Chapter 36 036

"No way."

That was Minhyuk's first impression after hearing about what Seojin did.

"How is that possible? Four achievements? Let's say that's even possible, how about making a billion… damn."

Minhyuk covered his mouth, realizing just how high his tone had risen in excitement.

"…Making a billion in a Level 10 area."

"Why not?"

"I mean…"

Minhyuk tried to refute but soon gave up as he had nothing to say.

"…because it doesn't make sense."

"I did, though. And I didn't sell it either, I used it instead."

"…What?!"

"I fed it to a spirit. I told you that I saw a spirit-like thing while I was in Movelon."

Minhyuk's eyes almost popped out of his head.

"You've even got a spirit? Are you an elementalist?

"Silver Tongue."

"Can a Silver Tongue control spirits?"

Minhyuk's questions doubled, then tripled, each time Seojin spoke Seojin shook his head at Minhyuk.

"What? I can't?"

"I'm not saying that you can't…"

"…my total stats are 300. I've got a spirit, and I fed it. I'm able to return to Berne at any time because I got a VIP buff from the Baron or something."

Seojin continued pouring out words to Minhyuk, who looked dumbfounded.

"On top of that, I got two skill books. Oh, and EXP pills? I got items I received when I completed the World Quest again."

Level 21, and he was only on the second town. Minhyuk looked more and more speechless hearing how Seojin explored and achieved things other players simply passed over.

"How the hell did you do that?"

"I just explained everything."

"Yeah, I heard. I understood, no, in fact, you convinced me."

"Then what's the problem?"

Minhyuk sipped his coffee and began to laugh.

"I wouldn't be able to do that if I was in your shoes."

"What would you do if you were?"

"Well… I'm a Paladin, so I would've used God as an excuse. You know, telling them that their savior has come and all that kinda stuff. But if that didn't work, I'd be at a dead end."

"What if it did work?"

"Then… well, maybe I'd call a nearby temple for help? Paladins are easily liked by NPCs, and then…"

Merhen kept laying out his plan. His rather boring attitude soon disappeared, and his eyes were serious as if he was really immersed in the situation.

"…the NPC I contacted would gradually rank up until he could influence the baron. Of course, I couldn't take care of my share of things as much as you did. I think I would have been ripped off by all the higher-ups."

"Yeah, that'd work too."

"Easier said than done."

Minhyuk smirked, but Seojin was still serious.

"Remember when we played Asgard together? You always told me your opinion like this."

"…Why are you talking about the old days all of a sudden?"

"There were many cases where I got clues thanks to you. If you were still the same as back then, how would you react when I returned?"

Minhyuk was stunned.

"You would have analyzed how I did it, learn from my success and see what I could've done better. Then, you'd immediately try to figure out how to solve the next quest."

"…"

"That's the you that I remember, you were that capable."

Seojin grinned and stood up.

"Gotta go, clock's ticking. I still have a lot to do."

"Oh? Okay, yeah. Bye."

"Yeah, and about Hailstorm, do whatever you want."

Minhyuk was staring at Seojin's back blankly. He'd just said what he wanted to and left. Minhyuk would have offended if it was anyone else, but it was Seojin. That was a kind of unwritten rule between them. To both of them, the game was more important than anything else.

'At least, it was back when we played Asgard… yeah, I remember.'

Minhyuk soon lost himself in thought, sitting there for a while even after Seojin left.

* * *

Seojin went downtown instead of going home after their meeting in the café.

'So, Minhyuk still has some fire left in him.'

Seojin had found some pretty good signs that Minhyuk was still the man from his memories. It was just that his situation and circumstances didn't allow him to act that way.

'Given some time, he should be able to remove that rust by himself.'

Minhyuk was earning around four million won per month as a mid-ranked player. It wasn't something that he could give up on easily, but he couldn't go beyond his limits if he was shackled to such a commitment. That's why Seojin didn't give him any advice.

'I need to train him to think independently. It doesn't matter whether it's Hailstorm or whatever, he needs to solve those kinds of problems by himself.'

Seojin couldn't look after Minhyuk forever. If he made a habit of making decisions by himself, it would make the game a hell of a lot easier. Not just for Seojin, but for Minhyuk too. Seojin entered a building as he thought that to himself.

"Good afternoon."

"Hello, come in! What brings you here?"

"I'm here to look for a house."

The middle-aged woman smiled brightly, offering him a seat first.

"Take a seat, would you like a cup of tea?"

"It's okay, I just drank one."

"Are you looking for a single room studio? I happen to have some good places nearby."

"No, I'm talking about an apartment. Is there anywhere around 700 square feet for about 300 million won? I'd like to lease it with key money."

He'd made some money, so he had to spend it. Living a comfortable life would make it easier to concentrate on the game.

* * *

He contracted an apartment rather smoothly. The landlord ran over to greet Seojin right away. Seojin was able to move his luggage straight after going through the process.

'I can't believe it was so easy to get a loan.'

He got a loan to pay the amount he was short on. He would be able to pay it back soon, considering the items he put up for auction.

He didn't have much luggage to begin with as his previous room was pretty small. Seojin moved on to his next task after he finished all of his chores at lightning speed.

"I'd like to hire some cleaners."

Seojin was not confident about cleaning his new two-room house right away, so, he hired the cleaners and the place looked like new in no time. Nothing was stopping him from simply eating, sleeping, and playing games now.

'I'll have to buy some furniture, but…'

He could fill up the empty house later. Wasting time and buying furniture would not necessarily improve his gameplay.

