Chapter 1) New Secret Sculpting Technique

Weed had finished his 16th Master Quest. This was the last request and the only thing left was to form a master skill and be recognized.

“I’ve done a lot of work in the meantime.”

He remembered all the quests he had suffered through.

“Raising my sculpting proficiency while doing the master quests was also tough.”

After going through countless hards.h.i.+ps, he was close to becoming the first Cla.s.s Master on the continent but he wasn’t happy about it. While Weed went through so much effort for the quests, Bardray was experiencing great success.

The Hermes Guild had gained the impetus and was invading the Britten Alliance Kingdom after Lasalle Kingdom. Weed had frequented many cities while adventuring through the Britten Alliance Kingdom. Many famous cities with commercial freedom and adventures were developed on the continent.

“If the Hermes Guild expands to the Britten Alliance Kingdom then their tax income will increase tremendously.”

If the Britten Alliance Kingdom fell to the Hermes Guild then the area where he couldn’t escape their influence would increase even further. The hero of the Arpen Empire Bahamorg was now Weed’s subordinate but his happiness decreased after hearing the news.

“Anyway, I now have Bahamorg so I need to make him work completely.”

Weed met with the Ellyons in order to complete the quest.

“I brought the barbarian hero here directly.”

Even though a long time had pa.s.sed, Bahamorg and the Ellyons recognized each other with just one glance.

-Bahamorg!

“You seem to be doing well.”

-Yes. I was worried… Thank goodness you’re safe.

“I gained a new life from this person who followed the Arpen Emperor’s sculpting.”

-That’s right. I’m happy that I could meet you.

Ddiring!

“Huhuhu.”

Weed warmly watched the encounter between the Ellyons and Bahamorg. He knew how useful something like blind obedience would be in the future.

“Choosing to use Sculpture Life Bestowal for this quest was really the correct judgement.”

He now had the Ellyon’s eternal loyalty because of Bahamorg. If he only returned without giving life to Bahamorg then Weed would’ve missed this opportunity.

‘If a person challenges the Sculpting Master Quest after me then they’ll probably get a different sculptural lifeform.’

There were many obscure sculptural lifeform races living on the continent without leaving a mark. This seemed to be the unknown legacy left behind by Emperor Geihar. The Arpen Empire had unified the continent so the sculptural lifeforms had scattered all over the place. Thus it would be possible to obtain a good sculptural lifeform when completing the Master Quest early. Of course, this would only happen once the culmination of labour reached the peak.

‘I really have to make them work to the fullest from now on. 24 hours a day, all day long. They would be forever working in my mines and fields. Bahamorg, I will meet you in a dungeon in the future.’

“Do you know the whereabouts of any other sculptural lifeform races?”

Weed asked the Ellyons. He wanted to obtain more subordinates from his Cla.s.s Master Quest. If he had the knowledge then he would s.n.a.t.c.h them right away!

-We don’t know any others. Unfortunately everyone is scattered too far….

“Well, it is like that.”

It was a shame but he had to give up so he could complete the last process in the Sculpting Master Quest.

“Is there anything else I can do for the freedom and justice of art?”

Naturally his ultimate goal was to make money.

-Please go to a religious society. The next step will be told once you go to any religious society.

“I understand. I won’t play and will work diligently.”

Weed chose the Freya Church and moved there. In the meantime a close relations.h.i.+p had developed so he felt more comfortable with this religion. He visited the Freya Cathedral in the northern part of Morata. Weed walked up the stairs of the northern Cathedral.

Sculptures of knights and priests were lining both sides of the staircase. There were 48 stairs to the entrance of the Cathedral. The main entrance was decorated with white gold. Couples and users were relaxing in the sunlight or conversing with each other on the stairs.

“The cost for building something like this far exceeded the budget.”

The Cathedral was a Grand Building so it could be cla.s.sified as a work of art. It also had value as a cultural heritage and played a role in spreading the culture of the Arpen Kingdom.

“I’d like to meet High Priest-nim.”

