Chapter 97: Hall of Fame (2)
After Ian and Fiolan cleared the dungeon together, the guild’s chat window was filled with the same content everyday.
• Guild Member ‘Ian’ has logged on.
• Fiolan: Ian, when are you available today? We need to go-go to Forlan today, no?
• Herz: No, Fiolan, aren’t you being unreasonable? You’ve gone in twice out of the five times yesterday as well, yet for you to go after him immediately today, too!
• Fiolan: What do you mean unreasonable, isn’t it because Ian has the highest record when he goes in with me, no?
• Kroban: No, Ian promised to go in with me today. Let’s follow the order.
• Carwin: Ha, why is everybody like this? I gave up my chance yesterday as well. Today, I’m going to go in twice with Ian hyung.
• Harin: Can, can I be included as well?
• Carwin: Noona, you’re not even at lv 100 yet. You can’t go in yet.
• Harin: T.T…
• Ian: Alright, alright, everybody, calm down. Today, I’ll go in with people that haven’t played with me yet.
• Fiolan: No fair…
• Carwin: Ah… I’ve only been able to go three times!
• Kroban: It’s only been three times for me as well!
• Mishyal: I’m a newcomer to this guild, but… May I raise my hand?
• Ian: Mishyal, what’s your level and class?
• Mishyal: I’m a lv 106 Fire-type Magician.
• Ian: Okay!
• Mishyal: I have no experience clearing the dungeon, is that okay?
• Ian: Yep, that’s alright.
• Fiolan: Ah… Ian, why are you like this? You need to go in with me and set a new record.
• Ian: Even if I die and come back to life, I won’t be able to get an S-rank anyways, so Fiolan, please give the others a chance. I’m going to try and get an S-rank tomorrow or the day after, so let’s go together then.
• Fiolan: Oh, S-rank! Alright, I’m pumped!
Currently, no matter who Ian entered the dungeon with amongst his guildmates that were able to enter, it was to the point he was able to just make an A-rank almost all the time.
He had attempted to get an S-rank with Fiolan using all the power they had, but their best record was about 29 minutes, which was nowhere near 25 minutes.
That’s why he had decided that it would be impossible to get an S-rank until he raised Pin and went in.
Because of that, Ian was entering the dungeon with all of his guildmates evenly.
‘Since Pin’s Potential will be at 100 soon enough now…’
Ian, who checked Pin’s Potential, clenched his fist.
Through the Training skill he just activated again 5 minutes ago, it was a situation where Pin’s Potential was at 99, and it would reach 100 within a quarter of a day.
After that, if he went through the dungeons and hunted like crazy for the next two days, a relaxed estimation, Ian thought that he would be able to make Pin reach around at least lv 60-70.
‘Even if Pin reaches around at least lv 70, he’ll be able to deal around the same damage as Lake’s Breath with his AoE skill.’
Of course, he wasn’t just going through the dungeon either.
Whenever he went into the dungeon, in order to reduce his clear time by even 1 second, he tried out different methods while experimenting as well.
Because of that, in the Grave of the Forlan Hero’s Hall of Fame, from 1st place to 10th, all of them were filled with Ian’s name aside from two to three rankings.
Rank 1
Challengers: Ian (Lotus Guild), Fiolan (Lotus Guild)
Rank 2
Challengers: Ian (Lotus Guild), Kroban (Lotus Guild)
Rank 3
Challengers: Carwin (Lotus Guild), Ian (Lotus Guild)
Rank 4
Challengers: Semus (DarkRuna Guild), Cho (DarkRuna Guild)
Rank 5
Challengers: Herz (Lotus Guild), Ian (Lotus Guild)
Rank 6
Challengers: Zion (DarkRuna Guild), Malcolm (Titan Guild)
Thanks to that, for the first time since the arena rookie league, Ian began to rapidly rise as a topic of conversations in the community recently, and the popularity of the Lotus Guild also suddenly rose.
Ian, who decided he would try first with Mishyal amongst the pouring love calls as soon as he logged on, busily walked.
‘I’ll use all 5 of my dungeon entries right away now, and by then Pin’s Potential will be filled up, so from then to 7 pm tomorrow, I’ll just hunt.’
