The Taming Master

Lilson"s two eyes slightly grew .

"What… Is this?"

With a low voice, Ian responded .

"This is a map that holds the location of where an item that I absolutely need is . As it is an ancient relic, I wasn"t able to appraise the item with my abilities . "

And at Ian"s short explanation, it seemed Lilson understood right away, as he nodded his head .

"Oh, I think I"ll need to see what kind of relic it is, but it is incredibly exciting . Could you pa.s.s it to me?"

At Lilson"s words, Ian didn"t say anything else and just pulled out the parchment before handing it over to Lilson .

While receiving that, Lilson thought to himself .

"Hmm… At best, could it be a relic that"s about a Unique-rank? Even if it is a normal user, if it"s to the point that a user that"s at Ian"s level cannot appraise it, it means that it"s quite a high rank…"

Ian was a top-ranking user that was even over lv 200 now .

It was a value that was almost double the level difference with Lilson, who was just over lv 100 .

However, Lilson did not expect much out of the relic that Ian handed over to him .

This was because in order to unearth a high-rank relic, the cla.s.s proficiency of the Explorer was much more important than the level of the character .

With a somewhat apathetic expression, Lilson received the parchment from Ian .

"Shall we take a look here?"

Lilson was momentarily elated over the thought of him solving Ian"s problem in the blink of an eye and receiving praise from him .

However, shortly after, he couldn"t help but be fl.u.s.tered .

"What the h.e.l.l, this is a Legendary-rank?"

Lilson succeeded in appraising a relic that was a Legendary-rank for the first time last time .

Thanks to that, fragmentary information of the relic that wasn"t visible to Ian was visible to him due to his raised appraisal level .

• "Wishful Treasure Map"/Cla.s.sification: Miscellaneous Goods (Relic)/Rank: Legendary

"…"

As Lilson was frozen with a dazed expression, Ian asked him .

"What"s wrong? Is there some sort of problem…?"

Lilson was fl.u.s.tered as he responded .

"This item… Exactly how did you obtain it? If it isn"t for a user with an Explorer cla.s.s, this is a Legendary-rank relic that cannot be obtained whatsoever . "

Ian just shrugged his shoulders .

"I"m not sure . Just somehow…"

Anyhow, Lilson felt he came into a windfall .

"Keu, it"s a gift from the G.o.ds! For another legendary relic to have rolled in like this on its own feet when not that much time has pa.s.sed since I first appraised a Legendary-rank relic!"

Even to Lilson, who was at a standard where he was the highest-leveled Explorer in Kailan, the EXP that he could obtain through the appraisal of a Legendary-rank relic was tremendous .

As that was the case, he was this happy .

Lilson momentarily touched the relic that he received from Ian before he placed it on the table and spoke .

"Excuse me, Ian . "

"Yes?"

"I"ll be right back after I visit the auction house . "

Ian asked with a puzzled expression .

"Why the auction house?"

"Oh, to purchase some item appraisal stones . "

"If it is because of that, I have a lot as well…"

Lilson shook his head .

"It won"t work with just normal appraisal stones . I need highest-grade appraisal stones . If you just wait one moment…"

However, Ian pulled out a bundle of the highest-grade appraisal stones, which were on Lilson"s order list, before Lilson even finished speaking and placed it in front of him .

"Here . "

And Lilson wore a fl.u.s.tered expression .

"So, so much of this expensive item…!"

Highest-grade appraisal stones were costly consumables that sold at about 30 thousand gold per piece .

As Lilson was able to raise his Explorer EXP thanks to Ian, he was planning on purchasing the appraisal stones at his own expense as his repayment for that .

However, as Ian unexpectedly held out the appraisal stones like this, he wore a disturbed expression .

• You have obtained "Highest-grade Item Appraisal Stones" x300 .

Lilson received his order of appraisal stones with trembling hands .

"Th, three hundred? This is almost 9 million gold! Yet he"s giving this to me so willingly? What will he do if I just log out after receiving this?"

To Lilson, 9 million gold was not a small amount .

