Episode 209
Swoosh-!
[Experience points increased by 1,020,000.]
[Experience points increased by 1,170,000.]
[Experience points increased by 1,200,000.]
Slash-!
[Experience points increased by 1,170,000.]
[Experience points increased by 1,350,000.]
[Experience points increased by 1,420,000.]
Experience points shot up at a rapid pace with every swing of Hanbit's sword.
The battle unfolding in front of the royal city walls was unfolding in an all-too-one-sided manner.
The situation, where enemies were falling in droves with every swing of the sword, was bewildering even for the enemies.
“Damn it, seriously!”
“What the hell is that!”
“At least chip away at their health before you die, you idiots!”
Players watching from a distance raised their voices, mixing in curses.
And they, too, were not free from death.
Swoosh-!
Crunch—!
A dagger slicing a throat leaving a silver trail, and purple spheres crushing the players' bodies.
The twins, too, were overwhelming presences on this battlefield.
“Useless humans.”
A man observing the situation from the rear stepped forward.
[Alberto]
A name tag floating above his head.
Hanbit knew that name.
'That’s certainly solid information.'
On his way home after finishing his meal, a list arrived from Yeonwoo.
It was a document containing the names and various details of the advance guards they had to be wary of for the time being.
It seemed they had been selected based on their operational areas and personalities.
'He was around rank 9,000.'
Far from being Adventurer A, he was in a position comparable to a Ranger.
However, considering he was 9,000th out of hundreds of millions of players, his confidence was understandable.
Moreover, having just joined the advance guard at the age of 22, he was bound to be full of youthful vigor.
“Don’t waste your money on this and that; just hand over some useful items.”
Alberto beckoned with his hand as if doing a favor.
It meant that since he, as the advance party leader, would show leniency, they should hand over the tribute as they pleased.
Hanbit, looking at this with contempt, lowered his sword and asked,
“Wouldn’t it be better to proceed with the episode instead of
wasting time like this?” “That’s none of your business. Right now, I need to open up this walking treasure chest. So hurry up and give me something before I change my mind. I’m a bit busy.”
He lightly waved his hand toward the castle gate.
A group of women were watching the situation from there.
The reason behind their arrogant tone and behavior was roughly clear. Having
lowered Alberto’s opinion of him even further, Hanbit asked him,
“You’re part of the moderate faction, aren’t you?”
“Right now. Though I’ll be switching to the Holy Faction soon.”
“Why, because of the company?”
“…I guess you were interested in me? Well, that’s understandable. Both my company and I are quite something.”
A few notes were written in Yeonwoo’s profile.
A player who started in Belmora, and an advance party member of Maravita Enterprise who declared affiliation with the Holy Faction.
It appeared he planned to switch factions depending on the company’s direction.
“Are you switching everyone on that side to the Adult Faction?”
“Of course. The Chairman’s decision is absolute. Oh, by the way, even if you wanted to come, you couldn’t. Our scout is picky in many ways.”
Alberto smirked, flicking his fingers.
Meanwhile, Hanbit finished organizing his thoughts.
‘It is clearer now.’
From Hanbit’s perspective, the clear enemy was the forces of the Goddess of Turmoil.
Since the Moderate Faction was in a somewhat ambiguous position, it would be easier to distinguish them if they voluntarily rallied under the Adult Faction.
Not that there was any need to judge them now, since they had already picked a fight.
“Lord Black Dragon, the other side is finished.”
“Shall I handle that?”
The twins, having finished the rest of the cleanup before anyone realized it, approached.
Haneul spun his dagger around and prepared to step forward.
“You guys stay here. We’re going to be fighting people like that from now on.”
“People like that? Aren’t they just a weak advance party?”
“…Are you talking to me?”
Alberto, who had been watching the conversation, wore a bewildered expression.
Then, raising the long black scythe in his hand, he said,
"I don't go easy on kids."
*Swoosh*
—sticky purple heat haze rose along the curved lines of the scythe.
That weapon was also a major source of Alberto's confidence.
Hanbit stepped forward and calmly recited the explanation.
"That is the Scythe of Hunger. It is a rare weapon obtainable in the Forbidden Zone, but it is tricky in many ways. If you touch that heat haze, both the person and the weapon lose their power."
"It is an unpleasant weapon."
