Chapter 44
Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Distributing the Rewards
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Before heading to the fourth Trials' Arena, Hae-jin had spoken with Raffaello.
He told the other party members to buy weapons worth 10,000 black mana stones and use the remaining points on any equipment they hadn't purchased yet.
But from Raffaello's perspective, gaining enlightenment on his own was far more important than that.
So Hae-jin had let Raffaello pick whatever weapon he wanted, handed the rest of the black mana stones over to the Dwarf Elder, and told him to spend the remaining hour gaining enlightenment with his help.
It was for the sake of Raffaello, who would later become a Sage.
He had simply told him to handle the main weapon however he saw fit.
'Whether he picks up a book or a hammer, as long as he hammers away at it properly.'
That was why Hae-jin had told Raffaello to just pick anything, but now he felt a twinge of regret.
If he had known he would end up with the Dwarf Elder Forgemaster Set himself, he would have told Raffaello to pick the book since he already had the hammer.
But the train had already left the station.
Hae-jin could only hope Raffaello got lucky.
That he picked the book instead of the hammer.
With those thoughts, Hae-jin returned to the Dwarf clan's village.
Most players were swapping out their gear to maximize efficiency with their remaining black mana stones.
Hae-jin did the same.
The equipment wasn't something he needed anyway.
He had Joo-hyuk's gear.
So he pondered whose equipment to focus on.
'Originally, I planned to distribute it to the party members who failed to clear the hidden trial...'
Hae-jin had figured it would be lucky if even just Lee Sang alone, or maybe Kwon Na-ye or Raffaello as well, made it.
The Anna he knew could never clear a hidden trial.
That was why he had considered gearing her up, since she got no rewards from the hidden trial.
But even Anna had received hidden trial rewards from this fourth Trials' Arena.
Hae-jin had no choice but to agonize over who to give the gear he had swapped for with his black mana stones.
After much deliberation, Hae-jin made his decision.
"Yeah, I should give it to her."
Hae-jin's eyes snapped open.
As the remaining hour in the fourth Trials' Arena ended, all the surviving players returned to reality.
Sure enough.
The others with him opened their eyes as well.
The first to react was the youngest, Raffaello.
"Hyung-nim, noona! You all worked hard!"
Kwon Na-ye was the first to respond to Raffaello's greeting.
"Yeah, you too, Raffaello."
"Yes, hehe! Noona worked hard too. By the way, Hae-jin hyung-nim."
Raffaello, who had been responding to Kwon Na-ye's greeting, suddenly called out to Hae-jin.
Hae-jin had something to say to Raffaello anyway, so he reacted when the young man called him first.
"Hm?"
"Thanks to the info you gave us, I got a lot out of this fourth Trials' Arena! Thank you!"
"Thanks for what? We're a party that has to survive together anyway."
"Hehe!"
Raffaello beamed happily at Hae-jin's words emphasizing their party bond.
Hae-jin called out to him.
"By the way, Raffaello."
"Yes, hyung-nim?"
"What did you swap your last black mana stones for as a weapon?"
"My last weapon?"
"Yeah."
To Hae-jin, the weapon Raffaello chose in this fourth Trials' Arena was extremely important.
If he had picked the book, then the Dwarf Elder Forgemaster Set he got from the Dwarf Elder would fit him perfectly.
But if Raffaello had picked the hammer?
'Well, we'd have to swap.'
If Hae-jin hadn't inherited anything from Joo-hyuk, he wouldn't have swapped even if Raffaello took the hammer.
He needed to raise his blacksmithing skill proficiency too.
But Hae-jin had no such need.
Since he had inherited something from Joo-hyuk, he didn't need to start building proficiency with the Forgemaster Set from the beginning.
So if Raffaello said he got the hammer, Hae-jin figured he would hand over the Dwarf Elder Forgemaster Set he obtained, and take the hammer Raffaello swapped for.
Right now, there was no one in the current zone for him to equip, but later the current zone would merge with others, and those would merge further, so he would reunite with party members.
He had to prepare for that by having Raffaello assist in repairing party members' gear.
Just like how the Leader Joo-hyuk used to repair party members' gear alongside Raffaello.
Therefore, what Raffaello picked as his final weapon in the fourth Trials' Arena was crucial to Hae-jin.
In response to Hae-jin's question, Raffaello answered.
"That is..."
Raffaello suddenly hesitated.
Hae-jin pressed him.
"That is?"
"The book."
"The book?"
"Yeah. Should I have picked the hammer?"
Raffaello wondered if he had chosen wrong upon seeing Hae-jin's reaction.
Hae-jin chuckled and shook his head.
"No. You chose well."
"Ah! Really?"
"Yeah. I already have a hammer saved up anyway."
"Eh? You do?"
"Yeah. Take these."
Hae-jin handed over the Dwarf Elder Forgemaster Set he had received from the Dwarf Elder to Raffaello.
Raffaello jumped in surprise upon receiving the Dwarf Elder Forgemaster Set.
