pockets.

    "Oh, Master!"

    "What is it?"

    "I have 10 pieces of bread and a canteen in my pocket!"

    "Yea, that is incredible. Let us taste the taste of bread here, shall we?"

    Geomchi2, Geomchi3, and Geomchi5 pulled out the bread from their pockets and took a bite.

    The bread was very stale and hard to chew, like a stone.

    "Twe, twe! It's not very edible. They eat this when they go out to hunt?"

    "I did a little research on the internet; there are large numbers of different types of food. Advanced level foods are so delicious that it almost melts in your mouth. It's supposed to be heavenly."

    "As expected of one that I named Geomchi4! You're a very bright kid."

    "Hehe, I get that a lot."

    Geomchi4 laughed, pleased because of his teacher's praise. Back in the dojo, he was well liked by the other practitioners for being somewhat blunt and eager to help.

    The mood of the Geomchis that logged into Royal Road was unusually pleasant and lighthearted, they often smiled.

    "So to eat it, we just have to keep chewing it? Even though it's hard, it's like eating a biscuit."

    "It looks like it's made of barely. Barley bread?"

    "Geomchi2 and Geomchi3 ate their bread and took a drink of water from their canteen."

    "So, let's get started?"

    "What do you mean? We have to go to the training center."

    "Hyun Lee, no, Weed said that you can't go outside for 4 weeks."

    "Well, let's go see whether or not the training center is any good!"

    The Geomchis found the training center. There was an incredible amount of people wandering around in the Citadel of Serabourg so they had to ask around a few times to find the training center.

    Inside the building a small number of people were using their skills on a scarecrow.

    "Oh! So this is the way they do it."

    "What an outdated training method they have in this dojo. It seems to be a systematic training in order to improve stamina."

    "Geomchi2, it's not the facilities that matter is it? That is not important to a man that follows the way of the sword."

    Geomchi2 and the other Geomchis began to hit the scarecrows with the wooden swords. They had also listened to Weed's story.

    "So it's a must to do this?"
    "Yiyahap!"
    "Boom!"

    Geomchi2 and Geomchi4 felt a bit of nostalgia from swinging the sword like this again.

    Constantly hitting a fixed object was like the training method practiced ten years ago, a training method that had long been discarded.

    "Argh! Shout louder!"

    "Yes! One million twenty one! One million twenty two!"

    The Geomchis eagerly beat the scarecrows.

    Doing so left a good feeling inside them.

    Though others would think they were crazy, they did not rest.

    Learn the sword first.

    Later on the sword could be used to slay exciting monsters.

    Their strength and other abilities continued to grow.

    'I will kill the monsters of Royal Road with my sword.'

    With that thought, their eyes grew brighter and brighter.

    "By the way, I'm starting to get really hungry."

    "Master, we have two pieces of bread left!"
    "So it seems. Can I eat it?"
    "Sir."

    Geomchi ate the bread that was left. The last two breads were depleted.

    "I feel full thanks to the bread now!"

    "Oh, yea! Geomchi4 you look quite proficient now."

    "Master, when we feel hungry the satiety falls!"

    "Geomchi3, you are right."

    "But what happens when the satiety keeps falling, now that we have no more bread?"

    "..."

    Silence surrounded the group after what Geomohchi had just said.

    The atmosphere became tense after those words had been said carelessly.

    The Geomchis began questioning.

    "This is a serious situation. What do we do?"

    "I think I know."

    "Geomchi2, tell me your idea."

    "What would you do? For example, when we hunt we can pick up items and make money. Then, if there is nothing more delicious, we can eat barley bread."

    "Oh, so we could do that..."

    The rest of the Geomchis were smiling, but Geomchi4 shook his head.

    "We can't leave the city for four weeks so it looks like we're going to starve."

    "..."

    The Geomchis lowered their heads. They did not have an answer to this frightful situation. Usually others with more gaming experience would go do a quest. However, they did not even imagine that they could do quest for NPCs. Their only solution was hunting, but they could not exit the city.

    Then Geomchi held his wooden sword and exclaimed.

    "We will continue swinging our swords. Only concentrate on swinging the sword!"

    "Yes Master! We will focus on the sword."

    "Oh, Master how admirable."

    Geomchi2, Geomchi3, Geomchi4, Geomchi5 applauded.

    Then the five of them continued to beat the scarecrow. Even though they were hungry, it gave them more willpower.

    "Heotheoeho."

    The Training Center Instructor smiled heartwarmingly.

    The Training Center Instructor was glad to see such enthusiasm from the practitioners.

    "Hey, would you like to join me for a meal?"

    The instructor invited them to have lunch. However, Geomchi swallowed his saliva and refused the invitation.
    "No! Don't we have our pride and self-respect that we do not need the charity of an NPC?

    "Isn't that right men?"

    "That is correct! We live only for the sword."

    Khoreureuk.

    "Now that I look at these scarecrows, they look pretty tasty."

    They started to sound ridiculous.

    Their satiety level was forced to drop since they had no more barley bread.

    Less than 3% satiety! Moving to hit the scarecrow became arduous as they no longer had any stamina.

    -You have died of hunger. You cannot sign in for 24 hours. Since it was a simple state of death, no items or levels will decline.

    Death, they died due to hunger...like dogs.

    It was difficult to die in the starting state so it was extremely rare to die in the first four weeks.

    The self-respecting Geomchis died in such a way.

    In front of so many people, they died such a humiliating death.

    Ahn Hyundo, with Chung Il Hoon's help, held a meeting in the dojo.

    "Royal Road is an entirely new form of civilization, but we were too indifferent to its influence."

    "Yes, that's right."

    "If more practitioners spend more time training in a place where they can fight monsters, then their motivation will increase and inspire them further."

    "I think that's true. Fighting monsters and proving their skills will draw out their attention."

    Ahn Hyundo and Chung Il Hoon died the same death as the other instructors.

    "Direct combat could be a good opportunity for them to realize the true power of the sword!"

    "We will get the disciples to volunteer and they will easily get enlightened on the way of the sword. To travel an unknown continent with nothing but their sword, this is a good idea Master."

    However, the only female and secretary of the entire place, Ahn Hyundo's niece, put both hands on her waist and said to them.

    "Effort is all that matters! You said that having an opponent was a tool that helps you grow. That's what you always used to say!"

    "Argh! What else is there then? What have we overlooked?"

    "...!"

    "So, our plan was to let all the formal practitioners join in so how many people is it?"

    "500."

    "With an order of 500 capsules...they can discount it right?

    "They will be able to install it tomorrow, it should be fine."

    Chung Il Hoon replied confidently.

    The capsules for the 500 disciples were received from the Immigration Control and Refugee Bureau. Ahn Hyundo's dojo had a reputation all over the Republic of Korea. They received funding from the World Kendo Federation and the Athletic Association. They received a large amount of money from the disciples and among them were several that were in the Immigration Control and Refugee Bureau.

    Geomchi4 smiled and muttered quietly.

    "That means that we are going to get 5000 more barley bread."

    "..."
    "..."
    "Keukeum!"

    Back to top


    Chapter 8 : True Blood Vampires



    I've started college now and its been quite hectic. Opening week is coming to an end and classes start soon. Despite all the various things I've had to do around campus, I managed to interpret yet another chapter. I hope that you all enjoy.

    Weed logged back on and quietly sat down next the Alveron. Even NPC's had to act in a certain way to improve their level and skills.

    'It obviously was not a big deal'

    In fact, teleport gate had many special options and, because the cave was the starting point, it was an area that was safe and completely protected from monsters.

    Alveron woke up and followed Weed as he tried to sneak out of the cave.

    "Where are you going?"
    "Recon. Wait here for me."
    "Yes, I will wait for you here."

    Alveron sat back down in the cave.
    Weed went out of the cave alone.

    Knowing that Alveron was safe, Weed began walking his way out of the cave. Walking around in this place was like walking on very thin ice.

    'Monster...'

    He was sufficiently far away from the cave.
    The giant black castle and the village had disappeared from sight.
    There was something he had overlooked during the day.
    The snow-capped mountains and the villages were safe, there were no monsters.

    'There are very few groups of monsters. But monsters should appear near the river.'

    Weed carefully went down the mountain. Far in the middle of a field was a pack of black wolves.

    'It's not time to fight them yet.'

    He got down on all four limbs and began to sneak around, sometimes hiding behind rocks for a while, and finally returned to the village.

    The village where there were once shops with heart-warming store owners were now rundown houses. The village was abandon and broken.

    'It appears impossible to resupply.'

    That was the fundamental difference in coming to the province of Morata. Food ingredients and herbs should be bought as much as possible and left at the starting point. It was a big advantage to have a surplus of supplies rather than not having enough.

    But Weed could not afford the danger of searching through the town.



    The cold has penetrated deeper into your skin.
    Physical ability has decreased by 14%.

    Wearing the armor had no additional effect. A fire could be used to defeat the cold, but with fire there was smoke. It was no different from suicide to start a fire.

    Weed decided to only take a little bit more time to carefully scout around because of the cold.

    A couple of vampires passed by.

    The True Blood Vampire Clan.

    After a while, the group of vampires left and one of them wandered off alone.

    A vampire had appeared.

    Pale face and a black cloak hung to their bodies.

    They wore jewelry and had rings on their hands.

    "Blessing."

    Weed quietly used the Ring of the High Priest that he was wearing to bless himself, a light covered and emitted from his body.



    -The Blessing of the High Priest has been used. For 20 minutes, physical abilities are enhanced.

    He checked his info window and the result was surprising. Strength, agility, stamina, endurance, and vitality stats were increased to an amazing 150%. Maximum health and mana were increased by 30% so he had a tremendous 7002 health and 6002 mana.

    Weed invested most of the stats he got from upgrading into agility or strength. He barely increased in intelligence or stamina.

    He was able to increase spirit stat through battle instead of stamina whichacted as a complement.

    'This is great.'

    However, this fantastic item could only be used for 20 minutes.

    "Cold Bandages!"

    The increase in maximum health and mana was nothing.

    Accompanied by the bandage skill, the vitality stat could be effectively increased.

    His cold bandage skill had already advanced to the intermediate level.

    The quality of the bandages along with the high level skill was able to recover health as a tremendous speed.

    His mana regeneration rate was increased by 10% due the effect of the seven rings on his hand.

    However, it was still a little lacking for him to be ready.

    'Time to eat it.'

    Weed closed his eyes and ate the food.
    Royal Bird of the Day Dish!
    Food that was created from the eggs of the Joinjok Sioux Bird Clan.

    An additional 500 health and mana increased.

    But he still was not ready to battle. Weed held the sword and activated the innate skill.

    "Sacred Blessing"

    A buff that holy priests used.
    It was a skill one tier higher!
    Weed's body was covered in a gentle light.

    Thanks to the superior grade of skill, his defense increased by 40%.

    At this time, the vampire was already gone. Then coming towards Weed was the vampire that was hidden behind the wall of the house.

    "So this was where the unpleasant feeling I felt was coming from..."

    It seemed from the vampire's words that it was attracted to the sacred blessings.

    "Sculpting Blade!"

    Weed was surprised by the vampire suddenly approaching him.

    He ran out of the house and rushed to use the skill.

    "The enemy is a human!"

    The vampire blocked Weed's sword with his strong forearm. However, Sculpting Blade's horrendous damage ripped through the enemy's defense!

    It did not matter what the enemy's level was. Whether it was rabbit or anything else, it made little difference to the Sculpting Blade. The damage was almost the same to monsters with powerful defense like vampires.

    "Kyahaah!"

    The vampire's health declined as it was attacked.

    However, as one would expect, it did not budge from such a high level attack. He withstood it as if it was a mosquito bite.

    "I'll suck your blood human!"

    The vampire extended his hands straight towards him. He had been caught by such a simple and ignorant attack and two holes were bored into the side of the neck.

    It must have been an unpleasant experience.

    Weed grabbed and held onto the vampire's chest as he dropped and rolled sideways. He stuck the snow covered ground with the vampire.

    'Alright. The damage was higher than I expected. But from now on, it'll be considerably less.'

    Just like how the fight with the Death Knight was different from others. The purpose right now was to improve combat experience that skills and stats could not.

    Weed closed the stat window that displayed his health and mana. He examined his enemy with his eyes and felt the condition his body was in.

    He focused on his enemy.

    He was a lot simpler now then compared to back in the Continent of Magic. He did not know much about the game. He did not even have a map to memorize it. When he found a strong monster, he fought it simply to relieve stress.

    It was of pleasure of finding a slightly stronger enemy.

    He didn't need the advice of other people but rather directly experience and solve it himself.

    Suffering a frustrating trial and error process.

    Dying much more frequently than others.

    Nevertheless, Weed was the best there could be! It was a constant challenge to be the person that constant made their own path.

    He walked the path the others usually did not take and hunted.

    Enjoying the battle was far simpler than before. Instead of the battle being a click of the mouse and the keyboard, he enjoyed a real fight.

    He could not deny the pressure from his class.

    As more skill builds up, then there are a lot more things to lose. Whenever death came, there was always the fear of how many levels and skill proficiency would drop.

