Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Lion King Quest (3)
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[Lion King's Insignia][Set]
A token given long ago by Lion King Gaokan to the murlocs after he saved them.
It contains the power of the Lion King.
[Held Effects]
- Vitality +100
- Intelligence +100
“Whoa.”
It was indeed the Lion King's sacred gear. And it wasn’t even sealed!
The odd thing, though, was that this item didn’t appear in the quest description of the Lion King's sacred gear.
“Wasn’t it just the upper and lower garments, pauldrons, and shoes?”
Even so, it was a ‘set’ item, complete with held effects no less.
Only a tiny fraction of items had such effects—ones that applied their bonuses simply by being in your possession, without even needing to equip them.
Even a slight stat boost made them incredibly valuable, and the Lion King's Insignia granted a massive +100 to both Vitality and Intelligence.
That was equivalent to gaining 40 whole levels.
Rokan’s lips curled upward, naturally enough.
“Came for the rainbow pearls and leaving with a jackpot.”
Vitality was great, but the Intelligence boost was the real prize. He’d been avoiding Berserk due to Wheel Wind’s mana drain anyway.
At a time like this, a mysterious way to massively boost Intelligence had appeared out of nowhere. Talk about luck.
“Huh, this is...”
Rokan, grinning ear to ear, spotted something else. The box that held the Lion King's Insignia was glowing again.
That meant a hidden mechanism. But what could it be in a box like this?
He lifted the padding beneath the Insignia, but nothing was there.
‘The light’s gone.’
But the light had already faded.
‘That means the hidden mechanism activated... Huh?’
Tilting his head as he examined it, Rokan focused on the padding in his hand. It was velvet-like fabric, and when flipped over, strange drawings and letters appeared.
“This is...”
He couldn’t read the text. An NPC linguist or archaeologist might decipher it, but there was another way. The drawings.
“The Lion King.”
The crudely drawn image seemed to depict Lion King Gaokan. Just like the Insignia’s description, it showed the Lion King saving the murlocs.
But that wasn’t all.
“Huh?”
What he’d thought was just a mere ‘insignia’ was drawn right on the Lion King’s chest, smack in the center like Iron Man’s arc reactor.
“Breastplate ornament?”
No, it seemed more like a component than mere decoration.
Like Iron Man’s core, something embedded in the center of the breastplate. But the real shock came next.
“He gave them this?”
The Lion King had straight-up removed his breastplate and handed it over. Probably after retiring, but still—giving away his signature sacred gear? It didn’t make sense.
‘That’s not the point.’
It didn’t matter. The question was where that breastplate was now.
“Did I miss it?”
Rokan’s eyes darted around rapidly. Was the Lion King’s breastplate hidden somewhere here? What had he overlooked?
He quickly scanned the shipwreck’s surroundings and interior, but nothing resonated or appeared.
“Ah!”
Then it hit him. The lore tied to these guys.
“The Pirate King?”
The murlocs had been raided by the Pirate King and lost most of their treasure. Could the breastplate have been taken then?
It was entirely plausible.
“Damn.”
Rokan’s face twisted slightly.
The Pirate King wasn’t local. Over level 300, with an entire island as its base—getting there alone was a chore.
Hunting it down and reclaiming the breastplate would take quite some time.
“At least I know where it is now.”
It was lucky to have located an item whose sealed location was previously unknown.
“Looking forward to it.”
Putting aside his regrets, Rokan sorted his thoughts and resumed hunting murlocs. The unplanned shipwreck delve had left his schedule in disarray.
With time running short, he turned to raiding the hatchery for levels.
And he leveled up at a speed no one else could match.
* * *
“What the hell is this?”
Logged out, Young-min habitually checked The Lord’s homepage. The forums were in chaos.
For one reason: the Visitor Shops in third-tier cities.
BurningQuail: Why are Visitor Shops only in Crossroads? Locations are random too—discrimination now?
└Velocdam: You just suck at finding them.
└Saga: Nah. Checked every city. It’s Crossroads favoritism for sure.
DaCapo: Oh man, I hit Crossroads on late access. Jackpot.
Kritz: Maybe someone completed a quest or something? Crossroads folks have rock-bottom rep anyway—can’t do shit without the shop.
└Hashu: Yeah, high chance. RokanGod did it.
└Floji: All hail RokanGod!
LegendaryCarrot: Jumping to conclusions... But what do others hunt then? No gyropols there.
