Emperor of Solo Play - Chapter 154

Chapter 154 – Find the Ruins (1)

1.

When one entered Voodook's tunnel, nervousness and fear was usually intermixed with the thick fog.  However, when one exits the Voodook's tunnel, it felt as if all those feelings were let go.  This was why when Users exited the Voodook's tunnel, they looked as if couple screws were loose in their heads.

However, the six Users that had exited the Voodook's tunnel right now was different.  There wasn't a single ounce of looseness in their expression or atmosphere.

Instead, it was quite apparent that a feeling of tension had replaced the looseness.  One could feel the tension emanating from them.

Users were still hanging around the exit of the Voodook's tunnel for various reason, and they naturally they became curious when they saw the six Users.

‘What is up with their expressions?’

‘Six Users?  Did a party member die?’

‘They entered with seven.  They did above average if six survived.  At the very least, two or three people usually die in there.’

‘Wait a moment?  I don't see any traces of a fight.’

If one wanted to survive in Warlord, one had to be quick on the uptake.

All of the Users here that had caught the Skull Collector and exited Voodook's tunnel were experts at survival.

This was why they were suspicious of this new group that had exited.  The quick-thinking Users were moving closer to satiate their suspicion.

However, their doubts were washed away when they saw the final figure that had appeared behind the tense group of 6 party members.  

‘It's the Hahoe Mask!’

The rumors that said the Hahoe Mask was attempting the Urugal mountain range hadn’t been spread throughout the world, but the news had spread to most of the Users present at the Urugal mountain range.

Moreover, the information was precise.  If one wanted to find out about it, one could easily dig up when the Hahoe Mask had entered the Voodook's tunnel.

This was why the Users in front of the exit of the Voodook' tunnel could quickly make the calculations.

‘It took them only 30 minutes to pass through the Voodook's Tunnel.’

‘My god.  It would take a skilled party one hour to clear it, yet he cut the time in half…..’

‘He is monster amongst monsters.’

Voodook's tunnel took about 1 hour to clear for a skilled party, yet he had come out in 30 minutes.  He had cut the time in half.  The Users were filled with admiration, jealousy and other emotions.  These emotions were infused in their gazes as they headed towards the Hahoe Mask like arrows.

Of course, the Hahoe Mask wasn't interested in the other 6 party members any more.

After observing his surrounding, Hahoe Mask's gaze headed towards the top of the Urugal mountain range.  The Hahoe Mask just stood there staring at the summit, so several Users followed his gaze to see what he was looking at.

‘Does he plan on catching the owner of the Urugal mountain range?’

‘Is he really going to do it by himself?’

At that moment, a different type of tension emanated from the Users.

The owner of the Urugal mountain range was the Blaze Slime Dragon.

There were a lot of nicknames attributed to the Blaze Slime Dragon by the Users.  Amongst the nicknames, the one that stuck in the head of everyone was the Strongest Boss Monster.

Of course, this was a controversial topic.

Was the Frost Knight, which was defeated by the Hahoe Mask, more difficult?  Or was the Blaze Slime Dragon, which was defeated by the Stormhunters guild, more difficult to take down?  The participants of the Raids were excluded from the discussion as the debate started, and it was surprisingly fierce.  People started exchanging numbers that would make an engineer's eyes spin to support their arguments.  At the end of the debate, Blaze Slime Dragon was crowned as being the current Strongest Boss Monster.

Of course, the Blaze Slime Dragon was hunted down using the full might of the Stormhunters guild, so the Hahoe Mask was seen as the superior player.  After the Hahoe Mask and the Stormhunters guild, no Raid team had been successful in taking down the Frost Knight or the Blaze Slime Dragon.

In such a situation, what would happen if the Hahoe Mask took down the Blaze Slime Dragon?  What would this implicate?

It would be indisputable.  The Hahoe Mask would become the strongest existence in Warlord at this current stage.

He wouldn't just be equal to the 30 great guilds.  He would be seen as being more powerful than the 30 great guilds.

‘Is he really going to attempt it?’

‘If it is the Hahoe Mask….  He'll be able to do it.’

In the end, it was a very foolhardy thing to do, but there was one person that nonchalantly did the impossible in Warlord.  It was the Hahoe Mask.

Of course, Hyrkan wasn't going to fulfill their expectations.  

Hyrkan wasn't looking at the summit of the Urugal mountain for this reason.

‘I'm glad I don't have to catch that bastard.’

Relief.

Currently, he was thankful for the fact that he could get past the Urugal mountain range without fighting the Blaze Slime Dragon.

If he had to kill it, he would have done it.  The killing of the Blaze Slime Dragon was a must if he wanted to get across the Urugal mountain.  However, the Stormhunters guild had killed it, so they had already paved the way for him.

At the same time, the Stormhunters guild got all the benefit from being the first one to kill the Blaze Slime Dragon.  Of course, Hykran would be able to make a lot of money from killing the Blaze slime Dragon by selling various parts.  However, the Titles that came with killing it first….

