Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Monster's Blood (2)
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Hunting down the blood of 150-level monsters was a serious grind even for Rokan.
Even after slaying the beasts, the quest item—monster blood—didn't drop 100% of the time.
On top of that, Rokan's drop luck was downright abysmal.
Sometimes it took dozens of kills to get a single vial, and other times he had to butcher nearly two hundred before one finally dropped.
Yet Rokan pressed on steadily, without a single complaint.
During that time, a few Black Dragon Legion players had shown up, drawn by the bounty on his head for that rare longsword. But they only ended up handing over their own gear before slinking away.
'That wraps up the Golden Lion faction.'
After days of grueling work, he'd collected all twenty types of monster blood available from the Golden Lion territory.
Some were from 150-level monsters, others from those in the 190s.
Even the pack-hunting ones in the 190s posed no issue for Rokan, who could unleash Berserk as long as they weren't level 200.
With all twenty types gathered, it was time to move on to Black Dragon Legion territory.
'There are exploits, though...'
That sparked a moment of hesitation.
Strictly speaking, he was supposed to hunt twenty types from each faction, but games always had their loopholes and cheats.
He could spend a couple days heading to one of the other third-tier cities, farm twenty types there, and get the blood without ever stepping into Black Dragon turf.
It'd be far easier that way, no need to push himself.
'No. It'll come down to the same thing in the end.'
But the final four—Black Dragon Legion player blood—still had to come from somewhere.
Sure, he could source them elsewhere, but no 150-level players of any race had surfaced yet, anywhere.
There might be a few hiding out, but none were out in the open.
"Guess I should just treat it as leveling."
Rokan shrugged it off coolly. Psyching himself up that it was just grind for levels, he headed into Black Dragon territory.
This quest, requiring dozens or hundreds of 150+ monsters, was actually helping his leveling quite a bit.
The exp gains were lower now due to the level gap, but the sheer volume made up for it, letting him ding levels multiple times.
Sure, others were probably grinding exp more efficiently in the meantime, but that was fine by him.
The more who hit 150, the sooner he could wrap up the race quests available here.
He'd even leaked some info on nearby Ash Town hunting grounds and strats on the homepage.
A few more days passed like that, and Rokan finally had all forty types of monster blood.
"Whew! I'm beat."
After the Berserk backlash, he set up a safe zone and scanned the surroundings. Fatigue weighed heavy in his eyes.
He'd been charging ahead nonstop, worried that rising player levels might make things tricky, and the exhaustion had piled up.
"Still, the levels aren't bad."
But seeing his gains filled him with pride.
Hundreds—no, nearly a thousand monsters downed meant solid progress.
Already dipping into the 170s, Rokan could still pull exp from monsters up to 50 levels below, so steady grinding paid off.
Level 183.
That was what he'd hit after collecting all forty vials.
It felt like cramming all the grind he'd skipped while chasing big quests, but the payoff was worth it.
"Human race quest ends here, I guess."
Still no word of any 150-level Black Dragon players emerging.
In other regions, it might be close enough, but after Rokan had wiped them multiple times, their growth lagged a few levels behind.
So what now? Race quest stalled, main scenario quest blocked.
"Time to start with the elves?"
At his level, repeatable quests were plentiful, but rewards meant nothing to him anymore. He opted for something more meaningful: other races' race quests.
Limits applied since he wasn't their kind, but it could nudge their goals forward a bit.
Just a tiny bit, but factoring in race rep, it was smart to build up for later.
"Please transport the World Tree sapling."
"Bring soil from the Land of Regeneration. Soil that absorbs vitality—maybe we can use it in reverse?"
"Help the young half-elves by clearing out the monsters targeting the greenhouse."
Since he wasn't a half-elf, the requests were mostly minor or indirect, but he treated them as side quests anyway—no big deal.
More importantly, he focused on hunting high-level monsters near the quest areas and boosting skill proficiencies.
