CH 181

Countless users gathered within a building akin to a temple. They weren’t here for no reason; they interacted with each other to run missions, train, or eat together.

/Missions have been renewed./

/One hundred and seven new missions have been added to Arterian./ 

/Forty-eight new missions have been added to Panitris./ 

/Forty-one new missions have been added to Jin./ 

/Three new missions have been added to Noah./ 

/One new mission has been added to Demon World./

“Ooh, the missions have been renewed.”

“Check the mission requirements and details for Noah first. Optical science-based weapons seem to be fetching a high price these days. I’d like to get my hands on some and sell them to purchase a reinforced item.”

“There aren’t many reinforced items on the market, though….”

Each of the gathered users checked their Beholders to review the newly-added mission requirements and details. Each mission described the minimum number of participants, stat requirements, and rewards. Based on this info, the players started to seek other party members.

“Ah, man. It says that the Noah mission requires a Level 10 long-range offensive user. Do you know any Masters?”

“How would I know a Master, dummy? Let’s look for an easier mission… oh, this Arterian mission only requires four Level 7 healers and five Level 8 damage dealers.”

“From what I know, Arterian isn’t a major mission site, so I don’t understand why there are 107 new missions. Moreover, it seems all the new Arterian missions require a healer… perhaps they have a T virus pandemic?”

“Hahaha. Do you think they’ve all become zombies or something?”

While the two were talking, the other users were slowly forming parties. Players referred to this search in the Star Temple as <Matching>, seeking users to fulfill mission requirements and establish a party.

“It seems like something’s happening on Arterian. For such a huge number of new missions to be released simultaneously…. Arterian’s civilization is similar to Earth’s, right?”

Jeros was sitting at a table while sipping his drink. He asked this as he recalled DIO’s [Worldview]. However, the users he was conversing with, Adol and Hanma, were essentially physically mature, mentally underdeveloped meatheads.

“Hey, it’s not like we conducted quests in only one or two places. If it were Panitris or Jin, we’d be able to answer since most of our missions have been there.”

“Still, you guys should try and memorize some details. It doesn’t look good if Masters don’t know basic information.”

Although Jeros complained, Hanma and Adol didn’t seem to care.

“You can memorize everything; we’ll just rely on you.”

“Also, we can search the Beholder for that kind of information, and we also have the internet in the real world. So, there’s no point in memorizing any of that.”

“Ugh, you guys don’t even try to formulate a strategy in advance.”

While sighing, Jeros started drawing a blueprint on a monitor, which was slightly larger than the palm of his hand. Jeros worked on a blueprint whenever he had time. This act of multitasking required a mage to possess tremendous skill and focus, especially since Jeros was designing a high-level magic system. Yet, Hanma was disinterested.

“Anyway, if Arterian is a modern civilization like Earth, there isn’t much to loot, right? To be honest, among the Level 7 or above monsters, there aren’t many that can be taken down with gunpowder-based weapons,” Hanma stated.

“Besides, users can produce gunpowder-based weapons themselves now, and they’re usually garbage Tier 3 common weapons. Furthermore, the tier requirements to use those weapons are absurdly high, so new users can’t even use them.”

Various modern technologies were required to make a gunpowder-based weapon, but the overall structure and methodology were simple. Moreover, among the many high-level mages in DIO, more than half were scientists. Just like in reality, where fields of expertise were divided into areas such as physics or biology, mages in DIO were also split between destruction and dark arts. However, in the end, mages all possessed the same fundamental knowledge. Even some of the in-game Mage Guilds were already making semiconductors with the goal of developing computers, so developing and producing a firearm shouldn’t be a problem.

“Well, they’re known to be garbage items, but if they’re made properly, gunpowder-based weapons can also be viable weapons. Most importantly, they can provide an advantage by allowing the user to attack without consuming much spiritual power in an emergency. Besides, the weapons’ destructiveness is considerable if you imbue magic power into the bullets.”

“Actually, among the Masters, there are quite a few guys who carry assault rifles or pistols. If magic bullets are used, those weapons can display a significant amount of force.”

For users who lacked attack power or required time to prepare, a gun wasn’t a bad weapon. This was because a firearm was relatively simple and only needed to be raised, aimed, and have its trigger pulled.

“I must say, there are too many users who can dodge bullets in this place…. Ah, speaking of which, did you guys hear about Merlin’s new product?”

“It’s a gun, right?”

“Peacemaker III, I believe?”

After hearing the name of Merlin’s new item, Jeros raised his Beholder and connected to the auction house. Since there were countless items being sold, Jeros did a filtered search using Merlin’s ID.

“Oh, it looks like the auction has already started. The maximum number of enhancements seems to be ten…. Ah! Look at this! It has a guidance system! Also, it can shoot in three different attack patterns.”

“Really?”

