Chapter 96: 96
“Hey, hey! Gang Hyeonu!! Wake up, dude!” Yeongchan was shocked to see Hyeonu nodding off while eating .
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“Are you not sleeping lately? Didn’t you take a break from streaming? Why are you playing Arena so ignorantly? Aren’t you going to think of your body? Will you only be playing the game for a month or two?” Yeongchan nagged at Hyeonu .
Hyeonu responded in a voice that was almost inaudible, “Yeongchan . . . I think I’m dying . It’s too hard . ”
“What the hell are you doing? It has been like this for a week . ”
Hyeonu hadn’t slept more than four hours a day for the past week . He had gotten no rest, and he had also postponed all his regular personal training sessions . Hyeonu was only immersed in Arena . It was a terrible thing . He invested 20 hours a day only in hunting and would just hunt, hunt, and hunt again .
It was a crazy schedule . Tang-E said it was too hard and fled to Bung Bung Island .
“I hunted and hunted . I have to level up . ”
Hearing the answer from Hyeonu who seemed to be missing his soul, Yeongchan shook his head . “Well, I don’t know what you’re saying but do it in moderation . Don’t overdo it . ”
Hyeonu nodded hard as he felt the same way . He didn’t know about one or two days but one week was impossible . ‘If I hunt like this again in the future, I will go mad… mad . ’
Hyeonu’s sword energy separated the troll’s head from its body . It was a troll, but it couldn’t move with its head cut off . After all, trolls weren’t dullahans .
[A contaminated mountain range troll has been killed . ]
[Experience has been acquired . ]
[You have leveled up . ]
[All health and magic power have been restored . ]
[Killed the Tattooed Monsters 99/???]
[Level 170/175]
‘I’m finally level 170 . . . ’
It was unreasonable yet rewarding . This had been a week of intense hunting for a quest which he didn’t know when it would end . During that time, Hyeonu experienced an average of four level-ups a day .
“No matter how fast the speed of the main scenario, it will take a week or two at the earliest . ”
Now it seemed like he could have a little room to breathe . Surely this was the case… at least, until he returned to the imperial rangers camp and met Garon .
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“The pre-preparations will end in three days . The imperial knights have already departed for here, the Hejin Mountains . ”
To Hyeonu, Garon’s words were like a bolt striking out of the blue . Three days . . .
Even if the deadline was reduced, wasn’t this number too small?
“Huh? What are you talking about? You said a month . A month!!!” The flustered Hyeonu screamed involuntarily at Garon . Garon’s words were absurd and outrageous .
“Didn’t I say a month at the latest?” Garon replied in a sly manner .
This person’s master, Duke Lebron, was the most cunning man in the empire . However, this adventurer that was his disciple was very suitable for teasing . It was hard to find such a naive person . Garon opened his mouth, “I didn’t tell you the exact time, so I’ll give you another week . I’ll wait until then . ”
‘Phew, I’m glad . ’ Hyeonu sighed with relief at Garon’s words .
Hyeonu had gained 30 levels in a week . On the last day, he had gained two levels with much difficulty . The problem was that the other large guilds were now in the Hejin Mountains, so he couldn’t hunt monsters as randomly as he had before .
“Thank you . I’ll see you again in a week . ” Hyeonu bid farewell to Garon and tried to go hunting again .
It was urgent .
‘I have to quickly go and hunt . ’
At this moment, Garon stopped Hyeonu . “Wait, will you do me a favor? The reward is enough to help you in your current state . ”
Helping the current Hyeonu meant giving him a lot of experience . He could level up as much as possible .
‘A favor? Is it a quest? One that will give me a lot of experience?’
Having received a sudden request from Garon, Hyeonu smiled while panicking . “Of course, I should . After all, it is a request from Garon, leader of the imperial rangers . ”
“There isn’t much to the request . There is a great magician called Suped here in the Hejin Mountains . Tell Suped the information you know and get an answer from him . The problem is that his location is an ancient dungeon that he stumbled upon . ”
[A quest has been created . ]
[Great Magician Suped]
[Great Magician Suped is devoting himself to studying magic in an ancient dungeon . Inform him of the current situation and give his answer to Garon .
Rating: MS
Conditions: Deliver Suped’s answer to Garon 0/1
Rewards: Experience, Garon’s gift]
Garon held out a familiar-looking piece of parchment .
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‘Herard . . . ’ Hyeonu received the parchment . It looked exactly like the parchment he had received from Herard . There was no difference .
[Ancient Dungeon Scroll]
[A map that can move you to the ancient dungeon connected to Suped’s dungeon .
Rating: Common
Restrictions: None
Effect: Once used, you will be moved to the dungeon called the ‘Ancient Dungeon’ . ]
The difference was that this parchment was completed from the beginning .
“I understand . I will go and meet Suped . ” Hyeonu tore the parchment on the spot . He was surrounded by a white light and disappeared .
“Ah, didn’t I tell him? It is just as difficult as it is helpful . ” Garon’s expression wasn’t apologetic at all despite forgetting to convey this information to Hyeonu . Rather, Garon looked like a naughty boy .
Hyeonu disappeared from Garon’s residence and reappeared in a huge space that was reminiscent of the arena . Hyeonu glanced around and muttered, “What? There are no paths?”
