Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: Pirate King (4)
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[Lion King's Sealed Breastplate][Set]
The breastplate used by Lion King Gaokan during his lifetime. Currently, most of its power is sealed.
-Defense: 3,000
-Durability: 10,000 / 10,000
-Strength +100
-Stamina +100
-Intelligence +100
-[Lion's Steadfastness] effect: 50% increase in resistance to all attacks
As expected, the true name of the unknown ancient breastplate was the Lion King's Sealed Breastplate.
The moment he equipped it, a forgotten quest was updated.
[Find the Lion King's Armaments][Quest]
Gather the Lion King's sealed armaments and inherit the Lion King's power.
Success Conditions:
-Lion King's Sealed Helm (Complete)
-Lion King's Sealed Breastplate (Complete)
-Lion King's Sealed Pants 0/1
-Lion King's Sealed Pauldrons 0/1
-Lion King's Sealed Boots 0/1
Reward: Unseal the Lion King Set
He still needed to find three more Lion King armaments to complete the quest, but even viewed individually, each item was excellent enough to use for a long time. More than enough to offset the drawback of being impossible to enhance.
[Lion King's Sealed Armaments 2-Set Effect activates.]
[All stats increase by 50.]
On top of that, the set effect activated as a reward for gathering two pieces.
Even though it was just the lowest-tier two-set effect, all stats rose by 50. It was so outstanding that he didn't even miss the Strength and Intelligence +100 from the Lion King's Emblem.
“Now it should be worth a try.”
Weapons and armor. With both upgraded, Rokan's eyes gleamed coldly.
Now it was worth trying. On top of that, his level had reached 298, putting Master level right in front of him.
‘Just one more level.’
Strictly speaking, he didn't even need to reach 300. Once he hit 299, no more experience would accumulate until he undertook the Master level quest. Instead, the moment he started the Master level quest, he could level up immediately, regardless of the experience gained.
If luck was on his side, the instant he gained one more level, he could become Master level.
‘I wish it were a one-on-one with a Master level...’
If the Master level quest turned out to be something like "Defeat a Master level in a one-on-one," it would complete instantly. Victory records applied retroactively.
If that popped up, he wouldn't care even if it demanded ten victories instead of one.
Cherishing that small hope, Rokan boarded the pirate ship. His speedboat had sunk, so to escape the island, he had to either take the dinghy behind it or hijack the anchored pirate ship.
[Title 'Pirate Conqueror' effect: All stats increase by 10%.]
Sweeping away the pirates lingering on the ship was now as easy as breathing for Rokan.
“Thank you. Thank you so much!”
“Oh, God!”
Moving a large vessel like a pirate ship alone was never easy, but Rokan handled it effortlessly. He freed the prisoners scattered in crates below deck.
Most were sailors from Hanes, so once released, the ship set sail on its own.
Who could handle the ship better than them?
As a bonus, he completed the quest he'd picked up beforehand. Two birds with one stone.
“Let's head out first.”
After sailing for quite some time, land came into view, and Rokan summoned Kai to fly ahead. They might mistake it for a pirate raid from Hanes and attack.
Rokan arrived first and explained the situation, drawing crowds to the docks. Families of the captured prisoners rushed out, swollen with hope, waiting.
“Whoa, it's here! Land!”
“I'm really back! To think I'd step on this soil again...!”
But not everyone was rejoicing. Families of those captured by pirates but left behind in this escape couldn't hide their grief and wailed.
“Milord, please, please save my husband too...!”
“Daddy, where are you, Daddy! Daddy!”
They clung to Rokan, sobbing. They knew it was shameless, knew they had nothing to offer, but there was no one else to turn to.
Even aware it could constitute lèse-majesté against a noble and bring them ruin, clinging was all they could do.
“I'm sorry.”
Rokan turned down their desperate pleas. There was still plenty of time before the Pirate King respawned, and with a noble's influence, he could drag nearly every ship here out to sea. But it would be endless either way.
Even in a virtual scenario, it tugged at him, but the longer he lingered, the more tragedies would unfold elsewhere on the continent.
The ancient emperor's rampage was ongoing this very moment.
“Runebook use, to Taimura.”
So Rokan shook them off and returned to Taimura. His item upgrades weren't done yet.
“I've come to claim the commission reward.”
[Bounty Mission 'Suppress the Corrupted Ancient Emperor' partially completed.]
[You may select a reward.]
[You may upgrade the reward. Proceed?]
The answer was obviously yes. The reward list shifted from Rare to Unique. Saying no would have let him pick an extra Rare item.
But Rares could be bought with money anytime.
“Search accessories.”
Rokan's desire was clear.
