Chapter 148
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Warrior's Trial
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To enter the next village from the Merhen Kingdom, one had to use the portal located in the north.
And guarding that portal were knights from the Merhen royal castle.
They were all people he had gotten acquainted with at the banquet, raising glasses of alcohol.
"Oh, isn't this the hero?"
NPC Info
-Nickname: Ferner
-Level: 175
-Job: Merhen Kingdom Knight
Ferner recognized Jeong Hoon and greeted him warmly.
"Are you feeling better now?"
"Haha, I really thought I was done for back then, but I'm perfectly fine now!"
"That's a relief."
"You're leaving now?"
"Yes."
As Jeong Hoon exchanged a few words with Ferner, all eyes suddenly turned their way.
"Huh? The hero?"
"An NPC striking up a friendly conversation first?"
"There's all kinds of stuff in this world."
The waiting users looked at Jeong Hoon with curious eyes.
'Halt! Only those who qualify may passform a line!'
They were NPCs who had given strict orders in cold voices to everyone else, so it was no wonder they were surprised.
Ferner noticed the situation and cleared his throat before returning to his post.
"......Um, how exactly did you get on friendly terms with the NPC?"
One of the users in front of Jeong Hoon asked with eyes full of curiosity.
A level 205 archer who had completed their third job change.
"You just need to complete the Merhen royal castle quest."
"The royal castle......?"
"Yes."
A quest at the royal castle?
He had come to the Merhen Kingdom after hearing that the previously inaccessible castle had recently been opened.
But there were no NPCs giving out quests anywhere in the castle.
"Next!"
He was curious about what that meant, but it was his turn now.
The archer reluctantly stepped through the portal.
Next up was Jeong Hoon.
"Where are you headed?"
"Leas."
"I see. Good luck to you."
"Thank you."
Ferner observed the formalities as a knight.
Jeong Hoon returned the greeting and passed through the portal.
At that moment.
Ha-jin and Kim Bong-gu were relentlessly subjugating the Lord Wyvern.
Lv. 220 Lord Wyvern.
Unlike regular bosses, it was a raid boss with an absurd amount of health.
It took at least a full day to take one down.
In fact, that was on the shorter side.
There were countless raid parties that failed after days of sleepless attempts.
"......Bong-gu, let's take a break and then continue."
"Yes......"
As they progressed through the subjugation, Ha-jin had started speaking casually to Kim Bong-gu.
Kim Bong-gu, on the other hand, still treated Ha-jin with utmost respect.
Both their faces were etched with exhaustion.
They had been subjugating Lord Wyverns non-stop.
In doing so, they had each successfully gained one level.
The problem was, how long would it take at this rate to hit level 201 and do their third job change?
"That guy Hoon...... How the hell did he level up to 201 so fast?"
"Brother Jeong Hoon is a monster. A monster......"
"Couldn't agree more."
"Hoo, but we can't exactly go in there ourselves, can we?"
When subjugating one Lord Wyvern, the number of elixirs dropped was fixed at five, no matter how many people were in the party.
As a result, they were distributed based on contribution ranking, and from sixth place onward, you had to settle for just the subjugation experience.
"Should we just try it with the two of us?"
"......Wouldn't that mean at least three straight days of all-nighters?"
"We'll go insane. Does it even make sense for him to expect us to do the same...... How did that guy Hoon even take it down?"
It was astonishing just watching the HoneyTube video, but actually subjugating a Lord Wyvern themselves made Jeong Hoon seem like he was on another level entirely.
"......That's exactly what I'm saying."
Kim Bong-gu let out a deep sigh.
Just because he could do it didn't mean everyone else could.
"Hoo, but we can't exactly skip it either."
There's a saying in New World: it all starts at level 201.
Why from 201 when leveling gets ridiculously hard?
Because from that point, explosive growth is possible depending on how you set your direction.
Jeong Hoon could probably achieve that explosive growth.
That's why they needed to level up faster and catch up to him.
'If we're with Hoon, we can achieve explosive growth too.'
