Chapter 117: Preliminaries (2)
‘Ah, no.’
No way, that nightmare from before again…
That was when it happened.
As if telling him not to act like they knew each other, Kim Minwoo quietly pressed a finger to his lips.
Popo nodded hurriedly and addressed the awakeners while looking around at them.
—Uh… Um… I'll announce the content of the first exam! You'll all be heading to the same place, but to different cities.
‘Cities?’
Popo continued speaking to the awakeners, who tilted their heads in confusion.
—It'll last one week. You're free to do whatever you want there. However, your actions will accumulate points. The one with the most points wins! Your individual scores will appear on the notice board from time to time, so check them and strive accordingly!
Soon, Popo snapped his fingers.
—Alright then, let the exam begin!
[The first exam has started.]
[You have entered ‘City - 123’.]
[This is a special stage where you cannot gain experience points!]
[Instead, points will now accumulate based on your actions!]
[Accumulate the most points over the week.]
[If you gather a certain level of points or higher, something special might happen.]
[Rules]
[* Only the top 50 in points from the first exam advance to the second exam.]
[* Existing possessed items cannot be used in trade.]
I looked around.
From the style of the buildings to the appearances of the people walking about.
‘Fantasy world, at least.’
I had a rough idea of what Popo meant by the same but different cities for each person.
Number 123.
Probably a setup where similar cities are formed up to 150, depending on the number of participants.
“Whitey.”
—Kyu.
“You’re sticking close to Daddy, right?”
—Kyuu.
I walked down the street with Whitey, who had turned transparent.
The signs had bizarre, curly letters, but fortunately, I could read them.
Even the merchants hawking their wares came through clearly translated.
“Freshly baked hot bread for sale! 2 points!”
“Fresh fruits here! Starting at 1 point!”
It was treated like a gate.
The text and language came through properly there too.
Seeing daily necessities priced in this weird point system, it seemed points were basically currency in this world.
‘Actions accumulate points, huh.’
I still didn’t know the full range of actions or what specifically earned points.
I grabbed one passerby and asked.
“Is there a mercenary guild around here?”
“Mercenary guild? Head that way.”
“Thanks.”
When you had neither proper identification nor money, the classic fantasy solution was to become a mercenary.
I followed the passerby’s directions. Soon, a large building came into view.
[Mercenary Guild]
Stepping inside, I saw rough-looking mercenaries drinking.
Their eyes began flicking toward me.
“A newbie?”
“Heh, pretty face on him.”
Soon, a bald, muscled mercenary shot to his feet and closed the distance. A sleazy smile played on his lips, of course.
“Hey, pretty boy. Mercenary work ain’t easy. So, what I’m saying is…”
“Three seconds.”
“Huh?”
“Scram.”
“Ha! This old hag’s gonna let you earn some easy points…”
Bam!
The guy crumpled into the wall with a crash after I smashed his face with my scabbard.
The mercenaries’ faces hardened.
“What? Kondel just got wrecked?”
“He’s Gold-rank.”
I glanced around.
The mercenaries who’d met my eyes quickly whipped their heads away.
Looks like the guy I’d just dropped was something of a big shot.
I approached the counter.
“Can I become a mercenary?”
“Y-Yes. Of, of course. Do you have any ID or anything like that?”
“Nope.”
“I-I see. Then you’ll need a temporary silver badge. Once you build up achievements, you’ll get the official one. Here you go.”
The clerk handed over a round silver badge.
[You have become a ‘Temporary Silver Badge Mercenary.’]
[200 points awarded.]
[Current points: 200]
Actions accumulate points, huh.
Even becoming a mercenary gave points.
“Silver badge…”
“R-Raising your rank requires achievements.”
“How high can I go with good achievements?”
“Adamantium. You can even reach that here. Of course, it takes massive achievements.”
Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Adamantium.
The guild badges had five ranks total.
“Where do I see missions?”
“Right here.”
The clerk pointed to the bulletin board.
Mission postings plastered on it.
[Hike the Mountain]
[Climb the mountain.]
[Time limit: 30 minutes]
[Difficulty: Lowest]
[Reward: 10 points]
[Beast Hunt]
[A dark mountain ruled by a pack of ferocious beasts. Hunt them down.]
[Time limit: 2 hours]
[Difficulty: Low]
[Reward: 50 points]
[Encounter with Assassins]
[You’ve encountered a band of seasoned assassins. Can you survive?]
[Time limit: 5 hours]
[Difficulty: Medium]
[Reward: 200 points]
[Volcanic Zone Investigation]
[A scorching volcanic region. Strange cries echo from its depths…]
[Time limit: 24 hours]
[Difficulty: Medium-High]
[Reward: 1,000 points]
[Cyclops Village]
[Subjugate the entire cyclops horde.]
[Time limit: 48 hours]
[Difficulty: High]
[Reward: 10,000 points]
[Vampire’s Ancient Castle]
[Subjugate the vampire horde guarding the castle.]
[Time limit: None]
[Difficulty: Highest]
[Reward: 500,000 points,???]
[Remaining attempts: 1/1]
“How do I take a mission?”
“Tear off the paper there. It’ll teleport you to the location. But…”
The clerk glanced at me and warned.
