Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Toward Level 100! (1)
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Rokan's hunting was going smoothly. Hardly any users had pushed as far as the bandit lair yet, and the low-level hunting grounds he visited during Berserk aftereffects were crowded enough that he didn't need to overexert himself.
Above all, people recognized Rokan and steered clear of him.
No one touched the monsters he was hunting or had marked. Even if someone accidentally aggroed one by mistake, they'd take the hits instead from then on, begging forgiveness—no one wanted to upset him. Not regular users, nor guilds.
No one dared to make an enemy of Rokan.
The backdrop was Phiria suddenly logging off and vanishing, which led to the collapse of Blood Chaser and MP Guild.
The day Rokan posted his counterattack, Phiria showed no reaction. But from the next day, she'd been gone for over ten days straight.
Without their central figure, the two guilds naturally fell apart. All that remained was the now-solo MP Guild and Phiria herself. But with her offline, it was as good as gone.
"I figured she'd have one last shot in her, but she folded?"
Rokan had been expecting her to rally her forces for a final assault, so it was a bit disappointing. Still, it wasn't a bad outcome.
Thanks to that, he could level up peacefully during Berserk aftereffects without user attacks.
In the meantime, Rokan had been sucking up honey. He hadn't earned any special new titles, but as his level rose, so did his stats. Now, even in first-stage aftereffects, he could handle bandits decently. In second-stage, he could cautiously push into the bandit lair.
Experience piled up even faster. It wasn't a 2x or 3x difference, but 90-level monsters gave about 1.5x the exp of 70-80-level ones.
As a result, he was even thinking of solo-clearing the bandit lair that no one had reached yet.
"It's almost time... Let's push deeper today. The bandit boss was level 100, right?"
From Rokan's memory, the bandit sub-bosses were level 99, the boss level 100. But compared to Lake Knight Artwhite, they were small fry.
If anything, Lake Knight Artwhite was national league, bandit boss local league.
They had combo skills, but low-tier ones. Confident controllers sometimes used them as fodder for third job change.
"Alright. Clear the bandit lair, finish the main scenario quest, and this region's basically done."
Two sub-bosses together were tricky, but not for current Rokan. They were only 99. To his level 89, they were manageable even without Berserk.
Take out the thief-class sub-boss first, and the rest was straightforward—no real threats.
He'd left them alone before due to the hordes of bandits on the paths, but he was sick of dealing with those small fry now. So Rokan decided to wipe them out and move to the next region.
"While I'm at it, I can knock out the episode quest too."
Level 90 hunting grounds weren't just the bandit lair. But Rokan chose it for one reason: it was the starting point for the 'Rage King Quest.'
Each of the eighteen bandit lairs in second-tier cities held an episode quest item. Kill the boss, grab it, and you kick off the feud with the Rage King, their overlord.
It was just one of countless episodes in The Lord, so skippable. But the Rage King's Rage Axe was pretty decent.
"They'll hit 99 soon too."
Decision made, his steps quickened. Even at 99, hunting a 100-level monster to prove eligibility and finding the path to the next region would take time. But who knew? The opponent was the King of Genesis, who claimed most firsts.
Rokan bulldozed through bandits, charging into the heart of the lair.
"Small fry, scat!"
KRAAAAAH!
The Cruel King's roar echoed through the camp. It might draw enemies, but that was fine. The boss and sub-bosses would be among them.
Moments later, the bandit boss appeared with ten burly bandits in tow.
"Who the hell are you!"
"You came! Dash!"
[Bandit Boss Guillotine][Lv 100]
But Rokan's focus wasn't on him.
"Throwing! Leaf Attack!"
"Huh?!"
Rokan's form blurred, unleashing a focused barrage on the sub-boss trying to stealth.
Without this guy, the rest just charged head-on, making them far easier. No wonder people said the real boss of the lair was the thief sub-boss.
The standard tactic was to snipe him first before he could flank during the tough fight with Guillotine.
And Rokan was doing it solo.
"You bastard!"
