Episode 7. Vigilante (1)
"Ah, it's not here...."
Ted let out a sigh.
The Six-Star Throne was the achievement that would change his gaming life.
An ability that evolved equipped skill orbs to the limit grade, S-rank.
Ted had been a fool to think a skill orb perfectly suited for such an ability would be readily available.
'There is one, but....'
The D-rank skill orbs spread across the stand were usually 5 or 7 coins.
C-rank ones were around 12 to 15 coins.
Once they reached B-rank, the market price formed at around 25 coins.
But there was exactly one item that was 40 coins despite being D-rank.
Active (Mana cost: 400 / Cooldown: 10 minutes)
Charges mana to fire a lightning bullet.
Cast time: 3 seconds / After skill use, firearms cannot be used for 5 seconds due to overheating.
Attack power increases by 0.5% for every 1% increase in proficiency.
Skill orb
It was one of the few area-of-effect attacks available to a Musketeer.
A skill with a similar concept to
As if proving it was D-rank, its attack power was only 30% of a normal attack's. Even so, it was a highly valuable skill orb for the sole reason that it was one of the few area attacks a Musketeer could obtain.
'Besides… for Black and White, low damage isn't a problem.'
But he couldn't buy it. Because he lacked coins.
The rest were mostly equipment items.
'The only remotely useful things are....'
There were a few.
A spellbook that duplicated any document except spellbooks once, the
It was something quite useful while playing the game.
Besides that, items like the ammunition
'But I don't know how my 11 coins will be used, so I should save them for now. For now, I'll have to visit regularly for a month.'
Yet it was a situation where he couldn't even move to earn coins for that.
On the off-chance, he visited the regular Count's commercial district, not the underground one, but it was full of nothing but unremarkable skill orbs.
But it was still too early to be disappointed.
This was a place that sold stolen goods flowing in. The merchandise was refreshed daily. Since the 2nd job advancement took 30 days, he could keep coming and checking the listings during that time.
But just as Ted was about to leave for the Sibori Academy, a man with a suspicious appearance entered the underground market.
He was a user wearing a black mask, with the nickname
'A fence? It doesn't look like he's here to buy things.'
Most users who came here were here to buy goods. But wasn't
"Ugh, is this all you could sell?"
The Masked Man struck the back of the undead merchant's head in irritation.
'Well, I guess there are guys who collect stolen goods and supply them. Let's go back and do the job advancement.'
Ted, who had been glancing over, set aside his regret and headed to the Sibori Musket Academy.
"Shall we begin the 2nd job advancement? Once you begin the advancement process, it is impossible to abandon halfway."
"Yes."
And so he began the advancement process.
Passive skill acquired:
Active skill acquired:
Increases the damage of critical hits made with a musket.
Critical damage increases by 2% for every 1% increase in proficiency.
When jumping, you can jump once more using the foot that activated the skill as the axis.
Jump height increases by 0.02m for every 1% increase in proficiency.
"Since you've received the enlightenments, let us begin at once."
At Raiden's words, the true 2nd job advancement began.
The 2nd job advancement test had two rules.
1. Train inside the academy for at least one hour a day for 30 days following the instructor's orders.
2. Perhaps with the purpose of building rapport with the academy's NPCs, to leave the academy, one could only do so after spending 12 hours inside the academy per day. (You could only move within the territory. Entry and exit outside the territory was impossible.)
Ted recalled those rules and thought deeply.
'Originally, this was time meant for the developers' intention of getting close with NPCs and enjoying the game's various contents for 30 days, but....'
For Ted, who saw level-up status windows flicker like a mirage even while eating and dreamed of stomping on Rangwa's head, he had absolutely no intention of playing around during that time.
"Now, the first day's mission is to hit a target 50 meters away."
"Ah, yes."
Bang!
"...I see. I had a feeling that would happen......."
Raiden laughed awkwardly.
"May I use the personal training ground?"
"Of course. As you wish."
Ted finished that day's mission in the blink of an eye and headed to the personal training ground behind the academy.
Personal training ground.
In this wide open space, countless scarecrows carrying target boards stood in a line as far as 50 meters away.
'Hitting these guys is treated the same as monsters.'
Ted intended to raise his skill proficiencies as much as possible over the next 30 days of the advancement.
Ted was somewhat on the lower side in terms of skill proficiency compared to others. Because he had hunted so easily and quickly,
'Including the two new skills I received here… I'll raise all five skill proficiencies to the max.'
"Summon
From that day on, Ted gritted his teeth and began firing his gun.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
Simply by shooting,
Meanwhile, his feet ceaselessly trained
Fortunately, the scarecrows were judged
And so Ted repeated his training there for several days.
* * *
Ted repeated a life of training at the academy during the day and searching for goods at the underground market at night.
The night of the 5th day of the 2nd job advancement was the same as any other.
'Ugh, seriously....'
But, as expected. There was no decent D-rank skill orb Ted could buy with 11 coins.
Just as he was about to return disappointed, a status window popped up.
—The siege war will begin in 30 days.
—Users who do not wish to participate are requested to leave the territory.
'These bastards. They didn't give up, huh?'
He remembered something he had forgotten.
It seemed the Paprika Special Forces, whom Ted had dealt a harsh blow to, had applied for a siege war.
'Still, if it's in 30 days, I'm lucky this time.'
Ted had no intention whatsoever of getting involved in the siege war.
