Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Mythic Era Begins
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Sighing in regret, but...
Even so, acquiring a Mythic Class had made gameplay incredibly smooth.
Revenge's class system was shared across all characters like a collection, which amplified the effect. Hadn't the item drop quality jumped to another level already?
[Ice Giant's Forest: Killianspo has acquired the Guardian Ring of Chill (Rare)!]
"Oh!"
Just like that. I kept auto-hunt running and opened my inventory.
[Guardian Ring of Chill (Rare)]
Cold Resistance +45%
"Here goes."
I immediately reinforced the cold resistance ring up to +5.
Then I used a [Blessed Accessory Reinforcement Scroll]. Success with this scroll reinforces from +1 up to a maximum of +3.
[Reinforcing equipment...]
I watched the hammering animation closely.
[Success! The Guardian Ring of Chill has been reinforced from +5 to +7!]
"Oh!"
Thrilled, I used another Blessed Accessory Reinforcement Scroll. A +2 success here would take it straight to +9.
[Reinforcing equipment...]
Watching the hammer strike the anvil, I was certain.
"It's a success."
[The equipment has been destroyed.]
"Ah..."
I sat there dazed for a moment, tidied my inventory, restocked potions, and resumed auto-hunt.
"Whew... It'll happen eventually. Rings are dropping two a day anyway."
High-level hunting grounds were great. Rare items kept popping up every now and then.
[The equipment has been destroyed.]
"Argh!"
Furious at the constant destructions, I still couldn't give up on reinforcing.
'I need at least one +9 Guardian Ring of Chill.'
I no longer worried about Sword Master Khan Slasher. Starting's forces were incomparably stronger than before, and a Heroic-grade castle wasn't something even a Sword Master could breach easily.
'Not the right situation anyway.'
The orc horde was under attack from Ice Elementals. Reports from scouts scattered everywhere suggested they were holding, but it was inherently a disadvantageous fight.
'Hotspot monsters are attribute-based.'
Even at the same Advanced grade, orc warriors were getting one-sidedly pushed by Ice Elementals.
Physical attacks got halved against attribute monsters, and their strikes carried chill damage—without cold resistance, defense was tough.
Of course, cold resistance gear would make them easier than regular mobs, but where were the orcs supposed to get that now?
They were enduring this bad matchup thanks to nearby respawns as defenders and Khan Slasher's desperate efforts.
"Log in."
I entered Ardania.
Then I scanned the reports piled on my desk.
"Ah... I'm going insane with how busy it is."
When I was only busy on Earth, sleeping in Ardania solved it, but now work was piling up here too, crippling my sleep time.
"Thank goodness we succeeded in imprinting elements on the leyline."
Grumbling, I drew up chakra.
Body (Body), Sleep (Sleep), Dual Gate (Dual Gate) Opening (Opening).
Perfect Sleep (Perfect Sleep).
I activated the technique from simultaneously opening Body and Sleep.
Blink.
I closed and opened my eyes. Just 30 minutes of short sleep, but my exhaustion recovered dramatically.
"What a luxurious nap."
Other chakra practitioners would curse me for creating such a wasteful technique if they knew. Opening miscellaneous elements diluted one's potential.
'But it doesn't apply to me.'
I could imprint one element per acupoint, and success meant it received all sorts of buffs from the acupoint's power.
Hand seals and incantations omitted.
Mental power consumption minimized.
Capacity reduced too.
"At this point... I should make a combat version instead of just recovery."
Unfortunately, training time was short.
Duties as a lord—no, castle lord—were more urgent.
"I'm really going to die... Short on money, short on talent..."
In that short time, Starting and Wild Boar had seen dazzling growth.
Over 30,000 residents total, housing more than 1,500 players.
But administrative staff was woefully inadequate, and the influx of outsiders destabilized security.
Food was plentiful enough for the booming population, but everything else was lacking.
Housing was becoming an issue. Starting and Wild Boar were nearly city-sized, but not ready to take in unlimited people.
"I need to keep recruiting administrators, select elite soldiers for empty castles, and attach about 1,000 residents to them..."
That's when it happened.
Knock knock.
"Come in."
The door opened at my words, and Flower entered. She'd been diligently dungeon-running as a healer and even joined the Fast Three sect, but past level 30, leveling slowed, and with both knights now leading parties that cleared Hell difficulty effortlessly, she'd returned to head maid.
"An army approaches from the west."
"West? Around there... Kobolds?"
"Humans. From the Voxy Kingdom."
I looked up from my approval papers at her words.
"Numbers?"
"About 15,000 troops. And 80,000 refugees trailing them."
"Oh man..."
A scale worlds apart from previous refugee groups.
"Leader?"
"Voxy Kingdom's king. White Fox."
"The king himself..."
Ardania had four major powers.
Ming Empire.
Holy Empire.
Crystal League.
And the Eight Kingdoms.
The Ming Empire held the Heavenly Origin, the continent's strongest force—closest to a Middle Kingdom empire.
