Lee Hyun closed his math textbook .
A few years ago he had to drop out of middle school, and since then he never once thought heโd open a textbook again . However, to pass the exam in order to get high school diploma he just had to get back to studying .
โHmmmโฆโ
Ever since Hyun left school, he was spending all of his time on earning money by manual labor, so his brain got pretty rusty . He was meticulously reading the book, but its meaning was eluding him .
โDamn, why are they teaching so many different formulae!? If I would ever need them, they can be easily found on the internet; and for the complicated stuff I could use a calculatorโฆโ
Lee Hyun was muttering to himself nonstop . It was very hard to study math all by himself, but going to cram school would mean additional expenses .
I should probably just forget it and return to the gameโฆ But I already paid for examโฆ
After a long speculation Hyun and his sister decided that sheโll help him with studies for an hour every couple of days . But even with his sisterโs help, learning math was very hard . And when the student has no interest in the subject, teacher has to put dozen times more effort .
However Hye Yeon had planned everything ahead . Knowing her brother well, she took an unusual approach to education .
โLook . This number is your savings . Think about them! You deposited $300 for 12 month with 5 . 39% interest rate . How much will you get in the end?โ
โ316 dollars and 17 cents!โ
When Hye Yeon was asking questions like that, she was always getting a correct answer in a blink of an eye . But that answer didnโt satisfy Hyun as he continued:
โThe interest will amount to $16 . 17 . But they are subjected to taxes . Itโs either $2 . 10 of simplified tax, or $2 . 42 of standard tax . โ
Hye Yeon smiled happily:
โSee? Itโs simple . You have to learn everything in a similar manner . Now to the next problem . Count the money . โ
After a long break from studying, Hyunโs head was barely working; but gradually he started to notice that solving problems became easier and easier .
Letโs see!
Hyun have read all the textbooks and solved half the problems from them . He even borrowed all the textbooks his sister had .
All in 4 days before the exam!
Thatโs because when you still have a lot of time you just canโt make yourself study . But once exams are already at hand, you just have no choice but to get yourself together and learn all you can in the remaining time .
And so came the day of the exam .
Hyun left his home early, to be able to walk to the school in the centre of the town, where his exam was held .
I mustโฆ I have to do my bestโฆ
On the way there he visited his grandmother in the hospital . She was getting better, she wasnโt as pale, and according to her doctor, she was able to go for walks all by herself .
โDonโt worry if you fail, Hyun . Youโll always be able to prepare better and pass all your exams . โ โ said his grandmother with an encouraging smile .
โSure, Grandmaโฆโ
Lee Hyun tightly gripped her hand .
His grandmotherโs hands were all wrinkled from the hard manual labor that she had to do in her late years to raise Hyun and Hye Yeon after their parents died .
Hyun will be grateful to her for the rest of his life . If not for their grandmother, theyโd be sent to orphanage and most likely get separated, as it is rare for two children to be adopted by the same family .
โWell, I should go nowโฆโ โ Hyun said goodbye to his grandmother and went to the school .
Exam was held at a public high school โKoreaโ . It was part of educational complex โKoreaโ and was located near a college and a university .
Though the university didnโt get into top ten most prestigious universities of the country, it had good teaching staff and well-designed infrastructure . A lot of talented young people, including students from abroad, were studying here in an independent and creative environment .
The main quality of a prestigious university isnโt its rating inside the country, but its reputation abroad . โKoreaโ university was well-known in other countries, so it had more students from abroad than any other Korean university .
Lee Hyun appreciated the majesty of the main building of the university .
Even though I live a lousy lifeโฆ but I swear, my sister will be able to study hereโฆ
Every group consisted of 30 people .
After receiving his question list, Lee Hyun noted with a surprise that he knew most of it . His intense and rushed studying method had a great result .
Though he shouldnโt ignore the fact that this exam was meant for adult and elderly people, who for some reason, were not able to get a proper education . So it was a bit easier than the usual exam .
I know almost all of them . If only I had a chance to continue getting education, Iโm sure I would have achieved a great result . โ thought Hyun, slowly looking through the questions .
Hyun regretted a lot that he wasnโt able to continue going to school . In his opinion, the faults in Korean educational system gave rise to another unfortunate genius!
