Chapter 7

# 7

There Is No Impossible (2)

While Lokan was locked in the training ground, pounding away at the dummies, time passed quickly.

One day, two days, four days, five days... Before he knew it, ten days had passed.

‘Time sure flies.’

By now, not only had the strategy for "Please Take Care of the Squirrel" been revealed, but players who had already reached level 10 and escaped Pocket City were also emerging one after another.

Thanks to the relentless word of mouth, the number of new players increased, but due to the game company separating the tutorial village into Pocket City, there were no issues with connection problems or being crowded out.

Pocket City itself was like an instant dungeon, where people didn't gather in one place but were separated into different channels. Therefore, even if they started together, it was rare to meet in Pocket City.

This meant that each player had to overcome Pocket City individually and move on to the main continent.

Still, there were those who stood out among all the Pocket Cities. Some showed exceptional adaptability from the beginning and progressed quickly, while one person remained stuck in place even after a fortnight.

That person was Lokan.

Except for a few who were caught off guard and started late, Lokan was still hitting the dummies in the training ground, which had been almost completely wiped out, just as he had at the beginning.

People mocked and pointed at him, calling him a fool, but he didn't stop.

He ignored anyone who tried to provoke him. After all, this was a safety zone, and if he showed off his strength recklessly, he would be taken away by the guards and suffer.

During this time, his stats steadily and evenly increased.

You who overcame what couldn't be done with sheer effort! Your challenge has no end.

- 10% reduction in experience needed for level up.

You who can easily break dummies, you are the best warrior in the village.

- Strength +5

Finally, his stats reached the maximum level that could be achieved in the training ground.

It wasn't as easy as people thought. After all, he could now destroy a dummy in less than a minute, despite being only level 5.

People thought he had leveled up by hitting dummies, but in fact, Lokan hadn't used any of his spare stat points. Using spare stat points makes it harder to increase the corresponding stat.

Thanks to this, Lokan finally obtained the title he aimed for.

It wasn't a title with an initial bonus, but it had excellent effects.

The title "NooOoOoOoEffort" reduced the experience needed for level up by a whopping 10%. In his previous life, a user who obtained this title stood out and caused a training ground sensation within a few years of The Road's release.

Although he was buried at an appropriate level because he was a latecomer and couldn't make a living from the game, Lokan felt a fondness for his astonishing growth rate and similar combat style, and had interacted with him before.

This secret, he had heard when he was forced to quit the game due to his wife's pressure.

Actually, there was one more secret.

“I want to use the advanced training ground.”

When there was nothing more to gain from the training ground, Lokan handed over the advanced training ground access pass to the NPC who had always watched over him.

If he hadn't obtained the advanced training ground access pass from the mysterious box, he would have had to hit dummies for four more days and complete a few quests to get it. Thanks to this, Lokan saved a lot of effort.

“Follow me.”

The NPC feigned surprise at Lokan's sudden presentation of the advanced training ground access pass but soon regained his composure and led him to the hidden secret training ground as programmed.

“Since you have this, you know the rules. Once you leave here, it's over.”

Creak... Boom!

The NPC, who pushed Lokan in, closed the heavy iron door, trapping him inside. If he wanted to leave, he could knock on the iron door three times to open it, but then everything would be over. He wouldn't be able to obtain or use the advanced training ground access pass again.

Lokan, who already knew this, checked his status.

‘I have enough food.’

Getting a food box and a money pouch from the mysterious box was a stroke of luck. Thanks to this, he had bought a lot of the most cost-effective bread and stored it in his inventory.

He had already survived for ten days, but he felt he could last twice as long with this.

New dummies appeared before him.

“So, these are them.”

So-called moving dummies. While he had faced stationary dummies in the outer training ground, he now had to tussle with dummies that moved and counterattacked.

Their attack power was considerable, and he could die if he wasn't careful. And if he died, his access to the advanced training ground would be revoked.

But Lokan wasn't worried. In fact, he hoped the dummies were strong enough to keep him on edge.

“Please, last as long as you can.”

He had been hitting dummies that were no match for him to get the title and additional stats, and his senses had dulled.

He had restarted The Road to feel the thrill of combat, so having strong opponents was no problem.

“Come on, toys!”

Lokan, who had warmed up, charged at the moving dummies like a beast.

* * *

One month. In that short period, the world was turned upside down.

The reason for the change was one.

While there were already several virtual reality games, The Road, described as "the real, the first," was a game of a different caliber.

At first, only a few played out of curiosity due to the high account fees, but as play videos spread by word of mouth, the number of new players increased rapidly.

