Chapter 226

Ting! Ting!
[Viscount Arpen’s Record Crystal: 15%]
[Viscount Arpen’s Record Crystal: 16%]
In the end, Ming Hu decided that he was right and filled in 100%, and stood still and looked at Viscount Rogers. Viscount Rogers looked very puzzled.
“What the…what!”
“Uh, how…”
Ming Hu smirked at the sound of Tom and Jackson’s voices behind him. Tom and Jackson were panicking, too. Of course, Tom and Jackson didn’t stop attacking despite their panic, so their percentages continued to rise.
[Viscount Arpen’s Record Crystal: 50%]
That’s when we hit 50%.
Dada dada dada!
Tom and Jackson, who were attacking Ming Hu with their swords, stopped their attacks and moved past Ming Hu to block his path.
“…?”
Ming Hu stared at Tom and Jackson, puzzled by their behavior, before frowning slightly and saying, “I’m sorry.
“What are you doing?”
“…”
“…”
Of course, Tom and Jackson didn’t say anything to Ming Hu’s words; they just stared at him in silence, swords pointed at him.
“I still have 50% more to go.
To get the record crystal ball, he had to go up another 50%, but by the looks on Tom and Jackson’s faces, they had no intention of attacking.
Jumbuck
Ming Hu took a step forward.
Flinch! Flinch! Flinch! Flinch!
At this, Tom and Jackson, who stood in front of him, and Viscount Loggers, who stood behind him, flinched. Ming Hu smirked at their uncharacteristic behavior and looked around the room.
“Where do you want to be…
As Ming Hu looked around the room for the safe, he noticed a sizable painting on the wall and smiled.
‘Usually in dramas and novels, there’s a vault behind that.’
Ming Hu realized that the safe might be behind the painting and began to walk toward it.
“…uh, where are you going!”
As Ming Hu walked toward the painting, Viscount Logus opened his mouth to speak. Ming Hu stopped walking and looked at Viscount Logus.
“…will be.”
As Ming Hu stared, Viscount Logus finished in a quiet voice. Of course, Ming Hu did not respond to Viscount Logus’s words. Resuming his walk, he reached the painting, picked it up, and set it aside. Then he looked back at the wall where it had been hanging.
“…Ho-ho. You really have one?”
Just in case, there was a safe hidden behind the picture.
“I thought it was only in novels and dramas… I guess it’s the same in games.”
Ming Hu smiled and reached for the safe.
That was the moment.
“Lord, kill me!”
Viscount Logus’s voice came from behind him. Ming Hu stopped reaching for the vault and turned around.
“…”
“…”
Tom and Jackson didn’t move at Viscount Loggers’ command. I could tell from their expressions that they were trying to figure out what to do.
“Kill him!”
Once again, Viscount Rogers called out. At Viscount Loggers’ shout, Tom and Jackson looked at each other, exchanged a glance, then nodded and began to run toward Ming Hu. Ming Hu turned away from Tom and Jackson as they ran toward him.
“I’m the one who needs to be slapped.
With that thought, Ming Hu reached toward the safe again and tugged on the handle.
Float.
The door of the locked vault was pried open. Ming Hu set the door aside, opened his inventory, and began to replace the contents of the safe.
-You have mastered Viscount Appen’s ledger.
[Viscount Appen’s books have been extinguished].
[Viscount Arpen’s Record Crystal: 70%]
The items in the vault were destroyed as soon as they were placed in your inventory, and at the same time, the percentage of the record crystal began to increase.
“Uh, stop it! If that gets out, you’re as good as dead!”
Viscount Rogers called out again.
“…Profit!”
“Yikes!”
Tom and Jackson, who had stopped in their tracks in bewilderment as Ming Hu ripped open the safe, roared at Viscount Loggers’ shout and charged at Ming Hu again, swinging their swords at him.
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!
