Frontier Exploration and Daily Executions

Mu-hyuk's words made Baron Kinber nod.

"You want to meet that criminal locked in the prison once a day?"

"Yes."

"You're not planning anything weird, are you?"

"I would never do anything harmful to you, Baron."

He might not have allowed it under normal circumstances, but this was Mu-hyuk, who had ties to Duke Amur. The baron couldn't ignore that connection with his modest title.

"Fine, I trust you."

His expression was reluctant, but Mu-hyuk paid it no mind. What mattered was that he'd given permission.

"Then I'll come tomorrow morning."

"Do as you please."

"Should I report to you?"

"No need. I'll inform the knight."

"Thank you."

"Ahem, if you're grateful, put in a good word with the duke."

"Of course."

Once the baron left, Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo exited the castle with the mercenary guild administrator.

"But why once a day? You gonna kill him?"

"Yeah."

"Feed him items?"

"That red dagger seemed pretty good."

"Ah."

"If something decent drops while farming, you can use it too."

"Sweet. But looks like that duke thinks highly of you."

"Probably 'cause I'm the winner."

"Hmm, a duke's a big deal."

"Seems so."

The noble he'd connected with in the Weibra Empire was only a count. A duke held a higher position—with only the emperor above him.

The pinnacle of power.

"If our connection gets you into the duke's personal warehouse, that'd be awesome."

"Warehouse?"

"Yeah, just imagining it... whoa!"

Sung Min-woo grinned ear to ear.

"Is that all you can think about? The warehouse?"

"Well, yeah, pretty much."

It was a connection with a duke, after all.

Taking items from the warehouse with contribution points would be great, but who knew? Maybe even something better could come from it.

For now, though, the red dagger.

His bond with the duke would deepen in time. Right now, he was more eager to figure out how many times he'd have to kill the imprisoned Mist before that dagger dropped.

The next day.

Mu-hyuk headed to the Nagel Hunting Ground at the northern edge of the empire with Sung Min-woo. Riding their warhorses at full gallop cut the travel time short.

It had been uncharted territory until the Hemil Empire recently discovered it. Now, development was underway, bit by bit.

"A village."

A small settlement was just starting to take shape. NPCs who looked like laborers wandered around carrying tools in hand or slung over their shoulders.

There were more than expected, making the place bustling. Even the hunting grounds beyond the village weren't silent.

"Pretty crowded with users, huh?"

"Yeah."

At least twenty users were visible right now. Being uncharted land, they were probably scouting for undiscovered dungeons and such.

"Let's get moving."

"Roger."

Having warhorses gave them a huge edge over the others.

And that was just the start.

"Summon."

With the skeletons' power, they could scout with insane efficiency.

"Skull Snake summon."

He then dispatched skeletons in all directions. Sung Min-woo spread out his twelve spirits evenly as well.

The two settled in a spot free of monsters, focusing solely on their summons' fields of vision.

"Find anything?"

"Nada."

Conversation cut off again.

About forty minutes passed.

"Ugh, already bored."

"......"

"Oh, right. Hey, when you seeing E-rin noona?"

The name snapped Mu-hyuk's focus.

"Sunday."

"This week?"

"Yeah."

"Guess you won't log in then?"

"We'll see."

"You gonna try?"

"If possible."

He had to log in to kill Mist, after all.

"Just assume you can't and I'll hunt solo."

"Sounds good."

Sung Min-woo sighed.

"Sigh, maybe I should get a girlfriend too."

"Heh."

They killed time with idle chit-chat. In the meantime, exploration progress climbed nicely.

Sung Min-woo whistled in admiration.

"Already at 37?"

"A few hours and we'll hit 80 easy."

"Head back as soon as we do?"

"Nah. Rewards vary by performance, so at least 90."

"90'll be quick too. Perfect quest for us."

"Probably."

"Cracking quests like this non-stop would be insane."

The issue was how rare they were. Everywhere else had maps already, except freshly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pioneered spots like this.

"Yawn, getting boring though."

"And tiring."

Constantly monitoring dozens of summons' visions wasn't easy.

MP was dipping low too.

"Hunt a bit?"

"Sure."

They'd hit the limit of their vision coverage anyway.

Return.

To scout again, they'd need to relocate, so he recalled all summons.