Along with this, dedicated connection capsules sold like hotcakes. The supply couldn't keep up with the demand.

The top-tier product cost a staggering 15 million won, but the rich kept contacting the game company, saying they would buy more if the supply was available.

This phenomenon was happening worldwide, as The Road was released simultaneously in Korea and globally.

Still, what was surprising was that no one had met a foreigner yet. The game company only said, "You will meet when the time comes," leading to numerous rumors.

However, that wasn't important. What mattered was who was leading and who was the strongest. Even though the game didn't provide a ranking system, online communities were ranking the best players by their own standards.

According to the records, the level of the fastest leveling players was around 50, with the majority being Koreans. Known as a combat and gaming nation, Korean gamers were once again excelling.

On the other hand, there were quite a few players with unique behaviors. Given the high degree of freedom in the game, many enjoyed content other than combat and leveling.

Among them, the "training fanatic" who had disappeared for 20 days reappeared.

It was Lokan.

“Phew! That was close.”

Lokan, who had obtained everything from the advanced training ground, reappeared.

Although his appearance was a mess from rolling around for dozens of days, his expression was bright.

Level 10 achieved.

He was forcibly ejected after meeting the final training condition of the advanced training ground.

However, Lokan cleverly used his last moment to max out his additional stats.

The increase in additional stats was purely a matter of luck, so it couldn't be achieved just by brute force. Moreover, due to the title effect, it was difficult for him to increase his stats.

So, the trick Lokan came up with was "curses." He used a magic scroll obtained from the mysterious box on himself to be cursed with "Weakness."

The effect of the Weakness curse was a decrease in all stats. In a normal battle, it would be quite troublesome, but since Lokan was increasing his additional stats, the decrease in stats made it easier for the additional stats to rise. Finally, he barely managed to max out his additional stats.

Thus, Lokan obtained everything he could from the advanced training ground and came out.

Besides the additional stats, he obtained one more thing from the advanced training ground.

Just as he obtained the NooOoOoOoEffort title after getting everything from the training ground, he could obtain one more title this time.

However, even Lokan didn't know what it was. The person who obtained the NooOoOoOoEffort title in his previous life didn't manage to complete the advanced training ground.

Surprisingly, the title Lokan obtained was familiar to him.

You who possess an indomitable will that never gives up!

Your will, which never gives up in any situation, cannot be broken by anyone.

You are the first to obtain this title.

- Resistance to all negative mental effects.

- All stats increase by 50% when health drops below 5%.

‘Indomitable Will’!

This was a title that was almost exclusive to the previous Lokan.

While the title he obtained in his previous life was of a lower unique grade, it worked best in combination with other skills he used.

Lokan earned the name "King of Violence" after obtaining this title.

“I can get this here. I won't have to go through that hardship this time.”

In his previous life, he obtained this title after going through immense hardship. He delayed his death while his health was at 0 and killed several stronger opponents to get it.

Even then, he only obtained a unique-grade title, but this time, he obtained an epic-grade title early on, which was truly a great harvest.

‘Is this really a lucky build?’

It was even enough to make him feel hopeful, something he had never felt during his long gaming career.

At that moment, a quest window appeared before Lokan. It was a quest he had never seen before, even though he knew most quests.

‘This is...’

I have found the traces of the gale that once ravaged the world. Find the remaining traces and carry on the legacy of the gale.

- Completion of advanced training ground. (Completed)

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‘This is huge.’

But he knew how significant this quest was, even though the reward wasn't listed.

The first completion condition was the completion of the advanced training ground.

Whether it required raising all stats to the limit like Lokan or just entering and leaving, it was unknown, but if the first completion condition for an epic-grade title quest was the advanced training ground, the reward would be enormous.

Rumble!

At that moment, a sound broke the atmosphere. His hunger was at its limit.

‘Ah, Oring.’

He opened his inventory, but it was empty. He had eaten all the bread he had bought with all his money, and he was now penniless and without any equipment, but Lokan wasn't worried.

He had reached level 10.

According to his knowledge, he wouldn't go hungry.

“I want to venture into a wider world.”

A moment later, Lokan stood before the village chief of Pocket City and said the promised words.

Before level 10, the chief wouldn't even acknowledge you, but those who reached level 10 could leave Pocket City through the chief.

“You'll be fine. Take care.”

Although it was their first meeting, the chief looked at Lokan with a trustworthy gaze, perhaps due to his [Friendly] reputation.

With those words, control of his body was lost, just like during the tutorial. Instead, a video played before his eyes.

A video of his character riding a merchant's cart and heading somewhere.

This marked the farewell to Pocket City and the beginning of the main game.

Oh.