by Park Saenal
Oshihoz’ words broke Mook’s conflicted thoughts.
“That’s right. Your words are correct.”
The newbie who came to the East Continent with good timing a.k.a. the masked man. It was time to use him to leave Pangea. Mook controlled his mind again and checked the party window.
Lane - Level 311
Class: ???
Mook - Level 310
Class: ???
Evan- Level 312
Class: ???
Oshihoz - Level 310
Class: ???
??? - Level 320
Class: ???
Lane, Mook, Evan and Oshihoz got to know each other on the East Continent. They might be in the same position, but the time to get to know and trust each other was too short. They only occasionally established a party in order to challenge the big poisonous rat community. But even if they were in a party, they set their class to private like now. That’s why the classes were just question marks.
However, Mook judged there was no need to be so vigilant.
‘The PvP gap isn’t that big between combat classes. The balance is right.’
It was disconcerting that the masked man was level 320. The skills that could be learned at level 320 were famous for being powerful. But there were four of them and he was alone. Even if the plan failed and their intentions were revealed, he wouldn’t be able to face them…
‘There is nothing dangerous!’
Mook concealed a wicked smile with his hand.
“Everybody, please wait.”
They were close to the center of the community. It was night and the moon wasn’t out. In the distance, the large tent of the Queen Rat could be seen.
“Half-face.”
‘Me?’
Was he called Half-face because of the half mask?
‘This naming sense…’
If he was going to have a nickname based on the mask, he would prefer something like Mask Man. Grid felt regret as he replied.
“Yes.”
“Do you see that big tent over there?”
“Yes.”
“The leader of the community lives there.”
‘I killed her.’
The respawn time for a field boss was approximately three days. In particular, the Queen Rat that Grid killed earlier was likely a named boss. As soon as the Queen Rat died, the big poisonous rats were weakened overall. It was likely that the future Queen Rat would be very weak.
It was unfortunate. Mook wasn’t aware that the Queen Rat had already been hunted. He’d never dreamt of it.
“It’s impossible to catch the leader with the number of people we have in our party. In particular, the Queen Rat is strong. How strong… Um, yes. Do you know the big name players like Kraugel, Zibal, and Grid? They wouldn’t be able to hunt it even if they formed a party.”
‘Why is my name at the end?’
His ego was pricked by his name being after Kraugel’s. Grid snapped out, “So?”
“Unfortunately, it’s our duty to defeat the leader. Why? It’s necessary to enter the fantasy hunting grounds much better than this.”
‘If that fantasy hunting ground is the next monster community… I can just go since the queen is already dead.’
He didn’t bother speaking his thoughts. It would be annoying if he had to explain how he killed the Queen Rat.
‘In the first place, I wonder how they were planning to defeat the Queen Rat.’
Grid was feeling interested when Mook handed him a small pouch.
“What’s this?”
Mook let out a laugh at the question.
“Open it. It’s just walnuts.”
“Walnuts?”
“All of the big poisonous rats, including the Queen Rat, are partial to walnuts. It will lure them.”
“Hrmm.”
Grid opened the bag and saw that it really contained walnuts. They were walnuts in a perfect condition before being peeled. They were big with an extraordinarily smooth surface.
“Starting from now, set the walnuts at 2 meter intervals leading up to the entrance of the Queen Rat’s tent. The Queen Rat will be attracted by the smell of the walnut and will be led away.”
“You will leave the community during this gap?”
Grid’s eyes flashed behind the mask.
‘What? At this moment, he seems like an entirely different person…’
His eyes were fierce. It was like he was looking down at them with arrogance. To exaggerate it a little bit, he was like a king of heaven. The eyes behind the mask were similar to a raptor contemplating its prey. It was a force that felt difficult to resist. It happened because Grid was born with naturally sharp eyes and a high dignity stat.
“Haha…” Mook forgot to breathe in front of those eyes. Then he responded calmly without losing his smile. “What are you saying? No. We naturally won’t leave without you.”
Grid’s eyes returned to normal.
“Oh, what is this? Won’t I become the target of the Queen Rat if I place the walnut at the entrance to the tent? Are you going to run away while I’m attacked?”
“No. The Queen Rat is only attracted to walnuts and won’t notice you.”
“How can I believe that? Why won’t you play this role?”
“Haha, didn’t I tell you? We know a lot of good hunting grounds. We always use this method to move to another fantasy hunting ground. Putting walnuts at the entrance to the Queen Rat’s tent is something we do all the time. We want to give you this role so that you can experience what it is like to move to another hunting ground.”
‘Isn’t this strange?’
It was impossible for it to be the truth. But Grid was filled with kindness. In the first place, the Queen Rat wasn’t present. There was no danger and no reason to refuse, so Grid nodded.
“I understand. I will trust you and do my part.”
“Good choice.”
Mook looked at Grid with relief, while also having a nasty grin on his face.
‘The Queen Rat does like walnuts. But she likes the flesh of humans more. She will try to taste you before the walnuts.’
