Chapter 24

Chapter 24 . 70% Luck 30% Effort (2)

Warlord had many castles . Amongst these, the castles that beginners start out in were comparatively large to accommodate the large concentration of players .

But there were few specific spots where players congregated . The Subjugation Association branch, the Class Tower, and the Item Workshop . Most players were around these three spots .

Of these three, the Item Workshop was the most diverse .

‘I don’t understand why these idiots come here instead of screwing around in casinos . ’

If players in the other two spots were regular gamers, then players loitering around the Item Workshop could only be seen as gamer addicts . Hyrkan wasn’t particularly fond of the Item Workshop atmosphere . Every time he saw others who gambled their life in the game and failed, he could see himself in their shoes .

“Tsk . ”

Holding in the bitterness, he felt, Hyrkan stepped into the Item Workshop .

The inside of the Item Workshop resembled slot-machine filled casinos . Cubes the size of small children were lined up side by side, while players stood in front, putting in crafting coins or crafting jewels then shaking them diligently . Many seemed as if they had lost their souls as they continued to shake these cubes . These players were the ones hoping for a Rare-rank or a Unique-rank item that rarely dropped while crafting Normal-rank items . There was even a line in front of one of the cubes despite the fact that many others were still open .

‘Looks like someone popped a Unique there . ’

These players bet money with the tiniest of hopes of striking it rich, and they were fittingly called gamblers rather than gamers .

Hyrkan didn’t spare a glance at them . He didn’t have an inkling of mind to involve himself with these type of players . After wandering around the place for a bit, Hyrkan sat down in front of an empty cube .

He first put in 1 gold in the cube . Then, one of the cube’s black faces turned into a touchscreen . Using the touchscreen, Hyrkan looked up the Corrupted One’s Essence, a crafting jewel, and the Corrupted Werewolf’s Bone and Corrupted Werewolf’s Skin . These, of course, were the crafting materials he got from killing the Corrupted Werewolf . The screen then showed a list of items he could create from these materials .

The entire process was rather inconvenient and boring . At the same time, it was a process that players had to go through . Looking up the items, putting in the materials, then shaking the cube . These three steps were how items were crafted . Although it was fun to test one’s luck for three or four items, one could imagine what it would feel like when crafting hundreds of them . It was mentally taxing, to say the least, and Hyrkan had once done this job .

Before returning to the past, at the time when he was working part-time at a Warlord-related workshop .

‘I must have been crazy . ’

The worst feeling was that after hundreds of Normal-rank items, when you finally got a Rare-rank item, you would have to give it to someone else . The sense of loss could only be imagined . Though, it was thanks to this part-time job that Hyrkan could get into Warlord . Without it, Hyrkan would never have played Warlord .

Placing aside the glimmering memory in his mind, Hyrkan focused on the screen in front of him .

‘Hm . ’

He looked through the items of the list one by one .

What caught his attention was…

‘Mm? I can make a necklace?’

A necklace . He could craft a Rare-rank necklace . It was better than what he had been expecting .

‘I really am lucky . ’

Players could equip three types of items . Armor, weapon, and accessory . Of these, accessories were the hardest to obtain . Players generally had to wait until they were almost level 30 until they could get themselves accessories . That’s how rare the crafting materials were for them .

As such, Hyrkan didn’t have much thinking to do . He quickly put in 3 Corrupted Werewolf’s Bone coins and 2 Corrupted Werewolf’s Skin coins . Then, he opened the cube and put in the crafting jewel . Finally, he selected the necklace from the touchscreen and began shaking the cube . After about 20 seconds, just as he was getting annoyed from the shaking…

[You succeeded in crafting an item . ]

An alert sounded out .

Rather than being happy, Hyrkan was slightly irritated .

‘Warlord’s good and all, but it irritates you in the strangest places . ’

And with an irritated face, Hyrkan opened the cube . Immediately, his face stiffened .

“What . ”

★★★

[Pursuer of Corruption Necklace]

*Main Properties

– Unique-rank Item

– Increases class-specific stat proportional to level

– All stats +18

– Required level: None

– Required Condition: Title ‘Pursuer of Corruption’

*Sub-properties

– You have not yet selected a skill option bonus .

– This item becomes tied to the crafter .

*Miscellaneous

– This item was crafted to significantly boost the power of its user through the Corrupted One’s power .

Looking at the item options through the hologram window, Hyrkan breathed in deep . At this time, there was only one word in his mind .

‘Whoa . ’

The word was ready to pop out of his throat at any moment . Even with his vast experience, Hyrkan could only gape at this marvel . He wasn’t just surprised; he was mesmerized .

