Chapter 26: Chapter 26

———

Chapter 26

East of Idenharc.

Prettypong was hunting monsters in the field.

[Lv.36 Will Tiger]

A monster resembling a tiger, but about half its size.

“Kyaang!”

“Human! I won’t forgive… Kyaang!”

Prettypong beat the attacking Will Tiger with his axe.

There were various types of warriors.

Some wielded swords, some spears, and others, like Prettypong, axes.

The 1st class granted common skills, but the path to the 2nd class transfer would diverge depending on the weapon used.

The 2nd class he desired was the Barbarian Warrior.

A class that boasted a hulking physique and smashed everything with brute strength.

“User, I’ve dealt with the monster.”

“Good. Then take this.”

What Prettypong received upon returning after defeating the monster was an iron shovel.

A foldable shovel that could be folded into three sections.

“…What are you going to do with this?”

“What do you mean? We need to dig here.”

Blancs had a habit of burying stolen treasures in the ground.

So users who received similar quests always dug.

Not the entire ground, but only areas that showed signs of having been dug up and covered again.

‘If we’re lucky, we’ll find it in the field, but if we’re unlucky, we’ll have to go to a dungeon.’

Blancs were monsters that only existed in the field.

But sometimes, a particularly stubborn one would infiltrate a dungeon and hide treasure somewhere.

And if they were unlucky, the monsters in the dungeon might kill the Blanc, mistaking it for an intruder into their lair.

“Ah… user? Can I be honest with you?”

“Go ahead.”

“I just protected you from the Will Tiger, right?”

“And?”

“I think I’ve helped you enough… What do you think?”

In other words, he was asking for acknowledgement of his help.

There was a completion icon below the quest.

Clicking it would allow Prettypong to complete the quest and level up.

“No. The help I need is assistance in completing this town quest.”

Of course, Jeong-Hoon had no intention of clicking the completion icon.

Digging was a grind, and two people were better than one.

It would cut the time in half, so why send Prettypong away?

“… Ha, damn it! Seriously!”

Seeing no sign of Jeong-Hoon backing down, Prettypong threw the shovel he was holding to the ground.

“You don’t like it? Then should I just end this?”

Not wanting to cause trouble, Jeong-Hoon tried to end Prettypong’s help.

But Prettypong shook his head in a panic.

“No! Stop it right now!”

“Then dig.”

Jeong-Hoon pointed his chin at the discarded shovel.

“Ugh…”

Prettypong hesitated.

“How long is it going to take to dig up all this land?”

But he couldn’t bear to miss out on this easy quest.

Should he just threaten him?

In town, PVP could only be initiated with mutual consent, but in the field, it was possible without any such procedure.

His current level was 56.

The newbie martial artist, on the other hand, was level 30.

One swing of his axe would probably kill him.

No… That would cause a one-month suspension from New World.

New World had its own punishment system for threatening low-level users for profit, with a minimum suspension of one month.

“You’re not going to do it?”

He had barely managed to reach level 56.

Who knew how long it would take to reach 57…

He couldn’t give up on this quest.

‘Alright, it’s better to dig up the land anyway.’

It was far more profitable to dig and level up than to hunt monsters.

After much internal conflict, Prettypong finally picked up the shovel.

“I’ll dig! I’ll dig!”

“Alright, let’s get started.”

* * *

It was a lucky day.

That’s how Jeong-Hoon assessed it.

The pendant hadn’t turned up, but a rather important item had been found.

===

[Woo-gang’s Fan]

-Type: Fan

-Grade: Normal

-A fan lost by NPC Woo-gang.

-It seems you can get a reward by finding NPC Woo-gang.

===

A quest that could be received from Woo-gang, a resident of Idenharc.

It was a mandatory quest, and the item had appeared here!

‘They say fortune favors the diligent.’

Hard work had paid off.

Although the pendant hadn’t been found, there was no need to worry.

If it wasn’t here, it meant it was definitely in the dungeon.

Jeong-Hoon’s gaze shifted to the dungeon portal right next to them.

They had dug a lot, from the field to the portal in front of the dungeon.

“Seriously… how long do we have to keep doing this? We’ve been digging for over six hours!”

Prettypong was going crazy.

The old man’s request was to find the pendant, so why did they have to keep digging?

Even if Blancs had a habit of stealing treasures and burying them, this was just mindless grinding!

“We’re almost done.”

“Really?”

Prettypong’s face brightened.

He finally saw hope of escaping this tedious digging.

Just click complete and be done with it!

He was close to reaching level 57.

