𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟐𝟔
Muttering~ Murmuring~
‘There sure are a lot of people.’
In the end, I received 300 gold from Aizen yesterday…… no, 310 gold to be exact. I used that money to enhance the entire Azure Guardian Set to +10. If you’re wondering why it’s 310 gold, it’s because of the quest failure penalty I hadn’t paid attention to.
Apparently, if a quest fails due to an individual’s mistake while doing a quest with guild members, you have to pay 10 gold?
And that 10 gold is split among those who participated in the quest.
Naturally, since yesterday’s quest failed due to the mistakes of four people, it was a total of 40 gold, 10 gold each. Additionally, although there was originally a one-week deadline to pay the 10 gold, Aizen, noticing my urgent need for money, paid the 10 gold in advance, allowing me to receive a total of 310 gold.
‘Even that wasn’t quite enough.’
There were a total of six pieces in the Azure Guardian Set to enhance. Even if each piece cost 50 gold, it would be 350 gold. Even combining my own funds and the money I received from Aizen, it was a slightly insufficient amount.
So, I had no choice but to make up the difference with cash. Instead, I was able to enhance all the set pieces to +10, so I didn’t particularly regret it.
If the enhancement had failed, I might have regretted it, but would I, of all people, fail?
Anyway, after spending the last 10 gold on the transportation cost to Port Run, located in the Iot Kingdom, I only had 5 silver left.
‘5 silver huh……’
I don’t think I was this broke even on the first day of the game……
Well, I guess it’s somewhat comforting to know that I have no money to lose even if I die. However, if I drop equipment of Rare grade or higher, I’ll probably feel like crying from the loss.
“F*ck, what were those Great Voyage Guild b*stards thinking, bringing those guys in?”
“It’s suspicious that they’re not saying anything.”
“It seems like they want to have a go with us. We can’t just sit here and……”
“Shut up. Subduing the Kraken is more important right now. If we fail this time too, we might have to leave the Iot Kingdom.”
‘Hmm.’
Just then, I heard someone shouting in frustration. It seems like the Great Voyage Guild did hire someone. Well, they could probably hire someone with around 5 million won. I was just curious how many people they hired.
‘If they hired 50 people, how much would that be? 250 million?’
After a rough calculation, it seems the Great Voyage Guild is unexpectedly wealthy.
Anyway, I shifted my gaze away from them and looked at the blue sea stretching out in the distance. I had already figured out what I needed to yesterday, and fortunately, it seemed like I could execute my plan without any problems.
However, if there was one thing I was worried about……
‘It’s the movement in the sea.’
After finishing the enhancements yesterday, I conducted a simple experiment in the lake I had visited before, and finally decided to go into the sea. Due to the limited time at the lake, I didn’t have time to adapt to being underwater.
Therefore, even though I heard that the departure was at 2 o’clock, I logged in at 12 o’clock, crossed over to the Iot Kingdom, and started walking towards the sea, intending to swim for about an hour.
‘By the way, there are really a lot of ships.’
The direction I was walking towards seemed to be a dock, as I could see hundreds of ships, both large and small, anchored there.
‘Huh? Is that a raft?’
Why would there even be a raft for the Kraken subjugation?
Even so, it was impressive to think that all these ships were going to hunt the Kraken.
‘Oh, that ship even has cannons.’
Moreover, the large ships, which numbered only 20 to 30, were even equipped with cannons. The thought even crossed my mind that if those cannons were combined with the players’ magic, it might all be over without me having to lift a finger.
Well, if that were to happen, I would only lose 10 gold.
’10 gold huh……’
As expected, it seemed like it would be better to call Yua or Raz as soon as I return to the Harpe Empire and take on at least a C-rank quest. Wouldn’t it be beneficial for both of us if they covered the costs and I cleared the quest? Thinking such thoughts, I turned away from the dock and walked along the side, soon discovering a beach with a stretch of sandy shore.
‘Huh? Something’s strange.’
