Chapter 45 - The Plot Thickens

Even after examining the Three Forces Sword Art, now complete with the addition of Mount Tai Bears Down, Dong Bongsu kept the Skills window open and looked through it more carefully. He had expected to gain some extraordinary Skill upon reaching level 10, but the changes here, too, were less impressive than he had hoped.

In the end, he closed the Skills window.

Frankly, the changes so far were pitiful rewards for reaching level 10. What finally lived up to his expectations was, surprisingly, the next window—one he had expected nothing from at all.

The Quest window.

Normally, the brief electronic tone should have been followed by a “Critical Error” message window clamoring noisily for attention.

Strangely, no error window appeared this time. The sole reason the “Critical Error” window appeared was that the NPCs required for the Quests did not exist in this New Murim Online.

'Why isn't the error window appearing?'

Dong Bongsu still could not tell exactly what had happened. All he could see in the translucent Quest window were the various Quests, each marked with a large X.

The missing Quest NPCs could hardly have dropped out of the sky. If they had, surely all those Quests would have become available to complete at once. The cause clearly lay elsewhere.

He considered several possibilities for a moment, but only one seemed plausible. To check it, he quickly dragged down the long scroll bar beside the Quests.

The procession of X marks continued. Still, he kept scrolling down. At last, the scroll bar reached the bottom, bringing the final Quest into view.

Among the countless unfinished Quests, a single Quest without an X had appeared at the very bottom of the window.

[1st Class Advancement Quest: Vagabond]

Tester-exclusive class.

Quest Completion Requirement: Kill 100 enemies of Lv. 10 or higher.

Current Quest Progress (Completed/Required): 0 / 100

In MURIM ONLINE, players normally had three first-tier classes to choose from.

Hero, Demonic Practitioner, and Unorthodox Practitioner.

Their choice naturally determined which faction they would join in the Orthodox–Unorthodox–Demonic War, a mass battle similar in concept to siege warfare in other games. In short, these first-tier classes served the same function as races in other games.

In fact, however, the MURIM ONLINE system contained one additional class.

Vagabond.

Originally, Vagabond had been one of the first-tier classes created during development. It was intended for players whose inclinations left them unable to choose a faction even after reaching level 10. That was the purpose of the Vagabond class.

But by the time development was complete and MURIM ONLINE was ready for its official release, the system had been fully structured around the conflict between the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions. The Vagabond, which belonged to none of them, was discarded when the game launched. This reflected the CEO's conviction that an unaffiliated class had no place in the game's theme.

The developers, however, were reluctant to scrap a perfectly good class they had already finished making. Instead, they left Vagabond “sealed” within the system for the testers' interest and enjoyment.

After all, faction allegiance meant nothing to testers. As long as they could test more efficiently, that was enough. The developers had also calculated that, should they expand the game later, it would be easy to reuse the already thoroughly tested Vagabond class.

And so, after the game opened to the public, that seal was lifted exclusively for testers.

'Class advancement, huh.'

Dong Bongsu murmured under his breath.

Unfamiliar with games as he was, the term “class advancement” felt utterly foreign to him. What Skills would he gain? How would his stats be affected? He knew none of that in advance.

There was, however, one certainty.

Advancing his class would make him stronger than he was now, one way or another. That much was certain.

The problem was that he had to eliminate a full hundred enemies of Lv. 10 or higher.

'About as strong as the men I killed yesterday...?'

Dong Bongsu figured a level 10 opponent would be roughly on par with the ordinary Cheonpung Unit members he had fought yesterday. Their squad leader, Gosangong, had probably been around level 15 or 16. It was a rough guess, but it ought to be close.

After killing only a few of the men aboard the ship, he had already gone from level 7 to nearly level 8. Then, killing Gosangong had brought him straight to level 10.

His reasoning rested entirely on yesterday's tremendous experience gains and Level Ups. And he was right. The New Murim Online system had recognized the Cheonpung Unit members he encountered yesterday as levels 9–11, and Gosangong as a level 16 “mob.”

'A hundred martial artists at the same level as those men yesterday... This won't be easy.'

In the actual MURIM ONLINE, this class advancement Quest would have been quite easy. But this was New Murim Online, not MURIM ONLINE. It was a real world, not virtual reality. He did not merely have to kill a hundred mobs. He had to kill a hundred people—martial artists.

