Chapter 181
Chapter 181
Chapter 181
The forest of little people, a certain field some people called the ‘Forest of Dwarfs’, wasn’t in the Korean server, but the Italian server.
‘The place where the world’s gear is born.’
There existed a place called the ‘Village of Dwarfs’. It was said that 70%, the majority of legendary ‘created items’ distributed around the world, were produced there.
‘If it’s that place, it may be possible to restore the Old Crown.’
The problem was, the ‘dwarfs’ who lived there had very foul tempers.
‘A place most Players avoided entering.’
The Village of Dwarfs was a place Players didn’t enter without good reason, no matter how high their level. Only a limited few went there—the people we commonly called ‘Masters’ or ‘Craftsmen’. Only they returned from the Village of Dwarfs with meaningful results.
‘Ordinary Players…’
…would often die or go missing after going in. According to eyewitness reports, some were working as slaves in the dwarfs’ workshop.
The reason why the village was not subjugated despite that was, of course, because it was the world’s most prominent producer of ‘very outstanding gear’.
‘Though even if we wanted to subjugate them, it might not even be possible.’
The dwarfs were strong.
‘I remember they were estimated to be as strong as level 60 Players.’
If they had dwarfs in charge of fighting among their ranks, those individuals would likely possess even greater battle prowess.
“I believe the manly man Pedro should know as well.”
“W-Well…”
“A manly man does not lie. Isn’t that right?”
“O-Of couuuurse!”
“It seems to me that you’re stuttering.”
“Not at all! A manly man does not stutter.”
“I thought so. You definitely know. Please share what you know.”
Pedro’s face turned black for a moment, and then he spoke.
“It is a place linked to my main quest. And my damned teacher is there, too.”
By teacher, he was probably referring to Elder Bufafa.
“Do you also know where it is?”
“Of course. There’s nothing a manly man doesn’t know.”
Jackson smiled lightly. “Then it’s settled. We need to make the Gran Seoul Dungeon’s new entrance, after all.”
In the end, we had to go to the Forest of Dwarfs. We needed to restore the ‘Old Crown’ into the ‘Crown’, a key item that would open the Gran Seoul Dungeon’s hidden field.
Jackson shrugged. “I will stay here and continue investigating. There are also things I need to check with the folks currently clearing the dungeon.”
I nodded. Jackson would stay behind.
The future Fight King spoke up for the first time. “I will also…”
“Oi, you little shitter. There’s a thing called friendship between men. You tryna backstab me?”
“…not stay behind and go with you. I know the Italian server very well.”
For a moment, Vela seemed resigned to his fate. But then, fighting spirit suddenly blazed from him.
‘All of a sudden?’
Why was he so volatile? I couldn’t fathom why he was overflowing with fighting spirit right now.
“But wait, dwarfs? Little people? Whatever they are, are they good at fighting?”
“…”
You would be no match for them as you are now, dude.
“Are they good at fighting?”
“They are.”
“Are they stronger than me?”
“Most likely. I wouldn’t know since I’ve never met them.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Are they stronger than my rival we met back then?”
Rival? Ah, right. But since when did the Demon King become your rival?
“I don’t know, either.”
Vela smacked his lips. “There are a lot of strong guys out there.”
I thought his fighting spirit was going out for a moment, but then—
“If they’re stronger than me, I’ve gotta go at it with them.”
Even after getting so wrecked by the Demon King, he still hadn’t gotten his head on straight.
“You’ll die trying.”
“You seem to know quite a lot about these dwarf dudes.”
So I told him the truth, if you could call it that.
“I know the future, after all.”
“You were a Precognitive Eye user?”
I was actually a regressor, but in any case, I definitely knew the future. I hadn’t lied.
“I know the future. Though it has changed a great deal due to variables.”
“Ohh.” Vela stared at me in amazement. “You amaze me more and more every day. You’re an archer, but you’re stronger than most close-ranged Players.”
Why was this guy getting worked up again?
“And you even have Precognitive Eye.”
