Skeleton Master - Chapter 004

As I opened the old door and entered, the owner greeted me.

"What brings you here?"

"I came at the request of the training hall instructor."

"Oh, so you're the one who's supposed to help me. Well, it's an urgent situation, so I'll get right to it. Get me 10 pieces of stray dog meat within 30 minutes."

The quest was updated.

[The Stranger's Adventure 2]

[Obtain 10 pieces of stray dog meat within the time limit]

[Success: Experience, Gold, Linked Quest]

[Failure: None]

[Do you accept the quest?]

"I'll be waiting."

Moo-hyeok left the butcher shop.

After waiting for 5 seconds, he went back into the butcher shop.

Hansen's expression brightened.

"Hm? You're back already?"

"Yes, here's the stray dog meat."

"Oh, it's exactly 10 pieces! Thank you!"

"Is there anything else I can help with?"

"Of course. Could you go to the herbalist shop on the opposite side? The owner there is my friend Ralph, and I'd appreciate it if you could help him out."

The quest was updated again.

Moo-hyeok nodded and left the butcher shop, heading towards the herbalist shop.

The owner, Ralph, greeted Moo-hyeok warmly.

"You came on Hansen's recommendation?"

"Yes."

"Perfect timing. I needed deer antlers. It's an ingredient for medicine, and I must have it by this evening. I need 10 of them. Can you manage that?"

"Of course."

After accepting the quest, he left the herbalist shop.

He waited for 5 seconds and went back in.

"Why are you back?"

"I've brought the deer antlers."

"Already?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, let me check."

Moo-hyeok handed over 10 deer antlers.

Ralph smiled brightly.

"Thank you so much!"

In a similar fashion, he received requests to obtain rabbit fur from the tailor shop and goose eggs from the poultry farm.

Of course, since he had prepared them in advance, he was able to clear them immediately.

In fact, if you don't know the information, it's not an easy quest at all.

Although the difficulty of the quest itself isn't high, there's a time limit, so without information, the chances of failure are higher than you might think.

Because of that, it will take another 3 months for the existence of the title to become known.

Of course, even when that time comes, not everyone will acquire the title.

After all, the level requirement for this quest is 10.

Moo-hyeok has just cleared such a quest.

It was an achievement made less than a day after logging in.

Now it's time to receive the reward.

He headed to the training hall instructor who gave the quest.

"Hm? It's you."

"Yes, I've completed the task you requested."

"Ah, I've heard. My friends were full of praise."

"Thank you. It wasn't too difficult..."

"Haha, it couldn't have been easy. Anyway, thank you. If there are any difficult tasks in the future, I'll often ask for your help."

"Yes, but..."

"What is it?"

"Are there others who have fulfilled requests like me?"

"Ah, of course there are."

"How many?"

"Including you, three people."

Two people besides me...

It wasn't that many.

For the entire continent, maybe one or two hundred?

Then, among those, how many would have passed the second training hall?

The conditions for the second training hall would be clearing the first training hall.

And being exactly level 50.

Two things. Considering such strict conditions, Moo-hyeok estimated it would be about a dozen people.

Hmm, then...

The thought was brief.

It was because a message appeared.

[You have cleared the 'Training Hall Linked Quest']

[You gain experience]

['Fame' increases]

[You acquire a 'Title' as a reward]

Acquisition of a title!

His fist clenched tightly.

"Good work."

"Yes, thank you."

Moo-hyeok bowed and immediately left. He checked the title in a secluded place.

[Title]

1. The Beginning of Adventure

- All stats +1

Moo-hyeok almost cheered out loud without realizing it.

"Whew..."

Even though he already knew, actually getting it in hand brought a rush of joy.

After taking a deep breath to calm his excitement, he looked at the title again.

It's a title that increases all stats by one.

Not just the basic stats, but special stats too.

Even as you move past the early game into mid and late game, its usefulness will never fade.

*

While I was engrossed in hunting to reach level 10, suddenly a warning sound rang out and a huge message appeared, blocking my view.

