Chapter 2 : Origin of the Skeleton
KMC Media told the story of the Versailles continent.
Sinhyemin and Ohjuwan"s job in the program broadcast was to tell the latest information.
"Mr. Ohjuwan, you told me that if certain conditions are met and special quests are done, something specific would happen?"
"Yes. Unicorn Company reportedly said: "in the case of production jobs, after their skills reached a certain state, they can embark upon a unique generated quest"."
"The quest isn"t like the primary 3?"
"It"s a little different from them, for example, in the case of blacksmiths they can operate their own studios as a reward."
"Even jewellery workshops?"
"Yes, on the basis of acc.u.mulated technology, their own studios can be opened. It is also possible to employ operators."
Until now, blacksmiths were only able to erect castles for kings, lords and n.o.bles. The blacksmith was a form of employment run by others.
After acquiring skills to a certain extent, blacksmiths can forge under their own name and create their own story.
"In the future, towns and countries will want more workshops to improve the speed of technological development. Production jobs appear to be the hope of the future."
"It"s a positive thing. Many people with production jobs can now go out and dream."
"Returning back to the story about job quests ... we do not know specifically what will happen with the generated quests. For example, I have heard of the blacksmith quest that allows for the creation of studios as well. There are just so many alternatives for job related quests that I advise people to never give up."
Ohjuwan explained while sweating. He had been reading from the script for nearly two hours.
"That"s right, what would happen if those job skills are mastered Mr. Ohjuwan?"
"Unicorn Company in a private interview reportedly said people are close to crossing that line. Such a person has yet to appear though. Royal Road is a game very large in nature. Furthermore, it is based on the physicality of reality. When you think about it, mastering a skill is very difficult."
"But if they master job skills, will they get something?"
"Great fame, and if they belong to a kingdom, I would guess that they get a t.i.tle."
Ohjuwan tried to proceed with an ordinary expected remark, but Sinhyemin did not miss his expression change.
"We have been broadcasting together for over a year Ohjuwan, do you know you have a habit of blinking whenever you try to hide something."
"Haha, yeah?"
"Please let us know what"s going on right now."
"Here"s the truth. Well ......"
Ohjuwan smiled albeit embarra.s.sed and quietly talked.
"It doesn"t end when they master their profession."
"It"s not the end? Once skills have been mastered, they have reached the final stage of the production process, is that not it?"
"No. It is said that at that time, there will be a new beginning. Their given skills will be used for something related to the continent. For those jobs to carry out their master quests, they must form parties able to break information reminiscent of the main story of Versailles continent. As far as I can tell, quests have had no a.s.sociation with races ... until now. I really do not know any more than this."
"It"s a lot more fun when things just come out."
"I"m sure you would think that. I"m still a while away from mastering my job; I still make mistakes with it."
"Job skills during the high growth period are very difficult to level. Thank you for telling me."
"I had the honour of talking to the beautiful Ms. Sinhyemin; I am the one who should be thankful."
"Oh, I appreciate the compliment. That reminds me, today I ate the fruit you brought for me."
"I will have to buy more fruit when I go home today then."
Sinhyemin and Ohjuwan were now ready to shut down the broadcast. Part 1 was inviting people from the panel to talk to. Part 2 was telling them the information they had. The broadcast that lasted for over two hours was finally ending and it was time to rest.
"I should go out with Pale-nim and have fun."
Sinhyemin followed the scenario and prepared for the moment to shut down the broadcast. Suddenly, the PD signature for a broadcast extension s.h.i.+ned.
"Isn"t now time to end this thing?"
The appearance of the TV screens mirrored the sudden fight of the expedition in the Valley of Death. Battle of the Northern Expedition was linked in real time.
Ohjuwan was in a panic, but Sinhyemin quickly responded.
"Viewers, it is our pleasure to try and give you the stories of Versailles continent. Timely and accurate broadcasts! Without ending the broadcast, we will send you the news as soon as it comes in."
