Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Nothing is Impossible! (1)
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[First][Nothing is Impossible!][Legend]
You are the incarnation of a miracle who defeated even the monster everyone thought impossible to hunt. There are people who envy the one who challenged the impossible and made it possible, but no one who hates you.
You are the first acquirer of this title.
This title is granted only to the single first one.
[Possessed Effects]
-Reputation with alliance faction and neutral faction NPCs starts at the [Friendly] level.
-Proficiency required for job skill level-ups is reduced by 30%.
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A full-on 'Legend' grade title!
On top of that, the possessed effects were almost cheat-like. Starting with [Friendly] reputation toward all NPCs except hostile factions—what a joke compared to the hellish reputation grinding from his past life. Just having this one would make anyone cry cheat.
And it even cut proficiency for job skill level-ups by 30%, with three more unconfirmed effects attached.
He couldn't tell if it was due to insufficient level or special conditions needed to unlock them, but it was clear they were all no small effects.
'With this...'
This alone would not only massively accelerate his planned schedule but was a huge enough gain to revise the plans themselves.
Even Rokan, grizzled veteran of The Lord, felt his heart pounding, but this was still the early game. Time was too precious to waste jumping for joy.
So he immediately got to opening the unknown boxes.
“Phew, alright. Let's roll. Open, open, open, open!”
Iron box first.
The box opened with a puff of smoke effect, and the unknown boxes vanished. Only the randomly generated items remained.
[Lost Money Pouch][Normal]
A money pouch dropped by someone. No telling how much is inside.
[Warm Food Box][Normal]
A box containing warm food. No telling what food is inside.
[Premium Training Ground Voucher][Superior]
A certificate granting the right to use the premium training ground.
[Magic Scroll 'Curse of Weakness'][Magic]
A magic scroll that enables the use of 'Curse of Weakness'.
'Whoa.'
Two normals, one superior, and even a magic grade appeared.
It was a one-use consumable magic scroll, but the highest possible grade had shown up regardless.
'Aw, crap, why make me nervous like this?'
On top of that, it spat out exactly the needed items one after another, leaving Rokan anxious instead. When had he ever been a 'lucky' character? Getting exactly what he needed, exactly what he wanted—it only brought a wave of unease.
Harboring dark premonitions, he opened the final silver box.
[Mass-Produced Magic Map][Magic]
A mass-produced magic map from the mage tower. Can be completed into a full continent map by adding regional maps.
-Can combine maps from different regions to complete a continent map.
-Displays the user's current position.
Magic grade once more!
He would need to acquire regional maps separately to add them, so it wasn't of sky-high value right now, but a magic map was something he had to get eventually.
Rokan judged this better than some half-decent gear item. Getting immediately usable items would have been nice, but per his plan, early-game gear was meaningless anyway.
Having finished checking all titles and items, Rokan left the starting plaza behind.
Even now, new users skipping the tutorial kept spawning in, and the shouts begging NPCs for quests were already grating on his ears.
'Spin your wheels.'
Unlike those clueless about where to go or what to do first, Rokan knew the quest routes cold.
The fastest way to level up was grabbing the 'Squirrel Request!' quest from the general store.
As the name implied, it was a quest to hunt a set number of squirrels and bring back 'acorns,' and it was a total pain from the get-go.
Users would scoff at the name 'squirrel' and head out, but with user physical stats on par with a child's, catching squirrels was damn near impossible.
Squirrel agility was as high as that of users leaving Pocket City, so charging in blindly was no answer.
The closest thing to correct was buying a hunting trap set for 30 copper at the weapon shop to catch them.
But most users bought a wooden sword or similar first. They figured the longer reach meant they could hit or throw at the squirrels to catch them.
Of course, it was pure delusion, and it didn't take long to realize it and despair.
Trying to go back for a hunting trap set after, they were short on cash. Tutorial skippers didn't even have starting funds to buy anything.
So they had to take the long way around. Do villagers' odd jobs begging for pocket change or food until they scraped together trap money.
And sadly, those odd jobs raised NPC friendliness but gave next to no experience.
Of course, Rokan had gone through the exact same route in his past life.
