Chapter 12

[Congratulations.]

[Your level has increased.]

▶ 19 → 20

“Whew...”

Woojin leaned against a tree, looking tired, and let out a quiet sigh.

“This should meet the minimum requirements.”

Name: Khan

Class: Warrior

Level: 20

Total Points: 310

Remaining Points: 0

Traits: Adventurer, Solitude, Dragon Slaying, Indomitable, Swiftness, Presence

Title: [Hunter of Swiftness]

Specialization: Soul Imprinting (1/1)

Imprint: Incomplete Essence of Sarbandin

He looked satisfied as he allocated the points he had earned from a day of hunting.

'The average level for the Orc Citadel is 25, but even level-20 players from big guilds come here to hunt with their well-funded gear...'

He wouldn't look out of place.

Unlike Goblin Nest, which was an instanced dungeon, the citadel was an open dungeon. He couldn't afford to ignore the eyes of other players.

“Nobody around level 25 should have the Insight skill... but they say the ten great clans have started moving. Can't hurt to be careful.”

He could hold back as much as possible while hunting, but he couldn't hide things like his level.

'Maybe it's because I have two bonus-experience Traits, but this is ridiculously fast. Four levels in less than an in-game day.'

The Adventurer and Solitude Traits.

Now that he had experienced the extra 15% experience from hunting in a new region and the extra 10% from solo play firsthand, even “incredible” didn't do them justice.

It had taken him just two hours to get from level 19 to 20, a stretch infamous for being grueling.

The experience requirement shot up at each ten-level milestone, starting with level 20, then 30, 40, 50, and so on.

'They said it actually takes more experience to get from 19 to 20 than from 20 to 21...'

His pace was nothing short of astonishing.

“There it is.”

Having hunted his way inward from the outskirts of the forest, Woojin muttered as the road leading to the city finally came into view.

“Wow...”

An involuntary exclamation escaped him at the sight of Parta spread out before him.

Towering walls. A moat and an enormous bridge leading to the city gates, the sort he had only seen in movies.

Together with the countless people passing through, they made for a magnificent sight.

“I didn't think Moretti was small... but compared to this, it really was a backwater.”

Once he passed through the gates, the broad square ahead looked more than three times the size of Moretti's.

“Of course. This is the only city in the Dark Forest. Unlike a village with a headman, this place is ruled by Viscount Paron. There's no comparison. First time in Parta?”

A guard stationed just inside the gates had struck up a conversation with him.

When Woojin nodded, the guard held out a hand.

“May I see your identification?”

Woojin showed him the token he had received from the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Ninth class? Did you come straight from Moretti?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“No, not at all. It's just that we've been seeing a lot of ninth-class adventurers in Parta lately.”

The guard smiled as he answered and returned the token.

“Adventurers used to travel from Moretti through Palencia before coming to Parta. Most who arrived here were eighth class.”

That was the standard route.

Over time, however, posts had appeared on the community forums explaining that simply hunting was more efficient than doing Palencia's quests. After that, Palencia had become a virtually abandoned village.

'Lately?'

It wasn't a problem, but something about the guard's words lingered in Woojin's mind.

[Evil Tale] still drew a steady stream of new players, but it had already been running for five years.

'Guides telling people to skip Palencia came out three years ago. It's nothing unusual...'

Why had the guard put it that way?

His keen instincts suddenly picked up on something.

“Has something happened recently?”

“Nothing much. Are you from [Genesis Corps] too, by any chance?”

“... Genesis Corps?”

“About a month ago, adventurers suddenly started flocking to Parta. From what I hear, they're all from [Genesis Corps].”

“Ah... I see. No, I'm not.”

“I see. Not that I mean anything by it. New adventurers are good for the city.”

'Genesis Corps...'

The guard had mentioned it casually, but Woojin couldn't shake a sense of unease the moment he heard the name.

It wasn't one of the ten great clans, but it had been growing rapidly of late.

He had seen its name come up on the community forums from time to time himself.

'If I remember right, most of those posts were recruiting guild members...'

He recalled disliking the way they plastered the forums with copy-pasted posts like spam ads.

'Hopefully this won't turn into a nuisance.'

“Well, enjoy your adventures.”

With the guard's farewell, Woojin headed farther into the city.

* * *

“Wow! So this is Parta?”

“There's a shitload of people here!”

“Man... if a lowbie area looks like this, the central continent must be insane.”

“Let's hurry up and grind so we can head over there too!”

Loud voices reached him as he walked into the city square.

The people sitting around making a racket at the shops lining the square all wore the same insignia on their chests.

A round sun with a pair of wings beneath it.

'Genesis Corps.'

Judging by their behavior, he thought it best to avoid getting involved with them as much as possible.

“Just wait a little. The officers are coming tomorrow to take over the citadel. They told us to have all the fun we can until then.”

“Is it really okay for us to just party like this?”

“Sure. They said we'd better be ready to spend the next week holed up in the citadel grinding.”

“Man, this is sweet. So sweet. Gear support and a hunting ground all to ourselves! Joining was the best decision I ever made.”

“Heh, you said it!”

“Come on, drink up! We've got some serious grinding to do starting tomorrow!”

They laughed uproariously, waving their drinks in excitement.

“...”

Woojin stared at them.

'Take over the citadel?'

What the hell was that bullshit?

