◈ Episode 86. Blooming in the Swamp (3)
The Yusra Kingdom.
The ancient kingdom, into which capital and labor had been poured, had by now taken on the appearance of a proper city. Bustling enough to rival one of Arcana’s great cities of the past.
“Wow. It changes from day to day.”
A corner in front of the Golden Palace Plaza.
Players had gathered at the Golden Calf Tavern.
Back when Arcana had been nothing more than a game.
They used to kill time in taverns just like this.
“Sitting here like this really brings back the old days, doesn’t it?”
It was the first time since Arcana had become reality and they themselves had become players.
Looking at the nostalgic scenery of the tavern, they even felt, if only for a moment, as though they had returned to those days.
“Whoa, those mobs are no joke, are they?”
A large screen hung on the tavern’s outer wall.
The footage playing on it engraved the fact that this was not a memory, but reality.
Not only for the players, but now even for the Arcanians who were no longer NPCs.
It was still broad daylight.
Yet the utterly drunk captain of the Shadow Mercenary Corps was already making a scene.
“Daaamn it. That thing. Tell that lump to move his head out of the waaaay.”
The hand Kichi held her glass with twitched.
What had provoked Kichi was the lump of muscle blocking the screen.
“Just bam! Hit them. Then whoosh! Dodge.”
It was Rockid.
There were more than a few people inconvenienced by his size, but still.
“What the hell are those bastards doing, dragging it out like that!!”
“……
Damn it. My eardrums are going to burst.”
“What was that? Speak up. I can’t hear you!!”
Glares alone
could not stop Rockid, who had been captivated by modern civilization.
Rockid picked up an entire mug of beer.
Gulp, gulp—A predator zone where the fighting never stopped.
Just thinking about it got him so excited his throat burned.
Rockid emptied one glass after another, then said,
“Captain! We don’t have any plans to go somewhere like that?”
“Hic. Even if we do, I’m not taking you with meee, brat.”
“Wh-what?! What kind of nonsense is that!”
“You’re blocking the whole screen and everything. Just for that, I ought to……. Hic!”
Thud—With that last drunken complaint, Kichi collapsed across the table.
“Wait, Captain!!”
Rockid rose from his seat to shake Kichi awake.
“Now I can finally see something.”
“It’s not like we can say anything to him, either…….”
“Let it go. You know what that lump of muscle is like.”
The players clicked their tongues at Rockid’s obnoxious behavior.
There were some who could not lift their heads at the sight of their disgraceful conduct.
Arcanians, just like the Shadow Mercenary Corps.
It was the Explorer Alliance.
“What a nuisance. Even my face is turning red for no reason.”
“No, no. This is just how people live, isn’t it?”
“Still, since it’s a predator zone, I can understand why he’s excited.”
The Explorer Alliance.
As its name suggested, it was a group gathered by explorers.
The condition for joining the Alliance was simple.
First, one had to be an explorer.
Naturally, if a player had the explorer class, joining the Explorer Alliance was the basics.
For explorer-class players to raise their level, they had to explore dangerous regions.
But compared to combat classes, an explorer’s combat power was pitiful.
The reason such explorers had survived until now was thanks to their information network.
“You see, predator zones are full of rare things.”
Among explorers, exchanging information and helping one another was the proper code of the trade.
At the Alliance explorer’s words, Park Hwigang’s eyes sparkled.
“You mean the spoils the monsters fight each other to claim?”
“Well, that’s common knowledge. There are other spoils too.”
“Th-there are other spoils? In a swamp like that?”
“Of course. But maybe it’s because I keep talking? My throat’s getting a little dry~”
Of course, exchanging information for free was not the way of things either.
When Park Hwigang tactfully ordered a beer, a smile spread across the explorer’s face.
“Oh, you don’t have to. Well then, I’ll gratefully drink it.”
Gulp—Then he continued in a furtive voice.
“Khh. You’ve heard of elixir herbs, right?”
Elixir herbs?
Of course he knew.
Grass-like things used as ingredients for potions.
“That’s right. The herbs people commonly think of as potion ingredients. But that’s just the effect of the elixir herbs that are widely known. There are truly rare elixir herbs apart from those, you know? But, well. Even among explorers, only a very small number of people know about this…….”
Trailing off like that.
It meant there were no snacks to go with the beer.
As expected, the quick-witted Park Hwigang placed an order.
“You serve chicken here too, right?”
How about that? This is the modern marvel known as chimaek.
Surely you won’t be able to hold back the information now?
Indeed, once the explorer tore into a chicken drumstick, the words flowed right out of him.
“They say rare elixir herbs permanently increase physical abilities.”
“……
Pardon? Th-that’s possible?”
“It’s precisely because it’s possible that they’re treated as precious. And among them, the best are elixir herbs that permanently increase mana. At one point, rumors spread like wildfire only among explorers in the know. They said that if you found just one, you could laze around for months without worrying about money.”
“!”
