Chapter 79
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: A Veteran's Gamble
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"I told you, didn't I? As long as I meet the conditions, I can learn any skill."
Kain flashed a grin.
"They're both Normal-grade skills. That means you can get them as long as you have the points."
Unlike Rare or Epic skills, which were difficult to acquire, Normal skills could be learned with just points, without any special conditions.
"I have the 'Detect' skill for finding traps and 'Trap Disarm' for disabling them."
He shrugged as if it were no big deal.
"So you can solve it without having to search for them one by one?"
"That's right. Just a 'click' and it's done."
Yunaring gasped in admiration at Kain, who seemed like an expert.
"Whoa, that's insane."
He had always presented himself as a veteran player, but he had never really shown anything to back it up.
Strictly speaking, Yuhyeon was the one who had defeated the most Mantises, and Yuhyeon's contribution was also the main reason they could get help from the trolls.
Now, Kain was stepping up to solve a problem that even Yuhyeon couldn't handle.
...Kain is so versatile, isn't he?
Yunaring wasn't the only one whose perception of him was changing.
He said he could learn any skill, but I never thought he'd use it like this.
An Explorer was, to put it nicely, an all-rounder; in other words, a class with no specialization.
Compared to classes that focused on one path, like swordsmanship or healing, it was bound to be less efficient.
Kain was trying to fill that gap with his know-how, learning skills that weren't easily obtainable to perform multiple roles by himself.
He wasn't wrong when he said this was his alt character.
Before long, the impression of Kain as a 'fairly' dependable person had formed in Yuhyeon's mind.
"You two can relax in the back while I disarm the traps. Ah, but if you talk to me once in a while, I might be able to work even harder?"
Understanding his intention, Yuhyeon let out a short, incredulous laugh.
In short, he was asking for their attention.
"Understood. We'll be cheering for you from the back."
Kain placed his palm over the ground where the trap was set.
"Detect!"
Soon, with a woong sound, a haze of light shimmered from his palm.
Tiring!
A Beginner Trap has been detected.
Normally, this notification should have appeared before him.
But what was this...
Beep!
An Intermediate Trap has been detected.
Trap Disarm (Beginner) cannot disarm this trap.
"Huh?"
Something completely different from what he expected appeared before Kain.
"...This, th-this can't be right."
It was something that shouldn't exist, something that shouldn't be happening.
"...This, th-this can't be right."
Kain's eyes twitched as he stared at the trap.
There's an Intermediate Trap here?
The appropriate level for the current quest was 30.
That meant a trap that a level 30 user could disarm should have been installed.
"Kain, is something wrong?"
If there was a problem, it was a huge one.
To disarm an Intermediate Trap, one needed to be at least level 50.
In other words, Kain's current skill couldn't disarm this trap.
"Ah, no. It's nothing. There's no problem at all."
However, he didn't give an answer like 'It's an Intermediate Trap' or 'It can't be disarmed.'
What was more important was whether he could ultimately solve it or not.
Level up? No, that doesn't make any sense.
Raising his level by 15 on the spot to upgrade the skill was nonsensical.
That meant he needed another way...
Sigh, is that the only way?
It wasn't that he had no options at all.
He could solve this by using 'Coins,' a special currency only he could use.
It's possible if I rank up the skill using a Coin.
Explorers could obtain a special Coin every 10 levels that could forcibly raise a skill's rank by one.
It was a currency that could raise any skill, regardless of its gradeRare, Epic, or Unique.
...But is this the right thing to do?
The fundamental problem was whether using a Coin here was the right decision.
As one's level increased, Coins naturally became harder to obtain. So, to use such a precious Coin on a mere Normal-grade skill?
If another Explorer were here, they would've tried to stop me.
Logically, the right thing to do was to explain the situation to his party members and turn back.
He should have said that, due to the circumstances, they would unfortunately have to give up on the quest.
But for some reason, Kain had a strange feeling.
...But this is weird. An Intermediate Trap that a beginner could never disarm is set up in a beginner zone?
A variable he had never seen in any guide had just appeared.
The content of a quest that hasn't changed at all for the past year has changed.
He wasn't without a guess as to why. A lot had happened on their way here.
That pointed to only one thing.
...There might be something huge hidden here.
Perhaps there was an undiscovered hidden piece to this quest.
Do I go for it, or not.
The whole reason Kain had created a new account was to obtain hidden pieces.
There was no return without risk in this world. If this was part of the process to get a hidden piece, it wasn't something he couldn't do.
Ting!
Would you like to use a Coin to raise the rank of Trap Disarm (Beginner) by one grade?
"......."
Kain's eyes twitched.
Now that the notification window was up, his mind was racing with thoughts again.
What if he opened it and there was nothing? He would have just wasted a precious Coin for nothing...
If you draw the sword, you have to at least cut a radish.
Amidst the turmoil, Kain calmly collected his thoughts.
