2) Bardray and the Royal Guards

• Sakain: Clean up the 1st floor as quickly as possible then proceed to penetrate a path for Bardray to go down to the 2nd floor.

The Royal Guards and 2 Night Blade a.s.sa.s.sination squads from the Hermes Guild had been mobilized to fight in the Melbourne Mine. The Night Blade a.s.sa.s.sin Guild had at least 300 a.s.sa.s.sins. 2 groups of 80 elite a.s.sa.s.sins with terrible power had been selected. Those two groups from Night Blade were enough to completely dispatch a smaller guilds. The a.s.sa.s.sins rushed out holding their weapons.

“Kyaaaak!”

“I’ll leave the dungeon so spare me.”

“Everybody is indiscriminately being killed. Run away!”

The users hunting in the Melbourne Mine were being wiped out. Some begged and some cursed but the a.s.sa.s.sins from the Hermes Guild were merciless. It was a source of decent income for them so they thoroughly slaughtered everyone.

Bardray walked through the dead towards the 2nd floor with the Royal Guards.

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“Hyung, what do we do? There is a sudden attack so are we going to die?”

“What’s the big deal? We’ll just step carefully.”

“That……”

Hegel explained the contents of his guild chat.

“Oh, they’re really bad guys.”

“Completely unlucky.”

Alice and Dine had annoyed him but Weed was the type to drink every last drop of milk even if it was two months overdue. Therefore he had stayed with them and discovered the serious problem too late.

“Can’t troops from the Black Lion Guild stop them?”

“The event is occurring in many places at the same time. A war is occurring so there is no guarantee they will send help here.”

The Black Lion Guild had experienced many wars. Hegel was also experienced in many sieges upon the enemy but now it was the rare situation where they were being attacked!

Usually if there was a hunting ground or dungeon then a village would naturally be in that area. Sending a raiding party was a dangerous tactic because there was no guarantee they could return safely.

Weed sighed as he discovered that the Black Lion Guild was too busy to control the situation.

“The hospital bill had just decreased and now this happened.”

“Eh?”

“There is such a thing.”

He thought this would be easy thanks to Hegel, only to have an accident like this happen again.

“I couldn’t guess it at all. For an incident to occur in the dungeon while the Beden Guild is attacking.”

Something like this happened when they didn’t even know the ident.i.ty of the enemies. It would be too late by the time they figured it out. Weed stopped making his sculptures and stood up.

“What did the Black Lion Guild members in the mine decide to do?”

“They tried to fight back but I heard reports that the enemies on the 1st floor are no joke. So we decided to gather on the 4th floor.”

“Is that so? Then can I go there?”

“It won’t matter if I bring you with me.”

“Thank you. Let’s go.”

Weed checked his backpack.

He had stored some of his equipment in case he needed to meet a lord or n.o.ble. But Kolderim’s Daemon Sword, Talrock’s Armour, the Ancient s.h.i.+eld, Saint’s Staff, Barkhan’s full set, Baharan’s Bracelet and Seulroeo’s Wedding Ring were present. If he lost even one of those items then it would be a huge psychological impact.

‘Even if the forces of the Black Lion Guild are spread, the invaders’ power truly isn’t ordinary.’

Weed couldn’t imagine that the people in the Melbourne Mine were Bardray and the Hermes Guild. Still, they needed to be of a very high level if they were stepping on the Black Lion Guild. Judging from Hegel’s expression and the great number of intruders, this was a really big crisis. The entire Melbourne Mine was a combat area so logging out was impossible.

“Let’s go down the stairs to the lower floors.”

Weed also had a map of the mine so he knew the approximate route.

“Hyung, I will open the way.”

Hegel said while holding his sword and s.h.i.+eld.

“There’s no time for that now.”

Weed drew his Daemon Sword.

Then there was an eerie feeling! Weed jumped across the gap and attacked the Menchura that was frozen by Weed’s charisma and fighting spirit. It couldn’t even attack Weed and kept on trembling pitifully.

Seokeok!

