Chapter 256 - New Hunting Ground (1)

There is a saying that you can gain weight just by drinking water.

And there is another saying that you can gain weight just by breathing.

Of course, they are lies, for if you gain weight by drinking water or breathing, you will gain so quickly that your stomach will soon rupture and die.

However, I seemed to fit into that expression if I replaced the word 'weight' with 'strength.'

I was still level 1000, and even though I had not leveled up, I was much stronger than before, for 1800 Intellect and 1800 Stamina and 900 Willpower were values that nobody could ignore easily.

In other words, I was now in a situation where I could gain weight by drinking water and breathing.

Of course, the recently upgraded +6 enhancement Ice Emperor's Guardian Sword contributed a lot to my present strength, but I was obviously in a situation like 'gaining weight by drinking water' because I could keep enhancing the sword beyond +7, +8, and +9 enhancement with the help of God of Enhancement, not by luck.

Puck! Puck! Bang! Bang!

"Kheeeeeeeeeek!"

"Kekkkk!"

Although I could get rid of the cunning vampires easily before, it was even easier now.

And the cunning vampires collapsed helplessly at my attack like leaves falling in the autumn wind.

Of course, the vampires used their characteristic vampire attacks more fiercely and desperately than before to try to make up for their declining health. But their attacks didn't work at all.

Moreover, my strength wasn't limited to just powerful offensive abilities. My defensive capabilities were tremendous as well.

In other words, my ability to endure was also strong.

I could already play the role of a tank before, but now, as my Intellect increased by 1800 at once, my stamina increased by 1800 and my willpower increased by 900, further increasing my defensive power.

[Vampire!]

[Blood Explosion!]

[Blood Storm!]

[Blood Suck!]

"Were they so weak from the beginning?"

Their attack didn't inflict any damage on me.

Anyway, I kept hunting until 9:50 am.

At the Myongjin Guild Headquarters.

Since I was the main figure of today's meeting, I arrived ten minutes early as I didn't want to be late. My mother told me to come early as well, which I didn't hear from anybody while playing 'Revival Legend.' As a matter of fact, when I got there, everybody, including my father, was already there, waiting for me.

Obviously, I was not late, but I still felt a bit embarrassed.

But nobody except for my mother looked at me disapprovingly.

Since everybody already knew that they should not even pretend to recognize me within 'Revival Legend,' my mother didn't overreact to my late arrival.

Anyway, when I was seated, my father opened his mouth as if they had already had some discussion.

"Then, let's move now since we're all gathered together here."

"Okay."

"We are already ready."

As soon as he spoke, Mirae Guild Chairman Junghwan Yon and Tugal Guild Leader Tamir immediately responded to his suggestion.

Of course, my father was appointed head of the advance team, and the Mirae Guild and Tugal Guild did not raise any objections since they didn't perform well enough to have any say in this matter. Myongjin would be no different from them if I was not under their banner, but it was not a big deal anyway.

Anyway, like everyone else, I took a key out of my inventory and opened my mouth quietly.

"Use the key to the New Hunting Ground."

[You used the key to the New Hunting Ground.

-You are now moving to the New Hunting Ground.]

As soon as the message rang, I felt as if I was being dragged somewhere, and soon new scenery appeared before my eyes.

The moment when all 20 players, including Juyoung Hong, used the key to the New Hunting Ground, a message immediately rang not only in Korea, Japan, and Mongolia, but in all other regions.

[An excellent expedition has found a New Hunting Ground.

-30 days later, a higher level hunting ground will be revealed in all regions.

-All the monsters in the New Hunting Ground will drop more EXP points and golden rings than before. In addition, monsters also drop new items and manufacturing items, and even coins, but with a low probability. However, if you die in the New Hunting Ground, your death penalty will be different from normal.

: The cooldown for reconnecting upon death increases from 1 day to 7 days.

: A slight decrease in EXP upon death is changed to a large decrease in EXP.

: Every time you die, you will lose between 1-10 stat points at random.

* Stat points that drop randomly cannot be restored. If your stat points drop to the initial connection status of Strength 10, Stamina 10, Agility 10, Willpower 10, and Intellect 10, you will be permanently unable to access 'Revival Legend'.]

That was a message that rang all over the world.

Some cheered upon hearing the message, while others were nervous and worried.

Obviously, this was a golden opportunity for them to acquire coins that were almost impossible to obtain for billions of dollars. But the death penalty, which was relatively minor before, increased trmendously.

In particular, the permanent decline in stat points greatly fueled their anxiety and worries.

No matter how colorful and good the new items and skills were, what underpinned their strength were stat points. So they knew clearly that if they had low stats, all the items and skills would just be all shell and no substance.

Anyway, while everybody involved had mixed feelings of joy and anxiety, they had one question in common, namely, the identity of the outstanding expedition mentioned in the message.

Of course, they came to know the answer faster than expected, for there were a lot of people, including Japan's Mitsuya Guild, who watched the expedition.

A mysterious space.

It was literally a mysterious space.

In the mysterious space, there was something like four labelled giant portals that seemed to be connected to other spaces. It was just like what appeared in science fiction movies and numerous other games.

"It's simple."

"Yeah, it is."

Like those around me said, it was not difficult to grasp the situation, because the sign in front of each portal had the following numbers on it.

[1300]

[1400]

[1500]

[????]

At first glance, I realized the number referred to level 1300, level 1400, or level 1500 hunting grounds.

And I could confirm it from the message that rang as soon as I arrived here.

"Well, I heard the same message rang outside this hunting ground."

"But the difference is that the message appearing before us now will be revealed to the outside 30 days later than us because we have the key to the New Hunting Ground."

"The message below seems to have been revealed only to us."

Those who were here were the top leaders of their groups, including the top executives of the Myongjin and MIrae Guilds and the Leader of the Tugal Guild.

As a result, they had access to a lot of information quickly.

My father nodded at the information, then turned his gaze at the place where the message rang only for us 20 players.

[Congratulations!

-You have discovered a New Hunting Ground faster than anyone else.

As a reward, you have sole access to the New Hunting Ground for 30 days by using the key to enter.

In addition, the 20 people with the keys will receive the following buffs for a month.

: Golden rings acquisition doubles for one month.

: Item acquisition rate doubles for one month.

: Coin acquisition rate doubles for one month.]

The limited buffs were given only to the 20 players here.

Others might not have noticed it, but I felt slight regret at the buffs because there were no buffs relating to EXP.

But unlike me, everyone else here seemed to be more interested in other rewards such as golden rings and coins.