Chapter 54

At an instant, Vulcan arrived at where Sarantis was.

In a loud voice, Vulcan called out for Sarantis.

“Come out you bastard!”

KUUOOOOO

KUGUGUGUGU

“Die!”

KUUUUAAANG

KUUUUWAAAAARRRRR

[Your experience points went up.]

From the last time, Vulcan knew now that Sarantis had an absolutely disgusting, abhorrent appearance. So, Vulcan launched magic attacks as soon as he noticed a figure appearing and defeated Sarantis.

He collected the dropped item and waited for a moment. Like before, Baek Ja-gyeong in holy mountain spirit like getup came to stand before Vulcan.

“You are bac…”

“Please send me to Act 2.”

“All right.”

Baek Ja-gyeong appeared to be in a bad mood somehow.

Vulcan didn’t care. He only waited with his arms crossed.

Baek Ja-gyeong put his hands together, closed his eyes, and mumbled for a moment. With a shouting, he put forth his hand.

With his movement, a 10 ft diameter circular portal with blue wavering light appeared.

“You will be able to go to Act 2’s world through this portal. Unlike Act 1, there is a manager at the start of Act 2, so ask if there is anything you want.”

“Yes. It was good to see you again.”

Vulcan bowed. Without hesitation, Vulcan tossed his body into the portal.

“That rascal. He is in such a hurry.”

With a ‘pung’ sound, Baek Ja-gyeong disappeared with smokes.

Like five years ago, both Vulcan and Baek Ja-gyeong disappeared to places they belong.

However, the situation was different.

Vulcan, who was a max level being, was starting as a newbie again. Still, this time, he was starting with information from experienced people.

A new world was opening in front of Vulcan.

* * *

Wheeeeing…

“Oh! It’s been so long since someone new came!”

There was a man lying down and scratching his belly. Rumithus, a manager of Act 2, got up in hurry.

As a punishment for flirting with the wife of his brother, he ended up being a guide for newbies arriving at Act 2. It has been 500 years since he started this job. Needless to say, it was a humble job beneath his statue.

He was stranded in an empty land with nothing to entertain him. The only thing that he had was having conversations with newbies coming from Act 1 to Act 2.

‘It would be great if a talkative one came. Someone other than High-elves or Dragonians. They are too stiff in personalities. It would be great if it was a friendly demi-god.’

With great anticipation, Rumithus stared at the circular portal.

In front of his eyes, the being that appeared was the greatest talent from Beloong City, a human being, Vulcan.

“What? A human?”

Rumithus opened his eyes wide, and then he smiled big.

It would have been better if it was a demi-god, someone with the blood of gods mixed in. However, a human was also not bad for having a conversation.

To begin with, gods were benevolent toward humans, and humans worshipped gods.

Rumithus spoke with a dignified look on his face.

“Welcome, human. I am one of managers in Act 2. I’m here to help you adjust to this place. My name is Rumithus.”

Vulcan was not able to answer him promptly.

It was because there was a notification in the SYSTEM’s main quest. It has been a while since this happened.

[Quest generated!]

[Main Quest – Get Acknowledged by Hokulus, the supreme manager of Act 2.]

[Difficulty – S (Asgard Standard)]

[Reward – One Wish]

*Get acknowledged by Hokulus, a powerful water god who is the supreme manager of Act 2. You need to possess the power rivalling that of a god to be acknowledged by him.

‘It is as Filder explained. I think Filder said they will give me a test…’

Having carefully observed the notification window, he got a grip, looked at Rumithus and bowed.

Then, Vulcan lifted his head and checked Rumithus’s abilities.

[Act 2 Manager Rumithus, a god of love]

[???Lv]

*There is a vast difference in abilities. Determining exact level is not possible.

The look on Vulcan’s face darkened a little.

He ran into a huge gap in abilities immediately after coming to Act 2.

Although Vulcan cleared Act 1, now, he had to live the life as a newbie again.

A sense of defeat was going through the roof and piercing the sky.

‘Still… The situation is better than how I started in Beloong City.’

Vulcan’s current level was 472.

Although the number alone made him to be at the bottom of Act 2, his actual abilities rivaled that of those with level 700. So, it could be said that Vulcan actually belonged somewhere between low and middle range of rankings.

Also, on top of this, although the booklet was made from memories of distant past, Vulcan had a useful guidebook prepared.

Vulcan had no reason to stay trapped in a sense of defeat.

