Chapter 24

Chapter 5

The Beginning of a Fateful Encounter

"Damn it!! Jeeenjaaang!!!"

Katsu, the third Epic Class Transferee, was furious.

Cough!

[You have defeated the Poisoned Vanguard.]

[You have obtained 5 gold.]

[You have obtained a Poison-Soaked Cloth.]

[You have gained 543,500 experience points.]

"Ugh…!"

[You have defeated the Closed-Hearted Vanguard.]

[You have obtained 2 gold.]

[You have gained 617,000 experience points.]

"Damn it all!!"

A month ago, Katsu finally reached 39th place in the overall rankings.

After transferring to an Epic Class, he leveraged the advantages of his specialized hunting class and leveled up at an incredible speed.

Katsu was still overconfident at that time.

Since it took him only a month to move from 53rd to 39th place, he believed that reaching the top rank, which he aimed for, was just around the corner.

But what was happening now?

Despite spending almost all his time, except for sleeping, hunting in the capsule, his ranking had not budged for the past month, staying at 39th place.

Worse still, today his ranking had dropped to 40th place.

Katsu's high pride was shattered.

"How can this be! How can I, Katsu, be stuck in the 40th place for a whole month?!"

He had announced on a broadcast that he would soon claim the top rank with his incredible Epic Class.

But what was this?

People around the world would surely laugh at the ranking list. The second son of 'JIN,' a leading Japanese conglomerate, would be branded a braggart.

'No matter how I think about it, I can't accept this.'

Katsu continued to hunt monsters relentlessly but could not stop thinking.

'The Blood Warrior's attack power and combat endurance are unparalleled. There shouldn't be any class that can hunt faster and more efficiently than this. So why isn't my ranking improving? How are the others leveling up faster than me?'

Katsu's current level was 215.

Starting from level 210, the required experience for leveling up increases exponentially, making it a hellish zone even among top-ranking players. Katsu was quickly adapting to this hellish zone by solo-playing in high-difficulty hunting grounds.

But his ranking showed no signs of improvement.

Even now, despite his experience points increasing continuously, it was all in vain.

Using his family's wealth, he had equipped himself with the strongest items and possessed the best class.

Yet, despite all this, he couldn't improve his ranking…

"Does this mean… I have inferior gaming skills compared to others?!"

Katsu couldn't accept it.

"I have never lost the top spot in any game I've played!"

Compared to his older brother and younger sister, who were called 'geniuses,' he was somewhat less intelligent and weak in social skills, which led to his complete exclusion from the list of potential successors in the family business. However, he had always believed that his gaming talent was superior to theirs, even considering himself the best in the world.

But now, his pride was about to shatter.

"I can't accept it… I can't accept it!!"

Katsu, a failure who couldn't overcome the barriers set by his older brother and younger sister in the real world, did not want to be a failure in Satisfy either. So he made a decision.

'I need to change my hunting grounds. To a stronger place!'

Currently, Katsu was in a hunting ground where monsters of an average level 230 appeared.

These monsters appeared in groups of at least three and possessed various status-altering skills, making it a place where even top-ranking players hunted in parties.

Even Katsu, who could absorb enemy health with each attack, had to rely heavily on potions to solo-play here.

Solo-playing in a higher-level hunting ground?

It was a tough task even for Katsu. A moment of carelessness could lead to death and a loss of experience points.

But Katsu had money.

'With better equipment and better potions, I can do it.'

The weapons, armor, and accessories Katsu equipped were all Unique-grade items.

But Katsu was not satisfied. He was particularly disappointed with the performance of his armor and gauntlets.

<Armor of Sorrow>

Grade: Unique

Durability: 38/310

Defense: 459

Movement Speed: -11%

*Reflects 10% of received damage.

*All stats increase by 5% when durability drops below 100.

This armor was worn by Daimode, a member of the former Knights, when he was falsely accused and pursued as a traitor along with Pia.

Daimode's resentment and pain are fully embedded in the armor.

Usage Requirements: Level 180 or higher, Strength 750 or higher, Vitality 600 or higher, Intermediate Heavy Armor Mastery Level 4 or higher.

Weight: 2,300

<Black Wind Gauntlets>

Grade: Unique

Durability: 110/170

Defense: 57

Attack Speed: +5%

Accuracy: +10%

These gauntlets are used by assassins who bring black winds.

They are very light and comfortable, allowing for faster and more precise attacks.

Usage Requirements: Level 200 or higher, Dexterity 220 or higher.

