Chapter 167 – Molang Fantasy (5)
[Chapter 9 – Section 3] Help with the Luggage!
A national setting that has been established as a natural law ever since the early days of online role-playing games.
“Hieeeek~?!”
“Kieeek~?!”
[Defeated a Pathetic Ghost!]
[Defeated a Pathetic Ghost Captain!]
[Completed Graveyard Cleanup!]
[Gained experience points!]
[Gained experience points!]
[Gained experience points!]
[Level up!]
By completing requests or killing something, you gain experience points, and once those accumulate to a certain amount, your avatar’s combat power-determining level rises.
A rule so commonplace that even people who don’t know or play games are aware of it.
But how quickly you level up and grow stronger is entirely up to the individual’s effort and skill.
“Easy.”
(Games can’t start off difficult, or not everyone could enjoy them.)
“Right!”
The words of Senior, who had mastered sorcery, were absolutely correct!
(Your total achievements are overwhelmingly lacking. But if we’re talking pure combat ability, you’re not inferior to the witches. So don’t get discouraged.)
Why?
(I’ll explain when the time comes for your 4th job advancement.)
Yes!
The words of Senior, who had mastered sorcery, were absolutely correct!
4th job advancement.
Thanks to the bonus points from my aptitude “Priest,” which added to achievements, that moment wasn’t far off.
[Title] Son of the Dragon King (B)
[Level] 10
[Class] Inexperienced Soul Hunter (3rd Job)
[Achievements] 935
[Aptitude] Priest
(Hm. Time to call the clever Princess and move to a new hunting ground.)
Senior seemed to like Witch Ranuvela the Thirteenth.
(There’s no reason not to. She understands quickly, has noble imperial blood, and possesses both beauty and aptitude. It’d be harder to dislike her.)
What about her personality?
(I see no major difference between her and Song Sun-young.)
“……”
I invoke the right to remain silent!
(Wait. I’ll summon the Princess.)
“Yes.”
The fatigue I felt for the first time in ages—after living without knowing the limits of my stamina—wasn’t uncomfortable at all. In fact, it relaxed my mind in a pleasant way.
Pop!
The witch, who had logged out nearby, reappeared.
“Already?”
“It’s the early game. Plus, my class has an advantage against spirits.”
“…As expected of someone who enjoyed massacres. It took me two days to reach level 10.”
“I never enjoyed it?”
“Super Grand Galaxy General Infinity Blade.”
“What’s that?”
“Enough chit-chat. Where to next?”
“The Forest of the Departed.”
A forest where ghosts outnumbered insects—an average level 30 hunting ground.
Its peculiarity: If you die in this forest, your body doesn’t dissolve into particles of light. Instead, you turn into a ghost and attack your allies.
“Kang Moon-soo. You’re going to the Forest of the Departed at level 10?”
“Is that strange? I heard it has ghosts ranging from level 10 to 50.”
“Who told you that?”
“Warrior A, while I was on a quest to deliver flowers to a noble lady’s grave.”
“That Warrior A must not have liked you.”
“Haha!”
Boom!
The black dragon, summoned by the witch, quickly arrived and let us mount its head.
“Grrrr…!”
You really hate me, don’t you?
“By the way, your outfit is truly pathetic.”
“Oh! You noticed right away. It’s lightweight, so it’s usable.”
[Pathetic Ghost Captain’s Gloves]
[Pathetic Ghost Captain’s Pants]
[Pathetic Ghost Captain’s Necklace]
[Pathetic Ghost Captain’s Cloak]
[Pathetic Ghost Captain’s Shoes]
……
I liked everything except that they were so lightweight, defensive stats were hard to expect.
“If you change your mind, just say so anytime.”
“Yes.”
I would absolutely never wear that armor that looked like a schoolgirl uniform.
Flap~
The fastest mode of transportation in the <Molang Fantasy> world: a dragon.
“Raaaah!”
The black dragon roared as it soared high into the sky, quickly carrying me to the Forest of Phantoms.
***
I knew—Senior knew, the witch knew, and even Valentine knew—that my swordsmanship skills and talent were mediocre at best.
But everything is relative, right?
[Defeated a Ghost Lumberjack!]
