Chapter 530: Makers (4)
Owlbear Nest.
At this hunting ground notorious on the Japanese server, the hunting method Hyunsoo chose was none other than mob-pulling.
Mob-pulling allowed a user to hunt many mobs at once, but if surrounded, it carried a high risk of forced logout.
However, to the Hyunsoo who had grown so much, the owlbears were no great opponents.
Once roughly seventy owlbears had gathered in a dense pack, Hyunsoo murmured,
“Cut Them in Two.”
SLAAAAASH—!
In a single stroke, the owlbears were scattered.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have acquired the title Owlbear Hunter.]
A pleased smile formed on his face.
Owlbear Hunter was a B-grade Multi-Title that increased all attack power against owlbears by 5%.
More importantly, as Hyunsoo looked at the owlbears that had not disappeared, he realized that he was in the middle of a “gathering-type quest.”
Is it over?
When he left Mandara’s shop, Hyunsoo had thought he would return within an hour.
And there was no need to gather all these one by one.
“Pick up everything.”
[You have acquired Owlbear Claws (64).]
[You have acquired Owlbear Pelts (43).]
[You have acquired Owlbear Teeth (36).]
There had been a whopping seventy or so of them.
He knew that ordinary users took a little over two hours to hunt fifty of them here.
For Hyunsoo, the quest would be complete if he filled 30% of the gathering progress, and if he filled 50%, he could obtain a potion made personally by Mandara as a reward.
I wonder what kind of effect Mandara’s potion has.
He felt as though he was discovering the fun of gathering-type quests.
Then he waited to hear a notification telling him that he had fulfilled the quest conditions.
But.
“......?”
No notification came, even after some time passed.
What is this?
Feeling puzzled, Hyunsoo checked the gathering progress he had filled by hunting eighty or so owlbears.
[Current gathering progress: 1.1%.]
......What?
Hyunsoo fell into no small shock.
It felt as if he had been struck over the head with something blunt.
Did I misread it as 11%?
Even after he closed and opened his eyes, the gathering progress remained 1.1%.
A whopping seventy or so owlbears.
It was hard to believe that the gathering progress gained from obtaining materials like claws, pelts, and teeth amounted to only this much.
The reason this phenomenon had occurred.
He remembered Mandara’s faint smile, the one he had kept wearing the entire time.
Was the gathering progress set so it couldn’t be cleared from the start......?
Gathering-type quests were divided into two categories.
There were quests with a quantity limit, such as bringing 100 Owlbear Teeth, and quests that required filling a percentage.
Most of them were quantity-based quests, to the point that they made up about 95% of the total.
And yet Mandara had deliberately issued it as a percentage type.
Percentage-type and quantity-type quests had one difference.
With quantities, it was clear “how many” had to be obtained, while with percentages, that was not clear.
Maybe this invisible percentage, using Owlbear Teeth as an example, is demanding several thousand or more?
Was it only a hypothesis?
No. He was certain.
Judging by the percentage that had risen, it was definite.
Mandara had hidden it cleverly.
Because if he had told Hyunsoo right to his face to bring him “six thousand,” Hyunsoo would never have left Mandara’s shop.
In other words.
Mandara had said it only after Hyunsoo left the shop.
“Get lost, you stupid bastard.”
Having grasped reality, Hyunsoo realized that perhaps he had {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} been mocked.
“Mandara...... that man did something interesting, didn’t he?”
Because of that, he could not control his expression.
Right then.
“You were amazing. Who are you? That was truly incredible.”
A young user approached him.
He looked one or two years younger than Hyunsoo.
However, the fact that he was in Owlbear Nest made it clear that he was a high-level user.
I’m in the worst mood right now.
Hyunsoo considered glaring at the man who had approached so tactlessly, but then he saw his eyes.
Eyes filled with admiration, respect, and yearning.
From him, Hyunsoo remembered himself in the past, standing before an electronic billboard and gazing with longing at the fact that rankers like Valhalla or Smith earned over ten billion won.
“.......”
To be admired and loved by someone was a blessed thing.
Hyunsoo smiled brightly and answered.