Be the scapegoat as planned. In that gap, they would leave this place and say goodbye to Pangea! The blissful Mook’s party left Grid behind. Grid looked at them in the distance and pulled out a walnut from the pouch.
“There’s no need to scatter this on the ground for the Queen Rat.”
It was better to eat the walnuts while moving to the next hunting ground. He had close to 3,000 strength. The hard walnut shell was useless in front of Grid’s strong fingers. He easily exposed the insides. It was amazing that the husk was completely powdered while the insides were fine. This was the result of Grid’s legendary dexterity.
“Yum.”
Grid placed the walnut in his mouth. At that moment.
‘Delicious!’
Grid’s eyes widened. As soon as the walnut was placed in his mouth, a unique nutty flavor exploded? Then sweetness spread as he chewed. It was so much better than Idan’s food that Grid was in tears.
“I have to eat more… Eh?”
Grid swallowed one walnut and was placing his hand in the pouch when he stopped. He was completely stiff, like a stone statue. He was amazed at the incredible effects.
[You have eaten a golden walnut.]
[All stats will rise by 10% for one hour.]
[The kernel of the golden walnut is perfect without any damage. It provides a complete supply of nutrients.]
[Intelligence has risen permanently by 5.]
“…Eh?”
Grid couldn’t understand the situation.
“Ah…”
Grid was filled with emotions. It was better than joy.
“Those people… They are big pushovers.”
They mistook this amazing walnut for common walnuts and tried to feed them to monsters? How pathetic. They couldn’t even take care of their own rice bowls.
“Aigoo, tsk tsk. I don’t think they’re scammers.”
Grid clicked his tongue and placed the walnut pouch to one side of the inventory. Of course, there was no way he would return the walnuts to Mook.
Chapter 528
Chapter 528
“Legendary Blacksmith’s Appraisal.”
The walnut pouch in the corner of his inventory. Grid pulled out a single walnut from it and used his appraisal skill to determine the true identity.
[The blacksmith who became a legend can appraise items with an excellent discerning eye. If a hidden feature exists in the target item, it will be found.]
[6th grade illusion magic has been detected.]
[The illusion is useless in front of your eyes and scattered like a mirage.]
[The information about the walnut has been updated!]
[Golden Walnut]
Also called the blessing of nature.
It is a snack and remedy enjoyed by all nobles and royalty on the East Continent.
All stats will rise by 10% for one hour.
In addition, there is a very low probability of permanently increasing one stat by 5 points.
Weight: 0.1
[You have discovered a hidden feature!]
[Golden Walnut]
Also called the blessing of nature.
It is a snack and remedy enjoyed by all nobles and royalty on the East Continent.
Somewhere on the East Continent, there are creatures whose main food is this walnut.
All stats will rise by 10% for one hour.
In addition, there is a very low probability of permanently increasing one stat by 5 points. The better you shell the walnut, the more likely it is that your stats will permanently increase.
Weight: 0.1
This was huge. Grid’s mouth widened. He shook with joy at the huge value of this walnut. Grid smiled and shook his head.
“The more I think about it, the poorer they are.”
The golden walnuts were covered by illusion magic. They probably never knew. If they knew, they wouldn’t have considered feeding it to a monster.
Grid pledged. ‘They are pitiful pushovers. I should be nice to them.’
Grid was projecting his past self onto Mook’s party. He felt a great sense of sympathy when he thought about what they suffered on the East Continent. Then he thought about himself.
‘Who would’ve thought I would be so nice to people I met for the first time today? I am really too nice.’
Well, if he wasn’t nice then he wouldn’t sponsor X University 3,300 won a month. Grid truly believed he was nice.
‘I’m not good enough to return the walnuts, but I’m still an angel.’
Grid was proud in his heart. He refrained from eating another golden walnut.
‘Eat it sparingly. Before it’s an elixir, it is the strongest buff potion.’
Buffs that raised stats usually had a duration of 1~10 minutes. On the other hand, the golden walnut had a buff duration of one hour. In addition, Grid knew of only one other buff potion that raised ‘all stats’ apart from the golden walnut. That’s right, the Sweet Candy. A buff potion that could only be purchased five times per account from the Reputation Store, it was a fraudulent item that raised all stats by 30%.
‘It’s too precious to eat, unless I encounter a dragon. This walnut is the best buff potion. Therefore, eat it sparingly.’
Dragon! The strongest creature created by the S.A. Group that players couldn’t hunt yet. Grid didn’t want to encounter a dragon til his dying day. He planned to avoid it at all costs. But the world was still unknown. In particular, Grid had no luck. One day, Minerals Detector Minor might suddenly declare as he was searching around Reidan.
“I have found the best minerals in a dragon lair!”
“Then I can’t go to that place…”
Please don’t let that happen.
“Hmm?”
Grid was praying when he thought of something. Was there a way to secure a large amount of golden walnuts? His face suddenly darkened as he was thinking of a new plan. Before he knew it, the time for breakfast was approaching.
‘Ah, XX.’
Grid had improved greatly since he started exercising. In Satisfy, the maximum stamina would be temporarily lowered if a player didn’t eat three meals a day. They shouldn’t skip meals. But Grid wanted to skip today’s meals. His eyes were dark at the thought of eating Idan’s dishes.