Ohjuwan had learned how to adapt to fast-paced situations. By looking at the contents of the illuminated TV screen, he guessed it was related to the expedition so he quickly gave an explanation.
"Before the people in the audience, what we will tell you is never before heard information about the expedition in the north. The expedition led by Oberon, its Captain, seems to have finally entered the Valley of Death."
Ohjuwan boasted of an extensive network in Royal Road.
Through good fortune, he was acquainted with the prestigious Oberon, allowing him to hear news about the expedition directly from him.
Sihyemin and Ohjuwan read what was written in the PD just then and told the story through their headphones.
"Chase told me the news. Currently in the valley where the expedition entered, there is a very high probability that the Broken Beads of the Serbian Witch are there! The Serbian Witch"s broken beads will blow away the current heat in the main continent."
Sinhyemin and Ohjuwan"s fatigue from the 2 hour long broadcast was gone.
Like anyone else that liked Royal Road, giving new information to viewers filled the two with a sense of pride.
Sinhyemin opened fire first.
"The expedition is on an adventure to find the Serbian Witch"s broken beads! It"s currently being streamed in real time. Regardless of the broadcast time, the story of the expedition"s adventures in Versailles continent will continue until the end for our committed viewers."
The broadcast was to last till dawn to show the viewers what they wanted. The story about the Versailles continent had already become the top priority in the timetable in the station. If necessary, hours of the show would be extended on top of any other program!
Sinhyemin and Ohjuwan saw the base of the Valley of Death on the viewing screen created from the chunky dwarf Oberon"s adventure.
The b.l.o.o.d.y fight of the expedition.
As they battled against evil looking Priests of the Embinyu Church and hordes of monsters, the Bone Dragon was flying around in the sky eating the expedition.
All these things appeared through the dwarf Oberon"s vision.
Sinhyemin thought to herself.
"Pale-nim"s gotta see this."
All users were sensitive to information about Royal Road. The very rare quest occurrence that could quickly lead to the outbreak of war, millions of people were watching. Within just a few minutes, there was an explosive growth in ratings, crowds of tens of thousands gathered on the street in front of large television screens.
In fact, for Sinhyemin and Ohjuwan, it did not matter how long the broadcast took. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves because it was about Royal Road!
Sinhyemin said her expectations.
"Well, I hope the expedition takes out the Bone Dragon and acquires the Broken Beads of the Serbian Witch."
Ohjuwan nodded.
"Seems possible. The Cold Roses guild is not alone and there are a lot of outstanding users in the expedition."
"I am guessing that the expedition primarily formed for the reward. But Mr Ohjuwan..."
"Yes?"
"How powerful is the Bone Dragon?"
"The Bone Dragon is a very powerful monster. Only guilds that dared to enter dangerous monster zones would be able to tolerate it. When walking alone at night, if you meet it, run right away."
"I can only imagine how terrible it would be to meet a Bone Dragon at night."
At night in the Versailles continent, monsters grow stronger by 50%, therefore reducing the number of emerging monsters that people were capable of hunting. People usually tended to take a break from monster hunting at night.
In the first place, hunting a boss cla.s.s monster at night was no different from a suicidal act. The items and experience rewarded were not necessary, considering all the risk present.
Then on the screen, they listened as it showed the Bone Dragon"s torso on the ground, studded with axes.
Dwarves threw them like firewood with an unrelenting hand!
Sinhyemin excitedly made two fists.
"Hopefully, the efforts of those who struggled in the expedition will end in success."
"Yes. Wizards are getting ready to cast large spells again. They appear to be targeting the body of the Bone Dragon."
"I think it"s a ma.s.sive Fire Field."
"The kamikaze attack led by the wizard Drum has been launched!"
And so Sinhyemin and Ohjuwan explained the fight like a football game broadcast.
* * *
Weed was also watching the expedition fighting the Bone Dragon."A Bone Dragon. Certainly stronger than Tori."
