Chapter 52: Gearing for the Hunt

Is it because it’s exclusive for warriors?

Or is it just that the options are that good?

Compared to other hammers of a similar level, its physical attack power was definitely higher.

“How much is it?”

Kang Juho asked the man.

“Ah…”

Whether he hadn’t expected the price to come up so quickly or he was embarrassed to say it, the man trailed off, looking a bit flustered.

After a moment of thought, the man finally spoke.

“The material costs were quite high. Would 3500 gold be possible?”

At the man’s words, Kang Juho thought to himself.

‘As expected, User-made is cheaper.’

There was a hammer he’d had his eye on.

Of course, it wasn’t as good as the ‘Warrior’s Steel Hammer’ the man was selling.

Even so, the price was 6500 gold.

It’s definitely much better to buy from a User than to buy it from the NPC.

‘I wish the number of blacksmiths would increase quickly.’

Hoping that the number of Blacksmiths would grow soon, Kang Juho spoke up.

“Alright. 3500 gold!”

Kang Juho had originally planned to buy a 6500 gold hammer.

But now he could get a better hammer for 3000 gold less.

There was no reason not to make the deal.

Smiling, Kang Juho put 3500 gold into the trade window.

“Thank you!”

The man had been prepared for a bit of haggling.

He expressed his gratitude to Kang Juho, who accepted the deal without bargaining.

“No, thank you.”

The trade was completed, and Kang Juho immediately swapped out his hammer.

“Goodbye.”

“Yes, goodbye!”

After exchanging farewells with the man, Kang Juho went to Robe and sold the hammer he had been using until now.

“The difference is just too big…”

It was a shame he couldn’t even get half the price he had paid for the old hammer.

After selling the old hammer, Kang Juho left Robe’s Forge with a disappointed expression.

Now it was time to buy a helmet.

[You have entered the Blacksmith of Gelegan.]

Entering the Blacksmith of Gelegan, which specialized in helmets, Kang Juho stopped walking just as he had when he entered Robe’s Forge earlier.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound rang out from inside.

And there was Gelegan, dozing off in his chair.

“No way…”

Kang Juho turned his head to look into a corner of the forge.

There, a man was hard at work making something.

‘He came with him.’

The source of the sound was the friend of the man who had sold him the hammer.

The one who had sold the Toxic Iron Helm.

With the expectation that he might be able to get a good helmet just like the hammer he had just bought, Kang Juho approached the man.

“Hello!”

“Oh, you came right away. Long time no see!”

The man replied to Kang Juho’s greeting with a surprised expression.

It seemed he had already been contacted through the message system.

“I’m using the Toxic Iron Helm well. Do you have any good helmets in stock?”

This time, too, Kang Juho got straight to the point.

“Yes, I’ve been saving up the good ones instead of putting them on the shop. You’re a Blacksmith and a Warrior at 200, right?”

“Yes.”

“Just a moment, please.”

Hearing Kang Juho’s answer, the man started waving his hand in the air.

“How many does he have?”

He was clearly sorting through his inventory.

How many helmets had he made in all this time?

“Are there any particular options you want?”

Once the sorting was done, the man asked.

“Do you have any with resistance?”

Kang Juho replied to the man’s question.

“One moment…”

The man waved his hand in the air again.

“I’ll send you a trade.”

Soon, the man stopped waving and spoke.

A trade request came in, and when Kang Juho clicked accept, the trade window appeared.

Helmets began to appear in the trade window.

There were four helmets in total.

“These are the only ones with resistance.”

At the man’s words, Kang Juho immediately started checking the helmets’ stats.

As he checked, Kang Juho couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Physical, wind, water, fire…”

Not only did they have good defense, but each one had resistance ranging from 10% to 14%.

On top of that, they all gave at least +100 to Strength or Vitality.

After checking the helmets, Kang Juho asked the man.

“How much are you selling them for?”

Just because a User made it didn’t always mean it was cheaper than 400.

If it had good options, it could be much more expensive than something selling for 4400.

And the options on these helmets the man had put up were definitely valuable.

If he hadn’t gotten the hammer for cheap, he wouldn’t even dare consider these options.

“Honestly, the options are good… but there aren’t many Users who can afford it, so I was thinking of selling them a bit cheaper…”

Trailing off, the man watched Kang Juho’s reaction.

“How about 8000 gold?”

The price finally came out of the man’s mouth.

“That’s fine.”

It was cheaper than he expected, so Kang Juho accepted right away.

“I’ll take the Warrior’s Helmet.”

The Warrior’s Helmet was a helmet that increased both physical resistance and strength.

He didn’t need wind, water, or fire resistance right now.

As long as he had the Warrior’s Helmet, there was no need to buy any other helmet.

“Thank you for your purchase, both last time and this time.”

“No, thank you. I’ll use it well.”

After completing the deal, Kang Juho exchanged farewells with the man.

He immediately equipped the Warrior’s Helmet and sold the Helmet of Passion he had been wearing.

He kept the Toxic Iron Helm because the resistance it provided was different, but the Helmet of Passion, like the Warrior’s Helmet, raised ‘physical resistance.’

There was no need to keep it.