‘No… Today will be different.’
He made it clear yesterday. He liked beef, chicken, and eggs. They would food ingredients that were delicious even when not cooked well. Grid planned to use these ingredients so that Idan could make a dish that was better than dog food.
‘Hurry. I will eat and then go watch the competition.’
Still, he was slightly concerned about Mook’s party.
‘Well, there’s no Queen Rat left in the community.’
Step.
Grid turned and left for Pangea.
***
Darkness encroached on the big poisonous rat community. Dawn started to reveal its grand scale. Mook’s group felt disturbed from where they were hiding like dead mice.
“This is the time that the hamsters will wake up.”
“What should we do? We’ll be isolated.”
“What else? We can’t run away anymore, so we can only wait.”
It had been 15 minutes since the masked man left. Soon, it would be time for the man to place the last walnut in front of the Queen Rat’s tent.
“One minute. Wait one more minute.”
“The moment that the masked man places the last golden walnut in front of the tent, the Queen Rat will wake up.”
“All the big poisonous rats will chase after him.”
The big poisonous rats had a funny habit. They had the ability to detect when the Queen Rat was in danger, even if they were far from her tent, and would chase after the intruder. That’s right. Mook’s group planned to escape while the Queen Rat and all the big poisonous rats were chasing Grid. Grid was the sacrificial lamb. However…
“Isn’t it strange?”
“Why is it so quiet?”
The expected time had passed and the big poisonous rats were still quiet. The health gauge of the masked man in the party window was still full. It meant the Queen Rat hadn’t appeared and the masked man didn’t fulfill his role properly.
“No, is he stupid enough to not place the walnuts properly?”
“Don’t tell me… He figured out the value of the golden walnuts and ran away?”
“Don’t speak such nonsense!”
“It’s impossible. My illusion magic might last for only an hour, but it can block the best appraisal skills. It boasts a tremendous sophistication.”
“Then what is this situation? Why are the big poisonous rats so quiet?”
If the masked man succeeded in attracting the Queen Rat as scheduled, all the big poisonous rats should’ve popped out by now. But the rats were dead silent. Surely the masked man hadn’t noticed their trap and ran away? Mook’s group came up with the worst situation and became nervous. They started to talk in the party chat.
-Excuse me… Half-face?
-Where are you?
-What happened to the walnuts?
-Don’t you need to lure the Queen Rat?
The person called Half-face! Grid belatedly replied to them.
-There is no Queen Rat, so you can move freely. I’m going to get some breakfast. Then I’m going.
[??? has left the party.]
“…??”
Mook’s party was stunned. They couldn’t understand Grid’s words.
‘There is no Queen Rat?’
‘He withdrew from the party to eat breakfast?’
First of all, it didn’t make sense that there was no Queen Rat. It was only possible if she had been raided in the past three days. The Queen Rat was raided? It was impossible. None of the players currently remaining in Pangea had the ability to catch the Queen Rat. There were four players still stuck in Pangea, which was Mook’s group.
Oh, there was the masked man who joined a while ago. However, it was impossible for him to raid the Queen Rat alone.
‘Dammit… What happened to the walnuts?’
It was extremely rare for a player to leave the party to eat food. Most of them cooked food and ate at the hunting ground. But this person withdrew from the party to eat breakfast. The situation was clear.
‘We’ve been tricked!’
They were ruined. The masked man deceived them. They tried to strike him in the back of the head, only to be struck themselves.
“That guy… He knew our ulterior motives from the beginning!”
He pretended to be deceived and acted at the crucial timing to hit them in the back of the head. Evil and smart.
“Shit…! Shit!”
They were completely abandoned. The golden walnuts they spend all their money buying had disappeared. In a nutshell, they were ruined. Everyone was feeling frustrated when Mook gave them hope.
“Hey, wake up. No matter how clever he is, it’s impossible for him to figure out the identity of the walnuts.”
“That’s right! He might think that the golden walnuts are ordinary walnuts and abandon them on the side of the road!”
“Okay! We’ll search for the golden walnuts from now on! We will get revenge after getting back the walnuts!”
“Ohhh!”
They regained their hope and morale, but it was only for a moment.
“…By the way, how many walnuts are there in this large community?”
“This is the time when the big poisonous rats are the most active… How can we deal with them if they leave the tent in a group? They might be weakened, but it will be hard to deal with a large number of them.”
“Above all, the biggest problem is the Queen Rat. She often wanders around the tents in the morning. We will die if we meet her.”
“…”
It was a continuous cycle of frustration. What should they do? Mook thought about it and found an answer.
“We… We’ll hide and wait until it is their nap time.”
They had to hide for 10 hours until it was time for the rats to nap. They couldn’t move a single finger.
“Once they go to sleep, we’ll start the walnut search operation.”
They could find the golden walnuts if they repeated this for around four days. Mook’s group breathed slowly as the hamsters left the tents one by one. There were tears in their eyes. It was the day they remembered that people shouldn’t do bad things.