He wouldn't be able to gain the Titles like the Dragon Slayer title.  On the other hand, he would be able to gain a lot of money from the Raid footage.  Then there was the Ingredients that allowed one to make level 200 Unique Items.  There were still a lot of potential for profit here.

‘It isn’t a bad idea to catch it, but there’s no need to rush it.’

On the other hand, he would have to take a risk that was as large as the benefits he would gain.

This wasn’t an ordinary risk.   This was evident in the fact that 14 teams challenged the Blaze Slime Dragon when it respawned after 10 days.  However, none had succeeded in killing the dragon.

These weren’t just mediocre players.  These were expert players that had easily gotten past the Skull Collector.   Even these types of Users were having a hard time.

It would be the same for Hyrkan.  No, in some ways, the Blaze Slime Dragon was a poor opponent for Hyrkan.  Enemies like the Frost Knight was easier for Hyrkan.

Hyrkan was well aware of this fact.

‘There’s no point in hanging around the entrance.’

Urugal mountain range was a door.

A door had meaning only if one got past it.  The safe itself wasn’t the price.  It was meaningful only if one obtain what was across the other side of the safe’s door.

This was why Hyrkan started to walk.

When the Users saw him move, they immediately typed posts online.

[Hahoe Mask will challenge the Blaze Slime Dragon!]

A new rumor regarding Hyrkan formed at that moment.

2.

When the Stormhunter guild killed the Blaze Slime Dragon, any Users that passed the Voodook's tunnel could cross the Urugal mountain range.

The Users were able to reach the land across the Urugal mountain range, and they called this place the Black Continent.   They attempted this location wanting to be a trailblazer.   The Users were able to earn Items above level 200 here, and they wanted to find new monsters.  Then there was the clues regarding the third Main Scenario Quest.  They wanted to find a hunting ground that was the land of milk and honey.

These were the words spoke by these Users.

“Shit!”

“We don't have to to complain.  Run!”

“If this wasn't the Black Continent, I would have stood my ground and fight!”

“Just run!”

The Black Continent was hell.

The lowest level monsters here were level 200.  This land was crawling with level 200 and up monsters, and it was a bit too much for Users that had just reached level 200 not too long ago.

At the same time, the penalty given to Users from dying was greatly increased in the Black Continent.

In Warlord, there were various penalties that were given to the Users, but the biggest penalty was being shut out from the game for 48 hours.  This penalty was still present.

However, the Black Continent didn't have a Restart Point.  It was the locations where the Users would respawn.

If one died here, one would immediately sent back to the other side of the Urugal mountain!

This was the result of failing here.

That wasn't the only problem.  There weren’t any place to rest here, and there were no markets where one could trade Items.  Inevitably, one had to hunt monsters to get ingredients, and one had to make one’s own consumable Items.  Since no one knew which monsters gave ingredients to magical and health recovery consumables, it was impossible to produce the consumables.

Basically, this place was hell!

Of course, if one wanted to survive in  hell, one had to become a devil.

The first group of Users that attempted to become devils were the Stormhunters guild.  They were the one that had opened the door to this place.

“Currently, we've brought over a total of 157 members.  We decided to rotate our playing time, so we divided everyone into 4 teams.  I sent you the the roster for the 4 teams.  I e-mailed it to you yesterday.”

When Shir saw the Hahoe Mask's Frozen Kingdom movie, she made a bold decision.  After finishing their 2nd Advancement, she brought 157 guild members to the Black Continent.

It hadn't been an easy feat. There were a lot of tasks that needed to be finished for the Users over level 200.  Moreover, the Stormhunters guild possessed a lot of programs on their live channel.  If they wanted to broadcast a variety of contents, skilled Users had to be assigned to do a wide range of tasks.

She had brought most of them here, so for a while, the guild wouldn't be able to produce meaningful contents.  The Stormhunters would suffer huge loss in this process.

She had made the decision in spite of this.  If they wanted to survive in the Black Continent, they needed a force of this size.

“I think we've located a Dungeon.”

The only thing left was to find a place where they could permanently reside.

In Warlord, one wasn't safe just from building a wall or a wooden fence.  The most important part was to find a place where monsters didn't regenerate.  This was why towns or castles were used as waypoints for Users.

However, they hadn't been able to find such a location in the Black Continent.  There weren't any castles or towns.

This was why Hatch had come up with the idea of finding a Dungeon.

Unexpectedly, the Instance Dungeons possessed similar qualities as towns and castles.  A good number of Instance Dungeons prevented Regeneration.

This was an unexpected consequence of a game mechanic they could take advantage of.

If there were invisible walls that were caging in a pack of wild beasts, one wouldn’t be safe standing in front of them.  However, the surrounding region would be the safest place to be.

“Since we found one, I hope it's a real Dungeon.”

Of course, the best thing for them was to find a real Dungeon instead of an Instance Dungeon.  The real Dungeons were single use Dungeons.

If they could find a single use Dungeon, it would be the end of their search.

It was as the word implied.  The single use Dungeon didn't regenerate monsters after it was cleared.  It was the ultimate shelter.

Moreover, single use Dungeons were located in hard to find places.  Even the monsters would have a hard time finding the location.  Basically, it was a fortress bless with natural barriers for defense.