“Since you are a manager of Act 2, may I ask you questions about this place?”

“Haha. Child. It seems you have an impatient personality. Of course you can ask. What are you curious about?”

Rumithus smiled compassionately and looked at Vulcan.

Meanwhile, with a stuffy look on his face, Vulcan observed Rumithus.

‘If I ever got to see ancient Greek gods, it probably would feel like meeting him.’

Rumithus appeared to be full of confidence, benevolent toward human beings, but it didn’t seem like he was completely innocent.

That was Vulcan’s judgment on Rumithus’s character.

Having thought this far, Vulcan asked Rumithus. He was going to ask about the parts in his guidebook that he was not sure about because the information used to make it was very old. Rumithus panicked when Vulcan started to ask about fine details.

‘What the… Who is this runt? How come he knows so much?’

Rumithus expected things like where to go or the location of a hunting ground that fits his current level.

However, instead, questions after questions, Vulcan was asking about things that only those who have lived in Act 2 for a long time would be able to ask. With so many of these questions pouring out, Rumithus was not able to answer properly.

‘I have been here only for 500 years, so I don’t know!’

Is the blue dragon, who ruled western island as its strongest 700 years ago, still alive?

I heard there was a town 1200 years ago that was made by human beings gathered there. Is that place still in existence?

They were things that Rumithus had no idea about.

Noticing that Rumithus was not able to answer, Vulcan nodded.

Vulcan asked just in case Rumithus knew. Vulcan didn’t have high hopes about them, so he wasn’t too disappointed either.

Vulcan bowed respectfully and asked Rumithus for a favor.

“Thank you for showing your care for me who is just a newbie in Act 2. I think it is about time I headed out. So, I was wondering if you could please give me a blessing of protection for a newbie.”

“… How do you know that?”

“The manager holy spirit in Act 1 mentioned in in middle of conversation.”

“I… Is that so.”

Rumithus was engulfed in Vulcan’s rapid pace of going over information. Rumithus gathered his holy power in his right hand. An orb shining brilliantly in all colors floated in the air, and it slowly got absorbed into top of Vulcan’s head.

Woooong…

There was a mark in his forehead that shined in all colors.

It meant Vulcan received a protective blessing from Rumithus, a manager of Act 2.

“I, Rumithus, a god of love and a manager of Act 2, bestowed upon you a protective blessing. From now on, for the next ten years, no resident in Act 2 can harm you. Also, you cannot harm any residents in Act 2 for the duration. In Espo City, the only official city in Act 2, you can use all of amenities there for free for 10 years. The mark in your forehead will disappear exactly 10 years from now. After that, the protective blessing will be voided.”

“Thank you.”

Vulcan bowed properly with his head.

With his hand, he pointed toward Espo City and asked,

“Is that the direction toward Espo City?”

“… That’s right.”

“Thank you, your divine highness. I, a humble human, will take my leave now.”

“Oh… right. Be safe, child.”

Surrounding himself in Thunder God’s might, Vulcan quickly disappeared.

Rumithus, who vacantly stared at Vulcan leaving, mumbled,

“Who is this rascal? Is he really a newbie?”

* * *

Act 2’s world was vastly wider than Act 1. It was beyond comparison.

There were so many buildings, and there were various beings of different race walking among the buildings.

Vulcan stared at them with a vacant look on his face.

[High-elf Arunean]

[661Lv]

[High-priest Chung-juk the grand monk]

[733Lv]

[Dragonian Cha – pierre]

[586Lv]

[Holy Beast White Tiger Ku]

[791Lv]

‘… Still, I’m getting used to this better than how I did with Beloong City.’

Each and every one of them were far beyond people like Ho-Gyeong or Bellon who ruled Act 1 as its strongest.

They looked like they could destroy an island with a snap of a finger if they went down to the lower dimension. Seeing so many of them walking around in the city like pebbles on streets felt like watching a scene from a comical satire movie.

‘They are all so much more powerful than me. This is bad… Still, I think I can beat that Dragonian. I might be able to go up against that high-elf…’

Vulcan was completely absorbed in watching the residents of Espo City. Suddenly, he gasped for air and closed his mouth.

He quickly lowered his head and moved away in a casual walk so he would not draw attention.

This was Espo City, the only official city in Act 2.

Act 2 was a very large continent, so there were other cities in other popular places. However, Espo City was the only place that was officially acknowledged as a city in Act 2. This was the place where the managers of Act 2 resided, so the city was substantially larger and had more people in it.

