Chapter 9 : Gathering
In the past, the other villages around Morata were devastated from waves of monsters. In the streets piled up with snow, around the buildings with patched up ceilings, many people were gathering around. The thing that captivated everyone's attention was the glorious statue!
"So Morata is somewhere around here."
"That's the place with the Tower of Light!"
"People can't come to the Northern area without hearing about it at least once."
"I like how there's a lot of good monsters to hunt too."
The number of tourists visiting Morata increased exponentially each day.
"Looking to hunt over at the hills!"
"Going to rescue the fire wizards from the insects in the cave."
"The name of the quest is 'Lisa's Handkerchief'. You can get a high quality handkerchief as the reward for finishing it."
"Buying food! Is there anyone selling food that lasts longer than a week?"
The vacant lot in the center of Morata village was in an uproar.
Ever since the ice melted in the North, hundreds of thousands of travelers from the central continent moved over. Some of them came to Morata.
Morata was one of the most important geographically positioned paths to the rest of the northern continent.
Still, no one expected that such a large crowd of travelers would come.
Moreover, they did not expect to be able to use the town as a base when they were hunting.
The Tower of Light had changed everything.
Wonderful sculptures!
Women were the first people to come and see the beautiful Tower of Light.
"So pretty!"
"I almost feel like I would have regretted it if I didn't come here."
They had seen the video, but standing directly on top of the rocky mountain in front of the light choreography was an experience of a lifetime that one would never forget.
It was impressive to see it shining in the moonlight until the sun rose over the plains.
"So this is the sculpture."
"Even if the class's attack power is quite low, it's amazing they can make something like this."
"I know. There are a number of pieces like this on the Versailles continent."
Over time the popularity of sculptors grew.
Most of the tourists that came to the rocky mountain was due to the Tower of Light.
There were still a lot of female users, but there were a lot of males as well.
There were couples everywhere!
These men were forced to visit by the women, but there were some classes that visited for more practical reasons.
The life-or-death hunting.
However, less than 10% of the entire Versailles continent actually hunted to this extent.
"Health, mana, and stamina regeneration are all increased so we can hunt monsters without taking as many breaks."
"It's thanks to the Tower of Light that the hunting speed has sped up so much."
"Increased elemental? Have you seen the Tower of Light?"
"Looking for a cleric that has visited the Tower of Light last night!"
The dance of lights.
The effects of the statue eased and hastened hunting.
They wanted to hunt but didn't want to leave the proximity of Morata Village.
The statue was the symbol of Morata Village!
Because of the advantages of the sculpture they were forced to stay around the village.
The church of Freya was also affected.
The priests and paladins were readily available if one wanted to receive blessings or dispels.
Morata was the only village at the center of the northern continent with a church.
As the number of tourists steadily increased, the effects of the statue will continue to develop the amount of quests and hunting grounds.
Weed could not watch over it for long.
Time was approaching for him to go to the Vampire Kingdom of Todeum.
"Call Vampire Lord Tori!"
"You have called me."
Tori was dressed in black clothing as well as a black cloak.
A handsome pale face!
He was tall and overflowing with grace.
Weed looked over him with his eyes.
"It seems that you have grown since you no longer call me master."
"Well I mean, in four more days, I'll be free."
Vampire Kingdom Todeum!
Only three days left until it was time to go there.
Weed did not forget to remind Tori about the last three years he had him for.
"The last three days can feel longer than the last three years. In the course of the last three days, it wouldn't harm you to say it."
"..."
"Hey, tell me more about Todeum."
Weed wanted to gather more detailed information about Todeum.
"Todeum is our Holy Land. Every three months we get together and celebrate."
"Celebrate?"
"Yes. The nobility of the night get together and celebrate our eternal lives with blood."
"What else?"
"Compared to the crude and childish technology of human civilization, the nobility of the night have cities boasting a long history."
Tori had a tremendous amount of pride and self-esteem for Todeum.
Weed judged.
'Vampire Lord Tori grew up there so he's probably embellishing it a bit.'
If it takes a considerable amount of effort to go somewhere then you can expect there to be something special there.
It was true for the prestigious kingdom of the dwarves and the kingdom of the elves.
In the kingdom of the dwarves, the bellows and the hammering never ceased.
