Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Racial Quest (1)
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“Eh?”
Kyarus’s secret technique, one of them called ‘Imprint,’ wasn’t something you could only obtain once, like the Hero’s Trial. It was a gift bestowed by the legendary hunter Kyarus, who was still alive even now, and anyone who passed the ordeal could acquire it.
That was why archer-class users who aimed for critical hits made it a must-have, and the method to acquire it was fairly well-known.
However, what Rokan was after was the bonus attached to the ‘first’ effect.
But ‘growth’? That was something even Rokan hadn’t anticipated.
Absorbing corrupted power was surprising enough, but the fact that the Imprint would grow through it was beyond expectation.
“And it can grow even more here...?”
It already had an incredible ability from the first bonus effect—increasing critical hit chance by 10% and critical damage by 50%. Just how far could it grow?
He didn’t know the exact method of absorption, but considering the main scenario quest ahead that would require hunting plenty of corrupted monsters, his expectations were already building.
[Kyarus’s Trial has ended.]
[You will be automatically ejected from the dungeon in 10 minutes. Please move or prepare in advance.]
“Interesting.”
Since Kyarus’s Imprint—the power to pierce souls—was acquired automatically, there was nothing more to do.
Confirming that the Imprint had been properly engraved, Rokan immediately tore a return scroll.
He returned to Crossroad once more.
The atmosphere in Crossroad upon his return had changed quite a bit.
They’d suffered defeat after defeat against Ash Town, pushed all the way to the city outskirts dozens of times, leaving an overall gloomy mood in the air. But thanks to Rokan’s exploits, it was now quite lively.
“Hmm.”
On top of that, Rokan’s shop was packed with so many people it was hard to even get inside.
Fueled by the hope that they could do it too, many were clamoring for stronger gear to become like Rokan.
It was a boom born from the misconception that his strength came largely from his equipment.
‘Whoa.’
Rokan, who’d stopped by the shop briefly to check inventory, let out a happy squeal at the sight of not just the first floor, but the second and third floors crammed full of people.
It was as if they’d taken out bank loans—the expensive enhanced weapons and branded items had mostly sold out already.
Thanks to that, the piled-up gold was at an insane level.
Rokan collected it all, added more vending-machine-style vendors to the first floor, and stocked them full.
Over there, they were only buying items including crafting materials that were still undervalued.
The first shop was earning more than enough for immediate expenses, so there was no need to open another with the same concept.
As he finished setting up, he logged into the homepage, and new updates poured in one after another.
‘Guess they got stimulated, huh?’
Perhaps spurred by his actions, intense battles were breaking out in the other third-tier cities as well.
To become the second Rokan, and to steal the spotlight focused on him, many rankers had jumped into the war.
It was happening on both sides, so neither was overwhelming the other, but the key point was that they were wearing each other down in the fights.
And that he could push forward in the meantime.
“Corrupted monsters spotted? That’s truly surprising. You’ve got real talent. With talent like this, a little polishing and you could even survive in ‘that place.’”
After finishing his preparations, Rokan immediately sought out Defense Captain Malkin.
He’d heard there’d been a skirmish with Ash Town users, but Malkin wasn’t hurt at all and looked more refreshed than ever. Was this what it meant to be level 200’s danger?
“Good. Now I’ll teach you. The corrupted monsters are being secretly created by some force. They’re appearing not just here, but in the ‘Center’ too, so you can imagine how dangerous the situation is. Some of them show extreme aggression toward other races, attacking cities or causing bizarre behavior, making it a problem. Our investigation team is looking into the cause, solutions, and the group behind it, but we haven’t found any leads yet. Part of it’s the lack of data on corrupted monsters, so we’re collecting more locations and physical info on them. Since you’ve proven you can handle a full share, I’d appreciate your full cooperation. With that in mind, here’s a special gift for you.”
[You have acquired ‘Solo Mission Rights.’]
“It’s a document granting investigation team members authority to undertake solo missions. The team, cities, or lords can issue requests, but if you find a clue, you can receive a mission through it, so keep it on you always.”
The solo mission rights Malkin handed over were essentially a portable quest.
An item that let you automatically receive corrupted monster-related quests from afar.
Some quests allowed retroactive rewards, but not all did, so the value of this item—which let you get quests anywhere—wasn’t low.
“Thank you.”
Pocketing it happily, Rokan stepped outside.
Until he reached the next level threshold, all he could do now was find and kill more corrupted monsters, but quests weren’t limited to the main scenario one.
“Guess it’s about time for that.”
Next, Rokan headed to the racial building—one he hadn’t visited before, the human race’s.
What was the reason for coming here, where he didn’t even need to pick up a separate recognition quest?
‘The racial quest limit was definitely level 150.’
It was to receive the ‘racial quest’ for fulfilling each race’s aspirations.
