Book 3 Chapter 52 - Northeastern Guard Camp (1)

After succeeding in the civil war, Woohyuk’s party took a short breather.

Everyone was still tired from their long voyage, and there were many things they could still do in Landium.

One of them was getting a class.

By visiting the training instructors spread out across the city, they could perform quests which rewarded them with standard classes like Apprentice Knight, Apprentice Mage or Apprentice Ranger.

The same was true if they visited the Craftsmen or Alchemist Guild. Various options were available depending on each of their abilities. One could also learn some valuable information from fellow guild members upon joining.

It was only due to Erica’s favor that Woohyuk and his subordinates could enjoy such benefits across the city. When it came to Woohyuk’s party, she could always spare some time despite her busy schedule.

Overcoming the latest calamity together had earned him a strong ally.

As everyone was busy over the course of the next few days, Woohyuk was flipping through Nakron’s Grimoire as he stopped to check his Stats.

- Class: Necromancer, Asura

- Title: Legendary Explorer (20% increase in Item drop rate from monsters, 20% increase in Perception and Speed when in a Historical site, Ruler of the Calm Sea (can summon Kraken and create underwater Air Bubbles.)]

- Stats:

Strength: 152 +15 (Grandia), +5 (Vampiric Dagger), +2 Goblin’s Ring

Vitality: 148 +35 (Basilisk’s Scaled Armor Set), +35 (Berserker’s Plated Armor Set), +15 (Naga Chief’s Ancient Ring)

Dexterity: 150 +35 (Basilisk’s Scaled Armor Set), +35 (Berserker’s Plated Armor Set) +15 (Banshee’s Veil)

Intelligence: 137 +10 ( Ghost Queen Star Serpent) +15 (Moon Shadow Ring) +15 (Jester’s Mask)

Spirit: 143 +10 (Calm Sea’s Silence), +10 (Elder Lizardman’s Fighting Spirit) +15 (Bronze Rock Golem’s Belt)

- Other

+25% affinity with Death

+25% Resistance to Darkness

+25% bonus to Darkness Skills.

‘Not bad.’

All the growth items he had obtained back in the Primordial Forest, had all gone up one Grade. Although they hadn’t gained any new effects, the stats increase they provided was beginning to bear fruit.

When they reached their maximum grade, he wouldn’t suffer a loss even when added to the Organize Scroll.

Of course if one was a skilled blacksmith, they could break them down into raw materials in order to create even higher ranked artifacts. Unfortunately even Dexter, the fabled legendary blacksmith had likely not reached such a level at this stage in the game.

Basically it meant that in the near term, he would be sharing his experience with his items in order to fuel his growth.

‘I should get used to Asura’s abilities as well.’

Even if the Demonic Energy had become a part of him now, it didn’t mean that he could wield it with ease.

It was similar to Qi which was used by martial artists in Murim, just that its power was more pure

That meant that if he pushed himself to the max, without having gained complete mastery over it, he might fall into the darkness.

His Weapon Verserios was something he had to be on guard against for the same reason.

If he were to lose control over such a sword that had the ability to absorb the soul of others, it could lead to a catastrophe.

‘For now I should simply be content with being able to wield it.’

He would have to do just like the martial artists from Murim and practice daily, increasing his mastery of his new energy bit by bit.

After closing his basic stats page, Woohyuk turned to see Aris lying on the bed,

‘Ah ~ Asura, come over here ~ 🖤’

Despite her appearance of a girl in her mid teens, she didn't at all act that age. After all, she had already lived several times longer than an ordinary human’s lifespan.

“Do demons have periods where they are in heat?”

“Not really...who cares? No one is here, just come over and we can enjoy the moment.”’

Aris hummed to herself as she pulled Woohyuk towards her, thinking that he would finally give in.

Just then, the door opened and Leifina walked in.

“Lord, everything is ready.”

“Great.”

At Erica’s request, Woohyuk and his party were setting off to the Northeast Guard Camp.

They were doing an escort mission for Erica who was in a tight spot financially and really needed this deal to go off without a hitch.