It was blocked everywhere . At this moment, the space shook .
-Welcome to Laek, the beginner’s academy of the Luos Empire .
“Laek? Where is the Luos Empire?” Hyeonu cocked his head at the unexpected words .
The voice continued ringing in the space, -Laek consists of a total of 10 stages . If you can fulfill the requirements of one stage, you can move onto the next one . Then let’s start with Stage 1 .
Once the words finished, Hyeonu’s surroundings changed . He was now in a square space filled with sand, and it looked like heat was going to overflow . It was a backdrop that seemed to cause some frustration .
“A classroom . . . ”
In front of Hyeonu, a desk and chair appeared .
-In Stage 1, we will test the basic literacy of the Luos Empire . After reading the book on the desk and passing the test, you can move on to Stage 2 . The given time is 30 minutes .
[Time remaining - 29:59]
“Shit,” Hyeonu cursed as he sat nervously in the chair . Hyeonu didn’t hate reading . During his time as a student, he studied hard and read books steadily . This was the case even when he was in the army . In his boredom, there were no books he didn’t read, ranging from literature to fantasy to martial arts . However, this was a story for reality .
‘I have to read a book in a game?’
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Besides, the book on the desk was pretty thick . At first glance, it seemed to be over 300 pages .
“The title is . . . History of Luos?”
The title of the book also exuded a sense of boredom .
[Luos, the only empire on the continent, was founded by the first emperor Akan . At that time which was unlike now, it was an era where monsters and other species were dominant . Akan fought for human freedom . . .
(Omitted) .
The great magician Root speculated that Akan was able to unify the continent because he was a giant, not a human .
The evidence for this was that the royal family was powerful and huge in size . However, this argument was buried on the grounds that ordinary people could also have the characteristics of a specific race .
(Omitted) .
The territory of the Luos Empire occupied roughly half the continent .
The rest were the territories of monsters and many other species like lycanthropes, elves, orcs, dwarves, and so on . There were a few species that have a hostile relationship with the empire . The most representative races are the elves and lycanthropes . ]
“It is more interesting than I thought?”
Hyeonu read the book quickly . He originally already had a fast reading speed, but this book was about the history of Luos . It was really interesting . Hyeonu felt like he was reading an excellent fantasy novel . The time Hyeonu was given to read the book quickly passed by .
[Time remaining - 00:00]
[The test is starting . ]
-Answer the questions listed in the given test . You must exceed 80 points to move on to the next stage .
The voice faded away, and the desk was gone . Then a one-meter-sized stone emerged from the ground .
“What? What is with these questions? How can I write down the answers?”
Hyeonu was annoyed by the absurdity of the situation . Normally, a test would be written on a piece of paper, and a pen would be given to answer it . Yet this . . .
It seemed he had to engrave the answers on the rocks .
“Umm . . . The questions are easy . ”
There were five questions in total on the stone .
[1 . What is the name of the empire?
2 . What is the name of the first emperor?
3 . Describe two characteristics of the imperial family .
4 . Write down two races that don’t have a good relationship with the empire .
5 . There is a great magician who speculated that the first emperor was another race . What is his name?]
The answers to the questions were revolving around in Hyeonu’s mind . However, he stood idly because he didn’t know how to write down the answers .
“Yes! Let’s carve it by hand . ”
Hyeonu struggled for a long time before coming up with a solution . It was to carve the answers into the stone using magic power . Hyeonu stretched out his index finger and rubbed it against the stone . There was a black glow at the end of his index finger .
“Is it originally supposed to be cleared like this? Won’t it be too hard?”
Hyeonu had already been carving the answers on the stone for a long time when he suddenly had this question . Still, this was only for a moment . Then Hyeonu concentrated on writing again .
“Well, I just have to clear it . ”
Finally, Hyeonu carved all the answers onto the stone, and a voice could be heard ringing in the space again .
-You’ve answered all the questions correctly . Compensation will be paid before moving on to Stage 2 .
After that, the stone disappeared, and a small gate appeared . It was a door to move to the next space .
[Experience has been acquired . ]
“This really gives a lot?” Hyeonu exclaimed at the amount of experience he earned as a reward . Currently, Hyeonu’s experience was what he gained from Garon after hunting the tattooed monsters . He only completed Stage 1 yet he already had around one-third of the experience .
‘If Stage 1 gives this much, I might not be able to reach level 175 if I clear all 10 levels but level 173 should be okay . ’
Hyeonu smiled with satisfaction and walked through the gate .
-You’ve answered all the questions correctly . Compensation will be paid before moving on to Stage 3 .
“Good, it is Stage 3 now . ”
The moment the gate was created, Hyeonu’s experience bar rose again . He had only 20% experience remaining until level 171 . Stage 2 wasn’t much different from the first one . If there was a difference, the first stage was related to history while the second was related to culture and art .
“It is easy to learn, but why is it so hard to write down the answers?”
The level of knowledge was at a child’s standards . However, the standard of force required was equivalent to that of NPC knights . After a moment, Hyeonu threw himself straight through the gate . Hyeonu was surprised when he arrived at the space for Stage 3 . It was because the background was too different . If Stages 1 and 2 were typical classrooms, Stage 3 felt like a science room . There was one more thing .
“Why is he here . . . ?”
A familiar figure was seated here .