Tori was a Vampire Lord. Vampire power of painting and stone was a very strong and destructive magical attack.
But the Bone Dragon, as a large monster, literally trampled over numerous members of the expedition. It was relative to an elephant versus a group of ants.
"They will be used to the fullest, keukeukeu."
Weed scored a wicked smile.
He won much when the expedition perfectly ignored him as his job was a sculptor!
The misfortune of others is my happiness!
Although Oberon recruited a few other people including Weed, he gave preferential treatment to his guild.
Most of the terrible battles were won, but the expedition ignored the sculptor department.
It had become common for production jobs workers that made weapons and armours to be ignored. Even for those with high level skills, only a little respect was shown and what did not essentially change was that people only looked for them when they needed something. The labour force workers just wanted money so they could eat at any time.
It goes without saying that production and art series jobs were at least sometimes useful in treatment.
While cooks, sculptors and architects a.s.sisted the expedition crew, the fundamental change recognized was not enough.
The currently slain production and art series jobs revealed that fact to be true.
Weed recalled the time the Bone Dragon"s breath flooded the chambers.
"They could have provided full protection."
The priests and wizards had time to spread defensive magic around. Quite a few production series jobs including the cooks and merchants would have lived if they had done so. Weed had the advantage of monstrous health and would have survived somehow, but no one was protected by magic.
"We were not worth saving."
Consuming mana to keep countless people alive who would not directly help in the battle would end in annihilation. Since they didn"t need to keep giving, they could concentrate more on distributing power for fights.
It was not attributed to the wizards or the clerics" decision but rather Oberon"s judgement at the time. Still, Weed did not blame him.
In the first place, that"s how the world is.
"The Bone Dragon"s pretty strong too."
The Bone Dragon struck the earth, increasing the martyrs of the expedition.
A dangerous situation!
The Geomchis" and Dark Gamers executed surprising plays.
"Honey, I"m hurt!"
Volk went through the gaps of the Embinyu Priests while brutally wielding his Great-sword.
"Hang in there baby. We can"t meet our end here!"
Lin Der treated her husband and the other Dark Gamers.
The Dark Gamers, rather than recklessly tackling the Bone Dragon, dealt with the monsters, steadily reducing the enemies.
Each of the Geomchis were also scattered throughout.
"These guys!"
"Taste this!"
Thanks to the improved attack and defence via Weed"s sword grind and armour polish skills, Geomchi was now able fight evenly against the monsters.
Other people also noticed it was not normal.
"It"s dangerous Geomchi 350!"
"Yow!"
Geomchi was not surrounded by monsters. By thoroughly a.n.a.lyzing the situation, he showed only the most optimal movements.
He faced only the scattered monsters and overwhelmed each of them.
Geomchi individually battled each of them, even without the support of a wizard or priest!
Weed nodded his head.
"At this rate, the Bone Dragon will be finished off without a hitch."
No matter how strong a monster was, it could not take on all the forces of the expedition.
In the icy northern continent red blood flows through the valley. The unwelcomed Bone Dragon will never stop the advance of heroes.
The people listened to the voice of bards took songs to new heights.
Dancers danced accordingly. Sometimes they slipped and fell on the ice, but even then they did not stop dancing.
Bards received a.s.sistance from the dancers.
Shamans", summoners" and elementalists" were each dedicated to their own missions.
The expedition took heavy losses, but appeared to be winning the battle itself.
"While dealing with the monsters, they encountered the Bone Dragon. Roughly half died, but it still wouldn"t be that hard to win."
Weed decided not to intervene until the end of the fight.
The Geomchis were not people who would die in this battle, their lives were based on taking care of their bodies, and therefore, there was no need for Weed to go.
"Anyway, I can"t just embark with this body."
His appearance was currently changed into a skeleton.
To be mistaken for a monster would not be at all unusual in this situation!
Also, the magic treatment of priests would bring adverse effects. Therefore, it would be good to be hidden from the eyes of the expedition.
