Chapter 3

“Phew.”

Tsss… Tsssss….

Amber spread across the field due to the aftereffects of the Inferno Abyss.

It had the appearance of a fierce battle between two armies numbering in hundreds.

This was a view that no one would have thought came from  a one-on-one  battle.

“That was the toughest goblin I’ve ever faced.”

Vulcan put his Pure Lightning Blade into its sheath and reflected on the battle.

There were too many mistakes that he had made; underestimating the opponent even though it was a level 90, panicking when Mukushu counterattacked, and also using the Inferno Abyss recklessly.

In fact, using the Inferno Abyss whimsically was not an ideal move. He should have saved that skill and the mana required as a last resort.

Since he was in an unknown place in which level 90 monsters were roaming on a common field, he should have saved everything he could conserve in preparation for what was coming next.

However, using the Inferno Abyss for the first time so proficiently satisfied Vulcan.

Unbelievable damage was produced through consecutive attacks of the Inferno Abyss and Explosion. Furthermore, using Spirit Form and teleporting behind Mukushu felt incredible.

It would be a piece of cake to fight five of those ugly monsters all at once.

When his thoughts reached that stage, Vulcan felt discontented.

“I can’t believe I’m overjoyed because I can battle five goblins.”

Vulcan was dumbfounded.

However, the truth was that this goblin was strong. Probably the strongest goblin of all time.

Vulcan approached the corpse of Goblin Mukushu, which was burnt to the core and had collapsed into halves.

It was a level 90- it better drop a good item.

Vulcan picked up a weapon radiating a crimson light from the corpse, and checked its stats.

[ Legendary Weapon – Falchion of the Amplifier ]

[ Level restriction: Lv 90 ]

Attack: +104

Stamina: 50/50

Blade Type Skill Points: +2

Berserker Type Enforcement Skill: +1

*Falchion used by Goblin Mukushu the Wandering Warrior. Allows the user to use Berserk mode to temporarily obtain higher skill points.

“…!”

Vulcan was speechless in his astonishment.

The stats were much higher than what he had expected.

It had similar attack and stamina stats as the Pure Lightning Blade, but it had two additional enchantments on it. The enforcement skill was a staggering +2 even.

It was also a blade type weapon. Blade type weapons had better accessibility than other held-hand weapons as it was so easy to use.

A superb weapon.

Vulcan felt gutted.

He was not a warrior class who was fueled by physical strength. Instead, he was a thunder/destructive fire mage type who relied on mana, and that meant he could not use the weapon to its full potential.

Vulcan put the Falchion of the Amplifier into his inventory with the hopes of using it in the future.

Although he cannot use it at the moment to its full potential, there may be a time when it may come to be useful to him.

“Eagle of the lightning, mana armor.”

Vulcan used his detection and protection skills to enter his defensive mode.

There were too many unknown hazards to foolishly plow on towards Beloong city using his spirit form. At least, he should stay safe until he was able to use the Inferno Abyss again.

A quest that expired without any notice from the SYSTEM transceiver, a new map, and a level 90 goblin unknown to him even after 5 years of travelling.

Everything was a mystery, but Vulcan decided to think about it later.

‘I’ll learn more when I arrive at the city.”

Vulcan took his first step towards the dirt road heading to Beloong city.

3. Level 122 merchant

Despite Vulcan’s concerns, he did not encounter any monsters on the way to his destination. He walked for 2 hours in tension.

As soon as the cooldown period of the Inferno Abyss dropped to zero, he used his spirit form and was able to reach Beloong city before sunset.

Beloong city did not appear to be like any other place he had seen. It was a fortressed city surrounded by a high rampart with a control tower placed in between that seemed to be able to hold an army of soldiers. Behind the walls was a moat, which led to the sizable city.

Vulcan headed towards the entrance.

Perhaps the city was not as populated as he thought. Vulcan was the only one entering the city.

Only one sentry was guarding the gate. He was dozing off while leaning against the wall, suggesting that the city was rarely visited.

