Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 66
>Chapter Title: A Flicker of Red
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[Player: Kaiser]
>[Level: 27]
>[HP: 4,680 / 4,680]
>[MP: 1,150 / 1,150]
>[Stamina: 700 / 700]
>[Class: Last Adventurer [Successor of Kashyar]]
>[Titles (7)]
>- Max Affinity from the Start?
>- First Slayer
>……(Expand)
>[Stats]
>[Strength: 80(+64)] [Agility: 55(+62)]
>[Stamina: 5(+63)] [Senses: 37(+61)]
>[Mana: 5(+59)]
>Remaining Points: 25
“Wow…… Even I have to admit, this doesn’t make any sense.”
Thanks to dumping 10 points into each, his Strength had reached a whopping 144, while Agility and Senses both exceeded 100.
His Stamina and Mana were on par with any average same-level mage or tank.
And yet, he still had 25 points left over. Who would believe that? Even if he took a screenshot and posted it online, people would call it photoshopped.
‘It’s heading exactly in the direction I wanted.’
It was proof that he was firmly on the path he’d envisioned ever since awakening his class—the path of the all-master.
Jack-of-all-trades builds were either omnipotent monsters that devoured every class or worthless half-assed nobodies. There was no in-between.
Objectively speaking, Do-hyun fell squarely into the former category.
‘And this isn’t even the end.’
But it wasn’t over yet.
Achieving S-rank hadn’t just given him a title. There were differential rewards based on performance for users who cleared their graduation quests.
Right now, S-rank rewards of Heroic grade were equipped on Do-hyun’s body.
[Black Raven Spear]
>[Grade: Heroic]
>[Description: A spear containing the black essence of the first city, Raven.
>It has exceptional mana sensitivity, drawing out the power of its essence to enhance Mana and Strength.]
>[Level Restriction: 24]
>[Equip Restriction: None]
>[Physical Attack: 194~208]
>[Magic Attack: 190~200]
>[Durability: 100 / 100]
>[Special Option: Magic damage +5%]
>[Special Option: Increases penetration; +1% Attack Power for 30 seconds when piercing an enemy (max 6 stacks)]
[Black Raven Earring]
>[Grade: Heroic]
>[Description: An earring containing the black essence of the first city, Raven.
>It has exceptional mana sensitivity, drawing out the power of its essence to enhance Mana and Senses.]
>[Level Restriction: 24]
>[Equip Restriction: None]
>[Magic Resistance: 40]
>[Durability: 50 / 50]
>[Special Option: Magic casting speed +4%]
>[Special Option: Magic skill power +6%]
They were all Heroic-grade, which was great, but the true value of these two pieces lay elsewhere.
[Raven Trial Set]
>-2-Set: Piercing an enemy reduces their movement speed by 4% (max 5 stacks).
>Hitting with magic dissipates the enemy’s mana proportional to damage dealt.
A rare set effect that activated with just two pieces.
And its performance was insane.
Movement speed reduction and mana dissipation weren’t just useful for hunting—they were crucial in sieges and PvP too.
‘Mana dissipation will be a total nightmare in PvP.’
Raid bosses with massive mana pools aside, most players constantly struggled with mana shortages.
Landing a spell that burned away their mana in that situation? Devastating.
Pierce to slow them down, then hit with magic to drain their mana dry……
‘Designed to troll the hell out of opponents, huh?’
The intent to make enemies rage-quit was obvious.
It might not seem like much on paper, but getting hit by it would piss anyone off.
The problem was, unless you were a spear mage, it was practically impossible to make use of both pieces.
But this time was the exception.
-Equip Restriction: None.
No equip restrictions on the spear or earring.
Weapons without restrictions were rare even if you scoured all of Godose. And these were Heroic-grade to boot. A graduation reward worthy of the name.
‘A mage would get the most mileage out of them.’
They’d cover the weakness in close combat while maximizing the options.
Not that it mattered to Do-hyun.
With stats this broken, he could claim to be a mage the moment he learned a single spell.
Shrieeek! Rot!
Had he stayed still too long?
An orc charged in from the left with a roar befitting its nickname, and Do-hyun swiftly pressed Thousand Changes against the spear.
