Chapter 95

Level Up IlDanSimPanGwan – Chapter 95 (95/227)

Chapter 95: Connections Are Also Skills (3)

[Duran’s Scroll (Common)]

[Appraisal Value: 5 Gold 15 Silver]

[Restored Primitive Stone Tablet (Low Grade)]

[Appraisal Value: 48 Silver 84 Copper]

[Avantino Family Heirloom (Common)]

[Appraisal Value: 1 Gold 9 Silver 11 Copper]

“Hmm…”

Ail put down the strange plate he was holding.

With all the antique appraisals finally done, Ail was now in the process of receiving his items one by one while carefully checking the incoming messages.

He had entrusted a large number of antiques to the appraisal office, combining everything from the Ruined Village and this time’s loot room. Now he was finally getting them back after the appraisal ended.

While waiting for the appraisal to finish, which took quite some time, it wasn’t an issue since there were nearby hunting grounds where he could fight monsters.

Moreover, the returns were definitely worth it.

‘Even if I just sell these relics, I won’t be at a loss.’

Most relic items were mainly sold or collected by players.

The act of gathering dungeon antiques mostly served as a nice side income.

Ail also didn’t need to keep relics without any particular use unless they were tied to a quest, so he immediately sold them on the spot for cash.

[Lanculus’ Cup (Rare)]

[Appraisal Value: 91 Gold 35 Silver 64 Copper]

“Yes! This is great!”

When a rare-grade relic appeared, Ail cheered with joy.

Among the items that initially seemed unimpressive when acquired, sometimes you’d get lucky like this.

“Clearly sweeping up everything from the Ruined Village was a good call.”

Because he gathered such a massive amount, he got a correspondingly large number of items.

Of course, most of the antiques he collected were junk that couldn’t even be sold, mixed with relics that were too damaged to have value. This made the appraisal costs higher, but already the results so far had more than covered those costs.

Additionally, not only did relics appear among the antiques…

[Mysterious Red Light Skill Book x 2]

[Mysterious Purple Light Skill Book]

“What the…!”

At the sight of the final items appearing, Ail’s eyes widened.

Among the countless ancient texts obtained from the bookshelf in the treasure room beneath the abandoned temple…

High-grade skill books had emerged.

Red light and purple light indicated skill books of fairly high grade, ranking around third or fourth out of six tiers. If luck was on his side, he might even obtain rare-to-heroic grade skills.

However, Ail’s gaze was focused not on those two skill books, but elsewhere.

[Mysterious Brilliant Purple Light Skill Book]

“So this shows up…”

Unlike the others, this skill book had the adjective “brilliant” attached to it.

This “brilliant” descriptor meant that within the same color tier, the book had a higher probability of containing better-grade skills.

For example, if a “brilliant” descriptor was added to a red light skill book, which rarely produced anything above rare grade, it would significantly increase the chance of getting upper-tier rare skills.

There were times when a skill book with such a descriptor was considered better than one of the next higher tier, though Ail never imagined he’d obtain one this way.

“I’ll soon need a skill book for level 40, but this solves that problem.”

Currently at level 37, thanks to the four high-grade skill books he obtained, Ail no longer needed to worry about what skills to learn next.

He could now focus fully on the world quest he had undertaken, and this haul truly brought him much good news.

Currently, Ail’s warehouse held a staggering 7,500 gold and thorium ingots, while he personally carried 300 gold.

It was astonishing that a combat-focused player who hadn’t actively sought cash could have this much money at his current level.

Just as Ail was leaving the appraisal office with satisfaction, a small message popped up before him.

“What’s this…?”

A mail from Lisa.

Received through Ail’s email address linked to Warode.

If she was contacting him via email rather than through Warode, there could only be one reason.

“Could it really be…already?”

Back when they were talking about uploads on the carriage, Lisa had offered to introduce him to an editor among her acquaintances.

Ail, who was struggling to find someone, gratefully accepted the offer and sent over the recorded video.

Not long after, he heard that things were going well and that they’d contact him once the results were ready…

And now, the reply had come sooner than expected.

“It’s true…”

After checking the attached video, Ail muttered blankly.

