Chapter 42
Chapter 42: Speedrun
Monster World Gallery.
On a normal day, it ranked 15th among all galleries, but today was different.
3rd.
This dazzling achievement was possible because of a single person.
[Hey, is this calculation right???]
—90% damage reduction + only 70% of energy used = killed Yu Ye-rin in one hit with just 7% of his power.
—Looking at it like that doesn't really make it feel real lol
—Honestly, I don't think it was even 70%. More like 60%.
—Either way, one thing's for sure. He killed her with somewhere between 5~7% of his original damage.
—This is definitely a bug lol. Can't be explained any other way.
[How much of a difference is there between an HP pool at Level 1 vs Level 15?]
—Anyone know?
—I think it increases by about 10% per level.
—I did the math and Level 1 vs Level 15 is about a 4x difference.
—I'm a Harvard math major and this checks out.
—Stats change if you equip gear, but since he wasn't wearing any at the time, those numbers should be right.
[Theoretically, a Level 1 Mu-yeong with no gear could one-shot anyone up to Level 40 lolololol]
—If you put Level 1 HP at 100, Level 15 HP is about 380. Rough estimate puts it at everything up to Level 40 lol
—Level 40 is 4,200 HP though, how does that even make sense??
—Shouldn't they be doing an emergency patch over this? It's just completely unreasonable.
—The balance is already golden, how would you even fix this? lol
—For real, patching the game just for Mu-yeong would only break it more.
[Terrifying) Mu-yeong has that same power in real life]
—If you ever see him in person, don't even look back—just run lol
—That's genuinely scary lol
—A living urban legend, damn.
—Even scarier) By the time you make eye contact, your odds of survival are already zero.
—This is exactly why I don't go outside lolol
Even at this very moment, an endless flood of posts kept refreshing.
There was one man watching them and alternating between those and Mu-yeong's stream.
"The more I watch, the more strange it is. How does someone that age have this kind of power?"
Yu-baek, staring at the monitor as if trying to bore a hole through it.
The Alliance Leader's order to stand down had come, but he hadn't completely stopped.
He was still conducting surveillance like this—through the internet.
The reason was simple.
Personal curiosity.
Pure, straightforward curiosity about who Mu-yeong was, which sect he belonged to, and what martial arts he used.
If he were that powerful, he would surely have made a name for himself on the martial path.
The name could be a fake—easy enough to change.
But changing the martial arts and habits one had trained with for a lifetime? Impossible.
With that single conviction, Yu-baek narrowed his eyes.
He kept replaying the attack Mu-yeong had just thrown, searching for distinguishing characteristics.
Martial arts that powerful weren't common.
"I will find you. Even if you're an elder master who has undergone Reversal of Age."
As Yu-baek muttered to himself, a recording program was running full-speed inside his computer.
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['LandlordLife' has donated 100,000 Won.]
—Lol, pulled off an incredible scene from the very start. That's the Mu-yeong we know lol
—For real, this is exactly why people watch Mu-yeong's stream lol
—The Chairman really knows his stuff lolol
—They say educated folks are built different lolol
—I'm calling it right now—this is going to be the number one Hot Clip lolol
['Kingmaker' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—But I'm genuinely curious what'll happen when Mu-yeong starts leveling up lol. If that's his finishing move at Level 1, what on earth comes later???
—That didn't even feel like a finishing move lol. He didn't use all his energy.
—It seemed like about 60~70%, right? So if he puts in all 10 stages of energy? Oh shiiit lol
—Even with simple math it's at least 50% stronger than before lol
—Just imagining it is terrifying lmao
The reaction after sending Yu Ye-rin away in a single blow was more than blazing—it was a full-on inferno.
He thanked so many donations he was wearing out his mouth.
It had been an unintended incident, but it led to a result of sitting on a pile of money—so if anything, it was a good thing.
That said, I'll clearly have to be careful. One slip and something terrible could happen.
In a game it wouldn't matter, but what if he accidentally used it in real life?
One use of a martial technique might come with a steep price.
And that was just with the Heavenly Demon Three Swords.
Mu-yeong opened and closed his fist, then looked over at Yu Ye-rin.
Upper armor, lower armor, boots, belt, and so on.
She was putting her equipment back on, which she had taken off.
"Everyone, if I'm being honest, I absolutely cannot keep up with Mu-yeong's pace without my gear equipped. What? She's Level 15 and got one-shotted, so she should just be a pack mule? You want to step outside?"