[Viscount Arpen’s Record Crystal: 75%]
[Viscount Arpen’s Record Crystal: 76%]
[Viscount Arpen’s Record Crystal: 95%]
[Viscount Arpen’s Record Crystal: 100%]
Tom and Jackson’s attacks and the items from the vault eventually brought Ming Hu to 100%.
[100%].
[You have obtained the Viscount Arpen’s Record Crystal].
[Quest ‘First Internal Crackdown’, Viscount Appen’s condition has been fulfilled].
When he reached 100%, a message appeared stating that he had earned the Record Crystal and fulfilled the quest requirements. Ming Hu smiled and looked away from the message to look inside the vault. There were still gold bars, jewelry rings, and other items inside the vault.
-You have acquired a gold bar.
-You’ve earned an Advanced Diamond Necklace.
-You’ve acquired a top-tier Sapphire Ring.
Finished collecting the items in the vault, Ming Hu turned around to see Tom and Jackson still swinging their swords at him, and shouted, “I’m not going to let you get away with this!
“Stop hitting me, you bastards!”
Stop! Stop!
Tom and Jackson froze at Myung-Hoo’s shout. Then they stepped back, staring at Ming Hu with a mixture of bewilderment and despair. As Tom and Jackson backed away, Ming Hu turned to look at Viscount Loggers, who stood behind them.
“…”
Viscount Loggers was speechless. He could only stare at Ming Hu in disbelief, unable to comprehend the situation.
“…I’ll have to call them right away.
Ming Hu opened his inventory and took out the crystal ball he had gotten from Revil and activated it.
Siaak
A moment later, Revil’s image appeared in the crystal ball, and Ming Hu immediately informed Viscount Appen of his business. After returning the crystal ball to his inventory, Ming Hu looked at Viscount Rogers, Tom, and Jackson.
“…”
“…”
There was a silence in the room, as we were neither acquainted nor in the mood for conversation.
* * * * *
Soon after contacting Revil, a group of knights and soldiers from the imperial court of Viscount Appen descended on the city.
“Thank you.”
“Ah, yes. Good luck.”
Ming Hu handed over Viscount Logus, Tom, and Jackson’s recruits to the knight. Ming Hu watched the knight glare at Viscount Loggers and thought.
“Are they not calling me this time?
Shortly after dealing with Baron Magnus, Alkan had summoned Ming Hu through the Sith to offer him a knighthood and a manor. Slightly expecting something this time, Ming Hu looked at the knight, who still glared at Viscount Logus, and said, “I’m not sure what.
“I wonder if… . did His Majesty say anything of the sort to be heard?”
“…?”
At Ming Hu’s words, the knight looked at Ming Hu with a puzzled expression on his face. Realizing from the knight’s expression that he hadn’t called for him this time, Ming Hu smiled wryly and continued, “I’m sorry.
“Haha, no, thank you, good luck.”
Ming Hu bade you good luck once more and left the mansion, walking to the warp gate and opening 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: 0 / 1].
[Count Frank: 0 / 1].
[Torrent Author: 0 / 1].
[Appenzeller: 1 / 1].
[Baron Magnus: 1 of 1].
[Baron Debeck: 0 / 1].
Difficulty Level: A
Quest Reward: Helioca Merit 5 million + ???
"Now it's Torren's turn."
Muttering to himself as he looked at the quest, Ming Hu closed the quest window when he reached the warp gate and warped to the city of Lagus, home of Viscount Toren's mansion. Arriving in Lagus, Ming Hu went directly to the central plaza.
"It was Lahmur, wasn't it?
Soon after, arriving at the central square, Ming Hu started looking for a restaurant that used the name Lamour.
"…Why don't I see it?
Looking for the restaurant Lamour, Ming Hu is a little panicked when he can't find it after circling the central square.
"It should be here.
According to the information gleaned from the black nails, there should have been a restaurant in the central square here that went by the name of Lamour, but it was nowhere to be seen.
"I'll have to ask.
Ming Hu decided to ask, so he grabbed a user passing in front of him and asked.
