Chapter 4
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Abandoned Dojo
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The holy land of Martial Artists.
Hall of Martial Arts.
You ignored all the warnings and picked Martial Artist? Fine, head straight here then.
-Head to the Hall of Martial Arts, pick up the quest, complete it, and you'll get an exclusive Martial Artist skill. Plus, your leveling speed will be fast!
Picking Martial Artist was a stupid choice in the first place... but if you're set on walking this path, at least don't half-ass your growth, right?
A must-visit location for explosive early growth as a Martial Artist.
Thanks to those guides, the few beginner Martial Artists compared to other classes all flocked to the Hall of Martial Arts.
But the place Jeong Hoon entered was not the Hall of Martial Arts.
At this point in time, going to the Hall of Martial Arts was the obvious route, but not in the future.
Ownerless Abandoned Dojo
A dojo with no owner, so no one came in or out.
Dust blanketed the wooden floor, and cobwebs draped the ceiling and windows.
The windows were shattered, and the wallpaper had yellowed and rotted away.
"I found it exactly."
Jeong Hoon's lips curled up in a smile he couldn't hide.
The fact that it was this filthy meant he was the first to visit this dojo.
"Shall we start with some cleaning?"
Jeong Hoon stepped outside and headed to the general store.
Cleaning required tools, after all.
No way a crumbling dojo would have usable cleaning supplies.
The slum alley had a general store that sold cleaning tools.
"Welcome!"
The shopkeeper greeted Jeong Hoon warmly.
A lightbulb icon blinked above his head.
It meant he was an NPC who handed out quests to beginners.
But right now, Jeong Hoon wasn't after that quest.
"I'm looking to buy some cleaning tools."
"Oh, yes, yes! The tools are on the second floor!"
The general store had three floors total.
As the biggest one in the slum alley, it had just about everything.
It even sold snacks from around the world.
New World replicated the taste of snacks perfectly, though they didn't fill you upthey just slightly restored your character's stamina.
They were potions, essentially.
Unlike other games, this one let you recover stamina and mana with food.
So there was no harm in stocking up on snacks.
"They're potion substitutes, so I'll grab some too."
Jeong Hoon fetched a basket and loaded it with snacks, drinks, and all the cleaning tools he needed.
He had plenty of gold from the tutorial completion rewards.
"Yes. That'll be 1 silver and 6 pennies."
He'd bought a lot, but it only came to 1 silver 6 pennies.
Jeong Hoon handed over 1 gold.
The shopkeeper looked back and forth between the gold coin and Jeong Hoon in surprise.
Gold was rarely used in Origin Village, so his reaction was natural.
"Please wait a moment."
The shopkeeper excused himself and fetched more silver and pennies from the safe.
In New World's currency, 1 gold exchanged for 20 silvers.
240 pennies.
Meaning 1 gold 20 silvers, and 1 silver 12 pennies.
His change would be 18 silvers and 6 pennies.
"Thank you."
"Yes! Come again!"
Confirming the 18 silvers and 6 pennies in his inventory, Jeong Hoon left the store.
He hurried his steps.
Judging by the dojo's state, he might not finish cleaning even if he dedicated a full day.
It could take two days.
'Jeong Hoon, want me to tell you how I got this?'
'Not really interested.'
'Come on, just hear me out.'
He didn't want to hear it, but the guy had gotten drunk and blabbed about how he got the item.
He brought it up to Jeong Hoon like a brag because Jeong Hoon had visited the dojo too.
Arriving at the dojo, Jeong Hoon started with mopping.
Remove the dust first, then soak the mop in water and scrub the floor several times.
After about 30 minutes of mopping, he felt a presence behind him.
Jeong Hoon turned toward the entrance.
"What the hell, why's it so dirty in here?"
"Oh, there's a place like this out here?"
Two users were peering into the dojo.
Jeong Hoon paused his mopping and looked at them.
Weird.
Beginner users wouldn't normally come to a place like this.
Checking user info.
Player Info
-Nickname: Beginner Slayer 1
-Level: 31
-Job: Junior Warrior (1st Advancement)
User info at the start only showed nickname, level, and job publicly; everything else was private.
You could go into options and set stats, skills, etc., to public one by one, but most left it default with just level and job public.
These guys too.
Jeong Hoon checked the info on the user behind him as well.
Player Info
-Nickname: Beginner Slayer 2
-Level: 36
-Job: Junior Mage (1st Advancement)
This one tooway too high level for hanging around Origin Village.
Jeong Hoon's mind raced.
'Looks like they saw me pay with gold.'
You normally got 10 silvers as reward for finishing tutorial stage 1.
Jeong Hoon had cleared up to stage 5 for 10 gold.
Meaning these bastards had followed him to shake him down for money.
"Any business with me?"
Jeong Hoon plastered on a friendly smile to greet them.
As if he owned the dojo.
