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Chapter 180
The shared quest window was as follows:
[Find the Crown]
Find the ‘Crown’ that symbolizes a king’s authority. The ‘Crown’ will open a new path.
Jackson gave further explanation. “The part about the new path… is probably not written in detail in the shared quest window.”
What was this ‘new path’, exactly?
“It means that a new entrance of the Gran Seoul Dungeon will open here.”
As I thought, Jackson appeared to know about that method.
‘There’s a high chance… that Jackson went into the Gran Seoul Dungeon in the past.’
And the same would have happened this time, too, if not for the puzzle piece that was ‘me’.
“But the problem is…”
What he needed wasn’t the ‘Old Crown’, but just a ‘Crown’.
“You probably need a crown retaining its full power.”
“...That’s right.”
A crown retaining its full power. I didn’t have that right now. All I had was the ‘Old Crown’.
“But there should be a way to restore this Old Crown.”
There were people out there who could restore items that were old and had lost their power. The people we commonly called “Masters” didn’t just deal with enhancing, but also restoration. However, I didn’t know if there were any Players who could restore the Old Crown at this point in time.
‘If there are…’
Then they most likely wouldn’t be in the Korean server. Vela butted into the conversation. Of course, his sapling Intermediate Administrator was translating.
“I do know a crazy guy who’s good at restoration…”
Right. Though that person was too much of a giant in the Playing world to be called a mere friend.
“There’s this guy named Pedro among my besties, but…”
Pedro. The Master of Restoration. A Master of Masters. A global top-level Player related to restoration.
‘The Player who created the Fight King’s gauntlet.’
To be more precise, it wasn’t made by Pedro alone. It was said that he was helped by his teacher, Bufafa, but I didn’t know the details, since restoration, item production, and enhancement didn’t count among my interests. I did know that Pedro was someone who had a big hand in helping Vela gain his title of Fight King, and I also knew that Vela found Pedro very difficult to deal with. Pedro was the only person in the world he was helpless towards.
“If it’s him, he might be able to restore it.”
“Is he in Italy right now?”
“No. I think he’s in Japan right now? He’s probably up to something over there.”
That was good news—Japan was close.
“Could you possibly call him here?”
“Mm. Um. Well.”
“If you’re really friends.”
“Well, that’s… He’ll get mad. For a guy who claims he’s a manly man, his hysteria is no joke.”
But I had something up my sleeve that could entice Pedro. That was why I asked.
“Tell him I have this thing.”
“What thing…?”
I opened a trade window and showed Vela an item.
[Tomb Pilfering Shovel]
An artifact that can collect the ‘essence’ of ruins, artifacts, and relics.
*Grade: Legendary
*Thief class exclusive
Vela’s eyes widened.
“A legendary… item? It’s my second time seeing one in the flesh.”
Ohh, it wasn’t his first, but his second time? This generation’s rankers were indeed at far higher heights than the public thought. Their level was far higher than the public’s rough estimation, considering it wasn’t Vela’s first time seeing a legendary item in the beginner period, but his second.
“Please tell him that I’ll give him this legendary item if he helps us.”
“But he’ll probably say some nonsense about not phone pranking a manly man…”
“Just try calling him already.”
Vela looked a little uneasy, somehow.
‘At this time, he should be meeting Japan’s Itachi.’
Come to think of it, that was a little weird. How did Itachi and Pedro know each other? The Astrologist of Japan, Itachi, was a prodigy astrologist who met an early death, while Pedro was a Master among Masters in Italy. What connected them?
‘They supposedly first met at this time…’
That was written in a memorial Pedro wrote to mourn Itachi’s death. Pedro and Itachi likely met for the first time around now. An Italian Player with a Japanese Player. Why?
‘What kind of connection did they have?’
I didn’t know. But somehow, I had a hunch that everything was connected to my Playing. Granted, it was a bit heavy-handed to say that was Precognitive Eye kicking in or anything. It was just my ‘gut feeling’.
‘I’ll know in due time.’
Vela hesitated. “He said he’d kill me if I called him again.”
“I’m not the one dying.”
