Unexpected Jackpot (1)
Lizardman Chieftain, Luderak
📍 Content: The new Lizardman chieftain who descended from the Northern Region. Thwart Luderak's plan to assemble the surrounding Lizardman tribes and raid humans, then eliminate him.
🎁 Reward: Chieftain's Necklace (Rank: E), 20 Gold
"This is...?"
Yeong-sik tilted his head, staring at the quest window floating before his eyes.
Bae Han-seong approached him.
"Did you find a quest-start item?"
A message window had appeared in front of Bae Han-seong as well, judging by his intrigued expression as he asked Yeong-sik.
Yeong-sik nodded in response.
"I don't really know what a quest-start item is... but the moment I found this wooden plank, the message popped up."
"Haha. It means exactly what it says. You're lucky, though. You found a clue to the boss monster's location right away."
He glanced at the wooden plank Yeong-sik held out and spoke those words.
Bae Han-seong frowned as he examined the Lizardman script carved into the plank.
"Ugh. As expected of monster language—can't make heads or tails of it."
Yeong-sik clamped his mouth shut upon hearing that.
He could clearly understand the meaning of the words engraved on that plank.
This wasn't his first time experiencing something like this.
The word "Yeong-sik" etched on the back of his left hand was also written in characters only he could read.
Why can I interpret all writing?
Yeong-sik gazed down at his body with a puzzled expression.
But no matter how much he pondered, he couldn't find an answer.
He knew nothing about himself, after all.
Will a day come when I can finally understand?
Yeong-sik lifted his head, his eyes tinged with a faint bitterness.
The world before him suddenly felt alien.
It was like being abandoned alone in an infinite void.
"Yeong-sik? Everything okay?"
Seo A-ra asked, noticing him staring blankly into space.
Snapping out of it at her words, Yeong-sik lightly shook his head.
"Nah, it's nothing."
Saying that, he approached Bae Han-seong, who was turning the plank over in his hands.
"So, if we follow the map on this plank, we'll find the boss, right?"
"Yes. I've been to this swamp a few times, so I think I know where the marked spot is."
Yeong-sik nodded and continued.
"Man, boss monsters sure have insane rewards. 20 Gold just from this... That's over 20 million won in Korean currency."
Considering that an elite monster dropped 35 silver, it showed just how valuable a boss monster was.
"You'll see—this is pocket change compared to high-level boss monsters later. Catching just one is a jackpot."
Bae Han-seong shrugged and added,
"And don't sleep on that E-rank item either. Honestly, items are often worth more than the gold. They're so rare in this world that even low-grade ones fetch a high price."
"I see."
"Though, it's usually better to use them yourself rather than sell. We'll decide after checking the stats."
Yeong-sik nodded at his words.
Bae Han-seong glanced at the map and started walking forward.
"That said, we struggled with an elite monster—won't the boss be tough?"
Yeong-sik frowned slightly, recalling the elite Lizardman they'd just taken down.
Even though he and A-ra hadn't taken much damage, Gil-su's wounds had been far from negligible.
Thank goodness healing magic could mend them; anything worse might have been fatal.
At this rate, the boss—stronger than the elite—could one-shot them.
And if it was a one-shot kill, healing magic and potions would be useless.
There was no way to revive a dead summoner, after all.
"To be honest, we can't take it down with our current forces."
"So, what's the plan?"
Bae Han-seong shrugged at Yeong-sik's question.
"I'll help out. The experience is a bummer, but the quest clear reward makes it worthwhile."
"Got it."
Yeong-sik nodded, convinced.
There was no need to be stubborn about experience here.
The quest reward alone made the boss worth it.
At this hunting pace, hitting level 15 won't be hard.
Experience could come anytime by farming Lizardmen.
Right now, that 20 Gold reward felt sweeter.
With it, he could buy iron ore in the city and extract plenty of materials for manufacturing.
This time, I'll spend some to level up my skills.
Yeong-sik felt the need to upgrade his Machine Engineer class skills before leveling more in the Lizardman habitat or moving to other monsters.
His Blade was starting to struggle against them.
Once I unlock the next level...
He thought about the weapons and memories from liberating the next security level.
Both were more crucial to him than anything.
With plans for the future in mind, Yeong-sik headed toward the boss's location.