He hadn’t aimed for a vital spot yet it had died just from a graze of the Daemon Sword! All the Menchura blocking the route died from just a touch from Weed.

“Uh?”

Hegel was outraged. He had diligently raised his level to 330 thanks to hunting with his guild. The Menchura was still scary even if he was this level. But just lightly wielding his sword like it was a joke and killing the Menchura was an impossible task.

‘Even one of the hyungs who founded the Black Lion Guild can’t do this much.’

Hegel couldn’t demonstrate his full ability in fights because of his own lack of judgement and senses. But many users included Hegel were weak compared to their level.

When Weed was level 330, he had been fighting against dragons and touring Todeum. This was because he increased his stats more than others and he persistently raised his many skills. Compare that to other users who were accustomed to wearing good equipment and facing moderate monsters. While Weed was eating barley bread, other users were living while eating well cooked beef steak.

Weed disposed of the Menchura and asked.

“When will reinforcements from the Black Lion Guild come?”

“I don’t know yet. Right now other places are more urgent. I won’t be able to tell you the time.”

Weed continued fighting while surveying the area. Some parties were still hunting because they hadn’t gotten the news yet and some users were talking in loud voices.

“Do you have any information about the enemies that struck?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then you don’t know how many there are?”

“A little more information just came from the Melbourne Mine. There are at least 300 people.”

“Their estimated level?”

“It’s outrageous. A user from our guild who hunted on the 4th floor fought one of them on the 1st floor and died. That’s despite the fact that he is level 367.”

When it was this degree, it wasn’t just the hospital bill but the insurance expenses as well.

‘It is really dangerous.’

Weed moved at a faster pace.

He had learnt how to live a proper life when he was a child. He had learnt different things from society as he grew older. How to endure injustice. What to do when work wasn’t easy. The way to tread on other people to take the ball away.

“It is really hard to live honestly….. No wonder good people like me have no choice but to suffer and resent the world.”

“Eh?”

“It’s nothing.”

A bunch of Menchura had gathered at the entrance to go down to the 3rd floor. The monsters in the Melbourne Mine happened to breed very fast. Usually it was a condition for good hunting but it was just an obstacle in situations like this.

“I’m going to drill a path.”

Weed had many sword skills. Although he trained in all the skills, he focused on some exceptional ones.

The Imperial Formless Sword style!

It could be properly utilized for hunting as long as he didn’t break the opponent’s weapons. He might win the battle but there was no telling what loot he might not obtain if he recklessly broke equipment.

Sculpting Blade, Heriam Fencing and Radiant Sword, Weed had diverse skills that could be used depending on the characteristics of the fight. Radiant Sword was a ranged attack skill that used beautiful light.

“If I eat the entire roast chicken as a midnight snack then I won’t be able to eat grilled rib eye.”

A knife used to catch a chicken couldn’t be used to catch a cow.

Given the level of damage dealt to the Menchura, using Radiant Sword would just be abusing the monster.

“Huh?”

Hegel, Alice and Dine couldn’t understand the meaning of the words Weed kept on muttering.

“Hyung, let’s fight together.”

“No. I’m going to eat alone.”

Weed steadily walked through the congregating Menchura towards the 3rd floor.

Kyahaoo!

Kuyayang!

The Menchura didn’t have the capacity to threaten him. Instead their eyes were filled with deep fear. Weed’s fighting spirit was strongly emitted when a battle started.

The G.o.d of War.

He had fought countless battles with the strongest monsters on the Versailles Continent so the Menchura found it difficult to attack against his fighting spirit. The Menchura willingly fled to the rear to retreat. It was only 1 person approaching but 17 Menchura were running away. However it was impossible for Weed to just leave the obvious experience and loot to descend to the 3rd floor.

“Sculpting Blade!”

Weed’s sword plunged towards the Menchura. It was the ma.s.s death of all monsters within the radius of the sword! It dealt a mental shock to anyone who watched the Menchura simultaneously disappear.

Now the Menchura desperately fought back despite the pressure from his fighting spirit. Weed generously welcomed their attacks with his body. He was in the state where he wasn’t wearing proper armour since it was packed.

