Grokion's Trial
Mu-hyuk's destination for the test was Kikku Village in the Hammer Kingdom.
Before setting out, he tidied up his inventory.
The gold was less than he'd expected.
He checked the auction house system.
A new poison born from a mixture of Molly and Creaus with special additives. Slows the body upon contact.
Instant Sale Price: 99 Silver
Min Order:10 | Sold:612 | Remaining:388
A new poison born from a mixture of Molly, Creaus, and Bir with special additives. Causes hallucinations and continuous damage upon contact. Effect ends if HP drops below a certain threshold.
Instant Sale Price:99 Silver
Min Order:10 | Sold:531 | Remaining:469
Only a little over half had sold.
That was it, so far?
He checked other listings.
They were around 70 silver each.
"Haa..."
With prices dropping, Mu-hyuk had no choice but to slash his per-unit price drastically.
At this rate, they'd dip to 50 silver.
Then there'd be almost no profit left.
Better to spend that time hunting and leveling up.
Or using other info.
Slowing and Hallucination Poisons were done here.
But one thing remained.
Info sales.
Of course, after all the poisons sold.
'Hallucination Poison (x50)' has sold.
'30 Gold' acquired.
'Slowing Poison (x100)' has sold.
'60 Gold' acquired.
Thanks to dropping it to 60 silver each, items flew off the shelves.
In the meantime, he reached the general store.
"Welcome."
There, he bought bulk Slowpoke Potions and Tears of Confusion.
Then he swung by the herbalist for Molly, Creaus, and Bir.
Now, only 10 gold remained in his possession.
Whew, won't go broke, right?
If things went as planned, he'd definitely turn a profit.
Still felt a bit uneasy.
He shook his head.
Yeah, let's do it.
He logged out in a hurry, accessed the Illusion homepage, and scanned the paid info section.
Slowing Poison. Hallucination Poison.
Nothing came up in searches.
Fortunately, no one had posted the recipes or additives yet.
He'd expected at least a couple.
This meant he could monopolize it.
He quickly drafted posts.
All that was left was to post them.
100 won per post.
Users had to pay on the Illusion homepage to view.
10% went to site maintenance fees, 50% to Illusion Corp.
Mu-hyuk got the remaining 40%.
It seemed stingy, but with Illusion's massive user base, solid info could yield decent income.
Please sell well.
He hit confirm.
*
Logging back into Illusion, Mu-hyuk pressed on toward Kikku Village.
A small village appeared in the distance.
There it is.
Kikku Village was desolate.
Hardly any people.
Those around were mostly NPCs, obvious from their attire.
He approached a passing young man.
"Excuse me."
"Yes?"
"Where's the village chief's house?"
"Oh, that building in the center there."
"Thanks."
Easy to spot at a glance.
It was the shabbiest one.
Anyway, he stopped in front of the rundown house.
"Excuse me. Is the chief in?"
"Cough, cough..."
The door opened, revealing the chief—frail as his coughing.
"What brings a visitor...?"
"Well, I heard there's a test site here."
The chief's expression shifted.
"A test site, you say?"
"Yes."
"Could you give the exact name?"
"I'm looking for Grokion's Test Site."
"Ahh..."
The chief's pupils trembled.
He closed his eyes.
"You've come at last..."
Not sure how to respond.
Mu-hyuk waited silently.
"Ah, forgive my unseemly display. Follow me this way."
"It's fine."
The old man smiled and stepped out.
"This way."
"Got it."
They left the village together.
They walked a pathless forest trail.
After a while, a clearing appeared.
"Here it is."
"Hm."
The old man went to a stone wall on the right, fiddling with something.
The central ground sank, revealing stairs.
"Go down."
"Thank you."
Mu-hyuk descended after a bow.
Watching him go, the old man murmured low.
"May this end my karma at last..."
He touched the stone wall again.
Meanwhile.
Mu-hyuk's eyes widened descending the stairs.
"Hoo..."
Iron walls everywhere.
Center resembled a training ground, with an armored statue in the middle.
Stepping onto the arena triggered a message.
