Chapter 21

Chapter 21 . Danger and Chance (2)

Top Warlord players did not hesitate to do whatever it took to bring out at least a little more of their potential . Their methods of doing so were called Doping Recipes .

Doping Recipes of Rankers even sold for money, and in-game doping potion recipes and materials sold for a rather high price . This was one reason why raids took an enormous sum of money .

An Jaehyun, of course, had his own Doping Recipe . However, he could never sell it for money .

Cling… Cling…

In front of An Jaehyun was a large cup the size of a glass of beer than a coffee mug . 2/3 of the glass was filled with coffee, while An Jaehyun dropped several mysterious white objects into it . These white objects weren’t sugar cubes, but the glucose candy he often ate .

He continued to pour in glucose candy, so much so that he wasn’t putting candy in his coffee, but his coffee soaked in candy . An Jaehyun did not stop until the coffee was on the brink of overflowing . Then, he lightly sipped his coffee . Tasting the mixture of cheap sweetness and cheap bitterness, An Jaehyun frowned .

The reason others didn’t try An Jaehyun’s Doping Recipe was obvious . Although caffeine and sugar were both great for energizing the brain, it was too barbaric .

‘Ugh, too bitter . ’

An Jaehyun himself knew how barbaric his method was . But as he had no money to work with, this was the best method, and its effect was clear . With just a sip, he woke up from his previously sleepy state and his mind became clear .

‘Alright, let’s see what new things happened while I was asleep . ’

Now completely awake, An Jaehyun turned on his tablet PC and began to look through Warlord-related news .

[Hydra Guild, First to Discover Level 100 Monster . Preparing their Hunt . ]

The first news to catch his attention was news about the Hydra Guild .

With the help of coffee and glucose candy, An Jaehyun quickly worked his brain .

‘The first level 100 monster… Black Metal Warrior was it? Didn’t they fail five or six times before they succeeded?’

An Jaehyun knew the future, but he didn’t know everything . He only knew the general flow of it . The details, he would have to fill in by reading various news articles .

‘I wish they’d fail more while they’re at it . ’

To Hyrkan, the entire Top 30 Guilds was his enemy . Getting revenge aside, to become the best in Warlord, he had to go beyond the Top 30 Guilds .

‘The Black Metal Warrior is related to the Corrupt Count main scenario quest, so the Corrupt Count quest line should begin after this . Tsk . I need to get on this quest line to obtain the titles I need, but with my level… ugh, not a chance . If only I came back just 10 months earlier… I’d be the one killing that Black Metal Warrior . What a shame . Then I’d be getting the title for myself too…’

“Tsk . ”

In any case, An Jaehyun enjoyed reading these news articles and reaffirming the details of the future he knew .

“Well, no choice I guess . Looks like I’ll have to make it up in The Immoral Prince, the next main scenario . ”

An Jaehyun felt as if he had become almighty being .

‘The Immoral Prince… back then, I could only stay in the side lines and suck on my fingers . But now is different . Come to think of it, the Ares Guild that led The Immoral Prince main quest earned quite the money from it . ’

An Jaehyun let out a light grin .

‘Yep . Be it the Hydra Guild or the Ares Guild, doesn’t matter! I’ll be the last one to laugh, hahaha!’

But this light grin…

[Stormhunter Queen defeats Head Hunter!]

Became twisted as he read the next article .

“Fuck this . ”

Stormhunter Queen Choi Sulyeon .

An Jaehyun got a headache just reading her name on the paper . With her, he had an irreconcilable relationship .

“Tsk!”

He even clicked his tongue .

Of course, An Jaehyun didn’t want to continue seeing this name, but he couldn’t just avoid the name altogether .

‘If anything, I’ll do it for you, Choi Sulyeon . ’

Turning off his tablet PC, An Jaehyun drank his coffee bottoms up as if it was a glass of beer . He threw the remaining candy in the cup in his mouth .

Then,

Crunch!

He bit down with all the anger he could muster .

★★★

Standing in front of a cave, Hyrkan turned on the flashlight app on his watch .

Pat!

A fist-sized sphere of light appeared from his watch . He grabbed a hold of the light sphere, and equipped it to the skull of the Skeleton Warrior next to him, making it look like he was wearing a miner’s hat . Then, he smacked the Skeleton Warrior’s head and yelled .

“Go forth!”

The Skeleton Warrior lightly touched the place he was hit, then walked into the cave .

As he watched the Skeleton Warrior go in, Hyrkan had a solemn expression .

‘I’ll finish this in one go . ’

The Rising Star title wasn’t something that could be so easily obtained . Most players would fail even if they were given the chance .

The reason?

One had to clear what would normally be at least a level 20 quest at level 15 . The quest difficulty was just too high . But that’s why it was called the Rising Star title . It was for someone who could do at level 15 what others could at level 20 . Only someone of such caliber would be worthy of being called a Rising Star .

Plus, a 3-man party was the standard in Warlord . Quest difficulties were set with 3-man party being the standard . In other words, Hyrkan had to do alone what a 3-man party would find hard to do .

It was in no way easy .

‘If I can’t do this at level 15, it just means it’s too difficult for me to do . ’

That’s why he got to level 15 . Though everything would come to waste if he leveled up during the quest, it was a risk he had to take . As he didn’t have the capital to plaster himself with unique-rank items, this was the best he could do .

Hyrkan pulled his sword out in advance, and lowered his stance . Concentrating on everything around himself and his Skeleton Warrior, he followed behind it . His concentration was now sharper than ever .