But he didnโt have time for idle thoughts, so he took his pen and started writing down answers to the questions, contemplating deep in thoughts over some problem from time to time .
One of the subjects Hyun was allowed to choose for his exam was ethics . Actually, he could pick a foreign language or some other subject, but he picked ethics as he decided that he doesnโt need to study it, you just have to know basic principles .
1 . You found a wallet on the ground . What will you do? Take it . Pick it up and check for any witnesses . Pick it up and run away . Pick it up, check for ID card, and try to find the owner . Take money and leave the wallet .Lee Hyun scratched his head . Even his decision to leave school wasnโt as hard to make .
So which answer is the right one?
He thought ethics was an easy subject, but it proved to have such complicated questions .
Well, 3 of the answers are correctโฆ
After pondering for a while he opted to the 2nd answer . 5th looked correct as well, but โleaving the walletโ wasnโt the best choice .
Other ethics questions werenโt as hard, and Hyun answered them with ease .
Iโm totally getting a full mark for ethics .
Ethics was last subject, so with it he finished his exam .
โIn my last trip to Ross Gleasis I got a new weapon . Shining Golden Axe! With 60+ damage!โ
โWhat about bonus stats?โ
โStrength +45, Agility -10, increased chance to not to encounter bandits while travelling; if it falls in water it will be lost . โ
โWhoa! Cool!โ
In the hallways, people who just finished their exam, were standing in small groups . And almost all of them were talking about Royal Road .
โGolden axeโฆโ
Axes in the game had the highest damage attribute, but their attack range and speed were considered to be the lowest . Even though every hit from an axe would deal tremendous damage, it didnโt matter much if you couldnโt land even one of them . So, if you knew how to wield an axe, you were a really dangerous fighter .
Lee Hyun picked up his bag and started walking towards the exit . He wasnโt in a hurry so he decided to walk behind that gossiping group of guys . He wanted to hear the rest of their conversation .
One of the guys looked to be around 30 years old; the other two were a bit younger .
โJoong Hoon, Iโm jealous . When we left school all we did was drinkingโฆโ
โYeah, we were just fooling around, while youโre a Dark Gamers Union memberโฆโ
Dark Gamer?
Dark Gamer was a name for players who were making money through games .
But Hyun was most surprised by the reaction of two other guys: they knew who that man was and they were jealous .
Isnโt he ashamed?
Lee Hyun thought that thereโs nothing to be proud about if you earn money by playing games . Because youโre not making anything useful, not bringing anything new into the world, you just make money out of thin air . And were games to disappear, youโd be one of the most useless people in the world .
โJoong Hoon, whatโs your level?โ
โMy level? Letโs seeโฆ what was itโฆ 355 . โ
โThatโs huge! I have a lot of friends in game, but none of them are of such a high level . And whatโs your rating?โ
โIโm in the top 10000 . โ
The number of players in the game went over 100 millions, so being in top 10000 meant a lot .
Already at 355th level . Lucky one .
Lee Hyun couldnโt hide his envy and slowed down his pace . To get home he had to take a bus .
However Joong Hoon and two guys stopped on the parking lot near a foreign car .
โGet in, Iโll show you what being a dark gamer is . โ
โReally? Thanks!โ
They got in a car and Hyun didnโt have a choice but to be on his way to bus stop, when Joong Hoon called out to Hyun:
โHey! We have a spare seat, wanna join? If you live nearby Iโll give you a lift . โ
Hyun started to consider if he should accept the invitation, but the man continued:
โItโs fine . I see you play Royal Road as well . I noticed that you were listening to our conversation . Weโre headed to the regular meeting of dark gamers at the moment . If you want, you can join us . โ
Dark gamers were gathering at an abandoned warehouse .
Inside a huge building there were a couple of capsules, a long table, and multiple chairs .
โBefore we start our meeting, Iโll tell you about our Unionโฆโ
He introduced himself as Choi Joong Hoon and continued with a smile:
โHow many people in your opinion make money by selling items from Royal Road? Not just once or twice, but those who make a living that way?โ
โA few tens of thousands?โ โ asked one of the guys after a bit of thought .
Choi Joong Hoon shook his head .