The sentry looked up and examined Vulcan, then quickly went back to taking his afternoon nap.

Whoever trained this sentry must have done a terrible job.

However, the armor he was wearing appeared pretty decent. Maybe the city was strong enough to let a wanderer in without caution.

‘Works fine with me.’

Sometimes, sentries would provoke a quarrel. Vulcan did not mind entering the city like this.

“Wow!”

Vulcan dazed in admiration.

Multi-story buildings filled the area like never seen before in Capital Empire.

Streets were fitted perfectly together like flawless bricks. Unlike other cities, litter and pollution were nowhere to be found.

Not a single common beggar was seen. Even the looks of the citizens walking in the street were stunning. The city seemed to be wealthy.

Vulcan explored the city and came across a display on a large bulletin board.

After close examination, it turned out to be the city direction board. The shopping district, the innkeeper, sundries, and main buildings were all labeled.

‘I guess I won’t need to ask anybody where things are.”

Thanking the existence of the board, Vulcan decided to head towards the shopping district. Ideally, you would first go to the inn to obtain more information for your next step. But Vulcan felt a strong urge to see what was on the market after seeing the wealth of the residents.

***

The shopping district was completely different from what Vulcan had imagined.

He was expecting to see large vibrant buildings full of people. Instead, all there was was a two-story house called ‘The Sundries.’

The rest of the district was full of merchants that sold on the streets.

Vulcan felt disappointed to see the market looking like a second-hand shop in the countryside, but he walked into the crowd of auctioneers to at least have a look around.

He stopped at a display stand where he randomly chose, and began to examine his items.

The middle-aged merchant had a small scar on his left cheek. He was wearing a black robe which appeared to be too thick and hot for the midday sun.

A dagger, a couple of rings and necklaces were scattered on the mat, and it seemed they were not of good quality.

“May I have look?”

“Sure. It’s not like they’re gonna wear off by just lookin’. Take yer time. Ask any questions if ya wanna.”

The man spoke in a different language never heard of before on the Rubel continent. But the transceiver’s automated translator made it easy to communicate.

Vulcan checked the stats of the ordinary-looking dagger that seemed to have been carelessly hurled onto the mat.

[ Normal Weapon – Assassination Dagger ]

[ Level Restriction: Lv 80 ]

Attack: +81

Stamina: 24/24

Attack increased by 20% if backstabbed.

Able to be automatically retrieved when thrown.

*An ordinary dagger. May be used to attack a defenseless enemy. Could be used as a substitute for a dart.

“…”

‘What the… Damn. I must be seeing things.’

Vulcan checked the stats again.

The unchanged enchantments and stats of the Assassination Dagger greeted him.

Lost for words, Vulcan put down the dagger and grabbed a ring. It was just a common black ring without any patterns or carvings.

[ Artisan Ornament – Apprentice Ring ]

[ Level restriction: Lv 85 ]

Mana: +10

Spell Power: +9

Dark Magic Type Efficiency: +5%

*A ring produced in masses for students working hard to become a dark mage. Created by a well-known wizard. Popular amongst beginners.

“This…!”

“What. Ya wanna buy it?”

“N… No. I would like to see the other items.”

Vulcan examined the rest of the accessories.

Play-with-Fire Ring, level restriction 72, normal weapon.

Goblin Molar Ring, level restriction 77, normal weapon.

Lightning-Struck Necklace, level restriction 80, artisan ornament.

They were rare items for experienced and high-level people.

Vulcan did not understand the situation.

Normally, one would be required to slay either a boss monster or a special spawn on an open field to obtain one high-level item. It was beyond Vulcan’s imagination that he would come across four of them at a place that appeared to be a sundries stand.

‘What’s with the names and the grades!!”

It was unnatural for rare items of that grade to be named with such carelessness. There was no way anyone would flippantly name something that exceptional ‘Play-with-Fire Ring.’

It was as if a legendary sword forged by a master craftsman and handed down through generations being named ‘A Very Good Long Sword’.

Vulcan talked to the merchant.

“How did you obtain these items?”