    When you fight monsters, having thoughts like these increase the tension. They do not get much out of the battle itself.

    Fighting strong enemies, clearing a quest, the fun of the game was a job the he sincerely enjoyed doing.

    "Kuwawaak!"

    The vampire's face suddenly distorted.

    Since then, it began to attack stronger and faster.

    "Septuple Strike!"

    Weed demonstrated his skills at the right time.

    He naturally thought of which skills to use at the right time.

    "The odds are against you running away."

    Weed used Sculpting Blade around the vampire.

    "Summon Bats!"

    The vampire did not avoid the attack and opened his hands wide.

    A group of black vampire bats were summoned.

    "Kill him!"

    The summoned vampire bats flapped their wings and flew into the air. They then landed on Weed and sucked his blood.

    The noble monster, Vampire!

    They were capable of using magic.

    "Shield. Strength. Heal."

    The injured vampire strengthened its regenerative abilities to recover its health.

    To attack the vampire after it recovered its health would be in vain. The damage done to its forearm was healed.

    "Damn it."

    Weed used his sword to attack the bats.

    The blood sucking vampire bats stuck to him during the fight.

    Swish! The vampire rushed at Weed with overwhelming speed.

    Since it was a skill that consumed a lot of mana, he could no longer continue using it to fight.

    Without mana to empower his sword, he was unable to give the fatal blow to the vampire.

    Luckily its healing magic did not recover everything.

    The vampire no longer had enough mana to heal.

    'It worked! It's out of mana now.'

    The vampire finally began to bleed out.

    Its pale face had become even white from extreme fatigue as it slowly moved forward.

    However, a message popped up to Weed.



    - The effect of the blessing has disappeared.

    His strength was rapidly draining.
    The sword grew heavy and his movements became sluggish.



    - The effect of the Sacred Blessing has disappeared.
    - You are cold.

    20% reduction in physical ability.
    30% reduction in skill effects.
    The cold can lead to other complications.
    Maximum health and mana has been reduced.

    His defense was reduced because of the vampire bats constantly draining his vitality. As the bleeding worsened, his health plummeted and his movement speed dropped.

    "Human!"

    The vampire finally caught Weed. The vampire's current health was less than 10%.

    The vampire tried to suck his blood with a vigorous head butt but Weed said.

    "This isn't over yet!"

    The vampire could not stop laughing when he looked at Weed.

    The vampire was barely alive. Its mana was completely depleted.

    But Weed was in a far more serious condition. He could not stop his wounds from haemorrhaging.

    He closed his eyes.
    Death!
    He was logged out.

    Lee Hyun stepped out of his capsule and clenched his fist.
    He had experienced fighting a vampire. How were level 270 monsters? Strong. Very strong.

    He was using the sword as well as the blessings and sacred blessings. The equipment was vastly different from the cheap weapons he got from the Death Knight.

    That demonstrated the prominence of fully fledged high level monsters.
    But he had an absolute feeling that it was not a monster that couldn't be beaten.

    Lee Hyun took his fist and shouted.

    "The True Blood Vampires. Kill them all!"

    * * *


    Pale, Irene, Romuna, and Surka had to teach their parents about the game in the Citadel of Serabourg. Their parents left to complete a dungeon quest.

    Then they decided to contact Weed.

    "Hey Weed, you know the people you said that connected to the game recently. I should drop in and say hello."
    "Why not? I can't really help them right now so it would be nice if you could give them a hand."
    "Certainly, since they are Weed's friends and acquaintances."
    "Yes, it's impressive that they're already in their second week of swinging the wooden sword at the training center."

    Pale and Surka smiled fondly as they recalled a freakishly strong Weed fighting thousands of monsters.

    Even though he was a sculptor, there wasn't anyone whose swordsmanship was as strong. They were surprised and could hardly believe that he fought monsters using such ingenious sword fighting skills.

    That was their expectations of Weed's acquaintances.

    "Not too long ago we were beginners, but now we have excellent understanding of the game."
    "That's because Weed is the best."

    When they went to the training center, there was a large crowd.

    "What is it? Is there something going on here?"
    "Look over there. Now be surprised."

    Pale and co. looked over to where they were pointing and they saw a large circle. Over 500 people were swinging a wooden sword towards a scarecrow.

    "One, two, three!"

    They were yelling and counting.

    500 people were using wooden swords and simultaneously striking down scarecrows with precise timing. Each of their bodies moved at the same rate with the same movements.

    But it was the look in their eye that surprised Pale the most.

    'What a heavy atmosphere.'

    He could sense something in their eyes.

    It put considerable pressure onto his heart.

    The terrifying atmosphere seemed about 1~2 times stronger since it was coming from 500 people simultaneously from all around the room.

    'I think I know why there are a lot of people gathered here.'

    It was as if something like this had become natural around the training center.

    "Huh, what is it?"

    He was already close to tears from the unease. It looked like Weed's acquaintances had a bunch of scary people mixed in.

    "This is fine. The level is not high enough yet but we still can't leave so we have to keep it up."

    Pale finally got enough courage and asked.

    "Does anyone here know Weed?"

    When he said that, 500 guys looked over at him.

    Bump!

    Pale's chest began to beat faster in fear. But soon they went back to using their wooden swords to hit the scarecrow.

    "I don't know what's going on here but I'll do what I can to help. We're here to help you so don't worry about it and come over."

    Shyying.

    The wooden swords stopped short of the scarecrow. At nearly the same time, 500 people came running over to them. They fell down to their knees and cried to Pale.

    "Ple, please barley bread..."

    "Please feed us rice."

    * * *


    After one day in real life had passed, Weed reconnected in front of the teleport gate.

    'Proficiency...it dropped a little bit.'

    Various skills had dropped by 5 to 7%.

    Sculpting mastery had dropped by 7%. Cooking had dropped by 6%.

    Other skills such as Handicraft, Sword Mastery, and Repair dropped by 5%.

    Fortunately the only items that dropped when he died were only a couple of the one gold weapons.

    'I wasn't ready for the True Blood Vampires.'

    Weed started repairing broken equipment again.

    "Repair!"

    After he broke all the items in his inventory, he was able to reach the goal he had wanted.



    -Repair skill has reached level 10 and has changed to Intermediate Repair skill.

    The ability to repair has improved based on the skill level.
    It is now possible to restore the maximum durability of equipment with a complete repair.

    Blacksmith skill can now be learned.

    "Finally."

    Weed repaired his equipment.

    His current equipment had extremely low durability and he could not afford for new equipment.

    The distorted cape became shiny; the dented body armor was evened out. The cracked and rusted parts were restored to a black iron.

    "Alright. Time to start."

    When Weed tried to leave the cave, Alveron came up to him.

    "I'll help with fighting the vampires."

    "Not yet. There is still one more step of preparation."

    "Okay."

    Weed went to look around the Morata Province alone. Checking around certain areas he looked for where the monsters were hiding
    .
    There were a lot of results from his search.

    There were quite a large number of monsters in the Morata Province.

    On the other side of the village and the giant black castle were a large number of black wolves. They were level 170 monsters but many of the wolves tended to wander alone instead of in groups. In the worst case, there were more than 100 wolves at once.

    Though it was dangerous, Weed was able to recover the lost experience by sweeping up the wolves by using the sword's blessing and the high priest's blessings to reach level 182.

    "This was a decent hunting ground."

    Hunting was usually done in the surrounding area of a town or neighboring villages. The reason was because the monsters were evenly spread out and it was easy to save party members.

    However, Weed wandered around hunting in places with a large number of monsters alone.

    After he analyzed the surrounding area and monsters, Weed went to get Alveron.

    "Give me healing."

    "Yes."

    Weed was bathed in divine power, healing his wounds.

    There was no need for bandages.

    As expected of Alveron, the next pope candidate with an enormous level of 320. However, NPCs like this were not allowed to die. Alveron dying meant that was the end. If the candidate for the next pope died in the middle of the quest, then he would fail the quest and the friendship with the Church of Freya would drop greatly. Think of it like something that can't be taken anywhere easily. But...

    "Use protection magic."
    "Yes."
    "Weaken the power of the malicious forces that seek to injure him. Holy Blessing."
    "Increase my strength."
    "Please raise him power to fight against the evil and the wicked. Bless!"

    Alveron was by far the best NPC that Weed had met so far. It wasn't just his higher level but he had a good personality too.

    Why is it useful for a user to talk to an NPC to get a quest? This in itself was problematic because the sage would trick users!

    But Alveron took care of his work and wasn't rebellious. It was the best thing around.

    An innocent and naive NPC.

    Weed dragged Alveron back and forth around Morata in order to hunt. That was the original purpose for bringing him.



    -You have levelled up.

    A large number of monsters were killed.

    With the help of Alveron, Weed was quickly able to reach level 200.

    'Finally!'

    In Royal Road, level 200 was one of the check points in the game. The server had been opened for more than 1 year and 4 months. The average level was around level 100. Trading and production classes were around the average level, but those under level 100 were usually considered noobs.

    But in Royal Road, there were an overwhelming number of low level accounts. It was thanks to the new influx of people worldwide.

    Each village was filled with noob adventurers who dream of trying to seeing the world.

    Being over level 130 was acknowledged to some extent. At that point, many join a guild and start visiting other cities and villages.

    Bards and other similar class begin wandering around level 50 but most classes stayed within hunting areas for their level.

    A character over level 150 was quite famous.

    And those over level 200 were even a rank higher.

    Second job advancement!

    Classes such as knights and archers were able to change their class according to their preferences.

    It was possible for certain kinds of wizards, clerics, warriors, thieves, and merchants to change class as well.

    New skills became available!

    The range of skills they can learn significantly widen and the other skills are automatically improved.

    Because of this, level 200 was called the check point.

    In Royal Road, less than 20% of the total users were over the average level.

    With Weed's deceptive strength and his production class, it made it difficult to determine a comparison to other characters.

    Weed was doubtful of whether or not there was a 2nd job advancement for him.

    When Weed leveled up, his entire equipment set changed. On his head was Van Hawk's Anti Magic Helm and he also wore on his hands the Rose Engraved Gloves. With the armor, Weed was dressed up as a Dark Death Knight now! However he wore white gloves with his black knight set.

    It was not a good combination for an outfit, but stats were more important to him than what other people thought.

    "Alveron, follow me slowly."
    "Yes."

    Weed and Alveron headed to the village in front of the giant black castle. Vampires were lurking around there.

    It was not difficult to find them.

    Within the village, over 300 vampires roamed around for blood and they could easily find them.

    Weed waited for a vampire to wander away from the group. Then at that moment he would appear and begin his attack.

    "Sculpting Blade!"

    Surprisingly, the vampire easily blocked the blurred sword of light with its forearm.

    Then it revealed its fangs towards Weed and said.

    "You again?"

    Incidentally it was the vampire that Weed had been killed by last time.

    It was the same guy in the same place and Weed had been waiting for an ambush.

    "That's great."

    Weed began to attack with his Sculpting Blade. He swung the dazzling sword around the vampire's body.

    "I guess that his spirit didn't die and he came back. Kyaahat!"

    The vampire began to attack while healing itself.

    Weed continued the long battle. It was unavoidable that he had to deal enough damage to kill a few times over.

    The vampire's skill consumed a lot of mana, but it was over level 270!

    The characteristic of the vampire tribe were dark magic, transformation, and the fascination with woman as well the class with the best vitality. Other similar leveled monsters paled in comparison.

    The special True Blood Vampires were much stronger than the common vampire.

    Soon the sacred and holy blessings were disappearing and his mana was running out. He laughed knowing that the vampire was in a similar situation.

    "Once again I will be killing you! Stupid!"

    Weed ran along the wall and shouted.

    "Heal, protection magic, buff!"
    "Okay, I will."

    Alveron came out from his hiding restoring Weed's health and giving him various buffs.

    Now the situation was reversed.

    Weed smiled as the vampire's face was puzzled in front of him.

    He did not forget that the monster had killed him once before.

    "I'll get you next time! Fog of Mist!"

    The vampire used his skill when he realized he was at a disadvantage.

    Turning into fog in order to flee!

    It was a vampire's unique skill to pass through walls or objects without being caught.

    The vampire's body turned hazy with smoke. The smoke was dispersed everywhere rather than in one place!

    The smoke began squirming to escape.
    But Weed had not failed to finish him.

    "Sculpting Blade!"

    With the Sculpting Blade skill, it was possible to deal a direct blow to the monster's soul.

    "Kueahaaah!"

    The vampire that turned into mist was greeted with a Sculpting Blade.

    With Alveron's help, Weed was able to have the pleasure of taking revenge.

    Ever since that day, Weed began hunting in the mountain and regional plains during the night and returned to the village during the day.

    At night, thanks to the Moonlight Sculptor's passive, his stats increased by 30%. All combat based skills as well as engraving skills and art stats were improved.

    To others, hunting was hard work but what else could it mean!

    Weed became stronger, but at night monsters became stronger too. Often, more than 50% stronger. However, item drop rate and experience was increased.