โNot less than a hundred thousand . โ
โSo many?โ
โAnd most of them are from India, China and some other countries of East Asia . โ
International borders meant nothing for Royal Road . Any person from any country was able to enjoy the game using capsule . Even the language barrier was removed, thanks to the automatic speech translation software, provided by Unicon Corporation .
โI heard thereโs a trading company in Korea that works only with Royal Roadโฆโ
โThatโs true . They sell items and in-game money obtained by their employees . Iโm not going to criticize them, they made their own decision . But we made ours, and do not want publicity . A lot of our members are unsociable by nature and prefer to be aloneโฆ Players like that wouldnโt be able to show their potential in a big company . That is why we created The Dark Gamers Union . โ
Choi Joong Hoonโs words slightly confused recruits .
โThen what does being in the Union mean?โ
โGood Question . The main reason for Union is information exchange . Our union accumulates information gathered by members . It allows you to learn about hunting grounds, good dungeons, profitable trading routes and rare monstersโฆโ
โWow, you share information? So it means that once I join the Union I get access to the information database?โ
โUnfortunately, itโs not so easy . You canโt get all the information immediately . Memberโs access level is determined by his rank within the Union . โ
โEh, whyโs that?โ
โThatโs just security measure . It didnโt happen before, but some member might leak our information outside, and Union is all about information . โ
โGuess thatโs true . Once thereโs enough people about anything can happen . โ
โYeah . Also players of level 100 have no use for information about dungeons of level 200 and higher . Therefore we assign ranks to our members according to the value of information they provide . And that rank determines how much access they have to our data . Thatโs how it all works . Of course every new member gets access to the basic information . โ
โSo rank is directly dependent on the value of information you provide?โ
โNot just that . If you actively participate in the Unionโs activities, your rank rises . Same thing if you sell items through our auction website often enough . But thereโs a certain limit to that kind of advance in rank . โ
โThat looks good enough . So how do we sign up?โ
Two guys, who came with Choi Joong Hoon, started to fill the papers . They stated their character names, levels and other related information .
Depending on this data the initial rank was assigned . As the guys had a level of 140, they got assigned the lowest rank โDโ .
โArenโt you going to sign up too?โ, asked Joong Hoon after approaching the calmly sitting Hyun .
Lee Hyun though it over 2nd time and after counting all the pros and cons shook his head .
โIโm not going to join . โ
โSo thatโs your answer?โ
Joong Hoon didnโt look disappointed in the least .
โWell, if you refuse to join, that means you do play Royal Road . And as you agreed to come here with us you must have a certain interest in our organization . But if thatโs your decision, thereโs not much I can doโฆโ
Then Choi Joong Hoon leaned to Hyunโs ear and whispered:
โThose two are just random people . They probably wonโt even use information available to them . But I can see that you are different . So if you would join our Union, youโll get access to some special informationโฆโ
โI suppose you just donโt want to bother with sharing valuable information, if you donโt need access to information for newbies . Isnโt that so?โ
Lee Hyun was quite surprised . It looked like Choi Joong Hoon saw a lot of players like Hyun and so was pretty accurate with his assumptions .
โAnyway, thatโs fine . Everyone has their own principles . And our Union respects that . However Iโll give you an advice: If youโre a serious Royal Road player youโd better off joining our Union . โ
Lee Hyun, who was silent up till this moment, quietly replied:
โI donโt have time to raise my rank and I donโt want to give away any information . โ
If Lee Hyun was to reveal his name โ Weed โ heโd most likely have some problems . He recalled how On Joo-wan threatened to interview him .
But even the 2nd rejection didnโt upset Joong Hoon . On the contrary, it seemed he liked Hyunโs response .
โOkay . At least people like you wonโt stab in the back . Do you know our website? Then listen here . Login kj9008, password 165008 . Thatโs a special account for people who join our website for the first time . Once you login using it, youโll get a rank โCโ, and it gives you access to a decent amount of valuable data, trust me . Also, you can change the password once you login if youโre worried someone else might get access to your information . โ
โWhy do I get such a special treatment?โ โ asked Hyun indifferently, and added โ โColleague?โ
โThatโs simple . Dark gamers have three rules . First rule of dark gamers is โDonโt trust anyoneโ . That exactly describes our current relationships . โ
โThereโs also the 2nd rule: โGive as much as you takeโ . You seem to be the kind of person to follow those two rules, and would you use some of our information, youโd provide something valuable in return . I see a real dark gamer in you . โ
โWhat about 3rd rule?โ
โAnd hereโs the 3rd rule: โOnly trust in moneyโ . โ
And so Lee Hyun decided to join the Dark Gamers Union .