Weight: 200

The Armor of Sorrow had excellent options but was relatively low in defense compared to other Heavy Armors of the same grade.

The Black Wind Gauntlets had good basic performance but lacked special options.

They were 2% short of being considered true Unique-grade items.

"I need new armor and gauntlets."

With this decision, Katsu logged out and accessed an item trading site to browse the lists of armor and gauntlets.

Despite thousands of items listed, none of them had better performance than the Armor of Sorrow and the Black Wind Gauntlets.

At this point, the Armor of Sorrow and the Black Wind Gauntlets were the best items available.

"…I'm going crazy."

Even if he wanted to spend money, there was no place to spend it.

Katsu cursed the blacksmith players.

"Are all the blacksmiths just slacking off? When will they finally be able to craft items that surpass the drop items obtained from quests and hunting? Damn it, isn't this a dereliction of duty?"

Satisfy has over 2 billion users.

The demand for items is astronomical. However, the growth of users with crafting professions is relatively slow, leading to a supply shortage.

Satisfy users genuinely and desperately hoped for the appearance of a skilled blacksmith.

Yufemina's encounter with Grid, a blacksmith, and her request for item crafting were all enviable strokes of luck.

However, Yufemina was not in a good mood at the moment.

The capital of the Steim Barony, Frontier.

Yufemina had been staying here for a week, where hundreds of merchants passed through daily.

She had been living almost entirely in a shop, gathering information and monitoring the item trading site and auction house every hour.

But she could not find the orb crafting method anywhere. In fact, almost all item crafting methods had disappeared.

Yufemina, who had not been interested in item crafting methods before, did not know that crafting methods were extremely difficult to obtain.

Especially for items with high level requirements, obtaining the crafting method was like picking stars from the sky.

"Ugh… I've come up empty-handed here too. Crafting methods are really rare…"

After searching all the major cities of the Eternia Kingdom for a month without any results, Yufemina felt like crying.

She had earned 6,500 gold by completing the item crafting challenge and helping Rabbit find a job, believing that with this money, she could easily obtain the desired crafting method. But reality was too harsh.

'Not only am I frustrated…'

Yufemina's expression turned cold as she stood in front of the auction house.

Her abnormally high Insight stat had detected someone's gaze.

It had been happening for two days.

Unknown individuals were systematically monitoring her.

'Who could it be?'

Yufemina, a 'Secret Ranker' who had her name removed from the ranking list to avoid fame and other benefits, had always been cautious, using multiple aliases.

In other words, it was unlikely that anyone could have a reason to track her.

But being monitored was a first for her.

"Disgusting…"

Who? Why? How?

Yufemina thought as she entered a secluded alley. Then she spoke into the air.

"Come out. I know you're there."

***

"Come out. I know you're there."

"…!!"

The words of the target made Faker's heart sink.

'Could she have detected my stealth?'

No, that's impossible.

Faker was a genius who became the top-ranked Assassin in Satisfy in just eight months.

Even Nojianma, the long-standing top Assassin before Satisfy's launch, had to bow to Faker's talent.

'A mere blacksmith couldn't detect my stealth.'

Faker, confident in this, sent a message to the party chat.

<This isn't directed at me. It's for you guys.>

There was a backlash.

<Stop joking! We're at a safe distance! There's no way she could have noticed!>

<Hey, hey, she's looking in your direction, isn't she…>

<LOL, the top-ranked Assassin being detected by a blacksmith.>

<Why are you following so closely…? You've been too full of yourself since becoming the top-ranked in your class…>

Faker and his companions were all members of the Chedaka Guild.

About a month ago.

Upon belatedly obtaining information about the item crafting challenge in Winston, the Chedaka Guild quickly gathered in Winston and collected information about the blacksmith who crafted an Epic-grade dagger during the challenge.

Thanks to the many witnesses, the Chedaka Guild's information gathering was smooth.

The blacksmith's ID was Arina. Gender: female. Height: around 160 cm. Age: estimated between 17 and 19. She had long, bright blonde hair and a face that was unforgettable once seen.

Based on witness statements, the Chedaka Guild created a portrait of Arina and divided into several teams to track her movements in all directions.

Two days ago, Faker's team found Arina in Frontier.

Upon receiving the report, Jishuka ordered:

{I will meet that girl myself. Keep an eye on her and provide real-time location updates until I arrive in Frontier.}

And now.

Faker's team was in danger of being detected by Arina.

No, it wasn't yet confirmed that they had been detected.

