NOVEL NEXT Chapter 59
Chapter 59
Since Se-woon’s return.
That is, it was the first time since the tutorial began that everyone could relax without any worries.
Although the castle gate was damaged, here in the Golden Castle, there was no need to worry about any monster invasions.
Moreover,
– Time remaining until ‘Tutorial Chapter Five – Defense’: 62 hours and 10 minutes
even the system indicated that nothing would happen for a while.
Of course, this didn’t mean they could just fool around for the remaining time.
The final chapter of the tutorial, Defense.
As the last chapter, it would be highly dangerous, offering many opportunities to earn merit points as well.
“I get it. So we just need to repair the castle and strengthen the defenses, right?”
“Yeah. Just from the name Defense, you get a sense of what’s coming, don’t you?”
“Yes. I’ll inform everyone. We have plenty of time, so we should be able to prepare adequately.”
“Good.”
After finishing the discussion, Yoo Seo-ah went outside to gather everyone.
By now, everyone was familiar with the tutorial routine, so no one seemed particularly displeased at the hard task of repairing and strengthening the castle defenses.
They treated it as the obvious thing to do.
Each person took on their roles and found their tasks.
“Then I’ll get to work as well.”
“No. Baek Hyun, I need you to focus on the manticore’s corpse.”
“Everyone’s busy restoring the castle, I can’t be the only one slacking off.”
“Focusing on the manticore’s body will be more beneficial for increasing our combat strength, Baek Hyun. I’ve already informed everyone else, so you don’t need to worry about the castle.”
“…Understood. I will make sure to succeed before the battle begins.”
“Good.”
Baek Hyun nodded and began working on the manticore’s corpse.
Given his considerable growth even while on a rattling wagon, the progress would be much quicker if he could fully concentrate here in the castle.
If Baek Hyun could indeed reanimate the manticore before the fifth chapter of the tutorial began…
‘The tutorial will be a piece of cake.’
Perhaps, he might witness ‘it’ once again.
It wasn’t certain, but the faint outline he saw after defeating the final boss monster before his regression—the entity no one believed in but which Se-woon’s unique skill, ‘Guidepost of the Journey,’ pointed to—made him think it was no lie.
Although the conditions and location for its appearance were unclear due to the chaotic circumstances back then, Se-woon believed he could find it now.
‘First…’
Before going out to help with the castle repairs, Se-woon decided to check his own status.
Knowing oneself was the foundation of victory in a hundred battles. Understanding his own state before facing the enemy was fundamental.
[ Status Window ]
Name: Jung Se-woon
Level: 17
Title: –
Strength: 122 Agility: 96
Stamina: 99 Intelligence: 92
Remaining Stat Points: 6
Unique Skills: Power of Greed, Power of Gluttony
Skills: Ten Path Leg Technique, Gnoll’s Snout, Hamel Family Longsword Technique, High Orc’s Sinew, Ember of Kasha, Blue Mana Circle, Fireball…
The last time Se-woon checked his status and distributed his remaining stat points was just before the assault on the Golden Castle.
After defeating Garden, the Lord of the Golden Castle, and leveling up twice, he had acquired new remaining stat points.
‘My stats are quite impressive.’
Every stat was on the verge of reaching 100.
Among them, his strength had already surpassed 100 long ago.
This was largely thanks to hunting the starving ogres in the third zone of the tutorial, and ultimately taking down their leader, ‘Krak Katlak.’
‘It’s all thanks to the Power of Gluttony.’
– The Constellation, ‘The Hungry Prince,’ shrugs his shoulders at your reaction.
– The Constellation, ‘The Hungry Prince,’ boldly declares that as long as you prepare a good meal, he’s willing to pay any price.
– The Constellation, ‘The Hungry Prince,’ hints that it’s about time for a meal as he realizes he’s getting hungry.
Ignoring Beelzebub’s boastful messages, Se-woon moved on to the next piece of information.
His merit points.
From the fourth chapter of the tutorial onwards, the ranking is now calculated based on the ‘Overall Tutorial Ranking,’ rather than the ‘In-Clan Ranking.’
Given that he had been finding hidden pieces and overcoming various challenges with ease so far, he wasn’t too worried.
However, considering the sheer number of monstrous players in the tutorial, he couldn’t help but feel a bit tense.
Individual Merit Points Ranking
[ 1st Place: Jung Se-woon 740,080 points ]
[ 2nd Place: Riel Refrain 451,220 points ]
[ 3rd Place: Chen 400,080 points ]
[ 4th Place: Iron Teeth 388,570 points ]
[ 5th Place: Khan Chase Vivacheria 388,560 points ]
…
[ 24th Place: Kang Han-cheol 311,000 points ]
[ 25th Place: Yoo Seo-ah 309,550 points ]
However, the moment Se-woon checked the merit points ranking, his concerns vanished.
The gap between him and the second place was nearly 300,000 points.
‘Even with the siege battle, closing this gap will be difficult.’
Riel Refrain. Originally, this player was the one who would clinch the number one spot in the tutorial.
Receiving the support of a Constellation from the start, Riel must have thought they were guaranteed first place, but upon seeing the ranking, they were likely quite shocked.