Woohyuk agreed to the request since he would have to pass by there anyway as it was on his way.

“Dad, I don’t want to leave Ahri behind.”

Lia, who had arrived with Leifina, held onto Woohyuk’s leg as she sobbed.

She was fond of Ahri.

“Ahri will be better off here.”

Woohyuk comforted her as he stroked her golden hair. He had been a bit worried about her personality because she was after all a dragon, but it seemed that she had quite the gentle heart.

She will grow up well so long as her heart isn’t broken. Of course that didn’t mean that he was willing to pamper her either.

“Mom! Waaa!”

Lia ran over to Leifina as she bawled her eyes out. Leifina would only hug her back in an attempt to comfort her.

“Don’t cry, when we get a chance we can come back to visit her.”

“...Really?”

“Sure, when we are free we can come back and play with just the two of us.”

Leifina’s parenting skills were improving by the day. Soon others would even mistake her as Lia’s real mother.

Lia wiped her tears as Woohyuk made his way out. Near the entrance, he spotted Lee Jaesung waiting for them with the rest of the party.

“Everyone that has decided to leave has gathered here.”

“Then let’s get going.”

Some of those that had joined them decided to instead stick around in Landium, to carve their own paths.

Woohyuk accepted their decision, asking only to receive regular updates through their Unity ring.

Even after leaving for another province, it wasn’t a terrible idea to leave some subordinates behind in Landium to be his eyes and ears.

As they made their way outside the mansion, they spotted the merchant caravan as well as the mercenaries that were waiting.

“Looks like this is goodbye after all, it was really nice to meet you.”

Erica came to see Woohyuk off, standing there while petting Ahri which she held in her arms.

“If you have any business, just send me a letter.”

The Unity ring, that allowed people to communicate across long distances was typically only given to players that had been summoned to this world.

Leifina, Aris and Irene however were an exception, seeing as they were considered rewards earned during the Tutorial’s Canyon Stage.

“Irya!”

After Woohyuk’s party climbed on their respective horses, the lead coachman cracked his whip, and they were off.

A new journey began once more.

Although he had established a sizable advantage over any other players, Woohyuk couldn’t help but be a bit nervous because he wasn’t headed on the same path he had tread in the past.

Dulgruk gulgruk

A long procession of wagons stretched out along the road as the caravan moved out.

* * *

In the Ionia province, east of the Rhine Kingdom’s capital, there was a vast plain. It was primarily developed into a farming area that produced enough food to satisfy the capital consumption for the year.

It was also a strategic area for the military, and they built several outposts and guard camps in order to ensure stability in the region and secure the food supply.

The Northeaster Guard Camp was more heavily armed than others, because of the Corcas mountains that flanked the Rhine Kingdom’s eastern coast.

An area that had been a hot topic in the past, since the Corcas Mountains were home to numerous monsters’ lairs.

Long ago it had been the home of dragons, but ever since they had left for another plane, none were left with claim on these mountains.

The Rhine Kingdom found out about this, and formed punitive expeditions. However, despite several attempts at clearing the monsters, they had yet to see a positive outcome.

It wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if that was all there was to the story. But to add insult to injury, once a year the monsters would come down from the mountains, laying waste to any villages in their path as they moved west, and then back down south.

For that reason Northeast’s Gate was considered as being on the front lines.

‘It must be a pretty profitable business.”

Landium’s merchant groups could make a healthy profit by being their exclusive trade partner. Ever since Kaliss’ fall, Erica would now be the one who stood to gain the most from this. If she was able to secure this deal, her position as the top dog in Landium would be secure for quite some time.

‘The power struggles will soon begin.’

Woohyuk thought back to the past as he stared out into the golden fields.

A clash between rival clans, where many lives were lost. If the Overlords back then had been able to quickly come to the negotiation table and settle, the tragedy of those countless deaths could have been avoided.

Still, Woohyuk had more urgent things to consider compared to achieving peace on the Eeth continent.

‘First things first, I need to gather all the materials.’

