Chapter 192. Ah, Valan!
Translator: Boko
"Do you know what a soul dungeon is?" Kang Oh asked.
"A soul dungeon? What"s that?"
"An ownable dungeon. If you gain owners.h.i.+p of a dungeon, then you can change or add features like its topography or environment."
"I heard rumors of dungeons that were more unique than hidden dungeons... They must"ve been referring to soul dungeons."
Even after he"d gone out of business, Man Bok had continuously planned his comeback. He paid attention to rumors, market prices, and other relevant information.
Thus, he"d heard rumors that there were dungeons that were even more special than hidden dungeons. However, he hadn"t known what exactly these dungeons were.
"The Moss Cave is a soul dungeon, and I"m its master," Kang Oh said.
"I see." Man Bok didn"t seem overly surprised. Once Kang Oh had explained what a soul dungeon was, he pretty much pieced everything together.
"I created the pa.s.sageway that leads directly to the lake. I can also release a ton of food into the lake. However, all of this costs me money."
"Then you can accelerate the southern fishes" growth, or increase the amount of fish in the lake." Man Bok smiled.
Southern fish was precious. However, Kang Oh was able to increase the quant.i.ty of such valuable fish. That was good news.
"That"s correct. However, I"m not sure whether it"s worth the investment yet. I"ve never tried feeding them before."
"That was a good decision. You have to know how much the yield is before feeding them; that way, you"ll know whether or not feeding them makes any difference."
"Exactly." Kang Oh nodded his head and continued, "Anyhow, please help me get the most out of my position as dungeon master." In other words, "Help me make as much money as possible!".
"I understand. I"ll start working tomorrow."
"What will you do?"
"I"m going to hire some expert fishermen and catch some of the most valuable/rare fish. Then, I"m going to sell them in controlled amounts at the highest price possible."
Man Bok wasn"t trying to sell as much fish as possible.
To do that, he would need a lot of manpower, which would inflate the labor costs.
Moreover, the reason that southern fish was so expensive was because it was delicious, yet incredibly rare. Obviously, catching a ton of fish and selling them all at once would lower the market value of the fish.
Thus, he would sell only a certain amount of fish in order to keep the price high. Of course, the only reason he could do this was because he and Kang Oh were the sole supplier of southern fish.
"I"m counting on you." Kang Oh grinned, satisfied with the plan. He"d chosen the right person for the job!
"You can count on me. I"ll make you a ton of money." Man Bok"s eyes were filled with confidence.
* * *
Kang Oh wore the Baramut set, and gripped Ubist upside down so that it was easily visible.
His face was completely covered by the Baramut helmet, as he hadn"t made it transparent.
"h.e.l.lo. Then let"s begin the interview," Hye Rim said while smiling.
"Alright."
Kang Oh had to give her an interview in exchange for her introducing him to Man Bok and Fisher.
He was paying her back with that interview right now.
"Please introduce yourself."
"My name is Oga," Kang Oh said curtly.
Then, Hye Rim added on, "We first heard of you from the Fight Against 100 Men. You"ve become incredibly famous lately due to your fight against the raid boss, Caraco, and your midair battle with the Snake Queen, Ca.s.sio. You"re that Oga, right?"
"That"s correct." Oga nodded his head.
Hye Rim continued with the interview.
"People have called you the Black Beast and Red Wing."
The Black Beast, Oga!
Red Wing, Oga!
"Do you know why people have begun calling you that?"
"It"s because I transform into a black or red "creature"."
These t.i.tles, Black Beast and Red Wing, were given to him because of how he appeared when he used Devil Trigger with either of his demon swords.
"That"s correct. Several people are curious about your transformations. Could you elaborate on them?"
"I can"t."
"Excuse me?" Hye Rim stared at Kang Oh as if saying "You"re really going to be like this? I helped you out!".
"I"m just kidding. My transformations are... my weapons" special ability." Kang Oh calmly lied.
Devil Trigger was a skill. Though he couldn"t use it without a demon sword, it definitely wasn"t an item"s special ability.
Kang Oh didn"t want to reveal his secrets to a bunch of random people.
"I see. Could you tell us what the ability is?"
"That"s a secret. You can understand, right?"
"Of course. That sword looks like a fine weapon; can you tell us a little about it?"
"This jet-black sword is an S-rank weapon, and is quite powerful. Unfortunately, it doesn"t have any special abilities aside from the transformation." Kang Oh calmly lied through his teeth again and again.
"If I tell her that this sword is SS-rank, then some evil b.a.s.t.a.r.ds are sure to come after me."
SS-rank items had a special meaning to players.
Though SS-rank items looked normal, they were overwhelmingly powerful! However, they were extremely difficult to procure! Thus, you couldn"t put a set value on them, and every player wanted to have one.
Kang Oh possessed four SS-rank items (his two rings and his two demon swords), but even if he said that he only had one, there was a high chance that people would come after him.
The Wind Archer, Sephiro, had boasted about the SS-rank La.s.selpino Bow when he"d first acquired it. But because of that, he was attacked by countless players for quite some time. Even now, there were times when players would attack him for it.
"Mr. Oga, you use another sword too, right?" She was referring to Demon Sword Blood.
"That"s correct."
"Is that S-rank too?"
"Yes, that"s right."
"Hmm, it seems like the players are wrong. They believe that the swords you use are both SS-rank."
"Yes, they"re wrong. I"d really like to have an SS-rank item myself." As he lied, Kang Oh"s face stiffened awkwardly, but his face was covered with his helmet, so no one could see it.
