novel
| ← Ch.201 | Ch.203 → |
"The ranking can be increased through points, and in order to acquire points, you need to catch monsters within Beatrice. The second way is to complete the system quests in Beatrice, and the third way is through 'reputation', " Arin explained.
"Reputation?" Min Sung asked.
He was asking for a more detailed explanation, and the fairy Arin caught on quickly and answered his question, "In other words, the 'players' in Beatrice have different levels of fame. Since you can check your information just by looking at the status windows, you can keep an eye on your ranking as well as your reputation score right now, " Arin explained nicely.
Min Sung did as Arin said and immediately checked his status window.
[Status Window]
Player: Min Sung Kang
Power: 60
Accuracy Rate: 22
Stamina: 32
Magic Ability: 8
Magic Widsom: 7
Leadership: 8
Attribute: Thunder
Ranking: None
(Details... )
[Status Window]
Player: Ho Sung Lee
Power:11
Accuracy Rate: 11
Stamina: 16
Magic Ability: 8
Magic Wisdom: 7
Leadership: 8
Attribute: Supporter
Ranking: None
(Details... )
"Huh? There isn't much difference between Min Sung and I."
Ho Sung Lee asked Min Sung about his stats and was surprised after comparing their numbers.
At that moment, Arin jumped in.
"Just 1 point in the stats is a huge difference. For example, STR 1 and STR 2 show very big differences in power. It's almost like the difference between an egg and a rock."
"Oh, I see, hahaha..."
Ho Sung Lee laughed awkwardly.
"Then tell me about the connection between earth and Beatrice. Why did that tree called 'Iris' pop out of nowhere?" Min Sung asked Arin.
"They're cleaning the universe, " Arin replied.
"Who? The Gods?"
Arin smiled and nodded in a cute manner.
"Yes. Them."
"So they're saying they'll only let the players in Rank 1 stay alive."
"That's right, hehe."
Arin smiled and looked amused.
"Do you think that's funny?" Min Sung asked sharply.
Arin was discouraged by Min Sung's attitude and immediately lowered its shoulders.
"... I'm sorry."
Min Sung sighed and looked around him.
"That Beatrice tree, which acts as the dungeon gate. How do I stop that tree from growing so quickly? Is there any other way other than ranking first?" Min Sung asked Arin.
"You just need to collect the 8 signs of divination. If you do, you'll be able to stop the growth of Beatrice for a set period of time!"
"Where do I get those?" Min Sung asked.
"Once you succeed in beating the boss raid, you'll have a small chance of obtaining one of the 8 divination signs."
"Where is it? The boss, " Min Sung asked.
Arin started to tear up.
"I don't know that either."
Min Sung clicked his tongue and opened his item window.
"We should get moving."
He then took out the '+9 Gungnir" from his item window.
Kaboom!
As soon as Min Sung put his hands on the Gungnir, it made a loud, thunderous noise.
"Agh! I haven't finished talking yet, " Arin urged.
Min Sung, Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol, all looked at Arin.
Arin explained about the interface.
It explained who they could look at the map through the system screen as well as a condensed explanation of the world.
Beatrice.
This place was like a reverse world that could be accessed through a mysterious tree called Iris.
Since all of the strongest players from all the planets were gathered here, it was the best of the best.
It was a world of heroes where the humans looked like they were from legendary tales.
Beatrice was one of the worlds just like that, and it was separated into the inner continent, inner sea, outer continent, outer sea.
And according to the system map, Min Sung and his party were currently in the outer continent.
"If you head toward the inner continent, you'll be faced with stronger monsters! Since this world only contains the most powerful heroes, you have to be careful. Most of them are aggressive and fight for their own reputations. Of course, there are others who are not like that as well, " Arin explained seriously.
"What happens if we die here? Do we just die? Or disappear? We can't go back to earth, right?" Ho Sung Lee asked with a nervous look on his face.
"Of course, it's over. You don't have two lives. What made you come to Beatrice anyway, Ho Sung? You look really weak."
Ho Sung Lee dripped in sweat.
"I'm going to do my best to support my hunter here, so don't worry about me."
