Chapter 235

Chapter 235. Second Trial (1)

“Did we come up empty again this time?”

“At least we got one.”

With a “ting” sound, a shiny gold coin floated into the air. The man who caught the coin, however, had a face full of dissatisfaction.

“Just this one! We went through eight corrupted areas, and this is all we have to show for it? Shouldn’t even a rusty sword or a shield be one of the spoils of war? I can’t even cover my weapon repair costs! I’m almost out of living expenses for this month!”

“What else can we do? We have no choice but to exchange mana.”

“Ah, what a miserable situation this is!”

The man yelled in frustration as he began kicking the tree nearby. His party members frowned at his attitude, but no one tried to stop or soothe him. They weren’t pleased either, having to return without decent loot.

“Larger clans come back with piles of gold and jewels, but what do we get?”

As the man’s complaints grew longer, the others began to chime in as well.

“Honestly, there is some truth to the inequality.”

“Especially with Agnotia and Meferoseta.”

“Oh, right. They’re the worst.”

“Even Finelpenia has a bit of it going on.”

“Some clans are assigned missions exclusively by the Order and in return, they have to hand over a large portion of the spoils.”

“I’ve heard rumors about that too.”

“Frankly, it would be stranger if there weren’t any corruption.”

“At that level, it’s not a clan, but a temp agency. It’s almost like digging up treasure for them and getting paid daily wages.”

“Ha ha ha, that’s a fitting comparison! Not a clan, but workers!”

“The real problem is the Order taking the spoils and assigning missions.”

“I agree. We contribute, so why don’t we get any benefits?”

“Those priests are so greedy and hypocritical, pretending to care about the followers.”

“Especially Agnotia, they’re supposedly devoted to Purity, but they’re the worst.”

“Is there any place here that’s actually decent?”

“No, no, there are no decent gods or Orders here.”

“Well… isn’t Palao alright?”

“Oh, right. Their missions are first-come-first-served, right?”

When everyone nodded, someone who was unaware of recent news questioned.

“First-come-first-served? Does that mean anyone can take on the missions regardless of clan or party affiliation?”

“I guess so? Last time at the outpost, I saw people waiting for the Order-exclusive missions to open. You must quickly check the list and run.”

“Hey, you’re not certain, are you?”

“They tend to keep to themselves, don’t really appear in public forums.”

“It’s not that; there just aren’t many of them.”

“Oh, that might be it too.”

“Do they make up even 1%?”

“If it’s 1%… 20,000 people? Has it increased that much?”

“Wasn’t it during the third wave’s recruitment phase? They heavily promoted it back then, encouraging people to take the Order of Palao’s test. I think I saw a comment about it in passing.”

“Oh… I think I remember that.”

“Did it increase by 20,000?”

“Didn’t you know? They originally had a small number. I heard the initial number was a thousand from the first wave recruit.”

“That’s kind of an elite force vibe.”

“Oh, that’s exactly it!”

“Is it because there are so few that they take better care of them?”

“If I can enter Palao for their first-come-first-served missions, I want to transfer.”

“Do you know how to transfer?”

“Even if you know, you probably can’t go. It’s famous for its tough entry exam.”

While the discussion about the Order of Palao and its characteristics was ongoing.

“Uh… is that the promotional post you mentioned?”

“Huh?”

Someone said after opening the community to look up information about Palao.

“K posted an entry…”

It announced that the membership limit for the Order of Palao had been increased, encouraging fourth-wave players to apply.

That surprising news wasn’t all.

“And he registered an Attribute Mana Stone for auction, so players interested, take note.”

“Attribute Mana Stone…?”

Since the update, it drew much attention, but no one had ever seen one in reality.

But today, that would become history.

Many swallowed in anticipation as they opened the auction list.

And there, at the top, as if waiting, was the entry.

「Auction No. 1975552」

– Registered by: Code K

– Auction Item: Attribute Mana Stone (Detailed Information)

– Starting Price: 500,000,000 Mana

– Auction Start Date: Bihar 2664, September 7th (D-3)

Under K’s name, the entire community was about to stir once again.

* * *

The reason the auction started with a delay was simple.

“At this point, buying for 500 million mana would require pooling resources from a party or clan.”

It was a gesture allowing them to secure funds in the three days.

I had no regrets about putting the item up for auction.

I initially intended to encourage the trade of Attribute Mana Stones.

“If players exchange or sell the Attribute Mana Stones to match their magics, we can expect an overall power boost.”

I didn’t see anything wrong with opening the market myself.

“Anyway, Water wasn’t suitable for me.”

Ever since absorbing Water-type magic as a Bounty Hunter, it hadn’t been much use.

Holding on to an underutilized item wouldn’t do much good.

“Above all, I need more mana.”

There’s a limit to accumulating regular mana through hunting.

Despite the grueling effort of chasing and capturing high-value targets, the mana I absorbed didn’t even reach 100 million.

With such an inefficient method, I was sure I wouldn’t reach the Platinum rank before Bihar’s fall.

“If so, I should actively utilize other methods.”

Before now, relics were the only items worth auctioning.

From now on, I plan to sell Attribute Mana Stones as soon as I obtain them.

All party members already had Attribute Mana and well-established magic systems.

Adding new mana to that wouldn’t necessarily increase strength.

“It would rather reduce the time we might spend mastering existing magic.”

