1) Melbourne Mine

Weed used the teleport gate to arrive at Treipeak Fortress in the Haineph mountain area..

“It is just my luck that there are hardly any people around.”

The Versailles Continent felt narrower as he travelled around it. He couldn’t feel the pleasure of travelling around to dangerous places in order to obtain gold.

“Iron ore is needed.”

“Discount sale! This is the last bargain for iron ores!”

Many users were trading at Treipeak. Even though they weren’t merchants, the users were selling minerals obtained from hunting in the Melbourne mine.

Users had to pay the Black Lion Guild a fee to access the hunting grounds so users were also selling any loot they obtained. Sometimes they obtained precious items but they had to split the share with the Black Lion guild so they obtained almost no profit from hunting. But the Melbourne Mine was popular with users whose priority was raising their levels instead of earning money. Miners digging for iron ore were also common so they needed to pay a separate fee over time.

Weed shook his head.

“They really have a lot to learn about governance. If this was a dictators.h.i.+p than it would be perfect.”

He had just become the king of the Arpen Kingdom. It was only a small kingdom but if he learned advanced ruling techniques then he would become a vicious king later on.

“Looking for people to hunt on the 2nd floor. You can hunt until late at night!”

“Black Lion Guild is forming a party. They will keep all the items but the admission fee will be free. There is a profession and level restriction.”

Weed spent a short time at the peak of the mountain watching the people and the drifting clouds. There was an admission fee so he sent a whisper to Hegel who belonged to the Black Lion Guild and who was willing to listen to him. Users were gathered at the walls built along the mountain ridges. It was a necessary structure for comfortable walking.

“Aren’t there people completing the Cla.s.s Master quest these days?”

“Isn’t it Bardray? He is being actively supported by the Hermes Guild.”

“Phew, the G.o.d of War Weed-nim is a match even without the support of a guild.”

“Do you know what the reward will be for the Black Knight Master Quest?”

The Cla.s.s Master quest was a popular topic among users. The scale of the quest would be enormous considering they needed to master a skill. Based on the information revealed by the Unicorn Corporation, a special reward would be given for mastering a profession skill so it became a hot topic among the users as time pa.s.sed. It was enough to make people who were indifferent to skill levels start grinding their skill proficiency.

“I saw on the bulletin boards and news broadcasts that the Black Knight completed a cla.s.s quest.”

“I heard from CTS Media that he obtained a legendary spear and armour.”

“Bardray obtained that with the eleventh quest.”

“When did he do the eleventh quest?”

“He succeeded yesterday and it was broadcasted live all night.”

“Wow. Then I should watch the reruns.”

“The CTS media broadcast is good because CTS has a cooperation with the Hermes Guild on their screen time.”

Weed’s eyes filled with jealousy. He didn’t receive any special rewards for his Sculpting Master Quest except for an increase in the friends.h.i.+p of each race and the discovery of ancient ruins.

Meanwhile Bardray who was a compet.i.tor with a similar quest, the master quest, received the best equipment to continue his adventure. The thought of it caused a pain in his stomach!

Hegel finally arrived through the teleport gate while Weed was agonizing about it. Weed shook his hand.

“Ah, you’re here!”

“Weed hyung?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Hegel tilted his head to one side.

“Eh, wasn’t Hyung a dwarf?”

Weed had the body of a dwarf the last time Hegel saw him. Weed roughly explained it.

“There were circ.u.mstances so I briefly changed by body in order to enter the Dwarf Kingdom for a quest. But why were you late?”

“I’m late because I dropped in at the guild office. Ah, do you know my colleagues here from school?”

Hegel pointed towards 2 girls who bowed.

“h.e.l.lo Sunbae-nim!”

Dine and Alice attended school along with Choi Sang-jun. In Royal Road he was known as Hegel.

“It’s great to see you again.”

Weed greeted them roughly.

“Yes, me too.”

“Hyung wanted to see the Melbourne Mine….. I called these kids here to accompany hyung. Is that okay?”

“It doesn’t matter to me.”

Weed only cared about entering the Melbourne Mine for free.

“The Melbourne Mine isn’t a simple dungeon so a bit of preparation is needed. Follow me.”

Hegel was a member with the mark of the Black Lion Guild stamped on his armour so he received enormous benefits on Treipeak. At every store he visited he could buy things at a low price without any tax. The prices were cheap enough to make him envious and the items had a high rating.

“I hope you enjoy your visit Sir Hegel-nim.”

The soldiers politely greeted while lifting their spears.

“He is a member of the Black Lion Guild.”

“Look at that great equipment.”

Even Hegel’s arrogance was natural based on the reactions in the surroundings.

“Sir Hegel-nim, good luck. There are a lot of monsters in the mine.”

“Thank you for coming to this place Sir Hegel-nim. Please come in.”

