Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Raid Party
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Everyone is born with a talent of their own.
But those who discover and cultivate that talent early on are exceedingly rare.
In fact, most people go their entire lives without ever knowing what their true talent is.
The era and environment into which one was born with a certain talent were also crucial.
What if someone with a genius for computer programming was born in an age before computers were invented?
They would surely live their whole life unaware of their innate gift.
Countless talents have been buried this way.
No matter how exceptional one’s talent for painting, if the era and environment had no need for art, that talent was discarded.
Even one born with the talent to create a masterpiece that would be remembered throughout human history would see it all end if they were dragged off to a battlefield and killed before ever creating their work.
The Heavenly Dragon Emperor.
His talent was no different.
He was born in the modern era.
The Republic of Korea, where he was born, was a peaceful country with excellent public security, a place where anyone could stroll the streets at night.
Because of this, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor had never experienced a life-or-death battle.
No, he had never even faced a threat to his life in the first place.
The Heavenly Dragon Emperor did not know his own talent. Not only that, but no one around him knew either. He was destined to live an ordinary life, never once tapping into his innate gift.
But fate took a twist.
The call of the Great Summoning led him to this world, and in the very first tutorial, he awakened to his talent.
Standing deep in the silent forest, the six-star adventurer Evangeline let out a hollow laugh.
Evangeline was strong. To look at her, she was a slender and beautiful young woman, barely in her early twenties, but she was a half-vampire—a being commonly called a dhampir—who had lived for over fifty years.
In her home, the Northern Kingdom, there were only six six-star adventurers. Evangeline was the fifth strongest among them, making her undoubtedly one of the most powerful individuals in the human realm.
Yet even she couldn't help but look appalled at the scene before her. Like any ordinary person faced with an unbelievable sight, all she could do was let out a hollow laugh.
Twelve Blood Ogres lay dead.
Blood Ogres, a superior species of ogre, were powerful. They possessed strength and intelligence far exceeding that of a normal ogre, and some individuals could even use magic.
The Adventurer's Guild forbade anyone below the rank of five-star from confronting a Blood Ogre, and even for a six-star like Evangeline, facing this many at once meant that turning tail and running was the wisest course of action.
Five or six, perhaps, but against twelve, even someone like Evangeline would have to put her life on the line.
And yet, the man before her had defeated all twelve of those Blood Ogres by himself.
“Are you alive?”
The man sprawled on the ground didn't answer Evangeline's question. With a shrug, she stepped past the Blood Ogres' corpses and stood by the young man's head. After looking down for a moment, she crouched, and only then did the young man in the black martial arts uniform react.
“Evangeline.”
Dark blue hair and green eyes.
That was all that stood out about him. He was rather neat in appearance, but the overwhelming impression was one of ordinariness.
Evangeline grinned, brushing back the silver hair that had fallen across her nape. She tilted her head slightly, then reached out and pinched the young man's cheek.
“So you recognize me, do you?”
Three months had already passed since Evangeline first met the young man.
The Heavenly Dragon Emperor.
The man who was undoubtedly the 'strongest' among all living Players.
“Stay still. I'm giving you a potion, so open up.”
Like the seasoned adventurer she was, Evangeline's belt was laden not only with weapons but also with various pouches. Taking out a red vial from one of them, she carefully poured the liquid into the Heavenly Dragon Emperor's mouth.
“Thanks.”
“Don't mention it.”
After the brief exchange, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor slowly pushed himself up. His entire body was covered in blood, but he seemed to have no trouble moving.
And for good reason. The Heavenly Dragon Emperor wasn't injured in the slightest.
The blood covering him belonged entirely to the Blood Ogres, and he had been lying sprawled out not from injury, but simply from exhaustion.
Four months had passed since the Great Summoning began.
Evangeline had met quite a few Players. Among them were some who had come from the same game as the Heavenly Dragon Emperor.
Chakra Online.
She still didn't quite grasp what Players meant by an 'online game', but she could describe the general characteristics of Players from Chakra Online.
Body control and various attack techniques utilizing 'ki'.
Those who fought in attire that left them practically bare-bodied, forgoing armor or shields.
The Players from Chakra Online were strong. Even the weakest one Evangeline had met possessed power comparable to a three-star adventurer.
The Heavenly Dragon Emperor was from Chakra Online, and he shared similar characteristics with other Players from that game.
But that was all.
The Heavenly Dragon Emperor was qualitatively different from most Players. It felt as if he were a different 'species' altogether.
A growth rate that defied imagination.
A truly overwhelming talent for martial arts.
The Heavenly Dragon Emperor instinctively understood the nature of combat. He was beyond comparison to Players who only knew how to spam skills but didn't know how to truly fight.
“You're really something else. To think you've gotten this strong in just four months.”
When she first encountered him three months ago, he had, at most, the strength of a four-star adventurer.
But even that had been abnormal. At the time, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor had just finished the tutorial.
Three months.
