Chapter 30

: (8). Ian’s Plan -2
In Ian’s hand, there was a stone with a yellowish tint. What was unusual was the warm energy flowing
out from it.
‘Can I use this instead of a hot pack for winter?’
It was one of the things the three fools left when they died, however, Ian couldn’t even guess what it
was.
Its information window was full of unknown marks and there was nothing similar to it in the auction
house.
However, Ian didn’t feel it was right to throw it away, therefore, he just put it into his pocket.
He then called Harin.

I’m done, Harin. Let’s go to finish the quest.

Harin had finished buying things she needed and waited for Ian.

Okay!

They went to Laper, the leader of the vigilantes, to end the quest.

Oh, Ian, welcome. I heard how well you fought from Hugo! I knew I could rely on you.

They shook hands and a few system messages came up.
– You finished the quest. You have contributed the most to the quest. Clear Rank: SS
– You gained 56,700 Gold
– You gained 1,743,200 EP.
– You have leveled-up. You have reached Lv. 32.
– You have leveled-up. You have reached Lv. 33.
– You have leveled-up. You have reached Lv. 34.
Because of Ian’s great contribution to the quest, he received a tremendous amount of EP. The Gold
reward was huge as well.
‘Hhh.’
Ian’s lips could even touch his ears because of his happiness.

Oh, Ian, I just leveled-up!

Harin, who was at Lv. 45, leveled-up and reached Lv. 46. After all, they had both received a great
amount of EP.

Congratulations!


Didn’t you also level up?

Ian hadn’t told Harin his level yet. Therefore, Harin assumed his level was about the same with hers.
At first, she thought Ian’s level must be quite low since he was a Summoner, however, after seeing
him in battle, she completely changed her mind.

Yes, I leveled up as well.

Ian didn’t bother to explain, so he just answered shortly and spoke to Laper again. They still had more
rewards to get.

Sir.


Yes?


I met the Goblin Shaman behind the Campsite.

As he spoke, he took out the Goblin Shaman’s hair accessory and gave it to Laper.
Laper’s eyes widened seeing this.

You killed the Goblin Shaman?


Yes, sir.


Ohh… that’s incredible!

Ian and Harin saw even more system messages.
– You finished a quest. Clear Rank: B+
– You gained 674,000 EP.
– You have leveled-up. You have reached Lv. 35.
The Clear Rank was only at B+, probably because it took them such a long time to kill the Shaman.
However, Ian’s level was still very low compared to the quest. Therefore, he gained one more level.
Ian grinned happily while Laper continued to speak.

You are really incredible. I didn’t expect that you would be able to find and kill the Shaman. Us
vigilantes have been looking for him for months. How did you find it?

Ian felt good, so he just replied humbly.

I just got lucky.


No, no.

Laper took something out and gave it to Ian.
– You have received [Letter of reference for Luspell Empire mercenary examination].
Ian nodded when seeing a new system message.
He had already known that Laper would give it to him after completing the Shaman quest.
‘I must take the mercenary test and get the mercenary certificate when I have some work in Muran.’
In Kailan, there were a total of five huge continents.
Two of them had been opened so far; ‘Kolonar’, where most users were in, and ‘Malaca’, which was
opened a while ago with the grand update. Not even 10% of Malaca had been explored yet.
Currently, Ian was naturally in Kolonar. In this continent, there were two empires. One of them was the
Luspell Empire and Muran was its capital. It was a giant city named after Muran, the founding hero of
the Luspell Empire.
‘I probably won’t go to Muran before reaching Lv.50, but…’
Ian took the letter and held Laper’s hand.

Take this references letter and you can be tested to become a mercenary of the Luspell Empire. I am
giving it to you because I see the potential of a great mercenary in you, so go to Muran and take the
test.

Ian nodded and answered.

Thank you, sir. I will take the test.


Good, good. In the future, work for the peace of the Luspell Empire.

Harin, who had done the same quest as Ian’s party member, was given the same reward. Unlike Ian,
Harin had never done the Shaman quest before, so she asked.
Ian, what’s this references letter? Do
you know anything about it?


Yes, take it to the Mercenary Guild in Muran and you can be tested to become a mercenary.


Oh… what are the benefits of taking the test?


You will receive a mercenary certificate of the rank that fits your battling abilities. With the certificate,
getting quests from the NPCs will be easier. Plus, the Mercenary Guild gives out good quests.

Harin’s eyes sparkled at hearing this.

Wow, so it’s a very good thing. But I will do only cooking for a while, so…


Cooking?


Yes, I am going to work on my Cooking skill for as long as I have main quests from the Cook class.

Once again, Ian could feel Harin’s particular interest in cooking and admired her for it.
‘Harin’s Cooking level must be in the top ranks in Kailan.’
Ian thought so because he had seen Ly’s stats being increased by Harin’s food, although it was only
for a little while.
‘I have never heard of cooked food being able to enhance stats, not even in the community.’
Ian suddenly wondered about her Cooking Proficiency.

Harin, may I ask what the Proficiency of your Cook class is?

Ian carefully asked since he was asking for personal information, however, Harin smiled as it was not
a big deal.

Yes, there’s no reason to keep it secret. My Proficiency is…

Harin took some time to check her statistics window.

Advanced Lv.1. I must try harder to learn better skills.


Ohhh!

Ian had heard that Harin’s skill was Advanced, but knowing the exact Proficiency was even more
surprising.
Ian knew that in case of the Blacksmith, the most popular craftsman class, the user who had the
highest class Proficiency was at Advanced Lv. 3. The Cook was an even less popular class, so Harin
must be in the top ranks.
Then, Ian’s ‘flattering skill’, which he had mastered to raise friendship with NPCs, was immediately
activated.

