Chapter 110

Exiting through the northern gate, Ming Hu saw a vast expanse of plains. All over the plains, kobolds were being regenerated, but because of their proximity to the gates, they were killed by the guards and users who guarded the gates as soon as they were regenerated.
“Get him! Get him!”
“Kill it!”
Ming Hu watched the kobolds die and the users awaiting the kobold’s regen, then began to walk along the road to the plains of Denva. After a considerable amount of time had passed, Ming Hu was able to spot a signpost.
-Denva Plains.
“Is this the plains of Denba from now on…”
Ming Hu turned away from the signpost and looked out over the plains of Denba.
“Regen! Kill him!”
“Yours!”
Like the Murgrin Plains, the Denva Plains had a large number of players. They were slaughtering the Red Hop Goblins that were being regenerated.
‘That’s going to be hard to hunt down…’
There were more users than mobs.
“Does it give a lot of experience?
Ming Hu couldn’t understand why there were so many people. As Ming Hu walked along, he pondered why they were having such a hard time catching them.
“There it is!
A huge black castle came into view. In front of the black castle was a small camp with wooden barriers to prevent monsters from entering. Inside the camp were quite a few players. Ming Hu approached the camp.
“179 Healer Party, please!”
“Intermediate Buff Scrolls for sale!”
“I want a junior soldier’s certificate!”
Each player was acting according to their own purpose, whether it was to rescue party members, save the party, or sell or buy items. As Ming Hu entered the city, he looked at the players gathered here and thought to himself.
‘Wow. The users here are different.
The equipment of the players here was a far cry from the equipment of the players who hunted kobolds and goblins in the Murgrin Plains and Denva Plains.
Sigh
Ming Hu checked his equipment. Apparently, his equipment looked a little worse for wear.
“I’m going to have to upgrade my equipment sooner or later.
Determined to upgrade his equipment, Ming Hu walked back and looked around a bit more, but didn’t see much else.
“Hmm? Kid?
With nothing else to do, Ming Hu was about to leave the camp and head to the Black Castle when he spotted a small NPC standing in the corner.
Woof, woof, woof
There were quite a few players gathered around the little NPC. Curious, Ming Hu walked over to where the little NPC was.
“Sir, do you sell certificates?”
As you approached the area where the little NPC was, the user who was there approached Ming Hu and said, “I’m sorry.
“No.”
“Oh, yeah.”
The user who was close to the answer started shouting that he was going to go back to his seat and buy the token.
“What’s a proof…
As he watched, Ming Hu looked at the other users around him.
“Proof Gogasam!”
“I’m buying a certificate!”
All of the players gathered here were purchasing tokens. Ming Hu scratched his head and looked at the little NPC, wondering what they were so eager to buy.
“It has something to do with that little NPC, right?
It was obvious that the little NPC had something to do with it, given the number of players huddled in this corner and the fact that they were only buying tokens. Ming Hu approached the little NPC.
“Huh?
As Ming Hu walks past the players to reach the little NPC, he stops in his tracks when he sees a small wooden bulletin board next to the little NPC.
Lesser Gargoyle Soldier’s Mark -> Helioca Merit 100
Intermediate Gargoyle Soldier’s Mark -> Helioca Merit 300
Superior Gargoyle Soldier’s Mark -> Helioca Merit 600
Mark of the Lesser Gargoyle Knight -> Helioca Merit 1400
Intermediate Gargoyle Knight’s Mark -> Helioca Merit 2500
Superior Gargoyle Knight’s Mark -> Helioca Merit 5000
“…No way.
Seeing the bulletin board, Ming Hu turned to look at the little NPC.
‘I wonder if I can get merit badges…’
He wondered why the players were gathered in this corner, but there was a reason. Ming Hu approached the little NPC and spoke to him.
“Hello?”
“…”
But the little NPC didn’t say anything, just held out his right hand. Realizing that he was asking for a token, Ming Hu smiled bitterly, turned around, and began to walk back to the entrance of the city.
Jumbled
After leaving the camp, Ming Hu headed straight for the Black Castle. The black castle grew closer and closer, and Ming Hu realized that it was larger than he had expected. When he reached the entrance, he saw the stone soldiers he had heard about.
“Fire Arrow!”
“Huh? I got one!”
“Yes, taunt!”
Five players, who appeared to be a party, were hunting two gargoyle soldiers at the entrance. Ming Hu stopped at the entrance to watch the hunt for a while to see how the gargoyle soldiers were behaving.
“I don’t accept party members.”
“…?”
Ming Hu spun around at the sound of the voice, but there were no other users in sight, and a smirk formed on his face when he realized it was addressed to him.