Looking at the beach, I tilted my head in puzzlement. Well, it was natural for there to be players on the beach, but it was strange that most of them were wearing swimsuits. Why were they wearing swimsuits? Furthermore, most of the women were in revealing bikinis, which naturally drew my attention.
‘Are they doing this because they can’t in real life?’
I had a feeling that they might be thinking, ‘Since I can’t wear a swimsuit like this in reality, let’s try it here.’ However, regardless of that, seeing people enjoying themselves as if they were at a real beach made me self-conscious about my own attire.
‘There’s no one wearing armor.’
The Azure Guardian Set was a type of heavy armor. Walking along the beach in such armor naturally drew some glances my way.
“What’s with that guy? Why is he here wearing heavy armor?”
“Ah, he doesn’t know how to have fun. Is this his first time here?”
“He doesn’t seem like a beginner though? No, wait, don’t we recognize him from somewhere?”
“Recognize him from where? I’ve never seen him before.”
“……”
Tsk, anyway, I ignored their words and approached the sea. After briefly admiring the clean, blue water, I slowly walked in.
Splash- Splash━
‘Let’s see……’
The coolness rising from my submerged feet. And as the water reached my chest, I felt my body slightly buoyed. Although it felt a bit different from a real beach due to my stats and skills, it definitely felt like I was in the sea.
‘Should I go in?’
Having waded up to my chest, I slowly submerged my head. It was an action I could take because I knew I could breathe normally underwater thanks to the helmet’s effect. And after confirming that I could breathe normally, just like on land, I slowly moved my body.
[You have entered the water.]
[The related skill ‘ Blessing of the Sea ‘ effect is applied.]
[Your movement becomes more free.]
“This is nice.”
This Blessing of the Sea skill only activated when completely submerged. Thanks to this, I could move freely underwater. I checked the level 10 Blessing of the Sea skill once again.
[B-rank Blessing of the Sea Effect] (LV10)
━Underwater combat possible.
━20% reduction in water resistance.
━Agility increased by 50 when swimming underwater.
━Equipment weight effect nullified.
Effects that I wasn’t sure were great or not. If I asked a player active in the Iot Kingdom, I could get an answer right away, but I didn’t want to go that far, so I decided to find out for myself.
‘Let’s try moving first.’
With that thought, I kicked off as if there was a wall behind me.
Whoosh!━
“……!?”
My body shot forward more than 7-8 meters in an instant. On land, I would have only moved 3-4 meters at most, but underwater, I just glided forward.
‘This is going to take some getting used to.’
Anyway, when I started swimming in earnest, my body propelled forward just by kicking my feet. I think the reason for this is probably my Agility exceeding 600.
However, realizing that I could control my speed sufficiently by adjusting the strength of my kicks, I slowly started to adapt. I soon learned that I could stop my moving body by turning around and kicking forward.
‘I think I get it.’
But this is more fun than I thought?
Playing in the sea had a unique charm. Unlike reality, even a slight movement of my feet propelled me forward, so it couldn’t be boring. Moreover, I didn’t need to hold my breath here, and I didn’t get tired.
‘Out of personal greed, I wish I could do some hunting.’
Now that I was somewhat accustomed to moving underwater, I wanted to improve my combat sense by hunting. However, for some reason, I couldn’t see any monsters here.
It’s not like this is a space created solely for swimming and playing around……
‘Well, I guess I don’t need combat sense.’
Since I wasn’t planning to fight the Kraken to the death, was there really a need to improve my combat sense? Thinking that, I turned around and decided to head back to the shore. As I swam with determination, my body cut through the water at an incredible speed.
Whoosh!━
“Kyaaak!”
“Wh-what the?!”
“So damn rude.”
“More importantly, wasn’t his speed incredible?”
‘Ah, I messed up.’
Swimming at full power with over 600 Agility resulted in an incredible speed. As a result, water splashed in all directions, unintentionally causing harm. I briefly lowered my head in apology and walked out of the water. Some people started whispering as they watched me.