└Selune: Finding them is the problem. Gotta kill at least 500, though. We all grinding 500 each?
└Kakyo: Teams/guilds will try first. Split species and grind.
└Loop: Crossroads crew got it good. Rep guides all public now.
Rokan’s shop. The sole Visitor Shop, offering easy rep guides compared to other cities, drawing massive hype and envy.
Some questioned the Crossroads exclusivity, but no one imagined it was player-run.
Unthinkable.
Barely anyone could even chat properly with NPCs, let alone run a shop.
“Nice.”
Either way, it was a huge win for Rokan.
If word got out about the insane buyback prices later, opinions might shift—but he could just adjust them then.
As if it were planned.
Even with price gaps, players would chalk it up to lore.
Middlemen might emerge for gyropol hides, but no big deal. Just one of many items.
He’d pivot to others.
He remembered well enough what mattered and what didn’t, even if not exact market prices.
“Everyone still flailing, huh?”
Next up: combo skills.
New concept meant players were fumbling blindly.
They had to guess what combos would work from imagination alone.
Simulations required skill books first, limiting tests.
Maybe rich teams/guilds buying books for trials.
Even then, mismatched classes made it hell. Used combo books didn’t come back.
“Wish I could sell combo skill books.”
Rokan, knowing tons of good formulas, found the scene amusing yet regrettable.
Selling finished combos? Maybe. But formulas would leak instantly.
God-tier ones? They’d hoard, but publicizing them to empower rivals was idiotic.
“They’ll figure it out eventually...”
The talented ones would anyway.
“How about a little prank?”
Young-min’s face turned mischievous. He logged in with a troll alt, posting fake info.
Some mediocre or worse combos.
Simple ones that’d surface soon anyway, mixed with fakes.
Especially juicy: claims that power scaled with more skills combined, goading cash burns.
Skill books weren’t easy flips—spending meant losses.
After a solid trolling session, he logged back into The Lord on schedule.
‘Whoa!’
Back at the vending machine to restock goods, items, and cash.
Rokan couldn’t help but cheer inwardly.
So many Crossroads arrivals? Piles of money and items stacked up.
Even consumables he’d generously stocked were nearly gone.
Word of mouth working overtime.
Happily collecting and refilling, Rokan headed to the guard post.
“We’re sorry! We won’t cause trouble again!”
“Forgive us just once!”
Plenty of players inside the guard building.
Ones who’d stirred chaos or mouthed off to NPCs, now nabbed.
‘Idiots.’
Minor offenses ended with apologies, but bad luck meant hours or days locked up. Massive hunt losses.
Rokan brushed past them to the upper floor.
Guard Captain Malkin’s room.
After knocking and entering, Malkin greeted him.
“Already that many?”
Completing the mutated monster quest darkened Malkin’s face.
So many mutants already?
Unclear cause meant big worries.
“Any leads?”
“Not yet ready to say. But some force is involved.”
He had suspicions or intel. Level kept details from Rokan, though.
‘Can’t spill it myself.’
Rokan knew the answer. Main scenario quest—he’d progressed far before.
But couldn’t say, so he listened frustratingly silent.
“I’ll tell you when I learn more. Build your strength meanwhile. You’d die meeting them now.”
[Time for Training][Quest]
You’re too weak for secrets. Train to bear their weight.
-Completion: Reach Lv150
-Reward: Guard Captain Malkin’s trust
“Got it.”
Not fetch or hunt quests—level gates even Rokan couldn’t bypass.
Nodding acceptance, he grabbed a simple guard hunt quest and left.
Next: Mage Guild.
“Purchase items.”
Now bustling with mages. They’d cracked 100-level 1v1s and pushed to third cities.
Mages, with variable spells, could third-job easier than melee if they found good dailies.
[Acquired Magic Resistance Scroll.]
In the mage swarm, Rokan bought scrolls.
Let non-mages cast magic, but stupidly expensive consumables. Cheapest rivaled skill books, but today’s lifeline was spent—no choice.
Next: Temple.
Priest guild equivalent, but Rokan wanted no items.
[Donated 3 gold.]
[Received Priest’s Blessing.]
[All stats +1% for 6 hours.]
[Defense and resistances up for 6 hours.]
Buffs.
Temple donations gave tiered buffs by amount.
Short duration, but later essentials pre-hunt with buff food.
Why this one? Essential for the undisclosed dungeon ahead.
‘Clear this, and...’
The rewards would match the investment.