Vela clapped his fist to his palm in realization and nodded. “Right, that’s true.”
I didn’t know why that was enlightening to him, but this man with a way of thinking that couldn’t be comprehended by common sense relented.
“Okay, I’ll call him.”
Jackson was watching on with amusement. In the end, Vela nodded and made the call, saying, “Whatever, I’ll just get an earful.”
As his phone rang, he said, “But he might hang up as soon as he picks up. And he might have blocked me. I’ve been bothering him with frequent calls these days.”
“Don’t greet him, just go straight to telling him about the legendary item.”
“I’ve used that tactic a few times already…”
I found myself grinning.
‘If it’s the Pedro I know…’
He would come flying right away. The guy was crazy about items, after all.
Vela came back from his call, his face sour.
“He says he’s going to the airport. He’ll be on the plane in three hours. But I should prepare to get whooped since I called him.”
Vela shivered all over.
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Lei
Proofreader - Ash
* * *
Three hours later, a Master of Italy, Pedro, would be coming.
“Let’s meet again in front of the Gran Seoul Dungeon in four hours. Mr. Pedro will be picked up by my driver.”
I agreed to meet Jackson and Vela in front of the Gran Seoul later. Meanwhile, Sunhwa and the other members of Giantgod came out of the dungeon.
“Oppa!”
My little sister came running up to me drenched in sweat. I resisted the urge to push her off when she scampered up like a bunny and jumped into my arms. Lord, did she smell intense.
‘The smell of sweat. Blood. Dirt. And this is… the smell of poop.’
She had probably stepped in monster dung. To be honest, she smelled a bit revolting, but it was still bearable, one way or another. She would be hurt if I shook her off now, right?
“Did you clear it well?”
“Yes. Like you said, Oppa, it’s the kind of dungeon where you advance forward little by little.”
Yeonseo gave Sunhwa an envious look. “I wanna get hugged by the Boss, too.”
Yoohyun clenched his giant hands into fists. “I’d like to get hugged by Hyungnim as well.”
I fully ignored Yeonseo and Yoohyun’s pointless chatter. I asked Sunhwa, “How was it?”
Yeonseo answered instead.
“Haa, don’t even talk about it. I was about to die from frustration in there.”
“Really?”
“Like I thought, we need the Boss.”
The difficulty itself wasn’t high, but apparently, their speed of advancement was unimaginably slow. Yeonseo shook her head.
“I didn’t feel stifled when clearing with the Boss…”
Playing with ordinary Players seemed to be very stifling for her. Yeonseo wasn’t flattering me right now—she was expressing her honest thoughts.
I grinned and said, “Even so, this process is necessary.”
Sunghyun nodded. “Hyung is right. I’m learning a lot as we Play with untrained Players.”
Sung-gu shivered. “Learn? Learn what? I almost learned what it’s like on the other side.”
“...Don’t you think of that experience as a learning experience?”
“Can it, dude. Why’s a brat like you always on my ass?”
“How about you act a little more like a hyung, Hyung?”
“Hyukjin. If you’re gonna be at the Gran Seoul anyway, let’s go together. Protect me, man. Shabam. It’s my first time seeing such a shoddy tank. Dude, I almost died while casting magic, you know? I acted while thinking at your standard and almost really died. I’m serious, bro.”
Sunghyun scowled. “I haven’t seen any monsters so far that could kill you with one hit, Hyung.”
“Three hits and I’m deadso. And it hurts a shitton.”
“A magician who sits around while getting hit three times is better off dead.”
“You want three hits from me so you can kick the bucket?”
“Try me; my magic will be faster.”
While Sunghyun and Sung-gu were squabbling, I heard about the Gran Seoul Dungeon from Sunhwa and Yeonseo. It wasn’t very different from what I knew about it. They were clearing it steadily, bit by bit. The Gran Seoul Dungeon required quite a long time to clear.
‘It’ll take at least one week.’
Would I be able to find the Gran Seoul Dungeon’s hidden field in that time?
“Did you find the new entrance, Oppa?”
“Not yet.”
But we would probably be able to find it soon.
The Fight King, Vela.
The Great Explorer, Jackson.
