Chapter 175
The Old, Worn Key.
'I didn't expect to see this key appear in this quest.'
It was a key that was supposed to appear much later in the game.
And it wasn't even a quest reward, but a drop from hunting a boss monster.
This was because, at the time the key was discovered, Rease had already been destroyed by monsters.
[What's so special about that key that your face is turning grim?]
'Do you know something about it?'
"It's nothing."
The location where the box matching the key was hidden was currently in the Rogue City.
In the early days of Reas, the City of Archer had the largest territory among all the cities.
However, after numerous wars, they continued to lose territory, and now their size was no different from other cities.
They had also lost a part of their territory to the Rogue City, and unfortunately, the box was buried in that lost territory.
But a red exclamation mark was still blinking above Altair's head.
[Additional rewards will be given.]
[You have acquired the title '[Title] Protector of the City'.]
The additional reward was a title.
'Protector of the City?'
Jeong-Hoon examined the title he had received as a reward.
[Protector of the City of Archer]
- Type: Unique Title
- Grade: Unique
- Increases experience gained from hunting monsters by 20%. (Limited to Reas)
- Greatly increases the trust of all NPCs in the City of Archer.
- Allows you to make NPCs in the City of Archer your followers. (Maximum 10)
- Allows you to use shops in the City of Archer at a 20% discount.
Although limited to the City of Archer, the 20% increase in experience gain was a pretty decent option.
"For your information, I don't know the purpose of that key either. I was only told to hand it over to someone who saves the city from crisis."
"It's fine. I'm sure I'll find out how to use it in time."
"Is that so? Anyway, thank you for your help."
"Yes. You're still planning to prepare for war, right?"
"...You noticed?"
Altair flinched, seemingly caught off guard.
Jeong-Hoon had released the brainwashing on Altair when he used it on Hudin.
So he was certain that Altair would wage war.
"Yes. It wouldn't make sense not to."
The purpose of extracting information from the Rogue City wasn't simply to keep them in check.
It was to win the war.
They had tried to assassinate the leader of the City of Archer.
The alliance was broken, and there was more than enough justification for war.
They even tried to harm his only granddaughter.
No one could tolerate that.
He must have lied about not going to war because he didn't want to cause unnecessary worry.
"...You're too perceptive."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Actually, after the execution, I was planning to inform all the cities about the atrocities committed by the Rogue City."
"And then start a war?"
"I'm not trying to conquer the Rogue City. I'm going to cut off Markus's damn head."
Repaying them in kind.
That was Altair's reason for going to war.
"Then I'll join in and help."
"J-join us?"
"Yes. I have some things I need to do."
Jeong-Hoon's mind started racing, formulating his next plan.
"Of course! Your participation would be a tremendous help!"
Altair's face lit up.
He hadn't expected Jeong-Hoon to offer his assistance.
"Yes."
***
Jeong-Hoon stepped outside the Sanctuary.
'Michael, what's the current situation?'
'I just finished the first quest!'
'Oh, that was fast?'
Judging by his speed, he thought Michael might have earned 4 or 5 points.
But he had already earned 20 points and even completed a quest.
It seemed he was getting much faster once he got the hang of it.
What a clever guy.
'Hehe, it's all thanks to the Coffin of Death!'
Coffin of Death.
It was an item Litton had promised to give Michael after completing all his quests.
It wasn't obtainable at the moment, but it would be soon.
Because that coffin was in the Holy City.
'Well done. Let's call it a day.'
'Alright!'
Jeong-Hoon ended Michael's summoning.
'I wonder how those guys are doing?'
Jang Ha-Jin and Kim Bong-Goo.
They were so focused on leveling up that they hadn't contacted him even once.
[Whisper/Hoon -> zl-John-Ha-Jin12: How's it going?]
Jeong-Hoon sent a whisper, and a reply came immediately.
[Whisper/zl-John-Ha-Jin12 -> Hoon: Hey! We did it!]
[Whisper/Hoon -> zl-John-Ha-Jin12: Lol, you reached 201?]
[Whisper/zl-John-Ha-Jin12 -> Hoon: Yeah lol. I was in the middle of a job change quest, how did you send a whisper at that timing?]
[Whisper/Hoon -> zl-John-Ha-Jin12: Okay, contact me as soon as you finish the job change quest. I have something good for you.]
[Whisper/zl-John-Ha-Jin12 -> Hoon: Something good?!]
[Whisper/Hoon -> zl-John-Ha-Jin12: Yes. You can look forward to it.]
Jeong-Hoon logged out to take a short break.
***
"Hyah!"
Ha-Jin swung his sword diagonally.
Slice.
The black knight-like figure in front of him scattered like fog and disappeared.
[You have failed.]
With that message, Ha-Jin's body vanished and reappeared at the entrance.
"This is driving me crazy..."
Ha-Jin scratched his head in frustration. He had been sacrificing sleep, tirelessly running the Bone Lord Wyvern raid, and had finally achieved the impressive feat of reaching level 201.
However, the problem was his third class advancement. To cross over to Rease, where Jeong-Hoon was, he needed to complete his third class advancement. But the hidden class advancement quests were notoriously difficult.
Especially the final stage.
Find the one with the Dark Lord's will among 1,000 knights.
And he only had one chance. If he failed, he'd be sent back to the beginning and have to start all over again.
"This is my sixth attempt... Is this even possible?"
Reaching the final stage wasn't that difficult, but this last part was the problem.
Ha-Jin progressed through the stages and once again reached the final stage.
The number of knights remaining was 995. It meant one of these 995 had it.
"Should I just go in blindly?"
It was a quest that ended once he found one person. So, if he kept trying, he would eventually succeed.
Ha-Jin swung his sword widely at the knight in front of him, decapitating him.