‘It is a perfect place to get into fights.’

The place was a gathering place of all sorts of people. There were clueless newbies, veterans who had been grunting away for several hundred years, and all sorts of beings visiting for trade purposes or in search of people for jobs.

It would have been odd if the place was peaceful.

‘Hm. Actually, there probably are quite a few people that die immediately in Espo City after going to Act 2. What? Who would do that after having experienced plenty of the newbie life in Act 1? Just think about someone like Dokgo Hoo.’

Vulcan thought about what Rogweed. It was convincing.

So, Vulcan had no intention of having this place as his primary base of operation.

To start with, the hunting grounds nearby this area had the weakest monsters for newbies. They were not going to be helpful for Vulcan’s quick level up. 

‘Even though I have the protective blessing, I’m sick of a busy place full of fights!’

Vulcan’s plan was to go pick a hunting ground that was perfect for him and focus on level up only without having have to deal with people.

Vulcan walked as he avoided the gazes of proud high level warriors, and he eventually got to a building.

Its sign board had a picture of a giant ship with wings.

Vulcan opened the buildings door without hesitation.

Kkiiick.

The door made a squeak noise. It seemed it needed more oil.

Vulcan could see an employee working the counter who woke up after hearing the door noise.

[Ferry Associate Employee Kiba, a Legend of Vagrants]

[611Lv]

‘He is a resident. Is he doing a part time job?’

“Welcome. Um! You are a newbie.”

Looking at the shining mark on Vulcan’s forehead, Kiba hardened the expression on his face.

“This ferry shop travels only to western island. There probably isn’t any island in that area that you can handle.”

“That’s all right. I came here because there is someone I need to meet.”

“Someone you need to meet? By chance… Blue Dragon?”

“Ah, so he is still in Act 2. Yes, that person.”

“Well, it is about time he left. Must have heard about him from the pub, right?”

“Well, yes.”

Vulcan mumbled it away to get past the question. Meanwhile, he cheered inside.

‘For now, this is a good start.’

To Vulcan, Kiba said,

“Hm… Well, everyone wants to meet him. Still, you have nothing to offer him, so it probably won’t work.”

“Still, well… I want to at least try going there. Will that be all right?”

“Of course. It is free for newbies with protective blessing. However… People won’t like to see a newbie on the ferry… Well, it has nothing to do with me.”

Kiba brought out a paper from the drawer and said to Vulcan,

“Take this with you. You know where to go to get on the ship, right? It departs in six hours from now, so take your time to go find it.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Vulcan used the remaining time and looked around many places in Espo City.

There were shops operated directly by managers. Like Beloong City, there were countless number of people gathered. There were people having argument in ever increasing voices, and there were newbies who were headed to hunting grounds with serious looks on their faces.

Being in middle of all these people, Vulcan felt a little used to Act 2.

Until one hour before the departure, Vulcan just watched the Espo City’s activities without doing anything that would make him stand out. Vulcan finally changed his direction.

Vulcan’s journey to the western island, his first objective, have begun.

* * *

“An unmanned airship… So-Hyung… it is called. So, this is it.”

Its ovrall shape was that of a ship. Vulcan could see a ship that had shining wings, the kind that would belong to a holy beast.

Vulcan found it to be quite mysterious, and he didn’t hide his intrigued face while getting on the air ship.

‘Something like this moves on its own. How does it work? Just magic?’

It looked like something out of a cartoon that he saw in his childhood. Impressed, Vulcan looked around the airship here and there.

He felt like he was a main character going on an adventure to a world of dreams and hopes. He actually felt a little excited.

‘That’s right. Something like this is an idealized vision for a fantasy world.’

It was a different kind of emotion that was absent from a place like Beloong City where all there was blood splatter filled battles of life and death.

However, Vulcan’s sense of excitement did not last long.

There was a man that didn’t like Vulcan. He glared at Vulcan with a displeased gaze. His gaze met Vulcan and soon, he even confirmed the newbie’s mark on Vulcan’s forehead. He complained directly to Vulcan’s face,

“A human that doesn’t know its place is acting all high and mighty.”

He was shaking his head left and right.

Vulcan forced himself from crumpling his face. By the force of habit, Vulcan scanned his abilities.

[Ancient Dark-elf Elcane]

[699Lv]

‘He doesn’t have all that high of level himself, yet he is saying harsh stuff like that to me?’

Vulcan was too annoyed to just forgive him.