This wasn't the time to rest.
Ha-jin stood up from his seat.
"Where are you going?"
"While we wait for the raid party to fill up, I figured I'd hunt some regular Wyverns."
"Wyvern hunting......?"
Kim Bong-gu's face turned pale.
How long had it been since they finished the last Lord Wyvern subjugation?
Just seeing a Wyvern now made him want to vomit.
"Yeah. If we cut rest time and pour it into hunting, leveling will speed up a bit."
Ignoring him, Ha-jin dragged Kim Bong-gu off to subjugate Wyverns.
'Ah...... This guy's not right in the head either.'
He regretted momentarily thinking Ha-jin was a safe haven.
Free City of Leas.
Leas was a city with a slightly different concept from medieval towns.
Instead of a lord, each territory was ruled by representatives of various jobs, and the free citizens residing there had to pay taxes periodically.
"Leas......"
The central area of Leas was called the "City of Peace," where the rulers had formed a pact to belong to no particular faction.
The center was a bustling commercial hub, and it wasn't an exaggeration to say merchants held the real power.
Users and NPCs roamed the streets freely.
"You, where you headed?"
"Archer's City. You?"
"I'm going to Rogue's."
Users arriving in Leas would stock up on necessary items in the center before heading to their job-specific cities.
This was because they provided the quests, experience, and hunting grounds needed to grow from level 201 to 250.
Come on, now that we're here, restore me first!
Muk-ho nagged Jeong Hoon relentlessly, as if he'd been waiting for this moment.
"I got it, so calm down."
The Light Stone obtained from Virsin.
However, using that stone required certain conditions.
'I need to build up trust with a blacksmith who can handle the stone before commissioning them.'
If you just show up out of nowhere, you'd get turned away.
His comrades had shared their experiences while looking at the ruined Leas, including one who got rejected by a blacksmith.
You're not planning to go straight there, are you?
Muk-ho asked in an anxious voice when Jeong Hoon didn't give a firm answer.
This perceptive guy.
"Yeah. To commission them, I need to build up some trust first."
Ha......
"Blessings come to those who endure."
What's that supposed to mean?
"It's a proverb from my country."
......I'll endure a bit longer.
"Good thinking."
Jeong Hoon headed to the "Warrior's Holy Land."
To enter the Warrior's Holy Land in the Warrior's City, one had to pass a sort of qualification exam.
"Hold it."
Two warriors guarding the city entrance blocked Jeong Hoon.
NPC Info
-Nickname: Lukes
-Level: 230
-Job: Barbarian
NPC Info
-Nickname: Ram
-Level: 230
-Job: Barbarian
Both were Barbarians.
They carried massive axes on their backs and had hulking muscles barely covered by monster hidesbarbarians through and through.
A question mark blinked above Lukes' head.
General Quest: Warrior's City
-Restriction: Users with Strength 250
-Reward: Warrior's City access unlocked
-Description: Pass Lukes' trial to gain entry permission to the city.
The requirement to receive the Warrior's City entry quest was Strength 250 or higher.
Even non-warriors could enter if they completed the quest.
And Jeong Hoon met that requirement.
Detailed Stats
-Strength: 283(28) - 311
-Agility: 276(29) - 305
-Vitality: 270(29) - 299
-Defense: 261(25) - 286
-Wisdom: 251(25) - 276
-Mana: 400(40) - 440
-Holy Power: 400(40) - 440
-Mental Strength: 246(27) - 273
Stats gained upon reaching level 203.
Bonus stats were evenly distributed between Mana and Holy Power to reach 440.
With all stats now over 250, he could undertake entry quests for every city.
Jeong Hoon immediately accepted the quest.
"What, you wanna pass through here?"
Lukes' lip curled into a smirk.
"Yes."
As Jeong Hoon nodded, Lukes gripped the handle of the axe on his back and swung it.
Whoosh-
Jeong Hoon deployed his movement technique to dodge the axe.
Boom!
The axe embedded itself where Jeong Hoon had stood.