Smack in the continent's heartland with all the prime real estate, boasting massive population and might.
Pride in centrality led them to call themselves Central Folk, scorning others and souring relations.
Now shattered and splintered, but modeled after ancient China's golden age, I'd heard.
Next, Holy Empire.
Largest territory in the west, though much was desert, limiting population.
Heavily religious, with the pope rivaling the emperor's authority.
Crystal League was a subhuman alliance—beastkin, elves, dwarves, etc.
In the south, mostly forests and jungles, closed to humans—I'd never been.
And finally...
'The Eight Kingdoms.'
Loose alliance, not tightly knit. Just similar natures and proximity, banding against empires or leagues when tense.
'Like an interest cartel.'
"They lost their capital, huh. Makes sense—hotspot there, hard to hold."
The nine continental hotspots: Holy Empire 3, Ming Empire 1, Crystal League 3, Eight Kingdoms 2.
'Now it's "were."'
Non-lowbie zones—every power not on the outskirts—suffered catastrophic losses from acupoint-spawned monsters. Chrome Kingdom and Voxy, with capitals on hotspots, hit hardest.
They'd boasted about special leylines, but paid dearly for it.
'But still, coming here?'
Acupoint distances weren't trivial. 100km walkable for Earth civilians, but in this medieval land, few crossed them casually—even with leyline highways, it was no joke.
Yet they trekked hundreds of km with refugees...
Not to nearby castles—why ours specifically?
"Distance?"
"Expected in three days."
"Three days."
I tapped my quill, organized my thoughts, then decided.
"Time to greet them."
"Greet... you mean?"
"Yeah. Call Steelstone, Hundred, Smile. Prep 300 elite mounted pet riders max."
"Yes, my lord."
After Flower left, I sorted my thoughts.
'Need more return scrolls.'
No reason to hesitate.
"Log out."
Back at the convenience store, I checked the auction house.
And was shocked.
"Ah... Why's the price like this?"
Return scrolls: 10-pack for 10 diamonds before—1 diamond each, 100 won.
Now 100 diamonds per 10-pack.
1,000 won each!
"Ten times higher!?"
Absurd—price surged tenfold, listings exploded. No shortage now, but cash was the issue.
"Even cherry-picking, moving that many needs tens of thousands... But buying at this will just drive it higher, right?"
I laughed in disbelief. Useless trash item skyrockets because someone bought some...
Ridiculous. All scammers?
"Need it bad, but can't stomach this price."
Money was tight anyway. Plenty of places to spend, couldn't dump here.
I'd stockpiled about 8,000— no need to panic. Regrettable, but... refugees would walk.
"Scrolls were so abundant they were trash; a month or so, price'll normalize."
Potions low then, I finished auto-hunt and headed to the castle.
Players there chatted on seeing me.
SaradaMatna: Whoa! Mythic char!
Aladdin: So cool. Our castle has a Mythic running around.
Cellier: Hey, Killianspo? That guy from the announcement? No-spender, right...
Papaya: Notice today said not no-spender. Over 100 mil charged, rumor.
Cellier: ? But why's gear like that?
They buzzed about me, but nothing happened. Ignored the occasional greeters and moved on.
'Surprising.'
Truth was...
I figured my no-spender Revenge char might get terrorized with a Mythic Class.
Wouldn't you?
They dump billions for what I got free—recipe for resentment. Revenge allows PK anywhere unsafe, so ganking my hunting char wouldn't be weird.
'But it hasn't happened...'
Mid-tier spenders I could handle with Mythic, but whales would've wrecked me—no provocations.
'Well... No need to overthink like it's real life. It's a game.'
Ninth Mythic was big news, but just that. High average age meant fewer childish antics.
Rumble...
"Hm?"
Sudden noise—I moused up to the sky.
Clouds gathering.
"Huh? This..."
Familiar sight.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
"This is..."
No players jealous of my Mythic Class came to terrorize or assassinate.
Right. None.
Top players stimulated by Mythics don't act [that way].
-Finally ascending to transcendence, rising to the heavens in mortal flesh.
-God, forgive us.
I didn't know.
What fire my Mythic Class lit under ultra-high rollers. What brewed in the unreachable heavens beyond small fry imagination.
Their-
[Rivalry]...
[All hail. The 10th Mythic has been born here and now.]
[All hail. The 11th Mythic has been born here and now.]
How it unfolded.
[His name is First-Gen Red Bear]
[His name is Conscript Archmage]
"You crazy bastards..."
Groaning at the sky.
[From this moment, for 24 hours, all hunting grounds gain 100% EXP buff.]
[Stack occurred!]
[From this moment, for 24 hours, all hunting grounds gain 200% EXP buff.]
"No way..."
[Announcement repeated: The 10th Mythic has been born here and now.]
[Announcement repeated: The 11th Mythic has been born here and now.]
"These guys are insane!"
Later dubbed...
The day the [Mythic Era] began.