The Fortress Awaits
Fafnir headed toward the fortress area far from the city.
“Stop right there. This is a private civilian controlled zone.”
NPC guards leveled their spears at him.
Fafnir handed over his commission letter.
“I have the commission letter here.”
“A commission letter? Are you here to enlist in the scouting unit?”
The guards who scanned Gerard’s commission letter nodded and let Fafnir pass.
-You have entered Turtle Rock Fortress.
-New region discovered.
-Exploration points acquired.
“Master Bernhart is at the second outpost.”
‘It seems word has already spread about the orcs.’
Turtle Rock Fortress held greater authority than the city lord.
It was the place that had received military command from the king directly.
For this reason they usually didn’t allow such easy passage.
So it seemed reports of unusual activity around the area had already reached adventurers and they had begun to reach out to them.
The prediction had been spot on.
“I’m Bernhart. You came here on Master Gerard’s recommendation?”
“Yes, here is the information I obtained.”
Bernhart slowly reviewed the documents.
Every time the night-flower like beard made a dry rustling sound.
“Even the lycans are part of the orc forces. This is bigger than I thought.”
It wasn’t just wolves joining the orcs.
Orc-mounted wolves were completely different in level and characteristics.
Unbelievable mobility combined with a monster born from the ferocity of the wolf and the power of the orc.
If such things were happening simultaneously across multiple monsters?
“I’ll report to the chief first.”
“Thank you.”
-Quest “Signs of War” completed.
-Experience points acquired.
The reward for the delivery quest wasn’t particularly large.
“By the way, it says you wanted to enlist in the scouting unit?”
“Yes, I want to protect the city.”
“A splendid mindset. Good!”
-Position “Turtle Rock Fortress Scouting Unit” has been created.
-New quest “Registration” has been created.
“Head straight to the 11th platoon. It’s a unit made up only of adventurers, so it should be easy to adapt.”
Many users were also receiving quests from the guard unit besides Fafnir.
The unit composed only of such users was the 11th platoon.
Although the NPC was the platoon leader, all the members were users.
“Newcomer to the scouting unit? Well… you look like you have a decent build.”
The training instructor NPC scanned Fafnir from head to toe.
“I’ll tell you first though, soldiers in the scouting unit need to train. Of course since you’re an adventurer you can skip that kind of training. What will you do?”
“Of course I need to train.”
It was a good opportunity for the necromancer Fafnir to supplement his strength stats.
“Alright then, let’s get to work right away… what?!”
The training instructor was startled.
“You’re really going to do the training?”
“Yes.”
“This can’t be… I’ve been here for ten years, but I’ve never seen an adventurer like you who does actual training.”
“…”
Had it only been about eleven months since the game service started?
“Good, let’s move immediately.”
The instructor said.
Training began.
***
Kim Ganghan devoting himself wholeheartedly to Horizon.
However Kim Ganghan had not forgotten the quest given by the original author.
“No unusual symptoms in the body.”
A week later he visited the hospital.
The results of the health check the doctor had explained were not as bad as expected.
“Liver and fat are fine too… no need to worry about cancer.”
The problem was his naturally weak constitution.
“No prescription needed, how about starting some exercise?”
“Understood.”
“If anything comes up feel free to come anytime.”
After leaving the hospital Kim Ganghan immediately put the doctor’s advice into practice.
Laxstar Health Club.
He split his nonexistent money to join a large club near his home, changed into workout clothes and came out.
‘If I fail because I only play games and neglect my body there’ll be no shame in it.’
Strength needed to support hard labor and to stay up for days conquering bosses.
Kim Ganghan took his stance as instructed by the trainer.
Deadlifts for biceps, back, and shoulders.
Running to supplement endurance and full-body strength.
He didn’t forget squats to fill out the weak lower body.
‘For the sake of health I’m doing it but it’s harder than I thought.’
His basic fitness being so poor that even about thirty minutes of exercise left his limbs screaming.
The trainer approached when his form broke.