The seven ingredients required to craft the Seven Colored Rainbow Ring were all unique.

In Isaac’s case, most of them had only been obtained much later, or were bought from others. Woohyuk however was not willing to leave it up to chance. For one, it might take too long, and he also didn’t know how this timeline’s future will be affected based on his actions.

“Lord, will we really be joining the punitive expedition?”

Lefina asked as she rode on the horse beside him.

She was worried that the army might discriminate against them since they were mere mercenaries.

“There’s no other way.”

According to his intel gathered before returning, the Arachne Temple had been conquered before the Nobility’s revolt.

In other words, it was this punitive expedition that had managed to clear the Arachne’s from within the Corcas Mountains.

If he were to allow his unique treasure to be taken by them, it might lead to further complications.

“Master, who commands these expeditions?”

“I was told it was a very high ranked person from the kingdom.”

Following the many unsuccessful punitive expeditions, it was decided that the scale of this one would be far larger.

They accepted the aid of mercenaries as support, even offering the opportunity to join the army with official status if they were able to prove themselves.

Hearing Woohyuk’s explanation, Jung Sanghoon looked somewhat worried.

“What would we do if Boss is made an officer within the army?”

“That won’t happen.”

Receiving a fief was something he could get behind, but he wasn’t interested in joining the army only to follow someone else’s orders.

In the future, it would be necessary to have his own army in order to gain control over the Rhine Kingdom.

‘It’s a good starting spot.’

They were on a peninsula, guarded by the sea on all three sides, whereas its only land border required one to cross the Corcas Mountains.

Located at a median latitude, its climate was quite mild. It was also the perfect size for a small kingdom, not too big, nor too small, so it would be quite quick to rally forces to defend.

For Isaac that had been unable to step beyond the Rhine Kingdom despite being given such an excellent starting location, only showed how lacking he truly was.

It had only been due to sheer luck that he had even ascended to the position of Lord.

“Dad, I see something over there.”

Lia, who was riding in front with Leifina, pointed out with her finger.

The Northeastern Gate. It was of strategic value, so its defenses were solid.

‘We’ve finally arrived.’

They had been on the move for over a week now, and everyone was drained.

Woohyuk looked around while the caravan’s leader spoke with the guards.

‘Has the main force not gathered yet?’

The number of tents that he could make out in the distance were fewer than he had expected. They couldn’t have too many people without the proper supplies.

Well, he could still afford to wait a couple days.

[They are giving us strange looks.]

Because most of their party members were of Asian descent, they looked quite different than the natives from the Rhine Kingdom. Naturally this led to a less than warm welcome.

[Not to worry, our status here is guaranteed.]

They wouldn’t dare to mistreat mercenaries sent by Erica. Of course he would still act properly on the surface, but resort to underhanded methods like denying them any merits.

‘This kingdom’s soldiers have a lot of pride.’

As official soldiers, they felt that they were on a different level than mere mercenaries. It was no surprise that they wouldn’t properly give merit to mercenaries, even those that had earned it.

Even the commanders who were supposed to be impartial, were easily we blinded by the potential gains and falsified reports.

This kind of cheating was quite common in the military. Woohyuk on his end decided not to pursue their arrogance for the time being.

All he wanted was information regarding the Historical Site, caring little for the military’s merit system.

‘I need to find out the Arachne Temple’s location.’

A Historical Site in the Eeth continent might disappear entirely if certain conditions were met, and along with it went the hidden rewards.

If you rushed ahead too quickly without proper planning, you’d be doomed to fail.

In the past there must have been many Sites that disappeared in such ways.

Considering that they often had hidden treasures that were connected to the Throne, he would rather focus his time on exploring the major Historical Sites, instead of expanding his power as he had done in the past.

“You’ve travelled a long and hard road to get here. My name’s Tenon, I’m Aiden’s Lieutenant here in the Northeastern Guard Camp.

Tenon was awaiting their arrival at the camp’s gate, greeting both the head of Erica’s caravan, as well as Woohyuk.

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