Chapter 64

Level Up IlDanSimPanGwan – Episode 64 (64/227)

Episode 64: 70% Luck, 30% Skill (Part 4)

“Keeeerrr…”

“I can’t go on anymore!”

As soon as they reached the safe zone, the party members collapsed from exhaustion.

They looked like their souls had been half-ripped out after the relentless hunting.

These players who usually played loosely were pushed to follow Ail’s intense hunting cycle, leaving them near death.

In contrast, Ail, who maintained this level of intensity even in regular hunts, was perfectly fine.

If anything, this time he had slowed down his pace to match theirs.

‘That guy’s a monster…’

The party members looked at him with eyes filled with both fear and admiration.

However, Ail was deeply engrossed in analyzing the current situation, paying no mind to their reactions.

Clearly, forming a party and aggressively hunting high-level monsters had paid off, raising his level to 29. He’d also earned quite a bit of money and items.

But Ail was facing a serious problem.

‘This is bad…’

Ail frowned as he checked his inventory.

Not a single seal had dropped from the monsters so far.

It wasn’t just him – none of the party members had received any seals to distribute either.

Even though they’d heard the drop rate was low, going without a single fragment after over a day of hunting with three people was troubling.

From what Ail had heard from other users over the past week, it shouldn’t have been this extreme.

Especially considering his party hunted much more efficiently and quickly than average users, this streak of bad luck was glaringly obvious.

Naturally, dissatisfaction was growing not just in Ail but among the party members too.

“Well, we worked hard but didn’t get a single seal fragment. Is this really a game?”

“As expected, it’s not easy.”

Ail muttered softly, his eyes darting around.

For the party members, it might be just a matter of luck, but for Ail, it was a survival issue.

“I still have some time, but at this rate, there’s no way I can make it.”

User penalty for death: 48 hours.

Amaranth would soon start tracking him again.

Having already failed once against him, they wouldn’t be taking it easy this time. They’d throw everything they had into catching him.

‘Should I use that method…?’

An idea popped into Ail’s head.

But he quickly shook it off.

It wasn’t the right time yet, nor the appropriate situation.

At that moment, Danram spoke up to lighten the somber mood he sensed from Ail.

“We knew it wouldn’t be quick. Let’s keep pushing and complete all our seals!”

“Yeah! Let’s all see the princess’s face together!”

Furyon chimed in enthusiastically.

Ail glanced at him sharply.

“Seriously… you’re only collecting seals to see her?”

“Exactly! They say she’s a beauty beyond imagination. I want to see for myself.”

“Hahaha!”

Ail and Danram burst out laughing together.

Indeed, the party’s attitude had changed significantly since the beginning.

What started as a reluctant following of an oppressive leader had transformed into genuine enthusiasm for hunting, despite the hardship.

Like how pushing one’s limits during intense exercise feels terrible while doing it but rewarding afterward, the party found themselves immersed in the hunt under Ail’s leadership, experiencing personal breakthroughs.

And in Warode, seeing experience and stats increase directly made the rewards feel much more tangible.

[‘Light Judge Lu’ shows lukewarm response]

Meanwhile, Lu seemed to be sulking about the previous decision, sending discouraging messages.

While Ail was deeply involved in the party hunt, the number of messages from the goddess had noticeably decreased compared to before.

Refusing her suggestion to replace the party members with more skilled ones was probably why.

To someone watching from the sidelines, her reaction was understandable.

Looks like he’d need to continue “abusing” monsters as before to appease the goddess once this task was done.

After a short rest to recover stamina, the group prepared to resume hunting.

But Ail suddenly stopped mid-step, sensing something unusual.

Caw caw!

Suddenly, a crow flew down from the sky and perched on Ail’s arm.

The party members stared in surprise, but Ail didn’t seem particularly shocked.

Tied to the crow’s leg was a note, which Ail retrieved and unfolded.

A concise message was written on it.

“Danram, Furyon.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll have to leave here. Sorry about that.”

“What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Is something wrong…?”

When Ail, who had been leading the hunt, announced he had to leave, the party members were visibly confused.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t explain the details to them.

