Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: An Explosive Welcome
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After several rounds of subjugation, Lee Shin collected all the items dropped on the ground at once.
[You have acquired 400 gold.]
[You have acquired 350 gold.]
[You have acquired an Old Axe.]
[...]
[Necrotic Body Part x18]
‘Why does this keep dropping?’
A look of confusion crossed Lee Shin’s face at the last message.
He had been steadily reducing his use of the tentacle since the first subjugation.
After Jeong Yu-ra joined, he hadn't used it for lethal purposes at all.
The damage from the blessing was sufficient, so he had only used it to lure enemies.
Yet, when he checked after the hunt was over, he always found that Necrotic Body Parts had dropped.
‘Is it not because of the tentacle?’
At first, he had naturally assumed it was due to the tentacle, but given the circumstances, he started to think it might not be.
‘Hmm.’
Lee Shin sank into deep thought.
If it wasn't the tentacle, there were two other possibilities.
The first was Yata's Blessing.
Having received the blessing of an evil god, it was natural for his attacks to be imbued with such energy.
‘...That makes sense.’
But to say there was nothing strange about it wouldn't be true.
Yata's Blessing wasn't powerful enough to have that kind of effect.
It was only slightly stronger than a buff a user of Jeong Yu-ra's level could provide.
That led to the second hypothesis.
The royal knights he had met a while ago.
They had said they were searching for a runaway black mage.
If that black mage had indeed passed through here, it wouldn't be strange for such phenomena to keep occurring.
Body modification magic was one of the specialties of black mages.
If he assumed that such necrotic body parts were dropping from orcs on whom some magic had failed, the mystery would be solved naturally.
Lee Shin's expression changed subtly.
‘I saw him.’
‘What?! Where!’
‘Over that mountain range, I think I might remember seeing someone dressed similarly pass by a few days ago, or maybe I didn't…’
The lie he had told in response to the knights' questions.
‘I just said it on a whim.’
He had said it hoping they would lure the orcs on the other side, but it turned out he had spoken the truth by chance.
It seemed certain that a black mage had passed through here.
‘A lucky guess.’
In any case, the answer was found. Shifting his thoughts, Lee Shin checked his quest status.
[107/1,000]
“...”
Lee Shin's expression clouded over.
He had just passed the 10% mark!
Things had certainly sped up after Jeong Yu-ra joined, but there was still too much left to do.
Once he started something, it was right to see it through to the end, no matter how difficult.
‘...This isn't it.’
He could tell by now. At this rate, there was no end in sight. Adding one more person wouldn't change the fundamental problem.
“Are you going to quit, then?”
“...”
Arthur asked. Lee Shin hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.
“No.”
He'd come too far to just give up.
Rather than immediately considering quitting, he thought it was better to figure out how to finish it faster.
‘Hmm.’
Lee Shin sank into thought.
How could he continue the subjugation more quickly?
“Should I set it on fire?”
“...Pfft!!”
A method that popped out without a second of thought!
Beside him, Jeong Yu-ra, who had been pondering with a serious expression, choked and coughed loudly.
It was a notion she couldn't have even imagined.
“It seems like it would be fast. But can a forest fire be controlled?”
“Of course not. The forest is this vast.”
“Hmm...”
“But it doesn't matter if my notoriety goes up.”
“Even if the notoriety doesn't matter, what if the royal knights get caught up in it?”
“They're high level. They'll manage.”
Meanwhile, Lee Shin and Arthur were having a very practical conversation.
Like master, like fan; Lee Shin and Arthur had much in common.
Jeong Yu-ra could feel it keenly.
‘Wait, am I the strange one...?’
While Jeong Yu-ra was inwardly flustered, the plan was being laid out step by step.
“So, let's start a fire first and then think...”
“...Wait! Wait a minute!”
“?”
Before the conversation could stray any further, Jeong Yu-ra urgently cut them off. Then, she proposed a relatively moderate method.