The Master of Masters, Pedro.
And the Astrologist Itachi, who Pedro was meeting at this time.
All four were directly connected to the Old Crown-related scenario. How deep did that connection run?
I tousled Sunhwa’s head. “I’ll tell you when we find it.”
“Okay. You have to tell me for sure!”
I didn’t understand why I needed to tell her for sure, but whatever.
Just then, my phone rang with the news that Pedro had been picked up. It took about an hour to go from the airport to the Gran Seoul Dungeon.
‘He’ll be here soon.’
* * *
Truth was, this combination of Players was one I had longed for. All of them were Players recognized as the best in their field, people so successful that a civil service student like me could not even dare to covet their acquaintance.
Jackson. Vela. Pedro.
Pedro was, as I already knew very well, a ‘manly man philiac’. He introduced himself like this:
“I am the manly man, Pedro. A man among men.”
He was definitely not normal. I couldn’t see his status window properly, and it wasn’t because he was being protected by a Guardian’s authority.
‘The power of an item.’
He was blocking my Eye of Perception with an item. It was possible he received that unknown item from Elder Bufafa.
“How about a handshake with this manly man, Pedro? A handshake between men is fiery.”
“...”
He really wasn’t normal. Why was he so obsessed with manliness?
‘It doesn’t matter.’
What mattered was that he was a Master. We exchanged a simple greeting. Pedro was the first to broach the subject at hand. His attitude reminded me of a puppy with its tail on fire.
“Do you truly have that object?!”
I thought I heard a ‘You’re dead if you’re scamming me’ in those words.
“Is it really true?!”
“Of course.”
I pulled up a trade window and showed him the item a theft genius had stolen from a budding thief, a once-in-a-lifetime class item. Gu Sungmin’s thieving days were probably over now.
“Ohh. To think such a masterpiece existed! Gohh! It’s very marvelous.” Pedro swallowed his drool. “How can I help?!”
He jumped forward to help, his eyes full of greed. A line of drool came dribbling out of his mouth.
Summary: Master of Restoration Driven by Limitless Greed
There was no need to drag things out. I went straight to the point.
“I have an item like this.”
[Old Crown]
A crown symbolizing the authority of a king. Though it is made of glittering gold, the passing of many years has greatly aged the relic.
“But what we need is a Crown.”
“...”
“Mr. Pedro?”
“...”
Pedro was rendered speechless. A long while later, he spoke.
“This Old Crown. Where did you get it?”
“In a place called the Gwanghwamun Dungeon.”
Pedro took something out. It was a yellow slip of paper.
‘Precognitive note?’
It wasn’t just ordinary paper, but a piece of paper imbued with mystical power, created by someone with the power of precognition. The text on it was Japanese, but strangely enough, I could understand it.
–You will meet a King’s faded vestige.
He took out another note.
–Follow the King’s vestige and go to the forest inhabited by the little people of iron and gold and silver and fire.
–The justice of the Commandments shall fog up there.
And then, the last note.
–Follow the justice of the Commandments in the forest inhabited by the little people of iron and gold and silver and fire and recover the King’s luster.
Jackson made a hum of interest. “Could the King’s faded vestige… be referring to the Old Crown?”
So it appeared. Jackson continued. “What could the little people of iron and gold and silver and fire be referring to? Could it be related to the Gran Seoul Dungeon?”
“...”
There was a moment of silence. I examined Pedro’s summary.
Summary: Master Driven by Greed Hesitating to Say Something
He was hesitating. That meant he knew something. And I had a pretty good idea of what Pedro was hesitating to say. Because as a regressor, I possessed a power of foresight that might possibly be far more outstanding than Itachi’s.
“I think I know what it is,” I said.
Pedro flinched. It was very slight, but I definitely felt his body flinch.
“The little people of iron and gold and silver and fire.”
And the forest they inhabited. I already knew where that place was. The ‘forest of little people’ Itachi was pointed to could only be one place. I had a hunch as soon as I heard it.
“And.” I stared at Pedro. “I believe the manly man Pedro should know as well.”
I added one more thing.
“A manly man does not lie. Isn’t that right?”