"Oh, nothing much. Come here a sec."
The level 31 Junior Warrior beckoned with a finger.
He'd already checked Jeong Hoon's info, and his face was full of confidence.
Player Info
-Nickname: Hoon
-Level: 11
-Job: Martial Artist
And rightly soJeong Hoon's info made him perfect prey.
"Hmm, this about money?"
"Smarter than you look?"
"Hand over everything you got, and we'll leave you alone. Mad? Then PVP it."
The two users sneered.
In New World, player-vs-player combat required PVP consent.
Of course, if one refused, it didn't happen, but these were trash who preyed only on newbies.
Refuse here, and they'd stalk him relentlessly, messing with him nonstop.
"Nah, pass."
Handing over money wouldn't end it once.
Once they marked a sucker, they hounded them until they quit the game.
These bastards had marked him as one.
"Crazy bastard? Hey, accept PVP. Unless you wanna get fucked."
"You're done. We'll make you quit New World."
Their faces twisted viciously.
PVP request received. Accept?
The Junior Warrior had initiated.
Jeong Hoon accepted without hesitation.
PVP starting.
Combat lasts 30 minutes.
PVP began, and the Junior Warrior charged with sword drawn.
The 20-level gap made his movements hard to read.
Still, Jeong Hoon wasn't tense at all.
Experience to bridge that gap was etched into him.
Whoosh!
The bastard swung his sword.
'Left.'
He predicted the sword path from the subtle movements and dodged.
Jeong Hoon evaded perfectly, and bewilderment crossed the Junior Warrior's face.
What the hell?
A level 11 Martial Artist dodged a level 31 sword strike?
Impossible.
"Opening."
Jeong Hoon kicked up at the Junior Warrior's wrist.
"Urk!"
The startled warrior dropped his sword by mistake.
It flew straight into Jeong Hoon's hand.
"Go."
Jeong Hoon thrust it into the warrior's throat.
Vital spot hit accurately.
PVP instant death triggered.
'Beginner Slayer 1' has died. PVP loss penalty applied.
"Guh, guhk!"
Throat pierced, the Junior Warrior convulsed and vanished.
Forced logout.
PVP loss meant 24 hours locked out, penalty depending.
"W-What...?"
The Junior Mage stared blankly at the spot, never expecting his buddy to lose.
"You wanna go too?"
Jeong Hoon aimed the sword at the mage.
"S-Sorry!"
The Junior Mage apologized and bolted.
Jeong Hoon smirked at the fleeing coward.
A guy who lived scamming newbies.
Didn't think he'd have the guts to jump in after seeing the PVP, but nopetail between his legs.
"Pathetic scum."
He'd been getting into the cleaning groove, but now the rhythm was broken.
He grabbed the mop to continue.
Ho, a promising one has arrived.
But on the now-empty floor stood an old man staring at Jeong Hoon.
'Huh? Already?'
Jeong Hoon was inwardly quite surprised.
He'd been cleaning hard to meet this old man.
Mysterious Old Man
A red question mark floated above the old man.
'Guess I didn't need to clean...?'
Jeong Hoon set down the mop and slowly approached the old man.
An apartment in Seoul's Bangbae-dong.
PVP loss.
Penalty applied.
Login banned for 23 hours 59 minutes.
Pssshk-
PVP defeat triggered forced logout, capsule opening.
"Fucking hell!"
Lee Cheol-min cursed as he climbed out.
Still furious, his clenched fist trembled.
"How the fuck did I lose?"
He couldn't comprehend.
He'd hit level 30, done his 1st advancement.
Yet lost PVP to a measly level 11 Martial Artist worm.
Lee Cheol-min called his friend right away.
Han Deok-gu, the Junior Mage who'd watched the PVP.
Yeah, I just logged out too.
Han Deok-gu had expected the call and logged out.
"Fuck... what trick did that bastard pull?"
No other explanation for his loss.
Dunno...
But Han Deok-gu couldn't figure out the Martial Artist's trick either.
"Dunno? How the hell don't you know?"
Han Deok-gu was a 1st advancement mage too.
Even 5 levels higher than him.
What I saw... you dropped your sword and got your throat slit.
"Fuck, I know that."
Anyway, let's leave that guy alone. Something's off.
A level 11 Martial Artist killed a level 31 1st advancement warrior in under a minute.
Something unseen was at play.
Should've realized when the level 11 had gold...
"Fuck... You said he was a newbie? You fucker. Wanna die?"
Why's it my fault? I just said he had gold. You were the one who said to tail him?
"Don't bullshit me. If you hadn't egged me on about him being loaded, I wouldn't have touched him."
Wow, you crazy fuck. Blaming me?
"Whatever! You're taking responsibility! You damn bastard! How am I supposed to wait 24 hours!"
Lee Cheol-min wailed.
Deep in New World addiction, a 24-hour ban was a gut-wrenching penalty.