V54C5P2- Quest Crossroad

‘By Half-Elf Vishur, it must mean the missing hero of the elven race. So, this connects to the elves too.’

Weed met up with Yurin who was waiting and they quietly made their exit out of Octurn, the City of Discipline.

After he had a meeting with Mapan, he sent out a notice to all users.

– I am collecting all information on the Half-Elf Vishur and the location of maze Zode, as they pertain to stopping Kaybern. There will be a reward for those who provide vital information.

Instantly, the elven users reported about the Half-Elf Vishur.

– This is not the most accurate, but the elven elder spoke a bit about it, that there was one who was human and also an elf; a glorious swordsman.

– The most powerful elven champion was born in the eastern forest.

– I heard that story as well. An elf who mastered the bow and has been blessed by the earth and wind.

– I think the elf who resolved the incident with the spirit of Tannoma was named Vishur.

– I agree with the elf above. While I was proceeding with F and E rank quests in Tannoma, I saw the name Vishur engraved on a tree root buried in the ground. I thought it was nothing out of the ordinary, but I was shocked that the antique p.a.w.n shop bought it for 30,000 gold.

– I am Haruna, a level 510 elf. I resided in the woods my whole time here, and I am well acquainted with the elders. I apologize for not being able to partic.i.p.ate in the Battle of the Garnav Plains, as I was on a mission of protecting the flowers. I asked the elders this time in regards to Weed-nim’s quest. They spoke to me about an elf that picked up the sword in vengeance after the trees were burnt down.

The gathering of information about the Half-Elf Vishur occurred due to the elves.

The stories about maze Zode took a while. It was a dungeon unknown to the world.

– Where in the world is maze Zode? I’ve never heard of that name.

– I know Cuclan like my own house. There are several dungeons around level 700 ~ 800, but none of them are designee like a maze.

– In the Cypath regions, there is no maze Zode. I have gone through all the dungeons that have been uncovered until now, and I can say for sure there is no maze Zode here. I can bet my name, Adventurer Bearmoon, on the line.

– I am flipping through every single book in the Great Library of Morata. Maze Zode is nowhere to be found.

– Shouldn’t we investigate the elven forests?

– This is Wood Elf Zorang. The elves are all out on the search. Elves discover and proceed with quests in the woods, and they are quite knowledgeable about these regions. However, they cannot trace anything.

A great number of users stepped up like it was their own interest.

Joining the warrior quest led by Weed spread virally like a trend.

The discussion boards were on fire.

– Please find it. I am Mage Jonte. I began partic.i.p.ating in Weed-nim’s quest and I have been hunting for 9 days. At first, I was told that this was a Korean crash course program in leveling. I was like, that is awesome. Since then, I did gain 17 levels, but all I ate was barley bread, berries, and gra.s.s porridge. There is no time for food.

– This is Archer Borocter. I am hunting with the person above, and let’s just say that this place is a hunting pit of h.e.l.l. My wish on the first day was to use all my arrows and rest, but then I saw the Avian reinforcements carrying 300,000 arrows behind them.

– I am a blacksmith in Morata. Currently, I am crafting over 1 million arrows in about 2 hours.

– We must become robots. Just fire those arrows. I don’t even know how many levels or archery skills increased. We just keep working.

– I am American. What kind of country is South Korea? What culture and philosophy does it have? Weed spoke in the beginning.

“Do not worry about being weaker than the people around you. Just endure through hard labor. We must begin now, though I cannot say when it will come to an end.”

When it became so painful and unbearable, he said.

“Just imagine yourself studying last minute before the exam. It will all be great memories when it ends. You will remember these extremely nostalgic experiences. You will have developed the tenacity and confidence to do anything.”

I wanted to run away in secret, but Weed spoke again.

“The body can withstand hard labor. It is the mind that gets stressed. Throw away all thoughts of ever stopping. Just a bit more, and it will all be okay. Humans are excellent in adaptation.”

American hunters began with admiration for Weed, but they quickly became afraid.

I had a dream last night.

Weed spoke to me in the dream.

“Isn’t hunting fun? Ku-hehehe. The diligent bunch of you should feel privileged to hang around with me forever after slaying Kaybern. Fight on.”

He’s the devil! The devil!

Not Kaybern, but Weed. He is the devil.

I have newfound admiration for Pale-nim who has stuck by him since the beginning.

How he became so strong after a late start, that secret was not hunting nor skills.

It was intensive labor.

He would have labored with any spare time he had with Weed. How can someone not become stronger after that?

– I will not reveal my name. We are slaves. We do not think about anything. We will just hunt. I wish to live like a human being. I swear. I will live with kindness and respect for novice users.

The users that partic.i.p.ated in Weed’s quest were slowly converted into hunting slaves. They could not escape due to the influences of the media. Even so, some were actually enjoying the atmosphere.

It was extremely tiresome and rigorous, but they received a sense of accomplishment once in a while.

They ran into an unbelievable number of monsters and were not afraid.

In fact, they were looking forward to the day when they would fight Kaybern.

The barley bread that they didn’t even give an eye to suddenly became so delicious, and 10 seconds of closing their eyes closed made them so happy.

– I am in the hunting team. As of now, the days are difficult but we have hope. We will become heroes when this is all over.