"It seems to suit you in a way."
The twins wore expressions as if they were seeing something unpleasant.
That reaction irritated Alberto.
“You guys are really hopeless.”
Whoosh!
Swinging his scythe widely, he took a step forward and approached slowly.
At the same time, a heat haze began to spread widely, clinging to the air.
“Undine.”
Whoosh!
A water spirit appeared at the call and cast a veil around Hanbit and the twins.
“It won’t work. This is a weapon that devours even the advance guards.”
Alberto displayed confidence filled with conviction.
However, Hanbit knew that weapon better than anyone. After all,
he had used it extensively in many cycles.
'I must bring that back.'
The biggest reason he hadn't killed Alberto immediately.
It was to seize that Scythe of Hunger.
This battle was nothing more and nothing less than a test of that weapon as implemented in the game.
Thump—
Hanbit stepped into the area where the heat haze was shimmering.
Crunch—
with a strange sound, a foreign object struck the curtain of water.
The Nebula Sword in his hand was left completely exposed to the heat haze.
“…Is he crazy?”
Alberto wore a bewildered expression at the sight of the Black Dragon, which had walked right into the heat haze of its own accord.
However, the flow of this battle was clearly established in his mind.
Although temporary, the result would be for the Black Dragon’s stats and weapon capabilities to plummet to rock bottom, leaving it in a tin can-like state.
All he had to do was leisurely approach and sever its neck with his scythe. He
certainly thought so.
*Crunch—*
“……?”
Contrary to his prediction, the Black Dragon was moving forward without even a change in expression.
The curtain of water remained unwavering, blocking the heat haze without a single tremor.
Even the iridescent sword exposed to the outside still emitted a radiant sharpness.
“You don’t understand, do you?”
Hanbit, who was approaching, asked the flustered Alberto.
Sensing an ominous premonition, he hesitated and said,
“What have you done?”
“I didn’t do anything. It just happened that way.”
“Such wordplay…!”
Alberto frowned deeply, as if thinking it was a joke.
But Hanbit’s words were sincere.
The power of the spirits blocking the heat haze, and the Nebula Sword, free from its influence.
The answer to this phenomenon was simple.
'It’s hard to discern the difference between compatibility and class.'
Spirits exhibited strengths specific to each element.
Water and Light possessed considerable resistance to debuff-type effects.
In the case of the Nebula Sword, the sheer quality of its materials was so high that it was more than enough to shake off such effects.
“Let’s finish this quickly now.”
“Don’t make me laugh!”
Ta-ta!
Alberto, having kicked off first, charged forward swinging his scythe.
As the vanguard, he intended to overpower his opponent with combat prowess.
That intention and confidence were evident.
However, his opponent was not to be underestimated.
Whoosh!
Reading the obvious move, Hanbit instead dove inward.
Then, thrusting his sword toward the center of gravity of the scythe, which had not yet completed its motion.
“Ugh!”
The scythe bounced back violently with a tremendous impact.
Continuing the motion, his attack headed toward Alberto's wrist.
Swish—!
“……!”
Alberto couldn't even properly react to what happened so quickly.
By the time he turned his gaze again, the multicolored blade had already flown toward his neck.
Swish—!
Alberto met his helpless death.
As his stiffened body crumbled into dust, a message appeared.
[Experience points increased by 5,600,000.]
[Faction points added by 24.]
Perhaps due to the update, the experience points were significantly higher compared to when he killed Adventurer A.
The faction points, which had just been added, also caught his eye.
He would find out how significant this amount was over time.
[You have obtained the Scythe of Hunger.]
'It wasn't a bound item.'
The black scythe, which he had held in his hand just in case.
Since there was a possibility it would have vanished along with Alberto if it had been bound, he utilized the effect of his title.
Just as it had been during Nestor's raid, Hanbit was free from the usage conditions of items.
Consequently, the Scythe of Hunger had no binding items.
Swoosh—
Hanbit put the scythe into his inventory and stood up.
The surroundings were filled with the remnants left behind by dead adventurers.
The twins were already using magical tools to collect them.
'The harvest isn't bad, is it?'
[Level increased by 8.]
[8 Stat Points granted.]
Killing a horde of players resulted in a level increase of 8.
Given the significant experience points required now, this was a surprising gain.