[You have been connected to the game for 11 hours. Please take a brief rest for your well-being. We inform you that a forced logout will occur if another hour passes.]

Current level: 9.

Just a few more wolves and I'll reach 10.

And once I complete my first job advancement, I'll be able to summon the long-awaited skeleton.

But it seemed I'd have to postpone that joy a little due to the alert that just popped up.

Alright, let's take a short break.

"Logout."

Returning to reality, my body felt stiff.

"Ugh..."

I quickly got out of the capsule.

As I stretched, crackling sounds echoed throughout my body.

While twisting my waist back and forth to stretch, I felt a slight pain in my lower abdomen.

I stopped my movements and headed to the bathroom.

After taking care of nature's call, I felt hungry. It was as if my stomach was clinging to my back.

I hurried to the kitchen and set up a floor table.

I took out some side dish containers from the fridge, placed them on the table, and sat down with a large bowl full of rice and chopsticks.

Using the chopsticks, I scooped up a big mouthful of rice, then tore off a piece of kimchi and put it in my mouth.

Munch, munch.

I guess hunger really is the best sauce.

In no time, the bottom of the rice bowl was visible. Thinking it was truly delicious, I helped myself to another bowl.

"Whew."

The world came into focus.

Now I feel alive.

Already, thoughts of Illusion were coming to mind.

But since I couldn't log in right now, I turned on the TV to stave off boredom.

[It's been reported that just over three months since Illusion's launch, the top-ranked player has reached an impressive level 52. Upon reaching level 50, players can undergo their second job advancement...]

It was news about Illusion.

I switched to a different channel.

[Experience gain is too slow! Is there any way to break through?]

It was the same story.

What about another channel?

[Cash transactions using the Illusion site have reached as many as a thousand in just the last 10 minutes. The current exchange rate is 10,000 won per 1 gold...]

Every channel was talking about Illusion.

Still, I was interested in the exchange rate.

100 bronze equals 1 silver, and 100 silver equals 1 gold.

Currently, Moo-hyeok has 10 gold, which could be considered 100,000 won in cash.

The exchange rate should hold steady for a while.

I switched to another channel.

[Amidst the rapid emergence of special programs dedicated to reporting on Illusion...]

It was all stuff I already knew.

My interest quickly waned, and the thought of wanting to log back into the game dominated my mind.

How many minutes had passed?

Exactly 30 minutes had gone by.

Good.

The waiting time I'd been looking forward to was over.

Swish.

I got up and lay down in the capsule.

Now, let's log in.

The world went dark.

Then, light burst forth.

[Welcome to Illusion.]

The mechanical voice stimulated my eardrums.

Simultaneously, my body descended.

Or rather, should I say the world rose up?

Anyway, when my feet touched the ground, I was near the Wolf Forest where I had logged out.

Grrrr...

Four wolves that happened to be nearby approached Moo-hyeok.

I quickly took out a sword and shield from my inventory.

Even as I watched them closing in, Moo-hyeok remained unfazed.

My strength was a whopping 14, and both vitality and agility were 7.

While I was focusing on strength stats, that didn't mean my agility and vitality were low.

For a typical level 9 player to achieve these stats, they'd need to invest all 8 of their bonus points into agility and vitality.

To achieve these stats purely from level-up bonus points without quest rewards or title effects like Moo-hyeok, one would need to be at least level 20.

But Moo-hyeok had achieved these stats at level 9.

Of course, the iron sword and shield had some influence, but the clear fact was that there was no reason to fear level 10 wolf monsters.

Grrrr...!

The problem was that there were four wolves.

For a normal party, they would have quickly run away.

While wolves naturally travel in packs, it's rare to see four of them together.

Usually, it's two or at most three.

However, Moo-hyeok didn't care.

Three or four.

It was all the same to Moo-hyeok.

I stopped thinking.

Time to focus on the battle.

I quickly retreated and leaned my back against a tree trunk.

Meanwhile, the wolves surrounded me from all sides.

Now I only need to worry about everything except my back.

The four wolves formed a semicircle as they closed in, and at that moment, two of them leapt towards me.