Vela spoke to me with naive eyes. It seemed he thought of himself as being very earnest.
“Let’s have another round later.”
Why was that his conclusion? Was this guy really battle-crazy?
“Eh?” Vela tilted his head. “Hey. Pedro. Isn’t archer a combat class?”
“Don’t say something so obvious.”
“But I need to go into the dungeon with a non-combat class?”
There was a moment of silence. I had already prepared an answer—I had a multi-faceted class, and I just had to set my main class as sovereign. That’s what I planned on saying.
“Whatever, doesn’t matter. As long as we can go in, it’s fine.”
As expected. This creature could not be understood by common sense.
“…”
“I was soundly defeated last time, but I won’t always be defeated. I’ll give you a good thrashing later.”
Vela really wanted to fight me again, it seemed.
“Anytime. If you can.”
“Great!”
Vela broke into a radiant smile, clearly delighted. In any case, he was an amusing fellow.
Pedro tilted his head. “You say you’re an archer?”
“Yes, well. For now.”
“But I don’t see any archer items on you.”
“I’m a bit scarce on items.”
Of course, I had the transcendent item Isabel, but it was true that I didn’t have any items as an archer. I hadn’t lied.
“It seems… we were destined to meet.”
“What do you mean?”
“I will tell you if the Forest of Dwarfs business works out.”
I read Pedro’s emotions.
State: Anticipation / Slightly Worked Up / Having Fun
I didn’t know what he was talking about, but it seemed to be a good thing for me.
“Let’s go to Italy, then.”
* * *
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Vela and Pedro’s jaws dropped.
“You want to use the Teleport Gateway?”
It took a hefty 20,000 Coins each way.
“Instead of going by plane?”
“Yes. It should be possible to teleport from Tutorial Building to Tutorial Building if accompanied by a Player from another server.”
Hyukjin glanced at Senia. She nodded.
“That is correct. There are two Italian server Players here, so one Player from a foreign server can teleport to the Italian server. The cost to use the Teleport Gateway is 20,000 Coins each way.”
Vela blatantly pretended not to hear her with slight embarrassment.
“Don’t have any money?”
“Wh-Who do you think I am?!”
“You don’t, right?”
“…”
“You don’t, right?”
“I don’t.”
“I’ll lend you some.”
“…Can I maybe not pay you back?”
“You want to end our relationship over a measly 20,000 Coins?”
“Can I not fight you if our relationship ends?”
Did this guy only have fighting in his brain? Hyukjin sighed.
“Eh? I have 20,000 Coins? Looks like I don’t need to borrow any. Uhehe!” he laughed merrily.
Hyukjin had already given up on understanding Vela. He stared at Pedro.
“I’ve given you the Tomb Pilfering Shovel.”
That was a legendary item.
“Y-You did.”
“Do you think that’s cheaper than 20,000 Coins?”
“Of course not.”
“Do you have 20,000 Coins?”
For reference, Pedro’s current life savings totaled to 24,000 Coins.
“I-I do.”
“That’s fine, then.”
“Is going by plane… not an option?”
“Too much time is wasted. If Coins can buy time, then of course you have to buy. If you’re a manly man, that’s the right answer.”
“Of course. I think so as well.”
Pedro’s hand trembled ever so slightly. In the eyes of Hyukjin the Observer, the tiny movement looked like big quakes.
The current Vela and Pedro were still newly-hatched chicks that hadn’t grown to maturity. Hyukjin was a little amused because he could feel that.
‘To think I would feel that Vela and Pedro are just fledgling chicks.’
If put another way, it meant Kim Hyukjin had grown that rapidly.
“The Gran Seoul Dungeon clear is steadily progressing in the Korean server.”
He had already spoken to the Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, asking him to slow down the clearing speed a little. Hyukjin asked for cooperation in opening the Gran Seoul’s hidden field, and Song Kiyeol acquiesced.
–I will increase our break times a little and clear the dungeon a little more safely. However, I cannot slow down the clear forever.
