Chapter 226
Chapter 226
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 226
Chapter Title: Death's Hall (1)
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What Rokan faced was a single mannequin-like figure.
But what caught his eye wasn't the mannequin itself or the stylish armor draped over it. It was the single cape attached to its back.
The blood-red cape, just like the one from the Marvel movie *Doctor Strange*, was all too familiar.
He'd suffered quite a bit because of this thing in his previous life.
"So this was the ancient gnome tribe's weapon, huh? Damn, that explains it."
The so-called Wing System.
Even in his previous life when Rokan was active, this was one of the wings that weren't produced in great numbers, boasting overwhelming performance.
There was a chance it could be something similar, but Rokan knew better. Among all the wings, only one took the form of a cape normally and glowed with this fiery red hue.
"That guy must have stolen it from someone else."
It was such a distinctive item, but the reason Rokan hadn't expected it to belong to the ancient gnome tribe was simple. The user in his previous life hadn't been a gnome.
Even if it wasn't found through normal means, it was the gnome race who had discovered the ancient city.
Yet the one who made a name with this item was a half-elf user.
That left two possibilities.
He killed and took it, or he bought it for money.
"It was Hermes, right?"
Recalling the smug face of Hermes, a teammate of Odin—the King of Genesis—Rokan grinned.
He was happy about strengthening his own forces, but even more thrilled that he wouldn't have to see that infuriating face suffer anymore.
[Wings of Gale][Legend]
An ancient gnome treasure that can be used as either a cape or wings.
It is sturdier than anything, more flexible than anything, and faster than anything.
Crafted to face a certain being, but left unused and dormant.
-Defense: 1,000
-Durability: 8,000 / 8,000 (Auto-Repair)
-All Stats +100
-All Resistances +30%
-Immune to status ailments from cold and heat
-Can transform into [Wing Form]
-All skills usable at 100% efficiency during [Wing Flight]
"……Gale."
But the moment he acquired it, he noticed something off. It had the name 'Gale' attached to it.
Was this connected to the legend of 'Gale' as well?
Rokan hurriedly opened his quest window to check.
[In Search of the Gale's Traces][Quest]
You have found a trace of the Gale that once scourged the world long ago. Find the remaining traces and carry on the Gale's legacy.
-Completed Advanced Training Grounds (Complete)
-First to pass through the Undersea Tunnel (Complete)
-Killed 5 Class Masters while in Class Expert state (Complete)
-Acquired Sealed Gale's Battle Axe (Complete)
-Heard about the Legend of Gale (Complete)
-
He'd hoped a bit, but this didn't fill the final slot. The quest window still showed a question mark, even after equipping the Wings of Gale.
"Tch."
Rokan felt disappointed but figured it wasn't a total loss. Maybe he could glean another hint from this.
Mulling over various thoughts, hints, and hypotheses, he left the armory for now.
[Server-wide Notice. Wing System unlocked.]
[Server-wide Notice. From now on, you can acquire/craft 'Wing' items by meeting special conditions.]
And at that moment, the Wing System unlocked.
In his previous life, Rokan had been among those bewildered by this message.
Back then, it seemed random, but apparently someone had acquired the Wings of Gale—or another wing item—around that time too.
"Damn, can't stand seeing others succeed."
But he doubted the identity of wing items would be revealed right away or that people would start obtaining them immediately. Crafting wings was incredibly tricky.
You either lucked into a complete relic like the Wings of Gale or gathered materials and hints to commission an NPC who could craft them. But those wing-crafting NPCs didn't care about prior affinity or reputation, requiring massive grinding.
No one even knew which NPCs could craft wings off the bat.
That's why, even in his previous life, wing items only started appearing long after this server-wide notice.
"Well, doesn't mean I have to hold back."
Still, Rokan had no intention of hiding the Wings of Gale.
His exploits might accelerate info-gathering and crafting for wings, but that didn't make anyone his equal.
Hermes, whose combat prowess rivaled SSS-rank, was notoriously tricky among them precisely because of his differentiated wing performance.
In short, no matter what wings they slapped on, they still weren't Rokan's match.
"Time to loot the rest, then."
Finishing his thoughts, Rokan started moving again.
Leaving now would feel unsatisfying.
He swept through the consumables warehouse and even the food stores, grabbing everything left behind.
