Chapter 29
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: An Epic Gift
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Yuhyeon left the Whale's Armory and stood still on a deserted street.
Ill repair the other parts while youre gone. I wish you the best of luck.
Gessin planned to repair all the parts except those that required the wood.
That way, he could fix the bow staff as soon as Yuhyeon returned with the material.
My job is to kill the Treant and bring back the wood.
Yuhyeon took out the sword he had received from Gessins armory.
Shing! A sharp, keen sound echoed in his ear.
Ding!
Gessins Bastard Sword (Epic)
Level Requirement: None
Class Requirement: None
Attack Power: 30
Attack Speed 10, Accuracy 10, Critical Hit 5, Weight Reduction -20
Sword Mastery 1, Sword Guard 1
Description: A bastard sword crafted by the brilliant blacksmith Gessin. Through excellent smithing, he has imbued the sword with not one, but two magical properties.
Hmm?
Yuhyeons eyes widened as he read the swords information.
Epic?
He blinked several times, thinking he was seeing things, but the grade remained unchanged.
Yuhyeon muttered to himself, bewildered.
Didnt he say it was just a decent sword?
Just a moment ago, when Gessin had handed it to him, he had described it as good enough to use for now.
But who in their right mind would call an Epic-grade item good enough to use?
It was the rank just below Unique.
This is the same grade as the item I got for defeating the Skeleton Knight.
It was the same grade as the ring he received for defeating an elite monster.
That meant he now possessed two Epic items.
He couldnt imagine how his friend Sangcheol, who hunted day and night just to get a Rare item, would react if he heard this.
Its so much better than the sword I saw earlier.
Yuhyeon recalled the stats of the sword displayed in Willems Armory.
The one another user had spent 8 gold onthe one Willem had claimed had a whole skill attached to it.
That swords attack power was 15
Just in terms of attack power, this sword was twice as strong as Willems iron sword.
And was that all? It also increased attack speed, accuracy, and critical hit rate.
And it takes 2 points to learn Sword Guard.
Gessins sword came with two skills.
In other words, this one sword saved him at least two skill points.
With the weight reduction, the sword felt much lighter than before.
So thats why it felt so light earlier.
This sword was several times more effective than Willems.
He couldnt even begin to guess how much it would sell for on the auction house.
Should I search for it?
Come to think of it, hed heard that the auction house became available starting from the city of advancement.
Yuhyeon immediately opened the auction house and searched for a weapon with similar performance.
Attack power 30 or more, two skills
He entered the two options into the detailed search criteria.
He set the level requirement to 10.
Beep!
No weapons with the specified options exist.
No weapons with the specified options exist.
Hm?
Yuhyeons eyes narrowed.
Could it be that no sword with all those conditions existed?
This time, he tried searching with just one condition.
Ding!
Ogres Axe of the Steel Heart (Legendary)
Level Requirement: 10
Class Requirement: Warrior
Attack Power: 50
.
.
.
Current Bid: 700G
S-Seven hundred gold?
Yuhyeons eyes widened.
An attack power of 50 costs 700 gold?
Of course, its attack power was 20 higher than Gessins sword, so it made sense.
Besides, it was a Legendary-grade item!
Th-Then what about two skills
This time, he searched with only the two skills condition.
Beep!
No weapons with the specified option exist.
The auction house screen was empty.
There were no weapons with two skills imbued in them.
It was the same even after he tried changing the conditions around.
It was only when he raised the maximum level that something appeared.
Ding!
Mr. Gales Sniper Rifle (Rare)
Level Requirement: 30
Class Requirement: Magic Gunner
.
.
.
Magic Bullet 1, Swift Aim 1
Current Bid: 100G
Yuhyeon swallowed hard.
The minimum level requirement for a weapon with two skills was 30.
In other words.
Its a trait you can only get from level 30 onwards?
He had obtained a sword with slightly less attack power than a Legendary but with two skills.
And for free, at that. With the description that it was just good enough to use!
Could it be that I met the greatest blacksmith in this town?
Yuhyeon thought he might have just met the most skilled blacksmith in all of Lutetia.
Not, as someone had put it, a strange old man obsessed with music.
Ive received an unexpected gift.
He never would have met him without Instructor Olsens recommendation.
First a legendary skill, and now a sword beyond imagination.
Yuhyeon offered a silent prayer of thanks for the undeserved gifts he was receiving.
Thank you.
Yuhyeon then checked the information for Sword Guard, one of the skills on his sword.
Sword Guard: Allows you to block an opponent's attack with your sword. Partially mitigates incoming damage. A perfect guard mitigates 80 of the damage. Guarding slightly reduces the sword's durability.
So its a defensive skill.
Sword Guard would be a great help to him in critical situations.
It gave him the option to block with his sword in situations where countering or evading was impossible.
Its easy to wield with one hand, and also with two.
Above all, Gessins sword was much more comfortable to grip than his old iron sword.
This was due to the characteristic long hilt of a bastard sword.
If I alternate hands, I might be able to create various attack patterns.
Yuhyeon imagined himself wielding the sword.
Slashing down, slashing up, parrying an opponents attack, even blocking an attack with the flat of the blade
My movements will be much freer.
Gessins Bastard Sword was a remarkable weapon in many ways.
Though he still couldnt understand why it was described as merely good enough to use.
I wonder how much stronger Ive become since last time.
Yuhyeon had undergone significant growth back in Hemona Village.
From obtaining the legendary class, Conductor of Melody, to acquiring Gessins sword.
His current total stats were incomparably high.
He was itching to test his limits.
Ding!
Hidden Quest: Bring the Materials Needed to Repair the Bow Staff
Requirement: Conductor of Melody (Level Requirement 20)
A level requirement.