    Many monsters lurked in groups, such as wolves, but some monsters were often alone. So he was able to hunt even stronger monsters.

    But now he could leisurely level up, thanks to Alveron, by killing vampires during the night despite the extra burden.

    Weed was especially careful because safety was not guaranteed.

    "Call Death Knight, Van Hawk!"

    Death Knight Van Hawk.

    He was summoned to join the fight.

    Weed had killed the Death Knight hundreds of time without any difficulty and was now it under his command.

    This increased his familiarity with him.

    A fair one-on-one victory.

    He didn't like it.

    Weed fought with vampires and evil wolves while Van Hawk raised his level by leeching.

    While he was guarding Alveron, he said.

    "Master, my level has risen..."

    Occasionally Van Hawk would politely tell him the news.

    Weed's subordinate Van Hawk was becoming stronger.

    He was growing through hunting.

    "Yeah."

    Weed looked over at Van Hawk with a disgruntled face.

    Whenever the Death Knight killed, it gained its own experience. But whenever Weed hunted alone, 20% of the total experience went towards Van Hawk. It was the summoning agreement and it would continue until the contract was terminated.

    'What a leecher.'

    But he could not deny that he was a big help in battle.

    Thanks to Van Hawk, hunting the vampires was much easier. Having another person made a big difference in actual battle.

    Twice as much damage and armor.

    Weed became safer since he didn't need to take risks when he had a Death Knight as a tank. It took half as long to hunt vampires and he took only a fourth of the damage.

    The vampires roaming around the town were about 300.

    The True Blood Vampire Clan had 1000. The rest were inside the black giant castle.

    Weed took care of vampires individually.

    Exactly numbering 49.

    Then everything started to get into motion.

    A general level of a newly generated True Blood Vampire that died once already was 250.



    -Sword Mastery has reached level 10 and has changed to Intermediate Sword Mastery.

    Damage with the sword has increased 50%.
    Intermediate Sword Mastery increased damage by 7% every time the skill goes up.
    Mana cost of attack skill are reduced by half.
    Stat points have increased by 2.

    The sorrow of a sculptor!

    Because they didn't have a weapon specialization, stat growth from reaching intermediate in Sword Mastery was lower.

    However, as a sculptor, he had gotten his Sword Mastery to intermediate.

    The result was literally achieved through many tears.

    And then a few days later.

    Another skill reached intermediate.



    -Sculpting Blade has reached level 10 and will change to Intermediate Sculpting Blade.

    The color will now be blue.
    Using Sculpting Blade, you can now complete colossal statues.
    Ignores the enemy's defense!

    Back to top


    Chapter 9 : The Great Sculpture



    After much time, I have managed to interpret another chapter of the novel. This chapter had an absurdly large amount of text. The amount of time I have to do this has decreased quite significantly. University life has been quite inconvenient, fun in its own ways but inconvenient. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter and post your comments in the section below. As always, never know if I'm getting the names of the Geomchis right.

    Vampires patrolled the area at regular intervals. That was a little bit unfortunate.

    Weed was resting near a statue.

    Bird of the main nut.

    He ate the dish made from the Joinjok Sioux eggs and Celestial Fruit.

    Weed could take on a vampire by himself, and the Death Knight could fight one solo as well.

    "Kyaah!"

    "Van Hawk, you traitor!"

    "I only follow the commands of the Master."

    The fierce battle was resolved after he parried a few times and Weed killed the two vampires.

    Weed sat back down without having to say anything.

    "Dispel Curse."

    Alveron's mission was to wait at the statue for the vampires and use the spells in order.

    "Divine Light, please dispel the restraints on their freedom from the power that is distorting their form."

    Light came down from the sky and covered the statue. The blackened surface of the statue melted away, like washing off ink. Inside the statues were paladins wearing the pattern of the Freya church.

    "Die, Vampires!"

    The paladins saw him wielding the sword of light as well as the presence of Alveron.

    "I do not feel the slightest evil spirit coming from you. Are you from the church?"

    "Oh, brother paladin! We have come to rescue everyone. Come with us and soon the suffering will be over."

    Alveron and the paladins broke out into a melodramatic scene.

    The paladins returned to the cave and ate as if they were possessed. They began to beg Weed for food.

    Weed put the food in a small bowl. After they ate, the paladins had an apologetic face as they held out the bowl.

    "Thank you very much."

    "You're welcome. There is still some left, so eat some more."

    The paladins handed their bowl to Weed.

    Their share of food was placed in the bowl. Then he gave it to the paladins.

    The paladins gulped to swallow their saliva. Hunger was the best seasoning of all.

    They had never had food that tasted better than Weed's.

    Intermediate handicraft and intermediate cooking skills!

    They created a subtle taste and enticing smell.

    "How can we eat while Weed starves? I cannot."

    "This food is given to us by the Goddess. There is no way that I could eat it all by myself."

    Weed did not lie at all. In fact, eating just a little bit of high level cooking was enough to fill the satiety level.

    He deliberately gave their share of food in small bowls. The paladins could not even begin to imagine the lethal and sophisticated meaning of such an act and continued to accept the bowl with gratitude. They would accept the bowl and words of gratitude would be spoken while they ate.

    Alveron was using Meditation and Weed took out a carving knife.

    Crunch.

    The sound of sculpting.

    As the paladins ate, they watched Weed work with his hands to create a beautiful sculpture.

    It was the shape of a paladin fighting evil.

    "You are very talented. It's very beautiful."

    "It's my hobby."

    The Order of the Goddess Freya was about beauty and abundance. For that reason, Weed's intimacy level with the church's paladins was very high to begin with.

    Sculptors! A profession about loving art and beauty.

    Chef! Delicious food was a symbol of abundance.

    Weed was not acknowledged by other people, but the paladins from the church would respect him.

    "Everybody let us pray."

    After hunting and eating food, Weed bowed his head forwards and prayed to the Goddess Freya.

    "Thank you for the abundance of food and for giving us your blessing. Please continue to protect the peace of the continent from evil..."

    Alveron was raised with the habit of praying.

    Praying increased the intimacy of priests and paladins.

    Like the soldiers of the Rosenheim Kingdom, the paladins were everywhere.

    A total of 159 paladins and 38 priests were turned to stone. But wherever there was a stone paladin, there were certainly vampire guards.

    "First of all, there is a need to increase our united strength."

    Weed persuaded the paladins with such logic.

    Morata Province was overflowing with many wolves or evil monsters. They could hunt thousands of monsters in Morata.

    But sometimes they rescued rebellious paladins.

    "Now is not the time to do this! We should be searching for our brothers who are suffering instead of doing this!"

    Occasionally the paladins would take their swords and tried to assault the village. Such a fearless attitude towards evil was becoming of a knight.

    True Blood Vampire Clan!

    To the paladins, they were most certainly the enemy.

    Weed desperately blocked them. If he let them back into the village now, what were the chances that they would become victim to the vampires again?

    "They should still be alive and we must remain hopeful. But if any of us should be defeated, then we shall forever suffer the ridicule of the vampire and what do you expect will happen to your brothers as a result?"

    Weed persuaded the paladins while hunting.

    It was frustrating, but the paladins had to agree with Weed.

    He needed money.

    In Royal Road, he could trade in-game currency for real life cash.

    You can obtain good equipment to sell, since there was no one else in Morata.

    To trade items that anyone could bid on.

    It was not easy to come to this region, so who would find the items?

    He did not know if he could complete the quest on his own.

    So, the conclusion was to increase their power. Yet he did not forget about the effects of sculptures.

    "Don't use wood. Stone is a good material to increase the proficiency of the skill."

    Weed was trying to find a suitably sized stone. However, in the snow-covered mountains, it was not easy to find the right stones. Moreover, since he had to remain still in order to sculpt and the harsh cold wind could make him sick. A lot of time was needed in order to make a sculpture.

    "A bunch of rocks. Would it be possible to make a sculpture using that?"

    Weed was deeply immersed with what to do about the sculpture.

    "It doesn't have to be rock. Any other hard object would be nice..."

    Weed looked across the village and the mountains.

    A snow covered world.

    The ground was covered in blocks of ice.

    "Ice! A sculpture made of ice!"

    A sculpture made of ice could be the best material to use. It could be simply cut and readily available. It was perfect in the cold north since it wouldn't melt.

    Since then, Weed and the paladins took a break in order to cut ice. With his carving knife, he made large chunks of ice.

    Soon he started cutting into it to make a sculpture.

    Weed and the brave paladins fought against the vampires.

    Their presence was carved into the Morata Province.

    Weed began to think of ideas for the theme of the statue. Of course, the model was still Seoyoon. Weed had no other choice since he had never seen anyone prettier.

    He had learned that art stats and the engraving skill increased depending on the meaning behind the sculptures.

    Typically, in a town or a castle, a sculpture of a large object was more beneficial than a sculpture of a woman.

    In the world, there existed countless masterpieces of woman and the most difficult sculpture to make was a beautiful woman.

    The statue in Baran Village was able to make subtle smiles on people's faces but such a thing would create a strange atmosphere in Morata Province and thus required something else.

    A cold appearance.

    It was made with an ice cold exterior. The face was the same as when Weed had saw Seoyoon.

    He tried to replicate the first sculpture he had made.

    It was almost complete, but it felt strange.

    'Is it because of the materials?'

    Because it was made of ice, it felt vulnerable and weak.

    'If it doesn't work and a failed product emerges...'

    Weed strongly opposed the idea of failure.

    Failure!

    Failure was a painful aspect for a sculptor. A renowned sculptor would receive a large drop in fame.

    Because a sculptor had to have passion to create a work made it even more difficult.

    'Should I give up?'

    If he gave up now, he would slightly damage his fame.

    It would become an unforgettable abandoned piece.

    Weed used all his powers of observation in order to depict Seoyoon in the sculpture.

    'A strong, cold feeling...Murderer! Yes, lively eyes filled with hate and distrust of other people.'

    As he remembered he continued to carve.

    Weed began to change the clothing of Seoyoon's sculpture to armor.

    Full plate armor!

    On the sculpture was a steel plate that covered the whole body, giving it an intense look. The model for the armor was based on the ones that the paladins were wearing.

    One would worry that it would look awkward, but the armor suited Seoyoon too well.

    Finally, Weed tried to calmly carve the eyes in order to complete the piece.

    'Do not pay attention to what the window says. I will complete the eyes and it will not become a failure.'

    An unbelievable coldness.

    The allure of a brutal murderer.

    Weed could feel the emotions of the sculpture in her eyes.

    However, the eyes in the statue seemed to be their own. It's clear and innocent eyes.

    'The materials. This happened because of the materials. Stupid Weed! Had to make it out of ice instead of disposing it.'

    Weed sighed.

    When the statue was completed, it was some time past noon. The sun reflected and shone brightly.
    The sun's rays systematically fell onto the beauty.

    The beauty was shining in numerous brilliant colors. It seemed as if the light would wrapped around the nearby people.

    The light changed the statue.



    Masterpiece! You have completed the Ice Beauty Sculpture!

    In the cold and desolate lands of the north.
    The feelings of the people and the earth allowed the statue of beauty to be born. Unlucky travelers that fell into difficulties and troubles would visit the oasis. Here the travelers could receive a sweet rest. Unbelievably high degree of perfection and beauty! An artist created a beauty with a mysterious atmosphere out of ice. A work deserving of praise.

    Artistic Value: 750

    These special options are granted by the Ice Beauty Sculpture:

    Health and Mana regeneration increased by 17% during the day.
    Cold resistance increased by 40%.
    Special resistance against ice-based magic.
    Has a 3% chance to reflect an enemy attack.
    Attractiveness stat + 30
    Effects do not stack with other sculptures.

    Until now, you have completed this many masterpieces: 3

     


    -Intermediate sculpting skills have risen to 5. Sculpting is more delicate and detailed.
    -Intermediate handicraft skills have risen to 7. The ability to use hand tools has increased an additional 5% and various areas will be affected by the skill.
    -Fame has increased by 320.
    -Art has increased by 45.
    -Sustenance has increased by 4.
    -Endurance has increased by 3.
    -Luck has increased by 40.

    Trembling.

    The paladins had caught a cold.

    As did Weed!

    After having stood around in the desolate land, they did not return to the cave until night. The temperature dropped. The level of the ice and snow in the Morata Province increased and the winds picked up in intensity.
    The polar climates have lower temperatures and strong winds.

    Snow and pieces of ice fell from the dark blizzards and ice storms.

    The numerous pieces of ice that fell created a beautiful landscape when paired up next to the sky.

    The occurrence was one of the 4 finest mysterious wonders of the northern continent.

    Royal Road had created a fantastic environment and many people that visit it were amazed more than any movie that was ever made.

    The snow covered ground in the north stretches endlessly.

    Snow and ice would sweep over the ground in snowstorms.

    However, only a small number of people have visited it!

    Many usually taste death in the middle of the snow during a blizzard. Their hands and feet would stiffen and the cold would permeate into their bodies until they were frozen.

    Weed enjoyed the pain since it increased his endurance stat, even if it's not what people usually would want to do.

