Published at 6th of February 2021 06:46:54 PM
Chapter 337.: Hamar's Shield
On the far left, there was a round shield coated in platinum . There was a story carved into the center of the shield like a panorama .
[Hamar's Shield]
A shield created using the unknown, golden alloy, Dracodium . The shield is coated in platinum, which possesses a mysterious power .
The shield is inspired by the story of Hamar, the cowardly dwarf that saved his family from a terrifying monster with just a single shield .
However, this shield is undoubtedly greater than the shield that Hamar used .
It is a masterpiece created by a blacksmith who has taken their first steps towards becoming a Master . The blacksmith in question did not leave behind his name .
+ Dracodium's Mystery: Reduces all damage by 30% . This ability does not stack .
+ A Coward's Courage: For 3 minutes, the user's main stats increase proportionally to their Courage stat . Cooldown: 1 hour .
+ Platinum Coating: Intermediate-rank or lower fire, water, wind, and lighting spells are reflected .
Rank: SS .
Abilities: Defense 1,000, Courage +100 .
Minimum Requirements: Level 450, 'Coward' title, Courage side stat .
"This is outrageous . " Kang Oh gaped .
It was an SS-rank shield with a defense bonus of 1,000! Not only that, but it had three item effects, all of which were good .
Plus, the fact that it was coated in platinum, and had the 'Platinum Coating' effect meant that . . .
"Was Violf's Platinum used in this too?"
Violf's Platinum was a dungeon reward from the Beast's Tower . It had the ability to reflect physical projectiles and/or magic!
"Indeed . " Man Bok hadn't said anything . Instead, the response came from somewhere else .
"Huh?" Kang Oh turned his head towards the source and saw Hoffman coming down the stairs . "H-Hello . " Kang Oh bowed his head .
"Did you come to see the equipment?"
"That's right . "
"I apologize . "
"For what?"
"Everything besides that shield is a failure . It was my first time handling dragon materials, so I made a lot of mistakes . "
"Everything else is a failure?"
Kang Oh quickly examined the rest of the equipment . There were three other items, aside from the shield and breastplate that he'd already seen . One of them was Arank, and the other two were S-rank .
To him, they weren't 'failures' at all .
"Are you sure about that?"
"They're failures," Hoffman said firmly .
"Then I guess I can look forward to your next creations . " Kang Oh grinned .
"They should be better next time . But I can't make something like Hamar's Shield every single time . That was a gift from Orgon . "
Orgon was the God of Blacksmiths . The dwarves believed their greatest creations were gifted to them by Orgon himself .
"You used Violf's Platinum for this shield, right?" Kang Oh asked .
"That's right . Do you know the story of Hamar?"
Kang Oh shook his head .
"It's a story that we tell our children . In it, a cowardly dwarf, Hamir, saves his family from a ferocious monster . It's said that he wielded a mirror shield that reflected spells . Of course, the mirror shield was extremely weak to physical attacks, even though it reflected most spells . Anyhow, it wasn't a proper shield . "
"Mm, I see . "
"I was going to make a shield with the dragon materials when I saw Violf's Platinum . That's when I got the idea . What if I used the platinum, which has the ability to deflect magic and to a certain extent, physical attacks as well? With it, I'd be able to recreate Hamar's mirror shield . "
Hoffman explained how he'd created Hamar's Shield .
"My brothers and I put our heart and soul into that shield . After all, we've all heard the story of Hamar at least once when we were little . Attempting to recreate the shield was quite fun . "
"And as a result, you created this amazing SS-rank shield?"
"Indeed . It's a gift from Orgon . "
"Do you think my demon sword will be gift from Orgon too?" Kang Oh asked .
"We'll just have to wait and see . But don't worry about it . I'll do whatever it takes to receive another one of Orgon's gifts . You just worry about your own business . " In other words, focus on killing Inarius .
"I promise you, I'll kill that evil lizard one day . "
'Not right now . But sometime in the far distant future!'
"You must . " Hoffman stared at him strongly .
"Of course . "
"Then I'll get back to work . I just came down because I heard some noise down here . Please deal with this equipment however you, Mr . Man Bok, and the Chieftain wish . "
"Understood," Man Bok said .
Once Hoffman disappeared, Kang Oh said, "When are you going to start selling the dragon equipment?"
"After all of the materials are converted into equipment," Man Bok replied . He planned on starting the business as soon as he had enough in stock .
"Wouldn't it be better to hold off on selling this shield?" Kang Oh pointed at Hamar's Shield .
"Of course . This shield is far more valuable than the others . No one will even take a look at the other equipment if we put the shield up for sale . "
"A wise decision . "
"I'll focus on the S-rank equipment first . I'll sell the SS-rank item later . "
Kang Oh nodded his head .
Buying an SS-rank item was tough . There weren't enough SS-rank items to go around for the amount of players there were . Thus, SS-rank items were easily worth more than 100 million won ($100,000 USD) .