It wasn’t even a sample; the entire work was cleanly finished.

They hadn’t even discussed payment or contract terms yet, and already the completed version was sent over—something completely outside Ail’s understanding.

Video editing was fundamentally a time-consuming task, and the higher the quality, the longer it took.

Though modern technology had shortened the process compared to the past, even accounting for that, it was surprisingly fast for a video to be completed so quickly.

While Ail trusted Lisa’s recommendation, this situation naturally raised some doubts.

But those doubts were quickly overturned.

“Hmm…?”

At the bottom of her email, there was a logo and the name of the production company.

And upon seeing it, Ail’s expression turned to shock.

“Wait… BloodyDeck Studio…?”

* * *

– The Heretic Judge video dropped again

– What? Roden appeared this time?

– Roden? Suddenly?

– What are you guys talking about?

On WarTube, a new video was uploaded, causing another stir in the community.

The newly opened hunting ground, the Abandoned Temple, whose control was recently lifted…

The dungeon hidden beneath it formed the backdrop of this video, with the main character being the mysterious man known as the Heretic Judge of Esmaier region, who had become a hot topic as a crazed fanatic.

Naturally, many people interested in his appearance flocked to watch.

The battles and executions against fanatics rushing from all sides showcased Ail’s skills, which shone even brighter than in the previous video.

To conceal important quest information, the boss battle against Mute of the Execution Squad was almost entirely omitted.

However, towards the end, multiple judges besides Ail appeared, hunting undeads and users alike, turning the dungeon into chaos, leading to even hotter reactions.

Tense music, perfectly timed angles, and spine-tingling direction kept viewers constantly on edge, prompting exclamations of admiration.

– Wow, the video quality is insane!

– Wait, it says this was produced by BloodyDeck Studio? Dexter, who turns down even high-rankers, did this?

– How much did you pay them?

– You can’t buy BloodyDeck’s services. There must be some kind of background story.

– Isn’t he a former ranker from another game?

The sheer difference in video quality naturally drew praise and numerous reactions.

However, the mere fact that BloodyDeck Studio helped produce it became a hot topic among users.

Dexter, known for being picky and not taking just any job, sparked rumors ranging from him being a former famous ranker to whispers of a major guild backing him.

But the real highlight of this video was something else.

What truly caused the biggest buzz was the return of Roden, a former famous ranker from Armenia, and the fact that Ail defeated him in a duel.

– No way, he really beat Roden?

– Amazing, sir!

– Honestly, I thought it was hype, but this guy is practically ranker-level now.

– Even so, how does a rookie in Warode defeat someone of Roden’s class? Truly a washed-up legend.

– Your life is legendary if you’re playing Warben right now.

– This guy is amazing. Please don’t be too harsh.

– Both are great, but people criticizing don’t know games.

– I saw Roden in person when I was in Armenia, and he was a monster. Beating him shows how skilled this guy really is.

– If he started fresh, he’d be a top Warode ranker by now.

– From today onward, I’m a fan!

Comments and forums exploded with heated reactions.

Roden’s return trended on domestic portal sites, and articles speculating about Ail’s identity began appearing in the news sections.

Had their meeting and joint dungeon run been the extent of it, it wouldn’t have caused such a stir.

However, after meeting, they engaged in an intense battle, and thanks to BloodyDeck Studio’s excessively brilliant editing skills, most viewers believed Ail had overwhelmingly defeated Roden through sheer skill.

Only a very small number of people knew that if Roden had revealed his full strength from the start, the situation would have been vastly different.

Even without editing, it would have been difficult for most viewers to notice the subtle differences in the extremely fast-paced combat sequences.

Someone with exceptionally keen eyesight might have noticed something, but for most regular users, detecting any sort of inconsistency in the video would have been nearly impossible.

Of course, even so, Ail’s skill was undoubtedly far beyond that of a newbie.

In previous videos, he hadn’t shown his weapon swap technique, something no other rankers had managed, and those with sharp eyes focused on this aspect.

This video became the turning point for those who had merely been observing, thinking it was a temporary trend.

Now, the big players began to take notice of him.