Jeros was kicking up a fuss, but Adol and Hanma didn’t show much of a reaction. In Adol’s case, he had a laser gun, which he only used when dealing with enemies that were situated far away; hence, Adol wasn’t interested in Merlin’s advanced and powerful gun. Additionally, Adol already possessed one of Merlin’s reinforced weapons.

“Dang, reinforced weapons are expensive… though, they’re also extremely powerful….” Jeros said.

“Well, that’s the power of stacked spells. I bought my current reinforced sword for 150 million won, but right now, I’m getting a barrage of requests to sell my sword for at least 800 million won,” Adol answered.

“Oh, now that I think of it, didn’t you buy the first prototype?” Jeros asked.

“This sword is the reason why I’ve been able to deal damage like a damage dealer. Based on my experience, this sword is an overpowered cheat item. Even if I swing the sword with an average user’s strength, it can still fatally wound an ogre. It can also immobilize a tank.”

Adol used his gear swap function to bring out his sword. It was the +9 Striking Sword. The first reinforced sword that Merlin handed over to the blacksmith, Aidelin, had fallen into Adol’s hands.

“Ah, that old fogey. When Merlin asked what item he should make, that old fogey should have said a gauntlet or some other support-type item!” Hanma quipped.

“You don’t even wear gauntlets, no?”

“Even if it gets in the way of using some of my skills, I’d happily put on a reinforced item!”

Hanma was a physical power-based fighter, and he was also Aidelin’s grandson. As a life force user, Hanma didn’t carry a weapon, so even though he was related to the foremost blacksmith in DIO, he couldn’t take advantage of it. However, his friend, Adol, was able to use his connection to snatch a cheat-like item.

“Ah… I really need to buy it… I need to buy it… I need….”

Jeros started muttering the same line over and over as he stared fixedly at his Beholder. Since he required some time to prepare a spell through chanting, a long-ranged weapon like this Peacemaker III was perfect for him. Pulling a trigger while chanting a spell was easy, so the gun would come in handy during emergencies.

“Dude, forget about it. It’s already at 2,500 gold. You recently spent a fortune on those guardian gloves of yours, right? You’re probably dirt poor right now.”

“That’s true, but… ugh. I need this item.”

One gold was worth approximately 59,000 won, or 45 USD. When rounded up to 60,000 won, 2,500 gold would equal 150,000,000 won. The gun has a +10 reinforcement, which was one higher than Adol’s sword. This meant that it could stack spells ten times. Based on the offers Adol had received for his sword, the gun would probably fetch a final bidding price above 800,000,000 won.

“Dang, the price is going up like crazy. Why are there so many rich people?”

“That commercial I was in only paid me 50,000,000 won… if someone truly wants to obtain the most up-to-date gear, they’ll probably have to join a national organization, wouldn’t they?”

As Masters grew more popular, various multinational corporations started providing sponsorships. Additionally, Masters often appeared on television shows. Since Masters were typically at the top of their field in real life, their names and popularity increased exponentially when they reached the Master Level.

“Ah, come to think of it, in the USA… what was their name again? Mountain Rock? Anyway, they told me that they’d pay a salary of five billion won if I joined them. They were talking about helping with their research or something like that.”

“Eh? But you’re a birdbrain. How could you possibly help them with their research?”

“Well, it’s probably related to Noah.”

“Ah.”

Though common users were unaware, it was already well-known amongst the Masters that the tech within DIO could be recreated in real life. Most scientists on Earth knew of this, so labs across the world were competing and vying to secure their own Masters to obtain DIO’s advanced tech.

“However, it’s been much more difficult to come across that futuristic tech these days. Don’t you get the feeling that they’re restricting what we’re exposed to?”

“Yeah. Also, even when a mission has that technology, we don’t have enough time to stray from the mission objective, so it’s difficult to get ahold of anything. Additionally, it’s not like we have a bunch of free time to conduct missions just to obtain that tech.”

The missions related to the advanced civilization of Noah could only be taken by Master Level users. On top of that, the mission time limits were relatively tight, so it wasn’t easy to gather futuristic items. In truth, the only items most Masters could get their hands on were what the enemies dropped.

“With that in mind, it’s already been half a year since laser guns were found in-game. By now, the top governments on Earth probably developed the requisite optical technology to recreate one.”

“Well, due to the tech crossing over, the general level of science on Earth has increased by leaps and bounds.”

“Of course, all that advanced tech is probably being tightly guarded and controlled.”

As the three talked, they continued to scroll through the new missions. Lower-level users often scrambled to pick a mission, gather party members, and start whatever mission they qualified for. However, Masters had to be picky and careful when selecting a mission. Though missions that required high-level users offered better rewards, they also carried heavier penalties for failing. As such, it was imperative that high-level users carefully choose their other party based on playstyle, teamwork, level, and what skills and abilities another user could bring to the table.