Chapter 31
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Evolution Vein
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Earth Korea User Management Team.
Thats it, right?!
That weapon was in Edenhark?!
The management team staff lost themselves in awe at the majesty of the restored bow.
How many people wouldnt recognize that bow?
Red Dragon set.
Dragon weapons were rare items even within New World.
The reason was the set effect.
Equipping all the unique armor and weapon granted a set effect close to legendary grade.
And such a dragon weapon had been found in Edenhark, known as the beginner zone.
Its insane... The rest of the set isnt with another user, is it?
Yeah, probably.
Currently, all the armor excluding the Red Dragon weapon had gone to another user.
Finding just the weapon would have activated the set effect, but that hope had fizzled out.
If we sell it to that user, we could get an insane price.
Yeah. With just the weapon, theyd get the set effect, so theyd pay anything.
Jealous... With that, youd pocket at least a years salary, right?
A year? If you really wanted, you could get 5-6 years worth.
Gasp!
Earth Koreas average annual salary was around 310 million won.
Unmatched by any other company.
5-6 years of that meant a single game item fetching 1.5-1.8 billion won.
Unique items typically sold for 50-100 million on average.
But the Red Dragon weapons value transcended grade.
So, theyll try to sell that weapon?
Probably? Theres only one user who collected the Red Dragon set minus the weapon.
A hugely famous user.
Shinwa Guilds Bowmaster Lee Hwarang.
He had gathered every piece of armor except the bow.
So theyd sell it to him for a kings ransom.
Oh! Then they could buy tons of other items.
Pretty much.
Man, what a windfall!
The staff buzzed with speculation about the users next moves.
...It was real!
Oh Jin-sus eyes widened at the bow.
Red Dragon Bone Bow.
To think hed snagged one of the bows wielded by the Divine Archer Richard.
From what I remember, heroes weapons can evolve.
It wasnt just the set effect.
Any user whod studied New World history knew that weapons which evolved as their heroes vanished were backed up early on and scattered across the world.
Oh Jin-su had crammed it for his job interviewit had even come up in the actual questioningso it stuck with him.
If... the plan is to evolve that weapon?
Given the users moves so far, even something that ridiculous might be possible.
Jeong Hoon entered the mine with Yorden.
Epic Quest: Mine
-Restriction: User possessing the restored map
-Reward: ?
-Description: You have entered the mine indicated by the map. Claim the mines treasure.
The treasure hunt wasnt over yet.
With the Red Dragon Bone Bow secured, the next step was evolution work here.
That was the final reward of this linked quest.
The mines interior was pitch black and vast beyond sight.
Without the artifact, he wouldnt have seen a thing ahead.
Before his regression, when Jeong Hoon had come, artifacts lined the walls, keeping it lit 247 year-round.
But it wasnt famous yetno development at all.
Come here!
Yorden led him to the mines far end.
A wall blocked it, but the backpack-like detector was reacting there.
Been a while here too.
Jeong Hoon approached the wall.
He pulled the map from his inventory.
A wall that brute force couldnt breach.
The restored map was required to pass.
It was designed that way from the start.
Huh? Whatre you doing?
Gotta open it.
With that, Jeong Hoon pressed the map to the wall.
A change occurred.
One who possesses the qualifications opens the door.
Blue text appeared on the wall as a small rune glowed, and the rock slid smoothly aside, revealing a new space.
What in the world!
Yordens jaw dropped in shock.
Lets go in.
Jeong Hoon stepped inside calmly.
Yorden followed.
What is this place?
He began scanning the surroundings with the detector.
But moments later, his body went rigid.
Grrr.
A massive, pudgy frog-like lizard glared at them, eyes bulging.
Lv.60 Baby Dragon
A Lv.60 Baby Dragon.
Jeong Hoons level was 33.
Yordens was 35.
Faced with a monster nearly double their levels, Yorden froze stiff.
Step aside.
Jeong Hoon nocked the Red Dragon Bone Bow, drawing the string.
A red mana arrow materialized from nothing.
Arrow activates.
Arrow
-Type: Active
-Level: 1
-Grade: Rare
-Consumes 1 mana to increase arrow attack power by 20.
Boosted by Unyielding Wills grade to Rare, the arrows attack power had doubled.
Jeong Hoon drew the string taut, aiming at the Baby Dragon.