However, as it was an amount that was covered if Ian just sold lumps of low-grade magic stones, it was a level that wasn"t too burdensome in Ian"s perspective .

Ian asked Lilson .

"It"s possible with this much, right? I heard that a ton of highest-grade magic stones went into appraising a Legendary-rank relic . So that"s why I purchased an ample amount of them…"

"This is enough! There will definitely be a lot left . I will succeed in appraising them as quickly as possible and return them to you . "

At Lilson"s words, Ian shook his head as he smirked .

"You take all the remaining appraisal stones . "

"Se, seriously?"

"You can just consider it commission . "

Lilson, who momentarily thought about it, studied Ian"s expression as he stealthily responded .

"No… Take-backs . "

Lilson"s drive towards relic appraising began to fire up even more .

Meanwhile, in the small meeting room that was at the highest floor of the Pyro Lord"s castle .

Three men that had gathered together for the first time in a while sat around a round table and shared a serious conversation .

"So, here and here . If a monster wave opens up in these two spots, you"re saying that at the latest, the aftermath will reach our domain, right?"

At Carwin"s words, Herz nodded his head .

"That"s right . Based on the difficulty level of the monster wave that was announced on the official homepage, up to the first difficulty level, it will be stopped a decent amount by the punitive forces . Even if the wave were to reach our domain, it will probably just be a couple of small fries that happened to slip away here and there . However, starting from the 2nd wave, it will probably be a different story . "

Kroban asked Herz .

"Yo, I also read that announcement, but it looked like the only thing that changed with the 2nd wave from the 1st wave was just the fact that they were intermediate-rank magical beasts . Are intermediate-rank magical beasts that strong?"

Herz slowly nodded his head .

"Yes, hyung . The fighting power of intermediate-rank magical beasts itself are completely different from low-rank magical beasts . From what I"ve felt, it seemed like they were almost 1 . 5-2 times stronger at the same level…"

"Aheum… Is that so?"

Amongst the three people, only Herz was the one that had experienced up to the Devildom zone where intermediate-rank magical beasts appeared .

As that was the case, they were depending on Herz"s information to judge the difficulty level of the monster wave .

Like that, the three people were having a meeting over preparations related to the monster wave for a long time .

And in the midst of that, it seemed that Carwin suddenly remembered something, as he abruptly opened his mouth .

"But Herz hyung . "

"Yeah?"

"What is Ian hyung doing lately? No, is he even alive? I"ve basically seen nothing of him lately . "

Herz smirked as he replied .

"Well, since he is regularly sending me information related to the Devildom, he probably is alive at the least . "

Kroban shook his head as he mumbled .

"I feel like it would be best if that punk also came here before the monster wave began…"

Before anybody realized it, based on the fighting power that was visible from the outside, the Lotus Guild had become a supersized guild that was fighting for around 6th-7th place .

Even while Ian didn"t pay attention to it, with Herz and Fiolan as the heads, the domains had rapidly grown thanks to the constant maintenance of them .

However, despite the Lotus Guild having become such a giant guild like this, the presence of Ian was incredibly big .

This was because no matter what anybody said, Ian was the one that had exerted the biggest effect on the Lotus Guild growing this big .

Herz, of course, but the executive members including Kroban, Carwin and Fiolan, were all hoping that Ian quickly finished all of his quests before returning and led the guild again .

Herz slightly smiled towards Kroban as he opened his mouth .

"Just wait a little more, hyung . As a matter of fact, he said that he would visit the domain within the next couple of days . "

Kroban grumbled .

"This punk, if he"s flying through the Devildom like that, he should come visit his hyung every so often and even share his magic stones with me a little as well, no? Acting like some cheap punk . "

Carwin agreed enthusiastically next to him .

"My point exactly! What was it, a 4th transcendence weapon, for himself? After making something so ridiculous!"

The three people who talked behind Ian"s back for a moment, began to talk about the preparations for the monster wave again…

Without even knowing the fact that Ian was sitting on the floor right below them .