“Your Majesty has come. I understand. I will guide you.”

Weed received the invitation of the guards and priests and headed to the High Priest’s room. An annex for the High Priest had been placed in the Cathedral.

“The Freya Church welcomes His Majesty who has done a lot for the continent.

“You are praising me too much. I just wanted to spread the Freya Church a little bit.”

Weed and the High Priest exchanged small words. Anyway, it was good that he had influence with a NPC like this. Weed also became the king so the High Priest’s att.i.tude was very polite. He also returned Helain’s Cup as a novice adventurer so he received different treatment from the Freya Church.

He didn’t need to kneel down to greet them. This was the power of fame! Weed’s achievements with each religion was so vast that he would receive the same treatment everywhere else.

“I’ve been waiting for Your Majesty to visit the Freya Church. There are many undisclosed villages in the north that are having trouble because of monsters. Some things only Your Majesty can do.”

Weed received a new request from the High Priest. Normally quests like this would expand the Arpen Kingdom’s territory or treasury but unfortunately this one had a different purpose.

“The reason I came to the Freya Church is to find my way as a sculptor.”

“It is like that. Some time ago, a G.o.d descended and pa.s.sed a message to a priest. The G.o.ddess will appear once sculpting becomes part of the continent. I know that Your Majesty is the only one who can accomplish this.”

“Kuheom.”

Weed became uncomfortable as he listened. He had a strange feeling that he needed to spend money or accept a difficult request.

“Your Majesty has given so many things to our Freya Church. I know how difficult it is to walk along the path of art. Now I will give Your Majesty this item that has been kept by our church.”

The High Priest took out a wooden box. Weed always trembled in moments like this, just like when a boss monster’s health dropped to the bottom.

‘I wonder what it is.’

His interest was completely focused on the wooden box. The first thing he thought of was a priceless treasure. He would be extremely happy if the wooden box was filled with treasures.

An ordinary piece of wood was inside the box when Weed opened it. Energy flowed from the pattern clearly carved in it. It was clearly made with the best wooden material. A faint but warm and comforting mysterious power could be felt from the wood.

“What is this?”

“Weed has already left a lot of artwork on the continent. If your work is shown then everyone would admire it. G.o.ddess Freya has personally given Weed-nim her blessings as you walk along the path of a sculptor.”

Ddiring!

It was a quest but the compensation would be beyond anything he got before. A new secret technique would be established due to the Cla.s.s Master Quest.

‘It is somewhat expected but….’

Zahab, Geihar Von Arpen, Daycram, Belsos and Darone. Each Sculpting Master had created their own technique. Weed was now able to reach such heights by himself. It felt like he was a true Master leaving footsteps behind. Weed went to a corner of the room that people hardly used. A deep emotion he never felt since starting Royal Road now rose inside him.

“In the meantime, it has become really serious. I will be reborn as a sculptor. Inspect!”

“There are many techniques that I want to make. A sculpture that can ruin the continent? No. I have invested too much money in the Arpen Kingdom to do that. A sculpture to make the value of land soar? It would be nice if I could turn wood into good or stones into jewels.”

Weed was engrossed in his serious worries.

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Tailor Drago.

He challenged his Cla.s.s Master Quest and was required to sew 100,000 doll eyes.

“Huhuhuk!”

It was to the extent that it felt like he was surrounded by eyes. But he didn’t give up and succeeded at last.

“Now I have to distribute the dolls to the children.”

Drago went out onto Morata’s streets and gave the dolls to children.

“Thank you very much. Mister.”

He felt a complicated feeling every time he parted with a doll. Still, the sight of the children relieved a little of his mental fatigue.

“I’m thankful you gave such a present to my child, Tailor-nim.”

A tailor giving dolls as presents. Morata’s children and their parents believed that he was a good man. Good people could receive more commissions. But doubt could have an adverse effect.

The children all rejoiced in getting a doll. They were able to change between playing with a toy or a ball.

“Huhu, I finally finished.”

He met with the instructor for the next part in the Tailor’s Master Quest.