Alright, lets check the damage.
His first real weapon since regressing.
Time to see its firepower.
Jeong Hoon released.
Pew-shooook!
The arrow whistled sharply, arcing in a parabola.
It speared straight through the Baby Dragons head.
Critical hit!
Critical chance was 2-2.5.
One might call it lucky, but no.
Crit chance merely aided procs without vitalsbut hitting the vital spot guaranteed 100.
And the arrow had nailed the Baby Dragons vital: between the eyes.
A normal arrow wouldnt pierce the hide, but this was from the Red Dragon Bone Bow.
Attack power 156 plus arrows 20: a whopping 176.
Kek!
The Baby Dragon toppled sideways without a fight.
Dead.
Uh... Huh?
Yorden blinked between Jeong Hoon and the corpse in bewilderment.
He approached, inspected it, and let out an awed gasp.
One arrow to drop a Lv.60 monster.
Up close, the arrow had punched through the brow into the brain.
Yeah... no surviving that.
Who the hell is this guy?
Even the best bow depended on the wielder.
A lower-level outsider displaying this power...
First time chills from flawless archery.
Well, secondbut that archer from long ago in Edenhark couldnt match this.
Lets keep going.
Jeong Hoon, slayer of the beast, moved on without a flicker.
No waya Baby Dragon? One-shots a Lv.60 and acts like its nothing?
Normally, youd be thrilled or at least smile.
Nothing from Jeong Hoon.
Just pressed forward.
Hed sensed it with the mapthis outsider was no ordinary soul.
Yorden trailed him, studying closely.
Pew-shooook!
The arrow whistled, piercing another Baby Dragons head.
Critical hit!
One-shot again.
Level up.
All stats 1.
Bonus stat 1 granted.
Level rose to 34.
...Words fail me.
Yorden clapped rapturously from behind at the perfect marksmanship.
Sixth Baby Dragon felled in one shot.
Looks like thats all.
Thats it? Shouldnt we search more?
Nope. Exactly six Baby Dragons here.
Treasure seekers had to hunt all six.
No different this time.
Jeong Hoon and Yorden soon reached the mines terminus.
There lay the treasure.
Vein of Evolution
Not just any vein.
One packed with epic-grade evolution stones.
First to discover Vein of Evolution! 2,000 achievement points granted.
Stones mineable from vein: 1.
He itched to take them all, but the quest limited it to one.
Jeong Hoon pried out a single stone.
Quest completed!
Acquired Evolution Stone.
Visit a smithy to use the stone.
Not instant use.
Had to extract the stones energy and infuse the weaponrequiring a blacksmith versed in enchanting.
Luckily, Edenhark had one.
Whoa, this is nuts!
Yorden gawked at the glittering vein, eyes spinning.
He whipped out a pickaxe and started mining an evolution stone.
Can obtain additional Evolution Stone from NPC.
Jeong Hoon nodded.
The first completer, Lee Hwarang, took 10 stones.
Later runs lacked Yorden, so users settled for one.
Guess I wait.
To snag extras from Yorden.
Though 10 required a condition.
Publish the vein?
Publishing increases reward 10x.
Namely, broadcasting the reward details server-wide.
Lee Hwarang had done so, turning the Edenhark map quest into a national phenomenon.
Yeah.
Whateverusers growing via evolution stones was unchanged.
Jeong Hoon had no plans to meddle with that future.
Reward published.
Published reward posted on New World homepage.
The forums exploded as the reward went public.
Evolution Stones in Edenhark!
-You see this?
Yup, logging in, heading there now.
Wait... arent Evolution Stones like 100 gold each?
Holy crap! Im off!
Gotta find and award whoever got first reward fr.
Evolution Stones ran 100 gold apiece.
Theyd first appeared on Asga Continent, past level 200.
Ultra-rareand now obtainable in beginner-zone Edenhark.
Users swarmed in.
Quest! Give me a quest!
They mobbed the old man for quests.
Really?! Thank you! Thank you!
Tears welled as he handed them out.
The pendant spawned on acceptance.
But spawns were randomyou couldnt touch anothers quest pendant.
Had to find your own spawned one to complete.
But where do we even get this pendant?
No clue.
They made this way too tricky...
Never dreaming they were buried, users just stomped in frustration.