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Emperor of Solo Play (Web Novel) - Chapter 98 — Cursed Domain(2)
Chapter 98 - Cursed Domain(2)
Hyrkan stared intently at a large boulder. The boulder didn't look too special on the outside. In truth, the boulder wasn't anything special.
Took took.
Hyrkan used a shovel to dig up the fine soil near the boulder. There would have been no significance to this boulder if an Ingredient Coin hadn't appeared inside the hole.
“Chet.”
Hyrkan clicked his tongue after checking the Ingredient Coin. His expression naturally changed into a sour expression.
‘In the end, I'm back to the same location.’
He put the Ingredient Coin back into his pocket. Hyrkan closed his eyes with a frown on his lips.
‘I never expected this to turn out like this.’
Hyrkan knew where the Cursed Domain was located at. It was one of the important parts of the Main Scenario Quest, so of course, he knew where it was located at. It was located southeast of Misandra's Castle, where there was a tall mountain called the Ricky mountain. There was a long winding road past the Ricky mountain, and one had to cross the Inue Lake! One finally reached the boundary of the Cursed Domain after crossing all of those landmarks.
If one could pinpoint a location to this degree in Warlord, one was basically as knowledgeable as a navigator.
However, he was currently going around in circles. He couldn't even get past the Ricky Mountain.
‘I had no idea the Block Field was still up. This is really unexpected.’
Block Field.
No Users could get past this barrier, and it was in the way of Hyrkan.
The Block Field was placed beyond the Ricky Mountain, and Hyrkan already knew the Block Field hadn't been dispelled yet. It was something one could confirm through several internet searches.
Still, he never thought the Block Field would be a problem for him.
‘I've received the Quest, yet the Block Field is still present… This is a pain.’
Hyrkan had received the Main Scenario Quest. In most cases, the Main Scenario Quest acted as a key in dissolving the Block Field. This was why Hyrkan hadn't worried over the Block Field. He had been worried about getting to the Cursed Domain faster than everyone else. He wanted to get there first, and he wanted to eat all those delicious Titles.
‘Some random bastards tried to block my path before and now such a trivial thing is blocking my path.’
Of course, this fact didn't have all negative connotations.
Instead, it could be seen as a positive news.
‘The fact that the Block Field is around means the Cursed Domain is still intact… It means the Storm Hunters haven't reached this place yet or they are progressing in a different Quest route as me… I like that.’
The possibility of the Stormhunters guild receiving the same Quest to search for the Cursed Domain, and them being ahead of him was gone.
It was an element that was sufficiently positive.
‘All right.’
Hyrkan let go of his sour mood, and he organized his situation.
His next task was set. He had to dispel the Block Field. A Block Field couldn't be dispelled by force.
‘It's been awhile since the Misandra's Castle was released to the Users. I'm sure the Quests are completed up to a certain point.’
Hyrkan turned his head. First, he had to return to the Misandra Castle.
‘Huh?’
As if it had been waiting for Hyrkan to turn his head, a monster appeared behind Hyrkan.
Koo-roo-roo……!
Koo-huhng! Koo-huhng!
It was a wolf human standing on its two feet. It was a werewolf. It was different from a normal werewolf. It was holding very rusty knives in both hands.
It was a level 100 monster called Weapon Werewolf.
Amongst the level 100 mid-sized monsters, it was a monster of average difficulty. It wasn't hard to kill, but it wasn't easy to kill either… Basically, it was a middle of the road monster.
Four of them appeared. At the very least, it was numerous enough where a single User wouldn’t be able to easily deal with them.
However, Hyrkan didn't even unsheathe his Ivan's Sword when the pack appeared. He didn't even snort at their appearance.
Instead, he flicked his fingers twice.
This caused the Skeleton Warriors that had been on standby to appear from behind the Weapon Werewolves. They held golden colored swords that looked to be made by smelting gold.
Kuhng!
As if they were surprised by the appearance of the Skeletons, the Weapon Werewolves desperately turned their bodies.
The battle started immediately.
Kwahng!
