Race for the Uncharted Lands

Sung Min-woo wore an apologetic expression.

"A bit late, huh? Traffic was a nightmare."

"It's fine. I just showered and got back too."

"Damn, I haven't even washed up yet."

Sung Min-woo wrinkled his brow.

"Ugh, I feel so grimy."

"Heh, anyway, let's go."

"Wait a sec. Lemme open these boxes first."

Sung Min-woo pulled out the two silver boxes he'd obtained.

"Alright, get ready to be amazed!"

He opened them one by one.

"Ooh, I'm pumped!"

He checked the options on each, and soon a bright smile spread across his face.

"Jackpot! This month's a winner too!"

"Looks pretty good, huh?"

"Yeah, top-tier. What about you?"

"I got two decent ones I'm using, and put the third up at auction because of the restrictions."

"Right, you said you got three."

"Yeah."

"Same here—one for me, one to sell."

"Auction?"

"Yeah, hold on."

While Sung Min-woo registered the items at auction, Mu-hyuk checked his current status.

Even without a weapon equipped, the numbers were impressive.

Whew, it's insane.

Far beyond what any same-level player could achieve.

Thinking about it, he'd monopolized so much: achievement points, empire contributions, dungeons, the Red Tower, boss monsters, countless titles, 1st and 2nd training hall quests. And on top of that, the unique Gangster Necromancer class.

If he couldn't dominate with all this, he'd be the fool.

He closed the status window and watched Sung Min-woo.

"Done."

Just then, he'd finished registering the items.

"Let's go."

"Roger that."

The two crossed the user-crowded fields toward Buk Kingdom.

There, they used the warp gate to head to the Weibra Empire, then stopped by the mercenary guild to browse requests.

Meanwhile.

A user named Alcon logged into the Illusion homepage and entered the chat room after a long time.

Ah, any good info?

He used to spend about 30 minutes a day ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the chat—before logging in and right after. Occasionally, useful tips popped up.

He stared at the screen.

What are they talking about?

Alcon's eyes widened as he stared at the screen.

This is perfect...

For a mage like him, it was a dream item.

Jackpot—I have to snag this!

It had everything: knowledge, wisdom, magic attack.

Even MP recovery!

But with three days left, he stayed calm and planned.

How much gold can I scrape together?

Three days later.

Mage user Alcon had emptied his emergency funds to buy gold.

With 10 minutes left, an alarm blared. He logged into Illusion and searched the auction system for Arban's Earrings.

Good, 10 minutes to go.

Current bid: 250 gold.

Still fine.

Time flew by.

His heart pounded.

One minute. One minute left.

Now at 350 gold.

"Hoo, stay calm."

He waited until 10 seconds remained.

500 gold.

4 seconds, 3, 2.

Now!

He bid instantly.

1,000 gold! Please!

He closed his eyes and prayed.

About 10 seconds passed.

He peeked.

Cautiously opened his eyes.

He gasped involuntarily.

A single line of text sent him into cheers.

*

Today, as usual, he'd hunted monsters for subjugation requests. Then a message popped up about the necklace selling.

Not a bad price.

No, a great one.

Excluding recent item and gold sales, there were no other income sources.

Posts on the info and free boards had long fallen in rankings.

Even the paid post on slow poison and hallucination poison ratios wasn't getting views.

Hmm, maybe post some monster strategies.

Something he'd considered before.

Timing was right.

Gotta compile it later.

He organized his thoughts and focused on hunting again.

"Got 'em all."

"Nice. Let's go."

They headed straight back to the Weibra Empire's mercenary guild.

After claiming rewards, they queued on the left to scan the list for the next request.

"Nothing good."

"Yeah."

"Sigh, only three weeks till Lunar New Year."

"When is it again?"

"Mid-February. Thinking about going home then..."

"Eh, whatever."

"Can't exactly announce I'm all-in on Illusion yet. If I just sit there, they'll nag about jobs. Gives me chills."

Mu-hyuk had already come clean, so no worries for him.

Not my problem.

More importantly, he needed to hit level 80 fast.

Currently 77. Three more levels for a new skill.

Should make it before New Year.

With quests too, about 5-6 days per level.

So 15-18 days to 80.

Plenty of time to learn the skill, then celebrate with family.

Just then.

"Attention, everyone!"

A man ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who looked like a mercenary guild staffer shouted. All queued users turned to him.

Confirming the attention, he continued.

"Greetings. I'm Swiren, vice guild master of the Mercenary Guild."

"Vice guild master?"

"Whoa, big shot."

"What's up?"

Users buzzed with curiosity.

"I know you're all busy, so to the point: Count Kairon Baekjak of the Weibra Empire has requested 50 limited-time monster subjugation quests, with a 4-week deadline. Completing one grants 5 empire contribution points."

Most looked confused.

"50 quests?"

"Contribution points?"

"What?"

Only Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo lit up, exchanging whispers.

"If we clear all..."

"250 points."

The vice guild master continued.

"Additionally, at the end of the period, those with 200+ contribution points will qualify to join the uncharted area exploration party, per Count Kairon. So give it your all!"

Mu-hyuk's mind raced.

Ah, this is it!

The first uncharted zone exploration quest—the reward for the top contributor.

Can't miss this.

Unlike Mu-hyuk, others were still lost.

"What does that even mean?"

"Explain, please!"

"Uncharted zone?"

"Exploration?"

"Only 50 requests?"

"Too few!"

The vice guild master sighed at the uproar.

"Ah, sorry, I skipped details. To clarify: Previously, completing a request removed it for others. But Count Kairon's limited requests remain available even if others finish them—though you can't repeat your own. So, complete any 40 of the 50 within 4 weeks to qualify for the exploration party."

Understanding dawned.

"Whoa, uncharted zone exploration?"

"Finally...!"

"Homepage's gonna explode."

"Tons of users incoming."

"Gotta do this!"

"But 40..."

"Means you're exploration-worthy if you clear that many."

"Probably."

The intent was clear.

"Let's grab requests."

"Yeah."

Luckily, Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo were first in line.

They claimed requests right away.

"We'll take these."

"Got it."

"Can we take multiple at once?"

"Up to three."

"Then..."

Closest first.

Lowest difficulty first.

They picked three matching ones.

"First, third, and seventh."

The quests themselves weren't hard.

"Just 70 each."

"Yeah, quick clear."

But these were the lowest difficulty.

Even clearing these three left 37 more—requiring serious effort.

"Let's move."

They left the guild for the orc village.

Travel took time, but hunting was swift.

After orcs and orc warriors, they finished with nearby lizardmen.

Still only 6 PM, they ate dinner IRL, logged back in, and cleared two more requests.

Five in one day.

"This is easy?"

"Seems so?"

Mu-hyuk thought it too, but the next day shattered that.

Despite all-day grinding, only three cleared.

Monsters per request jumped to 200.

Next day: two.

In a week: total 18.

Another week: nine more, total 27.

"Two weeks left?"

"Yeah, need 13 more."

"Hoo, let's push."

They kept hunting.

And that day.

Completing one request, Mu-hyuk hit level 80.