No, worse—he'd diligently saved chore money, bought a weapon on the overconfident 'I'm different' vibe, and only delayed his start.
Back then, he'd pulled every stunt in the book to escape this Pocket City.
'Been a while since I dropped by.'
Reliving old memories, the place Rokan arrived at was none other than the training ground. One of the top spots people got suckered into, right after the squirrel quest.
Drawing near, a decent crowd had gathered around a hawking muscled man.
“Hey, wanna get strong? Use this place, you can be like me!”
Users, having leveled early in plenty of other games via training grounds, figured The Lord was the same and bought vouchers on impulse.
Which was why a fair number were already inside pounding scarecrows with fists.
'They'll clear out soon enough.'
But the training ground boom faded fast. Hourly experience from scarecrows was as pitiful as NPC odd jobs.
At first, with no comparisons, people stuck around a bit, but once stories of other starting users leveling up spread, everyone bailed.
Odd jobs at least earned money or food, while the training ground just burned cash on periodic voucher and food buys.
Even then, once tutorial bread and coin rewards ran dry, they couldn't linger if they tried.
“I'd like to use the training ground.”
“Oh, you've got big things ahead of you, lad. Can't charge a future star the same. Alright, just 20 copper!”
The voucher seller let out a hearty laugh and took the money.
'Is this the title effect too? Should be 30 copper normally...'
It was discounted. Seemed the 'Nothing is Impossible!' title's [Friendly] reputation was in play.
'Not that I'm complaining.'
Rokan had no plans to leave anytime soon, so saving was all good.
He snatched the voucher and headed straight to an empty scarecrow, planting himself in front. His gaze sharpened as he glared fiercely at it.
“Hah!”
Thud!
Hitting the stationary scarecrow sent a heavy impact through his fist. A faint shock followed. With no gear to protect his knuckles, he took damage too.
A few hits in, he'd see health drop slightly. After a good while, he'd have to step back and sit to recover.
That was why even in his past life, he'd ditched it after two days of calling scarecrow grinding the height of stupidity.
Even so, the sole reason Rokan came here was one.
To raise his stats!
The scarecrow's one and only merit was additional stat growth.
'Max out the extra stats here.'
Pummeling the scarecrow—or more precisely, repeatedly doing hard work relative to his level—raised the relevant stats. Same principle as muscles growing from workouts.
Similar effects came from other methods, but hitting scarecrows gave a bit more stat growth.
'Probably 'cause the experience is dirt-low.'
Rokan figured it was due to the insultingly low scarecrow experience. The higher the level and stats, the more intense the exertion needed to raise stats via movement.
Punch! Punch! Punch! Punch! Punch!
“Oh, check that guy. Boxer?”
“Nah, look—he's kicking now. Muay Thai guy?”
“Why's he shoulder-checking? Total poser attention whore.”
As Rokan seriously started hammering the scarecrow, the training ground grew rowdy. His movements, treating the scarecrow like a real enemy in live combat, were still alien to the others.
They had some learning from other VR games, sure, but full adaptation to The Lord was another story.
To others' eyes, Rokan's moves just seemed novel. No one clocked the brutal combat instincts woven into them.
[Strength stat increased by 1.]
After a solid pounding session, his strength finally rose.
A measly 1.
Compared to five free stats per level-up, it was hellish grind central, but Rokan gazed warmly at the notification.
He knew it. How this tiny gap would birth massive disparities.
Just 1 now, but 5, then 50...
And here, he could raise not just strength but agility, stamina, toughness too. Even +10 each would match an 8-level gap.
Once users got the hang, 8 levels might seem meh, but at high levels? Days or weeks of agony for one level—huge gap guaranteed.
That was why Rokan passed on most 'First' titles.
He knew optimal growth paths and the future; rushing from the start would snag various firsts, sure, but he held back.
'First' was great achievement, no doubt. But pure speed alone was meaningless.
No one could first everything, and even scraping title effects, others would catch up quick.
So he chose to stack 'Firsts' on feats as 'near-impossible' as possible. He had zero doubt this grind would be the foundation.
“Alright, let's run it again.”
After resting up from dipped health, Rokan resumed pummeling the scarecrow.