I support you, Harin. I heard that it is very hard to raise the Proficiency in craftsman classes… you
are amazing! If you ever need help, you can just call me at any time.

Harin’s face brightened at hearing this.

Thank you so much, Ian. You must keep your promise!

Ian flinched, ‘I hope I didn’t make a mistake here…’
He worried that Harin would start asking too many favors and bothering him. However, seeing Haring
rejoicing like a child made Ian feel very comfortable as well.

Yes, of course.

As he said that, he saw a system message.
– [Harin] sent you a friend request.
Of course, Ian accepted it

Then, see you later, Ian. I have played for too long. I must go now.

Harin and Ian had played together for 8 hours. That was nothing to a game geek like Ian but, to
ordinary users, it was quite a long time.

Okay, Harin. I’ll see you later.

However, as Harin was about to leave, she recalled something and started to rummage through her
bag.

This is for you.

In her hands, there were two lunchboxes.

What is this?


I cooked these while I waited for you.

While waiting for Ian, Harin got bored. Therefore, she used her Cooking skills to make some instant
food. It wasn’t much, however, she was somewhat embarrassed to say, ‘I cooked these…’, her face
then turned slightly red.
‘I hope he doesn’t think it’s weird…’
Harin covered her reddened cheeks and glanced at Ian. However, Ian could not take his eyes off from
the lunchboxes.
His face brightened., ‘I knew it… she is an angel!’

The upper one is a steak. It’s for you and the lower box contains meatballs. Ly would surely love
them.


Okay, I’ll eat it when I get hungry.

Harin, however, shook her head.

No, eat this before fighting. It will enhance your stats.

Ian sheepishly smiled at this,
Oh… right.

Harin smiled and nodded.

Yes, it won’t have a big effect, but it cannot be ignored.

Ian couldn’t help but agree with that. He could feel that the extra 200 Health made a big difference
during the Campsite quest.

Thank you, Harin.


It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done for me.

They talked for a while longer until Harin logged out. Ian was then left alone, so he checked the time.

I still have five hours till bedtime. I leveled-up quicker than I thought today, I can leave and go eat
dinner, right?

The Goblins’ Campsite quest could be completed multiple times. The location of the Campsite
changed every time, but the quest was all the same. Ian had thought he would need two days to
reach Lv. 35. So, he had planned to do the Campsite quest two times.
However, thanks to his great contribution and the hidden quest, he reached his goal at once. He was
very proud of himself.

I must get some fried chicken.

He thought he deserved a treat for a day’s hard work.
…
Ian devoured his fried chicken and hurried back to log in.
Ian couldn’t help but feel sour about the two Intermediate Training he could have used during the time
he wasted on dinner.
‘Can’t I make an automated command in the virtual reality game? I want to use the Training skill even
while I sleep…’
Ian complained as he logged it. He then summoned Ly right away.

Ly, summon!

Ly rubbed its head on Ian’s waist as soon as it was summoned. Ian’s Friendship with Ly had reached
its peak, it couldn’t be increased any more.
Ian activated the Intermediate Training skill and went up on Ly’s back.

Ly, let’s go to the Lake of the Abyss.

Growl-?
With a curious look, Ly tilted its head. Ian then patted it and started to move.
‘The ship that goes to the Island of the Abyss leaves every hour…’
The Island of the Abyss was located in the middle of the Lake of the Abyss. It was also called
‘Sorcerer’s Island’ because only Sorcerers had a reason to go there.
‘I must arrive in 25 minutes. I should hurry.’
Ly started to move faster and faster with Ian on its back.
‘I think this is the place… is it?’
Thanks to Ly, Ian could arrive at the dock in time.

Ly, over there.

Ian was worried about losing his way because he hadn’t gone there for a long time, luckily, he didn’t
miss the ship.

I came just in time!

Ian hurried to move and went to the ship.
At the dock, four or five people were getting on the ship. It seems that the ship has just arrived.
‘There are fewer people than I thought.’
Ian had gone to the Island of Abyss before he reset his character to help Piolan with a quest.
Then, words had just gone out that there was an Ice Magic quest on the Island, so the dock was
always crowded. Currently, however, it was very quiet.
Crack- Crack-.
Ian found the sound of wooden boards cracking under his feet very disturbing. He silently complained,
‘I will never get used to this ship. Can’t they use a decent ship instead?’
The ship always moved on the same route, unmanned. So, it was called ghost ship. Of course, its
worn-out exterior was one of the reasons for its nickname.
Ian then sat down.
On the opposite side, two men and two women sat there. They all seemed to be a group.
Ly roamed around, as it felt weird about taking a ship for the first time. Soon it came to Ian and sat by
his side. But it still looked around, its eyes were full of curiosity. After all, it had never seen such a big
lake.
Then, a man in the group came to Ian,
Hello. Are you a Summoner?

He appeared to be in the early 20s. He seemed to be very curious about Ly.
Ian was a little annoyed, however, the man seemed to be purely curious, so he answered,
Yes, I’m a
Summoner. You must be with the others?


Yes. Those two over there are Sorcerers. They are going to help me with the Ice Magic quest.


Oh, I see.

Fortunately, after a few more words, he soon lost his interest in Ly and went back to his group.
Ian leaned against the ship’s wall and closed his eyes.
It would take at least an hour to reach the Island of the Abyss. He had nothing to do, so he decided to
sleep. Sleeping in game helped to recover from exhaustion, although not as much as real sleep.
However, as Ian tried to fall asleep, he heard the group talking again. Since their discussion focused
around him, he started to pay more attention.