“Yes. Then accept the party invite.”

“Party?”

“Yes. We need to form a party to complete the next task.”

“Really? Then send the request quickly.”

“Sent.”

In his eagerness to avoid digging, Prettypong accepted the party invitation without even reading the details.

This made Jeong-Hoon the party leader and Prettypong the party member.

Jeong-Hoon smirked as he confirmed the party.

It was great that Prettypong was here.

That dungeon couldn’t be entered alone in the first place.

There were too many monsters.

That’s why he had hoped the pendant would be found in the field, not the dungeon.

But as luck would have it, Jeong-Hoon had Prettypong as a party member.

It seemed like he would be able to complete this quest successfully.

[Would you like to enter Lv.39 Red Tiger’s Forest? / 2 or more players required]

“W-Wait a minute! You’re saying you want to enter this dungeon right now?”

Prettypong hurriedly stopped him as he tried to enter the dungeon.

“Yes.”

“Wow… This guy is hopeless. This is a dungeon that requires at least six people at level 50-60, maybe. And you want to go in without a healer?”

Two or more players was just the bare minimum.

To be safe, it would take six users of level 50 or higher to clear it.

And a healer was an indispensable position in dungeon raids.

There were many cases where people failed raids because they ran out of health, relying only on their levels and neglecting to bring a healer.

“Don’t worry about that. Let’s just go in.”

Jeong-Hoon waved his hand dismissively.

“Wait! I’m not doing it! I’m absolutely not accepting!”

Prettypong shook his head vehemently.

He hadn’t planned on a dungeon raid, so he wasn’t properly prepared with food or potions.

Going in like this would be a guaranteed death.

“Oh, it’s okay. We can enter even if you don’t accept.”

“What… What?”

Prettypong’s face turned pale.

The party leader could set a few options before creating the party.

One of them was to set the dungeon entry permission to the party leader’s authority.

Prettypong, who had accepted without reading properly, was forcibly dragged into the dungeon.

* * *

‘Aaagh! I’m doomed! I’m doomed!’

Prettypong screamed inwardly.

He couldn’t believe they had entered the dungeon without any preparation.

He should have realized it when he was asked to hand over all authority!

His inventory was empty except for a few potions.

It was impossible to hunt all these monsters.

“Let’s just go out and come back, okay?!”

Prettypong pleaded with Jeong-Hoon.

Giving up midway after entering a dungeon incurred a penalty: experience gain would be 0% for 12 hours, and all stats would be reduced by 20% during that time.

But it was still better than failing the raid and being logged out for 24 hours.

“Just grab your axe.”

Of course, Jeong-Hoon had no intention of leaving.

“Damn it…”

What the hell was he thinking?

Even at level 56, it was impossible to clear a dungeon alone…

He should have just given up on the quest and left.

With a sigh, he picked up his axe.

“Grrr, human. How dare you enter here.”

“We’ll kill you, humans.”

Twenty level 39 Red Tigers emerged at once.

At that moment, Jeong-Hoon, who was standing next to him, leaped towards the Red Tigers.

“Wh-What?!”

Prettypong belatedly reached out his hand.

Then something amazing happened.

A sword materialized in Jeong-Hoon’s hand, and he swiftly cut down two Red Tigers with it.

[Dungeons aren’t just about having a high level]

-Of course, if there’s a 30-40 level difference, it doesn’t matter, but with a 10-20 level difference, it’s good to be cautious.

In dungeons, monsters swarm in groups, so you shouldn’t try to clear them alone. It’s common sense to form a party, divide roles, prepare potions, and so on.

└That’s basic common sense.

└Yeah, but there are a lot of guys who don’t even do that.

└So many stupid bastards lol.

└Please, for dungeons that allow entry for 1 or more players, gather at least 4 people before entering lol.

└Ugh… I died trying to enter alone and got a 24-hour suspension.

That’s right.

Unless there was a significant level difference, it was impossible to clear a dungeon alone.

The reason was simple.

There’s no defense against a group attack.

Usually, dungeon monsters didn’t attack one by one, but swarmed and attacked intruders in groups.

The same was true for these Red Tigers.

But why?

Slice.

A martial artist, only level 30, was hunting a level 39 Red Tiger.

And twenty of them at once!

“Holy shit, how is he a martial artist?!”

Prettypong was confused.

That user was clearly a low-level martial artist who had just reached 1st class.

But how could he handle a sword so skillfully?

He seemed to wield the sword even better than Prettypong, who had chosen the warrior class.