In just three months, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor had caught up to Evangeline, a six-star adventurer. No, he was now definitively stronger than her.
He was growing stronger at such an incredible rate that she felt no jealousy or sense of crisis. She was simply curious to see how much stronger the monster before her would become.
Perhaps she was even captivated by the man known as the Heavenly Dragon Emperor.
“I still can't match a seven-star, can I?”
the Heavenly Dragon Emperor asked, his back still to her. Evangeline's lips parted a few times as if in a bind before she answered honestly.
“If it were Alvaro… well, he wouldn't be lying down like you. He'd be standing, laughing heartily like he always does.”
Mercenary King Alvaro. The only seven-star adventurer Evangeline had ever fought alongside.
In truth, it wasn't just Alvaro. There were still six-star adventurers stronger than the Heavenly Dragon Emperor.
The Heavenly Dragon Emperor knew that as well.
“I can still do more.”
It wasn't childishness or a complaint. The Heavenly Dragon Emperor truly believed it. And in reality, he was continuously growing stronger.
Evangeline dusted off her knees and stood up. She stood slightly askew, speaking in a deliberately alluring tone.
“Getting stronger is fine and all, but why not live a little more like a person? Let's go down to the village, get cleaned up, eat something delicious. Haven't you earned enough of that Kron stuff, or whatever it's called?”
From what she'd heard, stronger monsters gave Players more Kron.
As far as she knew, there were no monsters in this area stronger than a Blood Ogre. Since he had defeated twelve of them, he must have been overflowing with that Kron stuff.
But the Heavenly Dragon Emperor showed no particular reaction. He gazed to the northwest, looking as if he might head off at any moment.
Feeling an inexplicable sense of urgency, Evangeline spoke quickly.
“Have you heard the rumors about the World Quest? There's less than a month left now.”
The day Luminus and Selene would become one was now only about twenty days away.
The Northern Kingdom, where the Heavenly Dragon Emperor and Evangeline were, was too far from the Duchy of Avalon, so even though they had heard news of the World Quest about a month ago, they had no choice but to give up on participating.
Even so, as a Player, he couldn't help but be interested in the World Quest. Moreover, what Evangeline was aiming for wasn't just the 'World Quest' itself.
“Choi Kang-seok.”
the Heavenly Dragon Emperor said succinctly, almost to himself.
Getting the reaction she'd expected, Evangeline chuckled.
“You mean the Dark Destiny Lord, right? The Savior of Ahen.”
The discoverer of the first World Quest.
Rumors about him had already spread as far as the distant Northern Kingdom.
“So you're curious about him? Well, they say he defeated Edward Price, the Captain of the Knights Templar of the Gawain Cult. Maybe he could be a match for you.”
She was saying this to pique the Heavenly Dragon Emperor's interest, but her true thoughts were completely different.
Edward Price was certainly a powerhouse comparable to a six-star adventurer, but that was only when he was equipped with all his Sacred Orbs.
The Heavenly Dragon Emperor was in a league of his own.
She couldn't even imagine that a Player equal to him existed.
The Heavenly Dragon Emperor, who had been gazing northwest, turned around. Seizing the opportunity, Evangeline extended her hand to him.
“Come on, let's head back to the village up ahead for now. Rest is a necessary part of training.”
Instead of replying immediately, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor stared blankly at Evangeline's hand. After a slight pause, he asked her a question.
“When we get to the village, can I ask you for a sparring match?”
*Just as I expected,* Evangeline thought with a bitter smile.
“As long as you don't come at me like you're trying to kill me again, sure.”
On the day they first met three months ago, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor and Evangeline had sparred. And on that day, Evangeline had nearly been killed by him, who at the time only had the strength of a four-star adventurer.
One who grows stronger even in the midst of battle.
The Heavenly Dragon Emperor approached Evangeline. She had a flicker of hope, but it was just as she'd expected. He walked right past her and started strolling ahead.
But this, too, was typical of the Heavenly Dragon Emperor.
Evangeline knew what kind of expression he would be wearing.
The pure smile of a child. One who grows stronger because there is nothing more joyful in the world than becoming stronger.
A follower of the 'pinnacle of martial arts' more naturally than anyone else.
*'Heavenly Demon... wasn't that it? The Heavenly Dragon Emperor's title.'*
Heavenly Demon.
The name of the true strongest player on the entire server, known by all Players from Chakra Online.
What if the Heavenly Dragon Emperor hadn't come from Chakra Online, but from a different game?
It wouldn't have been much different from how he was now. No matter what game he came from, he would have risen to the top with his overwhelming talent.
“Evangeline?”
Lost in her own thoughts, she realized the Heavenly Dragon Emperor had already gotten some distance ahead and was looking back at her.
His gesture, as if telling her to hurry up, somehow lifted her spirits. Evangeline nodded and trotted over to him.
***
“Yu-jin! Are you done yet?!”
At the entrance of Saurland Mountain, Choi Yu-ra shouted over her shoulder as she blocked a narrow, winding path.