Of course, there were plenty of quests available at his level regardless, but given Rokan’s growth speed, most were meaningless.
The rewards from completing normal quests were far less than the money from his shop, and the exp from grinding in higher zones with ‘Naxsa’ was much better.
Because of that, Rokan had decided to skip normal quests as much as possible.
“Who might you be?”
As he entered the human race building, an old man who looked stern and uptight eyed Rokan suspiciously.
‘That emblem is from the council.’
Quickly scanning the man’s attire, Rokan responded in a solemn tone.
“I’m Rokan, a level 151 true berserker. I’ve come hoping to lend a hand to those working for humanity’s prosperity.”
“Oh, a fine young man with excellent ideas. Welcome!”
The old man’s face lit up at the mention of level 151. Probably thrilled to have a good worker to exploit.
The obvious scheme was plain to see, but Rokan couldn’t help it. Once his reputation and rank rose, maybe, but for now, he was just a loyal handyman.
“You want to work for humanity’s prosperity. What task should I give you...? Right! That’ll do.”
[Ironclad Turtle Hunt][Quest]
Harban of the Kensington Council has requested the hunt of ironclad turtles on the eastern coast. Hunt the ironclad turtles disrupting regular shipping and bring back their corpses.
-Completion Condition: Ironclad Turtle Corpses 0/10
-Completion Reward: 10 Silver
‘Disrupting regular shipping, my ass.’
Harban’s request was to hunt ironclad turtles.
Not just hunt them, but bring back the corpses—that was unusual, but Rokan knew why.
‘He wants some fun.’
The excuse was grand, but ironclad turtles rarely actually disrupted shipping. It happened very occasionally, and even then, they didn’t damage ships by collision.
The real reason was that the old man, still spry below the belt, wanted to make a tonic from the corpses.
Plus, their shells fetched a good price as armor material, so he’d pocket some extra cash.
Butchering and selling the corpses separately would net 50 silver easy, not 10, but Rokan pretended not to know and turned a blind eye.
Right now, it was time to build contribution with the ‘council.’
All the council folks in third-tier cities were like this. The cities themselves were ‘outskirts’ on the full map, and being stationed here was practically a demotion.
That’s why the early quests were mostly odd jobs like this.
Low rewards like passion pay, contributions to the council went up, but mixed in with tasks unrelated to it directly.
‘Gotta get to the Center soon...’
But that would end soon enough.
As Rokan’s level rose and he got closer to the ‘Center,’ their attitude toward him would change.
If word of this got to the council on the central continent, it’d be trouble for them, right?
Rokan decided to endure it for now, looking forward to that day.
“I’ll be off.”
Finding the ironclad turtles wasn’t hard. They weren’t far from the murloc shipwreck.
Using the rune book for instant travel, then riding out for a while, the harbor came into view.
‘Wait for me. I’ll be back soon.’
Bothes Harbor, where regular ships to the central continent departed.
Still far from level 200, but seeing it reaffirmed his resolve.
And on the appearing coastline. The black objects slowly crawling ashore were the ironclad turtles.
[Ironclad Turtle][Lv 153]
“Charge.”
Faster than normal turtles, sure, but if you went full speed, you could outrun them—so they could use bombard-like ranged attacks.
That was how most users hunted them in his previous life, too.
But there was a problem with that. Their shell backs were so tough it took forever.
Even for Rokan, it was burdensome.
So he chose to flip them instead.
“Hrah!”
Veins bulged on Rokan’s forearms, his face flushing red.
Then, the ironclad turtle’s body, heavy as a rock, twitched before slowly lifting.
Something only Rokan could do.
Plus, the act itself wasn’t recognized as an ‘attack,’ so he wasn’t exposed to its powerful bite.
Whoosh. Spin.
Moments later, the ironclad turtle was fully flipped, exposing its soft underbelly and flailing its short legs.
“Phew, lethal blow!”
[Critical!]
The turtle hunt began.
Its shell-like back boasted defense that withstood even Rokan’s axe swings multiple times, but the belly split open with one chop.
A few swings inside the gut, and it stuck out its tongue and died. Satisfied, Rokan opened his inventory.
[You have acquired Ironclad Turtle Corpse (Quest).]
Normally, the whole corpse wouldn’t fit in inventory, but classified as a quest item, it stored easily.
The next one, and the one after.
Repeating the flip-and-chop several times filled the quota quickly.
“Phew, intense.”
Arms trembling slightly from the exertion, Rokan steadied them as he walked past the turtles toward the shore.
Suddenly want to go swimming? Or suicide?
As if. Reaching a certain point, Rokan scanned around and began digging with his hands.
“There we go.”
It was the spot where ironclad turtle eggs were buried.
Spotting it right, Rokan dug furiously with both arms, sweeping all the eggs into his inventory.
Ironclad turtle eggs were excellent magic catalysts in themselves—and a key to meeting someone.