“You’ve done a good job. Thank you. Next….”

Drago swallowed his saliva. Broadcasts often showed other people doing wonderful adventures for their Master Quest. He hoped for a request that wasn’t too hard.

“Next, I request that you st.i.tch b.u.t.tons.”

“Kehek!”

“I would appreciate it if you sew 100,000 b.u.t.tons onto clothes and distribute it in the shanty town.”

Drago fell into despair. He blamed the world for giving him such an ordeal.

But there was someone else who experienced similar circ.u.mstances when challenging the Cla.s.s Master Quest. A childlike feeling still hadn’t disappeared from the man’s face. In the past, Weed had met a boy growing food ingredients when partic.i.p.ating in the punitive force to Baran.

He travelled around the continent studying delicious dishes and acquiring the recipes of different regions. His dishes were enough to earn a job as a royal cook but he roamed the continent instead.

“There are limits to how many dishes can develop if I stay in one place.”

If he met a monster when travelling then he would run away. The cook Elkukun was popular on the continent. Rumours of the dishes he created spread. He then came to Morata to avoid the war on the Central Continent.

“Delicious food can develop in a peaceful place with artwork. I have to make the best dish that everyone can’t resist.”

Elkukun challenged the Cooking Master Quest! And he shed garlic tears for 3 weeks.

Combat professions only needed to fight and it was either victory or defeat. Production or art professions also depended on success or failure. A lot of effort was required for the production or art professions in order to fail or succeed.

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Despite having Sword-Cloning and Radiant Sword, the Geomchis didn’t forget about their basic Sword Mastery.

“Weed said. It is easy if he follows the texture when carving a sculpture…..”

It was sufficient if they continuously struck the weak point while hunting. But the Geomchis were in a never ending battle to develop new sword techniques. That’s why they always fought against intimidating or strong monsters. The instructors and pract.i.tioners really felt a thrill when facing monsters that could kill them. The dungeons near Vargo Fortress had already been explored so they wanted to test the limits of their sword.

“The texture… It doesn’t apply to monsters or living people. But it is easy in regards to a tree or rock.”

The Geomchis didn’t worry about the difficulty. This was training for the instructors and pract.i.tioners.

“It is difficult to cut the texture of things.”

Geomchi2 and Geomchi3 immediately started thinking. They realized something when watching Weed live his life. It wasn’t flattery but they realized that their strong bodies were an inconvenience.

“Our training has been lacking, Teacher-nim!”

“I will learn train my body to cut along the texture and report back. Teacher-nim!”

The instructors and students started to cut rocks. It was a mixture of hard and soft so controlling their power was needed to cut it accordingly. The right amount of power would reveal a smooth cut along the texture. The sword experts naturally realized it when practicing with trees.

Royal Road had skills and stats so they could exert a significantly lower power than in reality. Sometimes the trees or rocks would shatter and break. This was one of the fun parts about raising their level! If their characters grew then they could feel like Superman.

If a swordsman or warrior wore thick armour then they could move with a larger force. If agility was raised then they could match the speed of a horse when running!

Despite the failure rate, a magician would have their desires come true when succeeding in a wide area magic against a mob of monsters. It was why flying or magic items were sold for such an expensive price.

The physical abilities of the students was second to none so they could break the trees with just a light cut. If a tree didn’t break in Royal Road then the person was a beginner. Despite being level 200, it wasn’t easy to cut along the texture.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

“It doesn’t seem to be like this.”

He couldn’t control his strength and the rock in front of Geomchi300 was broken.

Kwaaaang!

Geomchi500 struck at a large rock with his sword.

“The durability of my sword keeps on falling. Fuu.”

They searched their body for a response. They needed to somehow resolve this in order to become stronger. The instructors and students wanted to easily break a rock using a small amount of force.

“Ah, I did it!”

Geomchi2 succeeded first.

“Sahyung, how did you do it?”

“Your weight is connected to your centre then attack with suitable power and speed. If you attack one spot then won’t you cut it precisely? It is difficult to explain in words but there will be a moment when you will experience it too.”

