Chapter 20: The Legacy of the Flame Emperor

The Dream World community is filled with various tip posts.

Since the official game company provides nothing, it is up to the users to share their knowledge among themselves.

-TIP.

Do not pick up and eat just anything in the mountains.

There is a 90% chance or higher that you will get food poisoning.

-13 ways to break NPC prejudices (Warning: Might not be effective).

-Subjective opinions on skill efficiency by attribute.

However, one has to filter through these, as a significant number of them are fake.

Some people were reluctant to share their knowledge, while others hated seeing others succeed.

Dream World must be played through a dedicated connector, allowing one to move within another world as if dreaming.

Consequently, inside the game, only experience is possible; recording videos is impossible.

-Please update the recording function!

-No, why are they blocking this…

How long do I have to explain things with words and drawings…!

Countless users begged for functional support, but the game company and the developer, Hunter, did not even blink an eye.

They only created and managed the Dream World; they did not listen to any other opinions.

Regardless, Lee Tae-sung read through those tip posts whenever he had time.

Though many were fakes, ‘real’ ones would appear if one sifted through the rough.

-I joined as a lord’s mercenary this time and beat up some bandits, and I found the treasure those guys had hidden.

└For real? But don’t the NPCs collect all of that?

No, no, no.

They took everything that was visible, but it seems the boss had something hidden.

But the boss was killed in one strike by a knight.

Everyone else just withdrew, but I stayed behind just in case and found an item while searching around.

└What did you get?

Don’t be surprised. It’s a Unique-grade Longsword.

After this, the replies went wild.

-Stop lying.

-A bandit hiding a famous sword?

LOL, that was a bit funny.

-If you’re going to write a novel, write it moderately.

It is unknown whether that post was the truth or not.

It didn’t matter, either.

Since screenshots couldn’t be taken, it was merely his own claim, and anyone could lie as much as they wanted.

The point was this.

‘There might be treasure hidden in a bandit hideout!’

And ‘Hidden Detect’ was a very appropriate skill for finding such hidden treasures!

Lee Tae-sung’s eyes sparkled.

He had been activating Hidden Detect for a while now.

Golden glimmers appeared in a corner of his vision.

It meant that something was hidden there, or there was a suspicious clue.

Of course, it didn’t mean he could find every single clue.

Only clues that could be discovered based on the skill’s limits and his current proficiency level were displayed.

Lee Tae-sung calmly took down the bandits while inspecting the golden areas.

Most were useless items, but among them, there were some meaningful ones.

For instance, a luxurious footprint that didn’t seem to belong to a bandit.

Or small footprints that led toward a dead-end cliff.

When he synthesized those clues, he deduced that there was something on the cliff at the back of the hideout.

‘Hehe. Shall I see what treasure the bandit boss has hidden?’

Lee Tae-sung laughed.

It wasn’t a dud; there was definitely something there.

Of course, he didn’t expect much.

At best, how great could the treasure be that guys living in the mountains would hide?

It would probably just be the emergency funds the boss had tucked away secretly.

Glancing over, he saw the bandits who appeared to be officers falling at the hands of Oh Choong.

‘It should be fine for just one person like me to slip away now.’

To begin with, the hideout’s strength wasn’t great.

It was at a level where one first-class member and about ten second-class members could have easily conquered it.

The Biryong Hall had probably been considerate.

Since this was the first mission Lee Tae-sung had been assigned since becoming a first-class member.

“Senior Oh Choong. I will go check if anyone has escaped to the surrounding area.”

“You’re going yourself? I could send a second-class member.”

“No. It isn’t anything difficult.”

“Taking the initiative, I see. All right. Go ahead.”

Oh Choong was pleased to see Lee Tae-sung taking the initiative despite his increased rank and gave his permission.

Having received approval, Lee Tae-sung moved his steps carefully.

The cliff was sheer and looked impossible to climb even with lightfoot arts.

Such cliffs repeated endlessly.

The mountain’s name, Mount Byeokyeong, originated from the fact that there were so many cliff shadows.

Between those cliff shadows, there was a small cave entrance, so tiny it was hard to notice even with careful observation.

It was to the point where he would never have noticed it if he hadn’t gone there knowing via Hidden Detect.

‘How is there a cave in a place like that?’

It was absurd, but it worked out well.

Lee Tae-sung, feeling that no one was paying him any mind, unfolded the Dragon Shadow Wind Step and leaped up by stepping on the crevices of the cliff.

Since the cave wasn’t very high, a few leaps were enough to reach it.

He had to duck down a lot to squeeze his body inside, but conversely, the interior was quite spacious.

As he walked a few steps in…

“……”

“…I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Lee Tae-sung’s jaw dropped.

Inside the cave was the leader of the Crimson Brotherhood.

The man Biryong Hall was currently searching for so desperately.

Baek Wun-ho was there!

“W-Why are you here…”

“You come looking for my safe house and ask why I am here?”

“……”

Lee Tae-sung felt like his world was turning dark.

To think he had walked into the tiger’s den on his own feet.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Escaping was impossible.

He had caught a glimpse of the opponent’s lightfoot skill earlier.

The moment he turned his back, he would surely be struck dead.

Of course, he would die even if he stood and fought…

‘Please, I hope I get lucky……’

Dying was a foregone conclusion; what remained was skill deletion.

He had learned a few third-rate skills as insurance.

He could only pray to the heavens that these would be deleted instead of the main skills he was currently using.