"Here we are."
Following the map led them out of the swamp to a vast canyon.
Bae Han-seong clicked his tongue at the sight of the massive chasm.
"Figures for a recently spawned boss—right by the path to the Northern Borderline."
"Northern Borderline?"
Yeong-sik asked, puzzled by the unfamiliar term.
Bae Han-seong nodded and explained.
"It's the frontline against monsters descending from the north. Full of high-level beasts nothing like here."
"Ah."
"The big three guilds and the kingdom defend it... but the monsters are so strong that the line breaks sometimes, letting bosses slip deep inside."
Yeong-sik stroked his chin, intrigued.
"Are the northern monsters that tough?"
"Of course. They're on another level from locally spawned ones like orcs or Lizardmen. Even Rankers could die wandering solo."
Bae Han-seong's voice was firm.
Yeong-sik's eyes darkened as he replied.
"But why would a low-level boss like this slip through such an intense frontline?"
"They might release them on purpose sometimes."
"On purpose?"
Yeong-sik tilted his head at the hard-to-grasp explanation.
Bae Han-seong nodded.
"Yeah. Guilds sometimes send bosses inside to help newbie summoners grow. Faster growth means easier recruiting for them."
It was like catching a small fish on a line, then releasing it back to grow bigger for a greater catch later.
Sacrificing short-term gains for long-term profit.
"I see."
Yeong-sik nodded in understanding.
The word "naturally spawned" from Han-seong's earlier words lingered in his mind, prompting another question.
"So not all monsters come from the north?"
"Right. Plenty spawn naturally inside the borderline. Orcs and Lizardmen are like that. Without them, you'd have to level from 1 at the borderline."
Yeong-sik's eyes sparkled with interest.
He turned to Bae Han-seong walking ahead.
Chatting with someone so knowledgeable about this world was hugely helpful in itself.
"How long have you been here, Han-seong?"
Yeong-sik voiced the sudden question in his head.
"I'm from the 43rd summoning wave. Been here about three and a half years."
Bae Han-seong's voice carried a bitter note.
He adjusted his round glasses with one hand and continued.
"At first, I thought I'd go mad... but now, this place feels more familiar than Earth ever did."
"Don't you want to go back to Earth?"
Seo A-ra, who had been quietly listening, asked him.
Han-seong replied in a low voice.
"Of course I do."
His tone was resolute, laced with a heavy, almost desperate emotion.
A-ra fell silent, unable to press further.
"The map points around here... but I don't see anything."
Arriving in the canyon space, Bae Han-seong scanned the surroundings with a frown.
All that was visible were sheer rock walls towering skyward on both sides.
"Let's circle around a bit."
Yeong-sik suggested as he followed, peering about.
The party nodded and began combing the canyon thoroughly.
But there were only boulders everywhere—no sign of a boss, even with eyes peeled.
"This has to be the spot..."
Bae Han-seong tilted his head, staring at the plank.
"Mind if I take a look?"
"Sure, of course."
Bae Han-seong handed the plank to Yeong-sik, who reached for it.
Taking it, Yeong-sik reread the Lizardman script.
'By the command of our new leader Luderak, move to the designated spot at sunset.'
Others couldn't read it, but Yeong-sik could.
Gazing at the plank, he looked up at the sky.
The sun, high earlier, was now sinking.
The cloudless sky began dyeing orange.
"Let's wait here a bit."
Judging that Luderak would appear at sunset as written, Yeong-sik said while crouching behind a rock.
Bae Han-seong tilted his head questioningly.
"You think the boss will just show up if we wait?"
Yeong-sik hesitated, wondering if he should explain his ability to decipher Lizardman script.
Should I say it's a special skill?
The thought flashed through his mind, but claiming a Machine Engineer had a script-decoding skill might not convince them.
As he pondered his response, the orange hue in the sky intensified.
That's when it happened.
A faint metallic clang echoed in Yeong-sik's ears.
"Hm...?"
"That sound..."
Bae Han-seong also turned toward the noise, so it wasn't just Yeong-sik who heard it.
The sound came from deep in the canyon.
"...Let's check it out."
Yeong-sik stepped toward the source.
As they ventured deeper, the clanging of weapons and roars grew louder.
The party quickened their pace toward the noise.