“Your squat form is a little off. Pull your hips back more.”
A beautiful woman trainer with her hair tied like a broomstick.
The sight of the trainer looking at Kim Ganghan looked like honey would drip at any moment.
“I’m sorry.”
“No worries, since you just started today it’s only natural.”
Besides the trainer several female members were also looking this way from various spots in the health club.
Kim Ganghan scratched his head.
‘I feel a bit strange.’
Or rather, in reality he had never once received such attention.
Kim Ganghan hadn’t neglected exercise.
One of the virtues of a pro gamer was physical management.
For that he had never missed at least two hours of exercise every day in reality.
The reason was obvious.
‘This Oh Jinhwan’s body…’
Kim Ganghan stroked his face.
‘As expected being handsome is nice.’
Oh Jinhwan’s face objectively fell within the top 10%.
Not celebrity level but close enough.
Because the novel hadn’t depicted it well Kim Ganghan had only noticed after transmigrating.
“Then I’ll go for now. It’s the first day so it’s a bit tough.”
With time up Kim Ganghan immediately left the health club.
“Hoo…”
Upon arriving at the monthly room Kim Ganghan shoveled salad and chicken breast into his mouth.
‘Since delicious food is eaten inside Horizon.’
He didn’t know how but the sensations felt inside Horizon were no different from reality… no, better than reality.
Things that hadn’t been developed in reality.
Because it was the world of a game fantasy novel it was possible.
‘First I need to build muscle in these limbs.’
Besides the health club he also changed his diet.
Chicken breast and salad rich in protein.
Other than that he didn’t drink water carelessly.
“…”
Kim Ganghan who was eating chicken breast suddenly flinched.
Suddenly he felt nausea and his whole body burned with fever.
“No, what is this…”
Kim Ganghan who had taken fever medicine and immediately lay in bed thought.
‘Is this because my health is bad?’
A constitution that had frequent minor ailments beyond imagination.
In virtual reality games no matter how much he moved his body was fine but reality was different.
‘This really needs fixing in more than one or two places…’
There was a mountain of things to do.
Kim Ganghan’s sigh under the blanket grew thicker.
***
On the way to Turtle Rock Fortress.
Because it was mountainous terrain there were plenty of undiscovered dungeons everywhere.
Places where users had also given up because the terrain was rough and hunting was difficult.
While Fafnir was training.
Bell and the elite skeleton soldiers had settled into one of them.
Kiiiik!
Kick!
The dungeons already had owners.
Cave kobolds and bats living in the caves.
Those who had already settled launched endless attacks at the new intruders.
“Zuuuge!”
Kaa!
The cave kobolds were level 55 monsters.
Similar to blood wolves but stronger in group combat and use of equipment.
Such monsters kept bursting out endlessly.
A normal user party would have been forced to turn back even if exhausted.
However the skeleton soldiers and Bell never got tired.
The skeleton soldiers had no stamina and Bell had bloodsucking ability.
In the end the cave kobolds were the ones who reached their limit first.
“Kyu!”
“Dakk!”
After the battle the skeleton soldiers immediately headed to another place.
There was nothing to loot so gold and equipment stayed on the floor!
If Fafnir had known he would have gritted his teeth but the skeleton soldiers were relaxed.
“Dakk.”
“Dakk!”
Not only levels had risen.
Basic swordsmanship or combat timing and improvisation had increased greatly.
The things Fafnir had taught were sinking into real battle.
Bell had grown too.
From the blood weapon several skills had leveled up by two.
And the utilization of each skill had become proficient.
If they had been beginner game novices when they first fought they were now at a state of mastering combos and techniques.
“We need to handle the corpses.”
Bell said looking at No. 1.
The person with the highest command authority here was naturally Bell.
Because he was physically stronger and had diverse abilities.
It couldn’t be helped since the owner’s blood was mixed in.
“…”
The only one who could talk to Bell was No. 1.
The first elite skeleton soldier created!