It even made me think that having raiders swarming in might not be so bad after all.
“Wow…”
“What is that?”
“I told you. Chasing the Black Dragon is a crazy thing to do.”
The onlookers watching the battle from a distance reacted in their own ways.
In the meantime, the twins approached.
“Lord Black Dragon, we’re done cleaning up!”
“There wasn’t as much gold as I expected; it was mostly equipment and magic items.”
The gold dropped by about 500 players amounted to 20 million.
It seemed they had stored it in the warehouse in preparation for the battle. Though
, of course, the equipment and magic items they were using themselves couldn't be helped.
In any case, there was no more business left here.
“Let’s move on immediately.”
Hanbit took out the carriage he had received from Kenji.
Boarding with the twins, he immediately set the destination.
Clunk—
the carriage began to move forward at high speed.
The destination was the Northern Frontier.
“Lord Black Dragon, how should we handle the following?”
Noeul asked, glancing back.
There, dozens of carriages were following, seemingly making no effort to hide.
“You can let them. We are going to the same place where Episode 7 takes place in the guidebook.”
“What changes if we start right there? You said we were going there to finish the episode quickly back then, right?”
Haneul asked, recalling what he had heard at the meeting.
Hanbit nodded, showed the map screen again, and said,
“The guidebook always stated that we should move only after receiving instructions from the Examiner. As a result, Episode 7 alone turned into an incredibly long route, traversing dozens of zones one by one.”
“I looked at the community a bit, and Examiner Hylen’s personality seemed really strange. Doesn’t she intentionally torment us if we don’t listen?”
“I deliberately tormented him because he was too obedient. As a result, he ended up needlessly circling the Forbidden Zone. That isn’t the kind of talent the Investigation Team is looking for.”
The Investigation Team’s objective is singular:
to find Erfort.
Regardless of faction or alignment, the team’s role is to search every place likely to be tracking clues to this entity.
Passivity is not required at all for these individuals, who must confront illogical situations and engage in preposterous reasoning.
“Then are you going to enter the Forbidden Zone right away?”
Noeul, who had been listening to the explanation, asked about the plan.
Hanbit shook his head and said,
“No, we can’t enter right now anyway. We can’t leave without the Investigation Team’s permission. Instead, I’m going to handle one of Test Officer Hylen’s tasks on your behalf.” “
If it’s a test officer’s task, does that mean you’re fulfilling the role of the Investigation Team?”
“Well, it’s something similar. I’ll explain it to you first.”
It was a situation that other players who had played through Episode 7 would not have even known about.
It was a problem that should have been resolved before Test Officer Hylen arrived in the Royal Capital.
If the investigation team candidate boldly stepped forward and produced results, it would inevitably earn them a massive bonus.
Clunk—
while the necessary explanation was being delivered, the speeding carriage arrived at its destination.
It was Barheim, a border city in the northern part of the Raven Kingdom.
Stepping out of the carriage, Hanbit approached the castle gate immediately.
“Stop.”
A gatekeeper clad in fur-lined armor stood in his way.
As it was a city with few outsiders, the security was not light.
“What is your business?”
“I am a candidate for the Kingdom’s investigation team.”
“…Yes?”
Hanbit held out his Adventurer Card to the bewildered man.
The names of investigation team candidates become known nationwide the moment of the King’s public announcement.
Barheim, bordering the Forbidden Zone, was bound to be the most sensitive to such news.
“It is an honor to meet all three of you. However, I have not yet received any contact from the investigation team’s examiner…”
The gatekeeper, having checked the official document, immediately bowed respectfully and showed a puzzled reaction.
It was a natural question, given that they had arrived before him.
“I came early to scout the surroundings beforehand. May I take a look at the restricted area?”
“I apologize. We cannot open the path leading to the restricted area without the investigation team’s permission.”
“It’s fine from a distance. I just want to take a look.”
“…I apologize.”
A look of bewilderment crossed the guard’s face, which had seemed to be refusing firmly.
Hanbit knew very well that it wasn’t because of an unreasonable request.
“The passage leading to the restricted area. There is a problem there, isn’t there?”
“Huh? How did you know…!”
The guard, who had reacted inadvertently, quickly covered his mouth.
Watching this, Hanbit grinned and said,
“I can handle that. So please let me see the Marquis.”