Besides, no one can solve this but me.
Having come this far, he couldn't just return empty-handed.
Kain earnestly hoped his guess was correct as he flicked the coin with his thumb.
Tiring!
The rank of Trap Disarm will be increased to Intermediate.
He pressed it...
He had finally done it.
The idiotic act of using a 'Coin' on a mere Normal skill!
"Trap Disarm!"
Kain shouted, releasing his suppressed frustration.
With a kugoong! sound, the trap collapsed loudly.
"W-Wow! Th-That's insane!"
Yunaring, who was watching from the side, said with wide, rabbit-like eyes.
"B-But are you sure this is a height you can survive falling from? It looks like an instant death... Ah! Is that why it's a trap?"
The Intermediate Trap was a pit easily as deep as a five-story building.
Of course youd die if you fell. Its an Intermediate Trap, not a Beginner one.
But the words that came out of Kain's mouth were the complete opposite of his inner thoughts.
"Well, it would probably hurt..."
After all, it was difficult to explain that this was an Intermediate Trap and go into all the details.
"Alright, anyway."
Kain nonchalantly dusted off his hands and said.
"Shall we go disarm the rest of the traps?"
With the ability to disarm Intermediate Traps, no obstacle stood in his way.
...An Advanced one won't show up, right? That would be ridiculously unfair.
If that happened, no one would ever be able to clear this quest.
Advanced Traps could only be disarmed at level 100.
That won't happen, right?
Kain moved forward, trying to hide his anxious heart.
Fortunately, the Advanced Trap that Kain had feared never appeared.
Tiring!
Would you like to enter the Golden Goblin's Dungeon?
"Shall we go in?"
"Yes, let's."
The Golden Goblin's Dungeon was a cave.
It was a place surrounded by stone walls, with cold water droplets falling here and there.
"Ugh, why are all dungeons like this? Would it kill them to make it a little brighter?"
Yunaring shivered at the dungeon's gloomy atmosphere.
Surely there had to be bright dungeons in the world, so why were they all like this?
"Haha, you have a point."
Yuhyeon chuckled softly, as if he understood Yunaring's complaint.
After all, Wonderland was a world even more realistic than reality.
There were mosquitoes in the forests, and you had to sleep to recover from fatigue...
To implement even these details with such care must mean the developers put a lot of effort into it.
The one silver lining was that they didn't have to explore the cave's interior extensively.
Not long after, they found the tent where the Golden Goblins lived.
"Kireuk! Kieeeek!"
Dozens of creatures with sharp fangs and pointed ears were clustered around a storage area.
Holding spears and standing guard, they appeared to be protecting treasures of gold and silver.
Yuhyeon hid behind a rock, out of the goblins' line of sight, and spoke cautiously.
"...Are those really goblins?"
Given the question, the correct answer should have been 'yes.'
"R-Right? Are goblins normally that big?"
However, the Golden Goblins looked quite different from the ones they were used to seeing in the hunting grounds.
Normally, they would only reach a human's leg, but these were tall enough to reach one's shoulder.
Their builds were so stout they were reminiscent of great warriors, and their fangs were as sharp as awls.
"Aren't they supposed to be green?"
The most crucial difference was their skin color.
When one thought of goblins, 'green' usually came to mind, but strangely, these were blue.
And not a bright blue, but a moldy-looking blue.
I'd at least understand if they were yellow.
Besides, why were they so big, and why were their eyes so bloodshot?
He couldn't find any features that reminded him of a goblin.
"It's a characteristic of Golden Goblins."
Kain, the only one with experience with Golden Goblins, said calmly.
"They're bigger and stronger than the common species."
Being level 30, it was natural for them to be larger than regular goblins.
They needed to be that big to be able to protect the storage from users.
"But their skin..."
However, it was the first time he had seen them with bloodshot eyes and blue skin.
I think they were yellow before. Or were they not?
He remembered their skin being yellow when he came to clear this quest three years ago.
And they hadn't stared with such crazed, bloodshot eyes either.
"Well, what does their skin color matter? They're still just goblins."
Who cared if a goblin's skin was yellow or blue?
Whether they were a bit bigger or shot out a blood-red glare, a goblin was still a goblin.
They were never a match for users in the first place.
"...Shall we go then?"
"Ah, just a moment."
As Yuhyeon drew his sword, Kain gestured for him to wait.
"I want to try using this before we start the battle."
He then reached into his backpack and began rummaging for something.
The item he pulled out of his backpack was none other than incense.
"...Incense?"
It was a spiral-shaped incense that looked like a mosquito coil.
"It's sleeping incense."
"Sleeping incense? What are you going to do with that?"
Kain said with a wide grin.
"Just as the name suggests, I'm going to put the monsters to sleep."
A look of confusion flickered in Yuhyeon's eyes.
"Put them to sleep?"
...So why was he trying to put the goblins to sleep?