    The body would freeze immediately and be left out like a frozen shell and left to die miserably.

    Every year, the northern lands were subject to over 30 snowstorms and blizzards.

    Weed wanted to call it a curse of God.

    The frigid cold cut deep into his skin!

    At night, the temperature fell and it became even colder. Outside the cave was a giant snowstorm. Ice fell dangerously in the middle of the night and they were forced to stop their hunting. Most of the paladins suffered from a cold.

    "Ohh, if I knew that this would have happened then I would have learned the sewing skill..."

    Weed was trembling from the cold inside the cave but he had no regrets.

    They had built up a lot of loot. From hunting in the surrounding area, they managed to collect a lot. Among them was wolf leather, which could be made into thick clothing to overcome the cold if one had sewing skills.

    But Weed did not have such skills and was ultimately forced to fight the cold on his own.

    Crackle.

    The bonfire was burning.

    They had looted wood from the mountains during the day so that at night they could have a fire going. However, the cold air from the entrance of the cave let in a disastrous amount of air. They weren't going to die, but they were freezing.

    "Ah-choo!"

    Even with a cold, Weed managed to survive.

    The cooking skill was useful. Eating hot stew managed to raise the resistance against cold and warmed the body.

    When the ice and wind died down Weed and the paladins went outside of the cave once more.

    The sculpture of the beauty was still standing even after the storm.

    The sculpture had fought a tough battle against nature.

    It was damaged but not completely broken.



    - The Ice Beauty blessing is now in effect.

    Thanks to it, they were able to resist the cold better. But it was weakened to only a 20% cold resistance.

    Weed took the carving knife and walked over to the Ice Beauty.

    "Will this work? Repair!"

    He removed the extra pieces of ice on the sculpture and packed ice into other minor spots. Wherever it was broken, he attached new pieces of ice. Soon, it came back to its original appearance.

    "So it can also repair statues."

    Weed had learned another piece of information. Info about classes was not made public and most professions had to make their own decisions to figure out more definite information.

    Weed scratched his head as he thought.

    "Perhaps... maybe it might be possible here!"

    Weed logged out.

    Lee Hyun browsed through the websites. He was mainly looking for legends of the Arctic or monsters that live in cold climates.

    He was looking for information.

    Making sculptures raised the skill up well.

    Copying the shape of a monster was not difficult. But that was not much of an achievement.

    'I can't keep making sculptures of monsters. Now they don't even give me 2% skill mastery.'

    Sculpting and Handicraft skills required an additional 20% proficiency requirement each level.

    Therefore it was very difficult to increase the level of the skills.

    Intermediate skills were not that different from the beginner level, but now it required a certain level of inspiration. The skill would not increase from simply making sculptures of the things around him.

    The advanced stage required 50% more training than the intermediate stage for production skills.

    Looking beyond their capabilities, production classes were far more difficult than a combat based class.

    'I should make something big to get more artistic value. It will probably raise the skill up a lot too...'

    Then Lee Hyun accessed a site that was associated with the Continent of Magic.

    Dragons were classified as the ultimate monster of a fantasy continent. Lee Hyun had hunted quite a few dragons in the Continent of Magic.

    Powerful, vibrant magical attacks.

    Incredible breath attack and colossal defense.

    He had reached the highest level in the Continent of Magic, he needed to use a few tricks or he would never have dared to go up against a dragon.

    Of those dragons there was the Ice Dragon!

    A dragon with a size of over 150 meters and it was capable of a powerful ice breath.

    He remembered the time he had hunted one.

    "The tail...yea and then attach the head later. So I have to start from the feet and move up the body."

    Weed reconnected and started to collect chunks of ice.

    Because it was immediately after a snowstorm, there was plenty of ice around. The ice piled around was larger than the average house. Walking around in the snow, people would have ice piled up to their chest.

    "I would have died if there was nowhere to hide from the snowstorm!"

    Frozen by the cold or struck dead by a chunk of ice! In the storm, death would come from one of the two. The only city in the north was in the vicinity of a large mountain. If it was unable to prevent snow in the mountains, then the village would not exist. But the northern town was frightening.

    "In the past, the strongest military power of the northern kingdom was forced to be stronger or else they would not have been able to live in such an environment."

    Weed picked up chunks of ice from the surrounding area. He made a rough outline and then piled ice on top. The blocks of ice began to be stacked in layers on top of each other.

    "A little bit at a time..."

    Weed and the paladins had come back from hunting the wolves.

    The blocks of ice that were stacked in a pile were now firmly solidified. There was no need for individual blocks but to connect all of them.

    Weed had the paladins create a huge mountain of ice. A chunk of ice large enough to be a mountain!

    The pile of ice was several stories tall and kept rising higher.

    Hwiyiiiing – kureureureung!

    The snowstorm came again.

    Ice stacked on top of the giant pile of ice.

    Weed kept piling up the snow for two more ice storms and soon there was a mountain made of ice.

    The will of humans and the power of Nature!

    The two had worked together to achieve the impossible.

    "From here on out, it's my turn."

    Weed pulled out the Zahab carving knife.

    Ice sculpting.

    He had created the Ice Beauty with his hands and suffered through the process.

    It was a piece that required fine detail. If he put as much detail into a sculpture of this size, then it would take a year to finish and he did not have that kind of time.

    Weed cut drastically and added ice sometimes.

    The sculpture gradually began to unfold.

    It was now possible to sculpt.

    A bonus of the Intermediate Sculpting skills was the supposed special effects to carving.

    Weed had to pay attention as to not fall from the mountain of ice. He connected a piece of rope to the top. Very much like rock climbing.

    Tak tak tak!

    Pieces and chunks of ice were being cut off by the knife and fell down. They would fall to the ground and shatter. Weed looked down from above to see the bottom of the sculpture.

    "Ohhh..."

    To fall to his death.

    This fear was suppressed while he worked on the sculpting. However, hanging from a high place in the freezing cold was not a joke. Strong winds would blow and the rope that he was hanging on would shift and he could not move.

    Weed finished his first goal for the sculpture which was the torso. The central part of it was the giant torso that was the size of a mountain. The circumference of the torso was more than an extraordinary 100 meters long.

    Now it was time for the tail and the legs.

    The legs were deformed to be very small. However they were thick enough to hold up a mountain of ice.

    Small, thick legs.

    A long tail lay hanging from the torso. The length of the tail itself was tens of meters.

    The last part was the head. It protruded boldly from the body with a long neck, with its mouth spread wide, and its face glancing over from the side.

    Its mouth resembled that of a crocodile.

    Long whiskers extended from its face.

    Its eyes were fierce and full of power.

    The moment Weed finished the sculpture, it was engulfed in light.



    Masterpiece! You have finished the Ice Dragon sculpture!

    Artistic passion and great success often impress young people, but sometimes they are impressed by the things that they are not aware of. A success made through the power of nature! In the northern region, the pure-hearted dragon detests evil. The dragon acts as a saint that keeps the order of the land.

    Artistic value: 2500

    These special options are granted by the Ice Dragon:
    Health and Mana recovery speed increased by 30% during the day.
    Resistance to the cold has increased by 70%.
    Magic resistance has increased by 40%.
    Maximum health has increased by 35%.
    All stats increase by 12.

    Blessing of the Dragon has activated.
    The Dragon's Intimidation degrades the status of all monsters in the area around the Ice Dragon.
    Monsters cannot come near the Ice Dragon.
    Effect does not overlap with other sculptures.

    Until now, you have completed this many grand pieces: 1

     


    -Intermediate Sculpture Mastery has increased to 6; sculpting will now be more delicate and detailed.
    -Intermediate Handicraft skill has risen to level 8. The ability to use hand tools has increased by an additional 5% and various areas will be affected by the skill.
    -Fame has increased by 850.
    -Art has increased by 64.
    -Sustenance has increased by 49.
    -Endurance has increased by 16.
    -Ice Dragon has been added to the Wonders of the North.

    If, in the future, Ice Dragon is given life then Weed will be given ownership of Ice Dragon and will be loyal to Weed.
    All stats have increased by 1 for having made a grand sculpture.

    He did not imagine that he would be able to use chunks of ice to make a monster.

    Ice Dragon Statues.

    In comparison to the actual thing, Ice Dragon looked perfectly the same.

    Using ice as the material for the Ice Dragon was the best answer.

    Daring to use materials that other structures would never dream of. That made it a work of art.

    Health and mana regeneration increased by 30%.

    That meant that the rate of hunting would last 30% longer.

    The increased resistance to the cold reduced the biggest obstacle in the north.

    Resistance to magic and increase in maximum health.

    The increase in stats.

    This, along with his combat abilities made their chances of survival increase greatly.

    If Alveron or the paladins die, then the quest would be over so Weed had to support them.

    While Weed went around hunting and rescuing paladins. As did Death Knight Van Hawk.

    "I will never approve of someone such as you!"

    The paladins explicit complaints towards the Death Knight was revealed. It was too much for the followers of the faith to accept Van Hawk, who had been a servant of Balkan.

    Weed went to the Death Knight side to sort out the problem.

    "You mean the Death Knight? This is the reason for his purpose."

    Weed beat up the Death Knight. After dying pathetically in front of the paladins, he was reverse summoned. A while after the Death Knight died, the Red Necklace of Life would turn crimson again and could be summoned once more.

    "Bloodhounds."

    "We can do this."

    The paladins went upon the task of taking down the monsters.

    'Really strong'

    Weed nodded.

    When he hunted in the Rosenheim Kingdom, he lead the recruits using his bow and sword against the goblins as well as using traps.

    But to the paladins, they could neglect those things. Their attacks were based on divine power and crushed the bones of the monsters.

    Weed brandished his sword against the undead to collect experience. 20% of the experience was given to the Death Knight, but compared to hunting in Lavias he was able to collect much better experience.

    Hunting was much safer and sustainable with Alveron's assistance. In a few months, Weed managed to get the paladins to around level 220 and others became equal to the True Blood Vampires with levels over 270. It was a performance worth tears. If it had not been for the Ice Dragon Statue, then it would have taken more time. One or two paladins may have ended up dead.

    "Now let us begin to save the rest of our brothers."

    * * *


    The 500 dojo practitioners Geomchis.

    The practitioners all chose similar type classes. Training their bodies, the sword was the first thing they learned in the game. They were noobs at everything else.

    "It's strange that eating bread fills the satiety level."

    "Drinking water also relieves thirst."

    "When I say status window, an impossible floating window appears!"

    Such were the practitioners!

    Several Geomchis had entered the game and ate the starting bread and were now going hungry.

    Geomdulchi masked his face as he watched them.

    "How is it that none of you have any bread left!"

    "Do we hope for a miracle?"

    "..."

    They could no longer receive barley bread and the Geomchis were now suffering from hunger. The Geomchis were starving and waiting to die, but they could only hit the scarecrow. And then Pale came.

    "Please buy me some bread."

    "Thank you."

    The Geomchis closed their eyes as they begged.

    "We are not the type of people to be begging others for help. However since Weed is my disciple, isn't it only natural that I should accept his help?"

    The job was not what they had expected, but Pale and Surka accepted it nonetheless.

    500 powerful men.

    They instantly lost all backbone as they rushed Pale to go buy bread looking with their scary hungry eyes, so he went and bought 50 thousand barley bread.

    For the 50 thousand barley bread, the price of single barley bread was 3 copper so with 1 silver he could buy 33 pieces and 1 gold could buy 3,300 pieces of bread.

    Romuna, Surka, and Irene had grown up with so much money that they had never witnessed such pitiful people such as the 500 Geomchis.

    Anyways, through a trial and error, the Geomchis finished beating the scarecrows in the training center.

    4 weeks!

    They really did not sleep for 4 weeks, and finished hitting the scarecrow.

    505 people that were like Weed.

    'Ohh, I'm so tired.'

    Honestly, if they had done it alone they would not have completed it.

    Along with Geomdulchi, many of the trainees and instructors were tired and wanted to hurry and stop the training.

    But Geomchi declared that they would not leave until they passed the beginner's training center.

    If a single person did not pass, then the remaining 504 would have to wait for that one person.

    "Such horror..."

    If they remained behind then their conscience could not bear it! They were too afraid to take a rest. The practitioners were hitting the scarecrow like madmen.

    "1697239!"

    "1697240!"

    "1697241!"

    After Geomchi finished the beginner's training center, Geomdulchi reported the number. Aside from Geomchi, the instructors and one trainee had finished their training and were waiting for the remaining 499.



    Agility has increased by 1.

    Finally, the last part of the training center was finished.

    "Master, the training is finished."

    "Good effort."

    "It was very difficult."

    All of the Geomchis got together in a group. They had waited together to pass the beginner training center. The instructor approached with a heart-warming smile. Then he took out some swords one by one.

    "This is given to those that have completed the beginner training center. It is yours to take."

    "I know. Thank you."

    Geomchi thanked the instructor as he inspected his sword.

    Their usernames were based on a single pattern.

    Their names were in the initial order of the dojo!

    His name followed the order as well.