“...What about posting a request?”
Lee Shin asked back.
“Where? On the bulletin board?”
“Yeah. Promise a reward and...”
“That won't work.”
“Huh? Why?”
It was because when he had checked recently, the Punishment Squad's movements had been more serious than he'd thought.
“The Pun- what?”
“The Punishment Squad.”
“The... Punishment... Squad?”
“There’s such a thing.”
Anyway, he didn't know the exact reason, but they had gathered nearly several hundred members, and most of them were actively participating.
Thanks to them, the Eteun Kingdom's bulletin board was unusually active, so he didn't want to post anything right now.
There was a chance someone related to the Punishment Squad might see it.
One wrong move and his location could be revealed in an instant.
So, for now, it was best to stay as quiet as possible.
“...No, that's not right.”
“Hmm?”
As Lee Shin's pessimistic thoughts continued, a new plan suddenly occurred to him.
‘I don't have to avoid them.’
Instead of avoiding them, what if he could use that large number of people?
If it was possible, he could finish the quest in a day or two.
‘......’
The problem was how to get people who held a grudge against him to move.
It was a very difficult problem, but Lee Shin already had the answer.
Arthur asked with a look of disbelief.
“Are you going to share the quest?”
“No?”
The more people a quest is shared with, the smaller the reward.
It was natural, as there's an upper limit to the reward for each individual quest.
If he shared it with about 300 people, the reward would be reduced to almost nothing.
So, the method Lee Shin had in mind wasn't so gentle.
‘I should try using it at a time like this.’
A skill he had obtained a while ago but hadn't used yet.
Mark of Malice
• Continuously consumes Notoriety to leave an indelible mark on the target. The caster can track the mark's location.
• While the mark is active, the target's and caster's EXP gain and item drop rates are fixed at -99%.
• Targetable: (0/1)
He planned to use it on a member of the Punishment Squad this time.
* * *
“Is it done?”
At Lee Shin's question, Jeong Yu-ra nodded.
“It's... done. Yeah.”
“Let me see.”
She opened her mail and showed it to Lee Shin.
“I sent it like this.”
[Tip-off. Are you by any chance looking for this person? (Image attached)]
[Please confirm, and once you send the reward money, I'll send the location.]
The attached image was of Arthur (Lee Si-eun).
Taken from a distance and slightly blurry, it strongly gave off the impression of a candid shot.
It looked to anyone like it had been secretly taken from afar! Lee Shin nodded in satisfaction.
‘It came out well.’
Jeong Yu-ra had taken the picture.
As expected of an art student.
She had perfectly captured the feel Lee Shin had requested.
She then sent the picture to Jeras's email. Now, all they had to do was wait for a response.
“What do we do when he replies?”
“I'll handle that. For now...”
Brushing off Jeong Yu-ra's question, Lee Shin considered what to do next.
Continuing the quest now didn't seem very meaningful.
So, it seemed better to prepare to greet their guest.
“Weren't we going to clear the quest together?”
Jeong Yu-ra asked with a puzzled expression.
Lee Shin shook his head and replied.
“They won't listen to words.”
“Then?”
He had to make it so they had no choice but to listen.
That's what the preparations were for.
‘Let's see.’
Lee Shin checked his gold. He had about two million gold on hand.
An unbelievable amount for a user who had never spent real money!
It was the gold he had received as a reward for the pirate subjugation quest and from selling the equipment of PK-ed users.
‘This is enough.’
After a rough estimate, Lee Shin called Arthur over.
There was something they needed to do together first.
“Take this money, go to the auction house, and buy what I tell you to.”
“Yes. What should I buy?”
“Gunpowder and scrap iron.”
“How much?”
“As much as you can possibly buy.”
* * *
After sending Arthur off, Lee Shin also entered the auction house and purchased the items he needed.
He was able to buy everything he needed with the gold he had.
