Chapter 32: The Hammer, the Hunt, and the Hidden Quest

Having arrived in Boredos, Kang Juho and Kim Seokju headed to City Hall to complete their hunting quest.

It was past 10 PM—perhaps that’s why the front gate was locked tight, guarded by knights and soldiers.

“What brings you here?” one of the knights asked.

Not everything in the game ran 24/7, but hunting and delivery quests usually did.

After answering the knight’s question, they were allowed in.

Once inside, they immediately turned in the quest.

[You have completed the quest: ‘Hunt the Lizardmen.’]

[You have received 7 Hunting Reward Boxes.]

“Can I see the quest list for the Hordebell Plains?”

“Please wait a moment.”

[A new quest has been generated: ‘Hunt the Orcs.’]

After completing the Lizardmen quest, Juho received the next hunt for the Hordebell Plains.

While waiting for Seokju at the entrance, Juho inspected the reward boxes.

<Hunting Reward Box [Common]> [Non-tradable]

[Open to receive rewards for completed hunts.]

It was no different from delivery reward boxes—common grade again.

[You have received 7 Low-grade Mana Potions.]

[You have received 295 gold.]

The items weren’t anything special.

After opening all the boxes, Seokju arrived and they exited City Hall.

“Alright, see you tomorrow! I’ll process the byproducts and hand them over then.”

“Yup! We meet at 7:30, right?”

“Yeah.”

“See you!”

With that, the two parted ways to do their own maintenance.

***

‘There was a general store at the entrance to the Crafting District, right?’

Boredos was a massive city.

There weren’t just one or two general stores—there were several even within the Crafting District.

Juho headed there immediately.

Most shops were closed due to the late hour, but a few 24-hour general stores were still open.

Juho chose the largest one—Garten’s General Store.

It was quiet inside due to the late hour and few players around.

Juho went straight to the counter.

“Looking for something?”

The shopkeeper, Garten, asked.

“I’m here to sell some byproducts.”

A transaction window opened. Juho sold all the Lizardmen materials.

‘Even without Seokju’s share… 8,000 gold!’

The total came to 9,800 gold, of which 2,800 gold belonged to Seokju.

That left Juho with around 7,500 gold to spend.

‘That should be enough.’

Even a special-grade hammer wouldn’t cost more than that.

Juho smiled in satisfaction—but then, Garten spoke up again.

“Excuse me…”

Juho turned around.

“…?!”

Garten was staring at him, almost like he was gauging something.

“Are you by any chance… a hunter? If you are, I have a request. No, a quest.”

Juho was surprised—quests didn’t just come from City Hall.

They could be triggered by NPCs too.

“What kind of request…?”

“I need orc tendons. Could you bring me some? I’ll pay 20% above market rate!”

<Garten’s Request>

Demand for orc tendons is rising, and supply can’t keep up.

All general stores—not just Garten’s—are running out.

Garten sees a business opportunity and wants to scale up his shop.

He believes you, who brought in a mass of Lizardmen parts, can do it.

Bring him a large supply of orc tendons.

▸ Orc Tendons: 0 / 150

▸ Time limit: 4 days 12 hours

▸ Reward: ???

▸ Sell price: 120% market rate starting from 150 pieces

Juho looked over the quest and nodded.

‘Perfect.’

He was planning to hunt orcs in the Hordebell Plains anyway.

[You have accepted the quest: ‘Garten’s Request.’]

“Thank you so much!”

After receiving Garten’s gratitude, Juho left the shop.

Now it was time to buy a new hammer.

He headed to the blacksmith district.

Soon, he arrived at a forge that specialized in hammers, swords, and spears.

Browsing the hammer section, Juho frowned.

‘Why are there so many Warrior-only hammers?’

Many good hammers had a “Warrior” class restriction.

If the price and stats looked good, he’d hit that restriction.

‘I need to hit level 200 fast.’

At level 200, he could choose a subclass.

Juho was planning to become a Guardian Warrior, which would let him use Warrior-only equipment.

Still, a few usable hammers started to appear.

After checking all the options, Juho narrowed it down to three:

Flame Hammer [Special]

• Req: Lv. 75 / STR 100 / HP 200
• ATK: 430
• Bonus: +25 STR
• 10% chance to inflict Burn for 2 mins (Lv. 1–120)

Hammer of Despair [Special]

• Req: Lv. 80 / STR 150 / HP 150
• ATK: 550
• 20% chance to inflict Weakened for 3 mins (Lv. 1–130)

Reinforced Iron Hammer [Special]

• Req: Lv. 90 / STR 100 / HP 300
• ATK: 800
• No bonus effects, just raw power

‘Highest attack is best, right?’

Though lacking special effects, the Reinforced Iron Hammer had overwhelming damage.

‘Yeah, this is it.’

Juho decided.

“That’ll be 3,200 gold.”

“Here.”

He sold his old hammer—Raging Blacksmith’s Iron Hammer—for a mere 300 gold.

‘What a gap…’

The price difference stung, but it was expected.

Next: helmet shopping.

He had around 4,300 gold left after accounting for Seokju’s share and basic supplies.

‘Accessories are inefficient. Helmet it is.’

His current helmet—Toxic Iron Helm—was a special-grade item for level 30.

It had good stats, but he could do better now.

He headed to a helmet-focused forge.

[You have entered Gerregan’s Forge.]

There were tons of helmets.

Juho sighed and checked the time.

‘Guess I’m staying up late.’

Originally, he’d planned to log out before midnight.

After examining all the helmets, one stood out clearly:

Helmet of Passion [Special]

• Req: Lv. 90 / HP 10,000
• DEF: 450
• +20 STR
• +5% Physical Resistance

It surpassed his old helm in every way, except for Poison Resistance, which the new one lacked.

But orcs didn’t use poison—so the old helm’s resistance was useless for now.

“That’ll be 3,000 gold.”

“Here.”

He bought the helmet but didn’t sell the old one.

Poison resistance might be useful later.

***

All that was left was food, which he could buy en route to tomorrow’s meetup.

Juho equipped the helmet and checked his stats:

Character Name: Kang Ju-ho

• Nation: Paraville Kingdom
• Class: Battle Blacksmith
• Level: 90
• EXP: 1%
• HP: 24,000
• MP: 1,200
• Fullness: 85%
• STR: 191 (+120)
• AGI: 63 (+50)
• VIT: 480 (+85)
• WIS: 60 (+50)

‘Nice.’

He smiled silently, satisfied with his growth, then logged out.

***

Outside the capsule, Juho checked on his guildmates via his PC.

“Smooth sailing.”

Everyone was leveling steadily.

If this pace continued, the guild would be formed right on schedule.

He browsed the official forums, checking the latest posts in the popular section.