‘Kang Han-cheol and Yoo Seo-ah are doing excellent.’
Honestly, Se-woon had monopolized most of the merit points throughout the tutorial.
Therefore, the two’s merit points were relatively low in comparison.
Even so, they managed to take the 24th and 25th spots.
Furthermore, with the fifth chapter of the tutorial, where one could earn the most merit points, still remaining, there was a good chance for their rankings to improve.
‘Next, the items…’
There were far too many items to check each one individually.
First, there were the items obtained from the goblin village. Most were E-rank, but they were sufficient for one-time use.
Next, the equipment acquired from raiding the five castles. While most of these were D-rank, the five items stolen from the respective lords exceeded C-rank.
With the Molar Dagger gone, these would be Se-woon’s most frequently used weapons.
Additionally, there were the axe obtained from hunting the ogre leader, the instrument from defeating Pan, and the halberd from taking down Gold Garden.
Se-woon possessed an uncountable number of weapons.
If not for the Subspace Pouch, carrying them would have been a significant burden.
‘I should probably distribute some of these.’
Even the Subspace Pouch had its limits. Besides, Se-woon couldn’t use all these items simultaneously.
While he did need many weapons to utilize the Power of Greed, it was excessive even considering that.
However, personally distributing the equipment was impractical.
He considered going to Yoo Seo-ah, who knew the clan members the best, but…
“Seo-ah, where should I place this?”
“Stack it in the left storeroom, please. Store the food in the right storeroom.”
“Unnie! I’ve sketched out a few siege weapons, can you review them?”
“Of course. Ah, Il-jung, could you check the condition of the walls?”
“Sure thing.”
She was busy leading and directing people as a leader, and Se-woon didn’t want to burden her any further.
In that moment, Se-woon thought of a good solution and changed his direction.
Clang, clang!
“Elder.”
“Oh, you’ve come? Are you here for repairs? Or creation?”
Go Chang-seok. As the clan’s sole blacksmith, he was responsible for all equipment crafting and repairs.
Previously, he had collaborated with the twin sisters to create siege weapons.
Not only was his skill exceptional, but as a contractor of the 28th-ranked Demon Lord, ‘Berith,’ the items he crafted exhibited abilities superior to most blacksmiths in the tower.
Even now, he was busy crafting various pieces of equipment using the monster materials gathered earlier.
Approaching Go Chang-seok,
rumble—
Se-woon poured out the pre-organized items.
“What’s all this?”
“Items I don’t need.”
“Oh ho.”
“I’d appreciate it if you could distribute them to those who need them. Feel free to use them as materials for crafting if you wish.”
“Using them as materials is always welcome, but for distribution, wouldn’t Seo-ah be better suited?”
“I believe your discerning eye for equipment and the people suited for them is superior, Elder.”
“Haha, thanks for the compliment. I’ll see to it.”
“Thank you.”
Se-woon also handed over various materials he had acquired so far to Go Chang-seok.
As a true blacksmith, his eyes widened as he took in the materials, and he immediately began hammering away.
“Next…”
Se-woon took out a suit of armor that sparkled golden in the sunlight.
Armor of Glory.
Acquired after defeating Gold Garden, this impressive B-rank armor was phenomenal.
Naturally, its performance was extraordinary. Any melee fighter would covet such an exceptional piece of armor.
Even after entering the tower, obtaining an item of this caliber in the lower levels would be nearly impossible.
The problem was,
‘This armor doesn’t suit me.’
The Armor of Glory was full plate armor, designed to cover the entire body.
As someone who primarily used a variety of weapons and magic to swiftly move through enemy lines, this type of armor didn’t suit Se-woon’s fighting style.
Se-woon’s combat approach focused more on evasion and offense rather than defense.
‘I should give this to Kang Han-cheol later.’
The person who came to mind as most suitable for the golden armor was Kang Han-cheol.
Given Kang Han-cheol’s style of absorbing enemy attacks to deliver stronger blows, he could definitely make full use of the Armor of Glory’s benefits.
As Se-woon was contemplating this, a familiar voice called out from a distance.
“Hyung!”
Park Jung-pil. On Se-woon’s orders, he had been out riding Jeokrang since the morning, scouting the surrounding castles, and seemed to have just returned.
“Report.”
“Yes! As you mentioned, quite a few groups have arrived. Some were engaged in siege battles like us.”
“Any peculiarities?”
“Everyone seemed busy with their own tasks, so nothing particularly stood out. Oh, but…”
“But?”
“One clan appeared to be heading this way. Or at least, their direction seemed like it. They gave off a really unsettling vibe…”
Se-woon paused to think.
Though he had arrived early and scouted ahead to capture the Golden Castle using the pass, why would a clan that had just started the fourth chapter of the tutorial be heading in this direction?
If they were looking for a castle to capture, there was no reason for them to come all this way.
As Se-woon filtered through Park Jung-pil’s unending stream of reports—almost more like chatter—a hurried Yoo Seo-ah, who had been directing people, ran up to him.
“Se-woon!”
“What’s going on?”
“There are people outside the castle gate right now!”
People outside the castle gate. It was likely the clan that Park Jung-pil had mentioned.
A bad feeling settled in Se-woon’s gut, causing his expression to turn cold.