In company terms it was like the founding member of Fafnir Company.
“Dakk.”
No. 1 called No. 2 and No. 3 after receiving the order.
“Dakk? (Yes?)”
“Dakk. (You called us?)”
No. 2 and No. 3 stood at attention.
There was no trace of them having shouted at No. 1 earlier.
Swish. No. 1 waved his hand instead of answering.
No. 3 understood immediately and left but No. 2 was different.
“Dakk? (Why only us?)”
Trolls had quick tempers and often got angry.
Having used their bones No. 2 also had a similar temperament.
“…”
No. 1 stared at No. 2 for a moment then kicked his shin.
“Dakk!”
No. 2 had been hit like dust in the rain.
Although there was no pain for the skeleton soldiers it felt like pain that hadn’t existed on No. 1’s hand was revived!
After thirty minutes No. 1 gave another order.
“…”
No. 2 without a word took up the shovel next to the pit No. 3 was digging.
Meanwhile No. 1 picked up his sword again.
“Zuuuge!”
No. 1 alone blocking the coming kobolds.
Even though he naturally didn’t like fighting he was a hundred times better than digging pits.
The day of the skeleton soldiers ended that way.
***
“The training is over here. Good work.”
The instructor said to Fafnir in a 180 degree different attitude from when they first met.
-Scouting unit training completed.
-New position “Turtle Rock Fortress Scouting Soldier” has been created.
-You can enter and exit Turtle Rock Fortress at any time.
-Strength has grown.
-Strength stat increased by +1.
-High-level running training completed.
-Endurance stat increased by +1.
-New skill “Power Sprint” acquired.
-New skill “Running Mastery” acquired.
The results were satisfactory.
Additional stats came in every time training ended.
Not only that.
-Obtained favorability of 30 or more from more than half of the 11th platoon members.
-The 11th platoon members think of you as “a person they can trust to some extent.”
-Additional rewards can be obtained when you complete Turtle Rock Fortress quests successfully.
Having endured the grueling training and won the soldiers’ trust was a bonus.
As he roamed around doing quests his favorability had risen a lot too.
Naturally the high-reward “honey quest” that was commonly called also gave priority to Fafnir from the same person.
Not only that.
-You can obtain the Baran Kingdom subordinate official position.
-Will you change your position? (Y/N)
A special quest other users hadn’t received had come out.
‘Are you crazy, making me do something like a subordinate official?’
Of course Fafnir flatly refused.
A subordinate official?
It was only natural if he thought about how subordinates and professional sergeants were treated in reality.
‘If I’m going to widen the gap from those adventurers I can’t get tied up in something like this.’
The existing users who looked at him displeasingly.
Item specs were one thing but they were also decent since they were doing quests on the level of entering the guard unit.
People who could even place in the top three in a local league.
To overwhelm them he would have to work even harder.
‘No, those guys shouldn’t even come into my eyes. I have to become even stronger and bury the rankers and everything so my goal is achieved.’
While devoting himself to training his level was slowly rising but that wasn’t a problem.
The reason? Simple.
-Level up!
Because even if he stayed still experience points from the skeleton soldiers and Bell were coming in.
Though it might be a bit short on experience he had no reason to level up.
‘Good.’
Fafnir stood up.
‘Now that the training is over let’s start digging up the hidden quests.’
Favorability was a key.
A key that could open the stories and quests of firmly locked NPCs.
Now a small request from one soldier could become a mega quest that saved a country or the world.
This fortress was actually a treasure warehouse.
‘I should call Hilde-nim too soon… to face the orc event having more hands was better.’
Two would be much better than one after all.
Thinking this way a new notification window appeared before Fafnir.
-Emergency quest has occurred.
-Turtle Rock Fortress outpost chief Bernhart has summoned the unit.
-Do you accept the new quest? (Y/N)
-Emergency summons. Go to the fortress defense commander Bernhart within 10 minutes.
“…”
Fafnir wore a bewildered expression.