'Grokion's Test Site' discovered.
'Test Qualifications' confirmed.
'Grokion's Ring' reacts.
Light burst from the ring, enveloping the central statue.
The rigid statue opened its eyes then.
One who bears Grokion's relic.
I shall test your worth. Do you accept?
He answered the question.
"Of course."
Light poured from Mu-hyuk's body this time, wrapping the statue.
Your 'Level (31)' confirmed.
Statue adjusted to matching level.
Items cannot be used.
Skills sealed.
Plain sword and shield provided.
This was it.
The single flaw in Grokion's test: matching the opponent's level.
No items or skills was a huge handicap.
But Mu-hyuk's skills were all summons anyway.
And without items, his raw stats were Strength 27, Agility 12, Vitality 13, Knowledge 14, Wisdom 14.
Pumped Strength for crafting, but for level 31, Agility and Vitality weren't low.
Excluding Knowledge and Wisdom, total stats summed to 52.
Subtract base 3 per stat: 43 bonus points.
If statue matched level 31, it'd have 30 bonus points.
Unless its base stats crushed him, victory was certain.
Prove your worth.
The statue stomped the ground.
Its sword and shield closed in.
Higher Agility than his.
But Mu-hyuk had superior Strength.
Reaction lagged slightly, but he blocked with the temporary shield, then shoved hard just before the impact faded.
The statue staggered, overpowered.
He didn't miss the opening, thrusting his sword at its leg.
Clang!
Stone chips flew.
Enemy attack blocked by shield.
Damage reduced.
Attack successful.
66 damage inflicted.
Damage finally appeared.
66...
Mu-hyuk's Strength: 27.
So base damage 81.
15 reduced: Defense 15, thus Vitality 15.
Then the statue swung again.
He didn't block this time.
A heavy thud sent him sliding back.
-32 HP
Mu-hyuk's Vitality: 13.
So his Defense: 13.
32 damage meant statue's 45 damage, equaling Strength 15.
Strength, Agility, Vitality all 15?
Statue's Agility and Vitality close to his, but Strength overwhelmingly his favor.
Fight cautiously, victory inevitable.
So Mu-hyuk never struck first.
Always defend, then exploit gaps.
The repetitive dance dragged on.
How long had the grueling bout lasted?
Grr rumble...
Statue's movements slowed.
Yes!
He seized the chance.
Almost lunged in excitement, but held back.
Just in case.
Then, blinding white light erupted from the statue.
No skills allowed, so not a skill.
But a powerful explosion nonetheless.
"Hoo..."
If he'd approached?
Would've taken heavy damage.
Lucky...
He waited, relieved.
Dust from the blast cleared, revealing the battered statue.
Creaking all over, combat ineffective.
Still cautious, Mu-hyuk scanned for throwable objects.
None handy, so he eyed his sword and nodded.
Looked up, assumed stance.
Hurled the sword hard.
It struck true.
Crack.
The statue shattered.
"Haa."
Sighing in relief, he approached the statue.
Something amid the rubble.
A document?
As he picked it up, the ring on his finger reacted.
Ring and document react.
Seal on 'Grokion's Ring' and 'Secret Document' lifted.
The messages lifted his spirits.
*
Exiting the test site, Mu-hyuk checked the ring first.
Wisdom +7
Knowledge +3
MP +100
MP Recovery +20%
Durability 100/100
Use Restriction: Cleared Grokion's Trial
Incredible options.
Knowledge and Wisdom boosts.
MP and recovery too.
Perfect for a mage.
But not all.
Gathering more Grokion items improved the ring further.
Plus set bonuses.
Ultimate gear.
If he collected the full set...
He swallowed hard.
Gulp.
Eyes burning with desire, he checked the document.
Secret Document
Presumed location of Grokion's relics hidden.
Brief description, cryptic map.
Where's this...?
He turned it every which way.
Impossible to pinpoint from the drawing alone.
After long thought, he shook his head.
No clue.
Suddenly, someone came to mind.
The librarian...
He'd meet her first.
She knew of Grokion's relics—sure to help somehow.
With that, he hurried off.