Elves were aligned with nature so they plant lots of trees and flowers.
Vampires were the nobles of the night so you could seem to expect luxurious and fashionable lifestyles.
'In addition, this is an exclusive opportunity to get quests and hunting grounds that nobody else have been to before.'
According to Vampire Lord Tori, Todeum was a place that humans have been to in the past and will not be able to go to in the future.
So it was only available for Weed!
The number of quests in Morata increased but there were too many tourists. Even for a simple quest, there was a lot of competition.
It was hard to have a monopoly on a hunting ground. It'll be easier to find people to party and go hunt monsters.
Even though it was worth in to hunt in Morata, it did not even cross Weed's mind. He could not ignore the doubled experience and benefits of hunting for one week.
Weed wanted more information.
"You can only take a few people, aren't you?"
"It depends on the situation."
"Situation?"
"Yes. I recall that I have a total of 200,000 bats to take with me to Todeum. It takes about 200 to take a human so I can only take 1000. But if you're bringing stuff with you then we would have to reduce the number of humans."
"Is there any limit of the number of people that can go to Todeum?"
"As long as the human being is prepared for death."
"And what if you die?"
"Anyone that dies in the kingdom of the night is banished to the world of men."
That meant that there was a significant penalty of dying once since they would not be allowed to respawn in the nearest city but rather expelled from the kingdom.
'This is going to be very dangerous.'
Weed frowned.
It was uncommon for people to die in the middle of a quest or hunting. This is there are others that have already experienced it the first time.
In other words, that was the risk of hunting somewhere this rare since he could die since he didn't know about the hunting grounds or quests.
Nervous because of not knowing what there was to come!
The situation was unpredictable.
To make matters worse, he couldn't take along the Wyverns or Geumini. They wouldn't be able to come back since, when they died, they had no way of reviving.
'Safety first. It would be crazy to hunt without gathering information. Doing it alone will be difficult. I need to get my most trusted companions.'
Weed sent Pale and three others a whisper.
- Would you like to take the risk of going to Todeum with me?
* * *
After Pale received Weed's whisper, he asked the others for their opinion.
"The Kingdom of Vampires Todeum. It's still an undisclosed location so we don't know how dangerous it is. Weed is trying to find people to go with him and I'm going with him, so what does everyone want to do?"
Currently Pale has the position of leader and this adventure had a significantly high probability of death so he had to see what his companions thought.
Considering what he had said, Maylon answered.
"I want to go."
Since they were lovers it was no surprise that she was going with him. In addition, whenever Weed went on an adventure there were opportunities to be had.
'This time we're fighting under pretty high stakes.'
Maylon had gone hunting with Weed a few times, but she had never truly gone on an adventure or quest with him.
Surka nervously asked Romuna.
"Unnie, are you going?"
"Yes, of course. Won't the vampire kingdom be very beautiful? It seems to be worth it. Come on, what do you say?
"I wanna go with you. It's my duty as a priest to go along."
Romuna and Surka were vampire fanatics.
When they were young, they were mesmerized by vampire movies.
Pointed fangs!
Black cloaks!
The girls were even fond of the little bloodsucking vampire bats.
Now only Yurin, Hwaryeong, and Zephyr were the only three left to make a decison, as well as Seechwi.
Of course, Zephyr was going along loyally.
"I'm going. Hwaryeong, what are you going to do?"
She already made her decision to go along the very moment Pale mentioned Weed. She wanted to go with him for the Northern Expedition but unfortunately he had refused.
"I'll be there."
Now the party turned their attention towards Yurin and Seechwi.
In this case, it would be very dangerous for Yurin since she was very weak.
"I'll go."
Yurin wanted to go to Todeum with Weed.
"Chwiik, I'm going too."
Seechwi decided to go.
It was an Orc's nature to fight, even if the damage was insignificant.
For a monster, it seemed appropriate to go to dangerous places!
'But...this time I'm going to get to kill something for sure.'
Seechwi had sorrowfully been a member of their party a few times. Pale's party was mainly comprised of young people so she seemed to be an old maid.
The generation gap!
Irene and Surka treated the elderly warmly so that made the sorrow even worse.
'I don't have a choice as long as Seoyoon is still like that.'
