Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: 5. You've Got the Wrong Person
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After a moment of contemplation, Sung-hoon decided to take on the long-term escort mission treated as a staple. He'd been moving non-stop until now, but he realized that simply staying busy wasn't yielding results anymore. He might have gained various benefits early on, but lately, the presence of top rankers was pushing him back. The latest rankings confirmed it.
Sung-hoon's rank was 21st.
In the First City, where tens of thousands of players resided, 21st place was an insane ranking. But since the player was Sung-hoon, the evaluation shifted from "impressive" to "not as good as expected." Sung-hoon had nearly monopolized the first-clear bonus for the Massacre quest early on. Plus, by tackling missions with diverse abilities, his stat growth rate was quite solid.
If he had just a bit more talent, 21st wouldn't have been the issue—he might have cracked the top 10, or even top 5.
"It's all because I'm lacking. What can I do? Still, landing this spot is something."
By raw stats, 21st place. By actual combat prowess, lower. By situational adaptability, higher. Sung-hoon assessed himself that way before heading to recruit a party. He touched the box in his inventory.
After hesitating briefly, he clicked on Loki's Gift next to it. This time, a skill book appeared.
Bluff
Grade:Rare (Upper)Type:Passive
Sometimes, truth doesn't work in this world. Lies can sometimes be more effective than truth.
The target will subconsciously believe the user's words to be true.
Slightly increases the probability of persuading the target with words.
"What is this?"
In terms of grade, it was Rare (Upper), higher than any skill Sung-hoon had learned, but the effect was so useless it made him tilt his head. After pondering, Sung-hoon realized it resembled his Betrayer title. The Betrayer title was handy early on but useless for hunting monsters lately. In that sense, Bluff seemed equally impractical.
It lacked precise numbers, using vague terms like "subconsciously" and "slightly," and it didn't work on monsters who couldn't understand speech anyway. He thought it was worthless. He wanted to sell it immediately, but swordsmen were supposed to learn and use all skills.
Still, a Rare (Upper) skill was better than nothing, so Sung-hoon sighed and learned Bluff.
Ellie accepted Sung-hoon's party invite without hesitation.
"Honestly, I was anxious too. But if it's with someone as kind as Sung-hoon oppa, I'm totally welcome!"
"Think before you speak. Did you even consider it?"
"I thought it through plenty. So, we're a party now, right?"
Seeing Ellie's innocent smile and her bouncing around, Sung-hoon sighed involuntarily. Her abilities were great, but he worried how to handle this pure, immature girl. After matching timings on a few E-grade missions, they agreed to tackle a C-grade together. Ellie had already completed her first awakening, advancing from Mage to Apprentice Witch, but she agreed to help with Sung-hoon's.
As soon as they spotted each other near the plaza, Ellie ran over first.
"What mission are we doing? I know a few good ones if you want!"
"Like what?"
"Hmm. Lizardman Raid, Skeleton Ambush Pack, Coastal Fortress Defense."
"I've done two of those, and the last one's too risky. I have something in mind, so let's go."
"Okay!"
Sung-hoon glanced at Ellie trotting along like a baby bird following its mother, then began circling the plaza. From Young-gi's list, he'd already found someone appealing: Yoo Chae-rin, a spirit summoner specializing in merchant escorts. The mission suited him, but more importantly, her stability was the reason.
She'd cleared the C-grade merchant escort only four times, but in the most stable way possible: by gathering a large group.
She formed parties of over thirty for these missions. Rewards split accordingly—of course, they diminished. Even a million guild reward divided among that many yielded barely 30,000 guild per person. For a long-term mission spanning days, that was a huge loss. Yet plenty still took them.
'People like me.'
First awakening quests varied by class but were mostly similar: clear a C-grade mission. That's why crowds gathered. Finding them was easy—they were the ten or so shouting loudly.
"C-grade merchant escort..."
"Any spots left for two?"
"Sure, spots available. Can I see your Glory Proofs?"
"Here."
Yoo Chae-rin covered her mouth in surprise after checking Sung-hoon's and Ellie's proofs.
"Wow, Sung-hoon-ssi, you're a ranker, right? Stats are pretty high. And Ellie-ssi, you're a mage?"
"It's nothing. Haven't done first awakening yet."
"Nah. You're here for this before the forced mission, so you're aiming to awaken first. Makes you a ranker, of course."
Sung-hoon just smiled at her sharp insight. Without him saying, she spotted others like him seeking awakening. After light greetings with those shouting behind, Sung-hoon and Ellie started securing spots.
Soon, after adding four more, Chae-rin nodded satisfied.
"Great! Let's go. The rest wait at the mission office."
Chae-rin seemed quite reputable—even rough-looking bruisers and sleazy guys followed without complaint. Over twenty men trailing one woman might look odd, but it wasn't rare here.
Fifteen waiting at the mission office. Seventeen Chae-rin gathered. Including her, thirty-three lined up orderly.
"Our mission is C-grade Merchant Escort! Clear time ten days. No damage to the caravan for 30,000 guild per person. Questions?"
"Isn't C-grade a bit hard?"
"I've done this escort over four times. Tough, sure, but way easier than monster extermination."
"How's monster corpse distribution?"
"Goes to whoever kills it."
A few more questions followed, and Chae-rin answered smoothly, experienced.
"Tch. Instead of this, just finish quick and rest more."
"Eh, not bad. Think of it as sightseeing."
"Sightseeing... trip... just the two of us... engagement... Ahh, Sung-hoon oppa, we're not there yet..."
Sung-hoon lightly tapped Ellie's head to rein in her dangerous delusions and sighed. The awakening was a goal for this escort, but the main purpose was solidifying his foundations.
Sung-hoon's combat style was crude. Smooth with just the sword, but mixing other abilities made it clunky. "Just use the sword then?" But he was a swordsman.
If he could learn and use all abilities, he should utilize them. Otherwise, why not just be a pure swordsman?
"...Alright, prep seems done. Everyone got everything? Checked thoroughly?"
"Quit asking a million times and let's move. We ain't got all day?"
Even to the man's gruff tone, Chae-rin smiled brightly.
"Still, lucky to have two rankers among such skilled folks."
"Huh?"
Sung-hoon unwittingly voiced his surprise. Two rankers? One was him—he'd let the "ranker" label slide without denial.
But another besides him?
Scanning the indifferent group, Sung-hoon's eyes met someone in the corner. Deep gray hood shadowed their face, but a chill like a snake slithering down his back hit him.
"Waiiit!"
Sadly, before Sung-hoon's cry could erupt, Chae-rin's voice rang out first.
"Let's begin!"
Merchant Escort
Grade: C
The mid-sized Pelbram Merchant Group, facing worsening finances, pulled out their trump card: transporting fragile, monster-attracting Fermion Extract.
Protect the Pelbram caravan from monster attacks and ensure safe arrival at the destination.
Achievement Conditions
1. Deliveryman: Reach destination within 20 days (0/20).
Cargo damage under 50%.
2. Escort: Within 15 days (0/15).
Cargo damage under 25%.
3. Bodyguard: Within 10 days (0/10).
Cargo damage under 10%.
Basic Reward: 300,000 Guild. Fame +100
Bodyguard Clear Bonus: 600,000 Guild, Advanced Recovery Potion x30