“I heard there’s a high chance rare elixir herbs like that grow in special regions such as predator zones. Explorers like us would have to risk our lives to obtain them, of course. But that’s exactly why the danger pay is so generous.”
They permanently increased physical abilities?
That meant they permanently increased [Stats].
Park Hwigang’s mind began to race. ‘I don’t know how much they raise stats by.’ Even if it was only by 1, the effect would be tremendous. It would be equivalent to the value of one level.
Of course, even aside from leveling up,
there were ways to increase stats.
But there was no need to consider those methods. ‘Class quests aren’t something anyone can do.’ Only one person among a class.
And only someone who met the conditions could begin a class quest.
In other words, it had nothing to do with the majority of players.
So the claim that elixir herbs traded at incredible prices was probably no exaggeration. ‘The higher your level, the harder it gets to raise even one level.’ Soon, Park Hwigang prayed with all the sincerity of a fan. ‘Please!’ May Hoyeol-nim somehow obtain even a single elixir herb……!
Wasn’t Park Hwigang someone whose Nettube subscribers and views had skyrocketed thanks to Hoyeol? If it were up to him, he wanted to deliver this precious information to Hoyeol, but…….
There was no way to do so, and prayer was all he could manage.
However.
“Holy shit. What’s that skill now?!”
Park Hwigang’s thoughts did not last long.
The angle shifted.
Hoyeol appeared on the screen.
And there, as if magic alone was not enough,
Hoyeol was holding a sword in his hand.
“What the hell is that?”
The first to react was Rockid.
One saw only as much as one knew.
Rockid recognized Hoyeol’s stance as he held the sword.
And so, without realizing it, the corners of his mouth curled upward.
“So the Captain and that old man weren’t just talking nonsense!”
Just as they had said, Hoyeol was undoubtedly strong.
Rockid’s battle instincts boiled over.
Even though he knew this was an opponent he must not challenge, his blood still surged.
But Hoyeol’s performance was only just beginning.
Next came Hoyeol’s magic, frost.
At its manifestation, astonishment once again erupted throughout the tavern.
“Th-the swamp is freezing over.”
“That doesn’t look like ordinary ice magic either?!”
“Hey, aren’t you specialized in the ice system? What’s the name of that skill?”
“I don’t know. It’ll be ages before I can learn a skill like that.”
Rockid, who had been silently watching the screen, nodded.
“Right. Getting buried in snow back in Frost was enough cold for me.”
Hoyeol made even Rockid, that nuisance, control his anger.
At the sight, Park Hwigang had no choice but to change his thinking.
Would Hoyeol even need an elixir herb?
Right, what he needed was not prayer, but faith.
Having attained enlightenment, Park Hwigang murmured reverently.
“Homen.”
*
The vast predator swamp.
News reached the players, each of whom had been focusing on their own hunts.
“Hoyeol-ssi came too? Really?”
—I didn’t know either. Apparently he went straight into the rift.
“No, hyung! You should’ve prepared some tea he likes!”
Starting with the delighted Nam Taemin and Nam Cheolmin brothers.
“Unnie, did you hear?”
“…….”
“Lee Hoyeol entered the rift~”
We definitely told you, okay?
Don’t use being too busy fighting as an excuse?
And the berserker Leoni, completely immersed in battle.
“That’s against business ethics, seriously!”
All the way to the Shining Guild.
Dmitry was whining as usual.
But this time, his whining was understandable.
Twang!
Camilla released her bowstring, then swept back her loose hair.
“He’s greedy. Our Hoyeol-ssi.”
Greedy Lee Hoyeol.
As if Jesse wasn’t enough, he had come to clear a rift like this too.
“……
Our Hoyeol-ssi? It’s not like you two even know each other, do you?”
“That’s the part you’re questioning?”
“What? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing~ I can see why you’re not popular with women~”
“No, why are you suddenly giving me shit again?!”
The two of them bickered.
The guild master of Shining, Rox, did not join their quarrel.
The ongoing battle.
And separately, his mind kept turning.
Now that he had realized he was an underdog,
he had no leisure to waste time. ‘Lee Hoyeol entered the rift.’ Had he sought out a rift like this because he lacked experience points?
Rox could say with certainty that was absolutely not the case.
Even if Hoyeol hunted in a rift with an appropriate level of 500, it was obvious it would not put a dent in the experience points he required. Yes, Hoyeol clearly had some other reason for seeking out the rift.
Rox’s speculation seemed to hit the mark.
“Wait a second.”
The pinnacle of archer-type classes, Bow Master.
A vast field of vision befitting the title of pinnacle.
Camilla spotted Hoyeol in her sight.
To be precise,
“What is our Hoyeol-ssi doing now?”
Stairs embroidered across the empty air.
And confidently stepping upon those stairs,
Hoyeol’s figure as he headed somewhere……!
“As expected. I knew it.”
That was how Lee Hoyeol should be.
Including Rox, who had expected as much,
it was only natural that every player’s attention focused on Hoyeol.
