Preparations for Kaiyon
Forma Continent, where most Asian players gathered.
Kaiyon Continent for North and South Americans.
Grakan Continent, home to players from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania.
The world was divided into these three major continents.
To decide what to buy, he first needed to choose a destination continent.
"Hmm."
After a brief moment of thought, Mu-hyuk settled on Kaiyon Continent.
There wasn't any particular reason.
If he had to pick one, it was probably because Sung Min-woo had mentioned it recently, leaving a strong impression in his mind.
Whatever continent he chose, the gains would be similar, so there was no need to agonize over it for long. Neither Sung Min-woo nor Yerin were the type to object to his decision anyway.
Yeah, not a bad choice.
With his mind made up, it was time to shop.
Two items.
Out of the two high-value resale goods for that place, one was available in Grepon Village.
"Skeleton Warhorse Summon."
He mounted the warhorse and headed to the warp gate in Abenso Village.
"Where to, sir?"
"Grepon Village."
After paying the fee, he arrived at his destination in moments. He entered the largest general store in the central district.
"Welcome!"
"Do you have any Mana Orbs here?"
"Of course."
"How many in stock?"
"I'd have to check the crates. How many do you need?"
"All of them."
"Pardon...?"
"I'll take everything you have."
"Uh, w-wait a second!"
The owner rushed to the warehouse.
He returned shortly, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
"We have seven crates right now."
"Seven crates..."
"That's 210 orbs."
"I'll take them all."
"Yes, sir!"
The owner hauled out the crates one by one.
"Phew, here you go. Thirty per crate. Five gold each, so 1,050 gold total. But as a special discount, just 1,000 gold even."
"1,000 gold?"
"Yes, for you."
"You're sure?"
"Absolutely."
Mu-hyuk smiled and pulled out his nameplate.
"Th-this is..."
"Hemil Empire nameplate."
"Ah, I see."
Any establishment under Hemil Empire jurisdiction offered a 20% discount to holders of this nameplate.
"You said 1,000 gold, so 20% off that makes 800 gold. Here you go."
"Uh, uh..."
The owner's face twisted as he took the gold.
But what could he do?
The customer had shown the nameplate.
"Thought it was a jackpot, but it's a bust. Damn it."
Mu-hyuk ignored the muttering and left the store.
Already 200 gold in profit.
Grinning, he stopped by another general store.
"Welcome!"
"I'll buy all your Mana Orbs."
"Gasp, a-all of them?"
"Yes."
He bought 150 there.
80 from the next one.
And 20 from the smallest shop.
Of course, he showed the nameplate each time.
"Ah..."
"20% off, thank you."
"..."
In total, that made 460 Mana Orbs.
Mana Orbs, a specialty sold exclusively in Grepon Village.
Absorbs a small amount of natural energy to recover fatigue (cancels if you move).
The description made it seem worthless.
Some kind of fatigue recovery item?
But in the northern region of Kaiyon Continent, where NPCs practiced martial arts, it would fetch an enormous sum.
Alright, now for the other item...
He hurried to acquire one more thing.
*
Mana Orbs that absorbed natural energy.
Karma Herbs, excellent for treating wounds.
Having bought large quantities of both, Mu-hyuk messaged Rudolph, now on his friends list.
He'd secured a priest user more easily than expected.
They could head out tomorrow.
He informed Sung Min-woo and Yerin of the plan.
After exchanging goodbyes, he exited the capsule.
The next day.
At 9 AM sharp, Mu-hyuk bought a massive amount of Illusion stock.
7.1 million won per share.
He used every last won he'd set aside.
A little over 400 million won.
That got him exactly 60 shares of Illusion stock.
"Nice..."
Now he held a whopping 517 shares.
Just looking at it brought a smile to his face.
Enhancements had raked in insane profits.
There were now over 20 blacksmiths who'd mastered enhancement, so item enhancement prices weren't what they used to be.
But the early windfall meant he had no regrets.
Even with prices down, free materials from Hemil Empire kept margins ridiculously high.
Of course, if supplies stopped, these profits would vanish.
But this was more than enough.
Once he reached Kaiyon Continent, Mana Orbs and Karma Herbs would net another huge haul.