Not too long ago, Seoyoon had finally managed to say something again but since then she had not said anything else. She wasn't suddenly going to get better, so to get her normal again it would take time for her to regain her words. So in order to recover Seoyoon, Weed's presence may be an important role. So for her sake, she must go. It was an important reason to stay near Weed.
Mapan was a shameless trader preying on the Orcs!
Mapan always told others.
"Weed is like a teacher to me."
Obscure means of making money from customers.
Acting like a nice guy to rip people off.
It was essential to use flattery to sell stuff.
An insatiable greed for money!
He had learned the fundamentals of trade from Weed. He even looked in the mirror and practiced until he had a rotten smile.
Mapan was going to participate in the adventure to the vampire kingdom.
It was a huge gain for merchants to go to a new area. It was a great opportunity to get exclusively get money, skill, and fame from selling. For the Vampire Kingdom Todeum where no one was able to go to, it was something a trader could not pass up.
"This adventure can be an opportunity."
Mapan did not forget.
Weed had led the Orcs and the Dark Elves against the monsters in the Yuroki Mountains.
Weed had invested tens of thousands of gold in order to affect the battle.
Mapan could not help but feel nervous.
There were benefits to be had in an unfavorable combat situation.
The Lich Shire and the Immortal Legion!
His heart jumped every time as the large number of enemies dwindled.
There was so much tension, excitement and thrills and then it was over.
Mapan wanted to go on such an adventure again.
Geomchi, Geomchi2, Geomchi3, Geomchi4, and Geomchi5.
Instead of hunting in a party like Pale, they were deep in the Yuroki Mountains with their swords.
Every day, from morning until evening, they would wield their swords.
"We have dedicated our lives to the sword. Aside from the sword, I want the opportunity to meet with women."
A sense of urgency was contained in Geomchi2's sword.
The sword was his way of life.
He did not regret it.
If he could, he would walk down the path of the sword once more. It was not about making the body stronger but the mindset of it.
Geomchi had said.
"A man's home is in the hilt of a sword. Even if the years pass by and one becomes old, the sword will remain young."
Do not throw away the sword.
Through the sword, you will meet a girl.
But only if you are strong!
The teachers wield their swords their entire lives as single men.
Martial Artist!
It was a job that could use any weapon.
It did not matter if the durability of the sword was going to break from hunting.
Just pick up a weapon and attack the monster.
They ate as if they were starving.
"The mind is clouded when one is hungry."
That was the mindset of Geomchi, Geomchi2 and Geomchi3.
In reality, they had no problem fasting for three days.
'I'll get the ladies by being overwhelmingly fast and powerful.'
'Famous rare items! You have to get the attention of the ladies.'
'I want to protect. I want to be taken care of. I want a woman!'
Their thoughts were filled with selfishness as they wield their swords.
It didn't matter if they were sweating profusely as if it were raining, they did not even think of quitting.
They were completely immersed.
They swung their swords 100,000 times a day.
They wield their swords even when they were not hunting.
Strength depended on skill and stamina, so they only took breaks when they were exhausted.
It took time to move to another hunting ground, and it took considerably more time to find party members.
Even if they got into parties with others, the hunt did not last very long.
But for the Geomchis it was more of a hassle.
Fighting by themselves!
They swung their swords 100,000 times a day.
They did not need any rationalizing.
Once they set a goal, all they did was train.
They did not bother with complex calculations.
It was enough to shed sweat until breathing became difficult.
Such was the only life they knew.
Geomchi2 swallowed his saliva from hunger.
"The right woman for me. I don't need much. Barley bread and corn today, rye bread tommorow. Any woman would be fine for me."
Geomchi5 was even lower.
"Kimchi three times a day, Shin Ramen, if you boil in hot water then it's fine."
Their standards were getting lower.
"I would be fine even with just eggs."
Geomchi2 would not be moved and pressed on.
"Keuheu! The eggs do not need to be made do they?"
"How can I meet a woman without this level of devotion? For love one must make sacrifices."
Geomchi2 had asked.
And then there was Geomchi5.
"Sahyung, I think I would be able to give up meat."
"Meat!"
The sahyungs admired each other's determination.
Then almost at the same time their skills rose.
Ttiring!
- Weapon mastery has reached Advanced Level 6.
