In the depths of the room was a gigantic golden scorpion statue, and various treasures were piled on or near it, forming a mountain.
“It’s gotta be at least a half a million gold.”
“Half a million? This has got to be at least a million.”
Money wasn’t the only thing that had made the expeditioners excited. There were items scattered everywhere. Scattered treasures that were piled up shone brightly.
Terose easily found the horn flute lying in front of the golden scorpion statue.
“This is it.”
Terose raised the horn flute. Their mission was to bring the flute back to Count Grace.
‘With this, the quest will be complete.’
It had been pretty difficult, but they had safely reached their goal.
Terose’s future looked bright.
The CTS media was broadcasting this right now. At least a million people were watching, perhaps even ten million.
Once the A-class quest is finished, people’s minds will be imprinted with an unforgettable scene. The video shown by media would be watched repeatedly, creating a glorious image.
The Crimson Wing’s supremacy would only be a matter of time.
Then a pure white sword caught Terose’s eye. The sword’s hilt was engraved with flame-shaped patterns. Although there was countless of treasures in there, among it was something particularly refined.
‘That's unique. Maybe it’s the king’s sword, but I’m not quite sure.’
Terose’s eyes glinted with greed.
No warrior should be too greedy when getting a better sword, but they held great pride in improving their maximum damage output rather than focusing on their defence.
Every sword is significantly different in terms of their damage output. Naturally, an excellent sword couldn’t be compared to a normal sword. Depending on the job, alignment or even the monster’s characteristic, swords would vary even further. Against monsters of the fire attribute you should use ice-type weapons and against dark-attributed monsters, a holy weapon was the way to go. Therefore, warriors would normally possess up to three or four different types of swords.
‘For the Crimson Wing to reign over the entire Versailles Continent, it is necessary to possess an excellent sword. A sword of this prestige will greatly increase my reputation.’
Terose silently fixed his eyes on the sword. Being the head of the guild, he desired to possess an excellent sword. The beautiful sword appeared to be a work of art. With his dignity and prestige, only a perfect sword was worthy of him.
Then the guild saw Terose and the sword.
“Terose go ahead, take it.”
“Sir Terose, you have suffered a great deal, so you deserve the sword.”
Terose’s guild officers encouraged him to take the sword. Underneath the sword, they discovered an signboard.
After looking at the sword for a long time, it gave off an intense sensation.
“Hey, there’s something written on it!”
Sabron deciphered the characters.
Take the sword
“It says take the sword.”
“Me, take the sword?”
Terose didn’t look enthusiastic on the surface, but he was secretly excited as he reached for the sword.
If Weed had been there, he would have been suspicious five times over already! With such easy battles, they should have been suspicious of their surroundings. Considering how smoothly everything went, this A-class quest was too easy. They had only encountered a few dangerous battles.
In contrast to Weed, who had commanded his troops and led them into battle; that in itself, was an achievement. However, neither the Orcs nor the Dark Elves were able to use their full potential.
The enemies were far too weak. The difficulty of this quest couldn’t even compare to the Undead Legion’s quest. Furthermore, this quest stated nothing about acquiring a sword.
That moment Terose just grabbed the sword.
*Flash!*
The place was filled with treasures made out of gold.
“What’s going on?”
“The area is getting brighter.”
The people could not find where the light came from. After looking up, they found the source.
The Golden Scorpion had awakened.
“Fearlessly entering the tomb of Belsos - the great emperor of fire - with greedy intentions. The king is fed up with you fools. Those who trespass shall not be forgiven. A Fiery Retribution shall consume every one of you!”
*Hwareureuk!*
While holding onto the sword, Terose’s body burst into flames. Within moments, he turned to ashes and died.
Another disaster befell on the expedition.
Fire spirits!
Countless fire spirits appeared and attacked them all at once.
The expedition party failed to respond to the sudden situation and its battle formation became disorderly, until it finally collapsed. While observing the expedition turning to ashes, the Golden scorpion said:
“Foolish mortals! You have aroused the wrath of King Belsos and have brought a curse of fire upon the continent.”
***
CTS media was broadcasting their adventure to millions of people.
The Crimson Wing guild crumbled at that moment. Greed caused the Crimson Wing guild to fail the quest and led them to their downfall.
At first, they didn’t understand what the golden scorpion statue was saying. Then they realized that they had failed the quest.