“I’ll work hard. Sahyung.”

Afterwards Geomchi3 and Geomchi4 succeeded as well. After countless effort and attempts, they finally learnt the way to cut the rock correctly!

“Kyahaha, this is exciting.”

“This really relieves my stress, Sahyung!”

The students smashed the rocks and pa.s.sed. There were consecutive sounds of rocks breaking! A feeling of delight and pleasure could be felt when swinging the sword and smas.h.i.+ng the surrounding rock. If they found the right texture then they could break a rock 10 times large while using a relatively small amount of force.

Ddiring!

The only thing they thought about all day long was smas.h.i.+ng the rocks.

‘It is no use separate like this. Because there are no textures in a s.h.i.+eld or armour.’

‘Even if there is a texture, it will be very small and difficult to distinguish in battle.’

‘Ah, how fascinating…..’

A free life! Nothing learnt was useless. But there was no point is breaking a large rock if it couldn’t be used in battle. Geomchi3 thought deeply about the Rock Destruction technique.

‘Hrmm, there must be a way to utilize it somehow. It wouldn’t be possible for humanoid monsters. Then if we meet something big like the Bone Dragon….!’

The Bone Dragon had great defensive power so this would be very useful in weakening it. It would be very dangerous since it required a close range but they had to make an attempt in order to become strong. They practiced using the Rock Destruction technique against a real monster.

Grrrrr!

“So weak….”

Kaeng!

“It was very strong this time.”

It was difficult to find a useful monster. They found that the best hunting method was to aim at the vital spot continuously. In fact, at higher levels most users relied on skill. Even if their Sword Mastery skill was high, an attack skill was stronger than the basic skill despite consuming mana. However the skill wouldn’t allow adjustment of power.

Of course, a combination of strong and weak skills would be used depending on the situation. But few people would deliberately search for the weak point and keep on attacking it. It the attack wasn’t possible then it would become a one-sided beating. But the Geomchis were tenacious and kept on trying. Even against a monster of the same level, their health, resilience, skills and equipment were completely different. It was impossible to quantify. Even if they checked the monster with magic, the details of the situation wouldn’t appear. The only way to know was to fight directly.

The monster’s resistance would disappear if attacked with the correct power, mana and speed.

-Your attack has succeeded in penetrating the monster’s defense.

A monster’s defense power either depended on armour or hard skin. High ranking monsters possessed skin stronger than steel. But if they succeeded in the attack then it ignored basic defense!

Ddiring!

“Kyah!”

A high attack inevitably emerged. And the hands were the basis of all sports and martial arts.

“Exhilarating.”

Interest sprang up as they fought against monsters. Even if they attacked a vital spot, the monster’s defense couldn’t be ignored so they searched for the perfect texture. Their entire strength and damage exploded.

Weed’s Sculpting Blade was capable of ignoring the physical defense of the opposite party. But the mana loss was very intense so the direct striking power itself was weak. Even if Sculpting Blade attacked two or three times, the attack power meant it was weaker than a normal sword.

“Kuoooooh!”

Once the weak point was found, the monsters retreated and fell into a state of fear. If they succeeded in continuous attacks then they would overwhelm the monsters. Their aggressive attacks meant their Weapons Mastery climbed freely without wasting a lot of mana.

“This is weird. It is to the extent that I don’t have to intentionally look for it. If I see a gap then I can control my mana and power in order to fight the monster.”

The students mastered the attack under the threat of death.

“Um, is that so.”

“But this is a really difficult sword technique, Sahyung. It is difficult to make the body move even if my head is telling it to.”

It was hard to successful complete the technique 100 times. However their bodies slowly grasped the abilities of the monsters over time. If they knew the spot beforehand then they could make preparations to attack. Naturally the monsters didn’t just sit down politely to receive it. High level monsters had various skills to resist. The body might understand but it was difficult to put into action.

“Teacher-nim, I’ve found the texture part.”

