Chapter 40: The Smell of Capitalism (1)

Chapter 40: The Smell of Capitalism (1)

Kai blinked with a dazed expression.

Saint of Glendale? Affinity of Helik? Fame... Benevolence stat?

A flood of messages appeared; it was too much to take in at once.

As if enchanted, Kai naturally opened the title book.

[Saint of Glendale]

Rank: Special

Description: A title given to one who has saved people with a sincere heart and has earned their respect.

Effect: +10 Dignity, Skills that utilize Holy Power are 10% more effective. (This effect persists even when title is not equipped.)

"Saint..."

Kai repeatedly said the word to himself and thought about it. Though it was a short word, its weight seemed enough to burden Kai's shoulders. At the same time, he noticed the NPCs looking only at him.

...This isn't a bad feeling.

He was being recognized by someone for his good deeds! It was a touching emotion he felt for the first time since his transition to a Solaris Cleric. It was especially an invaluable experience for him since he always faced negativity in reality.

By the way, what's with this sudden Dignity stat?

Kai opened his stat window to check the effects of the Dignity stat.

[Dignity: A stat that allows one to project their presence to others.]

"Umm... So, it essentially increases the sense of presence?"

Whether that was the case or not, a new stat was always welcome.

***

"Mom! Dad!"

"Rody!"

"My baby!"

A touching real-life story of a family reunion that couldn't be watched without tears! Kai watched Rody's family reunion with a pleased and proud expression. The other villagers also expressed warm wishes upon seeing this.

"Wow, Rody's love for his parents is special."

"A fourteen-year-old kid entering the forest by himself to find his parents. He’ll become big later on."

"Sigh, I wonder what my kids are up to."

Their envious tone made Rody's parents, Redy and Tanya, proud.

"I’ll make you something delicious when we get home."

"No no, mom, it's okay. Just live long, please."

"Haha. Honey, when did our son become so mature?"

"Indeed. Haha."

As they emitted an aura of a happy family, Kai led the villagers out of the dungeon.

"Huh?" Kai squinted as he exited the dungeon. Someone was waiting for them at the entrance of the nest. "Hugo?"

It was Hugo, the Archer who had requested revenge from Kai. Moreover, he was standing with three players who appeared to be his party members.

As Kai showed a hint of caution, Hugo raised his hands to show he had no hostile intentions.

"Oh, I didn't come with any bad intent." Hugo and his companions politely bowed their heads. "Thank you for fulfilling our unreasonable request for revenge. We came to express our gratitude."

"...Oh, well, I benefited a lot from it too."

Kai turned his head away with an awkward expression when they bowed their heads so low all he could see was the backs of their heads from above.

They probably don't know I defeated Fermi, do they?

Neither Hugo's party nor the Crimson Fist guild would have expected it. It wasn't common for a solo player to defeat a boss based on skill alone.

Hugo glanced behind Kai and asked, "But who are those people behind you...?"

"They are residents of Glendale who were trapped in the dungeon."

"Oh! I see. More importantly..."

"No offense, but objectively speaking, it's highly likely you'll lose. Am I wrong?" Kai asked.

"That's... correct, but..."

"Right? So, let me propose a solution." Kai, without looking back at Hugo's puzzled party, pointed behind him with his thumb. "I formally request that Hugo’s party safely escort the villagers back to Glendale on my behalf."

"W-wait! Are you saying you'll die in our place?"

"Who's dying?" Kai turned around, looking as if he was ready to hear some nonsense.

"But if you stay here alone, you'll undoubtedly die."

"Don't worry and go. And check the community video forum in about two hours."

"Video forum? Why would we..."

Kai, while pushing Hugo's back, who was puzzled, said, "What would be a good search keyword... Ah! That's it." Kai smiled, having thought of something. "Getting Schooled. That would be interesting."

***

After pushing Hugo's party to leave, Kai's attitude changed drastically. The ones in front of him were thugs who hunted other players and snickered. Personally, they were the type of trash Kai hated the most. Therefore, he intended to go all out from the beginning.

"By the way, you wouldn't know why my nickname is Jeok-Kwon, do you?"

"Why would I care?"

As Kai responded indifferently, Jeok-Kwon sneered, "When I was young, I was deeply impressed by a cartoon that said crimson... is three times faster!"

Jeok-Kwon's figure suddenly darted forward without warning. His tremendous speed even elicited gasps from his guild members!

"Wow, that’s our guild master!"

"Hehe. The result of equipping items with Strength and Speed stats."

"I bet he could even take down a level 70 player with PK."

...Indeed.

Kai nodded to himself without even knowing it. Just as they said, Jeok-Kwon's movements were not something a level 60 player could show.

But, the same goes for me.

Kai's figure blurred. Using a burst of Supernova, his movements became incredibly fast.

"What the!"

"L-last time we fought, he wasn't this fast!"

The Crimson Fist guild members gaped at Kai's speed. They had just a three-day death penalty, and during that time, Kai had leaped to greater heights. Hoarding all the XP to level up, and the newly gained 30 points of Benevolence stat were the reason that was possible.

"Th-this can't be!"

But the one most astonished in this situation was Jeok-Kwon, who was facing Kai.

How am I outpaced in speed!

He had purchased all his equipment focusing on either Strength or Speed stats to achieve his current velocity.

Yet I can't even react to his movements?

Then, a sword thrust out from behind Jeok-Kwon, who was stunned.

***

"Ah, no customers again today," Vance, a player known as a merchant, sighed deeply.

Having changed his profession to a merchant, he was waiting for non-existent customers while setting up his display stand in the city square.

Should I browse the community again today?

A merchant had to be more sensitive to information than anyone else!

On days like today, when Vance had no customers, he would browse the community to gather information that could potentially make money.

"Let's see, is there any news today?"

Unable to find anything new, Vance scrolled through the post lethargically, but then a post caught his eye. It was a post that was trending in real-time.

"Huh? What's with this title? Crimson Fist Getting Schooled?"

The video, uploaded anonymously, was rapidly gaining views and likes despite having been posted only a short while ago.

What could it possibly be about...?

Unable to suppress his curiosity, Vance clicked on the video.