On the 4th level of dungeon of Basra Weed, Hwaryeong and Zephyr were concentrating on hunting .
They risked their lives in every fight, and with every fight their skill and experience points were rising .
โOk, health back to fullโฆ Weed, letโs go look for the next fight . โ
โYeah, thatโd be nice . โ
Zephyr and Hwaryeong got on their feet .
Whatever the methods they tried to persuade Weed to slow down the pace of the hunt, it was all in vain . So they finally resigned themselves to his will .
Meanwhile, Weed was thinking that dungeon of Basra almost expended its value as a hunting ground .
Weโll stay here for another day or two at most . Iโm sorry for the time I had to spend on exam .
Quite a lot of time passed since the siege of Odein .
Balkan Guild was greatly weakened and wonโt be able to launch another assault on the stronghold for time being . So the winners will have enough time to secure their position . Most probably all the hunting grounds around Odein will become private, so only players from Prosperity Guild or their allies will be allowed to hunt there .
Itโs a pity .
Dungeon of Basra โ one of the most famous dungeons, renowned for plentiful experience and valuable loot .
In the past two days Weed gained 17 levels, reaching level 247 . But he doubted they will be able to hunt here for much longer .
Iโve got to get at least 5 more levels in the remaining time . And itโs best to begin from some strong monster; I wonโt be able to get experience fast enough from small onesโฆ
Weed called his friends and headed to the place they hadnโt yet visited once โ to the den of the dungeonโs boss, a place called โMain Revolt Headquartersโ .
When Weed first mentioned his idea, Hwaryeong and Zephyr answered with a strong resent:
โI canโt believe it!โ
โWeed, have you finally gone nuts?!โ
Dungeon of Basraโs boss had a level of 290, and he was accompanied by subordinate knights of level 275 . No wonder Weedโs partners had such a reaction .
โWeed, we used to think that you had better judgment . But this time thereโs absolutely no way we can beat the boss and his knights . โ
โExactly!โ โ Zephyr backed Hwaryeong up โ
โBasraโs boss is a dark mage, and even said to be a necromancer . Necromancerโs magic is very different from that of normal mages . And you also have to take into account his 290th level and an increase in health due to his โbossโ status . โ
โThey say his attack power is enormous!โ
โYeah, you take a couple hits and youโre dead . โ
Weed waved his hand to interrupt them:
โHis attacks are really that strong?โ
โOf course! And no kind of bandages will help that . โ โ exclaimed Zephyr .
โAnd bandages can only be applied after the battle!โ โ added Hwaryeong .
Suddenly Zephyr and Hwaryeong exchanged glances and a complete unanimity could be read on their faces . They brightened up and smiled .
โWeed! Weโre coming!โ
Once I die, Iโll get to rest . โ At that moment that was their only wish .
Those are some funny friends Iโve got myself here .
Weed wasnโt getting bored with them around . He couldnโt stop being surprised how simple they were . However Weed didnโt realize that he was not much different; one just has to remember how agitated he becomes if even one coin is at stake .
โHahaha! We havenโt had any visitors for quite a while . What business do you have here?โ
In the deepest part of the dungeon, sitting on a magnificent throne and dressed in gorgeous clothes, there was the dungeonโs boss, accompanied by 2 knights and 12 thieves .
Thatโs our endโฆ
Thank god, itโs going to end here .
Upon hearing the boss Hvaryung and Zephyr bid farewell to their lives . They werenโt too nervous, at least their smiles indicated otherwise . But they did feel a little thrilled; after all they werenโt encountering bosses all too often .
The main NPC of the dungeon was gathering forces to revenge British Confederacy, so it was possible to prevent the fight . Because if you are friendly enough, you would be able to get a quest from him, like to stop assassins sent for his head, or to provide thieves with the items they require .