Weed felt ticklis.h.!.+

“Let’s clean this up.”

The monsters gathered around the entrance to the 3rd floor quickly disappeared. Weed had been completing his Master quest not just in the Melbourne Mine so he hadn’t been able to fight as much as he wanted. He made sure to wipe them all out without leaving even one behind.

“Wah! Sunbae-nim, you’re the best.”

“So strong! What is the name of that attack skill?”

Alice and Dine started talking in appealing tones. Hegel spent that time being shamed and it was a repeat of a nightmare.

‘Ah…. This happened before.’

The Dwarf sculptor Weed! He remembered Weed’s surprising actions in the Kramador dungeon. When they went down to the 3rd floor, the users there were aware of and preparing for the attack.

“Where are those guys?”

“I don’t know but they seem to be fighting furiously so we should prepare for a battle.”

The Black Lion Guild members were guiding users down to the 4th floor. The Melbourne Mine’s 4th floor was a tunnel so the entrances were narrows when plenty of obstacles. Therefore it was a good terrain for a fight. The members had faith that the Black Lion Guild would send reinforcements even if it took some time. So they were bringing users from the 3rd floor down.

“Hyung, let’s go quickly as well.”

Hegel would feel more relieved if he was with his guild members so he wanted to rush. But Weed had work to do on the 3rd floor.

“A lot of people seem to be descending… This is a great opportunity.”

“What type of opportunity?”

“I don’t care if you go down first.”

Weed took a pickaxe out of his backpack and headed towards the mining area. The deeper it was in the mine, the better the iron ore that emerged was. Of course he also dug out sapphires.

Kang! Kang! Kang!

A lot of sapphires came out thanks to the skilled use of his pickaxe. It was a technique that controlled the power in accordance with the pickaxe weight and aiming for the exact spot. It was similar to the attack used when fighting a large enemy.

-Kuhehehe.

-Let’s release our grudge. Those bad guys left us locked up here to starve to death.

-You must be the servant sent by the Tullen King.

Angry spirits appeared on the 3rd floor every time someone started mining. They were dead knights with a hatred for invaders. A battle would occur whenever they appeared so the soldiers needed to protect the miners. Of course, most miners moved with a hunting party. This was also a good place for priests to hunt with their purify magic.

“Wait a little bit.”

-What is he saying? Our desired vengeance……

“Take this and eat it.”

Weed threw the spirits an apple.

-Apple.

-It is ripe and delicious.

The evil spirits attached themselves to the apple. The coveted apple disappeared in a few bites.

-Sweet.

-A few more.

-Then we won’t kill you.

“Whew.”

Weed sighed while moving his pickaxe and started throwing them fruit one by one.

.If he had time then catching the Melbourne spirits wouldn’t be difficult. Sculpting Blade and Radiant Sword were techniques that could even take care of spirits. But right now dangerous forces had entered the mine so he wasn’t in a position to do that.

“Live and offer up fruits to spirits, their fate…..”

Weed sang as he focused on his pickaxe.

-Sway sway, look over there.

-Are you looking for the sparkling blue jewels? There are some on the right side.

He dug where the spirits told him to with his intermediate mining skills and sapphires came pouring out. The spirits liked the fruit and gave him valuable information about where to mine.

“For mining skills to be used in a Sculpting Master Quest…..”

It meant a character needed to be a jack of many trades to complete the quest. He needed sapphires to complete the quest so finding a lot was good. He needed to make a sculpture so different quant.i.ties of sapphires were needed. Weed continued digging despite being satisfied with the quant.i.ty of stones.

“I don’t know when I can get such a quest again.”

His mining skill also continued rising as he continuously dug out quality sapphires. Sapphires were beautiful so they could be processed into jewelry or when given to a senior magician, it could add attributes to swords and armour. Jewelry that increased attack damage could be sold for an expensive price.

“Hyung, let’s stop now.”

They didn’t dare leave Weed so Hegel and his two juniors were restless. Weed who was surrounded by spirits just kept on mining.