Buy more Illusion stock with that.
And get some Christmas gifts for the family.
It wasn't far off.
With his plans roughly set, he logged into Illusion.
While riding his warhorse to Column Village, he checked the homepage.
Countless players had already set off for other continents.
The warp gate locations for inter-continent travel were public knowledge.
Those with noble connections learned first, but loose lips spread the word, opening all info.
Most players had departed last evening; others, like Mu-hyuk, were prepping.
Nothing special.
Just the occasional braggart.
Anyone unfamiliar would click it out of curiosity.
But Mu-hyuk knew crossing continents in a single day was impossible.
He knew how strong the roadside monsters were.
At least five days.
Minimum.
Hmm, still, let's see.
Human curiosity was the strongest lure.
He regretted even looking.
He'd hoped for some clever fake story, but it was pure bait.
"Tch."
He clicked his tongue and skimmed more posts.
By then, he'd arrived at Column Village.
"Hm?"
He spotted three people waiting.
One was Rudolph.
Another was fully armored, identity unclear.
Thud.
As he tried to identify the last one, the armored man charged. He wobbled at first, then accelerated wildly.
"Hah."
He recognized the attacker instantly.
Asrahan.
Rudolph's friend with a bizarre personality, always picking fights whenever they met.
"Summon."
Tedious, but ignoring him meant endless hassle, so he called his skeletons.
The incoming figure was likely a clone, so he scanned nearby terrain.
Skeletons appeared late, so the real one was probably in Mu-hyuk's shadow or behind the massive nearby rock.
Wonder where.
As he pondered, Asrahan closed in and swung his sword.
No intention of tanking even a clone's hit, so he raised his shield.
Vision briefly blocked, Asrahan's lips curled mockingly.
Oblivious, Mu-hyuk focused on terrain—giving Asrahan the opening to sidestep and slash fast.
-621 HP
Defense over 700, plus 20% shock absorption from items and titles—critical did just 621 damage.
But as a Shadow Dancer, attacks kept coming relentlessly.
Clang, kagagak!
Five slashes in an instant.
This one's real?
Over 2,000 HP gone, but Mu-hyuk still had margin.
Fast, sure.
But Mu-hyuk wasn't slow either.
Wind Step.
Wind Step
He distanced himself and loosed arrows.
Storm, Rapid Fire.
As arrows flew, skeletons took positions.
Poison Ogre's Fear first, then Snowman froze him with Ice Hold amid the chaos.
Magic barrage followed.
Boom, kwagwagwang!
HP probably bottomed out.
Should stop now?
No killing, so he halted attacks—
Hm?
A chill from behind.
He dashed forward.
Twisting, he saw Asrahan pursuing from the rear.
Hah, when'd he switch?
Then the one under magic fire was the clone.
Past fights let him distinguish easily; now, impossible.
Asrahan had leveled up big time.
Didn't change the outcome, though.
Burtan, Ki Wave.
The presumed real Asrahan froze; flanking Armor Cavalry tore him apart.
But that wasn't the real one either.
Kagagang!
Asrahan erupted from Mu-hyuk's shadow like magic.
-Nearly 3,000 HP
Another critical—HP nearly 3,000 down.
Expel.
Expel (MP consumed to fully restore HP)
MP spent to refill HP, Mu-hyuk swung his sword in retaliation.
Asrahan vanished and reappeared via Shadow Dancer traits, clones distracting, backstabs maxing damage.
Swish.
Finally, Asrahan surrendered.
His HP under 100.
"You've improved a lot."
"Next time, I win for sure."
"Keep it up, and you might actually die."
"Don't care."
"Haa..."
Mu-hyuk reverse-summoned his skeletons with a sigh and approached Rudolph.
"Why'd you bring him?"
"Sorry, hyung. He insisted on coming."
How many challenges on the road?
The thought alone tired him.
Still, definite power boost.
Yeah, whatever...
If he's useful, no reason to refuse. If he gets too annoying, just kill him for real.
Lost in thought, Rudolph called out.
"Hyung?"
"Yeah?"
He looked at Rudolph, who turned his head.
Following his gaze—
"Ah..."
Only then did he notice the awkwardly fidgeting woman in robes.