Unlike before, a black orb floated in the air where the knight disappeared, shimmering brilliantly.
[You have found the Dark Lord's will.]
"Huh? Did I just beat the 1 in 995 odds?"
Hooray! Hooray!
***
Meanwhile.
Jeong-Hoon was out of his capsule, drinking coffee and browsing YouTube.
"This is crazy... The view count has surpassed 30 million?"
The dungeon discovered in the City of Warriors. A video of him discovering and clearing a dungeon that gave a whopping 150 million experience points.
-Wow hahaha just killing normal monsters gave me 150 million EXP
-This is the real pro tip lol. What other pro tip is there?
-Who the hell is Honey1? How does he get lucky everywhere he goes?
-He's sharing that luck with us hahaha Honey1 is so damn nice
The video had a whopping 410,000 comments.
The number of subscribers had surpassed 2.5 million, reaching 2.52 million. And the number was still increasing.
"I can easily reach 5 million before monetization."
2.5 million was already a high number, but surpassing 5 million would give him even more influence.
Fwoosh-
He heard the capsule in his mother's room open. It seemed she had finished playing the game.
Jeong-Hoon went out to the living room, and soon his mother came out as well.
"Huh? Son, what are you doing up at this hour?"
It was currently 1 PM. She was surprised to see Jeong-Hoon out of his capsule when he would usually be in the middle of playing the game.
"I came out for a short break."
"Really? But Mom has good news!"
"Good news?"
"Yes. I just completed my third class advancement."
"...Really?"
Jeong-Hoon's eyes widened.
No way, that was so fast?
"The Tower Master said there was nothing left for me to do at my current level and gave me a bunch of experience potions."
Experience potions.
They were extremely rare, and Jeong-Hoon had never consumed one unless it was through a serendipitous encounter.
But to think she just handed them over without hesitation...
'She must really like you...'
He didn't even know she had experience potions.
So now, all they needed was for Ha-Jin and Kim Bong-Goo to complete their third class advancements?
"Mom, then come to Reas."
"Hmm... Will that be possible? The Tower Master asked me to become the next Tower Master."
It was truly an extraordinary offer.
Appointing a user who had just completed their third class advancement as the next Tower Master.
But once the game became reality, all of that would be meaningless.
Still, Jeong-Hoon kept his mouth shut.
The game becoming reality...
She wouldn't believe such an absurd statement.
So when it did happen, he would protect his mother no matter what.
"It's okay. If you tell her you want to gain some experience, she'll gladly let you go."
Jeong-Hoon spoke casually.
"Really? Then where should I go in Rease?"
"Let's meet in the central Peace City for now. I think a war might break out soon."
"War...?"
His mother's face turned serious.
"Ah, it's not a war between users, but between NPCs."
With the Rogue City crossing the line, war was inevitable.
He also needed to participate in the war to use the key.
"What in the world happened?"
"It's a bit of a long story."
Jeong-Hoon explained what had happened in the City of Archer.
After hearing the whole story, his mother nodded.
"...So it's something we have to do?"
"Yes. Please."
"...Alright. If my son is asking, of course, I'll help."
"Thank you."
***
When Jang Ha-Jin succeeded in his third class advancement.
Kim Bong-Goo was still struggling with his third class advancement quest.
"I'm telling you again, you can't become a Specter. Just stick to the path of the Shadow."
Shadow referred to the Epic grade of the third class.
And what Kim Bong-Goo wanted was the Unique grade, Specter.
However, Wol, the NPC in charge of class advancements, wouldn't allow Kim Bong-Goo to reach the Unique grade.
"Ah, damn it! I need to become a Specter! I even passed the test! Why won't you let me?!"
If he couldn't advance, he would die!
If he became a Shadow, a terrible future awaited him.
"Why are you so obsessed with becoming a Specter?"
Wol tilted his head.
Kim Bong-Goo's eyes were trembling with anxiety.
"I'll die if I can't!"
"...Die?"
"Yes!"
Was he that desperate to gain power that he would die without it?
Wol pondered.
The reason he couldn't readily grant Kim Bong-Goo power was that, for some reason, Kim Bong-Goo had predicted all of his attacks.
It was as if he had studied Wol's attack patterns beforehand.
So Wol slightly changed his attack patterns, and sure enough, Kim Bong-Goo stumbled, unlike before.
In other words, he wasn't showing his true skills.
However, it was also true that he had passed the test Wol had presented.
"Then answer this question. What is your life goal?"
He would decide whether to grant the Specter class based on his answer.
"Goal? You're asking such a simple question. It's to live a very, very long life."
"Longevity?"
"Yes. But damn it, someone keeps performing rituals to shorten my lifespan!"
"..."
"If I can't become a Specter, I'll die at a young age. Do you understand?!"
Kim Bong-Goo's face turned serious.
There was no trace of falsehood in his expression.
"Is that really true?"
"They probably even have a coffin ready for me. The moment I become a Shadow, all that's left is to get into that coffin..."
"I don't understand."
"Damn it, I don't understand either."
Wol let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
Usually, people would choose something honorable, like reaching the pinnacle of the Rogue class or saving the world.
But this guy's goal was simply to live a long life.
"You're a funny one. Alright, I'll give you what you want."
Wol gestured.
[All tests have been completed.]
[Advancing to Specter.]
[Achievement Unlocked! You have completed 'Limit Break!' 10,000 achievement points will be awarded.]
[The maximum number of runes you can equip has increased to '6'.]
[Relic content has been unlocked.]
Kim Bong-Goo's eyes widened as he checked the class advancement name.
'Specter!'
He had successfully advanced to the Unique grade job that Jeong-Hoon had instructed him to.
Tears welled up in Kim Bong-Goo's eyes, and he burst into tears on the spot.
"Sob... I'm alive. Damn it! I'm alive!"