On the inside, he agreed with what Arin said, but he didn't want to look so weak on the outside.
"I'm not looking down on you. I'm actually worried. You might even end up dying during the tutorial stage."
"I-Is it that dangerous here?" Ho Sung Lee stuttered.
"Of course. Go back right now. You can log out in the interface settings, so you can go back to the human world at any time."
"Oh... Really?"
That gave him some hope.
To Ho Sung Lee, it sounded sweet to his ears that he could go back at any time.
"Sir, it sounds like you can go back to eat if you're hungry. This is good news."
Min Sung nodded.
As Ho Sung Lee said, this was an important matter to Min Sung.
"Okay then, on to my last explanation."
Everyone was focused on Arin.
"The Dionysus Gods are watching over Beatrice. For that reason, gods take great interest in this world. The gods will gift players they have interest in, and those gifts are a big part of what helps the players rank up."
It bothered him that the gods could mess with the game, but since there was nothing he could do at the moment, Min Sung knitted his brows and listened.
According to Arin's explanation, this place was a gaming world belonging to the Dionysus Gods.
They invested in heroes within this game, which led to a compensation, and that compensation could be acquired by picking a prospective player and help them grow, allowing them to gain power and authority.
Although it was just a game, this world was very important to the Dionysus Gods, and they were serious about it.
But whatever the case, it was undesired to become puppets of the gods.
If a monstrous tree called Iris hadn't begun to leach off of the earth, they never would have become the gods' puppets in the first place.
Min Sung didn't like this at all, but he was rational.
He had to get rid of the Iris tree.
He couldn't let his emotions get in the way.
"But it's difficult to gain attention from the Dionysus Gods. There are countless heroes with great capabilities in Beatrice."
"That's enough explaining. I just want to gain reputation, but in order to do that, I have to collect points. Where's the raid boss?"
"You can't start with the raid boss. You have to follow the steps, and then you'll begin to collect points."
"That's too bothersome. Can't I skip the steps?"
[You're beginning to gain attention from a small number of Dionysus Gods. ]
A system message popped up.
This was the response of the Dionysus Gods that Arin was talking about.
"Oh! They're showing interest in you already. I guess great confidence and vigor are bound to get their attention. I'll be cheering you on, hehe. However, you have to follow the steps starting with the tutorial. If you achieve new records, you can obtain benefits, so do your best. I'll give you your first quest, so you can get going."
Ding!
The system alarm went off.
And then...
[Main Quest 1: Find Aransia Village]
They received their quest.
"Then see you next time!"
Arin waved her hand and disappeared into thin air.
Min Sung began walking with his '+9 Gungnir' in his hands.
Ho Sung Lee, Bowl, and Ssol followed behind him.
They were inside a forest of trees the size of Iris in his backyard.
There were no roadsigns or proper paths to follow, but the system map was telling them that 'Aransia Village' was to the north, so they figured their first quest wasn't going to be very hard.
"How powerful do you think the monsters are here? Since this is just a tutorial, they'll be weaker than devils, right?"
When Ho Sung Lee showed some hope, the first monster in Beatrice appeared.
"Roarrrrr... !"
A monster resembling a wolf growled and walked toward them with its guard up.
Above the monster read, 'Grey Wolf' in system letters.
It was a wolf as big as a tiger.
Its eyes were red. Its fangs were sharp, and its body was covered in muscles.
It was no ordinary wolf, but they had dealt with plenty of monsters like this one in the dungeons on earth.
"It doesn't look like a strong monster since this is just a tutorial, " Ho Sung Lee said with a grin.
But in contrast to Ho Sung Lee's prediction, the grey wolf gave off a murderous vibe.
It brought upon so much threat, that it was hard for him to breath. So much that the whole area around them became suffocating.
After that, around 10 other grey wolves with red eyes surrounded Min Sung and his party.
Min Sung scanned the grey wolves with calm eyes and clenched onto his '+9 Gungnir'.
Kaboom!
The Gungnir caused lightning to show off its force.
But the grey wolves weren't intimated by the thunderous sound and approached them with an even bigger threat.
They were about to attack with full force without an ounce of hesitation.
| ← Ch. 201 | Ch. 203 → |