Chapter 149: Chapter 149

Fragment of the Old Warrior’s Mark.

To think someone would actually bring this fragment.

Verd stared at the fragment with trembling eyes.

[Hidden Quest: Warrior’s Mark]

-Restriction: Possess the Fragment of the Old Warrior’s Mark

-Reward: Warrior’s Mark

-Description: Gather the fragments of the Old Warrior’s Mark and restore it to the Warrior’s Mark.

The way to restore the Warrior’s Mark.

It was to gather the fragments and restore it.

‘Originally, you would have to receive and complete all the quests from the NPCs here before you could receive a quest from Verd.’

It was a hidden quest that only opened after perfectly clearing all the other quests.

However, Jeong-hoon had brought the Fragment of the Old Warrior’s Mark, so the quest was triggered as a free pass.

“I received it as a reward.”

“A reward…?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, not looted?”

Verd narrowed his eyes.

To possess the Fragment of the Old Warrior’s Mark, one must have the qualifications, but in his eyes, Jeong-hoon was a martial artist, not a warrior.

It was laughable that a mere martial artist possessed the Fragment of the Old Warrior’s Mark.

“How could I loot something when I don’t even know what it is?”

Jeong-hoon tilted his head.

“That’s not it, but…”

Fragment of the Old Warrior’s Mark.

Only a very small number of people knew its value.

If you were going to loot, you should loot something valuable. There was no reason to loot a fragment.

“I want to restore this fragment.”

“…Let’s move somewhere else first.”

Verd glanced around.

The NPCs and users were already looking this way.

“What? Who’s that martial artist?”

“How is he talking to Verd?”

“He won’t even give us quests?”

The users looked at Jeong-hoon with curious eyes.

And they were shocked to see Verd move.

“Gasp!”

“Verd moved!”

“This is crazy!”

The ruler of the City of Warriors.

Verd, who they thought was just an NPC to show who the ruler was, was moving with a user.

The NPCs were also surprised.

“Boss? Why is he suddenly acting like that?”

“The boss’s expression doesn’t look good.”

“Should we follow?”

“Do you want to get stabbed?”

* * *

Lord Knight Park Jin-Hyeok

At level 339 and having completed his 4th class advancement, he was one of the top-ranking Korean Warrior users, admired as an executive of the mythical Myth Guild.

However, overnight, he was demoted to the lowest rank within Myth.

“…Um, there’s a field cleanup today, would you be able to come with us?”

Despite this, the guild members couldn’t treat him carelessly.

It was only recently that he was an executive, and he was a level 339 Lord Knight.

“…Alright.”

Park Jin-hyeok nodded with a sullen face.

“If you get tired at any point, please let me know! We’ll give you as much rest time as you need.”

Their levels were in the early to mid-200s.

On the other hand, Park Jin-hyeok, who was following their instructions, was level 339.

‘If you cause trouble, I’ll kill you.’

However, due to Sa Jae-hyeok’s chilling warning, Park Jin-hyeok remained docile.

‘…Sigh, how did I end up like this?’

Things started to go wrong from the moment he followed Lee Hwa-rang.

Moreover, he heard that Sa Jae-hyeok, after whatever happened in Ho-Yeong, not only trashed the guild master’s office but also went down to the training ground and relentlessly slashed at the scarecrow dummies.

He even picked fights with those giving work reports and threatened to cut the throats of guild members who annoyed him.

He was an unpleasant guy, to say the least.

But what could he do?

He was the head of Myth and the current number one Sword King in Korea’s Swordsman rankings.

“Sorry I’m late!”

A level 205 Crusader joined them belatedly.

He was a user who had recently completed his 3rd class advancement and become an Epic-grade Crusader.

The guild member leading the group was harsher on him than usual.

“This guy! Have you forgotten who’s here?!”

It was because Lord Knight Park Jin-hyeok was present.

Even he, a former executive, arrived on time, so how could a mere level 205 Crusader be late?

“I-I’m sorry… There was something strange happening at the Warrior’s Sanctuary…”

“At the Sanctuary?”

“Yes… A martial artist met the ruler of the Warrior City, and then the ruler actually moved from his spot.”

“A martial artist?”

At the mention of a martial artist, a familiar face flashed through Park Jin-hyeok’s mind.

‘Could it be…?’

He turned around and approached the Crusader.

“Could you tell me more about that story?”

“Yes…?”

* * *

Inside the temple, there was a private chamber used exclusively by Verd.

Jeong-hoon followed his lead and entered the chamber.

‘It’s more humble than I expected.’

Unlike someone with the title ‘Ruler of the Warrior City’, the interior of the chamber was surprisingly simple.

Jeong-hoon sat on a chair made of carved wood.

Across from him, Verd sat down and placed a fragment on the table in front of them.

It was a Fragment of the Old Warrior’s Mark, just like the one Jeong-hoon had brought.

“Aren’t you curious why I have the same thing?”

“…Yes, I am curious.”

Jeong-hoon replied with a lie.

In truth, there were a total of six fragments.

All six had to be gathered to restore the Warrior’s Mark.

‘But one more fragment has appeared.’

Six fragments were needed for the restoration.

But after the regression, one more had appeared.

Unlike before the regression, a total of seven fragments could be obtained.

In other words, if he gathered all seven, he would be able to acquire the ‘Completed Warrior’s Mark’.

“There are two more of these fragments.”

“Yes.”

“Three in total. Yet, the restoration failed. It was because there weren’t enough fragments.”

“…”

“I assume you understand what I’m saying.”

Simply put, it meant to hand over the fragment he had.

Jeong-hoon chuckled.

“If I intended to hand it over, would I have shown it to you so readily?”

“Would you refuse even if I offered you 10,000 gold?”

Verd took out a pouch containing 10,000 gold.