‘Throw whatever you want at me . ’

The smile beneath his hahoe mask was as frightening as a serial killer’s . It demonstrated his confidence to catch whatever that’s thrown at him .

But after just 10 minutes, his smile shattered .

With a snap of his finger, he yelled .

“End Camera!”

Then, irritated, he scratched his head .

“Garrggh!”

‘Why isn’t there a single monster?’

For 10 minutes, Hyrkan remained tense, as if he was walking on a mine field . But nothing came out to greet Hyrkan . There wasn’t even a single split path, which was common in a cave like this . He had been walking through the same, long path continuously .

‘My whole body’s itching . ’

These 10 minutes have been mentally taxing . Hyrkan wasn’t just walking; he was walking while maintaining peak concentration and tension . Furthermore, the limited vision from the darkness, the one way path, the unchanging scenery, and the enclosed space all caused more stress . It was like staring at a clock on the wall in a white room .

Hyrkan hopped in spot and slashed in sword in thin air . It wasn’t to warm-up his body, but rather his mind . Only after did the knot in his mind unravel . Hyrkan then reassessed his situation .

‘Looks like there’s something huge ahead . ’

Hunting grounds had their own styles as well .

Even at the same difficulty, some were difficult because of the sheer amount of monsters, while some were difficult because there monsters were more-powerful in place of being fewer in number .

Anyone could tell that it was currently the latter .

‘It’s not so bad…’

Hyrkan thought it was better to fight against a few than multiple . This also lowered the chance of leveling up .

‘But it’s not necessarily good either…’

Even so, it was hard to find comfort in this situation . In the end, he would have to face a strong monster .

After organizing his thoughts, Hyrkan held his watch to his mouth .

“Start Camera . ”

He began walking .

★★★

The Skeleton Warrior suddenly stopped on his feet .

“Hm? Walk! Go forward! Why’d you stop?”

Even with Hyrkan’s yelling, the Skeleton Warrior remained still in the darkness, turning around and staring at Hyrkan blankly .

What’s this, a protest? The thought only glanced by before it quickly disappeared .

Hyrkan rejoiced .

‘Could it be?’

He walked past the Skeleton Warrior, then stared at the empty space . He couldn’t see a thing . Complete darkness blocked his sight, and not even the light on the Skeleton Warrior’s head could shine light through it . Rather than darkness, it was as if there was a barrier made of darkness blocking their path .

Hyrkan reached his hands out into this darkness .

[Would you like to enter the stage?]

Immediately, he heard an alert .

‘As I thought, an instance dungeon . ’

The darkness came from an instance dungeon .

In Warlord, instance dungeons weren’t too important . In fact, instance dungeons were often tied to quest . Once the quest was cleared, the instance dungeon would often disappear . This was why instance dungeons weren’t too important . They couldn’t be recycled .

“Hm . ”

Instance dungeons had their pros and cons .

The pro was that they were isolated from the outside . This prevented others from interfering and messing with whoever was inside . This was why guilds welcomed instance dungeons . They could do everything according to their plan . Furthermore, as instance dungeons required success on the first try, it served as a good symbol of achievement .

But it was not without flaws .

‘I can’t run…’

Though players were free to enter, they weren’t free to leave .

If it was a field, Hyrkan could simply run if he went up against something he could not handle . It wouldn’t be wrong to say that an all-strength necromancer like him was built to escape . If it came down to it, he could use his Skeleton Warrior as bait and run . But this didn’t work in instance dungeons . He couldn’t leave before killing the monsters inside . He couldn’t expect any outside help either .

It was a true deathmatch .

Because of this, Hyrkan let out a short groan .

He didn’t know what was inside . He couldn’t escape either . He had no reinforcements . It was kill or be killed . With this in mind, the darkness in front of him was truly full of unfavorable conditions .

Danger .

Most players would choose to back out here . It was the logical thing to do .

‘It’s indeed dangerous . ’

Hyrkan didn’t deny this fact either . The risk was greater than he had expected .

‘But there’s more to obtain as well . ’

The merit was bigger as well . Hyrkan organized the things he could obtain in his head .

‘Kill the monsters inside the instance dungeon alone, then acquire the Rising Star title… now, quest-related instance dungeons have a high chance to giving a related title . Since there won’t be any outside interference, I just have to deal with whatever’s inside . I don’t need to worry about other monsters either . It’s not like I lost any strength on my way here, and I’m still in my top condition . ’

He had a lot to lose .

However, more so than ever before, he was sure of his current intuition .

‘If I can film this well, it’ll pull in a good amount of views . ’

His intuition told him that this battle video would turn out great . It wouldn’t be wrong to say he had full assurance .

‘The baits are in place . I’ll at least get ten thousand within two weeks . ’

The Rising Star title and solo-clearing an instance dungeon had great synergy as bait . Furthermore, anyone could tell it was something not everyone could do .

‘I mean, what crazy bastard would do something like this?’

Something not everyone could do . To earn money in Warlord, this was what one had to do .

Far more people watched Warlord-related videos than did people play the game . What the viewers wanted to see was someone accomplishing something that was seemingly impossible . No one wanted to watch something that anyone could do .

To earn money, one had to capture these viewers . The money one could earn in-game through hunting and item crafting was incomparable to the money one could earn from pay-to-watch videos . It was why guilds and Rankers challenged unfathomably strong monsters .

Danger represented a chance to earn viewers!

‘Once Skeleton Fragment cooldown ends, I’ll go in . ’

Hyrkan made his decision .