It was to the extent that the guards gave them VIP treatment at the entrance of the Melbourne Mine. This respect was realistic to Weed.

When he was a child he had been envious of children from rich homes. But it would be difficult to succeed in this tough world with such a narrow mindset. That’s why he actively used flattery!

“Hegel you really are big.”

“Hehe, this is just something basic.”

“It seems like you’ve gained a lot of levels and your equipment is also better.”

“This time I’ve received the best equipment from the guild so monsters of this degree won’t be much risk.”

“The Black Lion Guild is really amazing!”

“Hyung isn’t in a guild?”

“I’ve also joined one.”

The standards of the members of the Travellers of the Wilderness Guild was quite high. Whenever he opened the guild chat he mainly heard talk about treasure hunting or boss monster hunting.

In general small guilds needed dozens or hundreds of people to hunt a boss monster. Hunting boss monsters increased the guild’s reputation, causing more people to want to join and then allowing them to hunt stronger boss monsters.

The Travellers of the Wilderness Guild never summoned their members for a reason like that. They were a hermit type guild so they would just quickly gather a few people if needed for a boss hunt.

“If it is difficult at any time than just tell me hyung. Everybody in the Black Lion Guild receives this treatment.”

“Yes, thank you.”

?????????????????????

People arrived one after another at the teleport gate of Treipeak.

“The air is truly refres.h.i.+ng.”

“This is the Tullen Kingdom with a high teleport fee so you need to hunt eagerly.”

The users who arrived were prepared and scouted the surroundings.

• Turok: The Black Lion guild doesn’t seem like much.
• Arkhim: Is the area around the teleport gate safe?
• Turok: Yes. The group can move here.

The 10 users scattered around the fortress reported back. They were secret scouts belong to the Hermes Guild. A bright light continuously occurred at the teleport gate.

Papapat!

Bardray, his Royal Guards and the a.s.sa.s.sination squad had moved here with the teleport gate. The dark ruler of the Hermes Guild, Bardray the King of the Haven Kingdom had arrived at Treipeak.

His group disguised themselves by wearing equipment of a much lower level. Bardray and the Royal Guards had recognizable faces so they needed to take precautions. The a.s.sa.s.sination squad that followed them wore plain clothes and make-up that hid their faces like dancers.

• Kasim: We will split up after arriving at the Melbourne Mine. If we are detected by the Black Lion Guild then it will become difficult.

Bardray, the Royal Guards and the a.s.sa.s.sination squad dropped by the stores and bought useless items to buy some time. 500 people were moving to Treipeak so the teleport gate was a lot more active than usual. In order to avoid suspicion they arrived at different times throughout the next two hours. Scouts were placed on the main street in order to observe the military personnel of the fortress and members of the Black Lion Guild.

• Greiden: I’ve confirmed that there are 60000 infantry, 20000 archers and 3000 knights at the fortress. There are members of the Black Lion Guild at the fortress but they think that other areas are more important so most of the users have been deployed elsewhere.
• Turok: If a battle starts then reinforcements will come very quickly.
• Kasim: If we disrupt the power maintaining the Melbourne Mine then those guys won’t be able to come in time.

Bardray’s quest was taking place in the Melbourne Mine, an area under the control of the Black Lion Guild. His Cla.s.s Master Quest attracted a lot of attention so he had to hide while fighting the boss monster hiding in the mine. There was no way the Black Lion Guild would allow the Hermes Guild to dispatch troops to the Melbourne Mine. Instead of requesting cooperation, he decided to just use all his power to sweep through it.

• Reikina: The scouts have arrived at the mine. I’ve checked the entrance but haven’t seen anything special. I will pay the toll and enter first.

?????????????????????

Weed and Hegel entered the underground 1st floor of the Melbourne Mine.

Kang kang kang!

The scene of users mining was common. Good quality iron ore could be obtained in large quant.i.ties at the Melbourne Mine. Iron ore could be easily changed into money and if they were lucky enough then some people could obtain gold.

‘There are a lot of people here.’

Weed usually hunted with a small handful of colleagues or alone. The Melbourne Mine was a popular hunting ground so it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that people were flocking in groups. There were buried miners, lost soldiers and people hunting monsters in parties. Alice asked in a cute voice mixed with charm.

“Sunbae-nim, what type of place is this?”

“It is a good hunting place for level 150 and loot often drops here so some people stay until level 250. You can even become intimate with blacksmiths in this place.”

Hegel kindly explained to his juniors. Parties who came first could occupy a decent hunting spot but they averted their gazes whenever they saw a member of the Black Lion Guild.

“Then what is your level?”

“Both of us are a little bit over 220.”

“Then you could just move straight to the 2nd floor.”

“Really? Thank you Sunbae-nim.”

Hegel brought his juniors down another floor.

“Is Hyung okay?”

“I don’t care. You know better than me what to do in the Melbourne Mine.”