Naturally, would you take one of those quests youโd become the enemy of British Confederacy . However not just anyone was able to take those quests but only players with high enough fame attribute .
So when Basraโs boss started talking to Weed, Hwaryeong and Zephyr started to get nervous . Because if the fight wonโt start they wonโt get a chance to die .
But much to their relief Weed tightened his grip on the sword and answered:
โWe came to kill you . โ
โHohoho! So youโre just another pack of British dogs! Well, if you came here to die I wonโt disappoint you . Iโll hang your heads at the entrance as a warning for other puppets of Confederacy . Knights! Kill them!โ
โYes, your Royal Highness Archduke . โ
While the boss was babbling, Weed waved his sword and yelled:
โHoly blessing!โ
The effect of Agathaโs holy sword triggered and holy spirit infused Weed .
โ High Priestโs Blessing!โ
The ring on Weedโs hand faintly flared and covered Weedโs body with soft glow .
Even though these itemsโ effects had duration of only 20 minutes, they were blessed by the High Priest of church of Freya himself! In a single moment Weed became stronger by half .
โVan, hold off the thieves!โ
โUnderstood, master . โ
Even death knight forgot his defiance in presence of such blessings . It wasnโt wise to meddle with Weed when he was so strong .
โZephyr, help Van to deal with thieves . โ
โButโฆโ
If he was to fight, heโd prefer fighting knights, thatโd be a faster way to die .
โHwaryeong will stall the knights . Iโll take on the Archduke . โ
โWhat if they come to their senses?โ โ exclaimed Hwaryeong in a worried voice .
โThen deal with it . If Van and Zephyr finish the knights by then, theyโll help you . Iโll be busy with the boss . โ
Zephyr and Hwaryeong didnโt have any choice but to follow Weedโs orders .
Two knights were slowly approaching Weed, skilfully swinging their swords .
โDonโt sleep Hwaryeong, begin!โ
Zephyr immediately headed towards the group of thieves, and Weed easily slipped past two knights and rushed ahead . Hwaryeong was left alone, facing two knights .
โCharming dance!โ
To charm enemies, stronger than her, sheโll have to spend a lot of mana and dance much longer than usually . And knights were quickly approaching!
โFor the glory of Basra!โ shouted NPCs and jumped towards Hwaryeong .
Dancing girl closed her eyes in despair .
Thatโll probably hurt a littleโฆ
The pain would bring death! It was a lot more welcome than all those strenuous everyday fights that were leaving her completely exhausted .
However a second passed, than another, but nothing was happening to her! Moreover, she heard that knights had stopped and started to argue .
โKill her, Jason . โ
โI donโt want . You go, Tobon . โ
โI canโt! As knights we gave an oath to always protect the ladies . It is our duty! If I kill her, Iโll no longer be a knight . โ
โWell, I think the same way! But the boss orderedโฆโ
The last words dismissed their doubts . Hwaryeong heard one of the knights approach her and say apologetically:
โForgive us, lady!โ
Even while expecting to die any moment, Hwaryeong never stopped her dance, she was still elegantly moving her hands and bending her body .
It wasnโt difficult at all for her to dance with eyes closed . Over the last few days she had to dance in front of thieves of Basra many times, sometimes while fighting with extreme sleepiness . So she eventually learned to dance with closed eyes .
Ding!
You successfully executed Charming Dance .
Knights of Basra are ensnared .
โAh! After all sheโs too beautiful, I canโt kill her . Sorry boss, we arenโtโฆโ
Hwaryeong managed to disable the knights .
โAww! I canโt believe I did that!โ
She collapsed on the ground in frustration, when Zephyr and Van, who just finished off the thieves, approached her .
โAwesome!โ
Zephyr was admiring Weedโs fight against the boss of Basra, who was throwing multiple dark spells at him .
โPierce my enemy, Dark Arrows!โ
Numerous arrows made of pure darkness shot from behind Archduke aiming at Weed . The spell was cast almost instantly, but Weed still managed to dodge all the arrows .
He was able to do that because he had already accounted for a possibility that something like this would happen . So the moment boss began to cast his spell Weed had determined its type and area of effect and started to evade it . Zephyr was completely astonished by that feat .