'Moreover, we're selling dragon equipment . '
Equipment made out of dragon materials was even more expensive . After all, some people assumed that dragon materials were the best of the best, and that equipment made out of it had no equal .
'I should be able to make a fortune . ' Kang Oh grinned .
Man Bok's suggestion that he buy the soul dungeon for 1 million gold and make a business selling dragon equipment wasn't wrong . He could just smell the money this equipment would rake in .
'Combine the money I make from selling the equipment, the ad revenue from my Despia footage, and the money I get from my soul dungeons every month, and . . . '
It wouldn't be that difficult to pay Burkan back his 800,000 gold .
Plus, what happens when he's fully paid off his debt? He'll buy the house he was currently renting . He could even become a landlord in real life!
"Hehe . "
He was just waiting for the day that Man Bok sold the dragon equipment and gave him his share .
* * *
The Phamas Mountains .
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Merchants set up yurts around the Tower of Trials so that challengers could get what they needed before attempting their ascent . You could have a simple meal here, and could buy potions, return scrolls, and various supplies . Of course, it was more expensive here than if you were to buy your supplies from a city .
Some merchants lent out their yurts too . GBS's staff members had rented a yurt, and had gathered the First Hunter contestants inside .
Predator Kang Oh .
Female Knight, Snow Flower .
Special-Class Mercenary, Strong Punch .
The Great Explorer, Marco .
This is the first time these four had ever gathered together in-game .
"Contestants, please enter the Tower of Trial in 30 minutes at 12 o'clock sharp . Please turn on live mode ten minutes before it's time, and give us all your live codes," a GBS staff member said .
"Yes . "
"Understood . "
"Then I'll see you all later . "
The staff member left, leaving only the contestants inside . Everyone turned their attention to Kang Oh .
"Did you discover Despia yourself?" Marco asked . There was no ulterior motive behind his question . He just asked as Arth's greatest explorer .
The rest of Blue Sky was with him too . They all stared at him with shining eyes .
"Yes," Kang Oh said curtly .
"It must have been hard," Marco said . His gaze was one of understanding, knowing firsthand the hardships Kang Oh must have gone through to find Despia .
After all, that was what Blue Sky was all about; they discovered several areas and revealed them to the world . None of it had been easy . If a place was hidden, there was a reason for it . Whether it be powerful monsters, dangerous traps, etc .
"Are you trying to find the way to Despia?" Kang Oh asked .
After Despia had been revealed, several players and guilds had attempted to find the way to Despia . Of course, it proved to be a difficult task .
"No, it doesn't really interest me," Marco said .
Blue Sky liked discovering things first; they didn't try to benefit from other's discoveries .
"A wise decision . Despia has already been revealed to the world, so why don't you try finding one of the other dangerous locations Song Lee Shen talked about? For example, the Devil's Sea . "
Kang Oh didn't want them to look for Despia . After all, if anyone could find it, Blue Sky could; they were the best explorers for a reason .
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The bigger problem was that once they found something, they revealed it . If they found Despia, then they'd tell the world how they got there too .
"The Devil's Sea, huh . . . You brought it up, so let me tell you something interesting I heard . It's said that there's a giant turtle that lives in the Devil's Sea . And that turtle's back is like an island of its own . "
"Have you found the Devil's Sea?" Kang Oh asked . He could read between the lines .
"No . But the turtle . . . If I can find the Emperor Turtle Islet that I read about in the ancient texts, then I could use that as my base of operations while I explore the Devil's Sea . "
Kang Oh, Strong Punch, and Snow Flower were all interested now . They couldn't help it . As the top rankers, they were interested in Despia, the Devil's Sea, and any other areas that were extremely dangerous and difficult .
They were all skilled in their own right, so whoever found it first would reap the most benefits .
"Oh, and by the way . " Marco clapped and livened things up . "Mr . Kang Oh . "
"Yes?"
"Would you like to join Blue Sky?"
"What?"
"You're a talented explorer . If you join us, I'm sure you'll be able to accomplish a lot . "
"I respectfully decline . "
There was no reason to work with Blue Sky . He needed to do everything himself; that way, he could reap all of the benefits too! It was hard enough to share some of the loot with Sephiro and Eder as is .
"Please let me know if you change your mind . Ah, would you like to friend me?"
"Sure . "
He could see no downside to forming a connection with the Great Explorer, Marco . Plus, he said he wouldn't be looking for Despia .
"Mercenary work is fun too . " Strong Punch suddenly jumped in .
"The Breaker Guild's doors are always open . And . . . I'm going to win today!" Snow Flower declared . She had turned the laid-back atmosphere tense again .
That's right . They were gathered as competitors, not friends . Their place as winner and loser was clearly defined; whoever got to the highest floor would win .
After that, the competitors didn't speak amongst themselves anymore . They just whispered to their teammates . They were probably discussing their plans to get to the highest floor .
How much time had passed?
A staff member came inside the yurt . "It's 10 minutes before 12 . Please turn on live film mode, and let us know your code . Please get ready to enter the tower too . "
With this, the game with 200 million won ($200,000 USD) at stake had begun .