Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Knight's Oath (2)
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“Then, shall we go?”
That said, did he plan to keep wandering as a free knight?
No, that wasn’t it. There were quite a few disadvantages to not serving a lord with territory.
For starters, nobles who possessed ‘territory’ had ‘exclusive hunting grounds’ and ‘special products’.
That was why serving a great noble as your lord came with the advantage of stably accessing more hunting grounds and dungeons all the way up to level 200 in the mid-to-late range.
Considering that, the path Rokan was heading toward was close to a bed of thorns, but the rewards he could reap in return were just as substantial.
“While I’m here, I might as well pick up the racial quest too.”
Having come to the War Zone, he immediately headed to the ‘Council’, the representative building for the human race, factoring in his travel route.
While humans on the Central Continent were unified under the name of the ‘Aerok Empire’, the Council existed separately as a ‘racial development organization’.
It could be called an institution established for the prosperity of the race alongside that of the nation.
But in truth, the Council itself didn’t hold much power.
All authority and might were concentrated in the emperor, the master of the empire. The Council merely served to assist the emperor, coordinate with other races, and act as a dispatch office for racial quests.
The councilors gave off the vibe of assembly members in a dictatorship or high-ranking bureaucrats.
‘Now that I’ve reached the knight rank, they’ll skip the trivial quests.’
Rokan entered and immediately sought out a councilor.
It was Carbon, one of the twelve councilors affiliated with the Council, even if he was at the bottom rung.
Normally, you’d have to get directions from the reception desk, complete some minor quests, and only then meet one of the councilors. But Rokan had an introduction letter secretly slipped to him by Harban.
‘Cliques gonna clique... but as long as it’s fast, no problem.’
It felt a bit iffy going through Harban, who wasn’t exactly top quality, but on the flip side, that might make things smoother.
“Hmm, sent by Harban, eh?”
“It just so happened that the time came for me to advance into the Central Continent, so he told me to make sure to visit you and lend my aid.”
“Lend aid? To me? Hmm, well, I’m not sure there’s anything like that. I heard you were the first among visitors to become a knight, but that’s that, and I’ve got plenty of capable knights under me already.”
The man scanned Rokan with a lecherous gaze.
As he said, being a councilor and a noble, he’d have many knights under his command, but Rokan knew just the trick for times like this.
“Of course, that makes sense. Fine knights would naturally flock to a splendid lord like yourself. Oh, right—I was so preoccupied I almost forgot. Harban insisted I show my gratitude to you for taking time out of your busy schedule.”
Clink.
With those words, Rokan slid a heavy pouch across the table.
Its size and weight suggested at least one or two hundred gold, and the man’s expression flickered before settling.
“Ahem, that fool running his mouth needlessly. Do I look like the type to be swayed by something like this?”
Was that not enough? Councilor Carbon rolled his greedy eyes while feigning displeasure.
But that was all within expectations.
Instead of pulling out more, Rokan casually loosened the pouch’s mouth with a flick of his fingers.
Flash!
A brilliant gleam reflected from within.
“Th-this is...”
“Gems. I figured they’d be lighter and easier to handle, so I prepared them this way.”
Gems were similar in size to one gold but worth at least two or three times as much.
Rokan had packed them generously, anticipating this.
It was best to resolve things without bribes if possible, but if you were going to offer one, you had to shove it so deep down their throat they couldn’t spit it out—that was Rokan’s philosophy.
Moreover, the other party was a ‘councilor’, not some random nobody. Establishing this connection now could prove useful for a good long while.
“Ahem, well then, perhaps I’ll accept this token of your sincerity.”
He hemmed and hawed, but an irrepressible smile was already spreading across Carbon’s lips.
[Carbon the Councilor’s favorability has greatly increased.]
“Now that I think about it, there’s just the perfect job for you. Say, do you know about the legend of the pyramid?”
“Yes, I do.”
‘Know it? I spent ages holed up in there.’
Rokan nodded, and Carbon continued as if delighted.
“I hear there are beings inside that pyramid who neither rot nor die, sustaining life for ages. Investigate them for me.”
“Leave it to me. I won’t disappoint.”
[Undying Beings][Quest]
According to the legend of the pyramid in the Scorn Desert, there exist beings who have lived on for ages without dying or rotting. Confirm their existence.
-Completion Condition: Confirm undying beings
-Completion Reward: Determined by cumulative quest progress
He promptly issued the quest.
It was to confirm the undying beings residing in the pyramid, but the completion reward was unusual—determined by quest progress.
‘Yeah, figures.’
This quest didn’t end with mere ‘confirmation’.
Finding them would inevitably lead to combat, and bringing back something called a ‘bloodstone’ would complete it.
Rewards varied based on whether you died and returned, killed them and came back, or secured the bloodstone—though there were ways to earn even higher-grade rewards beyond that.
