Chapter 74

What is the most important thing for efficient grinding?

Most people would answer with 'an overwhelmingly powerful skill that can one-shot monsters.'

Of course, that's correct. A short cooldown for such a skill and ample MP would also be valid answers.

But what if all of these were already in place?

Carpe was certain.

The auto-loot function was absolutely essential for efficient grinding!

The shorter the time spent picking up items, the longer the grinding time would naturally be.

In this sense, Carpe was incredibly blessed.

"Quack!"

"Right. Hyang. Did you collect all the items outside?"

"Quack!"

"Right, right. As expected, Hyang is the best. Here, take these giant acorns from the Elf Forest."

A cute pet that automatically collects items for you!

This was something every user in Lase desired, and Carpe already had it.

"Good job, Hyang. You did a great job this time too."

Tina, in her doll mode, said this and then hopped out of Carpe's chest pocket.

She then approached Muhyang and handed her a small acorn.

"Indeed, the first knight of the lord. Please take my acorn as well."

"Quack!"

Muhyang, who received the acorns from Carpe and Tina, let out a happy squeal and stuffed them into her cheeks.

Tina then climbed onto Muhyang's back as if it were the most natural thing to do.

"Lord. We will move separately to clear out the enemies. It will be more efficient this way. Mirage! Come this way."

"Ugh..."

At Tina's call, a strand of snow-white hair popped out from the opposite pocket where Tina had been.

It was Mirage, also in her doll mode.

"Tina... I don't like fighting..."

"Whining won't work. Mirage, come over here quickly."

"Master..."

Mirage looked at Carpe with a plea for help in her eyes.

Mirage was already a cute child, but in doll mode, her cuteness was even more enhanced.

Even a cold-blooded person would find it hard not to smile at such a sight, and Carpe's head nodded involuntarily.

If she doesn't like fighting, what can he do?

"But... well, you don't have to fight directly. I can still get experience points by killing them, right? You can just stay in the pocket..."

"That's not possible, Lord. We will eventually face a fierce battle with Wixin. We need to practice our coordination with Hyang and Mirage for that."

"...Is that so?"

But Carpe's defense was mercilessly shattered by Tina's logic.

In the end, Mirage sighed deeply and hopped out of the pocket.

"Tina is too serious."

"That's not the right expression. This is about pursuing the right and efficient path."

"That's why you're so serious, Tina."

Mirage grumbled as she approached Muhyang. Muhyang's back was a bit narrow for two, but...

"Quack!"

When Muhyang used the 'Gigantification' skill, there was enough space for both of them.

Tina nodded after confirming that Mirage was on Muhyang's back.

"Lord. I wish you good luck."

"Right. Be careful, Tina. If it gets dangerous, come back to the room."

"Thank you for your concern. Hyang, let's go."

"Quack!"

Carpe smiled as he watched Muhyang and the dolls run off.

"Bro, why are they so cute?"

- Tsk. They're like perfect little dolls.

"Is this the joy of parenting..."

Carpe, 23 years old.

He had discovered his father's joy at a rather young age.

- Hey, be careful...

Thud!

[You have defeated the Wind Spirit Enchanted by Darkness.]

- ...It's not necessary. This level of guild, after all, can only have about 150 members.

"Is that so? Then even a top 10 guild doesn't have that many members?"

-No, that's not it. The number of members a guild can have increases with the guild leader's level.

The maximum number of members a guild could have was determined by the guild leader's level: 150 members for levels below 50, 300 for levels 50 and above, and 500 for levels 100 and above.

-Plus, even if the guild leader meets the level requirement, the guild doesn't expand immediately. They have to complete guild quests. Most of them are not that difficult, so they usually get cleared.

"Hmm. It's quite picky. So a top 10 guild isn't 500 members... It's more like a structure where several 500-member guilds are allied."

-Right. You must have played a lot of games to figure that out so quickly.

The core guild that the guild leader belongs to and the subordinate guilds run by the officers.

When combined, the total number of members easily exceeded a thousand, and it was common for them to be in the tens of thousands.

According to some, the top 10 guilds in China had hundreds of thousands of members, which was an absurd number possible only because Lase had over 100 million users in China.

-Now, the number of domestic employees at Samsung Electronics is around 150,000, right? Well, a top 10 guild is comparable to a successful large corporation.

And those top 10 guilds were rapidly expanding their subordinate guilds, making them akin to giant corporations.

"Such a scale... It's really a different world."

-It might be like this now, but the higher you go, the more often you'll encounter them. For all you know, this KD guild might be a subordinate guild at the bottom of a top 10 guild.

