Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Hero's Trial (1)
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“Bullshit!”
Perhaps because it was exactly what they had been trying to do, the bastards flatly rejected Rokan's proposal.
“Well, can't be helped then.”
Thud! Thud!
As Rokan laughed and swung down his Orc tribe battle axe, they couldn't hold out and breathed their last.
They dropped a pile of items. PKers had a higher item drop rate than regular users, and the chance of dropping multiple items at once.
And unfortunately, these guys hit that jackpot.
“You idiots, should’ve listened. Right, scout?”
“W-Who the hell are you?!”
Rokan turned to the last one remaining as he scooped up all their loot. He was the source of the presence that had summoned the three dead PKers.
The guy was just on watch, signaling when users approached, so his eyes weren't red yet.
“Tell me, do you know who I am?”
Who introduces themselves in the ultra-early stages of the game? As Rokan swaggered over to pick up the remaining items, the guy hesitated for a moment before pulling a trick.
“Insight!”
[The opponent has used a hostile skill on you.]
[For the next 5 minutes, you are granted the right to self-defense.]
[Resistance may extend the self-defense period.]
“You're asking for it!”
Crack!
Rokan had anticipated even that. The moment the guy used Insight to read Rokan's info, he charged like lightning and smashed his head.
True to his scouting role, the guy's level was low, so his skull shattered without much resistance, killing him instantly.
“Yo ho! This one's dropping gear too. Real lucky bastards, huh huh!”
His name and level had been revealed to them through Insight, but Rokan didn't care a bit. He focused solely on collecting the dropped items, even humming a tune.
As expected of Trinsic operators, the dropped items were pretty decent.
One even dropped what looked like his main weapon, a bow. Bows weren't high drop-rate items, so that had to sting.
After recovering all the items, Rokan didn't head straight to Trinsic. He waited a bit longer, hoping they might come back for revenge or bring friends.
Sadly, whether out of fear or bad timing preventing them from calling backup, no one else showed up.
“No more coming? Gutless punks!”
His level, revealed through Insight, was a mere 35, so they could've rushed him once or twice more without issue.
“Damn, should’ve gone easier on them.”
After waiting another 20 minutes, Rokan hurled a barrage of curses at them and headed back to Trinsic.
* * *
Most users felt “amazing” the first time they saw Kton, but Trinsic was about twice its size. Accordingly, it had more shops and NPCs.
Though a secondary city, it was built to accommodate even more people. Moving from a primary city like Kton was possible for anyone with time anyway.
Moreover, the hunting grounds around Trinsic started at level 40 minimum, so even those who hadn't fully graduated from Savage Forest in Kton could level up plenty here.
“Pretty crowded.”
Perhaps because of that, Trinsic was bustling with more people than expected. The Lord had been live for over a month now, so all the users with some game sense had migrated here.
‘But being fast isn't everything.’
Rokan knew, though, that most of them were posers like the PKers he'd just met.
Unless you were the absolute first, being a little ahead meant nothing.
“First things first... general store.”
Memorizing the layout of such a massive city wasn't easy unless you wandered endlessly.
Sure, you'd learn it eventually through quests, but Rokan chose the rational approach over inefficiency.
Buying a map from the general store.
His memory had limits, and magic maps came with special features.
Adding a purchased map to your magic map displayed your current position, destination, and shortest route as dots and dashed lines.
Rokan pulled out his newly bought magic map and said,
“Navigation on. Destination: Mage Guild.”
Even with past-life memories surfacing, he figured navigation beat fumbling around. He set off for the Mage Guild.
* * *
“As expected.”
Unlike Kton's Mage Guild, which was packed to the gills, Trinsic's was fairly quiet. Not because mages had lost popularity, but because few mage users had leveled enough to reach here yet.
Unlike melee classes that could rampage endlessly with just HP even without skills, mages' sustainable hunt time equaled their mana pool.
Thus, the mages here were either truly skilled, guilded, or secondary-job mages.
Rokan wove through them and spoke to the magic vendor.
“I'd like to buy a Rune Book set.”
A magic book enabling instant teleport to five memorized locations in non-combat state: the Rune Book.