Light flowed from Thousand Changes, devouring the spear whole.
[Thousand Changes devours ‘Black Raven Spear’. Devour successful.]
>[Thousand Changes transforms into ‘Black Raven Spear’.]
Do-hyun swung the now black, razor-sharp spear in a wide arc, his footwork tracing a graceful circle. A fluid line sliced through the air.
But what was surprising was how the horizontal sweep suddenly halted its rotation and shot forward in a straight line.
[Judged as first attack: ‘First S-Rank’ effect activates.]
>[Deals 18% additional damage.]
>[Penetration increases.]
>[Enemy pierced: +1% Attack Power for 30 seconds.]
>[Set effect: Enemy movement slowed.]
>[Orc defeated.]
“Feels good in the hand.”
And that was it.
Shhh……
The orc, heart impaled, let out a deflating wheeze as it collapsed.
Do-hyun left the pathetically fallen orc behind and swung the spear again. This time, an orc ambushing from the opposite side had its throat slit.
[Judged as first attack: ‘First S-Rank’ effect activates.]
>[Deals 18% additional damage.]
>[Orc defeated.]
Having dispatched two orcs in an instant, Do-hyun scanned his surroundings.
Silhouettes retreated into the fog. The orcs were fleeing after watching their comrades drop.
Do-hyun clicked his tongue.
“These bastards are running away now, huh.”
- Isn’t that just instinct, Master? I’d run too.
“I don’t wanna hear it from the guy who told me to stop after kneeing him.”
- ……Hey, that was ages ago. I really got hit wrong that time, okay? Thinking back, it wasn’t my knee—it was higher up, real deep.
“What’re you on about? Anyway, monsters these days got no grit. Right, Eliza?”
-Riza?
Do-hyun ignored Eliza tilting her head with an innocent look and sheathed Thousand Changes at his waist.
Truth be told, it was only natural.
[Death aura thickens; fog grows denser.]
>[Orc flee chance increases.]
‘Yeah, was wondering when this would pop up.’
A message absent in Raven.
But one he’d seen to death in Demlock. That hyper-realistic place had monsters that fled as a baseline—and backstabbed too.
It’d be weirder if Godose, with its superior AI, didn’t have a system like this.
‘No wonder they say Brion’s the real deal starting here.’
Do-hyun didn’t know it, but this wasn’t common even in Brion.
Most users clustered in the fetid rock forest since that’s where job quests started. If someone monopolized it, what would happen?
Countless users would get blocked from their quests.
This system prevented excessive monopolization—which meant you had to farm so aggressively you’d get mistaken for a monopolizer for it to trigger.
“Let’s head deeper.”
- ……You don’t believe me again, do you? Huh? Where’s everyone…… Now you’re just ignoring me.
-Riza!
Unaware, Do-hyun’s group had only one choice.
Push further in.
With the orcs fleeing inward, they had no option but to follow.
After several skirmishes while advancing……
“Wow…… Who the hell is that guy? Orcs just drop with a flick.”
“Fuck, hacks?”
“Hacks in Godose? Nah, but he’s strong enough to suspect.”
“But what’s this death aura? Guild alert? Why’s it popping?”
“Goddamn, which guild shat up the place?”
“Can’t see shit. Let’s bail.”
Ignoring the noisy players, how long had they marched at high speed?
Thanks to the thickening fog—or maybe going too deep—the chattering users gave way to orc silhouettes welcoming them.
-Brion Nearby Monster Kills [249 / 1,000]
“Phew.”
Do-hyun finally halted, having surpassed his 100-orc goal to reach 249.
Not just because he’d hit the mark.
Nor was it a cheap break to recover his Stamina, now down to the 150s.
[Remaining Playtime: 00:03:47]
‘Already this low.’
Playtime was nearly up.
Makes sense—today had been packed.
Cleared Raven graduation, got Eliza, hit ranking 1, main quest progress.
And 249 orcs to boot.
‘Went kinda hard.’
Do-hyun nodded, satisfied that the 10-hour grind felt worth every second, then glanced back.
-Hm?
-Riza?