‘I should have learned a few more third-rate skills..!’

If he hadn’t skimped on contribution points and learned as many as possible, the probability game would have been much more manageable.

While Lee Tae-sung’s head spun with such thoughts, Baek Wun-ho surprisingly did not attack him.

He stared at him and then gestured inside with a tilt of his chin.

“Follow me in.”

“?”

Lee Tae-sung was flustered.

He wasn’t killing him immediately?

What was it?

Was he planning to drag him inside to torture him before killing him?

‘Should I just run away like this?’

A tempting thought occurred, but he shook his head.

Even so, it was impossible.

If Baek Wun-ho had intended to kill him, he would have died more than ten times already.

Eventually, Lee Tae-sung moved deep into the cave, following him.

***

-Step, step

-Step, step

“……”

“……”

As Lee Tae-sung and Baek Wun-ho walked, silence flowed within the cave, and only the sound of footsteps could be heard.

Baek Wun-ho, who was walking ahead, glanced back at Lee Tae-sung and smiled slightly.

‘Interesting, interesting. It seems there really is such a thing as fate.’

Baek Wun-ho, the eldest and the leader of the Crimson Brotherhood.

Until just now, he had been meditating with his eyes closed here, in his hideout.

In fact, it was a dangerous thing to do.

Even if it was a hideout, wasn’t this Mount Byeokyeong, right in front of Ellen?

Since Biryong Hall had been poking around everywhere to find him, it wouldn’t be strange if he were discovered at any moment.

There was one reason why he had to leave immediately but couldn’t.

‘Those eyes of his back then. That was definitely… the effect of the Solar Astral Power.’

The effects of the Solar Astral Power that he had seen in a book.

It said that when one operated the energy, the pupils would be tinted with a faint vermillion light.

It wasn’t a simple vermillion, but a mysterious light like that of a sunset.

He knew what it meant as soon as he saw Lee Tae-sung’s eyes.

Even though it was his first time seeing it in person, it was to the extent that he noticed it immediately.

Because that kept bothering a corner of his mind, he hadn’t been able to leave Mount Byeokyeong.

He wanted to leave after meeting him one more time, but to think he would see him like this.

“Lee Tae-sung. Is that right?”

“!”

Baek Wun-ho spoke suddenly.

Lee Tae-sung let out a deep sigh inwardly.

‘Damn it.’

For such a powerful NPC to remember his name while holding a grudge.

It was a catastrophe.

Several posts he had seen in the community came to mind.

-I spoke informally to an elder of a small sect and a kill order was issued.

What should I do?

└????

└Are you an idiot?

Did you just think of Dream World as a regular RPG?

LOL.

└There is no answer for that.

Either go to another city where that sect has no influence, or delete your character and remake it.

└Good luck.

Such things were more common than one would think.

Unlike now, when many things about Dream World were known, two years ago, there were many more users who ignored NPCs and acted as they pleased.

They were targeted by NPCs who were like established local powers, and the power of resurrection meant nothing before them.

What could one do when they came to kill you every time you revived?

In the end, there was no choice but to delete the character and raise it again.

Unless one was rich enough to make NPCs grovel, one always had to be careful.

“Sit.”

Upon entering the deepest part of the cave, Baek Wun-ho sat on a chair carved out of stone and pointed to the opposite side.

Lee Tae-sung followed obediently.

Thinking he might as well satisfy his curiosity since he was going to die anyway, he opened his mouth.

“How did you know my name?”

“You are famous in Biryong Hall. They say you are a talent who grew to the rank of a first-class member in a short period of time.”

“No, what I mean is…”

“Why did I bother to look into you? That is because you have learned the Solar Astral Power.”

“?”

It wasn’t because he had hit him with a poisoned dagger or because he had played a part in the downfall of the Crimson Brotherhood?

Baek Wun-ho smirked as he noticed Lee Tae-sung’s doubt.

“I know that the dagger I was hit with back then was just me being unlucky. And the Crimson Brotherhood was something my stupid younger brothers created because they wanted to play at being a power; I was against it.”

“Uh…”

“Let me ask you once more. Is it true that you learned the Solar Astral Power?”

Baek Wun-ho stared at him piercingly.

Lee Tae-sung nodded.

“Yes.”

“Hah…!”

He muttered as if lamenting.

“It wouldn’t show up no matter how much I searched for it. To think it would flow into an entirely unexpected person in a strange place…”

“……”

“You. Do you know what kind of hybrid that is?”

“…I only know that it is something good.”

Solar Astral Power.

It was a Unique-grade 5th-rank hybrid.

In terms of martial arts, it was at the lower tier of the Peak level.

However, since it was Unique, it wouldn’t be lower tier, but probably middle tier.

He thought it was that kind of mana operation method.

However, Baek Wun-ho shook his head.

“No. That is the introductory hybrid left behind by the Flame Emperor.”

“The Flame Emperor?”

“You don’t know?”

“I’ve heard of him… Ah, I remember now.”

He remembered it was from when he had heard basic explanations about martial arts and skills from Oh Choong before.

Usually, a person who delved deeply into either martial arts or magic reached a high stage, but there were exceptions to that.

-Hundreds of years ago, the Flame Emperor was famous as the best expert of this Western Continent despite being a hybrid.

Unfortunately, he had no disciples, so his lineage was cut off.

He had definitely said it like that.

Recalling the memory, Lee Tae-sung’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘Wait, what.’

Had I learned such an incredible hybrid?