-It’s there, right there.

-There is a huge gemstone…… If he wanted to eat something sour then shouldn’t he buy a pomegranate?

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The Hermes Guild had no difficulty wiping out the 1st floor of the Melbourne Mine. The Night Blade a.s.sa.s.ssins wiped out all parties. The a.s.sa.s.sins’ names were flas.h.i.+ng red.

But they had the skill to hide it so that their infamy didn’t show when entering a village. Of course, if the other side had excellent observation or surveillance skills then they would be exposed and difficulty would ensue. However the territories dominated by the Hermes Guild granted amnesty to them so they didn’t care about their infamy.

“Let’s go.”

Bardray and the Royal Guards went down to the 2nd underground floor. A portion of the Royal Guards had already gone ahead and slaughtered the users with overwhelming force. Some users tried to escape to a tunnel but the Night Blade a.s.sa.s.sins caught up and ended their lives.

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Yoo Byung-jin felt like he became a lot older every morning.

“In retrospect, my youth pa.s.sed by really quickly.”

He didn’t know how precious time was when he was young. He spent the entire time inventing Royal Road. Now his body had grown old and it wasn’t the same any longer.

Virtual reality drew a clear line in human history. There was so much potential for future development but Yoo Byung-jin thought that he probably wouldn’t see it.

“One day I’d like to live quietly in a place where people don’t know where I am.”

Looking back the ambition that had burned in him just increase the burden and made living life harder. Yoo Byung-jin wanted to find his successor so he watched what was happening in Royal Road on a daily basis.

“Tsk tsk, greed is never ending. If it isn’t stopped……”

The greed of a giant guild. The greedy humans moved in a herd and caused endless disputes. This could also be called human nature so Yoo Byung-jin watched it thoroughly.

“Morata… The Arpen Kingdom will probably become quite big. The growth is surprisingly quite rapid.”

There hadn’t been anything left in the Northern Continent so it was a poor area. Weed’s adventure had truly been beyond expectations. He had gone through many adventures since becoming a Legendary Moonlight Sculptor and raising a kingdom. His actions were amazing in a world dominated by monsters, swords and magics.

“If I played Royal Road then I would probably start in Morata.”

If people gathered together than a huge power would naturally be formed. Yoo Byung-jin saw the variety of events that happened daily in Morata.

Adventurers triumphantly returned with new discoveries. Warriors going out to increasingly distant places to hunt and bringing back news of the defeat of a dungeon. Bards succeeded in putting on great peformances. Tailors carefully wove fabric to develop their skills and it was the same for blacksmiths. Sculptors and painters created pieces of beautiful art on the streets. Gardeners pulled out weeds while carefully growing their prized flowers and trees.

Morata didn’t have sudden changes. All sectors were gradually getting better every day. This ordinary miracle would eventually lead to a kingdom. That’s why Yoo Byung-jin often watched Weed. While the war-torn cities on the continent were hard for beginners, Morat was a surprisingly good living area. In addition, Weed was currently part of the compet.i.tors ahead in their fields who were completing the Master Quest.

“He might meet Bardray in the Melbourne Mine.”

The two people didn’t know that they were in the same dungeon. Normally millions of people watched Bardray and Weed’s adventures but the nature of the incident meant that it couldn’t be broadcasted live. The only person who saw the surrounding circ.u.mstances was Yoo Byung-jin.

“What will happen……”

Yoo Byung-jin curiously watched the monitor. And he became more impatient as he watched Weed continue mining sapphires.

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“There’s this much?”

Weed’s eyes twinkled as he looked at the sapphires in the basket. He also obtained quite a significant amount of 2nd and 3rd grade iron ores. The minerals had quite a significant weight but he didn’t think they were heavy.

“In order to make money in this land… It is worth learning the mining skill.”

It was one of the skills that made money in Royal Road.

“Now I should do a little more digging.”

“Hyung, we should go quickly. There’s no time to waste here anymore.”