Geomchi2 reported it to Geomchi. Then Geomchi suddenly received a whisper from a female shaman. They had met on the edge of the Yurokina Mountains. He had lived his whole life as a single man but now he received a final hope to meet a woman.

-Did you come yesterday? Many days have pa.s.sed since you promised to come.

-I’m sorry. My work caused some delay…. I’ll return soon.

-Where are you now? Can you tell me?

Geomchi found it difficult to answer. It wasn’t that he disliked the idea of her coming to Vargo Fortress so that they could hunt together.But he wanted to be calm and elegant in front of her so he couldn’t nag anyone.

‘Well we did hunt together in the Yurokina Mountains.’

He decided to answer honestly. A women usually wouldn’t notice if the time of suffering was short. Zephyr also gave advice that it was better to answer honestly. Or he would be buried in a grave once caught.

-You probably don’t know it but right now I’m at a fortress located in the north…..

-The Arpen Kingdom?

-That’s right. Tomorrow I will head to the Yurokina Mountains.

The female shaman’s voice wasn’t angry. It was actually filled with curiosity.

-Why are you in such a distant place?

-I’m teaching some children in a place called Morata. And one of my students is the king here….

-Weed the G.o.d of War?

-Yes.

-Kyaah! It is really the great Weed-nim? Weed-nim… Weed-nim is really your student?

Weed was also popular with women in their 30s! Geomchi was jealous but wise enough to take advantage of Weed’s celebrity status.

-It is almost like I raised him. Because I taught him how to use the sword.

-If I go Morata will I get to see Weed-nim?

-Just follow me and we can meet. You don’t have to do anything.

-Then I will head to Morata with my younger sister and niece. Thank you. And love….you.

-Me too.

She decided to take a pa.s.senger s.h.i.+p towards the north. Geomchi who had handled a big crisis and didn’t have to head to the Yurokina Mountains looked manly as he held his sword and said.

“Hmm, tell me where it is.”

“It is different for every monster. We have to attack the part depending on the monster’s health, defense and skills. This requires exact strength, speed and mana.”

Usually most users had no idea about hitting properly. It was common sense that hitting harder would cause more damage. That’s why most people chose an elaborate attack. By accurately attacking along the texture at the monster’s weak point, it was possible to bypa.s.s the monster’s health and defense.

“This is fascinating. I was just becoming bored with fighting.”

Geomchi immediately applied it to the monster. The power and speed had to be different when considering the defense and abilities of the monsters. He finally managed to succeed after hunting the seventh monster.

Kuweeek!

The monster suffered from just one cut. It was thrown into chaos from the continuous attacks at its vital spots. It was an attack that completely ignored the opponent’s defense!

“It seems surprisingly simple.”

Geomchi tested the technique while dealing with the monster. He understood the special nature of a monster’s body. Geomchi fought instinctively like a calculator.

Kuwawak!

He even used strong monsters as his partner.

Kwaaek!

He also found the texture when dealing with weak monsters.

“This is cutting along the grain.”

He avoided a weak monster and lightly wielded his sword.

Suksak!

It showed the greatest effect for a minimal expenditure of energy. This was the type of sword mastery that came from swinging, stabbing and cutting with a sword tens of thousands of times. The core part of mastering a sword was power, speed and accuracy. They could double the attack power in a fight. This technique would be hard in a confusing fight and could only be used during a one on one battle. It was the best technique to show off basic swordplay.

Geomchi was able to find the texture and cut the monster with his sword straight away. Countless bodies fell to the ground like the land was being cultivated! Geomchi resolutely attacked and succeeded in five consecutive hits. Despite the monster’s resilience, it soon staggered and collapsed.

“This is a pretty difficult sword technique. It won’t be easy during a difficult and urgent battle.”

Ddiring!

Geomchi received an unexpected result after hunting monsters in a row.

“I’ll call it Texture Sword Technique.”

Geomchi had no interest so his naming sense was exactly like his student Weed.

“Now I have to teach my students this sword technique.”

It was difficult and demanding but a sword technique that wasn’t inferior was produced.