Therefore, unless the mana was essential for our party, I decided to sell it for the highest price possible.

「Auction No. 1975552」

– Registered by: Code K

– Auction Item: Attribute Mana Stone (Detailed Information)

– Starting Price: 500,000,000 Mana

– Auction Start Date: Bihar 2664, September 7th

– Winning Bidder: White Eagle

– Final Auction Price: 1,726,445,413 Mana

– Auction End Date: Bihar 2664, September 7th

The result was satisfying.

Four forces were fiercely bidding till the end.

“It was quite intense.”

Such a messy ending implied they used up all the available mana.

It was a natural outcome. There weren’t many over general-rank entities around.

Moreover, this auction didn’t guarantee Attribute Mana to regular mana holders, just opened another opportunity for them.

It didn’t necessarily mean allotting the Attribute Mana to them.

Parties and clans could engage in the competition to strengthen existing power.

Thus, competition was inevitable.

“Thanks to that, I’ve taken another step towards the Platinum rank.”

The mana received from the bid was entirely mine.

Since I practically captured it alone, no one in the party claimed ownership.

As a result, my mana exceeded 3.2 billion.

“I can reach the Platinum rank.”

A month after realizing the new possibility, the long-awaited message finally appeared.

「Trait Purification (lv.3) has reached maximum proficiency. The trait has evolved to the next level!」

As soon as the message popped up, I opened the status window to check the details of my Purification trait.

「Purification (lv.4 – 00.00%)」

• Category: Trait (Reward)

• Description: A reward for players with outstanding achievements, allowing purification of corrupted mana without purification pills. As the level increases, the range of purification broadens.

• Effect lv.4: You can purify others upon physical contact.

The condition that only corrupted mana could be purified was gone.

I extended my hand to Kim Yul.

“What the heck are you doing!”

Kim Yul reacted sharply and tried to bat my hand away.

Having managed a timer without proper sleep for the past month, it was a natural response.

‘He endured the first week quite well.’

Overall, Kim Yul became more irritable, annoyed over trivial matters, cursed more, and hardly ate due to a decreased appetite.

Consequently, he appeared quite sallow.

But the hardship ended today.

I overpowered Kim Yul’s resistance and initiated Purification without delay.

「Detecting pathogen.」

「Commencing purification of pathogen.」

「Purification rate 0.04%」

「Purification rate 0.09%」

「Purification rate 0.14%」

…

Kim Yul’s face crumpled terribly as he gasped.

Then, he slumped down.

It seemed he fainted, overwhelmed by the sensation of Purification.

“What happened to Yul all of a sudden?”

“He’s undergoing Purification.”

Upon my simple explanation of the situation, Yang Taeho widened his eyes.

Yang Taeho and I had been on edge due to this for some time.

We took turns ensuring Kim Yul didn’t suddenly die in his sleep.

“Phew… it’s a relief, truly a relief.”

Yang Taeho supported Kim Yul and sighed in relief.

Similarly, I felt the same.

“Who would have thought it would take a month?”

The process consumed more time than expected.

The main scenario’s seventh chapter ended during this period.

Finding an eight-star general-rank, especially one using Kerak, was more difficult than grabbing stars from the sky.

I almost gave up on the main scenario.

Yet, I explored even undisclosed corrupted areas to seek eight-star general-ranks.

“That’s how I found three of them.”

Those creatures drained their blood until they could no longer use Kerak.

Thanks to exploiting them, it concluded in a month.

Otherwise, I’d still be wandering through corrupted areas.

‘At least now I can purify.’

As I purified the pathogen consuming Kim Yul, the burden gradually eased off my mind.

Looking back, it was my impulsive actions that had led to his infection.

It had weighed on my conscience until now, and finally, it was resolved.

“Are we still moving?”

Yang Taeho asked, and I shook my head.

“Carrying a sleeping guy around is difficult. Let’s head back.”

I confirmed I could purify Kim Yul, so we had to stop by the Players’ Association.

When Lily secured the price of a corrupted area during the sixth chapter scenario, it was time to pay.

I decided to return while sending Lily a chat message.

After swiftly destroying messeo, we exited the corrupted area without attachment.

We ran for two days continuously to arrive at the outpost, and Kim Yul’s pathogen was completely purified.

But due to severe exhaustion, he hadn’t awakened.

The deep slumber, akin to the dead, made Yang Taeho and me check his life status multiple times.

Fortunately, Kim Yul’s breathing was steady.

Thus, I left him in Yang Taeho’s care and decided to visit Loborre first.

Wearing a hood, I walked towards the Association building while opening the hidden mission window.

‘I collected three more.’

Reitan didn’t make an appearance outside the barrier, merely discovered them in the corrupted area.

‘In retrospect, the first trial’s location was also in the middle of a corrupted area.’

Compared to what I absorbed during the trial, they were mere crumbs.

Still, better than none, so I collected whatever I came across.

After confirming the additional numbers in the hidden mission window, I reached the Association quickly.

The Players’ Association building was directly across from the Loborre Temple, with the main road separating them.

Once inside, almost simultaneously, someone recognized me from wandering around the lobby.

“You’re here.”

Of course, I recognized him too.

“Persona.”

“I’ve been waiting. Let’s head up first.”

It was Persona, essentially the second-in-command within the Association.