Chapter 32: 31

The man had a red face. He appeared to be pretty drunk.

A man in Murim style clothing placed his hand on the Wiki Crystal to get connected.

[Please select the number for the information you wish to view.]

1.    Golden Ranking

2.    Rookie Ranking

3.    Latest News

4.    Information Inquiries

5.    Freeboard

6.    Suggestions

“2”

The screen changed after a moment. The Rookie Ranking was displayed, showing 1st to 30th place in the list. In the list, from the bottom, the man searched to confirm his place.

[9th place: Sun Wu-min]

–    From Murim. Master of physical techniques. Known to be at the top end of the Second-Rate. With his natural-born, monstrous muscular strength, also known to have taken down Orc warriors in a single blow each.

“All right! I got listed in the ranking!”

Sun Wu-min shouted out in excitement.

He must have been so excited. He didn’t care about other people’s stares. Instead, he made a tight fist and raised it to the air.

Having defeated Beck Yerl, the left handed swordsman, in a duel yesterday, Sun Wu-min was hoping that he would be in the ranking, but to see that he really was in the ranking now, Sun Wu-min felt like he could fly away. His entire body felt like it was burning.

‘It was a pretty difficult duel… but, in the end, the victor was me!’

In his former dimension, Sun Wu-min was called the ‘Fearsome and Deadly One Punch.’ He single-handedly defeated five martial art schools.

He felt like he was undefeated under the sky. However, after arriving at Asgard, he was really surprised to see so many powerful warriors.

The shock was enough to make the confidence and pride that he built throughout his life to collapse at an instant, and it set Sun Wu-min to drown in the sea of suffering.

However, Sun Wu-min was not the kind to breakdown like this.

When there were countless rookies losing their lives from dangerous training against monsters or giving up and becoming half useless, he didn’t falter. He survived.

And finally, after 8 years of hardship, he entered the Rookie Ranking.

‘It will take longer than it had in the past dimension… But there will be a day when even Beloong City will be kneeling in front of my feet! Just wait!’

Sun Wu-min tilted his chin up proudly.

He flexed the muscles on his shoulders so tightly that it looked like the shoulders were about to break. As he turned like that, he briefly saw the eyes of a black haired young man.

Sun Wu-min was overflowing with more confidence than ever since the day he arrived at Asgard.

Of course, when he was feeling like that, there was no way he would take kindly to a young man staring back at him with a stiff expression.

“Hey! What…”

He was about to yell at the young man for staring, but after he carefully observed the young man’s face, he quickly swallowed the words.

His shoulders, which was open wide, now shrunk. Sun Wu-min avoided the face by turning his head to the side, and he quietly returned to the table he was sitting.

“What was that?”

Vulcan gave an odd stare at Sun Wu-min who cowered in front of him, but soon, he stopped minding the man and stepped in front of the Wiki Crystal.

Vulcan used the Wiki Crystal like someone who had been in the city for many tens of years, and he clicked the Rookie Ranking’s 1st place.

[1st place: Vulcan]

–    A Player. His true ability, which only had numerous rumors about, was revealed two days ago. He demonstrated incredible magic power operation capability that defeated Zenith-Rate mage Horune on a head-on duel. Estimated to have certainly went past the entry level of Zenith-Rate.

[Comments about Mr. Vulcan’s Ranking]

Anonymous: I have never seen a rookie this powerful in a hundred years. I guarantee it.

Re: Anonymous: There was a comment similar to this in Dokgo Hoo’s section…

Anonymous: Did he do something conniving or underhanded? How could a guy, who had been here for less than 5 years, beat Horune?

Anonymous: There are people like him. Those that make a prodigy look like an idiot.

Anonymous: Looks like a super comet that will defeat Sarantis within 10 years was born.

Re: Anonymous: We can’t know that for certain. As you get to a new height, the wall to overcome gets taller too…

Anonymous: What’s all this gossip about?

‘Looks like that’s the end of all the comments.’

“You are really into having fun looking at Wiki.”

Vulcan turned his head to look behind him.

He could see Jake carrying a bottle of liquor as always.

Vulcan disconnected the Wiki Crystal and complained,

“How could you say that? I only had been using it for yesterday and today. Just two days.”

“Haha. I’m saying that because you seemed really focused in it.”

The two found a suitable empty table and sat down.

Without turning his head, Vulcan looked around with just his eyes.

