Chapter 183
Chapter 183
Hyeonu wandered around for hours and felt that this was definitely the East Continent . The monsters that appeared here were completely different from those in the West Continent . If the West Continent was a world of Western-fantasy fiction, then the East Continent was a world of Oriental-fantasy fiction .
The animal-type monsters like wolves and beasts were similar in both the east and west . There were also many symmetrical monsters . If there were undead in the west then there were jiangshi in the east . The jiangshi had the same characteristics as the undead . In addition to having stamina that never ran out, they didn’t feel pain and had strong physical abilities . The higher-grade ones could even use magic . In short, they were the same at the core .
Monsters that died when it was broken—such monsters were also present in the East Continent . These monsters didn’t pose a great threat to Hyeonu . A black pure energy smashed the head of a jiangshi .
[The red jiangshi of Mount Nam has been defeated . ]
[Experience has been acquired . ]
The jiangshi’s head was smashed and could no longer move . Hyeonu left the jianshi and moved to another one .
‘Easy, it’s easy . ’
The red-skinned jiangshi, called the red jiangshi, had a fairly low level, and Hyeonu only needed to hit them once or twice to kill them . The red jiangshi rushed toward Hyeonu, but it was a meaningless act . The red jiangshi couldn’t even see Hyeonu’s afterimage before its entire body exploded .
[The red jiangshi of Mount Nam has been defeated . ]
[Experience has been acquired . ]
Hyeonu frowned as he looked at the ground that was covered with gold . He had come to the East Continent, but he hadn’t seen any drops except for gold coins .
“Tang-E, how long have we been walking?”
“Isn’t it running, not walking? It has been roughly four hours, Master dude,” Tang-E responded to Hyeonu .
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Tang-E was quite stressed from running for a long time . Hyeonu saw Tang-E’s appearance and silently hugged the bear . “Then I’ll carry you until we reach a village . Is that okay?”
“It is an obvious thing, Master dude . Pets like me should be carried . Well done . ”
“Yes . That’s it . ” There was a deep smile on Hyeonu’s face .
Hyeonu had continued to run in one direction since the beginning . It was an ignorant method, but it was the most efficient one . There was no better way to escape a mountain in Arena than to go down the slope .
“Tang-E, wake up . It is a castle . ”
Finally, Hyeonu saw huge walls and a gate in his field of view .
“What? A castle?” Tang-E, who was dozing in Hyeonu’s arms, peered ahead upon hearing the word ‘castle’ . “Then we don’t have to move anymore? I will rest a little bit . ”
Tang-E didn’t necessarily want a castle to appear, but he was glad that he wouldn’t be wandering around the forest any longer . Upon reaching the gate, Hyeonu said to a soldier guarding the gate, “Hello?”
The soldier turned his head at Hyeonu’s call and stared at Hyeonu’s face . Then he lowered his head and looked at Tang-E . The soldier repeated this action several times before opening his mouth to say, “What’s going on? You might want to take off the mask if you’re not a criminal . ”
At the soldier’s words, Hyeonu took off the mask and put it in his inventory . “Where is this place? I got lost on Mount Nam, wandered aimlessly, and found this place . ”
Hyeonu used the name ‘Mount Nam’ that he learned from killing the red jiangshi . The soldier stared at Hyeonu like he was pathetic and strange . “You must’ve started here in Haju if you went to Mount Nam . Even if you went the wrong way, you would’ve had to go the wrong way for a long time . ”
‘Haju?’ Hyeonu couldn’t understand the soldier’s words . This was natural as Hyeonu only knew the names of three places in the East Continent . There was the Mysterious Sky Sect of Mujang Seong, which had been recorded in the journal, and Mount Cheon, which was another name for the Balder Mountains . Finally, he discovered Mount Nam through the red jiangshi . As such, it was natural for Hyeonu to not know the name ‘Haju’ .
“Does Haju belong to Mujang Seong?” Hyeonu inevitably questioned the soldier again .
The soldier looked at Hyeonu sympathetically like he was a fool who was beyond pathetic . “Did you live alone in the mountains? You’re so ignorant . . . Haju naturally isn’t one of the cities of Mujang Seong . Do you want Haju to be in Mujang Seong?”
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“Thank you for telling me . Then I’ll be going . . . ” Hyeonu ignored the soldier’s eyes and walked through the castle gates with Tang-E .
Hyeonu stood inside the castle and shook his head as he stared at the people passing by in a daze .
‘First of all, I need to know the background of Haju . ’
Hyeonu felt the need for information . He didn’t know anything, so he didn’t know what to do . It seemed right that his mind was blank for a moment . Mujang Seong seemed to be inspired by a place in reality [1], so it would be helpful to know about this Haju .
‘Personally, I wish this was Henan . ’
This was a personal desire . Hyeonu liked the Shaolin Temple the best among all the martial arts sects . So, it was a desire that reflected his taste . Hyeonu bought clothes at a nearby general store, went into an inn, and sat down . The inn’s waiter soon came to Hyeonu to receive an order .
“How can I help you?” The waiter asked with a friendly smile .
Hyeonu showed the same type of smile . This was a very calculating act . It was the basics of virtual reality that the quality of a conversation was improved when the first impression was better .
“Can I ask a question before I order?” Hyeonu said .
Unable to refuse the polite Hyeonu, the waiter had to nod . His dignity was telling him that this wasn’t an ordinary person . “Yes, you can ask comfortably . What are you curious about?”
