Chapter 232

After receiving the Grade C Proof Plaque, Ming Hu quickly began to accumulate elixirs through challenges.
-Currrrrrr!
Ming Hu turned to see the ogre roaring toward him.
‘This guy… five, right?
Thinking of the rewards of the challenge, Ming Hu grinned and charged at the ogre. The distance quickly closed, and Ming Hu threw a punch at the ogre.
Puck!
-Cure…
[Challenge Success!]
“Hmm.
When the successful challenge message appeared, Ming Hu smiled and turned around to approach the entrance to the ring.
“I’ll open it.”
As I approached the entrance, the receptionist said, “I’m used to it. As I continued to look, I got used to it and the receptionist was no longer surprised.
Siaak
Ming Hu exited the ring through the open entrance and headed straight for the building to collect his challenge reward.
“You’re here already.”
The NPC looked at Ming Hu with a bitter smile as he approached. He then pulled a pouch from under the desk and placed it on the desk. The NPC placed the pouch on the table, and Ming Hu immediately opened it. Inside the pouch were five Power Elixirs.
“That’s 120!
Ming Hu opened his inventory and placed the power elixir in his pocket, then looked at the pile of power elixirs in his inventory and smiled.
“120 in two days…that’s good.
It’s been 2 days since he started working on the elixirs, and Ming Hu has been able to earn 120 Power Elixirs in 2 days.
“Here it is.”
The NPC then placed a book on the table, and Ming Hu immediately opened it to find a challenge that rewarded him with an elixir of strength.
“…huh?
But Ming Hu, who was looking for a challenge, was soon forced to panic.
‘No…huh?
Wondering if he had missed something, Ming Hu began to look through the book again, puzzled, and started from the beginning.
‘Nothing…’
I hadn’t missed it. I checked each challenge carefully from start to finish, but there wasn’t a single one that rewarded an elixir of strength. Ming Hu closed the book and looked at the NPC.
“I don’t have any challenges that reward me with Elixirs of Power… can you tell me what happened?”
“Ah… the elixir of strength.”
At Ming Hu’s words, the NPC trailed off, seeming to ponder, then nodded as if he had an idea.
“There’s nothing left… so we’ve modified the reward slightly this time.”
“…Ah.”
Ming Hu let out a short gasp at the NPC’s next words. Realizing why the Elixir of Strength had no rewarding challenge, Ming Hu sighed and turned back to his book.
“Maybe it’s time to fold.
There were challenges that didn’t reward elixirs of strength, but other types of elixirs, such as elixirs of agility and elixirs of stamina, but he had already raised enough other stats. Ming Hu looked away from the book and opened the quest window.
<First internal crackdown
The Emperor of the Helioca Empire, Alkan Helioca, is troubled by the corruption of his nobles. As he pushes outward to open up unexplored lands, he wants you to audit the nobility. Audit the nobles designated by the Emperor to determine the truth of the corruption and bring back evidence!
[Count Altoran: 1 / 1].
[Count Frank: 1 of 1].
[Torrent Authors: 1 / 1].
[Appenzeller: 1 / 1].
[Baron Magnus: 1 of 1].
[Baron Debek: 1 / 1].
Difficulty Level: A
Quest Reward: Helioca Merit 5 million + ???
"I'm going to go wake up now.
I was not completing quests for elixirs, specifically for the Elixir of Power, but now that I know I don't have any, there is no reason not to complete them.
"Here."
Ming Hu closed the quest window and handed the book back to the NPC.
"…?"
The NPC looked at Ming Hu with a puzzled expression, then shook his head and continued, "I'm sorry.
"No challenge?"
"Yeah, I'm taking a break."
Ming Hu nodded in response to the NPC's words. He turned around and started walking toward the stairs.
That was the moment.
Jumbled
You start to hear footsteps at the top of the stairs. If it was just one person, he would have gone up, but the footsteps didn't belong to one person. Ming Hu decided to wait for everyone to descend the stairs and stepped aside.
"Are you sure this is the right place?"
"Uh."