He could feel that many of the people in the pub were staring at him.

“Is this a déjà vu?”

“What about it is déjà vu?”

“It feels like this happened before.”

“Hm… You must be talking about when you beat Uruo.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Certainly, back then, Vulcan felt that there were some people being aware of him.

However, this time, there were more.

Vulcan felt over two-thirds of the people in the pub were focusing their attention to him.

“Why? Is it making you uncomfortable?”

“It is uncomfortable. It is not like I’m starving for attention.”

“Whether they are martial artists or mages, there are many people out there who are obsessed with fame, but you are not like them.”

“In the basis, I am not a martial artist or mage. I’m just a young man from another world.”

“Say things like that and you will get serious beatings from all martial artists and mages gathered here.”

Jake made a face like a prankster. Vulcan didn’t want to continue having a long conversation with this topic, so he changed the subject.

“Well, anyway, as you said, Mr. Jake, I think I successfully overwhelmed people. There was definitely nobody challenging me yesterday.”

“Huhu. It was because what you demonstrated was so incredible… I know you well, yet even I was surprised. Can you imagine how others must have felt?”

It was as Jake said.

After just one day, the story about the duel between Horune and Vulcan was told to everyone in Beloong City.

Those that have not seen the duel themselves criticized the witnesses of the duel, saying it is ridiculous. However, because Horune personally acknowledged his defeat, the gazes doubting Vulcan mostly disappeared.

There were a few that criticized even though they didn’t see the duel. They said Vulcan must have used a trick or caught Horune off guard to achieve victory, but there were more people with opinions saying that even such tactics will require solid foundation in essential skills and abilities.

In conclusion, 97.5% of the residents in Beloong City, the people who were below the Zenith-Rate, couldn’t dare to challenge Vulcan for a duel. They only watched his daily routines.

“Now, if I found a hidden hunting ground, that would be perfect.”

“Stop saying that. I really don’t know anything else. Also, it’s not like there is a shortage of monsters on the north gate field. Forget this foolish hope about a hidden hunting ground.”

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“Hm…”

Actually, Jake was right.

Vulcan was now at starting point of level 300. Looking for a different hunting ground instead of one that already had plenty of 400 level monsters was just being excessively greedy.

“I always feel this way, but you are in too much of hurry when you are just a rookie who hadn’t even been in Asgard for 4 years. There are many others who had been standing still even though they were challenging themselves for 200 to 300 years. There were also quite a few who lost their lives while attempting to reach a new height despite the danger in their training methods.”

“… Certainly, I am rushing it. You are right about that.”

Jake’s glass was about half full. He drank it all at once, looked at Vulcan, and continued,

“Don’t rush too much. Just move forward slowly and diligently. At that pace, it won’t take very long. You should be able to definitely clear it.”

“… Thank you for your advice.”

Vulcan followed Jake and drank the rest of his drink.

Like that, another day in Asgard flew by.

***

“This… What happened?”

With a raised voice, Vulcan’s gaze was aimed at Jake. Jake couldn’t face Vulcan, so he smoked a cigarette instead.

“Didn’t you say that I will be able to avoid bothersome things if I demonstrated my power?”

“HumHum. I meant you ‘might’ be able to.”

“Huh…”

Looking at Vulcan, who couldn’t continue his words, Jake said as if he was trying to make an excuse.

“Also, if you held back and fought the duel haphazardly, you would be suffering from having had to deal with a lot more people challenging you for duels right about now. Thanks to you showing off your overwhelming strength, aren’t people below Zenith-Rate not even able to come near you?”

“That is true… Ha.”

Jake’s initial prediction was true only for first three days.

One time, when Vulcan came back from having a great time training, there was a man from Murim carrying five swords that came to ask for a duel. At first, Vulcan thought it was not a big deal.

However, the next day, a giant that appeared to be over seven feet tall came to request a duel. The day after that, when Horune came again requesting Vulcan for teachings, Vulcan could not help but to have resentment toward Jake.

“You said the Zenith-Rate warriors would avoid duels in the first place because they care too much about their reputation.”

“Most of them are like that… Those that were trapped in Beloong City the longest absolutely obsess over the ranking.”

“In that case, who are these people?”

“Hu… Even in Beloong City, they are the three most extreme ones. Not just you, but I bet they had been dueling against Dokgo Hoo until their heads burst.”

Most of the Zenith-Rate warriors in Beloong City were those who grew tired of training.