    The instructor smiled warmly.

    "Do you have any questions? By the way, at this beginner training center, you are the 522nd person to..."

    "I do not. I do not need any help. Thank you."

    He had heard the 504 other practitioners approached by the instructor to say the same thing. It was like they were unable to get the instructor's voice out of their ears.

    The Geomchis had been waiting for the rest of them to finish up.

    However, now the instructor said something a little different.

    "Since such a large number of you have passed this training center, it could only mean that good things will happen to this kingdom. I look forward to the day that you become valiant knights."

    "Yea, whatever. I don't care. See you later."

    The Geomchis left the training center.

    The game was finally beginning, but they were still noobs.

    "Well, we need to get a job so let's go to the guild."
    "Master, can we all come?"
    "I don't see any reason to not come! Is there?"
    "As befitting of the Master."
    "Master, it is exciting that we will get inspected for a class."

    All of the 505 Geomchis strode around the streets.

    They were all dressed the same and moved in unison.

    "Who the hell are these people?"
    "Are they holding a performance?"
    "Look at that. They're all holding the same sword."
    "Hey, they're the guys from the training center!"
    "Are they?"
    "You mean those strange people..."

    The Geomchis had already become a little famous but they did not care. They stood there, engulfed in the joy of the game for the very first time, the excitement, as they went to the guild.

    After a while, one by one, the Geomchis came out of the guild smiling.

    "Catch a fox?"
    "Collect 300 fox leathers..."
    "So it isn't to catch a fox, but to collect fox leathers."
    "For a formal student of a dojo for more than two years? That is too easy."
    "Ha, ha, ha, foxes!"

    The practitioners laughed loudly.

    More Geomchis laughed.

    "Kkeolkkeolkkeol! They are thinking too little of us."
    "Master, I do not think we have to do this alone. We can work together to collect the leather."
    "No Geomohchi. When you hunt you can earn experience for your level. Also, this is our first quest. Don't you want to see what you are able to do?"
    "Yes, indeed. Let us go catch some foxes."
    "Ha, I did not expect that I would first use my sword against a fox!"
    "It is an honor for the fox."

    The people that were listening to the Geomchis conversation thought they were ridiculous. They seemed to be coming from a completely different world.

    "Do you have any idea how strong a fox is?"
    "They look like beginners without a job..."
    "I couldn't even catch a raccoon."

    The low levels ignored the Geomchis even more. They were unable to even think of hunting foxes. At their levels it was difficult to even hunt raccoons or rabbits.

    "Once they die, they should come to their senses."
    "I don't think that there were any guild quests in progress to hunt fox pelts. Once the sun rises, they'll be in town trying to buy the pelts."
    "I bet that there's going to be a stack of corpses in front of the castle."

    In the midst of the commotion, Pale and Surka could be seen at a distance.

    "It's so pitiful."
    "Yea, it's too sad."
    "Poor foxes..."
    "..."

    They knew about Weed and the practitioners that others did not know so Pale and the girls had a feeling about what was going to happen.

    They had built up their base stats. However, to the other users it seemed that they were going to die...

    "Oh! We should get going."
    "Let's see how this goes."

    Geomchi and the practitioners went out the east gate.

    The basic monsters such as foxes, rabbits, raccoon, and porcupines were outside playing around.

    They were excellent at jumping and hunting noobs.

    The fox was one of the monsters that stood out the most.

    "Whoa, ah!"
    "Let's go!"

    The Geomchis stampeded out into the field.

    The fox was lying down with its tail in front sleeping. Unfortunately it was run down by a sword. This was the fox's first fight against a sword and it just had to be a large number of swords wielding Geomchis!

    With a fluid motion to avoid the attacks, he gently stabbed the sword towards the fox's empty abdomen.



    You have dealt a Fatal Critical Hit!

    The fox turned gray and died.

    "What, why was it so easy?"

    Geomchi muttered aloud. The rest of them that had watched the monster's chest saw that it was true.

    "Who killed a fox?"

    "The fox must have been hurt. So it must have died right on the spot."

    "It doesn't make sense that it would die so fast, look for traps. It doesn't look right."

    "I don't think so! I think we are mistaken."

    "Is that right?"

    However, then another fox came.

    The practitioners dodge its silly attacks and attacked in response with their sword.

    Peobeobeok!

    Only one or two hits!

    With their stats and skills, the 50% sword mastery boost, the damage they were doing was high.

    "Oh, this is fun!"
    "Yea, but why is the fox so weak?"

    The Geomchis brutally killed any of the foxes they caught.

    From squirrels to foxes, rabbits and raccoons; they killed them all. In the end, by nightfall, the higher level wolves came out!

    The wolves were tough as they revealed their sharp protruding teeth.

    The practitioners had secured the castle of Serabourg and wiped out all the mobs. The crowd could only open their mouths in shock at the sight of them.

    "Unbelievable!"
    "How do they do that...!"

    Pale could only nod as a result.

    "Well..."
    "Yea, really."
    "I think I'm scared."
    "Irene, why is it?"
    "It's like seeing more than 500 people like Weed..."
    "..."

    For the mobs of rabbits and wolves, that was without a doubt an era of suffering.

    The practitioners were carried away from the feeling of freely wielding a sword and using it to directly hit a monster.

    Then a certain wolf that seldom shows itself appeared.

    Awoooo!

    The Silver Wolf's roar.

    Its silver fur was gently flowing in the wind.

    It legs were elegantly outstretched and it boasted sturdy thighs.

    Then Geomdulchi spoke up.

    "It looks like we catch something nice."
    "Master, this one has better stuff."
    "Is that so? It gives better items?"
    "That's right!"

    Geomchi charged.

    Kaeaeaeng!

    The wolves left the world with one scream at a time.

    The Geomchis led a frenzy of slaughter in front the Citadel of Serabourg.

    Sword mastery and rewards!

    Experience!

    Items!

    Even the practitioners that had only been using the sword for a couple years became devoted.

    Their soul no longer felt stifled.

    They could unleash their sword skills here.

    Kill monsters, get experience and level, eat better food.

    For the practitioners it was good to be strong.

    The reason was simple.

    'The spirit is the body!'

    They did not want to be weak.

    They wanted to fight strong monsters.

    Get good items. Get more money.

    The fact that the rabbits and wolves dropped copper was fantastic since it mean that they could buy barley bread and they would not starve.

    They could not stop since it was not enough!

    "Keuhahahaha!"

    "I will kill you!"

    The crowd that had been watching them were excited at first, but as it dragged on they began to tremble.

    * * *


    Thanks to Alveron and the higher level paladins, they were able to deal with 4 to 5 vampires at once.

    The vampires guarded the statues.

    The paladin forces only attacked a few times during the day.

    That way, they were able to rescue over 30 paladins. He was able to enhance the cooking skill by feeding the large number of paladins, but the problem wasn't the cooking but the ingredients!

    So they had to start hunting for food. Dozens of paladins went to look for a good hunting ground for food ingredients, after which they needed to repair their armor. But during all of this hunting, he neglected to raise his sculptor skills.

    Other than his outstanding combat skills, he needed more time than other people to get stronger because he needed to improve Handicraft.

    So he needed to raise his sculpting and various other skills as much as possible. Even if he had good combat capability, Weed had the hidden advantage of being a support class.

    The best thing he could do was to support the paladins in the upcoming battles.

    'It's fortunate. Other than one factor, there is no time limit...'

    The quest to recover Fargo's crown and rescue the petrified paladins had no particular time limit. Perhaps because the person that received the quest would have no time to hunt.

    Because of food.

    There were over dozens of paladins that you had to feed. You had to watch over the amount of food left after each fight until the quest was complete; however Weed was always travelling with his seasonings and cooking skills.

    To him, all the things in the forest and mountains were suitable for the cooking skill.

    A wide variety of materials.

    Meat from monsters could be good materials for soup, along with nuts and herbs.

    He was familiar with how his geography played a part in his life.

    A full-time job!

    This was the place to exercise the power of the skills he had learned.

    The number of paladins continued to increase, as did the number of people crowding the cave.

    The effectiveness of the Ice Dragon Statue was becoming more apparent.

    The larger the number of paladins, the more evident the effect the statue was having on the group.

    It was always better to have more people.

    Weed led as many paladins as possible to defeat the monsters.



    -Leadership has increased by 3.
    -Charisma has increased by 2.

    Leading the paladins had increased his leadership and charisma by a fearsome amount.

    His stats were increasing faster than his level, but he didn't complain in the slightest. He thought of it as a sort of investment in raising his stats.

    The cooking skill was growing very quickly.

    Using the miscellaneous things from the mountain, he struggled with experimentation to develop new dishes while conserving ingredients.

    He was able to create a new recipe of porridge using grass and bark. It tasted fine because of Weed's cooking skills.

    'It has come to a good fruition.'

    He had used leftover ingredients to make the dish. In the midst of mixing it together, a shocking thing happened.

    A secret of the cooking skill!

    Weed managed to solve one of them.

    In fact, the secret was very simple and wasn't very secret, but it worked.

    Praying together to the Goddess Freya increased the intimacy to the church...



    -Faith stat has been generated.

    In return for the praise and devotion to God, special abilities will be granted by God.

    Weed created a stat that was usually exclusive to priests and paladins.

    Faith was known to influence the magical powers of the gods. However since Weed could not use divine magic, it was a totally useless stat.

    "Stat window."

    Status Window

    Character Name: Weed    		 Type: Neutral
    Level: 205 Class: Legendary Moonlight Sculptor!
    Title:None Fame:3845
    Health:7760 Mana:6471
    Strength:465 +118 Dexterity: 405 +38
    Stamina: 134 +53 Wisdom: 136 +38
    Intelligence: 154 +48 Fighting Spirit: 323 +38
    Endurance: 162 +38 Sustenance: 379 +38
    Art:714 +118 Charisma: 113+38
    Leadership: 368 +38 Luck: 91 +38
    Faith: 1 +388 Attack:1069
    Defense: 133
    Magic Resistance:
    Fire: 10% Water: 10%
    Earth: 20% Black magic: 65%

    Weed's stats were abnormal.

    While hunting, he intentionally gave up experience in order to increase his stats. He had a larger diversity of stats and more stat points for a character of the same level. It did not take a genius to figure out that he had increased his fighting spirit and sustenance stat to over 300 by spilling his own blood.

    However, that was not all.

    He had reached intermediate in several skills, gaining bonus stats as well as the various different types of equipment that changed various stats. Because of that, his strength, dexterity, and endurance stats were higher than normal. Faith stat had also been created. His job was that of the moonlight sculptor; he had intermediate sword mastery, intermediate cooking, and intermediate sculpting mastery that added to his stats!

    He was wearing the Rose Engraved Gloves, Agatha's Holy Sword, and the Ring of the High Priest as well as the addition of status effects. Therefore his Faith stat was one of his highest classes with over 400 points.

    In terms of stat points it was enough to overwhelm an ordinary paladin. Of course, most of his items had effects on them.

    If a stat did not exist, then it would not affect the character at all. However now that the Faith stat had been created, Weed was now being granted effects from the stat.

    'No matter how I look at it, the stat is useless. However one day...there might some use for it in the future.'

    Unexpectedly, after the Faith stat had been created, the look in the paladins and priests eyes towards Weed changed.

    They followed his command immediately and even expressed admiration sometimes.

    "Leader, we initially had doubts about your leadership, but from now on we shall follow your command."
    "You are a companion of the church!"
    "The power of our faith shall guide us."

    Because of Weed's high Faith, the paladins now acted differently.

    NPC paladins were usually given the stat at level five and increased depending on their level.

    Because they were a skilled swords class they needed to evenly distribute stats into endurance, strength, and dexterity. Since they were a class related to magic, they had to put points into wisdom and knowledge. Since they were followed the faith of God, their faith stat was around 200 to 300.

    But Weed's faith stat in respect to the paladins was nearly 400.

    Needless to say, the priest over time usually had more. But after hunting with the paladins he cooked food and repairing equipment for them during the break otherwise they would be able to hunt.

    They were extremely addicted.

    As time passed, soon Weed and the paladins were standing near the village with the giant black castle in front of them.

    Alveron removed the curse from the last of the paladins.

    "Divine light please free the power of restraints that are twisted here."

    The light came down and dispelled the curse on the statue.

    "Under the command of the High Priest we have come to rescue you."

    At this point, the paladins kneeled in front of Weed to get informed of the situation.

    "The church is here to recover Fargo's crown and rid of the True Blood Vampire Clan that threatens the peace of the village."
    "From here on, I would like to follow the noble commander's commands."

    The paladins were keen to follow Weed's commands thanks to the increase in his leadership and faith stats.

    By then, he had completely secured the village.

    A total of 159 paladins. A total of 38 priests.

    A grand total of 199 people including Weed and Alveron.

    The tremendous black giant felt overwhelming.

    Bards would sing tales of its horror.

    Ravens ominously circled the building and the paladins trembled.

    "A total of 5 floors"

    Weed looked up the at the castle.

    The makeshift windows had curtains covering them and were barricaded with wood on the outsides.