The Werewolves let out a roar as they charged first. The eyes of the Skeleton Warriors and Knight burned as they silently looked at the Werewolves. They dodged the incoming attack, and their fighter's disposition was strong enough to cut the enemies with a single stroke.
Hyrkan had a sour expression on his face as he opened his Hologram Window. Then he searched for more information.
‘No 30 great guilds are present in Misandra's Domain. There aren't even Underfoot guilds there. This might be more annoying than I thought it would be. Any ways, what should I have for dinner tonight?’
Hyrkan was starting to fight battles in a way that was befitting a Necromancer.
Misandra's Castle was revealed to the Warlord Users around 2 months ago.
In the world of gaming, two month was almost like two years. It wasn't a short amount of time, and a lot of Users had visited Misandra's Castle. They wanted to dispel the Block Field present beyond the castle. This was why they diligently found and cleared the Quests.
However, the Block Field would not be easily dispelled. They kept finding likely clues, yet no one could find the actual key.
In a situation like this, the Users made a simple judgement call.
“Oh well. I'll just go hunt somewhere else.”
“Well, I'll only get a single Title if the Block Field is dispelled. Wouldn't it be more profitable to level up at a different hunting ground?”
Give up.
It was the obvious course of action.
Not many Users were willing to invest their time here when it hindered with one's level up.
Moreover, Misandra's Castle was located in an ambiguous location.
One could earn Quests between level 80 to 100 at Misandra's Castle. The level 80 Users diligently did their Quests, and they diligently leveled up.
What happens when they reach level 90?
In Warlord, there was a single goal every users tried to fulfill at level 90. It was to get to level 100 as soon as possible. They wanted to go through the Advancement! If one wanted to go through the Advancement as soon as possible, one had to find an effective hunting ground. Misandra's Castle was hardly an effective hunting ground, so there was no reason to stay there.
In the end, the Users left for various parts after they completed Quests up to a certain point.
New Users influxed into this location, but they repeated the actions of their predecessors.
Of course, not everyone left.
“Does anyone want to do a Quest with me?”
Zeet.
He was different from the other Users. He was part of the minority of people, who was staying behind at Misandra's Castle for his Quest progress.
He was level 91, and his Class was Magician.
As a Magician, he couldn't operate out in the field by himself. This was why he was gathering party members at Misandra's Subjugation Association. He was trying to progress in his Quest.
“What kind of Quest is it?”
“It is an Exploration Quest. It is a Quest to find the remains…”
“Does it give a lot of EXP? What's the Reward?”
“It's an Exploration Quest, so it doesn't give much EXP nor a lot of rewards.”
“What for?”
“What?”
in the end, his recruiting process always ended on a bad note.
It was the same right now.
What for?
After saying that phrase, the User turned around and left as if he never wanted to see Zeet again. The User's action was so cold that Zeet felt a little bit humiliated.
Zeet gritted his teeth.
‘Sheet! I should have chosen the Swordsman Class instead… At the very least, I could carry out the quest whether I sink or swim!’
Zeet manipulated his watch as he spoke. He checked the Quest again.
[Blackened Remains]
- Quest Rank : Rare
- Quest Level Range : 90
- Quest Content : Recover the Blackened Remains. Deliver it to the fugitive 'Chados'.
- Quest Reward : Chados' Staff.
Blackened Remains Quest.
It was a Rare Rank Quest. It meant it wasn't an easily obtainable Quest. However, it wasn't special enough where only Zeet was carrying it out.
It was actually the opposite. If one was diligently leveling up from level 80 to 90 at Misandra's Castle, one would receive this Quest. The Quest Route had already been made public.
However, there was a Quest that was nicknamed the Diploma. When Users received this Quest, a vast majority of them left Misandra's Castle to search for another hunting ground. It was as if they had graduated from this location.
There was a reason why Zeet was holding onto this Quest, while he was stalled in leveling up.
‘I'm sure this Quest is the key that will break open the Block Field.’
Numerous Users went through the Quests available at Misandra's Castle, and they all reached the Blackened Remains Quest. However, no one had solved the Quest yet.The Block Field remained closed. There was ample reasons why one should be suspicious that this Quest was related to the Block Field.