‘It’s not even just a Unique; it’s a Chronical Unique!’

Chronical Unique .

It referred to items only obtainable through the main scenario quest process .

These items had better options than ordinary Unique items . However, they could not be traded or dropped . As such, players traded their crafting materials, but even these were exceedingly rare . Their price was whatever the seller called .

But now a Chronical Unique had appeared for Hyrkan!

‘I can’t think, my head’s spinning . ’

Although he had played games for a long time before returning to the past, he had never been so lucky .

Of course, if the item were tradable, he would have felt luckier . If he found a rich guy, he might have gotten enough to pay off the amount he borrowed .

But Hyrkan wasn’t too disappointed .

‘I couldn’t even place 3rd in all those lotteries, but this is where I hit my luck!’

He was more than satisfied with what he got . If he were any luckier, he would begin to be worried .

After regaining his calm, Hyrkan immediately went into the bonus skill option screen . The bonus skill option was for skills level 20 and below . Hyrkan selected the black magic category upon which 10 or so magic spells appeared . Of these, what caught Hyrkan’s attention was the option related to Skeleton Fragment .

[Number of Skeletons Allowed to Summon by Skeleton Fragment + 1]

Hyrkan did not hesitate .

‘Looks like God just can’t wait to see me take over Warlord . ’

★★★

“Oppa’s got your items; he’s coming to get you~♪ . ”

Grey pointed hat, the symbol of Warlord’s magicians . Top and gloves made out of Green Lizard skin . Tight leather pants and leather boots . Finally, a necklace with a purple jewel the size of a baby’s fist .

Wearing these ridiculous assortment of clothes was no other than Hyrkan .

They were something people wouldn’t get paid to wear . They were enough to make people watching embarrassed .

Even so, Hyrkan was happily singing away, which he couldn’t do well either . He even danced to the beat of the old-school song as he headed towards Bangtz Castle .

“Come out already…”

Of course, there was no way monsters would leave such an unsightly being alone .

“… it really did . ”

One monster sauntered towards Hyrkan . It was a large bear mixed with a pattern of brown and green . A Forest Bear .

It was one of the tougher level 25 monsters . Even with its high stamina and attack power, it didn’t drop a single item that made money . Also, the EXP (experience point) it gave was comparatively lower . As such, most Warlord players chose not to deal with it given the choice .

If it were the usual Hyrkan, he would’ve clicked his tongue upon seeing the Forest Bear, cursing his bad luck .

But the current Hyrkan was a bit different than usual .

He wasn’t normal .

Not only regarding his mental state…

‘It’s finally here . ’

But also regarding his current battle prowess .

‘I was getting all itchy just waiting . ’

In a blink of an eye, he had gotten an unbelievable spec-up . Not only did he get a Unique item from what should have been a Rare item, but he also purchased some Rare items at a low price . These items were, of course, the green leather top and gloves . His entire body was showing why it was so cheap . It wasn’t something someone would normally pay to wear .

However, as he had already given up on fashion with the leather pants, Hyrkan had no qualms wearing them .

His spec-up didn’t just end here .

Watching the Forest Bear slowly walk up to him, Hyrkan put his hand in his pocket, grabbing three Skeleton Fragments .

‘150,000 each . ’

He had purchased new crafting coins to craft 3 new Skeleton Fragments . For these, he spent almost 500,000 won . To be honest, Hyrkan was dying to know .

Skeleton Warrior’s Combat AIs were shared . In other words, there was no need to train new Skeleton Warriors .

Then, how capable would these three Skeleton Warriors be?

And if Hyrkan added his own skills?

Hyrkan could guarantee it .

Strongest in history!

Hyrkan had faced a countless number of experts and Rankers, and he knew the current Warlord better than anyone else in the world . Even he couldn’t fathom the power he would have in the future .

Knowing that such power was now in Hyrkan’s hands, any gamer would tremble . It was also why Hyrkan had not stopped grinning .

Alas, Hyrkan knew he couldn’t continue grinning forever . He forcefully erased the grin off his face and threw the Skeleton Fragments on the ground . Bulky skeletons with skulls resembling a crocodile appeared . The Skeleton Warriors held sharp knives on their right hand and carried shields woven from bones .

The Skeleton Warriors that were created using Lizardman as the sacrifices didn’t hide their aggressiveness upon seeing the Forest Bear .

Upon seeing the number of enemies increase, the Forest Bear also stopped its sauntering and began charging towards Hyrkan . Watching the scene, Hyrkan slowly put on his hahoe mask .

Then, he spoke into his watch .

“Start Camera . ”

It signaled the start of a fight .