“Missions medium difficulty and above kill you on failure. So don’t rush in blindly.”
“Got it. That highest difficulty one has a attempt limit. Does it apply across all cities?”
“Yes. Completing it removes it from every city’s list. Though no one’s ever done it.”
I nodded.
Hiking or beast hunts?
You’d loop those forever and stay in the lower ranks.
The points were that stingy.
Upper missions, though?
Just clearing the cyclops one netted 10,000 points in two days. The vampire castle went without saying.
500,000 points.
Obviously a massive score.
I could roughly gauge difficulties from that.
Cyclopes alone were tricky monsters.
Average level 600+.
Giant-types with power ogres couldn’t touch.
‘A village means they’ll be swarming.’
Wiping them out for 10,000 points.
But 50 times that, plus extras?
‘Difficulty at least 50x higher.’
A vampire horde at that level?
‘All purebloods, probably.’
Vampire strength scales with their blood purity. Real deal pureblood vampires.
That’s what they called them. If the castle crawled with those, 500k points wasn’t unreasonable.
“Got a question.”
“Go ahead.”
Maybe because I’d one-shot a Gold-rank, the clerk was super polite.
“How are necromancers viewed here?”
“What… Not bad?”
“Even summoning undead and walking around?”
“Yeah. No restrictions as long as you don’t harm others.”
Perfect.
I immediately summoned Cedric and Merhen. A massive skeleton and a woman with a parasol. The clerk didn’t freak out.
Just.
“… Huh, a real necromancer.”
Asked like it was a bit surprising.
“Yeah. Do you get points for working here?”
“Yes. 500 a month.”
“500 points. That’s 50 hikes, right?”
“True. But regular folks can’t finish it in 30 minutes. Their bodies can’t keep up.”
Figured as much.
I nodded and eyed the clerk.
“Is 500 above average?”
“Odd jobs pay 10 a day. Compared to that, not bad.”
Missions available meant…
Climbing a mountain for elite status? Made sense in this world.
Odd jobs took all day for 10 points, but 30-minute hike gave 10.
24 hours in a day.
12 hours hiking? 240 points.
24x odd job wage.
Point printing machine.
Hiking that good?
‘Can’t not try it.’
I summoned Hail.
Clatter!
Pointing at the board, I told the saluting skeleton.
“Hail. Rip that and climb the mountain.”
Clatter!
He dashed over and tore the paper.
That instant.
[‘Hail’s position has changed!]
[Too far away!]
[Summon canceled!]
‘Too bad.’
Tearing the paper teleported far away, it seemed.
Point copy plan 1: failed.
No biggie.
‘Got more plans.’
Do whatever, points from actions.
Missions the only option?
Nah.
I pulled a decent weapon from inventory and eyed the clerk.
“How many points for this sword?”
“Hm. Mind if I check?”
I handed it over. It was a level 100 general-grade item skeletons could make.
He nodded soon after.
“Nice sword. Good for same-rank, maybe even Silver mercs. I don’t know exact market, but… around 400 points?”
400 was eight low missions.
‘General-grade at that price.’
Skeletons made 10 items, 3 usually magic-grade.
Magic-grade would sell way higher.
I looked at the clerk.
“Anything else?”
“The 150 cities. How far apart?”
“By carriage, nearby ones take a day.”
The clerk—Malcolm—pulled paper and drew.
A small circle.
A bigger one above.
Circles lined up.
“Our City 123 is here.”
He tapped the corner of the biggest.
Not too far.
‘Nice.’
Cities 1 to 150.
Worried they were isolated, but no. Just spaced out.
This setup…
“Merchant caravans around?”
“Of course.”
Point copy plan.
Found it.
No trading existing items.
Making from held materials? Useless.
Can’t sell.
But materials bought here to craft?
That existing items rule?
‘Nah.’
Not pre-held.
Merchant houses stocked materials galore.
Perfect supply.
“Biggest merchant house here?”
“Malrey Trading Company’s the most famous. Trades with thirty nearby cities.”
Satisfied nod.
Crafting point copy.
Needs easy materials.
Overflowing buyers? Better.
‘Thirty cities…’
Silver and Gold mercs everywhere. Demand not limited there.
Cities had lords, guards, knights.
Everyone wants good gear and armor.
‘Perfect.’
A few more questions. Got all needed info, then…
“How do point transfers work?”
“Just think it.”
Tried as the clerk said.
That instant.
[Transfer 50 points to clerk ‘Malcolm’?]
Oh, it works.
He nodded.
[Points transferred to Malcolm!]
Malcolm’s eyes bulged at the sudden 50 points.
“Huh? Why me…”
“Info fee.”
“Th-Thank you.”
Malcolm bowed, stunned. Reward for thorough answers despite hassle.
“Anything else…”
“Nah, I’m good. Later.”
Left the guild.
Merhen passed as human-like.
Even with full-skeleton Cedric, citizens barely glanced.
Necromancer-friendly city, as Malcolm said.
20 minutes later, destination in sight.
〈Malrey Trading Company Branch〉
Merchant house.
[Accumulate the most points over the week.]
[If you gather a certain level of points or higher, something special might happen.]
Special event at high points.
Time to find out.
Point-copying here.