Sigh
He turned and looked toward the source of the voice, where a user who appeared to be a priest was staring at Ming Hu with a slight frown. Perhaps his words had made Ming Hu frown.
“One more to go, heels!”
Just then, a gargoyle soldier fell, and Tanker cried out. The priest glared at Ming Hu with a furrowed brow, then looked away again. Ming Hu turned his gaze back to watch the gargoyle soldier’s behavior.
After a while, the stone soldier slowly cracked and then shattered. The shattered remains of the stone soldier immediately disappeared. Ming Hu shook his head at the sight.
“Does it disappear that fast?
It was unlike any monster I’d ever seen before.
“By the way… nothing much.
The gargoyle soldier didn’t run away, use any skills, or call out to his comrades.
“Because it’s a regular mob.
Now that I think about it, the gargoyle soldier wasn’t a boss monster, nor was it a named monster, it was just a regular monster, and since it was near the entrance, it must have been the weakest low-level gargoyle soldier in the Black Castle. It was greedy to expect special behavior from such a monster.
“Let’s go.
Deciding that there was nothing more to see, Ming Hu began to walk toward the black castle.
“Excuse me.”
But Ming Hu soon stopped walking at the sound of a voice. Ming Hu turned to his right. The priest who had been looking at him with a furrowed brow earlier was still looking at him with a furrowed brow. Ming Hu looked at the priest and said
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Nodding at Ming Hu’s question, the priest walked over to Ming Hu and said.
“Why were you laughing earlier?”
“I don’t even want to join the party, and you said you don’t accept party members.”
“…”
At Ming Hu’s words, the priest was speechless.
“What’s going on?”
“What’s going on?”
The priest’s party, sensing something was amiss, approached Ming Hu and the priest. The priest smiled at the approaching party and said to Ming Hu, “I’m sorry.
“Oh, no big deal, I was standing next to him and thought he was trying to get into the party, so I told him no, and he laughed, and I was just asking him why he laughed.”
“Oh.”
“I see.”
The approaching party members scanned Ming Hu’s appearance, then exchanged glances and smirks. It was an obvious sneer. The priest raised one corner of his mouth.
“The mobs are much stronger inside… I can’t believe you weren’t planning on joining the party. Let’s go back to hunting, I’m sorry I kept you waiting.”
“No, haha, I’ll get the mob.”
At the priest’s words, the party returned to their seats, and Tanker entered the black castle. Ming Hu looked at the priest with a slight frown, and as if sensing his gaze, the priest, who had been looking at the entrance, turned his head to look at Ming Hu, and then turned away with a sneer.
‘Hoo…’
Letting out a short sigh, Ming Hu turned around and entered the Black Castle. Once inside the Black Castle, Ming Hu could see that the tanker that had promised to bring the monsters earlier was now pulling three stone soldiers.
“Move out of the way.”
Tanker called out to Ming Hu. Ming Hu frowned again at the tanker’s call. The entrance was wide. Besides, it wasn’t like he was blocking the tanker’s path.
“Oh, come on, don’t interrupt me. Just do your reps.”
The tanker, who soon reached Ming Hu, said as he passed him.
“…”
It was ridiculous. Ming Hu stared at the back of the tanker, and as soon as it was out of sight, he turned his head to look at the three gargoyle soldiers running out of the room. He threw a punch at the nearest gargoyle soldier.
Puck!
The stone soldier attacked by Ming Hu instantly cracked and shattered. The two remaining gargoyles that had been following the tanker stopped chasing the tanker when their companion was killed and began to charge at Ming Hu.
Puck! Puck!
Ming Hu threw a punch at the gargoyle soldiers charging toward him, and the two gargoyles that charged at him were instantly shattered.
Thrrrr
The remains of the stone soldier quickly disappeared, leaving behind an item. Ming Hu reached for the dropped item.
-You have earned the Mark of a Lesser Gargoyle Soldier.
You’ve mastered a lower-grade marble sculpture.
After picking up the items, Ming Hu waited a while. After a while, Tanker reappeared at the entrance. The tanker slowly walked in, looking around with a puzzled expression on his face. When he spotted Ming Hu, he shook his head slightly and walked past Ming Hu and back inside.
Dada Dada Dada
Soon afterward, Tanker disappeared through the entrance again, dragging the three stone soldiers with him. When Ming Hu lost sight of the tanker, he attacked the three stone soldiers again. Again, the debris quickly cleared away, and a moment later the tanker appeared at the entrance. Ming Hu looked at the tanker and smiled inwardly.