Guillotine and the remaining sub-boss charged in fury at the dead sub-boss.
Guillotine was warrior class, the sub-boss shield knight.
Rumor had it he was a deserter knight, but it didn't matter. He couldn't block Rokan's axe either way.
"Show-off!"
Rokan snorted at Guillotine swinging his massive greatsword. Instead, he unleashed freakish power, swinging his axe to meet it.
"Urk!"
The heavy weapons clashed, but Guillotine was pushed back. Rokan's base stats were higher, plus title bonuses.
"Shield Attack!"
The sub-boss seized the opening, leading with his shield. He launched his charging momentum and weight at Rokan.
"Hmph, Escape!"
Rokan's response was stunning. He seemed to turn his back—then activated the ring's escape device.
The target vanished, but the sub-boss couldn't cancel, barreling onward. Rokan flanked Guillotine instead.
"Strike!"
"Eek!"
CLANG!
Guillotine panicked, whirling his greatsword. His stance crumbled low to the ground, body slammed by the impact. He couldn't offset the force in Rokan's axe.
"No escape for you."
Rokan flashed a wicked grin at Guillotine sprawled on the dirt.
Guillotine's combo skills all required firm footing. Useless lying down.
If he'd opened with a combo like Artwhite, it'd be tough. But now? Easy prey.
"Don't worry, I'll end it quick!"
Axes hit hardest on the downswing. Rokan didn't let him recover, unleashing brutal blows. Each one a lethal hit if not blocked.
Normally, a tank marks Guillotine while you clear sub-bosses, bandits, archers. Solo Rokan exploited that they couldn't.
"Fire! Shoot him!"
Cornered, Guillotine used his minions.
"Berserk!"
Rokan ignored them. Level 90+ bandit archer arrows were sharp unlike users', but he trusted Berserk's immortality.
With doubled strength, he shredded Guillotine in seconds.
"You're next!"
Then the sub-boss and small fry.
Even normally they'd struggle; with Berserk, it was overkill. Before the 10-minute duration ended, every bandit that appeared was wiped.
[You have leveled up.]
"Whew, close one. Cancel!"
Already at 89, clearing the lair plus boss and two sub-bosses netted 3 more levels. Not 'named' tier, but named bosses plus quasi-bosses.
Rokan's level: 92.
Berserk aftereffects lingered, but he pressed into the building undeterred.
A few bandits might remain, but he could handle that with control. Waiting out aftereffects in a safe zone wasted time.
"This way..."
Rummaging fuzzy memories, he entered Guillotine's room. No decorative wall items to loot—most left disappointed. But search well, and...
"Here it is."
[Acquired Rage King's Letter.]
Usually dismissed as junk paper. Only counts as acquired in inventory. Rokan pocketed it and bailed from the lair.
Bosses needed time to respawn, small fry less so—but irrelevant.
He figured to kill time in town.
* * *
"Let's see. Auction items, complete bandit wipe quest, restock consumables. A few mid potions? Advanced stamina ones are too pricey."
No more gold trading. He had 300 gold spare, potentially big money, but prior trades profited plenty. For third city lead, he needed max gold.
'Plus, video revenue in a month.'
Rokan had uploaded all Phiria/MP Guild strike videos to YouTube preemptively.
Planned to start with third city intro as hook, drip others. But circumstances changed; he started the channel early.
Barebones—just uploads and thumbnails. Views hit 5 million minimum each.
One video alone: 2 million won+. Seven total including normal rampage hunts: at least 10 million extra. To Rokan uninterested beyond playing The Lord, enough for a year's living.
Third city intro would net way more.
"Finally done."
[Acquired Hakkin's Journal Bundle.]
Back in Trinsic, geared up, Rokan completed Hakkin's Journal last.
Got final page yesterday, but waited for one reason: level.
Final scenario quest 'Musing on Death' needed 100, but instance 'Sealed Cave of Death' entry was 90.
Likely for exploiters like him. Meant to protect users, but annoying for Rokan.
Now, he'd surpassed even that.