Jeong-hoon grinned and retorted.

“In that case, I’ll give you 20,000 gold. Hand over that fragment to me.”

“…Do you even have 20,000 gold?”

“Yes.”

Jeong-hoon took out an empty pouch and transferred 20,000 gold from his inventory into it.

Seeing the pouch filled with 20,000 gold, Verd let out a hollow laugh.

“You’re richer than I imagined.”

“It means you can’t entice me with money.”

“…Alright. Then let’s do something else.”

“Tell me.”

“I have a master. If you find my master and obtain two fragments, I’ll hand over my fragment.”

This was the hidden quest Verd was proposing.

“Alright.”

“The time limit is one month. How’s that?”

“And the location?”

“They’ll be within the city. That should be enough, right?”

Verd grinned.

Was this a counterattack for the 20,000 gold offer just now?

He barely managed to suppress a chuckle.

Jeong-hoon nodded and stood up.

“Understood.”

“What…? Are you really okay with just this much of a hint?”

Verd looked slightly flustered.

“Will you give me more hints?”

“Not really…”

“Alright. I’ll be on my way then, time is precious.”

As Jeong-hoon left, Verd stared blankly at the door he had exited, wearing a dumbfounded expression.

Then, he burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahaha, what an amusing fellow.”

Such a bold fellow was a first.

Just where did he come from, that he could face the head of the Warrior City without a hint of unease?

What a curious stranger.

‘But the fragment will fall into my hands.’

If his master decided to go into hiding, even he, a Swordmaster, couldn’t find him.

How could a mere martial artist find him?

It was absolutely impossible.

* * *

[No way, how are we supposed to find him with just that?]

‘It’s no different from just asking us to hand over the fragment.’

Mukho and Anima grumbled.

Indeed, as they said, finding an old man in hiding without any clues was impossible.

But Jeong-hoon knew where he was hiding.

‘The fragments? It was really hard to gather these.’

James Marcus, once called the strongest Paladin of the American continent.

He was currently a top star in New World, still active as a top-tier professional gamer.

Before the regression, it was he who had gathered all the Fragments of the Old Warrior’s Mark.

‘Really? Where did you find them?’

Alessandro Bryden expressed his curiosity.

As if waiting for this, James Marcus grinned and revealed the answer.

‘The City of Warriors.’

‘The City of Warriors?’

‘Yes. All six fragments were in that city.’

Verd said there were only three fragments, but there were three more hidden fragments in the city.

Jeong-hoon moved to the outskirts of the city.

Tenant farmers lived together in the outskirts.

They were ordinary freemen, not warriors.

They farmed in the outskirts, paid their taxes with the produce, and made a living.

“Hmm? What brings a stranger here?”

An NPC approached Jeong-hoon.

===

[NPC Information]

-Nickname: Sors

-Level: 45

-Occupation: Tenant Farmer

===

Only level 45 in the Warrior’s Village.

It couldn’t be helped.

They were just powerless tenant farmers.

Perhaps because of that, Sors’s attitude was very polite.

Every stranger who visited this place was over level 201.

He wouldn’t want to pick a fight and get beaten up.

“I’d like to take a look at the fields.”

“The fields…?”

“Yes.”

Why would a stranger want to see the fields?

Sors looked at Jeong-hoon with a bit of wariness.

“I’m sorry, but that would be difficult.”

“Is there a reason?”

“Well… there have been people stealing our crops lately. If you’re unlucky, you might get caught up in it.”

A question mark blinked above Sors’ head.

[General Quest: The Plunderer]

– Restriction: Enter the outskirts of the City of Warriors

– Reward: Slight increase in trust with all tenant farmers in the City of Warriors

– Description: There’s a plunderer who has been harassing the tenant farmers lately. Please help the tenant farmers.

It was a general quest that anyone could undertake.

Jeong-hoon accepted the quest.

“Really? Then if I help you, I can take a look around, right?”

“Yes…? You’ll help us?”

Jeong-hoon nodded.

Sors then signaled for him to follow quietly and led him somewhere.

It was a rather old mansion, with no one around but piles of crops stacked like mountains.

These were crops harvested directly from the fields.

“What is this place?”

“It’s a resting place where we tenant farmers take a break.”

“I see. Then how can I help you?”

“He’ll be here soon. Please catch him first.”

“Alright.”

It seemed like a simple request.

Jeong-hoon received brief information about the plunderer from Sors.

He was a bandit who lived in the mountains outside the city, and recently he had been coming down from the mountains to harass the tenant farmers.

Just then, someone slammed open the mansion’s door and entered.

“Hey! The crops are ready, right? If you’re not prepared today, you’ll have to face the consequences.”

The man speaking nervously appeared to be in his mid-to-late 40s, with a completely bald head.

He was quite large, wearing a black eyepatch over his left eye, with a scar peeking out from under it.

“T-That’s him.”

Sors muttered in a trembling voice.

===

[NPC Information]

-Nickname: Rob

-Level: 220

-Occupation: Bandit

===

Rob.

Level 220.

He was a bandit with a considerably high level.

“I’ll finish this quickly.”

Jeong-hoon stepped forward.

Rob sneered at him.

“Puhaha! What’s this? This guy who looks like a gigolo?”

“Let’s start with a beating.”

“How absurd. A guy with a lower level than me is trying to… Keuhk!”

Rob couldn’t continue his sentence.

Jeong-hoon’s fist had already landed in his stomach.

“Waste of time.”

Jeong-hoon proceeded to beat Rob to a pulp.

It was nothing short of a one-sided assault.

“…Oh my. A person can be beaten like that.”

Sors was amazed by Jeong-hoon’s power.

At the same time, seeing Rob turn into a bloody mess brought a sense of exhilaration and satisfaction.

———