Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Ransacking Empty Houses (2)
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“Whew!”
Rokan slowly caught his breath, calming his muscles. He looked around at the chaotic surroundings.
A sea of corpses.
They were bodies of goblins, undead, trolls, orcs, and the like, evoking the image of a hunting ground, but all the owners of those corpses were players.
500 against 1.
The massive horde, including the regular players who had swarmed during the battle, had all turned into cold corpses.
How did he know the number? Simple—the merit points proved it.
[Merit Points Held: 1,218]
He’d had about 200 merit points before, so it seemed he’d killed exactly around 500.
But Rokan’s condition wasn’t normal either.
[Life force is insufficient. If you do not recover to 9% of max life force within 10 seconds, you may die.]
It had been a while since his life force hit rock bottom, like getting soaked in a drizzle. The silver lining was that he’d severed the last enemy’s neck right before Berserk’s duration ended.
“Life Charge.”
Using the skill he’d been saving restored his life force, clearing his reddened vision and giving him some breathing room.
Still, it was too early to relax. Even after turning the 500-to-1 bloodbath into a victory, players were already swarming in from afar like a black tide.
The moment they realized he’d used Berserk, countless players using Ash Town as their base had rushed in to exploit his post-effect debuff.
“A pack of mutts, nothing more.”
Most were riffraff, but starting another melee now was impossible.
Knowing his own state better than anyone, Rokan didn’t charge at them. Instead, he pulled a book from his inventory.
“Rune Book activate: Under the Lamp.”
He triggered the Rune Book. The destination was a spot he’d saved as ‘Under the Lamp.’
In fact, he’d caused this chaos here to draw attention and shake off the Ash Town players.
He also ended his live broadcast.
“Perfect.”
The first thing he’d done after crossing from Crossroads to Ash Town was mark this location.
Then he’d toured the hunting grounds to draw eyes and lure them away from the initial spot.
As a result, not a single player was in Rokan’s sight.
“Gotta hurry.”
Confirming that, Rokan didn’t set up a safe zone to ride out the debuff. Instead, he quickly walked around, searching for something.
[Ferocious Bird][Lv 130]
[Blade-Fanged Wolf][Lv 144]
It was a high-level hunting ground by default, teeming with vicious monsters, but what Rokan sought was on another level entirely.
That was why, despite being the perfect spot for top players, few came here.
“Found it.”
[Jaros’ Pet Dinosaur Tiller][Lv 181]
A predator impossible to face existed here.
It was the reason this field was called the ‘Pasture.’
Ash Town’s guard captain, Jaros, had released his pet dinosaur here to raise it.
Who could have imagined the guard captain’s pet monster was corrupted?
Moreover, hunting it meant making an enemy of its owner, Jaros, so even capable Ash Town players hesitated.
But Rokan was different.
The guard captain of an enemy faction—what did it matter if relations dropped from -100 to -200? It had no impact, so he could hunt freely.
“Bombardment.”
The moment it appeared, Rokan launched a preemptive strike at the beast slaughtering nearby monsters.
Kyeek!
Pang!
But it didn’t land cleanly like before. Berserk’s debuff had lowered his stats, and even at full strength, the creature’s power made it hard to hit.
Kieeeek!
Thud thud thud thud thud.
It swatted the hand axe away with its tail and charged at Rokan like lightning.
[Exposed to Tiller’s Ferocious Roar.]
[Title effect ‘Limit Breaker’ nullifies all effects.]
The chilling roar that should have stiffened limbs and tanked stats was blocked by his title.
Even so, the situation remained overwhelmingly disadvantageous.
So what to do?
Rokan trusted in one thing.
“Berserk!”
Madness Gem!
The item allowing one penalty-free Berserk use shattered in his hand.
It could be used before Berserk for the debuff cleanse, recreating the initial state—and that’s what happened now.
Madness returned to his sickly eyes, muscles swelling once more.
“Strike!”
Kwang!
As the power-infused battle axe slammed down, Tiller spun, countering with a massive tail strike.
‘Kuh.’
Drip.
In the pure clash of strength, Tiller was pushed back.
But Rokan wasn’t unscathed either. The accelerated, spinning tail blow forced him back several steps.
Perhaps the first true powerhouse he’d faced.
Pathetic that it was just a pet dinosaur, but Tiller’s strength was real.
‘Raid boss material.’
Even a tank maxed on defense skills—could they hold?
Pushed back even with Berserk, few could match it in raw power.
“Charge, Dash, Shoulder Charge!”
Kung!
Rokan shot forward, slamming his shoulder into it, but it just bounced back a few steps—that was all.
Without falling, it whirled and tried to chomp Rokan with its fearsome jaws.
Kwaak!
“Set 1.”
The space it bit exploded with vibration.
As expected, insane attack power.
A stable fight might be safer, but Rokan switched from Set 2 to Set 1—critical hit gear.
Normal attacks wouldn’t pierce its scales properly, so he maxed offense.
“Let’s play!”
He swung to impale its maw, but Tiller jerked its head back, dodging.
Kwaak!
It lunged again to bite.
“Persistent bastard!”
Ducking low, Rokan swept its leg.