If the Stormhunters guild wanted to overtake the Black Continent, they needed such a place.

Of course, there was someone else here that knew better than anyone as to the benefit of such a location.

3.

‘Where is it?  Where is it?’

A User was busily moving his head from side to side as he looked at his surrounding.  Hyrkan yelled out when he caught sight of a golden glint.

“There it is!  Catch it!”

As if reacting to his words, the Skeleton Warriors in the surrounding started to move.  Hyrkan also started running towards this golden being.

‘You son of a bitch!  I'll catch you this time no matter what!’

It had been two days since he had climbed over the peak of the Urugal mountain range.

The world was waiting for Hyrkan to catch the Slime Dragon for the past two days, but Hyrkan was actually using his time to chase after the Golden Goblin.

‘If I don't catch it this time, it'll become a big headache.’

From Hyrkan's memories, the Lost World….   

He didn’t know who had named it the Black Continent, but he knew how he would be able to survive here.

Of course, the Golden Goblin being chased by Hyrkan was one of this methods.

Golden Goblin.

It was a level 200 monster, but it wasn't worth anything.  Its EXP was non-existent, and it wasn't as if it dropped any good Ingredient Items.  It was also very weak.  A level 100 User could kill it.

Since it was weak, it hid in a shelter where monsters and Users couldn't find it.

The Golden Goblin's shelter was a Dungeon.

Moreover, a Dungeon at the Black Continent was a Ruin.  He was sure of it.

The vestige of the Ruined Kingdom!

This was where the third Main Scenario would start.

One had to go into the Ruins of the Ruined Kingdom to find the clues.  After obtaining the quest, one had find more clues to advance.

What kind of power did the Ruined Kingdom have?  What had they fought, and what had caused its demise!

When one finds out about this truth, the Ruined Kingdom episode comes to an end.

This was why the Golden Goblin, which was being chased by Hyrkan, was important.  The bastard was the starting point for the Ruined Kingdom episode.

‘Shit.  Why the hell is it so fast?’

Of course, it wouldn't be caught easily.  The Golden Goblin was unbelievably fast.  Even the great Hyrkan would lose sight of it sometimes.  If it was any other User, it would have already escaped.

Moreover, there was no point in just catching it.

One had to chase after it.  He had to make it so that it ran towards its hideout.  This was why it was driving Hyrkan nuts.

“Uh? Uh!”

He had summoned Skeletons to herd it.  However, the Skeletons possessed AI for fighting monsters, so they were sometimes more trouble than help.

“Sto······.”

‘Don't kill it!’

The Skeleton Warriors were able to chase it down and kill it.  However, it didn't have much talent at herding it.

‘Shit!’

Before he could flick his finger to put it in defensive mode, one Skeleton Warrior got in the path of the Golden Goblin.  It immediately cut the Golden Goblin into two.

“Ooh-ahhhhhhh!”

This was how Hyrkan failed for the fourth time.

4.

Sinclair raised his head.  He saw the Urugal mountain range, which was surrounded by a thick fog.

Sinclair turned his head.  He saw the thousand Users, who were following his orders.  They were the guild members of the Big Smiles guild.

Sinclair smiled.

‘This doesn't feel too bad.’

The most recent events brushed by Sinclair's thoughts.

The very first memory that came to mind was the fight with Sohank.  When he caught Sohank in the Northland, he had become the Big Smiles' biggest asset.  He received the VIP treatment.  Of course, he lost to the Hahoe Mask, but no one considered it a loss for Sinclair.  No one spoke disparaging remarks towards Sinclair.

This was how the VIP treatment had started, and it was sweet.  All the issues regarding the main Boss Monster Raids and the deployment of troops in the Big Smiles guild was now in his hands.  If one compared this to how a country was run, he had basically received control of the army.

Naturally, his reputation had increased.  The Big Smiles guild had a massive fan following in China, and the guild had wanted someone like him to show up.  The guild was busy portraying Sinclair as a hero.  The shows that featured Sinclair always received a lot of views and interest.

Sinclair’s control and the influence of his words deepened further.  Moreover, with the help of Sinclair, Brooks was able to become the very first guild master of the Big Smiles.  As promised, Apollo became a master of a sub-guild.

The product of his power could be seen behind Sinclair.Thousand Users would try to cross the Urugal mountain range.  They would be fortunate if half of them were able to pass the Skull Collector.  However, Sinclair was indifferent about it.  He had risen to a position where he didn't need to worry about such things.

Moreover, his guild wasn't the only one doing this.

Big Smiles and V&V guild were allies now.  A total of 5 guilds had decided to ally with each other, and they would attempt the crossing together.

Their goal was 10,000 Users!

They would send incredible amount of Users towards the Black Continent, and they’ll for a kingdom over there with the 10,000 Users.

‘Hahoe Mask.  No matter how much you struggle over there you’ll be by yourself.  You won’t  be able to face a kingdom without any help.’

Warlord was in disorder, and they were going to unify Warlord under their rule.

Sinclair put on a deep smile as he thought about the future.