Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: A Righteous Slaughter
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“Is this what you were looking for?”
As expected, the second quest item was stored in the warehouse at Edward's base.
“Yes, it is.”
“Take it.”
[You have acquired an item.]
‘Check item.’
Regreus's Safe
• A safe containing Regreus's personal belongings, weapons, and assets. A key is required to open it.
[Quest completed.]
[Regreus's Request.]
[Now, return to Regreus, hand over the item, and receive your reward.]
“Hoo.”
Lee Shin let out a sigh of relief.
With this, the quest was completely finished.
All that remained was to go back and get the reward.
After organizing all the loot, Mapen shouted.
“We're heading back!”
Lee Shin and the other players returned to the mainland after the long subjugation.
* * *
“…So, just come to the lord's castle by this time. Got it?”
“Understood.”
After getting off the ship, Mapen explained to Lee Shin when he needed to arrive.
After hearing the full explanation, Lee Shin started walking toward where Regreus was.
Arthur followed and asked.
“Where are you going?”
“To complete a quest.”
“Then I'll go with you.”
“Why?”
He was just going to complete the quest, so there was no real need for Arthur to tag along.
And he didn't know how long it would take.
“You don't have to come.”
He meant for Arthur to go take care of his own business in the meantime, but… Arthur spoke with an awkward expression.
“Well... it's just that if I'm alone...”
“?”
“You might have to kill someone again like last time....”
“What are you talking about... Ah.”
Lee Shin belatedly realized what he meant and nodded.
True, that was a potential problem.
Indeed, there were already many people staring at them, and it was obvious what would happen if Arthur were left alone.
“...Follow me.”
“Yes.”
Walking slowly, Lee Shin checked the gains from this venture.
First, his level and stats.
‘Status window.’
Lee Shin
• Level: 96
…….
• Killing Intent: 233
• Fame: 5900
Thanks to the effects of [Righteous Slaughter], his notoriety didn't increase, but his fame rose significantly instead.
The substantial level gain was particularly encouraging.
‘Not much longer now.’
He was only four steps away from level 100, the requirement for entering the arena.
And he would naturally reach it after receiving the reward for Regreus's request quest.
Even if he didn't quite hit 100, he could get there with just a little more hunting.
Lee Shin checked the next reward.
‘Check title.’
Outlaw of the Sea
• All stats increase by 4% at sea.
• This buff is applied last, after all other beneficial effects have been calculated.
‘Not bad.’
A simple but potent effect.
The number wasn't huge, but its value was exceptional because it applied to his final stats.
Of course, there was the restriction of being at sea, but considering the title wasn't that hard to obtain, it was acceptable.
Lee Shin felt the performance was roughly proportional to the difficulty.
‘Then….’
Now for the final reward. Lee Shin checked the new items he had acquired.
[Compass Carved from a Pearl]
[Drake's Logbook]
[Ultra-Precise Hourglass]
[Shark Tooth Sword]
[Aquamarine Ring]
‘Hmm…….’
Lee Shin hummed thoughtfully.
Each one was rare on its own, but….
The problem was that they were pretty much useless to Lee Shin, who wasn't a pirate.
‘These are all for sailing, aren't they?’
The compass, the hourglass, the logbook, and so on.
If Lee Shin had been a pirate player from the start, these would have been perfect, but otherwise, their performance was mediocre.
Even the sword and ring had unique effects that only activated at sea.
‘I'll have to sell them.’
Still, they were quite rare, so they would probably sell for a good price.
If he sold off the items he'd taken from PKs at the same time, he could make a tidy sum of gold.
Lee Shin swallowed his disappointment and checked the last remaining item.
[Drake's Musket (Special)]
“…Oh?”
But the last item seemed quite promising.
A special item!
The 'Special' modifier was only attached to items that could be obtained exclusively from raid drops.
And such items were often characterized by their unique structure, options, and outstanding performance.
Lee Shin immediately checked the item's information.
Drake's Musket
• Attack Power: 170
• Durability: 160/199
• Critical Hit Chance +10%
• Critical Hit Damage +40%
• A successful 'Headshot' deals 100% additional damage. Successive 'Headshots' increase damage by 30%. Stacks up to 4 times.
• Reload required after 4 shots.
‘…This is good.’
Options focused solely on offense!
It didn't have any of the useless options that were the biggest problem with dropped items.
On top of that, the item's base attack power of 170 was exceptionally high.
That was a full 50 points higher than his dagger, which had an attack power of 120 in exchange for a curse!
As a ranged weapon, it was second to none.
However.
[Requires special 'gilded' bullets for use.]
[The more gold used, the higher the damage.]
“……?”
In exchange for its high attack power, it naturally came with a corresponding restriction.
The ammunition.
More precisely, the price of that ammunition.
‘Gold would be expensive.’
That was obvious.
Even if this was a game, such basic principles were no different from reality.
Gold-plated equipment was fundamentally expensive, regardless of class.
Of course, most of them delivered performance worthy of their high price, but... the problem here was that it was a consumable.
In other words, it was equipment for a cash whale.
Equipment where 'money = power' held true!
Lee Shin's brow furrowed deeply.
‘Tsk.’
This was one of the types of equipment Lee Shin hated the most.
The more he used it, the more money it would drain. No matter how much he PKed or hunted, he was likely to end up with a net loss when he tallied it all up.