Most of those with talent above these warriors cleared Act 1 and went to the beyond or lost their lives from dangerous trainings.

It was obvious that the ones that left were those who had been wasting their time away because of a gigantic wall blocking their path. They were the people who became Belong city’s chained souls.

Looking at it from this perspective, the people who were least enthusiastic about living were not the Third-Rate Players, but perhaps the Zenith-Rate warriors.

However, even among those warriors, there were three who continued on their harsh training for several hundred years with their passion still burning strongly.

The man obsessed in magic, Horune.

The man obsessed in martial art techniques, Seo-Whee.

Just a lunatic, Ultoru.

At least these three did not turn to despair in light of a gigantic wall, which was the Ultra-Zenith-Rate, requiring level 500. They had been relentlessly pouring in all effort that they could muster.  

In middle of this, new stimulants named Vulcan and Dokgo Hoo fell from the sky. The three madmen were not the type to just sit and watch from the side.

“These three… When it comes to these guys, there is nothing you can do. Even if you fought your duel haphazardly or made excuses and refused the duel, these men would have insisted on having a duel with you.”

“…Hm.”

“Instead, like Dokgo Hoo, just have fun. If that won’t work for you, how about setting a specific time and hanging out with them only at during that time?”

“I already agreed to do that… However, Ultoru? About that man, I don’t know what he would do. Honestly, I am feeling uneasy about this.”

Vulcan complained. He looked at Jake and continued,

“At least the other two men have some basic sense, but this other man… He is really weird. Don’t you think? Also, he kept repeating the same words over and over like someone who is a little retarded.”

“You are right. He does have retardation.”

“…Uh?”

“He is retarded. That man is an idiot.”

Jake looked at Vulcan who was giving him a blank stare. Jake continued,

“Why? An idiot can’t be a powerful warrior?”

“Um… That’s not it. I was thinking that, in order for someone to reach new heights, he has to be pretty smart too.”

“You are not very smart either. Isn’t that right?”

“… That’s…”

“I was kidding. That man is a master of physical attacks. By his incredible physical talent and diligent hard work, he got to the Zenith-Rate.”

Jake smiled lightly when he noticed that Vulcan was about to cringe his face. Jake continued,

“Also, other than that man, there are plenty of weirdoes all over the place, so get rid of your prejudice about idiots, birdbrains or stoneheads being low levels.”

“If that’s the case, this means there are more weirdoes out there besides these three? Instead of telling me about them later, just tell me right now. That way, I can at least prepare my mind for it.”

“… There is one more guy who is definitely an weirdo.”

Vulcan opened his eyes wide as if he was trying to convey that he wanted Jake to just spell it out already.

Jake fell into a deep thought for a while, and he came right next to Vulcan to whisper in his ears.

“There is a guy named Ho-Gwang. The son of the leader of the Order of Virtue.”

Vulcan was creeped-out by Jake suddenly coming close to whisper.

“Just what about him made you have to explain so cautiously?”

“You rascal! Watch what you are saying. I might say wrong things, so I will continue this at some other quieter place at another time.”

“You only made my head more complicated. Let’s just get out of here.”

After finishing what he said, Vulcan drank all of the cold beer that just came. He even burped loudly to his heart’s content, but it didn’t solve the frustration in his chest.

This was supposed to be a break time for Vulcan after several tens of hours spent on battle. He was thinking why he had to agonize over things even during his break.

Vulcan could not stop sighing. Watching him like that, Jake tried to console him.

“Take it easy. If you reduced the time spent chatting like this at the pub a little bit, won’t that be enough to make time for duels?”

“Is dueling the same as resting at a pub? Ha… Of course, I am not blaming you for this.”

“THAT’S RIGHT. A MAN SHOULDN’T PUT BLAMES ON THE WRONG PEOPLE!”

In light of a really loud voice, Vulcan’s head tilted up.

He could see someone with an appearance that was very familiar to Vulcan.

Vulcan felt it was a little nice to see him again, but at the same time, it was making Vulcan sigh for some reason.

“Ugh.”

Vulcan shook his head left and right.

A giant with broad shoulders.

A man insisting on wearing a tiger striped pattern clothing for over three years. He was a true bandit from the mountains.

Carrying a gigantic buster-sword on his back, Dokgo Hoo said hello to Vulcan in a loud voice,

“HAHA! HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WELL! LITTLE BROTHER!”

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