He'd timed skill exp perfectly up to his third job change, but afterward, they flatlined.
At this rate, even at 200, he wouldn't be able to upgrade his core skills.
So he spammed skills the moment cooldowns reset, grinding exp relentlessly.
"Berserk's still the toughest."
The hardest by far was Berserk.
Word had spread after past fights that messing with 'garrison defender' Rokan tanked your rep hard, so no one in Golden Lion territory bothered him anymore. But the 30-minute debuff after each use made piling exp a pain.
Thank goodness for the title slashing skill exp needs by 30%, or he wouldn't wield its full power even at 200.
No real fix, though. Just superhuman grit and grind.
While grinding skill exp through half-elf, gnome, and dwarf side quests, good news hit.
150-level players had appeared!
Other regions might have higher, but Ash Town now had a bunch at 150.
"Been dungeon crawling, huh."
Multiple at once? Probably licking wounds from Rokan and hitting dungeons hard.
He hadn't seen them while farming his twenty monsters.
Since monster blood only dropped from field mobs, not dungeons, guild-wide dungeon runs made sense.
"Now, how to reel them in..."
One problem left: lure and catch them.
Camping a likely hunting spot in stealth for ambushes was an option, but rumors could tip them off, wasting time.
Goblins didn't have many high-levels anyway.
"Ah, why didn't I think of that?"
Deep in thought, Rokan hatched a plan.
If they were dodging him, make it impossible not to come.
"Vendor setup."
He bought a vendor summon scroll on the spot and warped to Black Dragon territory.
Summoned it safely away from a 160-level hunting ground, tweaked the settings.
[Vendor settings changed.]
[Sales restriction: Race limit removed.]
[Vendor appearance changed.]
Couldn't change it from human, but he hooded it deep for a shady vibe, stuffed the inventory with 150+ magic and rare gear.
Risks existed, sure.
If they attacked on sight due to the human NPC, the combat-weak vendor could die easy.
But its inventory would beam straight to him—only the purchase cost lost.
If curiosity won and they opened the shop, though...
He'd defend it with his life. A golden goose, plain and simple.
'A little extra spice.'
Prep done, Rokan logged into his info-disinfo alt and seeded rumors on the homepage.
Vague on location: a 'special merchant' popping up randomly, selling insane items.
He had no cash to buy but was saving up—report sightings for a reward.
One more thing.
He deliberately patrolled routes where other players might spot him, acting all sneaky, glancing around like he was hiding something.
Then slipped away, stealthed back to check.
"Huh, what's this?"
"Human? No, NPC? Can we kill it?"
"Doesn't look combat-type, not fighting back... Wait, merchant?"
"Merchant? So killing it drops cash or items?"
Undead and orcs, sensing something off from Rokan's act, backtracked and found the vendor.
Hostile race NPC sparked instant aggression.
"Hold up. Weird vibe—Dark Merchant or something?"
"Hmm, could be. Black market setup, human merchant chasing coin regardless of race? Common trope."
Rokan gripped his battle axe briefly, then relaxed. Looked like no blind attacks.
"Wait. Lemme check. Shop open... Whoa!"
Exactly as planned—they peeked inside. Jaws dropped, stammering in shock.
"What? Why're you freaking? Shop open... Holy—"
The item stats on display were insane.
Level req 150, but leagues beyond their recent gear.
They had magics at best, but these made theirs look like trash.
'This attack, defense, options...'
"No way this is real!"
"Wait, isn't this where that Rokan bastard shops? His gear's nuts! Explains the monster combat if he geared here."
Eyes bulging, they gawked at each other before speaking up.
"Guild—tell the guild! No, wait. First, we buy some..."
"Argh, blew my cash on gear yesterday! You guys got any?"
"Crazy. Even if, can't lend—barely enough for mine!"
"Fine, we'll bookmark it. Gotta cash in IRL. Damn, take a loan?"
"Not just any loan—mandatory! Before other guilds snag, we buy, tell guild. Hurry!"