Chapter 14: March Towards the New Record (1)
There was no level restriction. I also had enough strength.
'Looks like my agility is a bit low.'
[Kang Hwi Ram, Level 1]
Dexterity : Intermediate Level 8, 13%
Strength: 72
Agility: 19
Stamina: 50
Intuition: 26
Magic: 3
Vitality: 3
Mana: 52
HP:190
Endurance: 6
Even after putting all the bonus stat points I received for establishing a new record, I was still short 2 points.
It didn't matter. I just had to find some equipment that will boost my agility.
Of course there were weapons such as the longsword that had a higher strength requirement in return for having a lower agility requirement. If I used a weapon like that, even without supplementing my stats, my current stats would cause a strong enough attack.
However, I can guarantee that I will not be able to hunt the mutant wolves with it. No matter how strong the attack is, it doesn't mean anything if you can't hit it.
How do I know so much?
I experienced it countless times in the game. Do you know how many times I came back dead after trying to fight it with a longsword?
There's no reason to have that experience again here.
No, that can NEVER happen. If I died in the game I could revive, but if I die here once, that's it.
Of course I can't be 100% positive because I haven't died yet, but it's not like I could just try dying once as a test.
Here, it is safety first and safety second. I should rather give up on the hunt to make sure I don't die if need be. In order to do that, I need to have skills that overpower the opponent.
How?
In my current situation, there is only one method.
'Then shall I show off my money a bit?'
As with most games, Royal Roader was a game where 'pay to win' worked.
Since the system here is the same as Royal Roader, if I use a ton of money, I should be able to protect my life.
There was an item I had in mind.
"Do you have the armor set made from the skywolf leather?"
Once I said "Skywolf Armor," the weapon merchant's eyes got slightly bigger. He then immediately had an apologetic look.
"Customer. How could such an expensive armor be in a country town like this? You would need to go to somewhere like Avangarde to find one."
"Can you get it for me?"
The weapon merchant made a complicated expression. He also carefully looked at my whole body. It must have been a bit weird. I was dressed in a shabby miner outfit asking about such an expensive armor.
Plus, there were not many people who were looking for the Skywolf Armor. There wasn't any better armor in the early part of the game, but it becomes useless once you hit around level 50.
Unless you were so rich that you didn't know what to do with your overflowing money, who would try to buy an armor like that with money?
He was probably thinking I was trying to pull one on him. Make the order and then never come and actually buy it.
"If the customer wishes for it, I can go and get it right away. However you will need to pay in advance. Including a service charge, it will be 65,000,000 won."
It was the best decision for the weapon merchant to make.
But it is extremely expensive!
However, right now is not the time to save my money. I had prepared for this anyways. Wasn't that why I held off on buying the house and saved over 200,000,000 won in my inventory?
"Here you go."
The weapon merchant who received the coin made another surprised expression. He then quickly nodded his head.
"I will go get it right now. Please wait just 2 hours."
"Then I will return in 2 hours."
Next was the magic store.
The magic store was extremely huge. It made sense since they had to sell an assortment of different magic items.
There was a lot of variety even within the potions. Health, mana, antidotes, antifreeze, revives, paralyze heals...
There were so many that it could make you dizzy.
"Let me buy some health potions."
"Which ones would you like?"
Potions were divided based on performance, weakest, weak, middle, strong, strongest, and by size, small, medium, large, XL.
"50 of the small strong ones and 100 of the XL weakest ones."
"Did you say 100 XL weakest potions?"
The worker made a weird expression as if he had heard wrong.
I did make a weird order. There shouldn't be many people who use the XL weakest potions.
Of course, that's the same for me.
Then why am I buying these XL weakest potions?
It's not for me to use but to feed it to a monster. You'll eventually figure out why I need it.
"Yes. Here is the payment."
The worker placed the potions in my bag after receiving the coin.
Now to head to the sword arts school.
Once I entered through the gate, an old-fashioned instructor approached me and started to speak.
"Which sword arts would you like to learn?"
"Please give me the twin blade sword art."
"Twin blade sword arts are very hard to learn. In addition, there are no instructors in Titan Valley who can teach you the twin blade sword arts."
It didn't matter. I know an instructor who can teach it to me.
Plus, I already know the method to quickly learn the twin blade sword arts. It's something only I know and a method only I can use.
