Chapter 5
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Mysterious Old Man
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Usually, quests from NPCs are distinguished by color.
Normal quests show up as white question marks.
Epic quests appear as purple question marks.
A red question mark means it's a "hidden" quest.
Hidden quests only appearand become availablewhen a player fulfills some secret condition.
Their rewards can vary wildly too. Sometimes you get something amazing, and other times it's worse than a regular quest reward.
The NPC standing in front of him fell into the former category.
Jeong Hoon approached the old man and checked out the quest.
Hidden Quest: Mysterious Old Man
-Restriction: One chosen by the old man.
-Reward: Skill Myeongwang Fist Technique
-Description: The mysterious old man is looking to choose a successor for his dojo. Earn his recognition and become that successor.
Yes!
That's the one!
Jeong Hoon cheered inwardly.
He'd cleaned the dojo spotlessbuying cleaning supplies out of pocketjust to unlock this reward.
'I cleaned it really thoroughly. Even a speck of dust, and the old man won't show.'
But something was off.
He'd heard thorough cleaning was the trigger condition, so why had the old man appeared now?
The quest description was a little different too.
Normally, this hidden quest was about resolving the old man's lingering grudge.
'Did I remember wrong?'
Either way, the reward matched exactly what Lee Hwarang had described.
Where did you learn that move you just showed?
The old man showed interest in the PvP match between Jeong Hoon and the lowbie warrior.
That explained why he'd appeared.
There hadn't been a single wasted motion in the fight Jeong Hoon had just put on.
It would have been weirder to find any superfluity in a fight from someone carrying All Master's experience.
"Just self-taught."
Self-taught? Heh heh, what an interesting thing to say.
The old man stroked his snow-white beard.
He was smiling.
For long ages past, he'd had no worthy successor to pass his dojo to, leaving him bound here by regret.
He'd lingered in the dojo for centuries, waiting for someone with potential to show up.
But eventually, no one came at all.
Watching the dojo he'd cherished turn to ruins had filled him with such sorrow.
He'd lost track of time passing like thatuntil Jeong Hoon showed up.
The cleaning had piqued his curiosity at first, but it hadn't seemed worth revealing himself yet.
Then he'd seen the fight with that scrub warrior, and it shook him awake.
'Found him!'
A kid with true successor potentialthe first in ages.
If that boy trained properly, he'd surely reach the pinnacle.
That conviction had drawn the old man out.
"So, what do you want from me?"
...I'd like you to be my successor.
"Your successor?"
That's right. Though there are conditions, of course.
"Conditions? Alright, let's hear them."
Jeong Hoon's eyes lit up with fervor.
He had to snag that hidden skillno matter what.
Just like Lee Hwarang had said, the quest would probably involve promoting the dojo.
Oh ho! My eyes didn't deceive me!
The old man beamed, seeing the hunger in Jeong Hoon's gaze.
'He wants to succeed me this badly! Good thing I stuck around.'
Ding-
You are now performing the hidden quest.
Clean the dojo thoroughly.
...Cleaning?
The old man had appeared early, surebut cleaning was apparently still a required step.
Jeong Hoon nodded in understanding.
Then he grabbed the mop and got to work.
Time in New World flows exactly like on Earth.
Which meant he'd spent an entire day just on mopping the floors.
"Time to head out."
"Yeah."
Ha-jin logged out to match Jeong Hoon's logout time.
It was already 11 p.m.
He'd warned his mom he'd be late, but thinking of her waiting at home naturally quickened his steps.
"Hey, you level up at all?"
"Yeah. 11 now."
"Oh, not badhigher than I figured."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Most people take about two days to hit 10."
There were all sorts of ways to level in New World, but progression was notoriously slow.
How slow? Some players took nearly three months to reach 30.
That was an outlier, of course. Most hit 30 and did their job change quest in one or two months.
"Got lucky."
Jeong Hoon hadn't even spent dedicated time grinding levels.
11 was purely from tutorial rewards.
"Got it. Oh, waitI forgot to ask. What job'd you pick?"
"You sure got right to it."
"Just remembered."
"Martial Artist."
"...Huh? Why pick a trash job like that?"
"It's solid."
Ha-jin couldn't wrap his head around Jeong Hoon's choice.
He'd always known his friend had quirky ideas, but picking a job everyone screamed not to take? That was new.
Still, he wasn't about to argue.
Those "quirky" ideas always had a reason behind them.
"Anyway, I saw Hwarang today."
"Hwarang?"
Jeong Hoon's eyes went wide.
Ha-jin tilted his head, mid-explanation.
"What? You know Hwarang?"
"...Just heard the name."
As if he could forget.
Divine Archer Lee Hwarang.
Used the nickname Hwarang, had celebrity-tier looksfamous enough that any New World player had heard of him at least once.
The pinnacle of archery, the one and only who'd perfectly covered the class's melee weakness.