Weed concealed himself and simply watched the situation unfold.
"But what is that woman doing?"
Seoyoon strangely caught his eye.
Even when the enemy of life, the Bone Dragon appeared, she kept dragging her sword to the forefront of the expedition.
While the barbaric Oberon withdrew his forces to an extent, Seoyoon viciously attacked with ongoing momentum.
The berserker characteristic of continuous attack was applied to the Bone Dragon.
She sustained numerous injuries while fighting at the forefront, all the while causing the battle to erupt into more chaos.
It was then that the situation reversed itself.
Monsters were reduced to some extent when a big calamity took place within the expedition.
Part of the expedition aimed their swords at the back of their colleagues.
"Keueok!"
"Why all of a sudden ......"
"We are on the same side. Stop attacking!"
"Priests dispel the seduced status. Come on, hurry up and cast the divine magic!"
They knew they had to use divine magic on their colleagues caught in the seduction magic from the sacred writings of the Embinyu Priests.
Meanwhile, people in the expedition did not stop attacking. Those caught up in defending died.
Priests burst out screaming!
"The removal magic"s not working!"
"They are still attacking our allies!"
It was not the monsters that dazed people.
Betrayal at the decisive moment!
Tero Seu of the Crimson Wings Guild was holding his sword inverted.
All this time, the Crimson Wings Guild had been patiently waiting. They purchased appropriate equipment, namely special face changing items, armour and swords.
Then at the crucial moment, they revealed their true form.
Tero Seu"s disguise changed back into his original armour and the figure drawn on his face was removed.
"We scoured this cold land in search of the Bone Dragon!"
Flavio, the barbarian warrior next to Oberon immediately intercepted him.
"Keueuk! Why ......"
"For our Crimson Wings, it can"t be helped. We will take care of the Bone Dragon, but worry not. Your role won"t be in vain."
Flavio slashed deeply into Oberon.
A fatal blow!
Oberon"s nerve was not prepared for the sudden outbreak of civil war in the expedition during the battle with the Bone Dragon. His injured, defenceless colleagues met a complete end.
Unlike his usual character, Oberon was extremely outraged.
"Until now you have been waiting to go rogue!"
"You people should not have been tricked. Just because we belonged to the expedition, didn"t mean we shared the same goal."
"Cowards, I will not go down like this ......"
As expected of a strong warrior, Oberon tried to stand his ground, but then a shadow rose from his back.
"This will definitely kill you."
Fear swept over his face as he glanced at the a.s.sa.s.sin Deinyi as he struck with his dagger.
a.s.sa.s.sin"s fatal blow!
Paralysis of the body!
Poison has spread rapidly throughout the body.
If you do not stop the bleeding wound, health will continue to decline. |
Deinyi"s poison dagger was buried in him. Oberon could not move his paralyzed body.
The eyes of Flavio and Deinyi met.
"If he recovers, all that trouble will be for nothing."
"All that"s left is to finish him then."
Flavio and Deinyi kept striking with their weapons. They gathered near the Bone Dragon and finished Oberon off in a joint attack.
With his body paralyzed, Oberon could not withstand both of their attacks.
"Cowardly b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! I will have my revenge someday!!!"
Oberon vowed revenge and died.
The expedition was notified of the death of Oberon.
"The captain is dead."
"d.a.m.n traitors killed our captain. They must pay for this!"
The expedition fell into a state of disarray. A fierce battle erupted between Oberon"s allied guild forces and Tero Seu"s hired mercenaries.
Tero Seu did not directly partic.i.p.ate in combat and instead went to the place where the Dark Gamers gathered together.
"They move for money anyway. Even though Cold Roses is a larger guild, we just need to offer to pay them."
Crimson Wings Guild was officially gone, but instead of reasonably finding a new place, they remained attached to their legacy.
"Volk, I want to contract you."
Tero Seu looked for Volk among the Dark Gamers.