Time was money. No, it was more important than money, even more so for a Ranker. Hyukjin, Vela, and Pedro went together to the D-Tower. More specifically, the Teleport Gateway on the 1st floor of the Tutorial Building.
They went up to the Teleport Gateway. The Teleport Gateway Administrator, an NPC wearing a white nun’s habit named ‘Luna’, said, “Would you like to use the Teleport Gateway?”
She went on to give a few explanations. They might experience dizziness, the fee was 20,000 Coins per person, teleporting one Korean server Player to the Italian server required two Italian Players, combat Players had to be at least level 30, while non-combat class Players had to be at least level 25, etc.
They walked onto a golden magic circle, attracting the gazes of nearby people.
“Huh? There are crazy people who would use the Teleport Gateway?”
“Doesn’t that thing take 20,000 Coins per person?”
“Woah. They’re really using it.”
“Do they have money to burn? Damn, what a waste.”
Time was more precious than money. Only those who realized that could become Rankers. That was how Hyukjin saw it. He, Pedro, and Vela were enveloped in golden rays of light.
Flash!
There was a flash of light.
The situation in the Italian server wasn’t much different from the Korean server. Countless Players were occupying the Tutorial Building, and their attention was instantly drawn to the golden light.
“The hell?”
“There are people who seriously use that Teleport Gateway?”
Hyukjin couldn’t understand their words, but he could tell what they were saying from their expressions. At this point in time, the value of 20,000 Coins was unimaginable to them. These people hadn’t yet comprehended what kind of value buying time with money had.
“We’re going to Piazza Navona.”
The square, an Italian sightseeing attraction, was built on the site where the Stadium of Domitian, a former emperor, once stood. It was only a five minute walk from another sightseeing attraction, the Pantheon, and had the Fiumi Fountain (Fountain of the Four Rivers) in the middle.
Pedro flinched in surprise. ‘What?’ he thought. ‘Did I ever mention Piazza Navona? I don’t think I did.’
Unable to resist his curiosity, he asked, “How did you know that we need to go to Piazza Navona?”
“The Forest of Dwarfs is a place I know as well.”
“…”
“Are you surprised?”
“No. A manly man does not get surprised.”
Pedro’s hand trembled. He was really bad at hiding his thoughts. When Hyukjin saw Pedro on Youtube, he thought that was just a character for the screen, but it was his real personality. That was more of a surprise than anything. Hyukjin grinned inwardly.
Pedro asked, “But… how do you know about the Forest of Dwarfs?”
A Player based in the Korean server, someone who had officially played only in the Korean server, knew how to enter the ‘Forest of Dwarfs’ located in the Italian server?
‘Even in Italy, not many people know it,’ thought Pedro.
Information appeared to be spreading through acquaintances lately, but this was still high-level intel. A production class Player might barely know it. Just who was this man?
Hyukjin smiled. He tapped his eyes.
“My eyes are a bit special, you see.”
“You saw it with your eyes?”
Yes, he did. Via Youtube.
‘Come to think of it…’ Hyukjin mused. The person who had given him the most detailed information about the Forest of Dwarfs was in front of him. After all, Pedro was both a Master and a famous Youtuber.
“I read you.”
“…”
Pedro was alarmed. “M-Me?”
Why was he covering his chest?
“I see. Special eyes…!”
Again, why was he covering that part? Whatever he was imagining, Pedro’s face reddened a little. He was feeling slight shame.
“It’s not polite to inspect a manly man’s body!”
What the heck was this?
‘Ara.’
Something caught Observer’s Eye. A clue.
[Observing with Observer’s Eye.]
Observation aided further observation. Something you didn’t notice would stay unnoticed, but once you started seeing something, you were bound to keep seeing it.
The white fog covering Pedro’s status window began to clear. Pedro’s mental fortitude was shaken, and that became a crack. Hyukjin broke the item’s shielding.
And then, he read Pedro’s full status window.
‘Eh?’
He learned things he hadn’t known.
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