Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Remington Territory (2)
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A fastball right out of the gate. Rokan hadn't expected a scouting offer from the very first word, so even he was a bit taken aback.
‘He thinks I'm no match for him, huh?’
How low did he have to think of him to make such a proposal?
Considering Lord Remington's sleazy con artist personality, he must have seriously underestimated him.
"It's true I'm not a knight for life, but that doesn't mean I'm not a knight at all."
When Rokan lightly refused, Lord Remington's eyes gleamed again as he probed slyly.
"Of course, I have no intention of undervaluing your honor. But think about it—Rinai Territory has no future. If nothing turns up in the mine they're developing this time, just imagine what'll happen."
But it didn't faze Rokan in the slightest.
‘So what if Rinai Territory goes under?’
In fact, since that was exactly what Rokan wanted, he snorted inwardly and shot back.
"Well, that's a problem for then, isn't it."
"Haha, so it's a short-term contract thing, eh? Yeah, that's not your concern. But listen."
Lord Remington leaned forward with evident interest, as if he'd interpreted it in some way.
"If Rinai Territory vanishes completely, that land and those rights you've been granted become meaningless, don't they? Think it over. Come to me—or just help me out—and I'll give you three times, no, five times the land you have now."
Where had he picked up on the land and rights in the contract?
Rokan figured the naive lord must have let it slip casually to the delegation, and replied with a sly smile.
"If it's ten times, I'll consider it. Helping out a bit, that is."
"Excellent. Ten times."
Lord Remington grinned ear to ear. He thought he'd gotten through.
It might seem excessive—just for some help, ten times the land—but Lord Remington had his own scheme. He hadn't specified ‘which land.’
"Then I'll be in touch. Eat up for now."
And so, the two finished their first dinner, each harboring their own ulterior motives.
After marking his assigned lodging, Rokan briefly visited Taimura's unified auction house, then headed to the spot he'd reserved.
"Throwing."
Thwack!
The location of the secret dungeon he'd saved during the day. Upon arrival, pitch-black darkness shrouded his vision.
But with his Night Vision, it was no issue for Rokan. He immediately hurled his handaxe, knocking down a hive, and slipped into the dungeon alone.
[You have entered the secret dungeon 'Sweet Death.']
It was night outside, but inside the dungeon was different. A greenish glow welcomed him, along with the same daytime scene as before.
"Here they come."
And with it, the Giant Bees and Killer Bees flying in from afar.
"One at a time is no fun."
Spotting them, Rokan charged straight at the hive.
Screeeee!
Dodging the nimble Giant Bees and Killer Bees pursuing him, he raced to the summit in one breath.
Some tried to sting his back along the way, but their attack power couldn't pierce his +8 reinforced armor. Rokan had already used Charge, Dash, and even Unyielding Advance.
"Throwing."
Thwack!
Reaching the top in a flash, Rokan threw his handaxe again, prodding the hive.
He could shatter it outright with Bombardment, but that wasn't the goal.
Whiiiirrr.
Countless bees poured out from the hive.
He'd truly stirred the hornet's nest.
Dozens of Giant Bees and Killer Bees appeared, but Rokan calmly faced them, putting distance between.
"KRAAAAAAGH!"
As the swarm encircled him and prepared to strike all at once, a roar of madness erupted. It halted every bee's thoughts and overrode their instincts.
Thud thud thud!
The bees, wings stilled, crashed to the ground as expected.
Seizing the moment, Rokan activated an unfamiliar skill.
"Aqua Boom!"
A 2-circle water bomb spell with negligible attack power.
That's why he'd stopped by Taimura's unified auction house—to buy the Aqua Boom skillbook.
As a non-mage, its power was weakened and mana cost doubled, but it didn't matter. He hadn't bought it for damage.
Sploooosh!
"Aqua Boom! Aqua Boom!"
Before they recovered, Rokan poured mana repeatedly, facing them with a satisfied smile.
Only a tiny fraction regained their senses and took flight—their soaked wings left them flapping helplessly.
Even those barely rose a meter before bursting under Rokan's battle axe. Effectively, the entire group was neutralized.
"Alright, let's get started."
Having subdued dozens so easily, Rokan went to each one. He hoisted their log-like legs and crushed their abdomens.
Schlop.
[Acquired Giant Bee's Paralysis Stinger.]
[Acquired Killer Bee's Poison Stinger.]
He began harvesting another popular item from this dungeon.
The Giant Bee's Paralysis Stinger, prized by assassins as a throwing weapon for its potent paralysis, and the Killer Bee's Poison Stinger, dealing unignorable DoT damage—he collected them all.
"La la la~."
Crunch.
Normally dropped at low rates from killing the two monsters, but forcibly extracting them yielded near-100% success, like with Lizardman tails.
It took time to do each one manually, but a quick Aqua Boom when they stirred fixed that. Far faster than knights hunting normally, so it was a win.