After leaving the forge, Kang Juho made his way toward the East Gate and sent a message to Kim Seokju.

-Kang Juho: Seokju, I’m done.

-Kim Seokju: Then I’ll head to the East Gate!

It was an awkward time to go hunting.

So Kang Juho and Kim Seokju decided to move to the Debaru Prairie and log off there.

-Kang Juho: Okay, see you soon.

After finishing the conversation with Kim Seokju, Kang Juho opened his character window.

Just by changing his hammer and helmet, his Strength had increased by 230.

And his physical resistance was now 30%.

If he received Kim Seokju’s buff on top of that?

His resistance would go even higher.

Now, the Orcs of the Debaru Prairie, their main attack was ‘physical.’

With 30% less damage coming in, he would be able to withstand them much more easily.

Thinking such pleasant thoughts, Kang Juho arrived at the East Gate and began waiting for Kim Seokju.

***

Not long after, Kim Seokju arrived.

Kang Juho and Kim Seokju immediately left the East Gate and started heading toward their destination, the Debaru Prairie.

“Can you accept a trade? I have something for you.”

As they were walking, Kim Seokju spoke up.

Then a trade request came in.

“Oh, don’t tell me it’s that?”

Kang Juho asked as he clicked accept.

It was Kim Seokju who had promised to make him a hero-grade accessory.

“Yeah, I finally got a good one. Hehe.”

Kim Seokju grinned as he replied, and Kang Juho looked at the trade window with an eager expression.

Soon, a bracelet appeared in the trade window, and Kang Juho immediately checked the item’s stats.

“Wow…”

A gasp of admiration escaped Kang Juho’s lips.

He really liked the options.

The magic defense was impressive, but the other two options were even more appealing.

First off, his Vitality would increase by 700.

With each point of Vitality giving 50 HP, that’s a whopping 35,000!

And his maximum carry weight would go up by 70,000.

But that wasn’t all.

“It even has defense penetration?”

Maybe not as rare as cooldown reduction, but ‘defense ignore’ was a very rare option.

And it wasn’t a chance-based effect, but a full 100% effect.

“Yeah, I was surprised when I saw it too.”

Kim Seokju replied with a broad grin.

“Guess I’ll have to grind hard at Debaru Prairie.”

He couldn’t equip it yet because his level was too low.

But that didn’t matter.

He only needed 50 more levels.

If he hunted Orcs at Debaru Prairie, he’d reach 250 in no time.

“By the way, hyung, how long are you going to keep hunting Orcs?”

Kim Seokju asked.

Kang Juho let out a quiet hum as he thought.

Originally, he had planned to hunt until level 225 and then move on to the next hunting ground.

But the Quest was making him reconsider.

The more you kill, the better the rewards.

The Quest was being recommended directly, so the rewards had to be significant.

The problem was, anyone could receive the Quest, and it meant a flood of people would gather.

“Let’s get there and see how things are.”

He figured he’d have to check out the situation at Debaru Prairie first.

If the hunting environment was decent, he’d stay until 225 and then move on, but if it wasn’t, it would be better to leave before hitting 225.

[You have entered Mile Lake.]

A message popped up, and upon seeing it, Kim Seokju spoke.

“Hyung, isn’t there a Quest here?”

“Yeah, there is.”

Kang Juho nodded at Kim Seokju’s question.

He had taken the Quest: Lizardman of Mile Lake.

“Are you going to clear it before we go?”

“No.”

Kang Juho shook his head.

He’d only taken the hunting Quest because it would be a waste to leave it, not because he intended to spend time on it.

“There’ll be some on the way, and some when we return. That should be enough.”

So he had taken an easy Quest from the start.

The battles they’d have while coming and going would be enough to complete it.

Chatting as they walked, Kang Juho and Kim Seokju continued on their way.

“Jeese…”

Yu Janghyuk, who had been monitoring them, muttered.

“Hmm, as expected, their final destination is the Debaru Prairie.”

Kang Juho and Kim Seokju were passing through Mile Lake and the Krypnut Wetlands, heading straight for the Debaru Prairie.

“I figured as much, since they’re not taking any difficult Quests.”

Yu Janghyuk, who had thought there might be something up since they had taken the Quest: Lizardman of Mile Lake and Quest: Giant Frog Hunt of Krypnut Wetlands, chuckled and stood up.

He stretched his back, then sat back down and started typing on his keyboard again.

And on the monitor, Kang Juho and Kim Seokju disappeared, replaced by countless Users.

“Wow, so many people at this hour…”

The place displayed on the monitor was the Debaru Prairie.

“The Quest must really be something. Even people just coming to watch.”

There were a lot of Users, but not all of them were hunting.

The Orcs of the Debaru Prairie were strong, and the Users were weak.

Unlike the Orcs, who were over level 250, the Users were nowhere near 250—most weren’t even 200.

The highest-leveled User was 165.

Unless they had really good gear, it took dozens of people just to take down a single group.

As a result, most Users were just watching, keeping their distance.

“I wonder what they’ll think when they see Kang Juho or Kim Seokju.”

Kang Juho and Kim Seokju, who would be arriving soon, could hunt a group of Orcs by themselves.

If the Users saw the two of them hunting alone, how would they react?