A giant dinosaur’s ankle would be ideal, but this small one—adult-sized—meant settling for its calf.
Kit!
Tiller leaped away.
Despite short legs, it jumped higher than its height, whirled, and smashed its tail down.
“Ugh.”
Kung!
Blocking one tail strike made the ground quake. The power behind it was immense.
Grimacing, Rokan shoved with his battle axe, knocking it off.
“Yeah, that’s more like it.”
No ordinary Lv 180—it was corrupted. Corrupted beings were worth 20 extra levels, so this was like a Lv 200 named monster.
Shaking his sore wrist, Rokan grinned viciously.
Fighting stronger foes was always a thrill.
“Time to skip to phase 2.”
Eyes gleaming, Rokan charged full force.
Short arms limited its attacks: bite, body slam, tail whip.
The skill and force were devastating, but patterns were simple.
Rokan wouldn’t fall for such telegraphed moves.
“Rift Attack!”
Keut! Keut!
As Rokan lunged, Tiller’s tail whipped at him.
“Hup!”
Instead of swinging, Rokan gripped the axe with both hands.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Feet planted firm, he lifted and spun it like a wheel wind.
“Hyah!”
Kwang!
A ruthless smackdown!
The impact stunned it momentarily.
“Strike!”
Kying!
The axe hammered its tail.
He’d aimed to sever, but some force protected it—agony substituted.
Kkiak! Thung.
Writhing, it slammed its tail and sprang up using recoil.
But that was within Rokan’s calculations.
Puk!
His horizontal slash hit its head mid-rise, flipping it, followed by more strikes.
Swipe.
Now it changed: whipping its tail like a lash at Rokan’s legs instead of propping up.
“Guard!”
Kung.
Block it—that’s all.
Activating Guard, Rokan slammed the axe haft to nullify, then rage-kicked its gut.
Thung tung tung.
Its hundreds-of-kilos frame bounced like nothing—internal damage expected, but Rokan stayed calm.
Phase 2.
It hadn’t used its corruption power yet.
Kiaaaaaaaa!
Then Tiller screamed in pain.
Not the debuff kind—just something changing inside.
Corruption power.
Unique to each corrupted monster, it unleashed.
‘Big one.’
Its power: gigantification.
Rokan, mindful of Berserk’s timer, charged.
No waiting for a cartoon transformation.
“Lethal Blow!”
[Critical!]
The blow made its swelling body ripple.
Sadly, no cancel—super armor-like.
Damage went through, but no interruptions—many mistook it for invincibility, but life force just ballooned.
“Wheel Wind!”
Knowing this, Rokan piled damage before completion.
Critical chance and Berserk racked insane numbers—maybe finish before transform?
Kyaaang!
“Kuhk.”
Completion shockwave swept him—major damage alone.
Rokan rolled to minimize, then gripped his battle axe.
Green-glowing eyes. Ancient-dino-sized body.
Each step quaked the earth, but Rokan responded coolly.
Strength/stamina surge was tame among corruption powers.
‘Some crazy skills out there.’
Mid-thought, Tiller’s combo erupted.
Tail sweep.
Spinning like wheel wind with its massive tail, forcing Rokan back.
Power matched his, but size advantage wasn’t negligible.
“Bombardment!”
Kraaang!
In turn, Rokan’s hand axe gouged its wound.
The mid-transform injury had scaled up—perfect target.
Protecting the spot, it thrashed, but Rokan wouldn’t allow it.
“Up you go.”
Using Rift Attack, he mounted swiftly, Strike-plunged the battle axe into the wound, and unleashed a brutal skill.
“Wheel Wind!”
Mana hog, but usable now.
Mana infinite!
Exploiting it, he burrowed inside, shredding nerves, muscles, grinding bones.
“Lethal Blow!”
The finisher.
Tiller’s giant form toppled.
[Leveled up.]
[Defeated a corrupted monster.]
[Acquired proof of corrupted monster.]
[Unbelievable feat! You are the first to defeat a bearer of corruption power.]
[Acquired title ‘Overcomer of Corruption.’]
[You are the first to acquire this title.]
[First][Overcomer of Corruption][Unique]
Corruption power is an unknown energy of unclear origin. Praise to you for overcoming and conquering it.
You are the first to acquire this title.
[Effects]
-Corruption power damage reduced by 10%
- [1/3]
“Whew, still not easy.”
The quest for corrupted monsters was near Lv 200. Forcing it at 150 naturally wasn’t.
But rewards satisfied.
Less damage from corrupted foes in main scenario quests ahead.
Perfect for Rokan’s aggressive style.
And one more.
‘New one...’
An extra ? effect. Unknown, but predictable: two more corrupted kills to reveal.
[Ash Town Guard Captain Jaros has detected his pet dinosaur’s death.]
[Be cautious. Jaros will arrive soon.]
[Jaros’ fury targets you.]
“Damn.”
No time to savor victory—warning spurred haste.
Even with Berserk, 1v1 with the captain now was tough. He canceled Berserk, recovered, and fled at full speed.
‘This way.’
Not back to Crossroads.
The prelude to his grand scheme opened nearby.
After gaining distance, he waited out the debuff in a safe zone, then headed to the next destination.