• You have failed the appraisal of the "Wishful Treasure Map" relic .

• You have consumed 1 Highest-grade Appraisal Stone . (Remaining Appraisal Stones: 77)

• You have failed the appraisal of the "Wishful Treasure Map" relic .

• You have consumed 1 Highest-grade Appraisal Stone . (Remaining Appraisal Stones: 15)

Each time the number of appraisal stones was reduced by one, Lilson"s expression grew paler and paler .

"It, it can"t go on like this! No, even last time, when I appraised a legendary relic, I feel like about 120 highest-grade appraisal stones went into it, but what exactly is this item for it to not be appraised yet even when I"m close to using 300 of them?"

However, fortunately, when there were about seven appraisal stones left, the "Wishful Treasure Map" that he had received from Ian began to let out a brilliant light .

Ring-!

• You have succeeded in the appraisal of the "Wishful Treasure Map" .

• Your Explorer EXP has increased by 1,272,500 .

• The proficiency EXP of your "Relic Appraisal" skill has increased by 331,512 .

• The level of your "Relic Appraisal" skill has increased from a High-rank level 9 to a High-rank level 10 .

• As you have succeeded in appraising a Legendary-rank relic, you have obtained 100 thousand Fame .

To Lilson, rather than the Legendary-rank relic that he had succeeded in appraising, the appraisal stones, which he only had 7 of, caught his eyes first .

"Euh… How disappointing . I thought that I would have been able to leave a lot more . "

Because his appraising level had gone up a lot from succeeding in appraising a Legendary-rank relic before once already, Lilson had thought that he would have been able to succeed in appraising this legendary relic with just about 50 appraisal stones .

Lilson"s ambitious dream of leaving 250 appraisal stones and pocketing 7 . 5 million gold downgraded to 210 thousand gold like that .

Lilson lifted the Wishful Treasure Map, which he had succeeded in appraising and handed it over to Ian .

Because in the case of ancient relics which were done being appraised, their durability was incredibly weak, his hand gestures were incredibly careful .

"Here, take a look at it . "

Lilson was incredibly curious of the information of the item, but still, as it was first for Ian, the owner of the relic, to check the content, he did not check the information beforehand .

"Thank you!"

Ian, who received the "Wishful Treasure Map" from Lilson, hurriedly opened the information window of the item .

• Wishful Treasure Map

Cla.s.sification – Miscellaneous goods (Relic)

Rank – Legendary

*The cintamani is a mystical existence that brings luck to the one that carries it, and it eliminates evil and natural disasters .

Also one of the treasures that are required in order for a monster serpent to ascent into a sky dragon, this cintamani was a beaded treasure, which was one of the "Seven Treasures" that the Wheel-Turning King originally possessed .

The Wheel-Turning King made treasure maps that held the locations of his Seven Treasures and entrusted each one of them with his seven most trusted lieges, and this Wishful Treasure Map happens to be one of the seven treasure maps .

*This is an item bound to user "Ian" .

*If this item is used, the map that has the location of the cintamani marked can be checked .

Ian, who read through the information of the item, slightly frowned .

"What the h.e.l.l? Why are there so many difficult words?"[1]

After roughly reading the explanation above that was full of difficult Chinese characters, his gaze turned to the two lines that were written at the very bottom .

"So… I just need to use this map and see where the cintamani is, right?"

Ian grumbled as he immediately used the treasure map .

"Alright, shall we see where the cintamani is now?"

And a giant full image of all of the continents of Kailan spread out in front of Ian .

However, shortly after, Ian couldn"t help but wear an incredibly fl.u.s.tered expression .

"No, what the h.e.l.l is this?"

At Ian"s taken aback voice, Lilson, who was next to him, was startled and asked .

"What"s wrong? Is there some sort of problem…?"

"No, no, it"s nothing like that…"

Ian thoroughly checked the map that popped up in front of him again .

"What the h.e.l.l, was this a fake?"

However, the location of the cintamani was not marked anywhere on the map .

