Chapter 358
Chapter 358
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 358
Chapter Title: World Tree (2)
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Before using the Rainbow Teleporter, Rokan fell into brief contemplation.
Heading to a "different ground" where users from other countries were active sounded good.
But which country should he choose?
He now had only nine World Tree branches left, and over a hundred countries were enjoying The Lord.
"Hmm."
After pondering for a moment, Rokan decided to visit China first.
He had no particular desire to nurture them, but there was something he wanted to check while he was at it.
"Unified Auction House, open."
After transferring to the region where Chinese users operated, the first place Rokan visited wasn't the half-elf territory.
It was the Unified Auction House.
There was something he needed to confirm at the one run by country.
"Keyword search: Sealed Gale Equipment."
The Sealed Gale Equipment right away. It might already be tucked away in someone's warehouse, but then again, maybe not.
It was an item boasting excellent specs even in its sealed state, but if you got technical, there were plenty of superior pieces among top-tier gear.
Of course, that was under the premise of it being sealed.
So, in a populous nation like China, where farmed items flooded the market in droves, would they just sit on it? When far better equipment overflowed the marketplace?
Rokan placed his hopes on that very point.
And his expectations panned out.
"Buy it!"
The seller must have wanted competitive bidding, as the instant-buy price was set quite high, but that was chump change to Rokan.
Before anyone else could snag it, he snapped it up at a premium. A broad grin spread across Rokan's face.
"Heh heh heh, what a steal."
[The seal on the Sealed Gale Boots has been released.]
Rokan released the seal the instant he got his hands on them. A ferocious glow erupted as the power of the Gale awakened.
[Gale Boots][Set]
Boots once worn by the god of massacre known as the Gale.
-Defense: 17,000
-Durability: 1,000,000 / 1,000,000
-Agility 20% increase
-Stamina 20% increase
-[Unyielding Steps] Ignores all terrain effects and negative skill effects. Movement speed +30%. +50% movement speed when using Berserk-series skills.
As expected, a total jackpot. The raw stat boosts were modest, and there was no strength increase this time, but Rokan was even happier about the Unyielding Steps effect.
Damage output? He already had more than enough to spare. For him, a movement speed option was among the most crucial upgrades he could ask for.
And that was just the start. Collecting one more piece unlocked a new set bonus.
[You have gathered 4 pieces of Gale Equipment.]
[Set effect activated.]
[3-piece effect: All attack power +20%]
[4-piece effect: All incoming damage -30%]
"Hmm, now what to do?"
Fully satisfied after confirming the set bonus, Rokan sank back into thought.
He'd achieved his top priority, but now he wondered if he should really hand a World Tree branch to this land.
They were already dominating the heavens by leveraging their overwhelming player numbers, weren't they?
On top of that, they had zero qualms about adopting strategies and guides from foreign players, pulling in tactics from every direction to churn out prospective masters by the masses.
In that scenario, tossing in a World Tree would hugely benefit tons of players—especially since half-elves, with their strong base stats, were hugely popular in the Golden Lion faction.
Which was why he decided to hold off for now.
Rokan hopped back onto the Rainbow Teleporter and scouted other nations.
"Vietnam?"
That said, the Rainbow Teleporter wasn't linked to every single country's territory. It only allowed travel to nations with at least one player who'd reached the heavens.
Seemed like some kind of balance tweak or safeguard, and surprisingly, plenty of countries hadn't made it up yet, limiting the options quite a bit.
Among them, Vietnam stood out.
He'd heard Vietnamese players held their own skill-wise, but among heaven-faring nations, they counted as a minor power. Perfect for planting his second World Tree.
"Transfer."
Naturally, he made a trade here too.
He stripped them of their items and gold, then handed over the World Tree branch. Another quest completion.
"Huh?"
Something felt off, though.
Pure curiosity had him note the exact EXP amount for "massive quantity," but the reward from the first completion and this second one showed a glaring difference.
Sure, it was an insane haul either way, but the gap was big enough to notice, leaving Rokan a touch baffled.
"Wait, could this be...?"
A thought suddenly clicked.
Scale.
The more people it spread to, the bigger the divinity grew—maybe the quest rewards scaled accordingly?
"Damn, cheapskates."
Too few data points for certainty, but Rokan figured it was a solid hypothesis.
He moved to test it right away.
Back to China, his first stop.
It felt a bit shady, knowing it'd turbocharge their growth, but no helping it. Half-baked nations wouldn't show the variance clearly.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
"Whoa."