Even if the ancient city was beyond revival, it wasn't his problem—he wanted to recover even the items he'd dumped as temporary power sources. But protected by some force, he couldn't, so he wrapped up his activities in the ancient city.
[Gnome Mechanical Engineering: 93.2%]
He gained some extra benefits in the process.
His Mechanical Engineering skill, which he'd struggled to raise amid increasing precision and headaches, had surpassed 90% and hit 93.2%.
Just from repeated destruction!
Even though failures in [Crafting] or [Dismantling] destroy items beyond recycling, with a chance for skill-ups based on item quality, this was beyond expectations.
And Rokan's proficiency gain meant...
"……No traces left, I hope."
The ancient city and airships were nearly demolished.
At this point, even a full power source might not allow restart or repairs.
Having unknowingly shattered the gnome tribe's hopes, Rokan hurried outside.
Rune Books couldn't save this location, but teleport spells out were allowed, so escape was easy.
"Rune Book use, Taimura."
Having cleaned up thoroughly, Rokan fled before anyone could arrive.
He arrived in Taimura, the allied city of the Golden Lion faction, still buzzing from Orc Berserker Krokchwi's exploits.
'Best to hide it for now.'
But he stashed the Wings of Gale first.
He unequipped before using the Rune Book. Until Wing Mode, it looked like a normal cape—but that color was anything but normal.
Such a vivid blood-red cape would draw eyes no matter who wore it.
He wouldn't hide it in combat, but no need to attract attention while walking around.
Especially since he was here for intel-gathering—stealth was key.
"……Well, I wouldn't know. Never heard anything about that person having wings."
"I see. Thank you."
Rokan's first stop was the Berserker Guild. The one who'd told him the Legend of Gale might know about the Wings too.
But the answer was disappointing. Even this Gale follower knew nothing of the wings.
'"Made to face a certain being……"'
Leaving the guild, Rokan rechecked the item description and had a sudden thought.
'No way.'
What if the Wings of Gale weren't made for 'Gale' to use, but against 'Gale'?
If true, Rokan found it amusing that it landed in his hands while chasing Gale.
"Need to dig more."
But he didn't jump to conclusions. He headed back to the Imperial Grand Library for more info and cross-references.
Now a duke, he could access up to S-grade archives without the emperor's permission.
* * *
"Hmm, is that really it?"
After days of digging, Rokan found a tiny bit on the ancient gnomes' downfall.
They were annihilated by a 'mighty being' and poured all resources into countering it.
But the enemy was too strong—they fell before unleashing their power. Survivors fled and never resurfaced.
The issue: no clear ID on the mighty being, just that it desired world destruction.
So the hypothesis that it was the one called Gale wasn't far-fetched.
"Guess I'll find out as I chase it."
Scratching his head, Rokan cleared his mind.
He'd learn at quest's end. It nagged, but not essential.
Stretching his stiff body, he left the library.
But he didn't return to the battlefield. It was rare downtime—make it count.
He could check battle updates via homepage, and no urgent calls yet.
"Time for some proper hunting."
From Rokan's view, frontline duty was a mixed bag.
Massive enemy waves meant tons of EXP and loot, but level gaps required slaughtering thousands to fill the bar.
Snagging a High Master mid-way gave solid EXP, but they were few—and now hiding or countering him effectively.
Hunting Master-level+ monsters was tougher per kill but reliably high EXP.
Herding was risky, but focused effort yielded bulk EXP and rare drops.
After endless battlefields with no choice, he missed monster hunting.
Chopping level 290s by thousands or tens of thousands only trickled EXP.
At best, one level.
Shaking off close pursuers, Rokan arrived at 'Death's Hall,' a Master-level hunting ground.
"This should do."
Death's Hall was undead territory.
But Rokan came carefree. No one else could handle it yet.
Its guards attacked all undead indiscriminately, level 330+, too much for fresh Masters.
Even Black Dragon Legion's new Masters couldn't party here.
Melee to casters, no class spared, and sheer numbers overwhelmed even outskirts.
"Amateurs coming here might as well suicide."
Masters risked days recovering from a slip—more loss than gain.
Not for Rokan, though.
"Let's get started. Nice to meet you, EXP bags!"
No one around, no need for undead polymorph.
Unleashing full power, Rokan swung his battle axe at the nearest Death Knight.