'I'm still kinda proud, though.'

Now, he had his own house worth hundreds of millions of won, even though it was on lease. He could even look out of his window and see pedestrians shuffling along the busy street. He never even dreamed of living in such a place before he started playing Midgard.

'I have to work harder.'

He needed to find valuable quests, get the maximum rewards, and find competent companions. It would not be unreasonable for him to find a much better house if he went through those steps.

'Maybe I'll be able to buy an entire apartment building one day… just like Minhyuk said.'

Someday, he would be able to burn money just to boil ramen, just like some crazy rich people.

"And to make that dream come true…" Seojin muttered, sitting on the console. "I have no choice but to put my life into the game… let's go."

His vision dimmed before brightening up again. Seojin grinned as he saw the familiar welcome message.

* * *

First of all, Seojin returned to the Three Crossroads to be rewarded by Morgan Feriah. However, Seojin ended up meeting Morgan Feriah's agent, not the man himself.

"Officer Feriah is away at the moment. I'll let you know when he gets back."

The agent didn't state the exact reason, but Seojin had a rough grasp on the situation.

'He must be back in the capital. The King, or one of his superiors, must have called him.'

But the fact he was away right now? Seojin didn't think that it was a coincidence.

'It's one hundred percent because of Berne.'

Baron Bolton said he was willing to give some of the money that the Ironbloods usually fleeced him of to the King, and he must have mentioned Seojin during that conversation. That must have been why the King summoned Morgan Feriah, as he was the last one to contact Seojin.

'I have no choice but to come back later.'

He had tons of rewards anyway. If he considered the fact that his name would be mentioned to the King, it was probably a good thing.

'Anyway, I know two NPCs related to the royals now.'

Knight Craig and Morgan Feriah. The two men were bound to be of help when the time came. And, soon enough…

Arrived at: A new settlement.

Seojin set foot in a new town.

* * *

Level 20 is where it truly begins.

That was the mantra of the players of Midgard. The first two starter towns were for beginners, but from level 20, or in other words, the third settlement, the atmosphere would change entirely.

Hunting zones thoroughly divided by levels, shops with thirty-times the variety of items, all sorts of facilities that could be used with money… there were even black markets.

"Wow… it's amazing."

The gateway city of Erzebet was bustling with players thanks to its location, which fully utilized water transportation to become a central hub of trade. Movelon and Berne were simply small towns compared to this city.

'I can't believe this is a game.'

Seojin's jaw dropped as he took in the steampunk-style scenery. The "medieval" themed buildings were soaring like skyscrapers. The irony of that alone made Seojin laugh. Even the port, which was the essence of Erzebet, looked semi-modernized. The funny thing was that the ships were all made of wood. Something magical seemed to be the powering ships.

'I've never seen anything like this. Well, I guess it might have been similar if magic existed in the medieval era.'

It looked like the developers were praised as the geniuses of the century for a reason. This wasn't even the main city for endgame players.

"Let's take a look around first."

Seojin traipsed around every corner of the city as he looked at the mini-map. There was a commercial district that sold almost anything, plus job guilds for Wizards and Warriors. There was also a place called the Street of Fire, where the statue of "Frid" was located, he was said to have learned skills from Dwarves.

Insufficient Level

Erzebet Port: Level Requirement — 50

While Seojin couldn't enter the port, he wandered around like a tourist and was able to come to one conclusion.

'The Southern City of Erzebet. It's a magnificent city.'

By magnificent, he meant there was a lot to gain here. This big city that resembled the Mediterranean region held a considerable amount of content, which meant that there must be a treasure trove of easter eggs that other players avoided.

"Should I do the main quest first?"'

Seojin had noticed the overall flow of the quest on his way through the city. He walked hurriedly with a smile on his face.

Erzebet Vigilance Committee HQ

The Vigilante HQ was the first place that Seojin visited.

One of the traits that Erzebet had was that the lord had no official army. As a result, vigilantes were the ones in charge of the city's security.

'But it's practically impossible to deal with the monsters around here with this force alone.'

The vigilance committee had only around two hundred and thirty people at most, and the majority of them were around Level 30.

Which meant their practical role was a bridge connecting adventurers and contracts.

"Adventurer Number 323! Come this way!"

"Number 325! Please come here!"

'Wow, it's crowded…'

The headquarters was packed just before closing time. It was filled with adventurers of all kinds, and around forty members of the vigilance committee were sweating bullets. However, not all of the kiosks had a long line in front of them.

'That one is empty.'

In the corner of the room, one person was sitting there, staring blankly. Not a single adventurer was batting an eyelid at them. The man flinched as Seojin pulled a chair in front of him and sat down.

"…Welcome. I am Gemini of the Erzebet Vigilance Committee. Would you like to receive a request?"

"Sure."

"There are currently three hunting contracts available… however, if you're looking for the regular request of the Vigilance Committee, you cannot receive it here."

Regular requests were basically official quests that changed regularly. One of said regular request was the official start of the main quest line of Erzebet, and Robert in the community had emphasized that all players must take it.

…There are two main quests in Erzebet. If you select one, you cannot proceed with the other. One starts by receiving a regular request from the committee, and the other by accepting an irregular request.

You must take the regular request, it is impossible to proceed with the unofficial one. If you take it by mistake, you'll suffer a lot trying to cancel it.

Therefore, Seojin did the exact opposite of what Robert said.

'This guy is helping me out a lot.'

At this point, Seojin did whatever Robert told him not to do. He responded to Gemini with a confident smile.

"I want the irregular request, can I see the contents?