King Belsoseu"s Tomb. They became acquainted while partic.i.p.ating in the difficult Cla.s.s A quest together.
"We stand here before you with a purpose. We will pay you if you come and help us instead of the expedition. If you want, we are even willing to give you half of the items from the Bone Dragon."
Tero Seu believed Volk and the Dark Gamers would accept the offer. Lives for money, they recruited people to die at any time for money. Rather than vague feelings of friends.h.i.+p, the mercenaries were faithful to reality!
But Volk shook his head.
"I"m sorry, I cannot do so."
"Why not? Do you have a problem with my proposal? We are suggesting a contract with better conditions than Oberon"s."
"I am sorry. I got an advance."
"Seriously......"
Chapter 4 of the Law of Dark Gamers.
Take the money, keep the promise. No matter how many benefits there are to reap, you must absolutely fulfil the contract.
Most people do not know that when Dark Gamers take money, they do not break their contract.
When a group has an incredibly low reputation, they cannot earn money, therefore, for the benefit of the Dark Gamers a rule was implemented.
The moment you accept the contract, you promise not to abandon it.
Being told they would not act accordingly when presented with money sounded like a bunch of c.r.a.p to Tero Seu.
A grimace appeared on Tero Seu"s face.
"We can give more than 2 times the amount they promised. No we will pay you 3 times as much."
"I"m sorry but we can"t. We are bound to the contract. When the contract expires, then we can help, but not now."
The Dark Gamers were unable to accept Tero Seu"s offer.
"Keuoooo!"
Meanwhile, the Bone Dragon and monsters became increasingly active in attacking.
The expedition could no longer concentrate as the senior users were busy fighting among themselves.
Regardless, the Dark Gamers observed neutrality and fought monsters, but they were unable to block everything.
"Kiyooh! Humans, kill them!"
"Believe in evil. Ride Evil!"
Although wounded, the Bone Dragon and monsters released vicious attacks.
The Valley of Death literally became the graveyard of many people.
At one point, the balance began to collapse. The axis of power s.h.i.+fted from the dominant humans to the Bone Dragon and monsters.
"Oh f.u.c.k!"
"It"s because of those traitors."
It was already too late to stop fighting each other and concentrate on monsters.
To make matters worse, the situation did not allow them to believe in each other.
It was difficult for the expedition to trust Tero Seu"s men that killed the Cold Roses guild. If they once again combined their full strength, they would have had a chance, but they were unable to do so and took increasing c.u.mulative damage.
Finally, the Bone Dragon broke the inhibiting line of defence.
In order to catch the Bone Dragon, its movement must be sealed by constantly attacking; but due to a lack of attacks, it managed to free itself.
"Keueoeoeo!"
The Bone Dragon flapped its unfolded wings.
As it flew away, the wind pressure knocked down Tero Seu and his men, along with the warriors of the expedition.
"d.a.m.n!"
Tero Seu tried to stand up in a hurry.
Gleem!
At that moment, the Bone Dragon"s eyes lighted up.
The Bone Dragon took a deep breath, expanding its mouth.
Puwahak!
With a powerful breath, it destroyed Tero Seu and expedition warriors.
"Aaaaah!"
"Please help me!"
"My body ... my body"s melting!"
The Bone Dragon"s released its most powerful weapon, its breath.
Concentrated in one place, priests, elementalists and wizards with weak stamina literally forced their way through.
"Make it!"
"Come on!"
Frightened, they tried to run away like flies while casting defensive magic. Then, a sweeping breath pa.s.sed through.
The survivors quickly tried to avoid any incidents by attempting to stop those who suffered significant damage from dying.
As their bodies turned black, their health exponentially declined.
This was the result from being fed poisonous breath.
Initially united, they casted defensive magic on the warriors to slowly weaken the breath, but they could not prevent it from swallowing them up.
"Treatment of the hand!"
"Heal!"
"Recovery!"
The priests" hurriedly casted recovery magic.
Reducing the poison while recovering health!
"Anti-Poison!"