Strolling leisurely like on a walk, they spotted Nagels playing in the distance and headed over. By then, the summons had returned, encircling them protectively.

Sung Min-woo frowned.

"Weird-looking things."

Bipedal like humans, but with blade-sharp hands and feet, faces tapering to points upward.

"You think?"

Mu-hyuk knew them well, of course.

Tough opponents.

For average users, anyway.

Not for me.

He ordered Armor Mages to cast spells. Magic of every color erupted, intertwining before slamming into a single Nagel.

Boom!

The shockwave raged.

It almost formed a mushroom cloud before collapsing. Not quite there yet.

Regret was brief.

Armor Archers, Power Shot.

Bone Bows, Rapid Fire.

He pressed the Nagel relentlessly, commanding his summons.

"Keehiiiaak!"

It was strong, no doubt.

One unblocked blade hand could cleave a summon in two.

Swing speed was fast, and it weaponized arms, legs, even its head—hard to predict.

But shields blunted its power drastically, so overwhelming with numbers worked fine.

Armor Knights, defend.

Armor Knights handled defense, shrinking its space.

Armor Archers, rapid fire.

Bone arrows rained endless damage.

Burtan, Powerful Arrow Shot.

Mu-hyuk didn't stop attacking either.

Blessing of the Dead.

Powerful Arrow Shot.

As the staggering Nagel glowed blue.

Skill.

It shot skyward, spinning like a drill into a whirlwind that plunged down. Six shielding Armor Knights vanished in reversal helplessly.

"Whoa, that skill's no joke!"

The gale unsatisfied, expanded outward.

It finished off remaining Armor Knights and outer Armor Cavalry.

Finally stopping, the Nagel rampaged in the cleared space.

"I'll block with spirits."

"Got it."

Sung Min-woo's spirits ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠filled the gap. Surviving Armor Knights and Cavalry closed in, restricting it further.

Trapped tight again, the Nagel took arrows from Armor Archers and Mu-hyuk bare-bodied.

"Krrgh..."

It collapsed soon after.

Decent chunk of EXP.

*

After hunting, they moved far enough and resumed scouting.

Hit 61 before they knew it.

"Move again."

They repeated elsewhere.

73 was the cap there.

"Hmm."

Progress felt slower.

After another spot:

Just 77.

Gains had sharply declined.

"Ah, damn."

"Knew it was too easy."

A couple more loops got them to 80.

"Push to 90?"

"Yeah, rewards differ. Let's grind till logout tonight."

"Roger."

Gains per scout were under 1 now. Frustrating, but the promise of fat rewards fueled them.

Skipping dinner, they pressed on. By 10 PM, they'd hit 89.

"Bored! Exhausted!"

"Whew, same."

Mental fatigue maxed out from directing over eighty summons all day.

They could've slacked, but a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dungeon find was possible, so no breaks.

Not that even the 'dun' of dungeon showed up.

"Call it here today."

They logged out, planning for tomorrow.

The next day.

Mu-hyuk woke early, hit the gym, then called Sung Min-woo on the way home.

Rang but no answer.

Still sleeping?

He texted instead.

Logged into Illusion right away upon arriving home.

"Skeleton Warhorse summon."

Rode full tilt to the Hemil Empire. Long line at the castle.

Mu-hyuk brazenly approached the entrance. The guard thrust his spear.

"Get in line."

Mu-hyuk flashed his nameplate.

"This...?"

The guard's eyes widened.

"S-sorry for not recognizing you!"

"No, it's..."

"Entering the castle?"

"Yes."

"Go right in."

The nameplate worked wonders. Inside, he headed to Baron Kinber's residence.

Showed it to the guarding knight, who bowed crisply and led to the prison.

"He's at the end. Key's here."

"Thanks."

"I'll wait outside."

"Okay."

At the end, shackled Mist looked up at the footsteps. Spotting Mu-hyuk, curses flew.

"Y-you bastard!"

"Still got energy, huh."

"You... once I get out...!"

Mu-hyuk smirked, unlocked the cell, nocked an arrow at Mist's exposed face.

"Wh-what're you doing?"

"......"

No words—just action.

Thwang!

The arrow pierced Mist's face.

"Y-you son of a...!"

"Die quietly."

A few more shots, and he crumpled dead. Shackled corpse didn't vanish, but the item dropped.

"Junk again."

Mu-hyuk tsked, locked up, and left.