City of Crime, Audas City.
Commonly referred to as “the underworld of ASA,” it’s a place that, to the Outcasts, is as lofty as the sky.
It’s not yet come to light, so only those in the know are aware of its existence, but it’s a place where the people of the underworld have set their own rules and established a hierarchy to maintain order, so that even they cannot run wild as they please.
In Audas City, which holds such authority, the Assassin’s Bow, used as proof of identity, was far more than just a decent “weapon” for beginners.
To the Outcasts, it served as a kind of badge of office.
In fact, when Levatain saw the Assassin’s Bow, his face turned utterly pale.
‘It was just luck that I found out your nickname and class, that’s all.’
The so-called “true education” videos uploaded to I-tube to gain popularity.
Among those videos, the ones where notorious outlaws were given a “true education” were especially popular.
Levatain, of course, was one of the protagonists of those videos.
The video where Levatain, once infamous as the “Rookie Outlaw,” was given a true education, drew huge attention from people who held grudges against him, and since the creator was also quite well-known, the video went viral, reaching ten million views in record time.
I wasn’t really into those kinds of videos, so I only skimmed through them, which is why I was unsure if it was really him when I first started tailing Levatain.
But as we fought, I became certain by the skills he used.
And this only served to fuel his wild delusions even more.
‘He’s lost even his fighting spirit. Just how scared is he?’
Levatain, his face ashen, seemed lost in a whirlwind of thoughts, his pupils darting back and forth.
Soon, Levatain cautiously opened his mouth.
“Are you… by any chance, from Audas City?”
Knowing that the more suspicious and thoughtful a person is, the harder it is for them to escape once they’ve fallen into a pit, I didn’t bother to emphasize or deny it—I just nodded along.
“Yeah, you really should’ve known your limits. You went way overboard.”
Just as Dahav had predicted, Levatain was now lost in his own spiral of delusions.
‘If he’s from Audas City, then only people over level 50 can join, so why is he dressed like that? Could he be lying? But if he’s lying, how could he know everything about me?’
In truth, none of that mattered anymore.
He’s not just an ordinary newbie—he’s a predator among predators.
All the previous fights had just been him toying with me for fun.
I completely picked the wrong choice due to a miscalculation.
If I wanted to make up for my past mistakes, I needed to immediately bow my head and beg for forgiveness.
“I-I’m sorry! You acted so well that I couldn’t recognize you! If I die now, my Chaos point is so high, I won’t be able to log in for over a week! I’ll live as quietly as a mouse from now on. Please, please, just spare me!”
As everything went according to—no, even better than—plan, Dahav could barely hold back his laughter.
‘Perfect. He’s totally convinced I’m from Audas City.’
Now that he’s trembling under the weight of Audas City’s reputation, he won’t dare to seek revenge or hire assassins to come after me.
In other words, I could kill him without any consequences.
Suppressing his pounding heart, Dahav tried to smile as villainously as possible.
“Let me ask you a question. What did you do to those who begged you to spare them?”
Levatain’s eyes went wide with shock—he tried to scramble to his feet and run, but, off-balance as he was, he couldn’t move faster than Dahav.
Pssst-! Pew-!
“Take this.”
Dahav’s arrows, flying as fast as bullets, pierced Levatain’s heart.
A perfect vital strike, thanks to the Assassin’s Bow’s special option.
And with his Critical Attack stat already reduced by +10, Levatain couldn’t even finish his last words before he crumbled into dust.
“Now it’s time for the sweet rewards.”
Before my eyes, no less than four pouches had appeared—a true feast.
Normally, only one Victory Pouch would drop, but if a player with a high Chaos points like Levatain died, the story changed.
The Chaos points increases with each crime, and the higher it is, the more pouches you drop upon defeat.
In other words, the probability of obtaining the Ring of the Eastern Wasteland King shot up dramatically.
“Well, let’s see what I got.”
Looking at the pouches lined up in a row, I couldn’t help but start humming.