She was too busy keeping the goblins in check—who were twitching just outside her arrow range as if gauging the right moment to charge—to spare a glance behind her.
As if on her behalf, Yang Jun-gyu, who stood just in front of her with a dwarven sword and shield, glanced back slightly.
He could see Seong Yu-jin facing off against a goblin chieftain that was three times larger than a normal goblin.
“Almost done! Taunt!”
Seong Yu-jin deflected the chieftain's massive axe with her shield and shouted, causing a pure white light to flare up.
The goblin chieftain, already focused on Seong Yu-jin, could now see nothing but her.
“Uwooooh!”
Seizing the opening, Kim Kang-san closed in on the goblin chieftain's flank. He landed a deep cut on its side, which was already tattered from several previous attacks.
“Keeak!”
The goblin chieftain twisted its body and shrieked.
Hearing the cry, the goblins beyond the path flinched again, but they didn't dare charge because of Choi Yu-ra. This was especially true after two goblins that couldn't hold back had rushed forward only to be skewered by arrows as if by magic.
But Choi Yu-ra felt like she was on pins and needles.
The number of gathered goblins had now surpassed twenty, and she was starting to run out of arrows.
“Yu-jin!”
As if in response to the shout, Seong Yu-jin slammed the goblin chieftain with her shield. Kim Kang-san slashed its thigh again, and the chieftain finally lost its balance and collapsed to the ground.
And finally, Park Han-yeong made her move.
Park Han-yeong, who had been waiting in stealth for the perfect moment, instantly leaped onto the goblin chieftain's neck and plunged a shuriken deep into the vital spot at its nape.
It was, quite literally, the finishing blow. The goblin chieftain couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed with a final scream.
[Quest Cleared]
[Quest: Defeat the Goblin Chieftain]
[Quest MVP: Seong Yu-jin (F)]
[* Acquired Kron and experience have been increased by the effect of the Guild Aura.]
Once the goblin chieftain died, the goblins that had gathered around it let out their own monstrous cries and scattered in all directions.
Cowardly and selfish, goblins would always flee like this when their leader was killed, no matter how many of them there were.
“Hah.”
Choi Yu-ra slumped to the ground as if a great weight had been lifted.
It had been about twenty days since they returned to Andras's Lair.
While Antonio Choi was engrossed in renovating the guild hideout, the rest of the party focused on clearing out the monsters around the lair.
Seong Yu-jin, currently acting as the party leader, approached Choi Yu-ra.
“Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere?”
“I'm fine. Just exhausted from the sheer numbers. Didn't we fight nearly fifty goblins today alone?”
Saurland Mountain was certainly vast.
Moreover, the goblins' reproductive rate was truly beyond imagination.
They had defeated three goblin chieftains in the past twenty days, and she had no idea how many more they would have to take down.
Seong Yu-jin gave a weak smile in place of an answer and looked over Yang Jun-gyu and the rest of the party. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.
Still, an injury was an injury. Seong Yu-jin went around casting healing magic on each of them in turn.
A paladin who was both a tank and a healer.
Choi Yu-ra watched Seong Yu-jin work, smacking her lips with a sense of lingering dissatisfaction.
Seong Yu-jin was undoubtedly an excellent tank. Her healing magic was also powerful enough to surpass an ordinary potion.
However, she had too many shortcomings to be called a perfect hybrid.
If one had to categorize her, she was a tank, not a healer, and during combat, she was often too busy tanking to use her healing magic properly.
*'We need a dedicated healer or buffer.'*
Reality and games were different. But they weren't completely different. There were definite similarities.
The positions commonly referred to in games—dealer, tank, healer—were also effective in reality.
Party hunting was, in the end, about the 'division of labor'. A greater synergistic effect was created when individuals with various roles worked together organically.
Choi Yu-ra remembered fighting alongside the siblings Oh Soo-jung and Oh Soo-min in the past.
The buffing abilities Oh Soo-jung had displayed back then.
If they had a dedicated healer or buffer, Seong Yu-jin could focus more on tanking, and the party's combat sustainability would undoubtedly be much greater than it was now.
*'Should I try posting a recruitment ad at the Adventurer's Guild?'*
LFP healer. LFP buffer. Raid starts once you join.
Choi Yu-ra gave a bitter smile as she recalled the phrases commonly seen in online games. The memories came to her like a joke, but considering the upcoming raid on Raum's Tower, it might actually be a necessary step.
Choi Yu-ra asked into the empty air.
“Iris. You're listening, right? I know we get connected, even if it's just for a moment, when we clear a quest.”
[I am listening.]
[Must you always speak in such an accusatory tone? Lady Seong Yu-jin is always so gentle.]
Iris replied in a slightly petulant voice. Choi Yu-ra paid it no mind and got straight to the point.
“What's Kang-seok doing right now? Is he still sparring?”
The guild master of the Adamas guild.
Kang-seok was not with the party at the moment. He was in Ahen, all by himself.
Iris grumbled before answering.