Yuhyeons eyes narrowed.
To undertake the hidden quest, he first needed to reach level 20.
This meant he had to go to a hunting ground and level up, just like any other player.
Soon, Yuhyeon found a suitable combat-related quest in his Adventurers Journal.
13. Defeat 10 Silver Wolves
The culmination of all his growth so far.
Shall we go, then?
It was time to see the results.
Three years.
That was how long it took for Wonderland to become the worlds number one game, boasting 1 billion concurrent players.
Vivid realism, hidden pieces scattered everywhere, and a constant stream of new content.
It was perhaps only natural for users to be fanatical about a game that offered them infinite freedom.
However, even in Wonderland, which seemed perfect in every way, there were still players who quit.
Ah, come on! Just get hit!
That moment was when they first faced a monster in the second town.
Awoooo!
In his pursuit of vivid realism, developer Ha Jiseok had given the monsters intelligence.
Among them were aggressive mobs that would try to ambush players, and some that would call for allies to attack in groups.
There were even mobs that would flee if they sensed they were losing a fight.
Damn it! What are we supposed to do when the difficulty spikes like this?
I-It wasnt like this in the beginner village!
Players found themselves in a difficult situation due to the sudden change in difficulty.
Agh! Just let my skill hit you, please!
What a crappy game! How am I supposed to kill anything if I cant even hit it!
In the beginner village, they had been able to slaughter monsters with the click of a button, but that was no longer the case here.
Far from a simple click, just landing a single attack took forever.
And so, the players in the second town all shared a common experience.
CRUNCH!
You have suffered a fatal blow from a Silver Wolf.
You have died.
That experience was death.
Being brutally killed by a monster!
Seriously, what a trash game.
Through death, players acquired an emotion on a completely different level than anything before.
Catharsis from thrilling combat? A dopamine rush?
No, it was different from such hollow sentiments.
Are you really not going to hunt?
Yeah, I dont think I can
It was a sense of fear.
The feeling of a blade touching ones body, of large fangs sinking into ones neck.
These were things unimaginable in their comfortable reality, and for the average person, they were not easy to endure.
It didnt matter that there was no pain; the sensation of being attacked was all too real.
Im going to take a break.
From this point on, the hunting grounds were divided into several types of players.
Those who gave up on combat entirely, and those who gradually adapted to the system through repeated deaths.
Hey, whats with that guy? Is he trying to take on two wolves at once?
Is that even possible?
And then there was another type, one that belonged to neither of those two groups.
The seasoned veterans and the star player prospects.
Already equipped with ample experience, they charged at the wolves without hesitation.
Hey, lets kill this quick and go clear the quest.
The one who will bring change to Wonderland! My name is Gio of the Quantum Group!
Although their levels were low, the combat sense embedded in their bodies and minds was that of a veteran.
Other players let out cries of pure admiration at the prowess they displayed.
Wow, is that a prospect? A player raised by a corporation is on another level.
D-Did you see that? The wolf died in just four hits!
Thats insane. So you can hunt like that.
They unleashed brilliant techniques against the Silver Wolves.
They skillfully combined basic skills to launch a relentless assault, and they easily dodged attacks based on their physical prowess.
From now on, Gio will lead the Quantum Group. Thank you all for watching!
They even displayed a sense of ease while fighting the wolves, creatures that were a near-disaster for newbies.
Of course, this was only possible due to countless unseen efforts.
A form of combat perfected through thousands of hours and deep contemplation.
Is this the place?
And then, a man appeared in the hunting ground where many users had gathered.
A man with flowing silver hair and a brilliant golden insignia on his chest.
It was Yuhyeon.
Wow, there are so many people.
Yuhyeon slowly looked around, surveying the hunting ground.
Other players glanced at him, noting the arrival of a new player.
His appearance, somehow different from that of an ordinary beginner, had caught their eye.
Is that a Silver Wolf?
Yuhyeon carefully observed a wolf from a distance.
It was a huge, silver beast, boasting piercing blue eyes and hideous fangs.
It looked at least twice the size of a real wolf.
Its quite large.
Facing the massive wolf, he found himself swallowing dryly.
But of course, that didnt change the fact that he had to kill it.
Shing! Yuhyeon drew his bastard sword and held it lightly.
First, I should analyze its patterns.
Through several combat experiences, he had learned that every monster had a pattern.
It seemed best to start by lightly engaging one to figure it out.
It was also a good chance to try out his new skill, Sword Guard.
!
Soon, an exclamation mark appeared above the head of a wolf that had spotted Yuhyeon.
This meant the mob had recognized him and was about to attack.
The Silver Wolf, its eyes gleaming with a menacing light, leaped toward Yuhyeon.
Awoooo!
Leap!
Fast.
The wolfs movements were agile.
It looked ready to tear out Yuhyeons throat with its sharp fangs.
Yuhyeon calmly exhaled and took a middle guard stance.
But it feels light.
The Silver Wolf was certainly fast, but it didnt exude the same sense of pressure as the Skeleton Knight.
He didnt feel the chilling cold that made his hair stand on end or gave him goosebumps.
I can do this.
Yuhyeons eyes flashed for a moment, and his slashing stance changed.
From a middle guard to an upward slash.
It was a fluid and natural movement, born from thousands of repetitions.
Now!
Just as the wolfs massive fangs aimed for Yuhyeons neck.
Slice!
The sound of a head being severed echoed along with a sharp sword strike.
It was as fast as a flash of lightning.
Wh-What the
D-Did you just see that?
A battle with a wolf that some fought to the death to win, and others barely managed to defeat in a party.
Ding!
Defeat Silver Wolf (110)
What? Was it already low on health?
For Yuhyeon, a single strike was all it took.