*
……
I was beginning to understand why the rankers had been whining. The required experience that increased with each level was considerable.
[Feral Predator Anaconda: Lv.530]
[Cruel Scavenger: Lv.550]
As you can see, I had hunted monsters of even higher level.
Yet the number of levels I had gained was 10.
[Level: 324]
I may not be able to fully understand Arcana’s complicated experience system.
But it must mean there was a significant difference between hunting level-500 monsters while in the 200-level range, and hunting level-500 monsters while in the 300-level range.
There was indeed a difference in practice as well. ‘I’d say I’ve gained some breathing room.’ Simultaneous operation of swordsmanship and magic.
Unlike at first, I no longer had to be so tense to bring down my enemies.
Of course, even this frightening adaptability
was thanks to Granfell,
who possessed not only an absurd talent for magic,
but also physical potential that did not lose out to it.
[Plague-Tainted Crossbow] - [Grade: Magic]
[Plague-Tainted Crossbow Bolt] - [Grade: Magic]
[Insignificant Storage Belt] - [Grade: Rare]
The spoils I gained from defeating the [Cruel Scavenger]
also numbered three.
So there was a reason it had been carrying so many things around.
Among the three spoils, the only one worth paying attention to was probably the [Insignificant Storage Belt]. It had the practical effect of slightly expanding one’s inventory.
Of course.
“Rejected.”
From Granfell’s aesthetic point of view, it was dreadful. ‘There’s no point in selling it.’ Leaving aside his incorruptible nature,
I had the rift-clear reward money.
A sum large enough that the Lee Hoyeol of the past would not have been able to sleep comfortably for even a day had accumulated in my account. And the reward money still to be settled was far greater than that. ‘So I have to make proper use of it.’ Today’s experience made me feel it for certain.
The more wells—more ways to survive—you dig, the better.
What came to my mind, then,
was Enchantment Studies, one of the twenty schools within the Magic Tower.
While preparing for the regular conference, I had also read dozens of books on Enchantment Studies. If I were to summarize the core of the school, it could be condensed into two lines.
『Effects can be extracted from items.
The extracted effects can be bestowed upon other items.』
Just hearing it made it sound easy.
The problem lay in the process.
Items, magical tools, were one of the domains even the mighty Magic Tower had yet to conquer.
I had heard that more than a few items were ruined in the process of extracting an effect and bestowing that effect. ‘He was always dispirited, if I recall.’ The senior mage of Enchantment Studies, Kiko Armin.
A small frame to begin with.
And as if that weren’t enough, she went around with her back hunched over as far as it would go.
If the Magic Tower had been a company that cared about performance,
Kiko’s enchantment studies would always have been a department running in the red.
In other words, Kiko had her own reasons for being so wary.
But circumstances like that meant nothing to me.
I declared shamelessly,
“Every success necessarily requires failure.”
Yes, because I had resolved to uproot the very pillars of the Magic Tower.
I would use the Magic Tower’s capital—its items—as sacrifices to advance enchantment studies.
And the material for that would be the [Trivial Storage Belt].
‘The more inventory space I have, the better.’
It seemed like there would be a lot to collect from rifts from now on.
Just like now.
Ssssss—
As soon as the battle ended, I manifested the stairs.
The reason I climbed them was simple.
The elixir herb glowing at the top of the Chukira tree.
It was to harvest the Four-Colored Mistletoe.
‘To think it would be Four-Colored Mistletoe from the very start.’
[Pentagram of Pure Knowledge].
The vast knowledge I had acquired through it was telling me.
This was a jackpot.
Because Four-Colored Mistletoe had the effect of permanently increasing physical ability—in other words, permanently raising stats.
Four-colored.
True to its name, meaning four lights.
It raised one’s stats by a full 4 points.
Even by simple calculation, that was worth a staggering 4 levels.
How many of those dreadful training class quests was this worth?
On top of that.
During the preliminary review for the regular academic conference,
hadn’t I witnessed the possibility of research into cultivating elixir herbs?
If that research produced successful results, then…….
‘It would be possible to mass-produce elixir herbs like Four-Colored Mistletoe.’
I hadn’t made a fuss for nothing.
I realized it once again.
As expected, one had to dig many wells—many ways to survive……!
Befitting its tremendous effect,
the Four-Colored Mistletoe grew in an inconspicuous place.
Whether human or monster,
anyone who saw it could not help but be captivated by its appearance and effects.
Still, I hadn’t expected it to be at the very top of a tree like this.
‘I almost passed it by myself.’
If the [Cruel Cleaner]
hadn’t been gnawing away at the tree, that is.
“I thank you for your sacrifice.”
After offering my thanks with pride,
praising myself for investing points in [Luck],
and climbing the stairs while picturing a heart-swelling future,
I reached the top of the giant tree.
I found the Four-Colored Mistletoe.
……
But what was this?
More than the Four-Colored Mistletoe,
“……!”
a rare “existence” drew my gaze.