Hegel said from the side. He had been upset since finding out the Melbourne Mine was attacked. Meanwhile the Black Lion Guild were gathering the users on the 4th floor. Hegel was anxious and wanted to join them soon but Weed was doing something unexpected.

‘This Hyung’s level is significant. I can tell that his combat ability isn’t ordinary just from the little bit of fighting I saw. He will be useful for today’s war. However, if I can’t pry him from the sapphires…..’

Weed had completely fallen under the spell of the sapphires. He could obtain plenty of gems and minerals by listening to the spirits. If he combined his sculpting and blacksmithing skills in the future to earn money then he would be really satisfied.

“Sunbae-nim, come quickly.”

“You can’t do this here!”

Dine and Alice couldn’t hold back their words anymore. The memory of Weed’s charisma when fighting against the Menchura had vanished. It was annoying since Weed was busy.

“Kekekeket. A sapphire. It is a top of the line goods without any scratches.”

He couldn’t just mine recklessly. He needed to be careful whenever he found a sapphire. If he didn’t cause any damage to the surface of the gemstone with his pickaxe then the price would climb higher.

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Yurin met many people as she freely travelled around the continent.

“This beautiful lady painter, can I request a favour?”

A man wearing a magician’s robe approached.

“Your sense of colour is very good. I’d like a picture….. I’ll even buy you a drink so we can talk.”

A knight also approached.

“Can I entrust this picture that I excavated to Yurin-nim?”

An adventurer brought a picture that had been painted a long time ago. She liked painting pictures of cities and scenic views while talking to people. Users and residents sometimes told her stories of hidden trails and valleys with flowers blooming.

“This place is also hidden. Draw it as soon as possible.”

While drinking milk with barley bread, the painting remained in her mind not just on the canvas. She remained lost in thought while drawing a picture of a beautiful landscape, and enjoyed the free and satisfying time until it was completed. She also talked with people while drawing portraits. It was to the extent that her friends and connections couldn’t be ignored.

But Yurin was happiest when she was in Morata and Vargo Fortress. She went hunting with beginners and gave out small amounts of paintings. Her ability to paint also progressed rapidly.

“Do you want to have a meal together? I know a good cook. I think you’ll love it.”

Sometimes Yurin met Hwaryeong who was having a difficult time hunting with Geomchi.

“Okay unni.”

The two of them had a meal and saw a performance. Morata was a city of art and performances so the ratio of female users was high compared to other areas. Morata was a city of art and performances so the ratio of female users was high compared to other areas.

“Was Weed-nim cool even when he was a child?”

“He… He made sure I always wore 2 layers of thick underwear even in the house.”

The two women often discussed Weed. Yurin had a good sibling relations.h.i.+p with Weed while Hwaryeong was interested in him.

“But can I ask if the two of you ever fought?”

“When I was young I used to misunderstand Oppa but now he is the one I love most in the world.”

“That’s right. There probably isn’t anything to fight about. I asked something unnecessary.”

Yurin and Weed had a positive relations.h.i.+p like Hwaryeong expected.

“No unni. I also got annoyed at Oppa… Although it happened some time ago.”

“Did you?”

“It was last winter.”

Yurin’s eyes were already wet just thinking about it.

“These ugg boots that I really wanted to buy….”

Girls liked wearing ugg boots in winter because they were cool and cute. But the larger reason was because they were warm and big so they were convenient to wear. Yurin wanted to wear the boots when studying in the library.

“I asked Oppa to buy me those boots.”

“So?”

Hwaryeong’s eyes flashed once she realized the story was about shoes.

“Did he buy you pretty ugg boots?”

Usually men didn’t have a very good response to women’s shoes or bags. In particular there were many men who didn’t like ugg boots.

“He didn’t buy it. He took it as a declaration that my feet were cold and gave me socks…..”

“Keeek!”

“But they were thick socks that can’t be easily worn with shoes. He a.s.sumed that all boots were identical even when explained about the ugg boots… Euheuheuk.”

Hwaryeong patted the devastated Yurin on the shoulder.

It was the saddest story she had heard recently.