As he suspected, it would be far from easy. Yet it was something he had to accomplish.

Grow stronger. Gain an advantage in survival and hunting. Survive longer and keep hunting, and grow stronger still. An endless loop, as regular as a formula. To keep that loop going, he absolutely had to do this.

With the closing of the Quest window, Dong Bongsu finished checking all the changes brought about by reaching level 10.

It happened just as the familiar electronic tone of the closing window reached his ears.

A thunderous noise rang out in the distance. It penetrated even the rather thick door of his room in the East Heaven Guest Hall with perfect clarity. Though far away, it was clearly an exceptionally loud sound. As for where it had come from...

'The place from yesterday!'

Judging by the direction of the sound, whatever was happening was at the King's Hall.

'It's begun.'

Dong Bongsu realized that the Namgung Clan had taken the bait he had laid yesterday.

A hubbub of voices quickly filled the air outside. The guests staying in the East Heaven Guest Hall had presumably rushed out upon hearing the blast.

Now he needed to find out just how firmly the Namgung Clan had taken the bait. His warning seemed to have worked, but the danger Do Heo-ok would bring was not yet entirely over.

If the Namgung Clan proved unexpectedly weak, or Do Heo-ok's side unexpectedly strong, the clan could still be overwhelmed despite the warning he had worked so hard to deliver. Their response might also prove surprisingly inadequate. That, too, could lead to the same result.

If so, then to survive...

'I'll have to come up with another approach.'

Dong Bongsu quickly straightened his clothes, opened the door, and stepped outside.

Early that morning, Do Heo-ok had come out into the temporary guest reception area and heard about the Three Sacred Lights from the clan's lower-ranking warriors, who were already there. He had immediately left and gone in person to the southern water gate where the sailing ship lay. Nothing of the sort had been planned in the First Stratagem, so he had come to investigate. But members of the Cheonroe Squad and Cheonpung Unit were guarding the ship so closely that he could learn nothing.

If the Three Sacred Lights truly were some blessing from heaven, there was no reason to conceal the ship. No, why would they need to guard it so tightly in the first place? Especially against him, the very recipient of that blessing?

Something had gone wrong. Sensing as much, Do Heo-ok was hurrying back to the King's Hall. He intended to get there quickly and warn the four Shadows to get away.

He believed the Three Sacred Lights were the result of a mistake on their part. The four Shadows must have made some mistake while leaving that ship yesterday, and he wondered whether the Three Sacred Lights had been the consequence.

He was using his movement technique and had just reached the front of the East Heaven Guest Hall when someone spoke.

“Hold a moment. Where are you going in such a hurry?”

A strapping man in his thirties with refined features hastily stepped into Do Heo-ok's path. Behind him followed some thirty sturdy warriors in blue clothes, with the word “Boundless” embroidered prominently across their chests. They were Namgung In and the Muae Sword Unit.

'Why is the Muae Sword Unit here at this hour?'

Of course, Do Heo-ok knew perfectly well that they were Namgung In, the Muae Sword Unit's leader, and his men. The question was why the entire group was blocking his path so early in the morning.

'Could they be after me?!'

For a moment, he thought they had come to arrest him. It was neither instinct nor prediction. He had simply connected their presence with the Three Sacred Lights and realized the plan had gone awry. Perhaps they had even discovered that the Four Shadows were hiding in his room.

“I heard that lights blessing my marriage to Hye had appeared in this direction. I went to see for myself and was on my way back to the guest reception area.”

Even so, Do Heo-ok answered Namgung In calmly. Nothing was certain yet. There was no need to volunteer, “I'm a spy.”

Watching him, Namgung In spoke with an icy expression.

“I see. And what did you find? Were they truly a sign of blessing?”

At those words, the easy smile vanished from Do Heo-ok's face. Namgung In's cold expression and chilly tone left no room for doubt. At last, Do Heo-ok sensed that everything had gone completely wrong.

The expression with which Do Heo-ok had projected fairness and integrity changed in an instant. His warmly curved eyes and brows, and the corners of his mouth that had always lifted in a smile, all flattened into straight lines.

To Namgung In and the others, he looked utterly cold and ruthless.