A short while later, she finished getting ready and approached Mu-yeong.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes, I think we're good to go."
"Then let's head off to pick up the Main Quest."
"If we find the village chief, he'll hand it over right away. He should be somewhere around the center of the village........."
Trudge. Trudge.
They walked side by side together for a bit.
Mu-yeong raised his arm to scratch the back of his head.
At the same time, Yu Ye-rin flinched and her body shuddered.
"Eek!"
"......Why are you doing that?"
"Oh, n-nothing. Just!"
—Looks like she thought he was going to hit her?
—Flinching right away lol
—The way she jumped is kind of cute lol
—She's already got the fear conditioned into her body lolol
—Can't blame her after getting one-shotted lol
Only after glancing at the chat did Mu-yeong figure it out.
"I'm not the type to go around hitting just anyone."
"I know that, but...... it's just that Mu-yeong is so strong that I was worried even a graze might deal a critical hit."
"If you're that scared, you can walk a little farther away."
"No no no no! It's not like that!"
Perhaps to smooth over what had just happened, Yu Ye-rin moved even closer to Mu-yeong.
With every step, their clothes rustled and brushed against each other.
A tickling sensation that reached all the way to his skin.
Occasionally her shoulder made direct contact with his.
Like that, it wasn't long before they found the village chief, an old man with a white beard.
"You must be new adventurers. Welcome. I am Roen, the village chief of this town."
"We've come to receive the Main Quest."
"To accomplish great deeds, one must advance step by step from small matters. Do you happen to see the mountain behind us?"
"......I do."
"There are creatures called goblins. They're monsters that appear from the foot of the mountain, but while they're weak enough that they don't come down into the village, children sometimes get hurt. Could you handle them?"
"Understood."
With his acceptance, a translucent blue window appeared before Mu-yeong's eyes.
[Main Quest: Goblin Extermination]
—Eliminate the goblin pack dwelling in the mountain behind Roen Village. (0/5)
Reward: Leather Gloves.
—Finally, it begins.
—Goblins? Easy one-second clear lol
—MASSACRE SHOW: ON lol
—Let's take them out quick and head to a high-level area.
—Might actually be a bit tough to find them though. The undergrowth is seriously thick out there.
—Those things are clever—they'll run if they spot someone stronger lol
"Let me check the location first."
Mu-yeong zoomed in on the minimap.
The area where the quest needed to be completed was marked with a yellow circle.
The range was quite wide.
"It doesn't pinpoint exactly where to go."
"The entire yellow area is the goblins' habitat. You'll probably have to do some walking around."
"Then I'll have to get close and use Energy Sense. Let's go right away."
"Yes sir!"
Mu-yeong and Yu Ye-rin ran together.
Shortly after, arriving at the mountain entrance, Mu-yeong looked up.
Trees and thickets so dense you could barely see ahead.
The mountain wasn't that small either, so wandering around aimlessly would clearly take a very long time.
For now, he extended his Energy Sense as far as he could in the direction he was facing.
There's an enormous amount of movement to pick up.
Anything flying would be birds, anything running on four legs would be beasts.
Underground—moles, maybe?
He couldn't narrow down which direction to go.
Now that he thought about it, Mu-yeong had no idea what a goblin actually looked like.
"Yu Ye-rin, what do goblins look like?"
"They come up to about your waist. Small and thin, with a hooked nose and green skin. Oh, they sometimes carry something like a club in their hands too."
"So picture a ten-year-old child."
Mu-yeong recalibrated his target.
Eliminating everything that didn't match the description, the things that did began to register.
Five of them.
Conveniently clustered together—it looked like he could clear the quest in one go.
"I'll head there and back."
"Pardon?"
"It'll be quick, so there's no need for you to come along and tire yourself out."
"Ah, sure. It's a goblin quest anyway, so I'll wait in front of the village chief."
Thwack!
Mu-yeong kicked off the ground.
He sprinted at tremendous speed through the gaps between trees.
—Whoa what the—
—I'm getting dizzy lol
—If you collided with something, you'd break at least one bone lol
—Look at how the screen keeps flashing
—It's like watching someone hike a mountain at 100x fast-forward lol
About ten seconds later, he arrived at his destination.
The very same creatures Yu Ye-rin had described were gathered there.
Mu-yeong channeled his internal energy into his sword.
And scattered it.