    "Okay. I'll take that challenge."

    Weed led the priests and paladins into the castle.

    Kureureureung!

    He simultaneously pushed both of the doors open at once.

    "..."

    Weed took a step back quietly.

    "Let us advance! In the name of the goddess we will take out the True Blood Vampires and liberate the Province of Morata!"

    "Woowaah!"

    Weed and the paladins entered inside the building and then the door slammed shut by itself. As if nothing had ever happened.

    Back to top


    Chapter 10 : Battle of The Black Castle



    "Living humans."

    "Paladins!"

    "The curse on the paladins in the town was removed!"

    As soon as they entered the black castle they were greeted by about 50 vampires.

    Their eyes shining with bloodlust.

    They grabbed their flapping cloaks with their long nails and flew across the space inside the castle to close the distance between them and the paladins.

    Some of them used magic to summon bats. The vampire bats could also deal a small amount of damage!

    "Light, to defeat thy darkness! Holy Night!"
    "Light, to defeat thy darkness! Holy Light!"

    Alveron and the nearby priests used holy magic simultaneously.

    "Aaaaaa!"

    "It's too bright!"

    The vampires clamored to cover their eyes as the bright light sprayed down on them. The vampires that had been airborne were dropping down.

    Members of the clergy usually had magic to weaken the ability of the undead and creatures of the darkness.

    Typical healing spells were powerful offensive magic against the undead and vampires.

    Amidst the holy magic, the paladins brandished their swords gallantly.

    Chukaak!

    Vampire blood sprayed everywhere.

    It was a one-sided massacre.

    Until now, none of the paladins or priests had died. They overwhelmed the 50 vampires with sheer numbers. It wasn't a very difficult opponent.

    Backed by the priests' holy magic, the paladins were able to attack the vampires. The paladins did not have much risk to their lives since the priests were constantly healing and dispelling.

    Weed also took on one of the vampires.

    "Sword Dance!"

    The Imperial Formless Sword Technique's 4th form!

    Weed danced around brandishing his sword flamboyantly.

    He actually just moved around monotonously and struck the vital points of the enemy, but the skill created afterimages.

    He went to attack and destroyed while creating almost no openings.

    While they were busy attacking in a wrong direction, he would close the gap.



    Your level has increased.

    Weed hadn't taken care of a vampire for a long time so his level rose by one.

    Prior to leveling up, his experience had been at 56%, but more than 226 experience points went to the 30% leech.

    'Ohh...it's too good to boost up!'

    It was unfair that he had had to give up the kills to the paladins until now. In the plains and village he had not hunted so that the paladins would get strong faster, but now he didn't need to do so anymore.

    Therefore Weed was hunting.

    Whenever a vampire died, it dropped some items.



    Vampire Fangs:
    Durability: 50/50

    Penetrates the enemy's body to absorb blood. Though unusual, it can be used in alchemy to create items.

    Restriction:
    Level 300.

    Options:
    If used to create a weapon, then it can absorb the enemy's vitality!

     



    Vampire Cloak:
    Durability: 80/80

    A cloak worn by the nobility of the darkness. It was very appropriate for its owner. Flight is possible when transformed.

    Restriction:
    Level 250

    Options:
    Bat transformation.
    In battle, it is possible to fly away.
    When transformed, the defense from equipment does not apply.
    Faith –50.
    Appeal to woman+25.
    All other stats -25.

    And 3 gold and 25 silver.

    Vampires were very rich monsters.

    Weed looked around as he pocketed the items. The paladins had finished the battle and were waiting for him. The level of the paladins was much higher, so they caught the vampires quickly.

    "Let us move to the first floor. Alveron, remove the curse from the statues.

    The first floor had a total of 50 petrified paladins.

    Alveron removed the curses while Weed and the paladins searched for others captives.

    There were a few vampires in the nearby rooms, but they were not enough to stop the heavily armed paladins.

    They searched the first floor without much resistance.

    All of the rooms on the first floor.

    There were also numerous other statues, the farmers and villagers.

    "Alveron, remove the curse on them."

    "Yes."

    Alveron's holy magic freed each of them and they fell to the floor.

    Of the many people, the bearded elder spoke up softly.

    "Oh, are you our saviors?

    "Saviors?"

    "We are the residents of the Morata Province from when the forces of darkness invaded. We were here suffering, incapacitated. We have waited for our savior to come..."

    "..."

    "We have been waiting for a very long time for you to come. All of the villagers of Morata Province have been turned to stone, our families and our brethren. Savior, please have pity and help us. As a reward we will give you whatever we can."

    Ttiring!



    The Curse of the Province of Morata

    The True Blood Vampires occupying the territory have turned all the villagers into distasteful stone decorations. They spend their time in pain. Save the people.

    Difficulty: B.
    Compensation: Rainbow Cloth
    Quest limitations: Tier 2 Holy Magic to remove the curse.

    Weed did not worry too much.

    With plenty of clerics in the party to remove the curse from the statues in the city, the quest was triggered because Weed had brought Alveron to find the Crown of Fargo.

    Difficulty B.

    He already had one. He had been commissioned to defeat the vampires in the black castle anyways.

    "We will make it our duty to see that they are saved."



    - You have accepted the quest.

    Weed and the paladins went up to the second floor.

    Nearly 150 True Blood Vampires awaited their arrival.

    Other than vampires, there were also minions with them, numbering nearly 100 in total.

    Altogether there were 250 enemies.

    With the number of paladins they had rescued on the first floor added to their ranks, it became too simple.

    "Attack!"
    "Ah waooooh!"
    "Let us fight against the evil hoard!"

    The paladins had received blessings and protection magic from the priests and were now raiding the vampires. The paladins were well organized, but soon after the fight began the vampires started their counterattack.

    "Dark Barrier!"
    "Dark Arrow!"
    "Healing Hand!"

    The magic clashed terribly.

    Holy magic from the priests spread to fight the darkness being shot from the dark bows.

    Weed did not engage in direct combat. With such a large clash of magic, it was possible to end up dead from a random attack.

    "Alveron, don't idle by, fight hard."
    "Yes Weed."
    "Use more power! Provide more support! Paladins with low health get in the back!"

    Weed commanded the forces from the rear. The paladins were lined up against the dense number of vampires. They were the best defensive tankers there could be, since the priest had layered protective magic on them. On the side, the priests were instructed to constantly support.

    They attacked the remainder of the vampires.

    Weed had separated the vampires into groups. Defending against the enemy attack and wiping out the weaker side. This approach was more convenient for the priests to prevent them from dying, taking advantage of their supportive role to also prevent the paladins from dying.

    They would switch to the offensive for a reckless assault, then to the defensive when they were in danger, to give the priests time to heal as well as use holy magic to launch another offensive.

    The densely packed paladins and priests were united in battle, fighting in the most optimal conditions.

    "Let's attack!"
    "The Commander ordered us to attack!"

    For the paladins it was not an easy battle, but they eventually won.

    From hunting the high level vampires, the paladins had been able to increase their level.

    Furthermore, the support from the priests was enough to overwhelm the True Blood Vampires' individual blessings.

    On the second floor, 30 paladins and 40 priests were rescued. In the meantime, Weed had the villagers rescued as well.

    'They're getting kind of hungry; I'll have to do something.'

    Weed took out a pot and started cooking.

    Usually the priests and paladins would have watched him cook carefully, but now they were doing everything they could to get farther away.

    Looking at the pot made his eyes hurt.

    It hurt so much that Weed was crying as he made the stew.

    "Is it alright to eat it?"

    "Please..."

    "It is overflowing with faith."

    Weed handed out bowls of stew to the paladins. The ingredients for it were the Avian eggs and the Celestial Fruit!

    Finishing the quest required a significant amount of risk. The celestial fruits increased intellect and luck, so it was good to eat it before going to hunt. Luck increased the item and money drop rates from monsters.

    So now was the time to use the ingredients. He used the Avian eggs and the Celestial Fruit to make a stew.

    In addition, he added one more ingredient to the mix: garlic.

    The stew with plenty of garlic formed a resistance against vampires to some extent.

    "Woohuk"

    "Puaahhh, it's too spicy, I need some snow."

    Tears trickled down the paladins' faces as they ate the stew.

    There was a tough battle ahead, so there wasn't just stew. Weed cried as he put together dishes such as pickled garlic, garlic salad and garlic sandwich one after another. The relatively docile priests now had tears running down their faces and runny noses from the strong garlic.

    The third floor of the black castle had 200 True Blood Vampires waiting for them.

    "Khalkkalkkal! It seems that they have forgotten the horrors of dark magic. The food needs to be reminded of who their Master is. Charm!"

    "Oh look, that knight is coming to us. He has become dominated by our spell. Wonderful!"

    The Vampire Queen had appeared.

    They tried their illusionary magic to seduce the paladins.

    "You heinous creatures! Your vampire magic will not work on me!"

    "This is crazy!"

    The paladins began to attack with their swords as they let the priests take care of support.

    The vampires tried to use their magic against the priests to control the paladins.
    Once they had entered the black castle they were unable to leave.

    Without the Ice Dragon statue increasing the priests and paladin fighting spirit, they were affected by the charm magic.

    But not all the priests,

    "Those filthy bastards! Those disobedient rascals! These vampires deserve to die."
    "This world needs to be freed from darkness!"
    "Goddess Freya, bring your followers back onto the right path. Cleansing!"

    Alveron and the rest of the sane priests used cleansing magic.

    Weed thought as he analyzed the situation.

    "First, kill the Vampire Queen and the crisis ends."

    But the Vampire Queen was well protected in the middle of the enemies. Weed would get killed before he would be able to kill them.

    "Alveron, heal the priests before the paladins."
    "Yes Weed."

    Alveron finished purifying the priests. The priests then healed the knights that were under the spell. The priests were doing a good job, but the Vampire Queen was constantly interfering.

    Weed had originally planned to have the paladins and priests fight the vampires no matter how the enemies were arranged. His formation with priests as the rear support would not fail.

    However, the magic caused the paladins to attack their own colleagues and made the priests unable to heal.

    The vampire attacks had been suppressed to some extent because of the strong smell of garlic on the paladins, but it was only a matter of time. It was a huge emergency!

    Weed radiated as he gathered his mana.

    "Hey! You! Guys! Go! Attack! The! Damn! Vampires!"



    Skill: Lions Roar has been used.

    Morale of the allies in the range of the skill has increased by 200%.
    Any confusion is cleared.
    For 5 minutes, leadership will be increased by 170%.

    He used the Lion's Roar skill that he had trained in the mountains.

    A high intensity shout came out.

    At that moment, all of the Vampire Queen's tactics became useless.

    Weed's leadership was now at a sufficient enough level to command the paladins and priests. Without the leadership stat, the paladins and priests could not be commanded. There would also be higher level soldiers that would not listen to commands. Under the influence of his higher leadership, the paladins followed Weed's absolute commands. They were faster and more accurate in following out his commands.

    His Lion's Roar skill's range extended to the area of the vampires as well. With the advanced level skill the opponent's movements was suppressed as an additional effect.

    "Die!

    The paladins drove their blades to rip apart the vampires. The Vampire Queen tried to use her illusionary skills to manipulate the paladins, but it failed. She lacked the physical abilities that other vampires usually had. Weed used the Lion's Roar skill frequently regardless of the mana-cost.

    "Hyaahat! Die!"

    All of the vampires launched an attack at Weed.

    Weed was the target of the vampires, since his Lion's Roar skill made him a top-priority target.

    With great difficulty, Weed and the paladins managed to clear the third floor.

    With the soldiers that they rescued from the floor, they now had 300 paladins and 100 priests!

    That was everyone that the Church of Freya had dispatched to retrieve the Crown of Fargo.

    4th floor!

    The remaining 300 True Blood Vampires were waiting.

    With the addition of the paladins and priests, Weed obtained a complete victory due to the significant increase in soldiers.

    Now, in the black castle, all the True Blood Vampires had been defeated except for one.

    The Vampire Lord!

    Tori was the clan leader with a level of 400. He was also known to be the one that had the Crown of Fargo.

    "Please rescue her..."

    The daughter of one of the villagers had been turned into stone and had been placed on the 5th floor because of her beauty. Her name was Prina.

    A common trait of vampires was that they enjoyed decorations such as pretty girls.

    "It would have been nice if it had been another side quest."

    Weed looked over at the paladins and priests.

    There were a solid 300 paladins and 100 priests.

    'If only I could keep them as my soldiers...'

    But they were paladins of the Church of Freya. No matter how high their friendship level was, Weed would not be able to get them to follow him. Thus he was only allowed to lead the troop until the quest was completed.

    It was in the human nature to win a battle as easily as possible. Weed hated to sacrifice time. Battle should be fought as efficiently as possible. Only fight the vampires if you are able to defeat them. If you couldn't win, then don't fight. It was important to win without losing anything.

    Weed had spent a lot of time to raise the level of the priests and paladins to a sufficient amount. Through the combination of the paladins and priests, the conditions to win the battle had been cleared. However, you had to be even more cautious if you were winning. You had to take the victory safely by taking turns in fighting and resting.