Accessories. Specifically, earrings. The Elf's Tear Necklace covered necklaces, and the Investigation Unit Bracelet handled bracelets, leaving only earrings for the one pair slot.
The options he sought were predetermined.
Critical hit chance and critical hit damage as basics, plus one extra option unique to earrings.
“Found it.”
[Maamas's Earrings][Unique]
Earrings used by a powerful ancient mage. His attacks were lethal, and his mana was said to be like an ever-flowing spring.
-Critical hit chance +10%
-Critical damage +93%
-Mana recovery 80 on hit
-Intelligence +300
At first glance, it seemed tailor-made for mages, but mana needs were universal across classes.
Rokan was no exception. Berserk granted infinite mana, but only for 15 minutes.
For prolonged combat far beyond that, mana sustain gear was essential.
In that regard, Maamas's Earrings massively boosted his mana pool and restored a solid amount per hit, offering tremendous utility.
Perfect for Rokan, whose mana drain had spiked from manipulating iron chains.
“Alright, let's go.”
With his final preparations complete, Rokan rose lightly. Intel said Chrono and the Red Cross Army had shifted to the Black Dragon Legion's side.
Cleverly, the council had issued a separate quest—beyond the bounties—to a select few.
The 'Big Fish' quest.
A tempting offer: Lure Chrono and the Red Cross Army to the Black Dragon Legion's side for a title.
Perhaps because he already held the near-unattainable rank of Count, or due to concerns over his belligerent nature, it hadn't been given to Rokan.
‘That must have been it.’
Hearing that, Rokan realized why Cashman had pulled that stunt.
With his wealth, even a barony could be parlayed into a viscountcy in no time.
‘Good thing I kept my identity hidden.’
He was inwardly glad he hadn't revealed himself. If that was the case, he might have incurred some penalty for interfering—knowingly or not.
Whether he'd succeeded or someone else had, Rokan didn't know, but he crossed the border into the Black Dragon Legion's camp to pursue the Red Cross Army.
“Judging by the commotion, that's them.”
He used Kai to avoid drawing eyes, but even that was tough. In just days, they'd charged deep like rampaging bulls.
Maybe even faster than the Corruption Wave.
‘Well, they are overwhelmingly strong.’
Their strength was one thing, but it might also be a lesson from last time. They'd learned what futile resistance against an unstoppable foe brought.
So they figured abandoning outposts for a tactical retreat was smarter.
Thanks to that, Rokan and Kai spent dozens of cycles flying then resting.
To catch up. He tracked real-time reports on the homepage, repeatedly correcting course.
Posts meant as avoidance warnings, but Rokan looked forward to the encounter.
‘Got 'em.’
Finally, he spotted them.
Including the ones he'd snagged, the Red Cross Army seemed about a hundred lighter than before, but they were still going strong. He gazed at them fondly. Part of him wanted to wave and ask if they'd been well.
“Let's go.”
Kyit!
Astride Kai, Rokan activated stealth and approached low and silent.
Repeated battles had taught them ambushes were pointless—no users mid-fight—but it didn't matter. What Rokan planned next was a bit special.
“Summon familiar. Jumper.”
He zipped right up to them and struck first, just before the Red Cross Army detected his stealth. Leaping off Kai, he used his bracelet to summon a familiar.
Kai shrank to a point and vanished, leaving only the familiar at his side.
The familiar type: Jumper. Specialized in spatial jumps.
“Mass Jump!”
Wooong. Paat!
He vanished with five Red Cross Army members.
A hollow sensation hit as massive mana drained away. Familiars drew from Rokan's mana pool when using abilities.
Spatial jumps were notoriously mana-hungry.
“Summon familiar!”
Rokan immediately resummoned the vanished Jumper. Bringing it back to his side alongside the Red Cross Army members it'd taken.
“Mass Jump!”
The familiar vanished again in a flash. Dragging off more Red Cross Army members like Nongae.
“Summon familiar!”
Rokan kept resummoning and jumping without pause.
Finally, they reacted. Chrono, furious at the reappearing Rokan, unleashed his power.
“Berserk!”
Kwajijik!
A bolt of immense lightning crashed down on Rokan. A strike powerful enough to char him in an instant—like Zeus's thunderbolt, king of the gods.
‘Kuhk.’
Ironically, as the glaring yellow lightning hit, Rokan's gut feeling was 'I had it coming.' His HP had already bottomed out, but it was dropping far slower than expected.
The answer lay in his breastplate. The Lion King's Sealed Breastplate's 50% resistance to all attacks. Thanks to it, he bought time even against an off-the-charts strike.
“Summon familiar!”
As the so-called Lightning of Annihilation seared his body, Rokan forced his mouth open and resummoned Jumper, making it use its ability once more.
“Mass Jump!”
He escaped the battlefield via spatial jump.