Faker's stealth level was 7, making it difficult even for top-ranking players to detect him.

"…"

Faker held his breath to maintain a more perfect stealth state.

But he couldn't escape Yufemina's Insight.

"Stop peeping like a pervert and come out. If you don't, I'll make you come out."

This was Yufemina's final warning.

As the situation turned serious, Faker's companions became restless.

<Hey, Faker, it seems she really noticed us.>

<If we keep hiding, we might be perceived as enemies. End your stealth and reveal yourself.>

Faker flared up.

<Blacksmiths don't have skills to detect presence. Even if they did, there's no way they could detect my stealth. Don't worry unnecessarily. She's just guessing based on a hunch…>

Faker's chat message was cut off mid-sentence.

Boom!

A large explosion occurred within a 3-meter radius centered on Yufemina's body.

"Ugh!"

Faker, who was within the range, tried to end his stealth and escape to avoid the explosion's aftermath.

But Yufemina had no intention of letting him go.

"Angel's Scream."

Squeal--

"…?!"

A high-pitched ultrasonic wave shook Faker's eardrums to the point of tearing.

Faker writhed in pain, bleeding from his ears, while Yufemina looked at him expressionlessly and asked:

"Who are you? Why have you been following me for two days?"

'Who are you?'

This was what Faker wanted to ask.

A woman who could use top-tier magic consecutively, and who was supposed to be a blacksmith?

'No way…'

Faker was confused. He needed to confirm.

Swish.

Faker's body trembled slightly, then moved, leaving dozens of afterimages.

While Yufemina observed, her deeply worn hat was suddenly snatched and ended up in Faker's hand.

Faker was shocked.

The face of the blonde woman, revealed as the hat was removed, matched the portrait exactly.

But the ID above her head was not Arina, but Yufemina.

'Everything was wrong from the start. All the information we followed was false.'

Faker deduced.

Many guilds wanted the creator of the Special Yapha Arrow. They were fiercely competing to secure her for their guilds, often spreading false information to disrupt or trap rival guilds.

Faker gritted his teeth.

'We fell into a trap.'

In the worst case, the item crafting challenge in Winston might have been a staged false performance from the beginning.

If so, the Chedaka Guild had been played like puppets.

"Give it back."

Yufemina snatched back the hat from the frustrated Faker and put it on angrily.

"Answering questions without permission and stealing other people's belongings? That's really annoying."

Faker glared at her.

"Who orchestrated this? Which guild?"

To Yufemina, this was a confusing question.

"I don't understand. Why don't you answer? Why have you been following me for two days?"

"Are you playing dumb…? If so, I'll use force to get the truth."

The Chedaka Guild could be simply defined as a gathering of those who dreamed of supremacy.

All members were aggressive by nature.

And Yufemina's temper was not to be underestimated.

"…These days, every man I meet seems like a psycho."

She had to endure Grid because he needed protection, but Faker in front of her was different.

If she wanted to, she could discipline him.

"Monitoring people without permission, spouting nonsense, and now threatening? I need to correct that bad attitude. Thunderbolt."

Crack!

Static electricity crackled around Faker.

Then, a bolt of lightning fell from the clear sky.

Boom!!

Faker, moving at supersonic speed, narrowly avoided the lightning and left dozens of afterimages. He then appeared behind Yufemina.

In an instant, Yufemina's hand touched Faker's abdomen.

"I don't fall for the same trick twice."

Boom!

Faker's body was engulfed in flames.

But Faker didn't even scream.

He didn't feel the pain.

Yufemina had attacked a clone, not the real Faker.

Crack!

"Ugh!"

Faker's kick from the corner hit Yufemina's side, causing her to groan and fall.

Looking down at her, Faker said:

"The same technique can be used differently with application. Your ability to cast spells without incantation is impressive, but you're not my match."

Yufemina was genuinely tense. Since becoming a Replicator, this was the first time she had allowed an attack in a player battle.

'This guy is strong.'

He used top-tier Assassin skills and was skilled in combat.

He was not to be underestimated. But that was all.

"Your arrogance won't last long. Ancient Queen's Knight."

A bright light flashed.

Faker, momentarily blinded, recovered and was shocked.

Right in front of him stood a towering knight, enveloped in swirling dark energy like armor.

"Demon…?!"

It was impossible for a mage to summon a demon.

Satisfy had a Summoner class, and summoning demons was their exclusive right.

- Roar!!

The Ancient Queen's Knight, holding a