โSculpting Blade!โ
Weed swung his sword to deflect a few arrows he couldnโt dodge and dashed towards Basraโs boss .
โBlink!โ
Basraโs Archduke instantly teleported a few steps back, however on his chest a bleeding long cut was clearly visible .
Weedโs Sculpting Blade technique was completely ignoring any armor!
For necromancers, who didnโt have any armor and had low health, strikes like that were especially dangerous! If only the boss was a leech, heโd have almost infinite vitality like Lord Tori . But there were few monsters like that in the game, and usually players were trying to avoid them .
โFools!โ
After gaining some distance from Weed, the boss got a few moments to observe the situation and came to a conclusion that it wasnโt favorable for him .
โItโs useless to fight me!โ โ he shouted in rage โ โI made a contract with the god of death! Do you want to know why those British bastards werenโt able to defeat me? Iโll show you! The Immortal Power! Arise my soldiers!โ
The ground under their feet started to tremble and skeletons started to appear from it! Multiple black, red and white skeletons!
Archduke of Basra, as a true necromancer, used his main trump card, and summoned mage, warrior and archer skeletons to his aid . His voice got filled with triumph:
โMost of the Basraโs warriors were buried here! This place was a burial ground for many generations, and since I was a child I used to come here to practice necromancy . Now this will become your burial ground as well! Ahahahaha!โ
โSculpting Blade!โ
Weedโs movements were significantly slowed now that he had to fight through hordes of summoned skeletons . Those monsters werenโt that dangerous by themselves, but theyโll make avoiding bossโs attacks much harder, and that was what worried Weed the most . Every magic attack of the Archduke could lower Weedโs health by third, if not by half .
โDie, human!โ
One of the skeletons hit Weed from behind with his rusty sword . The hit was accurate, but there was almost no damage because Weed had carefully polished his armor before the fight started .
But attacks continued .
About level 220โฆ
Weed started to think .
Thanks to his vast experience of fighting monsters he was able to precisely determine the level of the enemy by one received hit .
Level 220 monsters wonโt be that dangerousโฆ
But the problem was that the boss was able to summon skeletons indefinitely, and they were greatly hindering Weedโs movements, while blessings would hold for just 20 minutes .
And once their duration is over, the fight will become a whole lot harder . In other words, he didnโt have any time to spare .
โIโve got to get rid of the undeadโฆ Yeah, I know the way! Fight fire with fire!โ
All this time Weed was wearing the helmet of the Death knight that he got in Lavias .
โSummon skeletons!โ
The helmet allowed Weed to summon undead of level 50 . The exact amount and degree of obedience depended on the Leadership attribute of the summoner .
Even more skeletons rose from the ground . More than 200 of them, and all of them kneeled, expecting their masterโs order .
โFight! Against those who threaten me!โ
Two skeleton crowds started to fight each other . In this fight it was hardly possible to distinguish friend from foe .
โServants of the god of death, I order you with power, given to me: submit to my will!โ โ shouted the Archduke .
โYouโre not the one who summoned us . โ โ came the answer from the direction of the battle .
โYou, idiotsโฆโ
Skeletons, summoned by Weed were a lot weaker than those of the necromancer . They were dying quickly and did no damage to the enemy, but they still managed to divert enemiesโ attention to let Weed escape the skeletonsโ ranks .
โTriple strike! Backstab!โ
Weed started to assault the boss sparing no mana . Archduke was able to use blinks to evade Weedโs attacks, but his advantage was already lost . Hwaryeong, Zephyr and Van finished the knights who had finally woken up and hurried to help Weed .
Now the entire party was chasing the fleeing boss, and a couple minutes later he succumbed to the furious onslaught of his opponents and died .
Ding!
โ Endurance +1 โ Fighting Spirit +1 โ Level has risen .Weed had already fought monsters of level over 290, so he only got one level for this victory . Of course this boss was stronger than the vampire lords, but he was still far weaker than Lord Toriโฆ
โWow! Great! We won!โ
Zephyr and Hwaryeong celebrated their victory and walked towards Weed . But the focused expression on his face made them stop .
โHmm, I have 3 . 5% of life left . I watched it closelyโฆโ
โWell, then letโs continue the hunt . โ
โโฆโ