– I ain’t afraid of anything. Hahahaha.

– I think I will be set if I just follow Weed-nim around. My family and friends are jealous of me appearing on broadcast. Yesterday, I was praised for my magical spell chanting speed. I will bet my life on Weed-nim. Mmm. Is that a good decision? I don’t know. But, that would make me at ease.

They were in a transient state, surpa.s.sing agony, sadness, and despair!

Weed had picked out the elites of Royal Road, and toughening them up in the hunting grounds seemed to have made them painfully adjust to the routine.

***

Weed heard news that the sandstorm has brewed in the Desert of Silence.

“Information on Vishur or Maze Zode needs to be more complete… In that case, I will need to take care of the job cla.s.s first.”

He travelled to the desert village in proximity of the destination through Yurin’s Paint Teleportation Skill and rode his camel frantically.

Desert of Silence.

A storm was rising with a radius of 3 km.

Sand got sucked into the sky and the world’s light faded with it, truly a mystical view.

The Eye of the Sun. It sure is violent, befitting its nickname.”

The winds were sweeping the surroundings and the sands were dancing in a craze.

Geomchi5, who had arrived earlier, spoke with a concerning expression on his face.

“The storm is bigger than we thought. Are you gonna be alright?”

“Yes.”

Weed began taking off his equipment, starting with the Sky Ruler’s Armor.

In order to continue with the quest, he had to walk into the storm with no other equipment other than a single weapon.

It was a frightening task, only carried out with nerves of steel.

“I will be back.”

“Yeah. Take it down with style.”

Weed took on the cheer from Geomchi5, the apprentices, and the desert tribes as he walked towards the storm.

There were also users that filled the sand hill. The very users that were hunting with their lives all came to watch.

< The sand winds are blowing intensely.

Health points decrease by 160 per second. >

The moment he stepped into the radius of the sandstorm, he immediately began taking damage because he was armorless.

‘Things are getting harsh so early. This is definitely not going to be easy.’

Weed took it to heart, that he was different in every aspect when compared to his days as the Great King of the Desert.

Back then, he charged on his twin-hump camel with awesome abilities and crushed storms with a single strike of the sword that could split the sky and the desert.

‘Level difference is approximately 300. An incomparable physical prowess.’

< The sand winds are grazing your skin.

Health points decrease by 280 each second.

High perseverance and willpower that will withstand any environment reduces the decline of health points by half. >

Having jumped from sculptor and necromancer, his strength, agility, health points, and willpower lacked more than one who trained as a warrior the entire way.

Weed thought that it was crucial to move quickly before his health points depleted.

‘With all the adventures I have done until now, I can do this.’

Having said that, crossing the halfway point of the sandstorm reduced his health points by 350 every second.

“Eyes Closed Shut!”

He raised his defense by closing his eyes and also used Stone Skin which fortified his skin. In doing so, his heallth points reduction whittled down below 100.

Bandage wrapping, which he mastered, could restore his health points, but the use of consumables was restricted.

Weed lowered his body so that he would not be blown away into the sky and treaded one step at a time.

< Perseverance increased by 1. >

Perseverance and willpower were the basis of a warrior.

To continue walking forward, it required strength and stamina as well.

Advancing further under this extreme environment raised perseverance.

‘In the days as Great King of the Desert, I just ran up to it and slashed it away… The basic strength difference is huge. Furthermore, my health points are too low.’

His health points stood at 128,000.

He trained for a long time as a sculptor and every level he gained, his maximum health points did not increase significantly.

The Goblet of Flames and Sky Ruler’s Armor raised his maximum health points, but his base was in a terrible state.

He was skilled in many areas, but his low health points was a weakness difficult to overcome.

He cracked many S rank difficulty quests, but a quest like this, in which he had to smash through with his sheer body, was not easy even if it was an A rank difficulty.

< The raging sand winds delve into your skin.

Excruciating damage!

Health points decreased by 9286! >

The further into the storm he walked, the more the damage escalated. His entire body was stinging, and his vision was narrowing.

60,000 health points remaining!

Weed felt like his body was going to shoot up into the sky. He realized if that were to happen, it meant death.

‘That means I fail the quest as well.’

He could not advance any further with a weak body.

He had only recently become a warrior, and quests that could not utilize his sculptor traits were difficult to manage.

‘Do I scale my willpower up with Sculptural Destruction? Still, my strength is too low and cannot be certain.’

He contemplated trying again after heightening his defense. Even then, lack of strength or agility meant that he could not walk into the eye of the storm.

‘Even if I level up one stat, the other ones are lacking in general. I did put up these stats with all the hard grinding until now… Do I just give up here?’

That moment, he thought of a sliver of possibility by trying an unorthodox method.

‘If things go south, I will be dead for sure… No, would that make me safer instead? I cannot afford to hesitate. If I drag this out, it will only get worse.’

Weed, upon making his decision, laid flat on his stomach.

“Four-legged running!”

*Ta-ta-ta-tap!*

It was a skill he hadn’t used in a long time, and he was running uptempo!

< The sandstorm strikes your body.

Health points reduced by 7286. >

< The winds are carrying you forward.

Movement speed increased by 198%. >

(To be continued…)