"Listening to that makes me want to cause even more chaos."

Anyway, due to this membership limit system, a guild at this level could only have up to 150 members, and KD was no exception.

-There are fewer members than expected. They can't be online 24/7, so they have to rotate in shifts. There are probably around 70 members online now.

"Hmm. That makes sense."

Even considering this, the number of members seemed low, but perhaps something had happened elsewhere.

Carpe nodded and continued through the dungeon.

Before long, the KD guild's ambush began again.

However, this time they came with a strategy, unlike their previous reckless attacks.

"Can you handle this number, no matter how strong you are?"

"Seems like you were a big shot in the previous cycle... You picked the wrong person to mess with."

"Sure, there's always a self-righteous guy like you. If you had just passed by, nothing would have happened."

Four KD guild members rushed in, speaking lines like extras in a B-movie.

Behind them were dozens of Wind Spirits.

-Aha. Mob drop PK. Well, the Wind Cave dungeon is a no-teleport and no-warp zone, so it's possible.

Mob drop PK.

Also known as 'mob tagging,' this is a famous PK tactic known to anyone who has played RPGs for a while.

The method is quite simple.

First, a few players draw the aggro of dozens of 'preemptive' monsters and then slowly lead them to the target player.

Then, they all use group recall spells or teleportation to disappear.

Naturally, the aggro shifts to the remaining target player, and the player is overwhelmed and killed by the combined attack of dozens of monsters.

'Hmm. A classic tactic. But how do they plan to escape? The no-teleport rule applies to me too, not just them.'

-They don't necessarily need to use teleportation. They just need to get out of the monsters' detection range.

And as the Demon said, the KD guild members used a group skill.

"Cloaking!"

"Hiding!"

They activated their respective stealth skills.

The Wind Spirits, which had been following them, paused for a moment when the players disappeared, but soon recognized Carpe, who was nearby, as their new target and began to approach.

"Wow. They've done this more than once."

The coordination among the players was impeccable. Leading dozens of large-scale monster groups in perfect timing was not something that could be achieved without a lot of practice.

This showed how many players they had killed using this method.

They performed their task perfectly once again.

"Really, they're so kind. They even deliver the monsters for me."

Of course, this would only apply if the target wasn't Carpe.

Carpe activated a skill towards the dozens of Wind Spirits rushing towards him.

"Permafrost!"

Crack!

A wave of ice began to engulf the monster group.

A 9-star skill, over 100 magic points, and the legendary item 'Frozen Shackles' that added extra damage and effects to ice attribute skills.

There was no way a 40-level monster could withstand this combination.

Dozens of Wind Spirits were swept away by the ice, turning into Carpe's experience points.

[You have defeated the Wind Spirit Enchanted by Darkness.]

[You have defeated the Wind Spirit Enchanted by Darkness...]

...

[You have defeated the Wind Spirit Enchanted by Darkness.]

[Level Up! You have been granted bonus points!]

The number of monsters was so great that Carpe leveled up with just this one attack.

And it didn't end there.

Permafrost didn't care if the target was in stealth.

"What the hell! What is that guy?!"

"Ugh! This is bone-chilling!"

"No! If I die now, the death penalty will stack..."

The KD guild members who were hiding in stealth between the monsters and Carpe were also swept away by the Permafrost.

"Ah, refreshing. As expected, area-of-effect skills are the best!"

-It's a shame. They seemed to be seasoned players... They probably never imagined such a crazy monster would show up.

"That's why you should be good in life. If you're evil, you'll eventually face divine punishment. Or end up in hell."

Of course, in this case, it was an ice hell, not a fire one.

After the Permafrost swept through, countless spoils were left behind.

"Alright, Hyang. Item collection... Oh, you're not here right now."

-Well, Nyaquio is probably busy collecting items elsewhere. They're not as strong as you, but they're strong enough.

"Right? Hmm?"

Carpe turned his head while picking up items.

From deep within the dungeon, the sound of something breaking and shouts could be heard.

It was the opposite direction from the entrance, deep in the dungeon.

"Hmm. It seems someone is fighting up ahead? Is KD grinding monsters?"

-Of course not. The area is being wrecked because of you. They wouldn't be calmly grinding. No sane person would do that.

"That's true, but..."

Then what is this noise?

He wondered if Tina and KD had clashed, but that direction was different from where Tina had gone.

Carpe collected all the items and then moved towards the source of the noise.

"...Huh? Could it be?"

-Wow, at this timing?

A completely unexpected scene unfolded before his eyes.

A 10-star player who had become strong through a lucky draw.