In order to map out the most efficient plan possible, his mind raced.
‘And starting from 7 to 12, I’ll exhaust all my entries for tomorrow, and if I also go out hunting the next day after, I’m sure Pin will be worth using in the dungeon as well.’
Ian, who had piled up an outrageous amount of EXP these past couple of days, was at lv 107 before he even realized it. While Ian had leveled up 4 levels, Fiolan, who had entered the dungeon with Ian the most, had also leveled up 2 levels and was now at lv 115, while Carwin and Herz also leveled up 1 level each and had become lv 103 and lv 108.
There was a reason why the Ian-bus’s popularity was nowhere near dying down.
Before Ian met Mishyal and entered the dungeon, he left one more word in the guild chat.
• Ian: People who are next in line to enter after Mishyal, decide on your order beforehand! The next person just needs to wait at the Forlan entrance around 30 minutes from now.
After Ian had made the guild chat room chaotic once again, he entered the dungeon without delay.
* * *
“How is it, how is it? What about today’s menu? It’s delicious, right?”
“Yeah. It’s really delicious. Is this a recipe you made for your practical assignment this time?”
“That’s right. It’s for my midterm.”
A corner of Korea University’s student restaurant.
Jinsung and Harin were out to have lunch in between their classes.
The menu consisted of two drinks purchased with meal tickets at the student restaurant and a lunch box that Harin had packed.
Harin’s eyes twinkled while she watched Jinsung eat the lunch box deliciously.
“Harin, but what about Yoohyun? Weren’t you going to come with Yoohyun? I heard that you were both taking a cultural studies class together.”
“Uh, that… Yoohyun said that there were some assignments he had piled up, so he would be in the department room.”
“Ah, really? That’s weird, from what I know, I don’t have any assignments, did I miss it because I was sleeping during class?”
At Jinsung’s lack of sense, Harin developed an impulse that made her want to truly hit him hard in the pit of his stomach.
However, the meal that they were spending alone together was the first in a long time and it was enjoyable, so she calmly settled down her rage.
‘It is the first time that we’re eating together outside of the capsule in two
weeks… So, I should hold back a little. On top of that, it’s the first time we’re eating together since that day!’
After the historical day that Harin received the ring from Jinsung, she was thinking that Jinsung and her could have started dating.
At first, she contemplated it a lot, but after seeing Jinsung diligently wear around the couple ring(?) that was also given to her as well, her heart had leaned in that direction.
She was diligently rationalizing that Jinsung simply was quite senseless and was a simpleton, so he was unable to tell her straightforwardly.
Harin glared at Jinsung once again.
‘But I can’t just ask him ‘are we dating now?’…’
As Harin also had never dated up until now, it was a situation where she couldn’t laugh.
‘Hah, there’s truly not much difference with reality and Kailan, but still, I want to go on a date outside of the capsule as well…’
Since promoting to a Domain, because a restaurant had been made inside of the manor, Ian always came to eat Harin’s food, which he could gain a nice buff effect from, before he went out to fight.
Because of that, they almost always ate every meal together in-game, and whenever Ian was looking of internal affairs in the manor, Harin was always by his side.
The problem was that it was difficult to simply even see a sign of Jinsung outside of the game.
‘No, why exactly did Professor Jinook excused him from his classes?’
While just internally blaming innocent Jinook, Harin grabbed a steaming spoonful of seafood cream risotto.
“Jinsung, try this, too.”
Harin, who had steadily scooped up a spoonful of risotto along with a plump, stuffed shrimp, moved the spoon towards Jinsung’s mouth.
At that, Jinsung was startled and pulled his head back before he realized.
“Uh, uh?”
For a moment, Jinsung felt the numerous gazes that turned towards him and could only break out into a cold sweat.
‘No, what does such a pretty girl like that find attractive in that lackluster dude to be meeting him?’
‘Choke on that shrimp and go to hell, you evil dude!’
At the arrows of rage that were shot towards him from here and there, Jinsung impulsively ate the food that Harin had pushed towards him on a spoon.