[Simple Forge]
[Novice Blacksmith's Hammer]
[Lesser Bomb Recipe]
At the sudden appearance of a forge, Jeong Yu-ra asked with a curious expression.
“What's this?”
“A forge.”
“You're not a blacksmith.”
“I can use it even if I'm not.”
“...?”
Just as a blacksmith who isn't a swordsman can swing a sword, a user who isn't a blacksmith can still swing a hammer.
However, since they can't receive the aid of related skills, the efficiency is much lower.
The probability of failure in crafting or repairs increases, or the crafting process becomes much more difficult.
Or the item might even be destroyed...
Lee Shin himself had experience losing a few items while raising his proficiency in the past.
This was why most users chose to pay more to find a professional blacksmith.
But right now, it didn't matter much.
[Using 'Lesser Bomb Recipe'.]
[You have learned the 'Lesser Bomb Recipe'.]
[You can now craft bombs by combining gunpowder and iron.]
The item he was trying to make wasn't particularly difficult to craft.
And since Lee Shin had made it hundreds, even thousands of times in the past, he was already familiar with it.
Back then, no user would dare sell bombs to Lee Shin, so he had to make them himself.
Besides, it was much cheaper if he could make them himself.
“Hyung. I bought them.”
While Lee Shin was setting up the forge, Arthur appeared, carrying an armful of materials.
As soon as the preparations were complete, Lee Shin immediately began crafting.
[You do not have the Blacksmith skill.]
[Insufficient heat.]
[You will receive a penalty during crafting.]
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“Work the bellows over here.”
“Ah, yes.”
*Woosh! Woosh!*
[Sufficient heat.]
[Penalty is reduced.]
‘Good.’
Supplementing the lack of heat with manpower, Lee Shin swung his hammer.
*Clang! Clang!*
He skillfully forged the outer shell of the bomb, then planted the gunpowder and detonator inside.
His hands still remembered this familiar task.
“Wow.”
Jeong Yu-ra let out a sound of admiration as the bomb was being hammered into shape.
With Arthur's help, the first bomb was quickly completed.
*Ting.*
[A Somewhat Shoddy Lesser Bomb has been completed.]
[There is a 40% chance of misfire.]
“Hmm...”
“Did it turn out well?”
“No.”
Lee Shin shook his head firmly at Arthur's question.
It wasn't bad for something he made himself, but the misfire chance was higher than he had expected.
‘I can get it down to 20%.’
Even without the blacksmith skill, if he just reduced the minor mistakes during the crafting process, it was entirely possible.
He knew for sure because he had done it in the past.
Lee Shin gripped the hammer again.
*Clang! Clang!*
[A Lesser Bomb has been completed.]
[A Lesser Bomb has been completed.]
[A Lesser Bomb has been completed.]
[...]
[...Great Success!]
[A Well-Made Lesser Bomb has been completed.]
“...Hoo.”
A great success on the seventh try.
Lee Shin checked the item.
Well-Made Lesser Bomb
• Explodes when stepped on.
• There is a 20% chance of misfire.
‘That's it.’
Having gotten the hang of it, Lee Shin began to craft bombs at a rapid pace.
How much time had passed?
Just as Arthur, who was working the bellows, was about to lose feeling in his arms.
Lee Shin had used up all the materials and completed 72 Well-Made Lesser Bombs.
And it was right at that moment that a response came from Jeras.
“Oh?”
“What is it?”
“I got a reply.”
A reply arrived in Jeong Yu-ra's mail, along with a large sum for the reward.
[Thank you for the tip. That's him.]
[Where did you happen to see him?]
“What should I write back?”
“Give it here.”
As Jeong Yu-ra turned to ask him, Lee Shin sent the reply himself.
[Orc Outbreak Area - South Forest]
The South Forest was a place known for its unusually tall trees.
There were few monsters, and sunlight barely penetrated, so it was always dark.
Thanks to this, it was also an advantageous terrain for using traps or for one person to face multiple opponents.
[I saw him here.]