Shwiiiick!
Sword energy flew toward each creature.
Five necks simultaneously took to the sky.
—Ohhhh lolol
—There we go lol
—Refreshing lolol
—Told you—instant one-second clear lolol
—First quest and this is the standard lol
He returned to the village immediately.
The village chief caught sight of Mu-yeong's face and calmly stroked his beard.
"Ah, not quite ready yet? That's fine. You can depart at your own pace........."
"I killed all five and came back."
"......What!?"
—Look at the old man react lololol
—About to pop his eyes right out of his head lol
—It hasn't even been a minute since he left—how is anyone supposed to believe that lolol
—And yet it actually happened.
['ZeroIceCream' has donated 1,000 Won.]
—You're the abnormal one lol. Even martial artists who are considered fast take 3 minutes, and this guy does it in 1? lol
—Literally lol
—Gotta admit he got lucky though. Found the goblin pack all in one go.
—True that.
—Other people tend to wander around a bit.
3 whole minutes. That's probably because of the range of their Energy Sense.
Mu-yeong uses a method of channeling his internal energy into the ground to read his surroundings.
Naturally, depending on the amount, there will be differences in the range of search and the number of targets he can detect.
Grab!
The village chief, with a skeptical look, took Mu-yeong's hand.
A white light appeared, and a window notifying that the quest was complete popped up.
"Oh! It's true! I apologize for doubting you."
"That's fine. More importantly—please give me the next quest."
"What an eager young man. Very well, this next one will be a little harder. If you go a bit deeper into the mountain, you should find boars. They've been ruining the village's crops........."
[Main Quest: Boar Extermination]
—Eliminate the boars dwelling in the mountain behind Roen Village. (0/5)
Reward: Leather Armor.
"I'll be back."
Mu-yeong put on the leather gloves he had received as a reward and ran off.
One minute later, Mu-yeong returned to his spot and held out his hand.
The village chief's jaw dropped.
"Di-did you actually go?"
—lolol
—Being too fast is a problem too lolol
—That's just how it's done these days lol
—I watched it myself, don't you worry lolol
Fwooosh!
A white light emanated from their joined hands.
The village chief slowly nodded.
"Next, five goblin warriors........."
Whoosh!
"There's a tiger causing trouble........."
Whoosh!
"There's a goblin shaman........."
Whoosh!
The same scene repeated itself several times over, and the village chief quietly looked toward Yu Ye-rin, who had been watching.
"......Just who in the world is that man?"
"A monster. There are no other words for it."
She shrugged with the air of someone entirely used to this.
Just as the village chief's lips trembled and he was about to ask something more—
"I'm back."
—Mu-yeong appeared again like a ghost.
.
.
.
.
He completed a grand total of twenty quests.
Before he knew it, Mu-yeong's level had surpassed 10.
Considering it had taken less than 30 minutes, it was a remarkable pace.
As his level steadily climbed, Yu Ye-rin was the first to speak up.
"Mu-yeong, it would be a lot more efficient to move to another region now and clear quests there."
"Is that so?"
"Normally the unspoken rule is to only clear the Beginner Village up to the 7th quest before moving on. Beyond that, it's just mindless grinding with poor rewards...... I stayed quiet because it seemed like you were having fun."
"Then let's get going. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting so long."
"Not at all. It was fun just watching."
Just as Mu-yeong and Yu Ye-rin were about to move somewhere else, the village chief came forward.
His expression was more serious than it had ever been.
"Young man, could you grant me one last request? It's something I've never spoken of to anyone, but I feel I can trust you."
A last request.
That much should be fine.
Yu Ye-rin caught his eye and gave a small nod.
A signal saying to do as he pleased.
Mu-yeong immediately replied to the village chief.
"Please, go ahead."
"The truth is, there is a legend that has been passed down through our village for generations. I heard it from my own father—that somewhere in the mountain behind us, there lives a divine beast."
—?
—What is this?
—I've never heard the village chief say something like that?
—Could it be a hidden quest?
—Woah...
"A divine beast...... you say?"
"Every so often, villagers who have gone into the mountain claim to have seen something. And there was always one thing they all said in common. That a snow-white serpent, with bright golden eyes, had been watching them!"
Ding!
[Main Quest: The Legend of Roen Village]
—It is said that a divine beast over 200 years old lives somewhere in the mountain. The village chief wishes to know the truth.
??? Elimination (0/1)