“Hyunsoo.”
BOOM—!
After moving away from him at full speed, he assessed the current situation.
This is a crisis.
Forget the blessing. He might not obtain anything at all.
What should I do?
His worry was deepening.
Huffing and puffing—
The man from earlier came running and shouted from a distance.
“The boss monster of this place, the Mountain Owlbear, will appear soon! For Hyunsoo, hunting something like the Mountain Owlbear should feel like a warm-up, right? This is a top-grade secret only a tiny number of users know! Please don’t tell anyone else!”
He gave a thumbs-up and winked.
Mountain Owlbear?
Hyunsoo had found a hint.
This needs testing too.
Did gathering progress rise if he collected a lot?
No.
Mandara had not “confirmed” what kind of thing it was.
Which meant.
The rarer the animal, and the more it belongs to a boss monster, the higher the gathering progress assigned to it.
Hyunsoo looked at Nema, who had made him realize this hint.
That was because the value of a top-grade secret at a high-level hunting ground was greater than expected.
“Good luck! I’m off now!”
And with that, the user vanished into light.
In that moment, Hyunsoo realized that something could be gained through a single small word.
He also learned only later that the user named Nema had left Warrior and moved to the nation of Hyun.
And that, in the future, he would become the captain of the 4th Knight Order of the nation of Hyun.
That he would become Nema the Mob Massacrer was something Hyunsoo would learn only later as well.
In any case.
Having found a new hint, Hyunsoo waited for the boss monster Mountain Owlbear to respawn.
A while later.
[Mountain Owlbear has appeared!]
[The one who hunts the Mountain Owlbear will receive a reward!]
[Mountain Owlbear Lv. 501.]
The boss monster of this nest.
The Mountain Owlbear, which reached seven meters in height and charged while knocking down the surrounding trees with its kicks and bulk, appeared.
“KUHWOOOOOO!!!”
Watching the Mountain Owlbear charge madly toward him, Hyunsoo ran to meet it, intending to run another experiment.
How much have I grown, and how quickly can I hunt the boss mob of a field? And how much gathering progress can rare materials give me?
And before the monster named “Mountain” could attack Hyunsoo.
“Summon.”
“KUHWOOO!?”
“Fenrir.”
Before the giant owlbear called Mountain, that false mountain—
“Grrrrrrrr!”
A wolf with silver fur, ten meters tall, descended and announced itself.
“Rush.”
KABOOOOOOOM—!
Before the true mountain, the false Mountain was nothing.
[Mountain Owlbear’s HP has fallen below 92%.]
Hyunsoo instantly chased after the owlbear that had been sent flying by Fenrir.
BOOOOM—!
Moving like light, he stood over the flying owlbear, and his Twin Dragon Sword struck.
[You have dealt 163,509 damage.]
STAB—!
KRAAAAAAAAGH—!
On the Japanese server, at Owlbear Nest, a place known as a high-level hunting ground.
Hyunsoo’s new story began to spread across all of Japan.
Stab, stab-stab, stab!
Krrgh, kraaaaaagh!
It all began with the time it took him to hunt the Mountain Owlbear.
Hyunsoo also suffered wounds, large and small, but the Mountain Owlbear was not a “true boss-grade” monster.
For a boss-grade monster in the Level 500 range, it was on the weaker side.
Even so, it was strong.
To hunt a creature classified as a semi-boss, at least three or four high-rankers would likely be needed.
However, Hyunsoo was different.
[You have hunted the Mountain Owlbear.]
[Less than 5 minutes were required.]
[The title Owlbear Hunter has been upgraded to Owlbear Massacrer.]
Ding!
(Owlbear Massacrer.)
Unique Title.
Grade: A
Special Abilities:
·All attack power against owlbears increases by 11%.
·Drop rate against owlbears increases by 15%.
·You can draw owlbear aggro by making an owlbear roar.
When it came to owlbears, it was the best possible title.
“Pick up everything.”
[You have acquired Mountain Owlbear Giant Claws (2).]
[You have acquired Mountain Owlbear Hide (12 kg).]
[You have acquired Mountain Owlbear.......]