‘A shame… I'll have to sell this too.’
Lee Shin licked his lips.
If only the unit cost were reasonable, he would have just used it, he thought….
No, wait.
“You want it?”
“Huh?”
“This. You said your family's rich.”
Lee Shin handed the musket to Arthur.
Arthur's eyes widened as he checked the equipment's description.
Arthur asked with an excited tone.
“A special item...?! Are you really letting me use this?”
“If you can use it.”
“…? There are no wearing restrictions.”
“But the bullets are gold.”
Lee Shin gestured with his head, telling him to check properly.
But Arthur had already checked it properly before speaking.
“Ah, that's fine.”
“?”
“I can just buy them.”
As if to say, how much could it possibly cost!
His tone suggested he wasn't thinking about the cost at all.
In fact, he was happy that he could finally be of help to Lee Shin.
With a weapon like this, he could use it even while maintaining his disguise.
“…Yeah, whatever. Use it as you see fit.”
Lee Shin said with a hesitant expression.
Anyway, after checking his equipment, Lee Shin went to find Regreus.
* * *
“I've returned.”
“Hah, is that so? I was sure you wouldn't be able to do it.”
“……?”
This bastard?
“…Ha, haha! Just kidding. Of course, I knew you'd succeed!”
“Just take it.”
“Uh, um.”
[You have lost an item.]
[Quest Complete!]
[You have acquired a Gold Pouch.]
[You have acquired experience points.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
A ridiculously stingy reward for the difficulty.
Lee Shin sighed inwardly.
‘There's really nothing special.’
But since he'd undertaken the quest more for information about the previous Salseong than for the reward, it couldn't be helped.
Regreus said.
“Thank you for fulfilling my request. It's not much of a reward, but is there anything you're curious about? I'll tell you what I can.”
“There is.”
“What is it?”
“Before, you said you knew of an unknown deed of the previous Salseong, did you not?”
Regreus readily nodded at Lee Shin's question.
“I did.”
“Tell me.”
“That's simple enough. Very well.”
Regreus closed his eyes and searched his memory.
Then, a moment later, he posed a question to Lee Shin.
“You. Do you know that the lord of this territory changed once in the past?”
“…? This is the first I'm hearing of it. Does that have something to do with the previous Salseong?”
“Of course it does, or I wouldn't have brought it up.”
Pausing for a moment, Regreus leaned slightly closer to Lee Shin.
Then he continued in a quiet voice.
“…The one who killed the original lord was the previous Salseong.”
“!”
“To be precise, he didn't just kill the lord; he massacred his entire family, changing the ruling house altogether.”
“…! Is that true?”
Lee Shin asked back with a look of surprise.
The Bern territory was a land of milk and honey in the otherwise hopeless Eteun Kingdom.
Its geographical advantages were so great that it was a land where money practically made itself!
The lord of such a region would have undoubtedly wielded immense wealth, power, and a private army.
And he single-handedly brought down such a powerful noble family?
‘So this is what it means to be a legend.’
That was why Lee Shin was surprised.
And apart from his surprise, there was something else he found strange.
After a moment of thought, Lee Shin asked.
“But you're saying this is a hidden deed?”
“Hmm?”
“He massacred the lord's entire family. How could something like that be kept secret? It doesn't make sense.”
To Lee Shin's logical question, Regreus replied that he didn't know the details either.
“I'm not sure about that. It was a long time ago. However, most people believe it was a hired killer sent from a rival territory, not the Salseong.”
“…Hmm.”
“Well, I don't know who, but someone must not have wanted this fact to be known. It's certain they weren't a minor power, though. This kind of thing can't be covered up with ordinary manpower.”
“That's true.”
Lee Shin nodded slowly.
Regreus continued his explanation.
“…Anyway, the important thing isn't who was behind it or anything like that.”
“…?”
His voice had become excited.
“In a single day. The lord, his family, and the soldiers of his castle—a total of 177 people—were all killed in one night.”
“I see.”
“By just one person.”
“Yes.”
“Isn't that incredible? Truly befitting of someone who earned the title of Salseong....”
Just as you'd expect from an evil-aligned NPC, Regreus, who had started his explanation calmly, was now singing the praises of the previous Salseong.
Just then.
A question suddenly occurred to Lee Shin, and he asked.
“By the way, what kind of person was the previous lord?”
“……So, hmm?”
“I'm just curious.”
Regreus thought for a moment before answering.
“He was just an ordinary noble.”
“Ah, I see.”
“He held banquets every day and exploited his starving subjects. Just like any other ordinary noble.”
“He did... hmm?”
At those words, Lee Shin turned to look at Regreus with a dumbfounded expression.
Lee Shin thought to himself.
‘……Then wasn't that a good thing?’
It doesn't seem like an evil deed, more like he just killed someone who deserved to die.
Isn't who was killed more important than how many were killed?
In that sense, the massacre committed by the previous Salseong didn't feel like such a villainous act to Lee Shin.
If anything, he felt it was closer to being righteous.
At least, wouldn't the Salseong himself have thought so?
‘…Hmm.’
It might sound nonsensical, but Lee Shin had his own evidence to support this line of thinking.
The skill he had just obtained.
[Righteous Slaughter]
‘…….’
Lee Shin's gaze deepened.
He had wondered why someone called a Salseong would create such a skill….
Could it be that he was trying to uphold his own brand of justice?