Hoo-roo-rook-!
The nutty cream that spread in his mouth along with the soft texture of the plump shrimp!
However, Jinsung was in a flustered state where he didn’t even know if the food that tasted delicious was going through his mouth or his nose.
‘What, what kind of situation is this? Why is Harin suddenly like this?’
Now at this point, even Jinsung, the forever alone and a dreamer to become the greatest magician, could only sense that there was something weird.
‘What could it be? Is she hoping for me to quickly eat the risotto as well and tell her it’s delicious?’
Jinsung’s imagination started to expand little by little.
‘It can’t be that she’s protesting because I snuck out some drug meatballs that were in the kitchen, right?’
And a worry that had popped up from the beginning, however, as it was too unrealistic, he had forcibly overlooked it, eventually filled Ian’s mind.
‘By any chance… Does Harin like me?’
In order to solve this incredible dilemma, he decided that he would consult in Yoohyun.
It bothered him a little that Yoohyun as well had no proper dating experience, but there wasn’t exactly another person better than Yoohyun that popped up.
* * *
“Millun, Millun! If you’re logged on, come over here for a second!”
“What’s wrong, Rukin, I told you that I need to go hunt now.”
“No, hunting isn’t important right now! I’m telling you, come here quickly!”
At Rukin’s demand, Millun, who had packed up his hunting equipment and was about to use his return stone, approached him with an annoyed expression.
“No, what exactly is it, then?”
“I received a message this morning from Falcon.”
“Uh, what did he say? Did he at least pick up a Heroic-rank equipment?”
While looking at Millun, who answered with an incredibly impatient expression, Rukin opened his mouth clearly.
“Ian, he figured out what guild that guy is in!”
“Ian? Guild? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
With a frustrated expression, he opened his mouth for the second time.
“Ah, you know that PK bum Summoner from that Chief Priest Quest! The one that you met during the rookie league! Do you not remember?”
The moment he heard up to that point, Millun’s eyes widened.
He had remembered the nightmare of the turtle shell that had blocked the Induced Arrows in vain.
“What? That guy? Falcon found out that guy’s guild?”
“That’s right. That’s what I’m telling you!”
“What guild is that guy in? No, how exactly did you find it? That guy always went around with his information on private.”
Rukin swallowed loudly before he responded.
“That, you know the northern continent’s Forlan Basin that’s been hot lately, right?”
“Yeah, of course I know. I’m mass-leveling like this right now because I want to go there. I just need to level up 10 more levels and I can go there.”
“Yeah, in the Hall of Fame for that dungeon, that Ian dude’s name came up, and by looking at it, the name of his guild is Lotus. Falcon even checked through the community as well, and he’s positive it’s him.”
“Community? How can you check there?”
“It looked as if other users had found out that the Ian that was up on that Hall of Fame was the same person that was the runner-up for the rookie league.”
This much information was trustable.
Millun ground his teeth.
“Finally, it looks like we’ll be able to find this dude. But, Rukin, around what rank is that guild called Lotus?”
Rukin slightly frowned as he replied.
“That… It’s quite high. It looked like it was around a Diamond-rank.”
“If it’s a Diamond-rank, it’s the same rank as our guild, right?”
The rank of the ‘Polaris’ guild that Rukin and Millun had moved into not long ago was also similar to the Lotus Guild in that it just barely didn’t reach the top 400.
The only way that the two people, who weren’t even at lv 90 yet, could enter the Polaris Guild was through connections and the strength of Robby.
Rukin nodded his head.
“That’s right. It looked like it was around 430th place.”
Millun wore a slightly taken aback expression.
He did think that Ian’s guild could be quite highly ranked, but he never thought that it would be a top-rank guild in the top 500.
“It’s higher than I thought? This is a little worrisome…”
The fighting power of the two guilds were probably similar, but it wasn’t a guild that they could face so easily, and the problem was that the leading members of the guild wouldn’t just move because they asked.
This was because they had gathered almost 0 influence in order to wield the Polaris Guild.
However, different from Millun, who was sighing, Rukin opened his mouth again with a furtive voice.
“I have a method.”
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