People on Royal Road began to start posting furiously.
- Humidity is on the rise.
- The rays of sunlight suddenly intensified.
- It seems like the temperature rose by about 5 degrees.
The curse of King Belsos!
It created a heat wave.
The continent was hit by a sweltering heat wave all year long, turning it into a place of death.
Albeit briefly, it was a good moment for those who controlled the Elements of Fire, because the fire magic became powerful and prosperous. Even if they liked the fire element, that only lasted until the sweat ran down their spine. Before leaving on a hunt with colleagues, it was great to breathe in the cold air of dawn, which is now impossible because of the heat.
There was a tremendous outcry from users!
Accusations were made that the Crimson Wing guild caused this situation. The Crimson Wing guild, who was affiliated with the A-Class quest were punished for their pride and arrogance. The guild became stigmatized by their failure, so they were recognized anywhere they went.
Merchants and Traders alike refused to sell any of their merchandise to them, and players refused to party with them.
Allied guilds left one after another, turning their backs on them.
The once high reputed guild had now collapsed.
***
With his spare time, Lee Hyun washed his face and took long baths.
“I like summer.”
It was quite difficult to take a bath in the winter. First of all, the boiler had to use more power to heat up the water. With extra cost added to the electricity bills, he would never get rich. In contrast, the summer was really nice. He had the option of taking a cool bath.
After he finished taking a bath, he went onto the auction site.
Orc’s Glaive, loads of Elven headbands, rare herbs that can be used as a special poison, and japtem.
With his tailoring and blacksmithing skills, he intended to use the ores and leathers he had accumulated during his journey throughout the Yuroki Mountains and Plains of Despair, so he didn’t post them on the auction site. Rather than selling an unprocessed ore, he wanted to sell the items he made to players, as it was easier to find buyers for them.
He took a short rest and then he sent his sister to school.
Lee Hyun spent almost 24 hours daily, exploring Royal Road.
To gain experience and items in order to make money!
“Can I finally login to check what I got?”
It had been exactly 24 hours since he died.
***
The Director of KMC Media had been trying to contact Weed by making phone calls, and sending dozens of e-mails and private messages.
But to his distress, he had not gotten a single reply.
“Please read your damn e-mail!”
The KMC media director was a man of little patience. He was using every method available to him.
Then in the car, his eyes widened as he saw items from the Lich Shire available on the trading site.
“This is it, That’s what I’m talking about”
Weapons from Dark Elves and Orcs, leathers from Giant Monsters.
There’s no doubt about it.
The director immediately made a bid on the items.
He bidded as much as 30 million won for just one Minotaurus’ claw japtem.
***
Because Weed had died, he respawned in the nearest human village which was called The Village of Exiles.
The residents were busy, moving around with purpose and bright and vibrant expressions on their faces.
Hunter Kokundo was maintaining a shield.
“Hey, Weed. You’re back”
“How did the war against the Undead Legion go?”
“We won, the Lich is dead.”
“And then?”
“After the battle ended we returned here, the villagers who once were slaves, came back as well. For now, the orcs and humans can get along without conflict. Although it’s only a temporary truce. Right now the Orcs are looking for their hero; Karichwi, and the necromancers are looking for you. They hope to depart for the world as soon as they are able to gather.”
With that last bit of information, Weed knew what to do in order to finish the quest.
“I see. I’ll go see them.”
“Thank you for protecting our village. It may not be much, but you will find open doors welcoming you in the Plains of Despair. We owe you a favor.”
Kokundo went back to polishing his shield.
Weed decided to pay the Necromancers a visit first.
“Stat Window!”
Character Name
Weed
Alignment
Neutral
Level
286
Profession
The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor
Title
Artisan With Exceptional Dexterity
Reputation
13645
Life
19230
Mana
9760
Strength
715+65
Agility
575+65
Stamina
134+65
Wisdom
136+65
Intellect
154+65
Fighting Spirit
323+65
Endurance
180+65
Fortitude
374+65
Art
447+145
Charisma
212+65
Leadership
492+65
Luck
5+65
Faith
96+435
Charm
39+65
Attack
2211
Defense
640
Magic Resistance
Fire
13%
Water
15%
Earth
25%
Black Magic
50%
He had gained 7 levels.
Even though he had not personally killed the Lich Shire, Weed had played a fairly decisive role. Thanks to that, he leveled up simultaneously. Even after dying his le