'Are they serious? I've heard factions used to claim dungeons and hunting grounds back in the day...'

Apparently, that had led to plenty of disputes over hunting grounds at the time.

Everyone wanted to grind quickly and move on to the central continent, where the Labyrinth Tower stood.

But that had only been in the early days after launch.

Now, five years later, with the ten great clans firmly established, monopolizing hunting grounds in the beginner area had long since died out.

'The forums said six of the ten great clans signed a nonaggression pact three years ago, starting with [Phoenix Corps]...'

Woojin smiled bitterly.

'Honestly, it was just a sham. They were the ones monopolizing the hunting grounds in the first place.'

It looked as though they were acting for the noble cause of fair hunting, but to Woojin's dispassionate eyes, it was nothing more than a smokescreen to cover their own wrongdoing.

'Whatever their reasons... I can't believe someone's pulling this again.'

Whatever anyone said, the ten great clans were the current rulers of [Evil Tale].

'Someone breaking the rules they set? They definitely won't stand for that...'

Weren't these guys afraid of the ten great clans?

No matter how he looked at it, it was strange.

For all its growth, [Genesis Corps] was still just a recently formed clan.

What on earth gave them such confidence?

Strange as it was, the more pressing issue was that they intended to occupy the citadel tomorrow.

'If they're telling the truth, getting inside could become difficult starting tomorrow.'

Woojin looked up at the sky, darkening with the setting sun.

'I don't have much time.'

Tonight was his chance.

He had to hurry.

* * *

[It is now midnight.]

[Monsters grow stronger.]

[Experience gained from monsters increases slightly.]

Even after nightfall, the brightly lit city remained lively, but the moment he stepped outside, the atmosphere turned desolate and eerie.

TAP...! TAP-TAP-TAP...!

As the midnight notifications rang out, Woojin began moving cautiously.

CLANG! CLANG-CLANG!!!

CRRRASH!!

Despite the late hour, the citadel was bustling with people hunting.

[“Snrrk... snrrrk...”]

The orcs' ragged breathing mingled with the clamor of weapons and magic, creating a spectacle unlike anything found while fighting goblins or gray wolves.

Battle, not hunting.

That was probably the best way to describe it.

'Good. I won't stand out in a crowd like this.'

Woojin pulled up the hood of the cloak he had bought in the city and headed deeper into the citadel.

Hunting parties crowded every corner, to the point that there were almost too few orcs to go around.

A moment's distraction could cost someone their prey, so nobody had any attention to spare for him.

'Those Genesis Corps guys, though... They're planning to throw all these people out. Even setting aside the ten great clans, the backlash is going to be huge.'

Given that their officers were coming here, they apparently operated on the central continent.

That would make them at least level 50.

They were certainly high-level players compared to those in the beginner area, but...

'Can they even force people out in the first place?'

Players couldn't kill other players in the beginner area.

Of course, there were dirty tricks that exploited that rule, like breaking people's arms and legs to stop them from hunting. But the administrator-call function existed precisely to prevent that sort of abuse.

'Well, that's their problem...'

What mattered now was finding Kahira.

According to the general store's owner, she was searching for the red-eyed orc.

A hidden monster whose spawn conditions were unknown.

'He said she was looking for the red-eyed orc to discover a new rift...'

Putting the clues together still led to only one conclusion.

A Hidden Spot.

'A dungeon hidden inside the citadel.'

There was a good chance Kahira would be there.

“Where should I start?”

Woojin took a map out of his pocket.

It was a map of the citadel he had bought at Parta's general store before setting out.

[Would you like to register Map: Orc Citadel?]

Maps existed for instanced dungeons, which limited the number of entrants, as well as for open dungeons like the Orc Citadel, where all players hunted together in the same place.

When he pressed [Accept], the map vanished, and a small hologram appeared over his field of vision.

[Map: Orc Citadel is now active.]

[It will automatically deactivate when you leave the area.]

“Oh...”

Woojin gave a quiet exclamation of wonder at the map that had appeared in one corner of his vision like a minimap.

When he shifted his gaze, the map moved to follow it. Spreading and pinching his fingers let him zoom in and out, revealing the citadel's details.

'The citadel is less a dungeon than a massive structure out in the field.'

And the places where a hidden area might exist in a building like that were...

'The citadel gate that won't open.'

Woojin began marking the citadel's unusual locations on his map, drawing on what he had found on the forums.

'The dead end enclosed by walls.'

And...

'The ruined pavilion on the citadel wall.'

He studied the map in silence.

'They say every attempt to reproduce the red-eyed orc sightings failed, but there's still information to be gleaned from those posts.'

'They said they ran into it while hunting or avoiding orcs...'

First, although hunting wasn't its spawn condition, it had appeared in places where orcs were present.

'And every red-eye sighting happened in the predawn hours.'

Second was the time.

It was only two pieces of information, but they were enough for Woojin to deduce where the Hidden Spot was.

'Orcs don't spawn at the gate that won't open or the dead end enclosed by walls.'

The posts about seeing the red-eyed orc while hunting meant that neither of those two places could be its spawn location.

'That leaves one place.'

The ruined pavilion on the citadel wall.

Woojin raised his head and looked at the pavilion atop the citadel wall, now reduced to a bare framework.

“There.”

The night was beginning to give way to the hours before dawn.