Vulcan’s courteous question appeared to confuse the middle-aged man.

“Of course through monsta huntin’. Ya really don’t know?”

“Oh, is that so…”

‘Monster hunting my ass…”

Vulcan became speechless to see the merchant treat the items as if they were just typical, everyday items. However, those items were only obtainable through weeks of grinding where Vulcan was from.

It had been a very strange day.

Encountering a goblin never seen nor heard of before, and then finding high-end items on a mere sundries stand.

The items were spread across the mat like common starter items, and there was nothing extraordinary about the grades either.

Plus they were apparently simply obtained through monster hunting.

Vulcan studied the merchant.

All he saw was an honest merchant that spoke of something that players of at least level 90 would say.

“Hey wait. Maybe he’s a hidden master?”

‘No, it can’t be,’ thought Vulcan as he continued to wonder about the identity of the man in black robes.

But everything that happened today was bizarre. The goblin, the items.

Everything.

Perhaps he could add one more to the list.

‘It’s not like I’m going to wear it out.’

Vulcan reached for his right pocket and held out his transceiver, using the Scan Ability on the merchant.

[ Third-rate Swordsman Jake ]

[ Lv 122 ]

‘… a three digit level?’

BOOOOM!!!!

While Vulcan was tilting his head dubiously in confusion, a loud noise was heard from the adjacent stand.

Vulcan looked around involuntarily. Two men were raising their voices in an argument.

A bald man holding an iron mace over his shoulder and a man dressed in black shamanist gear fit for a martial arts novel were glaring at each other.

“I bought this first. Fuck off when you have the chance.”

“What are you talking about? You haven’t even paid yet. Hey mister merchant, I’ll pay you more. Trade with me instead.”

“Well would you look at this idiot. Why are you getting in my way? Are all ‘Murim*’ small-fry as bitchy as you are?”

“I expected nothing from a muscle-brain ‘Powel’. Rough with the language as always. Hey mister. You want more money right? Let’s get this over and done with.”

TLN: Murim* a term used for people who are in the martial arts world.

The merchant had no interest in the argument. As soon as he received the cash from the black shamanist, he handed over his wooden necklace, took his item stand and disappeared into the crowd.

A chunky vein popped out of baldy’s temple as he watched the merchant disappear.

Without warning, he swung his iron mace at the man in black robe.

CHNNNGGGG!!!

Before anyone's eyes could follow, a willow leaf saber* blocked the iron mace.

TLN: Willow leaf saber* This is a type of Chinese curved sword called Liu Ye Dao.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liuyedao

The man in black robes jumped back and created some distance with the recoil. Using his left hand, he draped the wooden necklace around his neck, and then withdrew another willow leaf saber from its sheath.

“Try that again if you want to die, Mr. Skinhead.”

Without the roaring from a moment before, the bald man held up his iron mace.

Blue aura enveloped not only the iron mace, but the man’s body like blue fire.

“Bring it on. Trash talkin’ ‘Murim’ shit.”

The man in black robes replied with a smirk on his face.

“Now you’ve asked for it. Better get your ass prepared. Come.”

Then he rocketed high into the skies.

A smooth arc trailed behind the man as he left the city over the wall, and the bald man grounded his teeth before jumping too.

BOOOM!!!!!

Everyone watched the man with the iron mace flying out, creating a large depression on the district alley road, as he began chasing with great explosion.

Soon after, they returned to their businesses as if nothing had happened.

The merchants organized their shelves, and looked around to see what they could sell. They did not seem to be bothered by what they had just seen.

The district went back to its peaceful state. Auctioning noises could be heard from here and there. It was just another day at the market.

But Vulcan could not do that.

As the bald man enveloped himself in blue flames, Vulcan instinctively scanned his abilities, then doing the same with the man in black robes.

He was dumbstruck.

Two windows with the abilities of the two men opened before Vulcan’s very eyes.

[ First-Class Fighter Fullvike ]

[ Lv 368 ]

[ First-Class Swordsman Yung Yeop, Lee ]

[ Lv 371 ]