The base damage of all weapons increased to 360%.
There is a 3% increase in attack speed. Mana costs for skill decreased by 4%.
Advanced level 6!
As a martial artist they could learn all weapons instead of just swords.
The weapon skill was becoming closer and closer to the master level.
"If we keep this up, then we will soon reach our goal!"
Geomchi2, Geomchi3, Geomchi4, and Geomchi5 replied back in a shout.
"Yes!"
Increasing the Weapon skill was far from tolerable. Normally people would get sick and tired of swinging a sword all day. Nevertheless, they steadily remained devoted.
On top of the cliff, they continued their monotonous lifestyle.
Geomchi put his sword into the ground.
"Men!"
"Yes Master!"
"Come over here."
Geomchi2, Geomchi3, Geomchi4 and Geomchi5 quickly gathered around.
"Tell us what it is Master!"
"Look at how long we had stayed here."
Others would be appalled to know that they had stayed up there for the past few months.
"Every now and again don't you suppose we should quench our burning desires by going off into the world?"
Geomchi asked his disciples for their opinions.
"Yes, I think that sometimes."
Geomchi5 opened his mouth to laugh and grin.
The moment separating decisions and actions.
In the past they were thought to have unbelievable combat skills. It was scary to think how much they have improved since then.
Now the Geomchis could enjoy the fight.
Geomchi5 blindly followed the Master's words.
"Master, that is a very good idea. Do you have a place in mind?"
"We do not know much about the Versailles Continent. Don't you want to go to a place that no one else is able to go to?"
"That would be nice."
"This time we are going to go along with Weed."
"So this place is the one with the vampires."
"Let's get all of the kids together!"
The Geomchis had separated once to seek individual training.
Now it was time for them to reunite.
Geomchis gather!
The Geomchis that had spread to the far corners of the continent to seek the way of the warrior gathered back together.
They had a wide range of purposes. Some went to find strong swords, others drifted, and few went on quests. Most of them went around trying to find strong people to challenge.
They moderately raised their levels by hunting.
Some even gathered to help the devastated town of Morata.
"My sword skills have reached Advanced Level 3 so I'm a lot stronger now."
"By doing quests I managed to get 10200 fame."
"I went to the Northern area and fought along with Ice Dragon."
The practitioners were proud of their accomplishments and assembled individually.
They learned to never give up and all manner of tricks to fighting.
Geomchi5 saw in the eyes of the five hundred trainees the spirit of a warrior.
Earlier he had be quietly laughing.
Now he had somewhat of a sneaky smile.
"Youngest one, where were you and what did you do?"
"Kuhuhuhu! You don't need to know how much pain I was in. But if you need to know, I will tell you."
"Tell me what has happened to you."
"Well, Sahyung, the continent has been really hot lately right?"
"I know."
The practitioners nodded.
Stamina consumption became worse and they began to sweat profusely as it got warmer. Many gathered at the center of the continent because of the surplus of monsters and quests. Others rested after they hunted.
They would not have withstood the heat if it wasn't for the mentality of the practitioners.
The five hundred Geomchis laughed insidiously.
"The continent was hot so I immediately went to the Selrun River."
"River?"
"What was there?"
"What sort of monsters attacked you?"
The practitioners were curious.
They had listened to Geomchi2 about the way of the sword.
Their fighting instincts were stimulated many fold while fighting strong monsters.
But he shook his head to show it was not as ridiculous as the five hundred Geomchis were thinking.
"I mean, I didn't get to see any monsters at all. Selrun River is famous for being pure and transparent. The river flows very quickly so it's very suitable for swimming."
"Swimming? You went to the Selrun River to swim?"
"Well, lots of women were there because of the heat wave. Tens of thousands of girls in bikinis."
"Gulp."
"Tens, tens of thousands!"
The five hundred practitioners had eyes as if they were sparkling.
"Explain to me in detail what happened and why the hell you were there!"
"Well because of the heat, women were enjoying themselves by splashing around in the river and sprawled over the sand. In the clear and transparent river she was wearing a bikini...hehe I went there with a girl that I'm seeing."
"So, so envious!"
The instructors and practitioners admitted it.
It seemed much more rewarding than the five hundred and five of them training their swords as warriors!