Of course, one could be suspicious, but it was hard to have conviction about such a conjecture. Zeet was so sure, because while he was progressing another Quest, he had found the identity of Chados.
‘Chados is a fugitive. For some reason, he is a fugitive running away from some unfortunate circumstances.’
Chados was a fugitive that had run away from somewhere across the Block Field. He had heard this story from a NPC caretaker named Dodo, who maintenanced the castle walls. Moreover, this truth hadn't been spread anywhere online. Zeet had never disclosed this information to anyone.
This was basically Zeet's trump card.
He was very sure about his conjecture. He just had to ramp up his efforts in gathering party member. That was the answer.
The problem was……
“Hey, look who it is? Isn't it, Zeet?”
Zeet had a disadvantage that no one else had here.
“You are still operating out of Misandra's Castle? Huh?”
Three Users approached Zeet. The three Users had identical guild emblems on their chests. It was the Swing Guild.
“I thought we squared everything last time!”
Swing Guild.
It was a medium-sized guild with about 300 members. They weren't considered to be one of the 30 great guilds nor were they part of the Underfoot guilds. They were a guild formed for the purpose of mutual cooperation. The members of the guild consisted of low level Users to pretty high level Users. There were a diverse group of Users gathered in this guild.
Moreover, they were a guild in bad standing with Zeet.
“What did I say? Did I say we'll smash you to pieces when we find you near the Field?”
“What a strange bastard. We were just wondering why you were still here. We were just curious!!”
‘Sheet. They should just be transparent with their threats, sons of b*tches!’
It had been a disagreement that happened quite frequently in games.
They had met up by chance, and they had started a party hunt. They bickered, since they weren't in sync with each other. The bickering escalated.
'Why are you so lacking?'
'Like your mother?'
As the conversation escalated, feelings were hurt and there was had been an argument.
Zeet had gotten in a disagreement with a User, and there had been an accident afterwards during the party hunt.
Zeet was a bit late in his assist, so the User that was playing the role of a Tanker had experienced Game Over.
It was an accident born out of a mistake, but the aggrieved User felt like it was done on purpose.
Afterwards, all of Swing guild didn't see Zeet in a positive light. This was why these Users had spent a long time at Misandra's Castle, yet they operated far from each other.
‘Those damn bastards. They aren't even a 30 great guild, yet… Since I'm alone, they are ganging up on me like a pack of dogs.’
This was the reason why Zeet wasn't able to aggressively further his agenda. This was why he solicited every new Users he saw to join his party.
‘Yes. It isn't that I'm dodging sheet, because I'm afraid of it. I'm avoiding it since it is dirty.’
A man appeared in front of Zeet.
‘Uh?’
To escape the attention of the Swing Guild, he was about to head out. At that moment, he came face to face with a User at the door.
He had on a plain armor, and there was a plain sword equipped on his waist. The impression the User gave off……
‘He has a really gullible face.’
The User really looked like someone that could be tricked.
In a flash, Zeet's eyes checked the other User's Item setting.
‘Swordsman Class!’
At a glance, this User obviously had a setting common to the Swordsman Class. Zeet reflexively asked the man a question.
“Are you perhaps here to receive a Quest?”
The User silently nodded his head.
“Then would you like to do a Quest with me?”
Zeet spoke the next part with a low voice.
“This is a secret, but the Block Field might open if this Quest is completed.”
He wouldn't have made that comment about the Block Field to Normal Users, but the man in front of him looked as if he would fall for anything… He felt this was a chance that would never come again, so he had thrown out the bait.
As if Zeet's bait had taken hold, the User looked at Zeet with an interested expression on his face.
“If it isn't true, how much are you going to give me?”
“What?”
However, the words and tone of his voice didn't indicate he was interested. The other User continued to speak.
“If I complete the Quest and the Block Field is still up, how much compensation are you going to give me?”
He was most definitely a pushover, but it seemed Zeet had met someone with a real tiger's mouth.