Repeating the process, his inventory piled up with the two types of stingers.
"Next up, Sunflowers, right?"
And one more thing. He didn't forget the high-probability gatherables here.
Sunflower clusters, magical catalysts infused with solar power.
Too tricky for warriors to use directly, but selling to mage guilds fetched a good price.
"Bombardment!"
Boom!
Finally, the boss fight. Destroy the hive, kill the Queen Bee. But not difficult.
The Queen Bee's terror came not from her combat prowess, but the endless Giant Bees and Killer Bees she summoned over time.
Infinite farming or stinger grinding sounded good, but summoned bees gave less EXP than regulars and no stingers.
Plus, items from the Queen were too tempting.
‘Queen's Pheromone and the Hive.’
Queen's Pheromone gained favor with male monsters regardless of race, and the Hive yielded massive honey.
Considering that, killing her quick and looping again was always better.
"Lethal Strike."
Rokan's brute force pierced the Queen Bee's fragile exoskeleton.
Drenched in thick fluids, he didn't care, swinging his battle axe.
Bees flailed in confusion to protect her, but he mocked them by swiftly ending the Queen.
"Sweet as honey."
The fluids tasted bitter, but seeing the items, money, and EXP fill his inventory made his mouth water.
That night, Rokan's hunt continued nonstop.
"Have you awakened? Where would you like to see today?"
The next day, Lord Remington didn't summon Rokan separately. They'd gauged each other's intentions, so no need to rush.
He probably hoped Rokan would get antsy, but Rokan was busy looting their resources.
"This is our territory's specialty honey mead."
"This dungeon..."
He surveyed specialty products unique to Remington Territory, confirmed main revenue sources, and scouted every hunting ground and dungeon. More secrets lurked, but the rest could wait.
Post-conversation, the guiding knights grew even friendlier, like old pals. During the day, he marked key spots; at night, he pretended to retire early and returned. Their trust in Rokan deepened.
After day one, anyone could see he was just skimming.
In truth, Rokan was sucking them dry by exhausting special dungeon clears.
‘Good thing NPCs can't see the limit.’
Key point: special dungeons had no entry limits or visibility for NPCs. They'd cleared dungeons thriftily by day too—if visible, it'd have been a headache.
Days passed, and return time came.
"Farewell. I'll contact you."
Lord Remington appeared for the first time since day one, spoke to Rokan, and left.
Seemed like keeping distance to avoid suspicion.
‘Like I don't know what you're up to.’
Oblivious that Rokan had him right where he wanted.
* * *
"I'm back."
"Good. No issues?"
Back in Rinai Territory for greetings, the lord gave a report instead. About the Remington visitors—what they'd done, asked.
‘As expected...’
It matched Rokan's predictions.
Of the twenty-or-so delegation, only two knights; the rest miners, blacksmiths, administrators—specialist NPCs.
Guided by soldiers, they'd toured, feasted lavishly, and left.
‘Did they notice?’
They'd seemed disappointed at the developing mine, but experts might've spotted other deposits.
Not the second failed mine site—quality iron lay elsewhere.
If Lord Remington was serious, assume he'd noticed.
"I see. Well done."
Hearing all, Rokan smiled oddly and left.
Routine patrols and monster subjugations, but countless thoughts chained in his mind.
Countermeasures for nearly every scenario surfaced.
‘Response soon. Time to prepare.’
Checking preps, he focused on reinforcement stone farming and leveling.
* * *
20-minute clears!
As levels rose, Mystery's Slumbering Cave allowed perfect clears in 20 minutes.
Mostly travel and hunting random Mystery Sprites; fastest was now 15 minutes per loop.
Stones primary, but EXP too low now; he looped Sweet Death nights for honey.
Then, news trickled in.
"Perfect."
First: Hellhound.
After Rokan left, their dawn pushes to Taimura failed repeatedly even unhindered, levels dropping below 180, mass exodus after squeezing guildmates' pockets.
Behind it, Rokan's ‘alarms’ played a role.
Mech-engineered alarms in the canyon—entry triggered mass zombie wakes.
For deserters, they'd culled before, but elite level drops and gear downgrades made it hard; survival hung by a thread.
"About time."
Second: Other guilds advancing Central Continent.
Learning from Hellhound failures, steady questing near third cities pushed them past 190, entering Central.
Some hit 198, 199—nearly 200—drawing eyes.
"Not total idiots."
Crucial: they ‘allied.’
Unlike Hellhound grabbing beachheads and ambushing laggards, these banded together for Taimura.
More numbers meant more zombies, but Rokan bet on success.
190s could handle multiple zombies each, unlike Hellhound's weaklings.
Plus, combo skill research ongoing among users—some losses, but success certain.
"Time for a welcome."
Gathering intel from sites and forums, Rokan grinned wickedly and launched his prepared plan.