What is it?
Haha, you will eventually find that out too.
"I still want to learn the twin blade sword arts. When it comes to using combos, there is nothing more effective than the twin blade sword arts."
"Then there is nothing for me to say. The textbook for twin blade sword arts is on the expensive side. It costs 17,000,000 won for a week rental."
It's not like I planned on mastering the sword art from this cheap textbook. This was just a warm up to get a proper twin blade sword art textbook.
How is a 17,000,000 won textbook cheap?
I was the strongest character in Royal Roader the game that I was even called an 'overlord.' There is no way a 17,000,000 won textbook would satisfy me.
Plus, I will be able to get a textbook that is 100 times better in the near future.
I received the textbook from the instruction.
[Basics of the Twin Blade Sword Arts]
Teaches you the 10 different basic movements of the TBSA (TL: I'm getting tired of writing this out so TBSA it is).
Duration of instruction: 7 Days
'Learn textbook!' Once I shouted, the textbook came to life.
The book had a total of 10 pages.
Every time I turned the page, the ten basic movements of the TBSA played out like a video and became ingrained in my mind.
Of course, I could not properly use any of the moves. I hadn't practiced any of them. Based on how much I practice it in the next 7 days, the percentage of completion for each movement will be different.
I put aside nine of the movements and just continuously practiced one movement: 'Continuous Slash.' The damage from each individual hit is low, but it allows you to use quick and continuous attacks and was one where you could quickly run away from the opponent's counterattack as well.
Should I call it selection and focus?
Tatataat!
Every time I swung the wooden sword against the scarecrow, the TBSA that was ingrained in my mind controlled my body. Even so, it was still pretty awkward. If I managed to make a 3 hit continuous attack, the action became abnormal and the combo stopped.
I feel like my movement is even more awkward because of the agility restriction on the cutlass. (TL: Wasn't he just using the wooden sword? He probably needs one wooden sword and the cutlass for the TBSA).
Every time that happened, the textbook in my mind fixed the incorrect movement.
'He should be back around now right?'
I matched the time and headed back to the weapon store.
The weapon merchant quickly approached me as if he had been waiting.
"Here is the item you requested."
[Skywolf's Leather Armor Set]
It is made of a skywolf's leather and the armor and pants make a full set.
Durability: 68/68
Defense: 24
Restriction: Strength 9
* Agility +27
* Special Abilities: Stealthy Movement Rank A, Evade Rank A
'Great.'
The boost to my agility was great, but I liked the special abilities even more.
Of course they weren't really good abilities. There are plenty of armors with much better abilities.
However, who cares if there are tons of armor with better abilities? With my current strength and level, there aren't many that I can wear.
Putting on the Skywolf Leather Armor raised my agility to 46 and the restriction on the cutlass disappeared as well.
I returned back to the Sword Art School and practiced the TBSA until late in the afternoon.
I finally stopped practicing around 5pm. Since it might take a bit of time to hunt the mutant wolf, I should start to head out now.
Of course I had a sense of disappointment. My time to practice the TBSA was too short. Even though I put aside nine movements and focused on one, I still felt a bit awkward with the movement. (TL: So learning this didn't increase his level, nor did it affect his stats in any way. How come he couldn't learn this first and then go find the slave trader? Would waiting 1 day have made things significantly different? Maybe we will find out tonight is the night of the full moon or something…)
But this much should be enough. The stat boost I get from the Skywolf Armor is tremendous.
'Alright, then shall we go hunt a mutant wolf? Now that I think about it, it's my first hunt in this Royal Roader.'
Of course I was both excited and nervous. The difference between hunting with a mouse and keyboard and with my own body is like heaven and hell.
'Which castle gate should I leave through?'
Outside the North and West gates were rough mountain terrains where strong monsters including the mutant wolf were plenty. On the other hand, the South and East gates were mainly full of hills, so many weak monsters including mutant chickens can be found.
Leaving through the South or East should be safer, but it might take a while to find a mutant wolf.
'Shall I go through the West gate?'
As I turned my feet towards the West gate, a bell started to suddenly ring in the sky. It was coming from the Magic Bell Tower in the center of Titan Square.
A PSA soon followed. Thanks to the magic, I heard it directly in my head.