“Da~ ra ra ran~ da ra ran~ da ra ran~ da~ kong jjak jjak~ kong jjakjjak! Now, let’s see what we’ve got!”
With bold hands, I grabbed one of the holographic pouches, and a message window popped up at the same time.
Ping=!
[You have obtained a Supply Turret from the Victory Pouch!]
[Supply Turret]
- Grade: Magic
- Type: Lower
….
“Damn.”
Message windows popped up in a row, but there was no need to check them all, so I pushed them aside.
“Still, I’ve got three left! I’m bound to get something good!”
Even though the odds had dropped a bit and I was anxious, I tried to stay positive, fearing that showing it would jinx my luck.
“Let’s get serious now.”
Putting on a solemn face, Dahav pointed with his index finger and chanted in a low voice.
“Which one will you choose, Dr. Chukchuk? Guess! Now! Please!”
I reached for the pouch where my finger stopped.
“I’ll trust Dr. Chukchuk!”
Ping!
[You have obtained a Pure Iron Longsword from the Victory Pouch.]
[Pure Iron Longsword (Rare)]
- Grade: Rare
- Type: Lower
- Required Level: 10 and above
- The material is excellent, but the blacksmith’s skill is a bit lacking.
Thanks to the superior material, its sharpness is guaranteed.
- Attack Power: 40~55
- Stat Option: Strength +10 / Vitality +10
“Oh! Not bad at all!”
It was a bit disappointing that it was lower grade and had no special options, but as a rare grade item with high attack power, it could easily fetch around 200,000 won at the exchange.
“I could even use this right away.”
I already had a dagger, so I wondered if I really needed a longsword, but you can never have too many weapons.
Dahav gripped the Pure Iron Longsword and swung it through the air.
“The weight and balance are good. I’ll keep this for now.”
At this level, it would make a perfectly good backup weapon for close combat.
But this alone wasn’t enough reward for all the effort I’d put into tailing Levatain and acting out a role I never asked for.
“Dr. Chukchuk, you’ve given me something good, but this isn’t what I’m looking for.”
Once again putting on a solemn face, I pointed with my finger.
“One more time, please, Dr. Chukchuk…”
Without hesitation, I reached for the pouch where my finger stopped.
Ping!
[You have obtained a Beginner’s Wooden…]
Just seeing part of the name was enough.
I didn’t need to look, nor did I want to, so I pushed it aside.
“So cold. A dagger flies into my chest and sticks… No, this isn’t the time for that.”
Now I had only one chance left.
“At this point, I have no choice but to use my secret method for drawing loot…”
There was a common superstition that if you listened to a certain song or did a certain action while drawing loot, you’d get something good.
Even people who didn’t believe in that sort of thing usually found themselves clinging to it in desperate times.
Dahav was no exception.
Instead of using my hand, I picked the pouch with my forehead—a “headbutt” pick.
“I believe!”
Thunk—!
My forehead passed through the holographic pouch and hit the ground, sending a sharp pain through my head, but the message window in front of me was enough to make me forget all about it.
Ping!
[You have obtained the Ring of the Eastern Wasteland King from the Victory Pouch.]
[Ring of the Eastern Wasteland King]
- Grade: Unique
- Type: Lower
- Required Level: 10 and above
- This is the ring of Eren Port’s Albino.
This ring, cherished by Albino, the ruler of the east and the leader of the Goblins, is an accessory that, when paired with the Ring of the Frozen Earth Tyrant, gives a set item effect.
- Stat Option: Strength +5 / Agility +5
- Special Option: When equipped together with the Ring of the Frozen Earth Tyrant, Mental Power +10 / Special Leadership +10
“This isn’t a dream… right?”
Just in case, I pinched my cheek, but it hurt just as much as my forehead.
“ASA really is a god!”
The stat boosts were impressive, but the real prize was the “Set Option.”
With Leadership increased by 10, I could sweep through the next hunting ground with ease, maybe even clear it out completely.
My heart pounded wildly in the paradise of loot I’d stumbled into.
“Let’s go get some sweet rewards!”
Dahav quickened his pace.