[Gained experience points.]
[Picked up the Ghost Lumberjack’s Axe!]
Clang!
My swordsmanship wasn’t so pathetic that I couldn’t take down a lumberjack.
And on top of that,
“…Another one from behind.”
Pew—
[Dodged the Ghost Hunter’s Arrow.]
The ghost hunters shooting arrows from long range were annoying, but all I had to do was chase them down and cut their throats.
“Die…!”
“Huuuuh~?!”
[Defeated a Ghost Hunter!]
[Gained experience points.]
[Picked up the Ghost Hunter’s Bow.]
[Picked up the Ghost Hunter’s Arrow.]
[Picked up the Ghost Hunter’s Arrow.]
……
Since I wasn’t a regular user, I couldn’t turn off the status window notifications. That was inconvenient, but unlike users, I didn’t have to worry about my real body’s needs.
Appetite, sleep, the urge to relieve myself…
Being free from all of those meant I didn’t need to periodically seek out a safe “logout spot.”
[Defeated a Ghost Hunter!]
[Defeated a Ghost Wolf!]
[Defeated a Ghost Lumberjack!]
[Defeated a Ghost Fox!]
……
Hunt, hunt, and more hunting!
The deeper I went into the forest, the higher the spirits’ levels became—but since my own level was rising at a rapid pace, I never once felt overwhelmed or reckless.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes.”
Occasionally, curious users would approach me like this.
“You’re using an ordinary sword without blessings or holy water—how are you able to attack spirits?”
“My class.”
“Ah! What class is it?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Ah, I see. Sorry for bothering you.”
Users who stole my hunting time were truly annoying. I wished there were hunting grounds with fewer people…
(There are no such low-level hunting grounds.)
Yeah, I figured.
(If you want to hunt quietly and focus, you need to be at least level 500. Even then, solo hunting would be tough. By the way…)
Yes?
(You’re surprisingly good at enjoying this simple repetitive task.)
“Haha!”
It was far more enjoyable than standing at a convenience store counter for ten hours straight. Greeting customers when they came in, checking IDs for alcohol and cigarettes…
This wasn’t even work, was it? It was a game made to be enjoyed. If it weren’t fun, that would be the strange part.
(Aren’t you going to do your 4th job advancement?)
Senior changed the subject.
“I’m still thinking about it. None of them really appeal to me.”
[Necromancer (4th Job)]
[Gravekeeper (4th Job)]
[Spectral Knight (4th Job)]
[Holy Warrior (4th Job)]
……
Advancing would definitely make hunting easier, but in <Molang Fantasy>, job advancement was a one-time, irreversible decision.
You could reset everything with the reincarnation system, but that meant starting your avatar from scratch—so it wasn’t even worth considering.
Besides,
[Defeated a Ferocious Ghost Bear!]
[New option added.]
[Tracker (4th Job)]
Every time I gained a new achievement, more 4th job options appeared for me to choose from.
At this rate, I might skip straight from 3rd to 5th job.
(Being cautious is good, but skipping 4th job advancement won’t make things better. That experiment has already been done.)
Really?
(To support you… to borrow the Princess’s words, a loyal citizen of the Holy Roman Empire who excels at <Molang Fantasy> is standing by at all times. If you have questions, they can log in immediately and answer.)
“Wow!”
That was incredibly reassuring.
(According to the expert, the class you choose for 4th job will be developed all the way to 6th. 7th is beyond what players can reach, so it’s out of consideration.)
Then it’s important.
(You’re only going to play this game briefly and quit anyway, right? I recommend stacking achievements, but don’t get too attached to a temporary game class you’ll throw away.)
“…Yes.”
You’re absolutely right, one hundred times over.
(And the reason your growth is so fast is because you completed 3rd job at level 1. It’s not because you have talent for the game, so don’t get cocky.)
“Ah, yes.”
Thank you for the heart-piercing advice.
(According to the specialist, it’s better to hurry up and do your 4th job advancement. Your current 3rd job class is trash.)
Huh? It actually seems pretty good to me?
(That’s only because the hunting ground level is too low for you to feel the downside. There’s individual variation, but most players complete their 3rd job advancement around level 200. Reaching 2nd job this early is actually very good.)