* * *
Lee Hyun visited the item trading site on a daily basis.
"The High Elf Bow. It's sale price is gradually increasing."
As demand increases and supply is short then prices increase.
Lee Hyun took a look at the item trading site and then went to the proud Dark Gamers Union.
On the Dark Gamer's site you could see a mountain of information based on your rank.
You didn't have to say anything that you didn't want to disclose to the public.
It was natural for people to monopolize information.
Needless to say, information was valuable to the Dark Gamers.
The Dark Gamers had access to information that the public generally did not know about.
Lee Hyun's rank was "C"
The grade was set at the initial sign-up.
He could not see the hidden information for the important quests and hunting grounds.
Nevertheless, there was still quite a bit of information that could be obtained through the union.
In general, the information found publicly on the internet was very lacking.
Here it was possible to view information on kingdoms and castles, characteristics of a city, and evaluations of hunting grounds and analysis on materials.
It was a considerable difference from low level articles.
"Sooner or later I have to upload some information to increase my rank."
Second law of the Dark Gamers.
Give as much as you receive!
In the meantime, for the sake of rewards, Lee Hyun uploaded some information about the North.
Dark Gamers enjoyed hunting and receiving requests to go on adventures.
It was extremely rare to find hunting grounds that weren't owned by guilds and that you had to pay a fee for.
It was difficult to make money when they constantly had to pay off the guilds.
It was better to go down the more difficult path.
He calculated the amount of information he had from Morata to as far as the Valley of Death, so the information about the wolves would be useful for the Dark Gamers.
Then Lee Hyun checked the commissions on the Dark Gamer's Union.
There was a number of commissions from purchasing goods, escorting goods, and commissions for the Dark Gamer's Union to participate in wars.
You could purchase a commission based on rank.
- Red Rank. Number of purchases 12. Metson's crafted emeralds. They are required for a quest. Looking to receive them within 3 days.
- Blue Rank. Number of purchases 7. We are the Elementals Guild and were are looking for people to save the Elemental Spring.
- Blue Rank. Number of purchases 2. Looking for people to kill a certain person. Message me if you are willing.
Murder was an occasional commission. For Dark Gamers, it did not matter about personal feelings or fairness but simply as a lucrative source of income.
Of course these commission are not always accepted unconditionally. It was harder to make money in Royal Road due to the various constraints of a killer.
So people did not usually take killing commissions unless they are in the need of money.
The killing commissions were the most eye catching ones on the board.
- Diamond Rank. Number of purchases 183.
Obtain the Paskran's Lance. Do not ask why...
I beg you to help me. We can negotiate price after.
Paskran's Lance!
Even the name of the item was unknown. There were rumors about the person disclosing the information. Just from the name they could tell that it was an unique item. With things like these, there is only one in existance.
"It looks like a quest. Probably he needs to find Paskran's Lance for the quest."
Unique items.
A commission from a diamond rank user usually had a minimum pay of a million won. Given the rank of the user, it could very possibly be millions of won.
Lee Hyun kept the information about Paskran's Lance in his head.
Those in the Dark Gamers Union tried to remember the items that were being bought. That way if they are hunting it, then they would remember that they needed to collect 300 red hearts. That way they could collect enough for the commission.
It was an essential measure to earn money.
A lot of Dark Gamer's commissions don't get the attention of the hundred of thousands of gamers. But this one commission caught Lee Hyun's eyes.
Diamond Rank commission!
The number of requests for it did not even reach 0.1%.
- Diamond Rank. Number of purchases 289.
We are a party of six. Average level 360.
Looking to spend two weeks on a vacation throughout the Versailles Continent.
Either quests, vacation, or an adventure.
Five million won.
"Five million won."
Lee Hyun's mouth took on a look of ridicule.
Given the number of purchases and the level of the user, it was possible to guess the nature of the person posting.
"These guys think they can do anything with money!"
Lee Hyun looked at the monitor while cursing for a while.
Then he moved his mouse to send a mail.
Hello.
I have contacted you from the Dark Gamer's Union.
Are you currently available?
It is not a problem if you are not available... but reply back if you are interested.
I would like to invite to visit a city in a new kingdom, of the Immortal Vampires.
Please come. Thank you!
Bow.