"Hey, do you happen to know where a restaurant called Lamour's is?"
"…The arena?"
"Oh, yeah."
Restaurant Lamour wasn't really a restaurant at all. It was an illegal dueling arena run by the Viscount of Torren. In any case, by referring to the arena, the user clearly knew about Lamour.
"If you go into the alley over there, you'll see a sign that says L'Amiens, and there'll be two guys standing in front of it, and that's L'Amour, and they've changed the name."
As expected, the user knew about Lamour.
"Thank you. Have fun."
"Oh, yeah. Have fun."
Ming Hu thanked the user, turned into the alley the user had pointed out, and began walking quickly.
"Is that it?
As Ming Hu walked along the alleyway, he slowed his pace when he spotted two huge men in the distance. He looked up at the entrance they were guarding.
"There it is.
Above the entrance was a sign that read, "Ramien. Ming Hu smiled and walked right up to the entrance.
Sigh
As Ming Hu approached the entrance, the man standing to the left of the two men guarding the entrance blocked his way.
"Let me check."
"…OK?"
What do you mean, you confirmed what?" Ming Hu asked, puzzled by the man's words.
"Is this your first time?"
"Yes."
"Oh, right, can you take a look at that?"
The man raised his hand and pointed to the left. Ming Hu turned his head to the man's left and saw a board with something written on it. The board read the conditions of entry.
"I just need to show 100 gold to get in?"
"Yes, of course."
Ming Hu immediately opened his inventory and pulled out 100 gold.
"Have a great time."
He showed the man 100 gold, and the man smiled and said, "I'll take it," and stepped aside. Ming Hu pushed past the man and stepped inside.
[Achieving 100% will reward you with a Torren's Record Crystal of the Self-Made Man].
[Viscount Torren's Record Crystal: 1%]
-Whoaahhhh!
-Good job! Good job!
-Kill me!
-Blow it up!
As I walked in, I heard a message and excited voices from inside.
"…how do I get this up here?
Ming Hu pondered how to increase the percentage, and then walked to where the voice was coming from. Soon, Ming Hu arrived at the place where the voice was coming from, and he couldn't help but make an interesting expression.
There was a ring, and in the ring, a thin man and a huge man were fighting. Or, more accurately, they weren't fighting, but rather, the thinner guy was getting beaten up by the bigger guy.
"Hmm…hmm…"
Judging by the way he was gasping for air, the thin man had reached his limit.
"Kahahahaha, you dare to challenge me that much?"
But the huge man didn't look tired at all.
"Go die, kahahahaha!"
The massive man swung his mace at the thin man.
Puck!
Stretched to the limit, the thin man couldn't avoid the mace and was sent flying out of the ring.
"Ooohhhhh!"
"Cool! Steven!"
"Ah, the legend of the arena!"
"Good bet! Kahahahaha!"
The onlookers let out a cheer as the thin man flew by. Steven, the huge man, waved to the cheering crowd and smiled. That's when it happened.
[Torren's Record Crystal: 2%]
Out of nowhere, the percentage went up.
"Is it just going to go up over time?
I didn't do anything and the percentage went up. It seemed to take a while for the percentage to increase. Ming Hu looked away from the message and back to the ring. A middle-aged man had climbed into the ring. It wasn't Steven's next opponent. Judging by his attire, he was clearly a manager or dealer here.
"Come on! Shut up!"
A middle-aged man climbed into the ring and shouted. The cheering crowd slowly died down as the middle-aged man's shout was heard, and the middle-aged man continued.
"All you have to do is beat Steven, and I'll give you 200 gold as a prize, plus an elixir that promises to make you stronger just by taking it!"
"…What, the Elixir of Strength?
Ming Hu looked at the middle-aged man in surprise.
"Challenge costs 20 gold! Anyone up for a challenge?"
Woof, woof, woof
The onlookers began to murmur at the man's words.
"Elixir of Power!
Ming Hu pushed past the crowd and quickly climbed into the ring.