[1] In the original Korean text, there were a lot of Chinese characters used, which many Korean people no longer know how to fully read .

 .

Lilson"s two eyes slightly grew

"What… Is this?".

With a low voice, Ian responded

"This is a map that holds the location of where an item that I absolutely need is . As it is an ancient relic, I wasn"t able to appraise the item with my abilities . ".

And at Ian"s short explanation, it seemed Lilson understood right away, as he nodded his head

"Oh, I think I"ll need to see what kind of relic it is, but it is incredibly exciting . Could you pa.s.s it to me?".

At Lilson"s words, Ian didn"t say anything else and just pulled out the parchment before handing it over to Lilson

While receiving that, Lilson thought to himself

"Hmm… At best, could it be a relic that"s about a Unique-rank? Even if it is a normal user, if it"s to the point that a user that"s at Ian"s level cannot appraise it, it means that it"s quite a high rank…".

Ian was a top-ranking user that was even over lv 200 now

It was a value that was almost double the level difference with Lilson, who was just over lv 100

However, Lilson did not expect much out of the relic that Ian handed over to him

This was because in order to unearth a high-rank relic, the cla.s.s proficiency of the Explorer was much more important than the level of the character

With a somewhat apathetic expression, Lilson received the parchment from Ian

"Shall we take a look here?".

Lilson was momentarily elated over the thought of him solving Ian"s problem in the blink of an eye and receiving praise from him

However, shortly after, he couldn"t help but be fl.u.s.tered

"What the h.e.l.l, this is a Legendary-rank?".

Lilson succeeded in appraising a relic that was a Legendary-rank for the first time last time

Thanks to that, fragmentary information of the relic that wasn"t visible to Ian was visible to him due to his raised appraisal level

• "Wishful Treasure Map"/Cla.s.sification: Miscellaneous Goods (Relic)/Rank: Legendary.

"…".

As Lilson was frozen with a dazed expression, Ian asked him

"What"s wrong? Is there some sort of problem…?".

Lilson was fl.u.s.tered as he responded

"This item… Exactly how did you obtain it? If it isn"t for a user with an Explorer cla.s.s, this is a Legendary-rank relic that cannot be obtained whatsoever . ".

Ian just shrugged his shoulders

"I"m not sure . Just somehow…".

Anyhow, Lilson felt he came into a windfall

"Keu, it"s a gift from the G.o.ds! For another legendary relic to have rolled in like this on its own feet when not that much time has pa.s.sed since I first appraised a Legendary-rank relic!".

Even to Lilson, who was at a standard where he was the highest-leveled Explorer in Kailan, the EXP that he could obtain through the appraisal of a Legendary-rank relic was tremendous

As that was the case, he was this happy

Lilson momentarily touched the relic that he received from Ian before he placed it on the table and spoke

"Excuse me, Ian . ".

"Yes?".

"I"ll be right back after I visit the auction house . ".

Ian asked with a puzzled expression

"Why the auction house?".

"Oh, to purchase some item appraisal stones . ".

"If it is because of that, I have a lot as well…".

Lilson shook his head

"It won"t work with just normal appraisal stones . I need highest-grade appraisal stones . If you just wait one moment…".

However, Ian pulled out a bundle of the highest-grade appraisal stones, which were on Lilson"s order list, before Lilson even finished speaking and placed it in front of him

"Here . ".

And Lilson wore a fl.u.s.tered expression

"So, so much of this expensive item…!".

Highest-grade appraisal stones were costly consumables that sold at about 30 thousand gold per piece

As Lilson was able to raise his Explorer EXP thanks to Ian, he was planning on purchasing the appraisal stones at his own expense as his repayment for that

However, as Ian unexpectedly held out the appraisal stones like this, he wore a disturbed expression

• You have obtained "Highest-grade Item Appraisal Stones" x300

Lilson received his order of appraisal stones with trembling hands

"Th, three hundred? This is almost 9 million gold! Yet he"s giving this to me so willingly? What will he do if I just log out after receiving this?".