[Current gathering progress: 2.8%.]
It had risen by a total of 1.7%.
Hyunsoo’s thought had been correct.
The gathering progress from a single Mountain Owlbear was higher than what he had gained from hunting eighty or so owlbears.
That was because the Mountain Owlbear’s materials were that much rarer.
He was also benefiting from the drop-rate increase after the title Owlbear Hunter had been upgraded to Owlbear Massacrer.
But at a mere 2.8%, Hyunsoo’s resolve burned.
In the end, Hyunsoo had been driven out, and he had been toyed with by the man named Mandara.
I’ll do it. I’m definitely going to do it.
It was rare for Hyunsoo to burn so fiercely.
And compared to before, Hyunsoo’s conditions were now far better.
He used the effect of his title that drew aggro “when making an owlbear roar.”
“KUHWOOOO!”
[The title Owlbear Massacrer shines.]
[You have made an owlbear roar.]
[The owlbears that heard the sound are gathering!]
Thud-thud-thud-thud—!
A high-level hunting ground.
Owlbear Nest.
[You have hunted an owlbear.]
The tireless blacksmith began to wipe out the owlbears.
He should have just said no. This is nothing but mockery.
Rage toward the man named Mandara boiled up inside Hyunsoo.
However, he calmly looked into the essence of the quest.
Alrod had already said that it would be impossible, and Hyunsoo himself had been at fault for feeling relieved and thinking it would be easy in the face of Mandara’s smile.
Then I just have to correct that mistake.
Gripping the Twin Dragon Sword even more tightly, Hyunsoo held the will to accomplish it no matter what.
Hyunsoo’s hunt continued without stopping.
The way he would immerse himself in blacksmithing for days without sleeping applied to hunting as well.
Of course, since he was human too, there were times when he became tired and his eyes started to droop.
However.
[You are displaying extreme mental strength.]
Hyunsoo, blaming himself for having been complacent, burned even hotter.
[You are displaying extreme mental strength.]
[Will activates.]
[Will clears your mind and restores your lowered stamina.]
[Will activates.]
[Will activates.]
And the Will that had been upgraded from Legendary to Transcendent was far more outstanding.
If his previous Will cleared his head and reduced mental fatigue, his current Will existed on a higher level.
[Stamina recovers by 8%.]
[Stamina recovers by 6%.]
Stamina.
It was the character’s physical endurance.
If it fell to the limit, the character could faint, and if it dropped to an extreme degree, one could even die from overwork. Now, it was being restored.
In other words, “Will” now healed even physical fatigue.
And little by little.
[Gathering progress has increased.]
[Gathering progress has increased.]
The gathering progress began to rise.
Its speed was growing faster and faster.
There was also a clear reason why that had to happen.
[The total number of owlbears hunted has exceeded 2,000!]
[The title Owlbear Massacrer has been changed to Owlbear Ruler!]
The title Owlbear Hunter, which had initially been only B-grade, had been upgraded all the way to S-grade, the highest grade.
And the effect of this title.
[Against owlbears, drop rate increases by up to 40%, and all attack power and defense against owlbears increase by 20%.]
[In accordance with the title Owlbear Ruler, the owlbears and Mountain Owlbears of Owlbear Nest sense danger to their territory!!]
[The owlbear respawn rate increases by x3, and the Mountain Owlbear respawn rate accelerates according to the number hunted!]
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—!
KUHWOOOOOO!
KRAAAAAAAAGH—!
The monsters of Owlbear Nest surged in to break the momentum of a single user.
Between hundreds of trees.
Watching the owlbears stomping everywhere, Hyunsoo’s eyes sharpened.
“Firebird. Lucky Lump, KyooKyoo, Pretty, Golemmy.”
The pets, straddling legend and myth, appeared from the rings of fire that struck down around him and fought by his side.
Instead, it was the owlbear packs and Mountain Owlbears that were swept away and fell.
[Gathering progress has increased.]
His gathering progress, which had been deemed impossible, continued to rise.
Exactly five days later, deep in the night.
Thud-thud-thud—
Hyunsoo knocked on the door of Mandara’s shop.