The results were stunning. Just one branch delivery, and bam—three whole levels.
Felt downright excessive, but hey, free levels were free levels. No complaints there.
"Which changes everything..."
No point holding back anymore. Why pass up free multi-level jumps from his current spot?
Plus, with China already in possession, better to distribute to other heavyweights—let them keep each other in check.
He spread World Tree branches to the most populous nations first: the United States, Russia, India, and so on. Along the way, he kept searching the Unified Auction House for more Sealed Gale Equipment.
No such luck on extra Gale pieces, but his levels skyrocketed regardless.
All the way to a whopping 430!
Progress slowed as usual—leveling got tougher at the top—but he'd netted a total of 9 levels.
Hunting for that would've meant fighting several full-scale wars.
Or risking his neck to bag a handful of Majesty Masters.
"Shame."
Just 19 levels shy now.
Part of him itched to rip open a Void Gate again and mulch the swarms of void spawn, but learning the Majesty Master truth made that impossible.
He finally grasped just how insanely lucky he'd been surviving those hunts.
Even a bare-minimum Majesty Master who actually knew how to wield divinity properly? No way it'd be an easy fight.
Forewarned was forearmed—his caution spiked accordingly.
"Time to hunt that down?"
His resolve hadn't wavered, though. He just knew his foe better now. Could prepare properly.
Which meant he needed even greater power.
"Bet it'll be useful."
The Gale's power. A chat with the guy who'd climbed to God of Massacre? Could evolve his skills, sharpen his edge?
"Or better yet, a spar."
Ideal scenario: the guy shows up in person for a proper throwdown.
Rokan's skills and style mirrored the Gale's close enough that clashing directly would skyrocket his combat prowess.
*Ping-grrring.*
The Compass of Desire whirled. Then locked onto a single point.
New map territory. Lucky break—while he'd been busy in the heavens, explorers had scaled mountains, uncovered fresh lands, and set up teleport arrays leading there.
Rokan teleported over without a second thought.
Summoned Kai, hopped on, and followed the Compass of Desire's lead.
*Kyut!*
New map. Tougher monsters, wild new terrain.
But it was still the surface. Nothing here could touch a heaven-storming Rokan.
Flying beasts occasionally swarmed the gliding Kai, but one blast of his Mad Cry had them hightailing it with tails between their legs.
He soared onward until reaching the fringes of the new map—an untouched frontier.
"Here, huh?"
Bleak wasteland, not even a proper town in sight.
Made him wonder what the locals even ate for a living—no trace of farms anywhere.
Made sense. This was barbarian territory.
[Savage Warrior][Lv 389]
Upper-tier High Masters. Humanoid, but those grotesque slabs of muscle made calling them "human" feel... off.
"Loose!"
"Bring it down!"
"We roast it!"
Their vibe matched. The second they spotted Kai, they hurled weapons like mad to knock him out of the sky.
The creepy part? They were dumping aura like it was free.
Primitive as tossing stone axes, but the raw power was monstrous.
'An altar to the Gale out here?'
He felt a twinge of doubt, but the Compass of Desire pointed squarely here.
*Ping-grrring-grrr.*
It spun in place over the savage warriors' village, signaling the destination loud and clear.
"No helping it. Kai, head back."
Their aggression was off the charts, so Rokan dismissed Kai and unfurled his Gale Wings.
Still clueless, they flung attacks his way, but High Master scrubs? No chance Rokan ate a single wild toss.
"Gah? A human in the sky!"
"It might be a god!"
"The Gale! The Gale has returned!"
Rokan finessed his wings for a pinpoint dive, landing lightly right in their midst.
"Huh?"
Their reaction was bizarre, though.
He'd braced for an instant dogpile, but they quaked in terror instead, dropping to their knees.
Some went full prone, kowtowing flat.
'What the hell's going on?'
Rokan was the flustered one now.
Why were they acting like this?
"Ah...?"
Feeling awkward, he scanned the surroundings—and spotted it.
A statue, far too refined for these brutes' handiwork.
Depicting the "Gale," clad in gear identical to his own.
'Taking me for the Gale?'
Gale and Rokan didn't look alike.
Half-human, half-titan that he was, his everyday look wouldn't pass for a Gale manifestation.
But.
Same weapons. Same core three gear pieces. Good enough for them?
Sculptures weren't photo-perfect anyway. Mistaking a rough likeness for the real deal? Totally plausible.
"Rise. Escort me to your village."
He smirked.
Time to milk it.