    Weed hunted alone, but that was more reckless than supporting the group. Knowing that, it was impossible to abandon the quests since he had already come this far.

    Weed went up to the fifth floor with the paladins and priests. There was an aristocratic young man sitting in a golden chair.

    The Vampire Lord Tori!

    He had white skin like a fairy and dark black hair. His had a slim body, resembling a woman's. He wore a bejeweled crown on his head. He was handsome, but the contrast between his pale, white skin and his black clothing was grotesque.

    Weed looked over at the crown that was on his head.

    'I presume that's the Crown of Fargo.'

    The last goal had been reached. However, finishing it was going to be the most difficult. Tori was appreciating a statue of a beautiful girl.

    "Oh, it's beautiful. Have you ever seen such a beautiful statue?"
    "..."

    The paladins stopped the moment they saw Tori.

    One of the two virtues of a knight was their bravery, but seeing such a powerful enemy had them trembling in fear. In an army, the invisible factor known as morale was very important. A lower morale caused the attack power to drop.

    "I have seen a more beautiful statue."

    Weed decided to go with the momentum.

    "You have seen a more beautiful statue than this?"

    "Yes."

    "Where?"

    Tori got up as if he wanted to go there immediately.

    "In Baran Village at the southern part of the Rosenheim Kingdom."

    "That is not a palace or the city of a church. I have never even heard the name of that town. Why should I believe that there is a beautiful statue in such a place?"

    "It's up to you to believe it. It was a statue that I made. However this is not even close to the Ice Beauty statue that I made."

    Tori was overwhelmed as he smiled.

    "What is your profession?"

    "Sculptor."

    "An artist! Making your life enriching! Being praised in abundance! Eating and filling your stomach so that you can enjoy life! That is why I hate the Church of Freya. Humans are mistaken. They have lived thinking that abundance is good. Taking what belongs to another. Only that is Eternal and beautiful. Humans that choose to sacrifice beauty cannot enjoy art. It takes the nobility of the night, the vampires, to appreciate art!"

    Tori got off of his chair and revealed his true form. Long nails grew from his hands and fangs protruded from his mouth like a snake. He was changing his form to start the battle.

    "I want to see what you look like drenched in blood! This is what it means to be a vampire.
    I hereby welcome you to my castle humans."

    "Paladins forward, concentrate on defense!"

    Under the protection of magic and blessings, the paladins urgently made a layered formation.

    "Kyaahah!"

    Tori gazed with a mean look at the line of paladins.

    Jjeojeojeok!

    From the ankle upwards, they began to petrify. Tori had a curse to turn his enemies into stone. This was the skill that had turned the 300 paladins and 100 priests into statues before.

    "Alveron!"

    Weed called Alveron to use the dispel magic he had memorized. In the meantime, a full-fledged battle went underway. Tori struck the paladins like lightning. Wielding his nails like knives, every now and then paladin blood would splatter. Priests continued healing as they had in every battle until now.

    'We're going to win'

    Weed's eyes shone.

    A level 400 monster had caused him a lot of worry. The paladins were excellent at blocking attacks. Even the little damage they did take did not matter that much because of the priests healing. No matter how much damage was done, the priests were able to quickly restore it. Taking away the enemy's strength, it was a fighting cycle by a large number of enemies.

    Tori's health and mana continued to drop!

    But there was an unseen variable!

    "Tornado Blade!"

    Tori entered the fray playfully. Then a tremendous storm swept up the paladins. Those in the path of the tornado had their health reduced by nearly a third.

    "Healing Hand!"

    "Heal!"

    "Recover!"

    The priests continued to heal. The radiant white light began to heal the group, but Tori used his skill again.

    "Tornado Blade!"

    With that attack about 20 paladins burst into gray flames.

    Eternal rest.

    That was the fate of the slain.

    Tori moved relentlessly. His health and mana were colossal. Tori's long nails cut down like knifes.

    "Aaaah!"

    "Goddess Freya!"

    Once again, a bunch of paladins turned into gray flames. However, Tori's power gradually fell, just as Weed had planned. But Tori suddenly rushed near a paladin and bit down to suck his blood.

    "Keuah!"

    The paladin's complexion was rapidly disappearing. Tori had recovered his mana that he had used. His health and wounds were restored and his power was restored.

    "Behold my attack, you savage sheep!"

    Tori had begun to fight at his maximum health and mana. Whenever his health and mana fell, he used his unique vampire skill to shower them with a wide area magic. The paladins tried to avoid it, but they could not escape. Tori moved with tremendous speed and caught the paladins.

    'The paladins that I spent all my time training...'

    Weed was tearing up at the scene. The paladins he had raised by feeding, repairing equipment, and to whom he had given up his hunting grounds were helpless in front of Tori. To make matters worse, the paladins that fell to the vampire were slowly rising from the ground.

    The faithful members of the church were now slaves to the vampire lord.

    A vampire paladin!

    Even without holy powers, their sword skills were still intact. Tori was increasing the number of slaves.

    "Keoheoheong!"

    The paladins began to yell out in fatigue. This was not confusion magic but rather Tori's plan.

    "Healing Hand!"

    "Heal!"

    Fortunately, the priests were still alive. However, it remained unchanged that the vampires could fight endlessly. This was the tactic that Tori had used to exhaust and wipe the first group of paladins and priests.

    "Keuhahahahah!"

    It was the optimal conditions for Tori. His wickedness and twisted beauty could be distinctly felt. But Weed still had means to reverse the situation.

    "If this is how it's going to be then we can't help it! Priests, stop the treatment of friendly units and attack him."

    Since that moment the situation was reversed. Using the high vitality of the paladins to stop Tori, the priests casted their healing spells on the vampire, which were deadly to any vampire! Since the priests concentrated their attacks on Tori, the paladins had to use their own healing spells to recover their health.

    "Kueahah!"

    Tori killed a few more paladins, but his health gradually fell. He was falling under the continuous attacks of the priests. With low health, Tori began looking for food. At that moment, Tori caught a paladin and used his vampire skills. Weed was looking for a loophole. No matter how powerful, every monster had a weakness. Not to mention that the vampires had the biggest weakness. Their completely unprotected bodies.

    "Engraving Knife!"

    Weed's sword was covered in a clear blue light.

    Color Spectrum!

    Most of the times, a sword skill had a red or black hue. However, as an engraver, Weed's intermediate skill gave him a blurred blue light.

    "Sword Kaiser!" (For all of U who haven't googled it already, it means Sword Emperor or emperor of swords)

    Weed's sword gathered energy from his body. Then he flew forward and pierced the paladin and Tori together.

    The paladin had become a vampire!

    Since he didn't see Weed behind the paladin, his sword penetrated straight into the vampires heart.



    -A fatal blow has been struck.



    -Tori's vampire abilities have been removed.

    The vampire's weakness was the heart! He had stabbed the heart with the sword like a stake in the heart. Agatha's holy attribute gave twice the damage to the undead. Tori suffered a fatal blow.

    Sword Kaiser was the last technique. It was the most mana and stamina draining skill Weed could use! The damage from collecting all of Weed's mana into a single attack was enormous. Tori became unsteady from the large amount of damage. But as a high level monster, he did not die.

    "Fucker...."

    Throwing aside the dead paladin, he caught Weed with both of his hands.

    "I'll eat you instead. Kueahak!"

    Tori opened his mouth. At the moment the shiny sharpened fangs drew closer to the nape of his neck. Weed strared at him and opened his mouth to let out his breath.

    "Woowaak! The rotten smell of garlic!"

    "So I heard you like art, is that right?"

    "I'm going to kill you!"

    Tori chased as Weed immediately turned and ran. He enjoyed the feeling of fighting significantly stronger monsters. However, the enemy was too strong. His mana was depleted so he couldn't even use the Engraving Knife skill. Compared to Tori, whose damage was cut by half, a simple attack was very risky for Weed.

    "Heal me! Paladins kill him!"

    Weed was under the constant treatment of Alveron as he fled. While running away, his stamina and health was being restored. Tori was constantly being attacked by the priests and was slowly dying. As expected of a level 400 monster, he was able to get past and kill a few paladins. But under the heavily concentrated magic he fell to the ground and died.

    The paladins that had been turned into vampires by Tori stopped moving. When Tori had died, the magic that was controlling their spirit was released. None of the priests had died in the battle, but 178 paladins, more than half of them, had lost their lives.

    'It's a pity.'

    Weed had depleted his mana and was disappointed. He had not dealt the final blow to Tori with his own hands. With the vast experience of a level 400 monster, he would have gotten at least 4-5 levels.

    As Tori died, he dropped a crown and a necklace. Weed picked up the two items. The Crown of Fargo was heavy.



    -The Church of Freya's treasure, the Crown of Fargo was retrieved.

    "Identify!"


    The Crown of Fargo. Durability: 2000/2000
    One of the three sacred treasures of the Goddess Freya.
    The crown is a symbol of authority. It gives the firm belief to rule over others. It bestows the power to rule over the church's army. With the Crown of Fargo, the army will be absolutely loyal.

    Restriction: a job related to the Clerical class, recognized by the Church of Freya. Leadership 800. Faith 1200.

    Options: Raises the soldiers' moral.
    Soldiers do not surrender to the enemy.
    Strength +150. Dexterity + 150. Stamina +150.
    All other stats +50.
    Fame + 500.

    It was indeed a Holy Treasure of the Church of Freya. Weed admired it and then a message window appeared.



    -For observing a beautiful object, art has increased by 20.

    The Crown of Fargo was adorned with glittering jewels. It was made with exquisite craftsmanship and elegance. The light that shone from the jewels had unparalleled beauty. That was the feeling being transmitted to Weed.

    "And now the necklace...Identify!"



    Black Necklace of Life:
    Durability 50/50.

    It was crafted from ancient black magic items and imbued with an unknown power. The Undead Lord Balkan made this item for his subordinates.

    Restriction: Unknown
    Option: Unknown

    "Whoa."

    Weed exclaimed.

    If his hunch was right, this item was able to summon Tori out to fight. But like the Death Knight Van Hawk, he needed to persuade him first.

    'Better keep it stored for now.'

    Weed crammed the Black Necklace of Life into a corner of his bag. Since Tori died, the black castle began to change. Beams of light leaked in through the blocked windows. The deteriorated walls and floor were brightened up by the light, changing the atmosphere. It was as if the days of past splendor were returning.

    "The divine light removes the power of restraint that binds and distorts freedom."

    The statue of the village girl finally returned to normal. The villagers of Morata came to give their thanks.

    "Thank you, thank you! Now we will be able to live in peace."



    The Curse of the Province of Morata quest has been completed.
    The petrified residents have been freed.

    It will be tough, but do not give up hope; for the textile business in Morata Province will begin reconstruction.]

    -Fame has increased by 900.
    -Friendship with Morata residents increased by 25.
    -Level has risen.
    -Level has risen.
    -Level has risen.
    -Level has risen.
    -Level has risen.

    A Rank B difficulty quest. He went up a staggering 8 levels. Then the villagers laid out something wrapped in cloth.

    "Here, in absence of a reward, take this."



    -You have received 100 pieces of Rainbow Cloth.
    -You have received 200 pieces of Premium Deer Leather.

    For sewing, Rainbow Cloth was Tier 1 material in making clothes. The Cloth was lustrous with light. The leather was a great material for buckskin clothing.

    "What to do with these things...I'll just keep them for now and see what I can do with them later."

    Weed neatly stacked the batch of Rainbow Cloth on top of each other into his backpack.

    The quest in Morata had been completed. When Weed went to the teleport gate, the Paladins said.

    "Please convey the High Priest this message. The town is powerless to stop the monsters. We have decided to stay here to keep order in this town. We will stay here and keep Balkan's army of darkness away."

    The paladins and priests remained behind. Weed and Alveron went back to the teleport gate and the priests from the church gathered in the cave.

    "Savior, an oracle has divined that you have safely resolved the quest. The High Priest is waiting. Please enter the portal."

    "Yes."

    Weed and Alveron went onto the teleport gate. With a dazzling light, they soon disappeared.

    Back to top


    Chapter 11 : Poor Emergence of Broadcasting



    Lee Hyun accessed the item trading site to get information about some of the items he had.

    "This should earn me a decent amount of income..."

    He had spent more than 3 months in the Morata Province. He had to invest that kind of time because of the difficulty of the quest.

    He had acquired a lot of vampire loot: one vampire cape, two boots, and 4 gloves. In addition to his drops, he had gathered various items while hunting out in the field.

    However, for a 3 month hunting, it was lower than he expected. Unlike when he was hunting in Lavias where he could monopolize the items, he had to distribute the items evenly amongst the paladins in battle.

    Even with the help of Alveron, in order to make the chances of the quest succeeding as high as possible he had depleted all of the heavenly fruit and Avian eggs he had.

    He hoped to earn at least 6 million won. If he managed to sell the items, 6 million won would be a lot of money. However, to get a college degree, it would only last about three months.