"Hmph, finally, my source of wisdom is going to kick in!"
"…?
Moving to the side of the stairs, Ming Hu could not help but be momentarily puzzled by the conversation that accompanied the sound of footsteps.
"Fountain of Wisdom?
He had not misheard; it was clearly a source of wisdom. Ming Hu began to focus on the conversation he was hearing.
"Demetrius, be quiet."
"Oh, I see. That's the longest I've talked in a while."
"But… where is the source of strength and intelligence?"
"Yeah, who's going to master it already? Well, we have the other three."
"…what?
Ming Hu looked surprised at the conversation that followed. He immediately started walking up the stairs. I had originally planned to wait until he came down, but I realized that standing here would be misleading.
"Demetrios, Magan. Shut up."
"Okay, man. I know you're worried."
"Ugh, I have users here anyway…"
Jumbled
As expected, the conversation was interrupted by the sound of Myung-hoo's footsteps.
"Is that them.
As Ming Hu continued to climb the stairs, he saw three people coming down the stairs, looking a little awkward.
"The source of wisdom, agility, and stamina.
He couldn't be sure, but from the conversation he'd overheard earlier, they seemed to possess a source of wisdom, strength, and agility. Ming Hu looked at each of the three men's faces as he ascended the stairs. They looked back at him, but Ming Hu was still wearing his mask, so he didn't have to worry about being recognized.
Sigh
Soon, Ming Hu was able to pass the three men and reach the first floor. Once on the ground floor, Ming Hu turned around and looked at the stairs.
'….hmm.'
Ming Hu stared at the stairs and thought for a moment, then turned around and headed outside to find a deserted alleyway. Once inside the alley, Ming Hu opened the skill window.
<Source of Power [Passive
Level : -.
Proficiency : -.
Source of power.
Effect: Increase your power to 10 times your final power.
Looking at the deceptive skills that had made him who he was, Ming Hu recalled the faces of the three people he had seen earlier.
'I thought we were all friends…'
Listening to the conversation, the three seemed to be friends.
"This is a scam. How did you get this scam skill?
The Source skill has a very deceptive efficiency. It's only a guess, but they probably have the same deceptive strength as you do. And since there were three of them, the synergy would be immense.
"…I need to work on my elixirs more thoroughly.
It was unlikely that he would have to fight the three of them, but you never know. Ming Hu decided to raise his stats even higher, just in case, and opened his inventory to look at the elixirs, which he immediately began to take.
[You have taken the Elixir of Strength, permanently increasing your Strength by 10].
.
.
[You have taken the Elixir of Wisdom, permanently increasing your Wisdom by 10].
Soon after taking all the elixirs, Ming Hu opened the character window.
Nationality : Helioca [Empire]
Titles: Count
Age: 22 Occupation: Blood Knight/Strong Smith
Reputation: 4606000 Achievements: 7770
Title: Hidden Hero (Effect: +50k Health, +50k Mana)
Level: 323
Vitality: 18897550
Mana: 2508420
Blood pressure: 7730
Strength : 787030 [78703(+7200)] Dexterity : 61715 Stamina : 62157(+500)
Wisdom: 61370 Wisdom: 61041
Dexterity: 370
Contribution: Elgav – 1000000
After checking his stats, Ming Hu recalled the three people he had seen earlier.
"…how much would you have taken.
He was very curious about the three of them, but there was no way to ask and no way to find out, so Ming Hu quieted his curiosity and closed the character window. Then he pulled a warp scroll from his inventory and tore it open.
Siaak
Light burst forth from the torn warp scroll and began to envelop Ming Hu. Soon, Ming Hu disappeared from the scene, along with the light.
Thrrrr
As soon as Ming Hu disappeared, a man appeared. It was clear from his sudden appearance that he had used stealth, and from his use of stealth that he was a bandit.
"NPC… I should have attacked him once, but I missed."
Sana looked at the spot where Ming Hu stood and muttered, then turned and walked back out of the alley, muttering to himself.
"But these guys… Aren't you tampering with my elixir?"
The slow walker frowned slightly and started to run faster.