“I would like a rough explanation of Mujang Seong . I have been living on the mountain and don’t know anything . ”
“Ah! I don’t know it very well, but since you are curious, I will tell you . ” The waiter scanned the guests in the inn before starting to explain quickly . “As you know, Mujang Seong is ruled by the noble Jiang Yu, who was given the territory by the imperial family . The other cities within the territory of Mujang Seong are ruled by the old clans and forces who were designated by Jiang Yu or originally ruled here . ”
There were many questions and answers that followed . Hyeonu learned about the worldview of the East Continent thanks to the explanation of the inn’s waiter .
‘It is very novel . Is it aimed at Asia?’
Hyeonu compared it to the West Continent . There was an empire and nobles with different titles .
The role of the lower grade nobles was replaced by powerful clans and forces, namely the gozoku [2] and the martial arts families .
‘It is simple when I think about it like this . ’
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All his prejudices against the East Continent seemed to have been discarded . Some forces and groups might be similar, but it was easier to understand when the details were laid out like this . Hyeonu achieved the best result with a few simple conversations .
However, this wasn’t enough . It was because the really important information was missing . He asked, “Then do you know about the Mysterious Sky Sect? I heard it is somewhere in Mujang Seong . . . ” Hyeonu asked casually about the Mysterious Sky Sect like it suddenly came to his mind .
The waiter paused like he was thinking . “Um . . . Mysterious Sky Sect . . . I’ve never heard of such a martial arts sect . Are you talking about the Mysterious Sky Demonic Sect?” Hyeonu became uneasy after hearing the waiter’s words .
‘Demonic sect’—it didn’t seem to mean anything good .
He had read martial arts novels in the military for two years, and there had never been anything good about a place called the demonic sect .
“Is the Mysterious Sky Demonic Sect made up of a handful of disciples, with each individual being a master of strong martial arts?”
The waiter was surprised by Hyeonu’s words . “You seem to know it very well? I don’t know much about the Mysterious Sky Demonic Sect since I’m not from Mujang Seong . ”
“Then do you know where the Mysterious Sky Demonic Sect is located?” Hyeonu tried to get all the information from the waiter .
However, the waiter didn’t give it up that easily . “Before that, please order . . . It is very burdensome because the boss keeps looking at me . ”
At the waiter’s words, Hyeonu shifted his gaze . The man who was presumed to be the owner of the inn was staring at Hyeonu and the waiter . “Please give me three types of meat dishes, regardless of the price . ”
“I understand . The location of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Sect is located in Jeonggyeong, a city close to Haju . ” The waiter showed a happy expression after hearing Hyeonu’s order and gave him the location of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Sect .
‘Jeonggyeong . . . ’
The destination had finally been determined . Hyeonu felt like he was a bit more open-minded now . This was the first successful result he’d had after being forcibly moved to the East Continent by Johannes . Plates of food started to be placed in front of Hyeonu .
The first dish was stir-fried pork . It gave off a savory aroma and gleamed with oil . The second dish was a roast chicken with seasoning, and its strong scent made Hyeonu’s mouth water . The last dish was a noodle dish with a lot of meat . It was similar to dandan noodles in reality .
The three dishes had one thing in common . All of them had a red color .
‘I can’t eat spicy food . ’
Hyeonu’s face distorted when he saw it . Hyeonu couldn’t eat spicy food at all . His limit was kimchi stew . He couldn’t eat anything spicy, so it was natural to frown when he saw these dishes .
‘Still, it is a game, so there will be no aftermath . ’
Hyeonu raised his chopsticks, relieved that the result of eating spicy food wouldn’t come the next day .
“Did you hear?” Kim Jinyeong, the head of the operations team of Quency, said carefully . Kim Jinyeong’s face was in a listless state . He had been working overtime continuously, and his dark circles were advancing toward his chin .
“Is it Alley Leader?” It was the same for Park Hyeonjun, the man who was sitting on the other side of Kim Jinyeong and drinking coffee . No, he looked even worse . Park Hyeonjun was already like a skeleton .
“He has already entered the East Continent . It is unbelievable . It’s terrible when I think about all the bugs . ”
“Isn’t the development over already? I’ve also checked it several times . I don’t think there will be any big problems . Just . . . I’m a bit worried because the NPC adjustment isn’t complete yet . I just need to sync the information about players . ”
“I’m glad . However, those at the top of the company believe that this is a good thing . They want to open up the East Continent and increase our foothold in Asia . ”
“Isn’t that why our side has been rushing the sixth scenario? There are also developments related to the East Continent . Those at the top don’t know the troubles we’ve been going through . ”
The two people blamed the Quency executives who didn’t know anything about the work involved . The decision caused them to be working overtime for several months . Park Hyeonjun’s and Kim Jinyeong’s night shifts weren’t just due to this decision . The source was the speed at which Alley Leader consumed content .
“Now I feel like I’m in a rush . I just hope that if Alley Leader thinks about it, he won’t reveal the East Continent on his stream,” Park Hyeonjun said .
Kim Jinyeong agreed with Park Hyeonjun’s words . “I hope so . I hope he keeps it a secret . ”
[1] There is a castle in South Korea called Mujang Eupseong
[2] Gozuku: used to refer to powerful and wealthy families . In historical context, it usually refers to local samurai clans with significant local landholdings . Some were almost locally independent and held strong ties to important commoners such as wealthy merchants . Unlike the vassal samurai of the greater lords, gozōku might or might not have held court rank or served directly under a liege . They tended to be financially secure and, if under a liege, less dependent upon him for income