"So how did you get so strong?" Hye Rim asked.
"It"s because of my cla.s.s."
"Your cla.s.s?"
"My cla.s.s is a hidden cla.s.s. I can"t, of course, reveal all the details."
"Ah! A hidden cla.s.s!"
A hidden cla.s.s could explain away Kang Oh"s tremendous strength.
"Could you tell us a little bit about it?" Hye Rim clasped her hands together. It was as though she were saying, "Please!" and begging him.
"I was rewarded with the cla.s.s after clearing the Fight Against 100 Men."
"If you had to clear the Fight Against 100 Men to get it, then... It must be an amazing cla.s.s."
"It specializes in battle. That"s why I look stronger than other players."
"But the cla.s.s isn"t everything, is it? What level are you? Mr. Dukeram is over level 300," Hye Rim said.
"He"s already over level 300? He really is a monster."
Emperor Dukeram.
Not only was he part of the Numbers, but he was #1. He was also the Empire Guild"s guildmaster.
He was the strongest player in Arth, who had a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of strongest ever since Arth"s inception!
Most combat rankers were between level 250 to 280.
However, Dukeram was the only player in the game that was over level 300. To put it simply, he was a monster!
Then again, Kang Oh was a monster too. After all, he was quickly rising in the ranks despite being only level 210.
"I"m around level 260." Kang Oh lied once more. If he was honest and said he was level 210, then no one would believe him.
"Do you have any tips to quickly raise your level?"
"Get into a dungeon and hunt. You"ll level up quickly that way."
"Yes, of course. Everyone knows that. Thank you very much," Hye Rim quipped.
Then, Kang Oh continued, "It"s better to face a single tough monster than ten weak ones."
"Everyone knows that too."
"The truth can be quite obvious. Also, stats and skill proficiency are far more important than levels."
"Thank you so much for repeating what everyone already knows."
"Should we end the interview here?" Kang Oh said irritably. "If you keep this up, then...!"
"Let"s move on to the next question! Please tell me about the most difficult monster or dungeon that..." Hye Rim quickly switched the topic and continued the interview.
Sometime later...
"We"re done!"
"Good work."
Finally, the interview was over with.
TGN edited Kang Oh"s interview and showed it on their network. TGN had also posted the interview on their website as well.
The response to his interview made him realize just how popular he"d become as of late.
The day that his interview was shown, several posts regarding it showed up on Arth"s largest community site, Arthtory.
[The Black Beast, Oga. The reason he"s so strong!]
[Is Oga"s weapon really S-rank?]
[What I think Oga"s hidden cla.s.s is.]
...
* * *
Selling the southern fish went off without a hitch.
Kang Oh didn"t concern himself with it and left it all to Man Bok. His logic of "If you need medicine, go to a pharmacist" still holds true for him. He"d just get half of what Man Bok had made later.
He wasn"t worried about Man Bok stealing from him or trying to lie to him later.
If Man Bok tried to lie to him, then his Hyper Intuition would tell him.
Moreover, he"d seen how Man Bok worked; being a merchant was in his blood, but he wasn"t a nasty one.
In the end, Kang Oh left the entire business to Man Bok, and went back to his main job as a Dungeon Hunter with his companions.
The Great Forest was huge, so there were still several dungeons left to explore.
But today, Kang Oh"s party unfortunately returned to the Nuwak Village empty-handed. For the last three days, they"d explored some huge dungeons, but they didn"t get their money"s worth.
When Kang Oh"s party opened the door to the Nuwak Inn, they were greeted by a most surprising guest.
A truly unexpected guest.
"I"ve been waiting for you."
"Mr. Dion?"
Dion was waiting for him. He was a gladiator, skilled in the use of dual gladiuses, and was also the commander of the 100 Fighters.
"Why are you here?" Kang Oh scowled and stared at the handsome man beside Dion.
It was none other than Burkan"s final student, Darion!
"I came with Mr. Dion," Darion said.
"Why?"
"Master Burkan has been busy playing... Ahem, he"s been busy with work lately, so I"ve been learning from Mr. Dion."
Now that he was a free man, Burkan was enjoying his life. He"d left his student, Darion, to Dion.
"What are you here for?" Kang Oh looked at Dion.
"Come with us," Dion abruptly said.
"Where to?"
"The Holiseum."
Kang Oh was starting to feel uneasy. "It"s not what I think, is it?".
"Why?" he asked. "Don"t go!", his instincts screamed.
However...
"Lord Valan is waiting for you."
"Mm." His uneasiness wasn"t unfounded. "Could I not?" Kang Oh said futilely.
It obviously didn"t work at all.
"I believe I told you already. A great man is awaiting you."
This wasn"t up for debate; he was telling him, not asking.
Ah, Valan.
Why exactly was he looking for him? What other troublesome jobs would he make him do?
"Should I run?" he thought suddenly.
But Dion"s blue eyes were staring right at him. He"d prove to be a problem. He was incredibly skilled with the blade.
However...
He was anxious, as he really didn"t want to go, yet Darion was looking at him as if he were happy about his misfortune.
"You rat b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I"ll deal with you later!" Kang Oh gave Darion a sidelong scowl, but ultimately agreed to Dion"s terms. "Let"s go."
"We"re going there right away." Dion pa.s.sed him a return scroll.
"Phew, I"ll be back," Kang Oh sighed and said.
"Come back safely."
"Have a good time!"
"Yeah, yeah..." Kang Oh weakly ripped the return scroll.
Rip.
A short while later, Kang Oh, Darion, and Dion completely vanished.