Aura flickered at the blade's edge.
"Then just withstand ten of my attacks. If you do, I'll let you in."
"Sounds good."
Ten times? Simple enough.
"Arrogant fool!"
Lukes bellowed, channeling mana into his legs.
Lukes uses Leg Stomp.
He kicked off the ground, leaping at Jeong Hoon and bringing his axe down with full force.
Lukes uses Overhead Smash.
Whoosh!
Leviathan was now in Jeong Hoon's hand.
He angled Leviathan obliquely, deflecting Lukes' axe aside.
Screeech- Boom!
"How?!"
Lukes' pupils trembled in shock.
He'd swung to make him dodge, not expecting him to parry the axe aside with a sword.
And he wasn't even a warrior.
A Martial Artist.
The kind who eked out a living in corners, throwing punches because they lacked power.
"I figured just dodging would be no fun."
Jeong Hoon pointed Leviathan's tip at Lukes as he spoke.
At that moment, Lukes' lip twisted into a grin.
"Cocky bastard. Fine, let's up the ante. If you can land even a single scratch on me with that sword, I'll let you through immediately."
He added an option.
He had to teach this damn Martial Artist a lesson.
"Oh, that sounds even better."
Jeong Hoon nodded and deployed his movement technique.
He closed in on Lukes in an instant.
"What?!"
He hadn't even sensed his presence properly.
Lukes hurriedly raised his axe to push Jeong Hoon back.
But Jeong Hoon's sword was a beat faster.
First Form: Stance activated.
Slash.
He executed the first form of Annihilation Sword, slicing Lukes' shoulder.
"Urk!"
Lukes groaned and swung his axe.
Jeong Hoon used his movement technique to create distance, then stored Leviathan in his inventory.
"It's over."
"Did I...... lose?"
Lukes touched his shoulder.
Seeing the blood on his hand, he let out a disbelieving chuckle.
An exclamation mark blinked above his head.
You have completed the quest.
Warrior's City entry restriction lifted.
Lukes was never a match for Jeong Hoon to begin with.
Level 230.
Meaning his detailed stats were around that level too.
Meanwhile, Jeong Hoon's Strength and Agility had long surpassed 300.
"I'll head in."
As Jeong Hoon stepped forward, Ram awkwardly stepped aside.
Only after he was gone did Ram check on Lukes.
"Hey, Lukes. You okay?"
"......I really lost, right?"
"Yeah. You lost."
"To a guy even lower level than me......?"
"Yeah."
"......I must be dreaming right now."
Lukes couldn't easily accept his overwhelming defeat.
As befitting the Warrior's City, it was filled with all sorts of warriors besides them.
The ruler resided in the Warrior's Holy Land.
It was a must-visit for users with warrior jobs.
The Holy Land was located in the city centera grandly built temple.
Countless users milled about in front of it.
"Hey, you get the quest?"
"Yeah. Took me two weeks to clear it, and the next one's even more brutal."
"That's how it always is. But you gotta clear it to unlock relic crafting."
"Ha...... This is such a pain in the ass."
"Skip it and your DPS drops, making monster hunts harder. No choice but to do it."
"Yeah......"
Jeong Hoon entered the Holy Land while listening to the users' conversation.
Inside, over ten NPCs were handing out quests to users, but one NPC alone watched the scene with a bored expression.
NPC Info
-Nickname: Verd von Rudheim
-Level: 350
-Job: Leader of the Warrior's City
A handsome man in his early to mid-30s with silver hair and red eyes.
He was the city's leader and a SwordmasterVerd von Rudheim.
Jeong Hoon passed the NPCs with question marks blinking above their heads and approached him.
"Lord Verd."
When he called out, Verd looked at Jeong Hoon.
"Hm? Who are you?"
"Do you know anything about this fragment?"
What Jeong Hoon pulled out was the "Fragment of the Old Warrior's Mark" he had received from Charlotte, Isaac's wife.
"......Where did you get that?"
At that moment, a question mark blinked above Verd's head.
It was a red question mark.