***
Noise, stench, nightlife, pollution.
No one—man, woman, young, or old—could avoid the pollution known as ASA in their daily lives.
The pursuit of 99% realism and the resulting nickname, “second life,” was only possible because even these drawbacks were turned into content.
But sometimes, it did seem a little excessive.
Shinaga.
This was the name of the next level-10 hunting ground Dahav was heading for—a filthy city with a stench so bad it was infamous.
Compared to this, the smell of fertilizer in the fields was nothing; some even said it reeked like rotting corpses all day long.
Fortunately, the lord of Shinaga cared deeply for the people, so he’d commissioned the Mage Tower to make a deodorizer for specific smells, making the stench within the city at least bearable.
However, thanks to a man named Shazam (NPC), even getting into Shinaga was a challenge.
“Ugh, the smell is so strong! Please just let us in!”
“Damn it! Why’d they have to make it so realistic!”
“I was only thirty seconds late—this is way too harsh!”
Dozens of users were practically screaming, but Shazam, the captain of the guards atop the city wall, didn’t so much as blink.
“The entry restriction time is clearly posted as 10 o’clock! If you can’t keep even a basic promise like that, how can I trust outsiders like you to follow our city’s laws? As long as Shazam is watching, I will never allow innocent citizens to be exposed to crime in the dark of night! Give up on entering the city!”
It looked like he was sticking to principles, but in reality, guards were sneaking out the side gate to check IDs and let people in.
One user shouted out after seeing this.
“What’s up with those people? Isn’t this discrimination?”
Shazam calmly replied,
“Those outsiders are from a Guild that pays monthly tribute for maintaining the city’s security. If you’re willing to pay tribute too, I’ll let you in.”
In short, you had to be in at least a top 100 Guild.
Top 100 Guilds paid tribute to each village to support rookie training and maintain security.
Naturally, the treatment was different, and since they were receiving tribute, they couldn’t treat everyone the same.
This was why so many users struggled to join a top 100 Guild.
“You don’t know Shazam’s personality? There’s no point arguing with him. Let’s just call it a day and log out, or try again later.”
“Yeah, I heard there was a user who got locked in the underground prison for three days after arguing with him. Nothing we can do.”
Even as they complained and left, Dahav was among them.
“I came as quickly as I could, but still missed the entry time.”
I wanted to rent a workshop in the city and upgrade my gear, maybe test out the new stats, but now I couldn’t.
“Too bad, but it can’t be helped.”
Like I said, arguing with Shazam would only get me thrown in jail.
I was about to leave quietly without causing a fuss.
“Hey, you there! Are you the one sent by Alkas?”
At Shazam’s call, all the users who had been shuffling away turned to look.
Naturally, Dahav’s gaze also turned to Shazam.
But aside from me, everyone else around was looking at Dahav.
“Are you talking to me?”
Shazam nodded.
“Yes, I’m talking to you.”
Thanks to the effect of “Alkas’s Recommendation Letter” in my inventory, Shazam was pointing at me.
Dahav answered confidently.
“Yes, that’s me. Lord Alkas said Captain Shazam was looking for someone to help with the city’s problem, so I’ve come.”
Shazam nodded, then gestured to the guards on the wall.
A side gate opened, and several guards rushed out.
“This way, please.”
Dahav wasn’t stupid enough to turn down such an opportunity.
“Ha ha… Then, I’ll gladly accept.”
The eyes of those watching Dahav enter the city with the guards widened in shock.
“What the—? They let in a nobody with no Guild, even though entry time is over?”
“Alkas? Was there ever an Alkas NPC?”
Almost nobody started in Eren Port, and even if they did, those who could use the side gate were always rookies from major Guilds—none of the users who weren’t allowed in had ever heard the name Alkas.
In the end, they came to a completely wrong conclusion.
“Maybe that guy’s the Super Rookie secretly raised by the Heaven Guild?”
“Yeah, he must be hiding his Guild mark so he doesn’t get targeted.”
The misunderstanding grew, spread, and soon became a rumor.