30 days. Ted happened to finish his Musketeer 2nd job advancement in 25 days. Furthermore, he would soon obtain the Thief job as a dual class from the Thieves' Guild.
Then he could leave the territory without hesitation and head to the neutral zone.
Ted thought so.
Until he logged into the academy the next day.
Boom boom boom crash!
'What?'
It was the next day when Ted logged in.
The sound of something exploding came from the academy's office. Since it was always a quiet place where nobody came, Ted found it strange and headed there.
A fierce argument was in full swing there.
Ted peeked through the window with only his eyes to check the situation.
'A landlord? He's a user?'
A user was cursing at Raiden.
Among the users of Face Chronicle, there were quite a few who purchased buildings to use the game like a pension.
Like real estate, if you had enough money and the proper qualifications, you could obtain buildings and collect rent.
With a tall stature and narrow, slit-like eyes. The user named God Juntae continuously poured curses at Raiden. Then he used magic to smash the office. Raiden offered no argument against him.
"...Do you know how many months of rent you owe? You damned bastard!"
"...If you can't, you gotta pay with items or your body! Huh?"
'Rent? So it's a money problem.'
Concentrating on the faintly audible conversation, Ted could understand the situation. It seemed the Sibori Musket Academy, which had been running deficits, had been unable to pay its rent.
God Juntae soon laid his hands on the rare weapons displayed in Raiden's office. Then the armory manager Ronnaro grabbed his arm and pleaded. But God Juntae's hand came down in a slap.
After hitting Ronnaro's head, he soon took the items and leisurely left the academy.
'Huh?'
Wait? That movement, I've seen it somewhere….
While Ted was pondering briefly, Raiden came out of the office. Ted followed him and spoke.
"Are you alright? Who is that man?"
"...Mr. Ted. I'm sorry, but I'll soon have to transfer your 2nd job advancement to another academy."
"What? What do you mean? Please speak slowly."
Ted frowned and questioned Raiden's words.
Raiden let out a deep sigh as if the ground were sinking.
"The district manager named God Juntae is an outsider. He is also the owner of our building."
Hearing Raiden's words, Ted made a displeased face.
Years ago. Ever since the building fell into God Juntae's hands, the Sibori Musket Academy had faced a new crisis.
He had begun continuously raising the academy's rent for years, citing absurd reasons.
However, Raiden, who inherited Viscount Sibori's will, could not dispose of the building carelessly.
And so after several years. The accumulated rent had grown impossibly large.
"So… today I had no choice but to hand over the rare items the academy held as interest…."
Raiden let out another deep sigh as he spoke.
"What is the reason for suddenly raising the rent?"
"...How would I know? I heard they are raising the rent on all buildings recently… and sweeping up items as interest. Well… outsiders are very interested in money, after all."
Raiden bit his lip tightly.
"Anyway, that's why it has become unavoidable. I too wish to continue the lifeline of this academy that my master established… but I was lacking. It was beyond my ability. Still, I will make sure not to inconvenience you. I will personally contact another academy to transfer your job advancement process."
'What? This is a problem....'
Ted felt a sense of crisis.
Because if the job advancement process was transferred, he would have to start again from day 1.
'Didn't they say the siege war is in 30 days?'
Even if the transfer happened starting tomorrow, a day would pass and his feet would be tied to the territory.
Moreover, a job advancement process that had already begun was impossible to abandon.
Then Ted would be stuck in the territory until the siege war began with no way out.
Once a siege war began, users could not travel in or out of the territory until it ended.
Generally, a siege war was a good opportunity for many users. By participating in a siege war, one could obtain many achievements and titles, and accumulate various battle experiences. Furthermore, because the death penalty was only 1/5, many users would gather under the Count's banner and fall for the charm of siege warfare for dozens of days.
That was right. The problem was this. A siege war was a large-scale battle that took at least a month. At longest, it could go on for several months.
Several months meant hundreds of level-ups for Ted.
The moment Ted got entangled in the siege war, he would suffer a huge loss.
'Damn it… when the status window said it starts in 30 days, I thought I was lucky for once....'
But on the other hand, he also felt uneasy.
And sure enough, how could he get entangled in such an absurd matter and end up tied to the Count's territory?
'But… it's not yet set in stone that I'm trapped.'
Ted thought deeply.
He felt like puzzle pieces were flying around in his head.
'God Juntae....'
Things seen carelessly did not remain in memory but entered the unconscious.
But things seen with focus could pull out the hidden unconscious.
Ted had felt that when God Juntae struck Ronnaro's head just now.
The movement of lightly swinging a palm. Ted searched his memory.
'Where did I see that… ah!'
And when his thoughts organized themselves, he spoke to Raiden.
"Wait a moment. Are you going to give up on the academy like this?"
"What? Are you saying that because you are an outsider, you speak so easily? I have done all I can, and I am heartbroken right now."
"Ah, I'm sorry. Let me rephrase. If there were a chance to save the academy, what would you do?"
"How could there be such a chance… think of the academy's size. The rent is by no means cheap. What has accumulated over the past several years is tens of thousands of gold… it's an amount that could barely be covered by selling everything in the building. Who would invest such money? If not, the overdue rent would have to be waived…."
Tens of thousands of gold! It was hundreds of millions of won in real money. Money that even the current Ted could not obtain immediately.
But Ted hid his feelings and looked Raiden straight in the eyes.
"Ho… don't tell me you mean there is something you can do?"
Raiden's eyes looking at Ted grew wide as well.