    'That means I have to earn 2 million won a month. However, in six months I have only managed to earn 3 million won.'
    yun Lee, his sister, and his grandmother.

    For a family of three, they had a fixed income of 200 thousand won. Everything that was left over went into saving for the degree. In one year, his sister was going to enter a university. In a single year, a freshman spends more than 10 million won and it increases each year.

    With all these in mind, when his sister will go to college she will need a monthly minimum of 3.5 million won.

    The reason for this was so that she could socialize with others, make friends, learn various skills, and spend time roaming with others.

    Royal Road!

    It already dominated the item trading site.

    Therefore, users earned a lot of money from the game. Users were especially greedy. They formed a guild in the capital or a castle and received exclusive hunting grounds. Lee Hyun was left trying to compete with them.

    'I don't care whatever others do. I only want my share. With time the items will sell.'

    Lee Hyun had great confidence for this part.

    Triple Diamond Rating.

    Thanks to it, the items that Lee Hyun posted on the trading site will have a prominently displayed position until it was sold.

    "Okay."

    Lee Hyun had a moment of satisfaction.

    Then the door rattled as his sister came in.

    "Oppa, it's time to study."

    "..."

    His GED test was less than 1 month away.

    Lee Hyun spent 2 hours a day with his sister studying in order to pass the exam.

    Beep!

    The phone rang in the middle of studying.

    Lee Hyun thought that maybe it was the item trading site contacting him and picked up the phone.

    -Hi. This is CTS Media.

    The cheerful and feminine voice of Nahee Yoon.

    Lee Hyun had heard it once when he had already sold his account.

    "What's going on? Did you purchase my items again?"

    CTS Media.

    A department was holding an important meeting.

    "Our shares in the broadcasting market are increasingly falling. Our sector has less than 7% ratings for broadcasting the game."

    "Is it that too many people are not interested in broadcasts about the game? Too many game companies have turned away from the game approach and trying using a lot of advertising. We have been too focused on the commercial approach while other companies are increasing their revenue and viewership by focusing on the game itself."

    "There could be a reason, but that we require a major program like the other broadcasters is also true, so we should have a program about the most popular game Royal Road, right?"

    More than 90% of gamers in Korea played the game.

    Royal Road.

    The VRMMORPG caught the attention of people on a worldwide basis.

    Generally it became part of the regular news, but there could be time to make a separate program about the game.

    In recent years, even office workers were able to travel abroad on vacation at home without having to go anywhere by using Royal Road, except, they become a little bit hooked and it turns into a social problem.

    "Viewership for programs associated with Royal Road is doing well overall. However, our overall viewership has declined. It says that viewers have stopped following our programs."

    "What is the specific cause? I have gotten all sorts of celebrities and comedians to come onto the show as commentators for the game."

    The directors of each department were very embarrassed.

    Famous celebrities in Korea.

    They had hired high cost A-class celebrities.

    These programs appeared to continually progress with lower viewership as they were difficult to understand.

    "Why don't you bring in the more well-known entertainers?"

    "You mean hire the even more expensive ones? I did that for a little bit, but every time I do the viewership drops deceptively."

    "The celebrities avoid doing the broadcasts now too."

    Each of the directors talked for a very long time but the answer did not come.

    Back in the day, CTS Media was said to be the most popular broadcasting station. It was the first broadcasting station that brought out popular celebrities. It did not take long for the ratings to rise after celebrities started appearing on the show. With the appearance of the celebrities, viewership increased from low to normal.

    That was why they did not discard the celebrity card. But now it was the main topic after the repeated drops in the ratings.

    Celebrities in a game. It became cliché.

    Cute celebrities showing pitiful expressions from catching a rabbit.

    They didn't know the rules of the game or how to get a basic quest from an NPC and were lost in the kingdoms in the game and didn't know which cities they were in.

    The broadcasters had gotten a lot of good equipment and items for hunting.

    They wanted to find a good party that would increase the popularity of their show.

    This annoyed the viewers.

    Royal Road had meaning in the name itself.

    Because anyone was capable of becoming Emperor, it was their ambitious to challenge the goal of becoming Emperor.

    Users took risks in this dream. Each with a different way, even if the purpose itself was the same.

    A happy life of challenges and adventure.

    Even since Royal Road was came forth the suicide rate dropped substantially.

    Viewers found watching celebrities hunting in a VRMMORPG almost hilarious.

    "The most fundamental problem comes first; it is necessary to increase our incorporation of Royal Road a bit."

    Everyone sympathized with the Director of Management.

    "Of course."

    "We should have done that sooner."

    "We should get rid of all future plans for celebrities playing the game."

    "Viewership may diminish temporarily but sometimes you need to try."

    "Welcome."

    The Planning Department welcomed the Ministry of Finance with open arms.

    "A decisive measure to boost viewership amongst our broadcasters...we need to organize a special program."

    "A special program?"

    "So far, viewers have relied on the news to get informed about the game. However there is a limit for each city or kingdom. Nothing like a boring newscast in front of a desk. Let us introduce a way to get closer to the users."

    "Closer you say..."

    "Let's select 8 people in total and have them tell their stories. They should have videos stored inside of their capsules."

    "Yes they do."

    Capsules made by Unicorn for enjoying virtual reality games.

    Each boasted various modern devices. One of them recorded media. As it said within the instructions, inside was a stored media recording device that can play video.

    "We can broadcast their stories and they can give information about the secrets of Royal Road and introduce new ideas. It's fun for people to find out other people's stories isn't it?"

    "The story of how it all started for a user."

    From there CTS Media launched a broadcast, selecting users for it. They primarily targeted the higher level and famous users from Royal Road.

    Viewers will follow the program about how the strongest users became the way they did, as well as the quests they did and the secrets they had. Of course, they won't disclose all the secrets but, even with a little, users will come flocking uncontrollably.

    It included martial arts as well as how to get rich, but they sought out the desire of the user base for the premiere recruits.

    Users of Royal Road, the higher levels and the fanatics all had secrets of their own. These people led guilds and made colonies. They governed the affairs of the city in an influential kingdom and substantially increased the number of people in the cities through planning, these people were often selected.

    In addition one more person, Thor the blacksmith.

    It was pointed out a few times for the broadcast. The craftsman profession was poorly represented so a class that increased the defense of equipment was selected.

    And then the last person.

    -Is this Lee Hyun?

    "Yes."

    -Hi. It's been a long time since we talked. I am the secretary of the President of CTS Media, Nahee Yoon.

    "Yes, it's been too long."

    -I thank you on behalf of the company for having sold us your account. CTS Media used your account to hunt monsters in each region of the map in the Continent of Magic and it was aired as a special program, remember?

    CTS Media.

    He immediately recognized the company. He had sold his account for 3.09 billion won, a huge amount of money that he could never make in years.. Thanks to them, he could clear his debts and start a new life.

    "So it's this..."

    He had put the items on the auction site and was waiting. Now he had been waiting for a response.

    "Just calling to say hi, to see if you remember me."

    His response was blunt.

    "I don't remember."

    -Ah...so have you not heard?

    "I'm a little busy."

    Hyun Lee's words were true.

    Back then, and even now, he had never spent any time in leisure because he had to prepare for his future plans for Royal Road. He did not have the kind of time to be watching a game broadcast.

    -Yes. I understand.

    Nahee Yoon was silent for a long time. Then she asked a brief question.

    -Actually, this time our company is planning a program and wants to see if we can invite Lee Hyun. So I'd like to ask you a question. Are you currently playing Royal Road?

    "Yes."

    CTS Media was planning several different kinds of measures.

    How the users that play Royal Road within the country and abroad was one of them. But it did not make sense to exclude celebrities. Celebrities appearing in reality for signings would attract enthusiasts. However, it would do nothing to pull a person that was too famous into the game.

    Strong villains.

    People in positions of power.

    High level players.

    There would be no problem if they could fill the eight positions with those. However, it would be interesting to come up with 1 unknown person that they did not know the class or level of in the game.

    It would attract clumsy viewers.

    A protagonist who's actions would cause trepidation.

    These requirements, seeing as they could not create a fictional character, put the recruitment into hiatus. They had to consider several people.

    Then they remembered a program in the past that was associated with the Continent of Magic.
    Weed.

    The game character with the highest stats in the game.

    The same person who was wrapped in a veil of mystery and legend unlike any other.

    The person who enjoyed fighting monsters, whom nothing could stand up to his crushing force.

    Everyone that knew Continent of Magic knew Weed.

    Then if he was in Royal Road. The tale of a legend in another game.

    Many users had their expectations.

    So this was what they wanted to try.

    "This is the person we need!"

    More than one year had passed.

    Just like how fish cannot leave water, they thought that Lee Hyun would be in Royal Road.

    -Can I ask what level you are in Royal Road?

    Nahee Yoon asked her question in a very cautious tone. Asking unfamiliar people about items or levels was the same as asking for information.

    "219."

    -219? That, that's great.

    But Nahee Yoon was slightly disappointed. The man was the one who had reigned supreme in the Continent of Magic. It was little more than a year now, so level 219 was lower than expected. It was a pretty high level, but there were quite the number of people around that level.

    But she did not know.

    Lee Hyun had spent one year preparing for Royal Road, but the time he played was not very long. Nahee Yoon then explained the situation to Lee Hyun.

    -Lee Hyun, there is a newly organized program in which we need your assistance.

    "You want me to go on television?"

    Nahee Yoon replied to Hyun Lee's questions.

    -No, we're not. We want to make a story about how you have played the game until now. Send it to us and we will broadcast it. Of course it will undergo inspection.

    "So you want footage of my game play and I'll receive money?"

    -Send us only a brief portion. What quests you did, where and how you raised your level. As well as what kind of secrets you used to help you level up.

    "How much will I get for it?"

    -I think 500 thousand won per episode. It gets broadcast twice a week. It may be small, but after it gets aired 20 times, depending on the ratings, you can get rehired.

    It was not a bad deal. Lee Hyun accepted the offere since it would allow money to come in.

    CTS Media Counsel to his house to came to sign a formal contract. Lee Hyun meticulously studied the contract to confirm that there were no unfavorable provisions. Even if the ratings fall, the broadcast gets interrupted, or if they change the show, Lee Hyun will still get 20 payments. Lee Hyun spent the entire night wondering what to do.

    "What should I put!"

    The contract needed to be handed over with the manuscript for the first part. But how would he start? He was blocked at the very first sentence. He seemed to understand a little bit about the feelings authors have when writing.

    'Writing is not the same as writing posts. I'm not a real writer and I just can't send any story. In fact, especially if it's defective.'

    After that, Lee Hyun just instantly wrote the manuscript.

    The Production Department of CTS Media received the manuscript of the first week and freaked out.

    Others spent a lot of hard effort to write their manuscripts. Though they were gamers and not writers, they tended to see useless chatter with friends and talking to be unsuitable narration and would not be inserted, so many of the manuscripts were dropped.

    However, this was the alternative and was too plain.

    Even for a brief overview, it was too much.



    Day 1
    Rosenheim Kingdom, started at the Citadel of Serabourg.
    Went to the training center all day to beat the scarecrow.



    Day 2
    Beat the scarecrow all day.



    Day 3
    Beat the scarecrow all day.



    Day 4
    Beat the scarecrow all day.

    ...

    All seven days for the week was just that.

    "Is somebody messing with us or what!"

    The manager of the Production Department was hysterical. It was hard not to be upset.

    "He's going to explode."

    "This time he might seriously do it."

    The staff shivered in fear.

    He had broken a few cameras once.

    From a distance away he said.

    "Maybe if we play the video we can be lucky. Many of them are lousy writers. Let me take a look at the video. I may want to plan a broadcast based on it."

    The video broadcast team began to finish the manuscripts. The video of Weed began to play on their monitor and everyone was dumbstruck at what they saw.

    [The 8 Heroes.]

    CTS Media began to broadcast the program. Many stories in Royal Road were currently unknown. The stronger and famous users have all had interviews but it was never known what they did to become strong. Due to the fact that the first broadcast showed the growth process of users, it received huge ratings.

    By being a leader in Royal Road, they became famous.

    They were interested in becoming more famous.

    The 7 people formed a guild or went with friends to do hard quests in the first episode. And then there was one person that was beating a scarecrow to death. At the end of the first episode, the Internet was in a huge uproar.



    -What was with the first broadcast?



    -Do they think that the viewers are a joke? Get it together.



    -I'm spending my paycheck on something like this...Tch."

    Viewers began to bring up this point on the broadcasting board.

    Once, twice, three times.

    The Internet disagreed on what a master gamer should do. But every week, as the story progressed he was the only person that kept doing the same thing, hitting the scarecrow ten thousand times. Viewers began to have strange expectations of the scarecrow beater, wondering what he was going to do. They waited in anticipation for what was going to happen next. But after the scarecrow beater continued on for four times, it disappeared from the show. The broadcasters had appeared and suspended it.

    Back to top

    1 comment:

    1. Anonymous29 March 2018 at 10:47

      My family always say that I am wasting my time here at net, except
      I know I am getting knowledge every day by reading such pleasant posts.

      ReplyDelete