“Did that guy just swim in heavy armor?”
“No way. Agility is reduced by 90% when wearing heavy armor.”
“Right?”
“He must have changed his equipment while swimming.”
It seemed like the Agility reduction underwater varied depending on the equipped gear. Was the ‘equipment weight effect nullified’ part of the Blessing of the Sea skill referring to this? Even while wearing heavy armor, my Agility wasn’t reduced but rather increased, so it seemed like a better skill than I had thought.
‘More importantly, should I find the assembly point first?’
Or it might be good to go find the Great Voyage Guild. The problem was that I didn’t know where they were. I would naturally find out if I went to the assembly point, but going there in advance wouldn’t be bad either.
‘Should I ask those people over there?’
Looking around, I saw a group of about 20-30 people gathered, talking about something. Judging by the equipment they were wearing, they didn’t seem to be unskilled, and I thought that such people would likely know where the Great Voyage Guild was located, so I approached them.
“Excuse me, I have a question……”
“What’s with this guy again?”
“How dare you barge in without any sense?”
“Get out of here right now!”
“……”
Sigh…… these guys.
I was just trying to ask a question, but the reactions I received were incredibly hostile. If they were to attack me here, I didn’t think I would lose, even if there were a few dozen of them.
“Hey, hey, you guys are being too harsh, you’re scaring him.”
Just then, a man who looked to be in his mid-30s stepped forward. Perhaps he was their leader, because as soon as he intervened, the people who were yelling at me shut their mouths and stepped aside. He took a few steps towards me and said,
“So, you said you had a question? Go ahead.”
“……I was wondering where the Great Voyage Guild is located.”
As I answered, I realized once again that my personality had improved a lot. Of course, I wasn’t planning on fighting unless they attacked me first. And to my answer, he gave me a puzzled look and spoke again.
“The Great Voyage Guild? Why are you looking for them?”
“I’m here to help with the Kraken subjugation.”
“Subjugation?”
“Wait a minute? Who are you?”
Helping with the Kraken subjugation. With just this answer, they seemed to have figured something out and asked for my name.
“I’m Rudin.”
“Rudin? If you’re Rudin……”
“Rudin is the Vice Guild Master of the Emperor Guild, right?”
“Did they really hire someone like him?”
Surprisingly, when I revealed my ID, they all seemed to stiffen up a bit and muttered amongst themselves. Was it strange that I came here? Anyway, the initial hostility seemed to have disappeared, so I felt more at ease.
“Hey, take this guy over there. He should go to the hideout where the others are.”
“You mean me?”
“Yeah, who else?”
“Ah, okay. Follow me.”
I didn’t know what he was thinking, but he instructed someone nearby to guide me to the hideout where the Great Voyage Guild members were. I quietly followed the player who was leading me.
‘Maybe I should have asked someone else.’
Thinking back to their earlier reactions, it felt a bit strange, but I shook my head. Wouldn’t it be fine as long as I reached the destination, regardless of who I asked? Anyway, after walking for about 10 minutes, the player pointed to a mansion located on one side and said,
“That house over there is the hideout that the Great Voyage Guild members are using. You should go there.”
After saying just that, the player cursed briefly and turned back the way he came. It seemed like he was saying something along the lines of, “Damn it, why do I have to be the one to guide him?” Anyway, I headed towards the mansion he had pointed out and soon found a player guarding the entrance.
“Uh? Who are you?”
Phew, let’s get started then.
From here on, I needed to emphasize that I came here at the request of the Great Voyage Guild. So that it would be widely known to other guild members as well. Thinking that, I composed myself and spoke.
“I’m Rudin from the Emperor Guild. I’m here because you requested my help yesterday.”
“Emperor Guild…… Rudin? Ah, just a moment please.”
After my introduction, he asked me to wait and muttered to himself as if attempting to make a call. He then nodded and said to me,
“Yes, I apologize. It took some time to configure the entry settings. Please, come in.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I replied and entered the mansion.
Leave a Reply