"Gasp! What is this?"
"What else? The Dwarf Elder Forgemaster Set."
Hae-jin spoke nonchalantly.
But the party members couldn't help but be shocked by Raffaello's following words.
"No, I mean... this is 'Legendary' grade!"
"What?!"
Everyone's faces lit up in shock.
They had no choice.
Before entering the fourth Trials' Arena, the party members had heard a brief explanation from Hae-jin about the item grades they could get from exchanging black mana stones.
The highest grade available for the most black mana stones in the fourth Trials' Arena was 'Heroic'.
So when a higher grade, 'Legendary', was mentioned, they were all stunned.
As they stared in shock, Hae-jin called out to one person.
"Anna."
"Yes?"
"You bought a weapon last, right?"
"Yes, I got the 'Archbishop's Staff'."
'Archbishop's Staff'.
It was the priest staff the Dwarf Elder would exchange for 10,000 black mana stones in the fourth Trials' Arena.
Hae-jin pulled an item from his inventory and handed it to Anna, who had obtained it.
"Take this."
"This is..."
Anna looked at the outfit Hae-jin offered her.
"The 'Archbishop's Robes'."
"Why give this to me...?"
Anna wondered why Hae-jin was looking out for her specifically instead of the others.
It was hard to think he would gear everyone up.
'Hae-jin must have had the same black mana stone limit as us.'
They too had learned most things thanks to the info Hae-jin shared about the fourth Trials' Arena.
From that info, he couldn't have gathered far more black mana stones than them.
Points aside.
'Or maybe there was a way to get extra hidden black mana stones?'
No way.
If there was, Hae-jin wouldn't have kept it from them.
He had shared everything since bringing them into the party as members.
Of course, he still hadn't shared the most important info they needed to know.
In any case, Hae-jin explained why he was gearing up Anna among the party members.
"You'll probably need gear the most in the next Trials' Arena."
"Me?"
Anna pointed at her own face with her index finger.
She wondered what the next Trials' Arena would be like that she needed gear more than the others.
Hae-jin nodded at her question.
"Yes. The next Trials' Arena is a tower you have to climb solo, like the Tower of Job Change from the second Trials' Arena."
"A tower you climb alone?"
"Yes. The others are mostly combat classes, so they can manage with just a weapon and control, but you're a priest class."
"Right? Ah! Yeah."
For a moment, Anna looked like she had something to say in response to Hae-jin's words.
Hae-jin could guess what it was.
She was probably about to mention how he gave her a Job Addition Ticket to become a Holy Knight.
In fact, considering that, Anna might have the biggest advantage in the next Trials' Arena.
Entering with two jobs gave her an edge over players with just one.
But Hae-jin hadn't revealed that fact to the party members yet.
That was why Anna had looked puzzled just now at his words.
With the Job Addition Ticket he gave her letting her gain the Holy Knight job, it was hard to see her as purely priest-class.
Still, she wasn't completely oblivious.
Anna realized Hae-jin had deliberately avoided mentioning the Job Addition Ticket he gave her.
Afterward, Hae-jin told the group that he would slowly explain the fifth Trials' Arena content since there was still time left, so they'd sort it out step by step.
Lee Sang then raised his hand.
"Leader, I have a question."
"What is it?"
"You said we'd learn about the next Trials' Arena as a hidden trial reward, but aside from gear-related stuff, I didn't get anything like that."
Hae-jin had expected this question.
At first, to avoid hassle explaining how he got the next Trials' Arena info, he had just said it was from a hidden trial reward.
Until now, only Hae-jin had gotten hidden trial rewards.
But in this Trials' Arena, every party member had cleared the hidden trial.
So naturally, they noticed it didn't match what Hae-jin had said.
Sure enough.
Reactions poured in at Lee Sang's question.
"Huh, now that you mention it..."
"Yeah, right?"
"Why didn't we get info on the next Trials' Arena?"
Hae-jin hesitated here.
He had one excuse ready.
Claim it was info only available from clearing hidden missions starting from the first Trials' Arena.
But Hae-jin thought.
'Maybe I should just tell them?'
In truth, Hae-jin had considered revealing his story with Joo-hyuk a bit further into the Trials' Arenas.
He figured he would share it only after they had been with him long enough to build perfect trust.
The Leader Joo-hyuk, who had regressed hundreds of times.
And how they had regressed alongside him, and finally how Hae-jin himself had shouldered everything.
But seeing everyone clear the hidden mission this time, Hae-jin had a change of heart.
'With this, they must trust me plenty by now, right?'
Even while explaining the hidden trial in this Trials' Arena, Hae-jin had thought.
'They might not believe me, or even if I tell them the methods, it might not be easy to follow through.'
So he had expected at best Lee Sang might clear it, but seeing the entire party succeed, it seemed he had more trust than anticipated.
Finally, after agonizing, Hae-jin spoke up.
"From now on, I'm going to tell you all one story about myself."