‘Not feasible right now, though...’
But it was impossible for now. Skipping ahead with the bribe had jacked up the quest difficulty too high.
The mummies and sand soldiers in the pyramid were around level 240.
A 40-level gap might seem negligible to Rokan, but it wasn’t.
They were in the 200s now, where every single level was a bitch to grind.
Plus, from level 200 on, each level-up granted 10 spare stat points instead of 5, making the difference even bigger.
‘And the monsters often have titles or special effects.’
For those reasons, Rokan decided to put off completing the quest for now and left the councilor’s office.
His next destination was the arena in the commercial district.
“First things first, gotta bump up my arena rank.”
His heart was already set on a prospective lord he’d picked out, ready to charge straight there and execute his next plans—but there were prerequisites to handle first.
According to the homepage, game streams, and circulating rumors, not a single guild attempting to advance into the Central Continent had succeeded. Still, better to do what he could from Taimura ahead of time.
[Arena league changed to ‘Knight Rank’.]
[From now on, victories will grant more arena points.]
[More items available for purchase with arena points.]
[Nobles now pay attention starting from Knight Rank league. Victories will grant fame.]
[As a free knight, consecutive wins or high fame may attract recruitment offers from nobles.]
So he upgraded his arena rank first.
He’d already maxed out the soldier rank’s Tier 1 league, so ascending to knight rank was a breeze.
Several benefits followed. Victory now netted 20 arena points instead of 10, and he could gain fame without spending points on Warrior’s Honor.
‘Tempting, but not now.’
As a free knight, he could also draw love calls from nobles first without committing to a lord, but for that reason, Rokan held off on advancing through the leagues.
Drawing attention here to farm points could lead to meddlesome nobles sniffing around.
That’s why he’d felt a twinge of unease even meeting Carbon, but the councilor’s status meant he didn’t covet Rokan himself—though he sure eyed his wealth.
“Next up... the main quest, I suppose.”
The survey corps had only existed in name before, but here on the Central Continent, it had a proper building proudly bearing the name.
True to its multi-racial alliance, the entrance was guarded by a half-elf and a human together. Flashing his survey corps ring got them to step aside and open the way.
‘Yeah, not normal folk.’
Rokan’s first impression upon entering was simple.
He’d experienced it in his past life too, but survey corps members were generally not right in the head.
Put nicely, they had personality; put harshly, they were a few screws loose.
‘The bodybuilder half-elf Malkin seems cute by comparison...’
Thinking he might be the only normal one here, Rokan strode right in.
And made his demand boldly.
“I’d like information on corrupted monsters.”
“Hmm, corrupted monsters? Ah, you’re the new guy they said would show up soon.”
The gnome propping his chin at the reception desk recognized Rokan right away.
Having earned credit for uncovering the cause of the corruption, his news had apparently spread.
“Got a map?”
The guy scanned Rokan with intrigued eyes and bluntly demanded a map.
“Here.”
When Rokan handed over his magic map, the gnome’s face lit up with interest again, but he first transferred the data.
Vrrr.
Using some tool he pulled out, info transferred to Rokan’s magic map, marking confirmed locations of corrupted monsters.
Having already shelled out 50 gold for a full continent map, Rokan saw quite a few eerie green-glowing dots.
“Take out three of these. I’ll give you something good.”
[Deeper In][Quest]
Select and slay three corrupted monsters, bringing back proof.
-Completion Condition: Corrupted monsters slain 0/3
-Completion Reward: Promotion to senior survey corps member, survey corps bracelet
‘Already?’
And one more—an unexpected quest to boot. Seemed he’d scored major bonus points for revealing the corruption’s cause.
Normally, you’d have to use solo mission rights and poke around everywhere for ages to get this.
“Sounds good. I’ll do it.”
No reason to turn down such a golden opportunity. Rokan accepted gladly and left the survey corps building.
His to-do list was piling up already.
‘Time to head out, huh?’
After picking up a few more quests, stocking his pre-purchased building with vendors to turn it into a ‘vending machine’, Rokan finally headed to the site with the massive magic circle.
Unlike the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd cities, the Central Continent’s major cities were linked by teleport magic circles, allowing round trips anytime with enough coin.
Sure, the cost was burdensome early on, but not for Rokan.
He’d scraped together every coin in Crossroads, so even after splashing cash freely, thousands of gold still slumbered in the bank.
“Where to?”
“Send me to Remington.”
“Remington...”
The mage operating the teleport circle tilted his head at Rokan’s request but soon began channeling power.
Weird, sure, but his job was just to take the fee and teleport. The destination and aftermath were Rokan’s call.
Whirrrrr.
Soon the magic circle pulsed, unleashing its power to whisk Rokan’s body far, far away.