According to the loyal citizen of the Holy Roman Empire—who excels at <Molang Fantasy>—my growth had progressed like this:
[1st Job: Hunter]
[2nd Job: Soul Hunter]
[3rd Job: Inexperienced Soul Hunter]
I had skipped the earlier stages, but that was how it went.
The “Hunter” class—specialized in solo hunting rather than party play—was perfectly suited for me, someone without friends or companions.
The “Soul” prefix in 2nd job was an excellent match for my aptitude “Priest,” making it the best possible choice.
The problem was 3rd job.
The “Inexperienced” label meant my growth had been so minimal that it might as well have been no 3rd job advancement at all.
Trash: Pathetic (F-rank)
Lowest: Inexperienced (E-rank)
Low: Ordinary (D-rank)
Mid: Decent (C-rank)
High: Proficient (B-rank)
Top: Exceptional (A-rank)
Legendary: Molang-level (S-rank)
As the tier list showed, my 3rd job was second from the bottom—just barely better than trash.
(If someone messes up their 3rd job like you did, they usually have no hope of surviving to 4th job advancement and just delete the avatar to start over.)
“That’s harsh…”
The silver lining was that I had already gathered enough achievements for 4th job advancement.
(If you understand, hurry up and change it.)
“Yes.”
Still, I didn’t rush. Senior had overlooked something important.
(Me?)
I hadn’t yet accumulated achievements in a city. If I wandered around town, I might unlock even more 4th job options…
(Are you an idiot?)
Why?
(Are you trying to become something like a Soul Chef who feeds spirits? You’re already struggling just to specialize in hunting—what nonsense are you spouting?)
“…Yeah, you’re right.”
Am I really that much of an idiot?
(This poor forest must be truly unfortunate to have been conquered by such a fool.)
“Haha!”
At the very center of the Forest of the Departed stood the root cause of why this place had become a kingdom of spirits.
The Ghost Fairy King!
Due to the game system, monsters respawned and terrain regenerated after a certain time, so the Forest of the Departed would forever remain a level 30 hunting ground.
Rumble—
To prevent the tragedy of high-level users casually passing through and one-shotting the boss, a device was essential.
This was an underground crypt.
Level 100+ users rarely bothered coming all the way down here…
“Oppa, I was so scared.”
“Haha! With this oppa here, even a level 70 Ghost Fairy King is just one punch!”
“So cool! Thank you, oppa!”
“Anytime—just call me.”
The couple, arms linked sweetly, spotted me and said,
“I just took it down a little while ago, so come back later.”
“Oppa one-shotted it!”
“Ah, yes.”
What a cowardly couple…
(How frustrating. If only I still had flesh and blood instead of this wretched form…)
Hm?
A resentful spirit’s voice reached me.
“Hoho!”
“Haha!”
The cowardly couple walked away arm in arm, laughing cheerfully, completely oblivious.
“Ahh, that’s right.”
[Class] Inexperienced Soul Hunter (3rd Job)
Can easily track and converse with traces of the departed, and can inflict physical damage on spirits even with ordinary weapons.
But still inexperienced.
I can talk to spirits. The same ability I had experienced back in the martial arts world of <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?>.
Back then, I had been able to speak with the hidden daughter of the Heavenly Demon.
“Even if you’re resentful, just endure it. There’s nothing you can do.”
(…You can hear my voice?)
“Loud and clear.”
(Help me with my revenge. In return, I shall grant you my sealed treasure.)
“That’s going to be difficult.”
If you charge at that “oppa” user, you’ll be killed in an instant.
And treasure?
The strategy guide already detailed the exact location of that treasure and how to unseal it.
At that moment,
(Weak human. Lend me your fresh, living body.)
Hm?
[Encountered the Ghost Fairy King.]
[Conversed with the Ghost Fairy King.]
[Met the transaction conditions.]
[Necromancer (4th Job)]
A 4th job option that deviated from normal hunting had appeared.
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[1] The Regressor Who Turns Trash Martial Arts into Divine Techniques
[2] I Descended as the Iron-Blooded All-Master
[3] The Female Employees I Couldn't Eat
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