To Lilson, 9 million gold was not a small amount

However, as it was an amount that was covered if Ian just sold lumps of low-grade magic stones, it was a level that wasn"t too burdensome in Ian"s perspective

Ian asked Lilson

"It"s possible with this much, right? I heard that a ton of highest-grade magic stones went into appraising a Legendary-rank relic . So that"s why I purchased an ample amount of them…".

"This is enough! There will definitely be a lot left . I will succeed in appraising them as quickly as possible and return them to you . ".

At Lilson"s words, Ian shook his head as he smirked

"You take all the remaining appraisal stones . ".

"Se, seriously?".

"You can just consider it commission . ".

Lilson, who momentarily thought about it, studied Ian"s expression as he stealthily responded

"No… Take-backs . ".

Lilson"s drive towards relic appraising began to fire up even more

* * *.

Meanwhile, in the small meeting room that was at the highest floor of the Pyro Lord"s castle

Three men that had gathered together for the first time in a while sat around a round table and shared a serious conversation

"So, here and here . If a monster wave opens up in these two spots, you"re saying that at the latest, the aftermath will reach our domain, right?".

At Carwin"s words, Herz nodded his head

"That"s right . Based on the difficulty level of the monster wave that was announced on the official homepage, up to the first difficulty level, it will be stopped a decent amount by the punitive forces . Even if the wave were to reach our domain, it will probably just be a couple of small fries that happened to slip away here and there . However, starting from the 2nd wave, it will probably be a different story . ".

Kroban asked Herz

"Yo, I also read that announcement, but it looked like the only thing that changed with the 2nd wave from the 1st wave was just the fact that they were intermediate-rank magical beasts . Are intermediate-rank magical beasts that strong?".

Herz slowly nodded his head

"Yes, hyung . The fighting power of intermediate-rank magical beasts itself are completely different from low-rank magical beasts . From what I"ve felt, it seemed like they were almost 1 . 5-2 times stronger at the same level…".

"Aheum… Is that so?".

Amongst the three people, only Herz was the one that had experienced up to the Devildom zone where intermediate-rank magical beasts appeared

As that was the case, they were depending on Herz"s information to judge the difficulty level of the monster wave

Like that, the three people were having a meeting over preparations related to the monster wave for a long time

And in the midst of that, it seemed that Carwin suddenly remembered something, as he abruptly opened his mouth

"But Herz hyung . ".

"Yeah?".

"What is Ian hyung doing lately? No, is he even alive? I"ve basically seen nothing of him lately . ".

Herz smirked as he replied

"Well, since he is regularly sending me information related to the Devildom, he probably is alive at the least . ".

Kroban shook his head as he mumbled

"I feel like it would be best if that punk also came here before the monster wave began…".

Before anybody realized it, based on the fighting power that was visible from the outside, the Lotus Guild had become a supersized guild that was fighting for around 6th-7th place

Even while Ian didn"t pay attention to it, with Herz and Fiolan as the heads, the domains had rapidly grown thanks to the constant maintenance of them

However, despite the Lotus Guild having become such a giant guild like this, the presence of Ian was incredibly big

This was because no matter what anybody said, Ian was the one that had exerted the biggest effect on the Lotus Guild growing this big

Herz, of course, but the executive members including Kroban, Carwin and Fiolan, were all hoping that Ian quickly finished all of his quests before returning and led the guild again

Herz slightly smiled towards Kroban as he opened his mouth

"Just wait a little more, hyung . As a matter of fact, he said that he would visit the domain within the next couple of days . ".

Kroban grumbled

"This punk, if he"s flying through the Devildom like that, he should come visit his hyung every so often and even share his magic stones with me a little as well, no? Acting like some cheap punk . ".

Carwin agreed enthusiastically next to him

"My point exactly! What was it, a 4th transcendence weapon, for himself? After making something so ridiculous!".

The three people who talked behind Ian"s back for a moment, began to talk about the preparations for the monster wave again….

Without even knowing the fact that Ian was sitting on the floor right below them

* * *.