Jihad met his eyes, Eliza tilting her head atop Jihad’s shoulder.
Friends through and through—identical reactions.
“Why’re you staring like that, Master? Did you hear something?”
“? Hear what?”
“Nothing.”
Do-hyun frowned at the pair’s consistent weirdness, and Jihad pointedly looked away.
-Riza……
Was Eliza’s sigh one of relief? Probably imagining things.
Do-hyun shook his head.
“I gotta log out soon.”
“Huh? Already?”
“Not ‘already’. It’s been 10 hours.”
“Oh…… Yeah, it has been a while.”
Jihad’s expression was odd.
Hard to read—like something bittersweet. Do-hyun felt a similar vague mood.
‘Thought he’d be thrilled. What’s with that reaction?’
Yesterday at logout, the guy could barely hide his grin.
Had they bonded over the day?
[Loyalty: 30 / 100]
Loyalty at 30 now—plausible.
But Jihad’s next words shattered that thought.
“So what about Eliza?”
“Hm?”
“Does she go to another world like me, Master?”
“Another world?”
Do-hyun tilted his head, then realized with an ‘ah’.
‘Talking about the Guardian Room, huh.’
When users logged out, guardians moved to the Guardian Room.
A perfectly logical system to prevent guardians wandering alone, dying, or causing issues without their user.
Eliza, being a guardian, would go there too.
“Probably. Why?”
- ……Yeah. Never mind.
Which only deepened Do-hyun’s confusion.
He wouldn’t ask something he didn’t know—it had to be something else, but what?
“What’s up? You don’t like it there? Your reaction says it wasn’t great.”
Loyalty had shot up plenty after all.
Jihad shook his head as if to agree, but replied with a slightly downcast face.
“Just…… we only met recently. Kinda bummed.”
-Riza…… Rizariza!
“Ah.”
Eliza’s eyes sparkled as if touched, rubbing her face against Jihad’s cheek in affection.
‘Right, first time in 150 years for them.’
Do-hyun finally got it and chuckled.
The opportunistic backstabber he’d seen—who constantly eyed his neck—feeling sad at parting? Who knew.
‘Hard to believe he forgot 150 years.’
If a guy like that forgot, something had to have intervened.
Curious, but he’d just deny it anyway, and now wasn’t the time. Do-hyun shelved it.
“Eh, I’ll be back soon. So, uh, don’t sweat it.”
Jihad’s ears perked at Do-hyun’s awkwardly cringe consolation.
- ……How soon?
“Around this time tomorrow?”
“Got it, Master.”
Did it help?
Jihad looked much improved. Unaccustomed to the warm vibe, Do-hyun changed the subject.
“Alright, let’s move.”
“Huh? Logging out already?”
Didn’t he just say not yet?
Do-hyun shot back at Jihad’s puzzled look, as if it was obvious.
“Nah. Even on logout, I’m grabbing one more kill first.”
- ……You’re my master, but damn, you’re ruthless.
-Riza……
Ignoring the guardians, Do-hyun turned.
A true sweatlord maximized every last scrap of time—even short ones.
And the best use of this time? Obvious.
‘249 feels sloppy.’
250 was so much cleaner.
Less than 2 minutes left, but with his specs, plenty for one quick kill.
Do-hyun rose to move—
-Hm? What?
-Riza?
Jihad and Eliza tilted their heads.
-Not going? What’re you…… Looking where, Master? Orcs are that way.
-Rizariza!
“……I know.”
-Know and still……
“Exactly, so shut it.”
Do-hyun was staring blankly into empty space instead of hunting orcs.
Even kindly pointing it out got him a ‘you’re bothering me’ frown, so Jihad pouted.
-Always like this with me.
Do-hyun ignored the mutter.
He didn’t have the bandwidth.
“What’s that?”
-? That? What, nothing there?
-Riza?
The two followed his gaze, baffled.
Just some rocks and this irritating thick fog. Nothing else.
But Do-hyun saw it clearly.
‘Why’s only that rock red?’
Two blood-smeared rocks.
Atop the left one, something small emitting a deeper red glow than blood.
[The Eye of Truth activates.]
The first time the Eye of Truth triggered in Brion.