Once used, it bound to the user, so no drop worries on death. Spending more allowed up to twenty spots—an essential for all classes.
“Rune Book, five Mark Scrolls, twenty Teleport Scrolls. Total: 5 gold.”
The problem? They were ridiculously expensive. Even a basic Rune Book—five spots and ten teleports—cost 3 gold. Not something Trinsic regulars could buy easily.
How much had those PKers fleeced to own three each?
‘Come to think of it, they must've raked it in.’
He regretted not drawing them back for more if they'd sought revenge.
“Third floor this time, huh.”
Rokan grabbed his Rune Book and headed straight up to the third floor. Normally he'd need permission, but again, his “Steroian's First Assistant” title got him through smoothly.
“Hm? Sent by Steroian?”
Matherian, unlike Steroian, didn't test visitors. Still, Rokan summoned the Bell of Truth to verify, and it checked out.
After receiving the “Improved Antidote Prototype” and “Steroian's Letter,” Matherian pondered deeply before speaking.
“You're right, it might be wise to prepare in advance. So, you'll help me?”
His scrutinizing gaze screamed distrust. Rightly so—Rokan's level was just 35 amid Trinsic's hordes of 40s and 50s.
“Leave it to me.”
“With Steroian's recommendation and your insistence... fine, I'll entrust you with one task.”
[Endless Research I][Quest]
Having seen Steroian's improved antidote prototype, Matherian seeks materials to enhance it. Bring him the Forest Goblin Shaman's Potion.
-Success Conditions: Forest Goblin Shaman's Potion 0/1
-Rewards: 4 silver, Moderate EXP
‘Here we go.’
The real start now. Forest Goblins excelled in alchemy and shamanism. Starting with the “Forest Goblin Shaman's Potion,” Matherian would demand body parts and items from all sorts of monsters—some unrelated to actual research—earning user ire.
But refusal wasn't an option. Rokan accepted and stepped out.
“Might as well do it efficiently.”
He roughly knew what items Matherian would demand next.
No need to wander or waste time.
“One thing to do: check the auction house.”
* * *
Rokan headed straight to the auction house. Absent in primary cities like Kton, they existed from secondary ones like Trinsic onward. He snapped up everything he knew about via instant buys.
Mostly junk classified as trash, listed to scrape a few coins, so costs were low.
“While I'm here, time to offload these. Auction listing.”
Rokan listed Savage Village spoils, Moonlit Cemetery skeleton warrior series drops, and the recent PK loot at fair prices.
Sales took a 2% fee, but it beat yelling in the square endlessly. He wasn't desperate for cash anyway.
Returning with his instant-buys completed ten quests in a flash.
[Endless Research II][Quest]
Having seen Steroian's improved antidote prototype, Matherian seeks materials to enhance it. Bring him Forest Lizardman's Blood and Heart.
-Success Conditions: Forest Lizardman's Blood 0/1, Forest Lizardman's Heart 0/1
-Rewards: 20 silver, Moderate EXP
‘Now we're talking.’
True to its name, an endless chain. Rokan had leveled once just from quest EXP rewards.
Fast was good, but clearing normally would've stressed even him—back-and-forth auction treks galore.
Plus, these “junk” items now would skyrocket or dry up later with main quest activation.
Only possible because Rokan had holed up in the training hall, staying ahead.
“But this one's still scarce, huh.”
That lasted only to the tenth quest.
The eleventh target's Forest Lizardman was level 70-ish. Unlisted in quests, but the Forest Lizardman Great Warrior giving its “Heart” was a whopping level 80 boss-grade beast. No wonder auction stock was nil.
“Or sold elsewhere.”
Lizardman byproducts had many buyers, so they might've dumped to NPCs without knowing uses—or hoarded slyly.
At this stage, taking down a Forest Lizardman Great Warrior meant raid-style group rushes. Unless you had Rokan's special powers.
“No rush anyway.”
Composing himself, Rokan relaxed. Clearing the main scenario quest fast mattered, but Trinsic offered plenty more: hidden items, dungeons, quests, achievements, power-granting intel. He recalled them one by one, starting with the easiest.