• You have failed the appraisal of the "Wishful Treasure Map" relic

• You have consumed 1 Highest-grade Appraisal Stone . (Remaining Appraisal Stones: 77).

• You have failed the appraisal of the "Wishful Treasure Map" relic

• You have consumed 1 Highest-grade Appraisal Stone . (Remaining Appraisal Stones: 15).

Each time the number of appraisal stones was reduced by one, Lilson"s expression grew paler and paler

"It, it can"t go on like this! No, even last time, when I appraised a legendary relic, I feel like about 120 highest-grade appraisal stones went into it, but what exactly is this item for it to not be appraised yet even when I"m close to using 300 of them?".

However, fortunately, when there were about seven appraisal stones left, the "Wishful Treasure Map" that he had received from Ian began to let out a brilliant light

Ring-!.

• You have succeeded in the appraisal of the "Wishful Treasure Map"

• Your Explorer EXP has increased by 1,272,500

• The proficiency EXP of your "Relic Appraisal" skill has increased by 331,512

• The level of your "Relic Appraisal" skill has increased from a High-rank level 9 to a High-rank level 10

• As you have succeeded in appraising a Legendary-rank relic, you have obtained 100 thousand Fame

To Lilson, rather than the Legendary-rank relic that he had succeeded in appraising, the appraisal stones, which he only had 7 of, caught his eyes first

"Euh… How disappointing . I thought that I would have been able to leave a lot more . ".

Because his appraising level had gone up a lot from succeeding in appraising a Legendary-rank relic before once already, Lilson had thought that he would have been able to succeed in appraising this legendary relic with just about 50 appraisal stones

Lilson"s ambitious dream of leaving 250 appraisal stones and pocketing 7 . 5 million gold downgraded to 210 thousand gold like that

Lilson lifted the Wishful Treasure Map, which he had succeeded in appraising and handed it over to Ian

Because in the case of ancient relics which were done being appraised, their durability was incredibly weak, his hand gestures were incredibly careful

"Here, take a look at it . ".

Lilson was incredibly curious of the information of the item, but still, as it was first for Ian, the owner of the relic, to check the content, he did not check the information beforehand

"Thank you!".

Ian, who received the "Wishful Treasure Map" from Lilson, hurriedly opened the information window of the item

• Wishful Treasure Map.

Cla.s.sification – Miscellaneous goods (Relic).

Rank – Legendary.

*The cintamani is a mystical existence that brings luck to the one that carries it, and it eliminates evil and natural disasters

Also one of the treasures that are required in order for a monster serpent to ascent into a sky dragon, this cintamani was a beaded treasure, which was one of the "Seven Treasures" that the Wheel-Turning King originally possessed

The Wheel-Turning King made treasure maps that held the locations of his Seven Treasures and entrusted each one of them with his seven most trusted lieges, and this Wishful Treasure Map happens to be one of the seven treasure maps

*This is an item bound to user "Ian"

*If this item is used, the map that has the location of the cintamani marked can be checked

Ian, who read through the information of the item, slightly frowned

"What the h.e.l.l? Why are there so many difficult words?"[1].

After roughly reading the explanation above that was full of difficult Chinese characters, his gaze turned to the two lines that were written at the very bottom

"So… I just need to use this map and see where the cintamani is, right?".

Ian grumbled as he immediately used the treasure map

"Alright, shall we see where the cintamani is now?".

And a giant full image of all of the continents of Kailan spread out in front of Ian

However, shortly after, Ian couldn"t help but wear an incredibly fl.u.s.tered expression

"No, what the h.e.l.l is this?".

At Ian"s taken aback voice, Lilson, who was next to him, was startled and asked

"What"s wrong? Is there some sort of problem…?".

"No, no, it"s nothing like that…".

Ian thoroughly checked the map that popped up in front of him again

"What the h.e.l.l, was this a fake?".

However, the location of the cintamani was not marked anywhere on the map

[1] In the original Korean text, there were a lot of Chinese characters used, which many Korean people no longer know how to fully read