How'd Jeong Hoon know him? Lee Hwarang was the one who'd told him about the dojo.
Also the bastard who'd planted an arrow in his back at the very end.
Just thinking about that prick still made his teeth grind.
"No need to explain then! Anyway, he showed up in the Kallox region. You should've seen ita level 300 rolling into a starter village full of level 100s. Blew my mind."
"Yeah? Any idea why?"
"Looked like he was searching for something."
That lined up with when Lee Hwarang had gotten his skill.
If he'd been even a little slower, he would've missed the hidden quest from the old man.
He needed to accelerate his schedule.
That way, he could leave the dojo before Lee Hwarang arrived.
"Ha-jin, looks like I'm pulling an all-nighter tonight."
"All-nighter?"
"Yeah."
Jeong Hoon called his mom and let her know he'd be staying out.
Got it. Have fun and come home safe.
Permission granted, easy as always.
She'd respected him as an adult ever since he turned 20.
"Damn... My folks lose it if I'm not home past midnight."
Ha-jin let out a sigh-mixed grumble.
Even after army service, his parents were hopeless worrywarts.
Other families were fine with a quick call or text for a sleepoverno fuss.
Why was his the exception?
"Anyway, I'm heading back to the capsule room."
"Lucky bastard... Alright, see you tomorrow."
"Yeah."
Jeong Hoon returned to the capsule room and logged right back in.
After pulling the all-nighter, he'd finished cleaning every inch of the dojo.
'Whew, that was brutal.'
Restoring a long-neglected dojo to pristine condition was no small task.
Oh! The dojo... it's clean again... sniff.
The mysterious old man gazed around the spotless interior, his eyes turning red.
To him, the dojo was the space he'd devoted his life to.
For someone still bound by regret over lacking a successor even in death, that cleaning alone was enough to win his heart.
"Satisfied?"
Of course. You have outstanding talent, yet you cleaned this filthy dojo without hesitation. It moved me deeply. You're worthy to be my successor.
With the old man's words, the question mark turned into an exclamation point.
'Oh, for real?'
Cleaning had been the condition for his appearance, followed by a quest to revive the dojothat was how you normally got the Myeongwang Fist Technique.
The order was a bit off, but if he could claim the reward anyway...
You have completed the hidden quest.
You have acquired 'Myeongwang Fist Technique.'
Now he had the Myeongwang Fist Technique in hand.
The skill that had covered Lee Hwarang's weakness.
At the same time, "Mysterious Old Man" vanished from above his head, replaced by "Myeongwang Dokgo Jun."
That's right.
The creator of the Myeongwang Fist Technique was none other than the fist art master himself, Myeongwang Dokgo Jun.
Myeongwang Fist Technique Lv.1
-Type: Active
-Grade: Unique
-Deploy the Myeongwang Fist Technique created by Myeongwang Dokgo Jun.
-Can be raised up to 8 stars.
A Unique-grade active skill, no less.
Normal active skills were already excellent at Epic, and this was Unique!
On his first day in New World.
A measly level 11 player had snagged a Unique skill.
Jeong Hoon clenched his fist tight.
"Yes!"
Then... may I ask one final favor?
Another red question mark had popped up above the old man's head.
Jeong Hoon's eyes went wide.
'Back-to-back hidden quests?'
Hidden Quest: Successor of Myeongwang Dokgo Jun
-Restriction: One recognized by Myeongwang Dokgo Jun.
-Reward: Skill Myeongwang Fist Technique Enhancement
-Description: You have become the successor to Myeongwang Dokgo Jun's dojo. Work with him to revive it.
'Something's off... His version was Unique.'
A Unique-grade Myeongwang Fist Technique could stand toe-to-toe with any Legendary skill.
"Enhancing" it was basically the same as upgrading it to Legendary.
Jeong Hoon felt his heart pounding as he clenched his fist again.
Not content with taking the skill Lee Hwarang should've gottenhe'd enhance it to Legendary too?
That meant scoring a Legendary skill right here in Origin Village.
Everything after would be a cakewalk.
Now that a successor is chosen... you know what comes next, right?
"Yes."
Lee Hwarang had been a named NPC from the start.
Of course, he'd kept the Myeongwang Fist Technique a strict secret.
He'd shared a few other dojo skills publicly to draw in players to the abandoned dojo.
That spawned the "Hwarang Dojo" name.
If you're going Martial Artist, head straight to Hwarang's.
-There's a ghost old man there. Get skills from him. Newbies, hit him up for quests and skills ASAP! Rewards range from normal to Epic depending on success rate. Epic's a pain, so just expect normal-grade.
Thanks to Lee Hwarang's promo, Dokgo Jun's dojo boomed.
Over 90 of players walked away with a skill from the old man.
Back before his regression, Jeong Hoon had visited the dojo for exactly that reason.