What was even more chilling…

He was surrounded by so many Red Tigers, yet he was smiling.

“Crazy… Thank god I put away my axe earlier.”

Prettypong thought to himself.

Even though he was only level 30, if he had fought him, he would have been suspended for 24 hours.

***

[You gain a small amount of experience.]

[You gain a small amount of experience.]

15 minutes.

That’s how long it took Jeong-Hoon to hunt down twenty Red Tigers.

Normally, he could have finished it in five minutes.

[The level of Continuous Slash has increased.]

[The level of Sword Mastery has increased.]

[Martial Artist’s exclusive skill, ‘Steadfast Will’ is activated.]

[You have acquired the skill ‘Strike (Rare)’.]

He had deliberately dragged out the fight to activate Steadfast Will.

‘Good. I got Strike with this.’

[Strike]

-Type: Active

-Level: 1

-Grade: Rare

-Gather mana and strike down with great force. (150% damage)

-Cooldown: 30 seconds

A skill that could be very useful when used along with Continuous Slash.

Was it because he got it as a Rare from the start?

The damage, which would have been 100% if it were Normal, was increased to 150%.

100% damage meant 100% of the value created by adding Jeong-Hoon’s stats and the weapon’s attack power.

Usually, normal attacks dealt 10-20% of the possessed stats as damage.

That meant it corrected that damage to 150%.

‘Let’s get as much as we can from this dungeon.’

[Using lesser Healing.]

Jeong-Hoon healed the minor wounds he had sustained while fighting the Red Tigers with Healing.

Even with his experience, it was impossible to fight while deliberately prolonging the battle without getting hurt.

Although they were only minor scratches, healing was essential for the rest of the raid.

“A-Are you alright?”

Prettypong, who had been watching from a distance, rushed over.

“Yes.”

Jeong-Hoon wiped the blood off his sword and took out a shovel, handing it to him.

Prettypong’s face paled as he received the shovel.

He couldn’t possibly be asking him to dig here too, could he?

“Why the shovel…?”

“To dig, of course. You know the ground we dug in the field? Focus on digging in places that show signs of being dug up and covered again.”

“…Alright.”

In the end, Prettypong started digging with the shovel.

Perhaps it was due to his diligent labor?

He could now see where to dig.

“Who knows? Maybe there’s something good in it for you if you work hard at digging.”

“…I hope so.”

All he had gotten from digging so far was the fan that Jeong-Hoon had taken.

So he had no expectations of finding anything here.

But then.

‘Huh?’

As he dug, a small book emerged from the dirt along with the soil.

===

[Skill Book: Sturdy Body]

-Type: Skill Book

-Grade: Normal

-Using the skill book will enable you to acquire ‘Sturdy Body (Normal)’.

===

Prettypong’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he checked the skill book.

He was currently a 1st class Lower Warrior.

Lower Warriors were given passive skills related to physique, but their effects were so minimal that they were practically useless.

But with this Sturdy Body, his passive skills would be somewhat enhanced.

“Gulp!”

He swallowed hard.

Prettypong didn’t even pick up the skill book, just rolled his eyes to check on Jeong-Hoon.

Jeong-Hoon was sweeping through the monsters with just his sword.

He wasn’t just overpowering them with brute force, but targeting their vital points with minimal movement.

The Red Tigers that lunged at Jeong-Hoon quickly met their demise, and their companions, shaken by their easy defeat, hesitated.

Then, instead of the Red Tigers, it was Jeong-Hoon who charged.

The situation had reversed.

‘How does he fight like that?’

What kind of person was he?

What kind of level 30 martial artist could handle a sword with such skill?

Thankfully, his attention was focused on the front.

‘Heh, I’ll take it.’

This was the perfect opportunity, while Jeong-Hoon wasn’t paying attention.

Prettypong stealthily slipped the skill book into his inventory.

‘Khahaha! It’s mine now!’

Digging had paid off.

“Did you find anything?”

Prettypong flinched like a thief caught red-handed.

He carefully turned his head to see Jeong-Hoon returning after finishing the hunt.

“Um, nothing.”

“Lying won’t do either of us any good.”

“Uh… well… you see, I did dig, and something did come out, but it wasn’t that useful…”

Prettypong started rambling, his face flushed with embarrassment.

“Then, I have a favor to ask. Would you do it for me? I’ll give you the skill book you put in your inventory.”

Prettypong was startled when Jeong-Hoon mentioned the skill book.

This guy was like a ghost!

But it was fortunate that he was willing to give him the skill book if he did him a favor.

“Alright!”

————