“If someone comes asking about me, don’t argue and just cooperate. It could be dangerous.”

“Wait a minute!”

Snap!

With those words, Ail took off.

He couldn’t involve them unnecessarily in matters concerning him.

‘Are they already here…?’

Ail casually tossed aside the crumpled letter.

The news: trackers sent by Amaranth had arrived near the Kalfia gate.

Creating information networks by bribing NPCs and users was Amaranth’s specialty, but such tactics weren’t exclusive to pursuers.

‘How much money are they throwing around?’

Less than 48 hours had passed since the last tracker team was wiped out.

Yet another team was already on his trail, meaning Bechen had hired additional teams through Amaranth.

Apparently, having his pride hurt once was enough to make Bechen throw considerable resources at this, causing Ail’s plans to accelerate unexpectedly.

‘Guess I have no choice but to change plans…’

Like how Ail had bribed one of the gate NPCs, he had prepared escape routes just in case.

There was a secret passage in the forest that most users wouldn’t know about.

This was one of the reasons he chose this hunting ground – its convenience for escape.

‘Let’s see how you handle this…’

Hooof!

Ail disappeared in an instant as he ran through the forest.

* * *

[All sold items received!]

[Acquired 4,503 gold 90 silver 14 copper!]

“Wow…”

Staring at the system window that popped up, Ail stood there dazed for a moment.

The huge amount of gold that had flowed into his inventory.

It was the proceeds from the items he had listed on the auction house.

A total of 4,500 gold – an astronomical sum.

This was from defeating the Amaranth trackers in the tomb, and the profit exceeded his expectations.

After checking the amount, Ail immediately left the auction house and headed straight for the bank in the city center.

If he were attacked and killed in this state, he’d lose a significant amount of gold, so he needed to avoid that at all costs.

[4,500 gold deposited!]

Ail stored almost all the gold he had obtained this time.

Since he had earned some gold from hunting in the meantime and some had dropped from the Amaranth guild members when they died, he still had about 40 gold left.

Though there was no interest or similar benefits, simply storing it here meant the gold was systemically protected and couldn’t be lost.

‘No need to worry about funds for a while.’

With 4,500 gold safely tucked away, Ail felt more secure walking the streets.

‘Of course, just because I made some money doesn’t mean I can relax, but Amaranth won’t find me immediately.’

Coming through a secret route to a completely different location, the trackers who chased him to the gate would likely be struggling with tracking his position right about now.

Additionally, Ail was currently wearing his hood pulled low over his face to avoid being recognized.

In reality, this might make him look more suspicious, but in Warode, he could easily blend in with the crowd.

Of course, this merely bought him some time before being discovered – he couldn’t keep hiding forever.

‘With the royal route completely blocked, I need to change plans. Can’t avoid the risks anymore.’

The original Plan A – establishing connections with the royal family to stop Amaranth’s pursuit – was scrapped entirely.

It wasn’t just because the trackers caught up to him at the Kalfia gate.

The real reason was that rumors had spread about the royal insignia item drops stopping just a week after Ail began hunting for seals.

Around the time Ail started targeting seals, the drop rate plummeted drastically and eventually stopped altogether. No one who claimed to have obtained a seal during this period had surfaced, confirming the rumors.

The timing was so unfortunate that Ail couldn’t help but groan at his bad luck.

He could only hope that the party members he hunted with didn’t learn about this and waste their efforts unknowingly.

Given the situation, Ail needed to devise another plan immediately.

He already knew that running or hiding from Amaranth, which operated throughout Warode, was futile.

He needed a more fundamental solution.

After checking the time, Ail entered a rarely used alleyway, pulling his hood tightly around him.

The alley wasn’t particularly narrow, but there were neither the usual city guards patrolling nor many regular users around – only two people including himself.

Then…

Crash!

Without warning, he shoved a passing man against the wall.

“What the hell!”

Beken, who had been caught off guard and slammed into the wall, shouted angrily.

Ail pulled back his hood, revealing his face.

Seeing it, Beken’s complexion turned deathly pale as Ail leaned over him with his arms braced against the wall, smiling.

“You… How did you…!”

“I don’t like being on the receiving end.”