Chapter 11: Legendary Fast-Track

"What the hell...?"

It was utterly absurd. This was definitely the first time he'd returned to the village and picked up quests, yet all the basic ones for building reputation—petty little time sinks—had been skipped entirely. It had jumped straight to the useful linked quests with decent rewards.

'Maybe because I've already cleared them once before?' No, that couldn't be. He'd confirmed that not only his stats and class, but even his affinity with the NPCs had been reset to zero. So the quest history should have reset too. Even without that logic, NPCs didn't hand out the same non-repeatable quest twice, so there had to be another reason.

"What's wrong? Some problem?"

"No, not at all. No issues here."

The NPC eyed his flustered reaction with odd suspicion, then went even further.

"Actually, no. Assigning grunt work like that to someone of your stature would be downright rude. How about this instead?"

"...!"

It had skipped that one too, handing him the next quest in line. Was sweet-talking all it took? Hell, he hadn't even said much.

'Could it be because of that?'

Even Vulcan, who'd played Gloria Saga since launch, had never heard of this. But that's exactly why he could guess the cause. The only explanation for this ridiculous situation was his Legendary class.

He recalled the option attached to his Legendary title, Legend Incarnation. He'd thought it was just a minor affinity boost at first, but apparently it blew past normal levels and common sense.

As if to prove it, the next quests followed the same pattern. Every NPC he met treated him like an old friend, exempting him from the endless grind quests.

"What? You already took down the Goblin Champion?! I knew you looked extraordinary ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the moment you walked in!"

But the real issue hit when he'd collected quests from every NPC in Regon Village and visited the chief.

He knew the Village Troublemaker quest—hunt 30 goblins—applied retroactively.

The follow-up, Object of Fear, involved summoning a Goblin Warrior and bringing back one of its drops as proof, so he figured that might work too.

But completing Regon's Nightmare after that? He hadn't been so sure. Normally, it required hunting a Goblin Champion—the rare spawn from Goblin Warriors—and bringing its low-drop-rate Goblin Champion Longsword. Yet the chief had accepted the one he'd crafted as proof.

'Okay, up to here I can buy...'

He'd half-expected it might work, confirming he could craft quest items himself to skip steps. So far, so good—maybe too perfect, but no complaints.

But the next quest was enough to stun Vulcan.

"I can trust you with this. It might be beyond your current strength, but if you're willing, I'll believe in you. Will you hear my request?"

'He's giving this one?'

Another linked quest. Normally, the chief stopped after Regon's Nightmare—no more quests, even after clearing everything. He'd always mutter something suspicious like, "You've got skill, but I can't trust you yet."

'Doesn't this need a hidden quest or special condition?'

Quite a few players had sensed more to it, grinding every village quest to unlock the next, but no dice. The chief never budged without some secret trigger. No clues ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠given, so dedicated players eventually gave up, left the beginner zone, and the mystery lingered. Even if there was a hidden quest, it was beginner stuff—nothing special.

"Yes, leave it to me. I'll investigate thoroughly."

A bit thrown, but no reason to refuse. Vulcan accepted and checked the details.

"Huh?"

Then something odd caught his eye: a red beam shooting up from beyond the chief's window.

"Red?"

A color he'd never seen before. Quest-related? He could guess, but he'd have to check it out himself.

"I'll be back."

He bowed quickly to the chief and stepped outside, gauging the beam's distance. Recalling the beginner village layout, he frowned.

"Outside the map?"

Just eyeballing it, but his experience said it was beyond the beginner zone—past the boundary, in the so-called "border area" before the general fields.

"That's why no one's found it."

Two ways out of the beginner zone: walk past the boundary or take a cart. Walking meant a long trek—time-consuming, and dying midway respawned you at the start. Plus, border monsters hit harder than local ones, so most shelled out for the cart despite the cost. Better to zip to the next village, grind, and recoup the fare.

Border mobs dropped similar trash to beginner ones despite tougher stats, so efficiency sucked. Aside from launch day, no one walked out.

But something quest-related was there.

"Can't ignore that. Even if it's shit, it's Item Power!"

A normal player might hesitate—the border was deadly even at max beginner level 40. But Vulcan was no normie.

His grit, control, Tempering quest action stats, unspent points, and Legendary class's no-restrictions gear let him rival level 100s already.

No reason not to go. Geared up, he bolted straight for the red pillar.

"No need to hold back now."

At the boundary, he paused—stats first. Level 33, 3 points per level, none spent: 98 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠points banked.

"Strength and stamina priority, then some agility and intellect?"

Warriors split 2-1-1 strength-agility-stamina or vice versa; mages focused stamina-intellect-spirit. But production jobs? No clue.

Should've checked forums... No skill spam like combat classes, so low intellect investment?

- All in on strength.

Tud poked his head out as Vulcan pondered his status window.

"Pardon?"

- Strength.

"But..."

- Strength.

"Still..."

All-in felt extreme. Vulcan balked, but Tud was stubborn. Despite emphasizing grit and stamina for Tempering, now it was strength only.

- To grow fast, specialize. Gear covers the rest. That's Item Power's perk. Pump strength for now.

'All strength, huh.'

Made sense. Max strength, cover agility/stamina/intellect/spirit with gear options—not new. All-in strength meant overwhelming attack speed-killing foes.

'Checks out—with my gear.'

Berserker Longsword covered attacks to 70-80; defense too. Raw HP might lack, but godlike defense meant negligible damage—same difference. Tempering and achievements filled gaps; no insta-deaths.

- Don't worry. I'll fix your pathetic stamina and mana. It'll strain you awhile, but once you get it...

"Ugh, why didn't you say so sooner!"

That sealed it. Not ignorance—planned. No more worries.

'Money's the issue, as always.'

Whatever Tud prepped, gear gaps were temporary. Snag 200-level gear now, 300 later—Item Power ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carried. Then pivot points to stamina if needed.

'Worst case, craft my way out.'

Low-level uniques from the start? Sell crafted gear for funds. Buy high-end, push forward. Control and grit made it work.

Vulcan dumped all points into strength, breaking 100 and snagging the title. Not automatic at 100—you had to hit it pre-50. Similar titles existed for intellect, agility, stamina—he knew them well.

'This could be fun.'

And it didn't end there. Hit 100 pre-50 for Common; 200 upgraded to Uncommon. Keep pumping? Rare, Unique titles maybe?

Intriguing. Many had tried all-in stats but hit walls, abandoning for balance or deleting characters.

Vulcan? No sweat. Item Power covered; worst case, grind crafting for levels.

"Shall we check it out?"

Prep done. Vulcan strode boldly into the border area, charging straight for the red pillar.