"Poison Cure!"
The priests aggressively cast detoxification magic.
Thanks to their diligent effort, their colleagues. .h.i.t by the breath survived, but situation had already turned desperate.
The remains of the expedition numbered in the 400s. The number of survivors was still quite significant; nevertheless, they could no longer fight the Bone Dragon.
They lacked direct combating warriors. The remaining priests, wizards, elementalists, archers, bards and dancers were physically vulnerable jobs.
"d.a.m.n! It"s happening again."
Volk scored a complaint.
Like the last request he took, he would lose his life again. You would receive a large reward if you died for the promise, but for the Dark Gamers, death itself was a huge loss.
The Dark Gamers including Volk and Lynn Der united in one place.
"What should we do?"
"Contractually we cannot escape."
"So ......"
"Cool, let"s fight!"
Blood started flowing in the Dark Gamers after a long time.
Royal Road was a job for Dark Gamers to make money, but they basically loved the land.
When fighting monsters, they were generally forced to be pa.s.sive to get home.
However, by the invisible hand of G.o.d, they ended up fighting the Bone Dragon and monsters, making their chests burn with spirit.
"Euaaa!"
"Kill him now!"
"Hack them! Hack them!"
In a frenzy, the Dark Gamers ignored the insignificant monsters and charged exclusively towards the Bone Dragon.
"Woo hit hit hit hit!"
"All right! Exciting ain"t it?"
When the Bone Dragon knocked them down, they simply laughed. The Dark Gamers stood right back up like zombies and charged again!
In the meantime, the Geomchis" had to deal with the monsters. Wizards and priests fought carefully while observing their surroundings, but they did not take full advantage of the Geomchis.
After fighting dozens of monsters until he was ragged, he could no longer take anymore.
"Keueuk!"
Geomchi emerged injured and collapsed as he died.
Weed decided to intervene in the battle after receiving the report.
"I wish I had not been forced to embark."
Geomchi"s death, however, could not be overlooked. Thus, Weed first sent a whisper.
"Brother Geomchi 16."
"Huh? Weed?"
Geomchi 16 said with a very serene tone of voice as opposed to his grim, fighting face.
He was the eldest after Geomchi. Having gone through quite a lot of chaos in reality, he never lost his calm reasoning.
"I heard about the breath attack. Does this mean Ahn Hyundo died?"
"Died. Some circ.u.mstances from a while back allowed me to survive. Anyway, let me help you. Please get safely to the back."
"No, there"s no need."
Geomchi 16"s words were rather unexpected.
"Please wait until I die first."
"Yes?"
"If you are not in front of her, I will have a chance to show her I"m a great man."
Near Geomchi 16 was a beautiful, crying and trembling priest casting treatment magic.
In this cold and dangerous place where hungry and unmatched monsters lurked, she watched a man risk his life!
Geomchi 16 decided to sacrifice his body.
In reality, this situation would never happen. Geomchi 16 typically beat up bullies on sight.
Eventually, Geomchi 16 gloriously collapsed while fighting evil soldiers.
His life had fallen to a dying level, rendering treatment magic useless.
"I"m sorry, my skills weren"t good enough. It would have been better if I died instead..."
"...It"s fine, you did everything you could."
Priest Yevhen"s big eyes filled with tears.
She focused her eyes on Geomchi 16.
With a strong presence on the battlefield, he always looked after her.
Now he lost his life.
"Again stay away, one day we will meet again. Even then I would like to protect you, would you do me the honour?"
Geomchi 16 had spent a few days preparing for this moment. He specifically trained under the playboy master, Zephyr.
He said for women, a grieving voice lamenting over not being able to protect them was highly effective in touching their feelings.
"Yes, my name is Libby."
"Geomchi 16."
Register friends!
Having accomplished his goal, Geomchi 16 could finally die.
"I did it."
Weed arose from his hiding place.
A body made up of only bones!
A figure in the shape of a skeleton advanced on the expedition.