Weed followed without any complaints because he could dig sapphires from the 3rd underground floor. The problem started from the 3rd floor because he couldn’t go down further without any identification. That’s why he was going to adhere himself to Hegel.

A member with the mark of the Black Lion Guild descended to the 2nd underground floor. There were a lot of people hunting but there were some empty sections. Hegel brought them to an empty place.

“This is a place where only members of the Black Lion Guild can hunt. I’m here so you guys can hunt here as well.”

Dine then asked like she noticed something strange.

“Thank you Sunbae-nim. By the way, are you going to run around hunting?”

“Yes. I’ll be guarding the pa.s.sage from any monsters that might run out. You don’t need to move around so hunting should be easier.”

“Ah, I see.

The Black Lion Guild had secured all the good hunting spots. This was one of the benefits of being a member of a large guild who owned hunting grounds. The problem was that these people were weak in long distance adventures despite their high levels. This was because they weren’t used to improvisation when encountering a problem.

“Now let’s get started. A lot of monsters may appear but just remain calm.”

“We’re going to be hunting here?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll watch for any dangers.”

Hegel blocked the front of the pa.s.sage. He was wearing high defense armour that exerted a strong power in combat. It was an armour that absorbed most destructive attacks. He even had a Kite s.h.i.+eld that protected his whole body so he could defend against a lot of monster attacks. The high defense ability of the equipment made it possible to fight on the front lines. Hegel stood while holding his s.h.i.+eld.

‘This is tasteful armour.’

He felt his heart pound. He was excited to start the hunt and receive attention for his armour.

“Sunbae-nim, you look so cool!”

“Please show me how to hunt. I think it will be really helpful if I see you fight first.”

The girls’ cheers increased Hegel’s good mood.

‘This isn’t that hard.’

Weed observed the surrounding parties fighting monsters. The 2nd floor was mainly infested with a monster called Menchura. They were level 210 so Weed just had to swing a fist and they would die! Even if several hundred monsters suddenly appeared, he could just move forward and wipe out all of them by wildly swinging his sword. Sometimes a Menchura would summon flames that roamed around. The flames lit up the mine and s.h.i.+ny minerals, making the surroundings look beautiful.

“Now!”

3 Menchura that had long feelers like a c.o.c.kroach appeared. They attacked Hegel all at once but couldn’t deal any significant damage because of his high defense. Hegel easily defeated the 3 of them with a few swings of his sword.

“Sunbae-nim, you’re so strong!”

“This is just a basic level. I will worry about blocking so just attack it.”

“Yep!”

Hegel, Dine and Alice worked together to deal with any Menchura that appeared.

Weed was in an ambiguous position. He acc.u.mulated almost no experience from hunting the Menchura. However he was a master at grinding in any situation!

“3rd grade iron ore. This is what I need. If you have any items you want then just tell me.”

Hegel generously split up the loot with the two girls.

“Sunbae-nim, that magic didn’t seem to work just now. How much resistance is there?”

“Approximately 39%. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that even fire won’t damage it.”

Hegel’s equipment came in handy when fighting monsters with Dine and Alice. The Black Lion Guild knew a lot about the monsters they were hunting. While the three of them were hunting harmoniously, Weed was bored.

He was level 400 so he couldn’t help feeling safe and comfortable in this dungeon. The Melbourne Mine was a popular hunting ground so any monsters that appeared were taken care of by other users.

‘It should be more dangerous. This method of hunting monsters is inefficient. Instead of a mixed buffet style meal, they are just adding water to rice and eating it.’

But it was difficult to go down to the 3rd floor when considering the other peoples’ views. Rather than trying to hunt, Weed just sat down and started making sculptures. He would make some profit rather than waste time.

?????????????????????

The members of the Hermes Guild were arranged in the Melbourne Mine.

• Turok: The scouts have finished being placed around the mine.
• Reikina: There is nothing unusual around the entrance of the mine and the 1st floor.
• Kasim: The Black Lion Guild’s troops?
• Turok: It seems like the level in the dungeon isn’t that high. According to the reports from an agent we dispatched 3 days in advance, a total of 160 people over level 300 entered the mine since yesterday. Among them are 75 members of the Black Lion Guild.

On the 3rd floor the level of the monsters exceeded 300. Therefore quite a few high level users tended to visit there. Of course that was nothing compared to the invading forces of the Hermes Guild.

• Kasim: If it is only that degree then we can quickly obliterate them.
• Arkhim: It won’t be good if we drag it out for a long time. They can notice at any time so we’ll start immediately once Bardray and his guards arrive.
• Kasim: I’m asking for final confirmation. Are we only fighting against the Black Lion Guild?

In the current guild chat channel, those given a special mission were given permission for a separate chat channel by the Hermes Guild. It was in order to maintain the security of the mission against other guilds.

• Arkhim: Our goal is the success of Bardray-nim’s quest, even if that means the death of everybody in the Melbourne Mine.

The Black Lion Guild was one of the prestigious guilds. It is because they were the Hermes Guild that they could make such a drastic decision.

• Arkhim: I’ll briefly tell you the plans. The Melbourne Mine belongs to the Black Lion Guild but they are also fighting in 11 other places. Even if the Black Lion Guild notices our intentions, it will take some time for their troops to arrive.

The Hermes Guild had sent teams to attack several places at the same time to act as a distraction. They also entered an agreement with the Beden guild for a siege mission.

The Black Lion Guild was completely rattled because of their calculations.

?????????????????????

Hegel boasted of his strength while fighting the Menchura on the 2nd floor.

“Most of the monsters are vulnerable to continuous attacks. They will fall into a state of confusion so just keep hitting them.”

“It’s hard Sunbae-nim.”

“I’ll give you a demonstration.”

Hegel’s aim was to spend quality time with his juniors. Meanwhile Weed yawned as he made simple sculptures. The sculptures were completed in no time. If he sold the sculptures for an extravagant price than he could make money!

“Hyung should hunt as well.”

“No, I’m fine. I’ll do it later.”

Weed sometimes raised his head to watch the hunt while creating sculptures. He needed to go with Hegel to the 3rd floor anyway. The petty rules meant he couldn’t go downstairs without being attacked by the Black Lion Guild. Flattering Hegel was the price he had to pay for it.

“Hegel, you are really cool when fighting.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“You seemed to have gained many levels while fighting.”

“Ah! Hyung, I got to level 330 this time.”

Occasionally he would throw out words of praise!

?????????????????????

Melbourne Mine’s underground 4th floor!

Here users more than level 360 hunted in parties formed by the Black Lion Guild. The 4th floor had the form of a seven branched tunnel. This was the territory of the Black Lion Guild and they even manufactured maps of it. Many monsters emerged and users enjoyed hunting here.

“Today we’ve hunted quite a lot.”

“If you’re tired do you want to go out and get some fresh air?”

“It’s okay.”

One Black Lion Guild party was preparing to return to the fortress. Then the mine started shaking.

Kurururung!

“This earth is shaking!”

“Is it going to collapse?”

“It would be tough for a big mine like this to collapse.”

“But the ground is shaking… Watch out, rocks are falling from the ceiling!”

The Black Lion Guild members hunting in the Melbourne Mine started clamouring in the guild chat. It was like an earthquake had occurred through the entire Melbourne Mine.

“What’s this? The entrance to a dungeon suddenly appeared.”

“Should we enter through here?”

“It seems to be connected to Melbourne Mine’s 4th floor so the degree of difficulty won’t be ordinary. Should we contact the guild first?”

A hole had suddenly appeared in the wall, revealing a huge cave. Users from the Black Lion Guild gathered and consulted with their guild. And prompt reports starting flying through the guild chat.

• Kamaras: Many holes were created in the dungeon. An identified force came to kill the users! A member of the Black Lion Guild tried to stop them but came under attack and died. Other people appeared and also died. It is impossible with just us so we need support.

It took only 1 minute before other users reported.

• Ject: An unidentified party enter the dungeon en ma.s.se, killing all users. A battle ensued and they mercilessly attacked our guild. The power of the enemy is beyond imagination.
• Pum: A battle has also started on the mountain range. The guard posts and fortress has also received fire. This is an urgent request for reinforcements!

The Black Lion Guild’s members hunting in the dungeon were suddenly attacked. The situation didn’t end there.

• Mirnak: Large scale combat troops from the Beden Guild are approaching Kurun Castle. Judging by all the magicians, it seems like a siege is about to occur!

It wasn’t difficult to recover when the peace of a dungeon was disturbed. Unless the monsters stormed out and slaughtered the inhabitants, it wouldn’t deal substantial economic or security damage.

But if they lost the siege then the castle and surrounding area would be pa.s.sed to the Beden Guild. The Black Lion Guild had invested a lot in the development so it would become extremely unstable. If the residents were reduced then it would take some time to recover.

That’s why most of the central area of Versailles where the war was concentrated had a reduction in inhabitants, agricultural areas and technology. They would still receive a loss if they surrendered to the enemy.

• Nechak: I’m now in Kurun Castle. I’ve observed that the number of Beden Guild members challenging us is quite significant. The Black Lion Guild is convening an emergency meeting for the first time in its history.
• Koka: All users engaged in hunting, questing or business are ready for battle and waiting for a command.

The Black Lion Guild entered into an emergency system. The guild leader quickly grasped the situation and urgently sent reinforcements to Kurun Castle. It was a priority to prevent their castle from being taken away.

While the Black Lion Guild was waking up, the ma.s.sacre of the Melbourne Mine by the Hermes Guild had begun.