Emperor of Solo Play Chapter 111:
Chapter 111 – Black Tree (1)
1 .
“I’ve heard the news . I heard you have granted a big boon to the Magician’s Tower . I heard you are helping us out in a major way . ”
“Let’s just go . ”
It was a very dark hallway . There weren’t any light source around, so one had to rely on the candle in one’s hand to traverse the hallway . If the stairway heading towards the lower floor wasn’t distinct, it would have been strange to see someone roll several dozen times down the stairs . Not too far ahead, one could see a spiral staircase, and the path downwards gave off an eerie atmosphere .
Two men were heading downwards .
“You are really amazing . In truth, countless people benefit from the Tower, but not even half of half of those people return the favor . You have made decision that is counter to what innumerable people chose to do . I respect you . ”
“……let’s just go in silence . ”
One person was speaking in an excited manner . The other person was very severe in his countenance .
“I can’t believe you are donating 100 thousand gold . It is an amount of money that I wouldn’t even be able to gain even if I saved up for my entire lifetime . I just can’t help, but admire your ability to donate . The sight of you giving the donation so willingly is admirable . ”
This was obvious, but there was no upside in walking with this character . Moreover, the small hallway made it stressful to even walk here, so the NPC’s excited voice grated on his nerves .
“It’s 100 thousand gold . I can’t believe…”
In the end, he exploded .
“Dude . ”
“Yes?”
“Let’s just hurry up and go . ”
He growled out his words like a wild animal . It was hard to even call it words .
NPC Peun of the Magician’s Tower tilted his head in confusion instead of being surprised . This User had voluntarily given up an enormous amount of gold to the Magician’s Tower, so Peun didn’t know why Hyrkan was angry at him .
It was a reaction that stoked Hyrkan anger . Eventually, Hyrkan spoke one more time .
“I’m in a very foul mood, so shut the **** up . ”
“Ah, yes…… . ”
Peun finally comprehended Hyrkan’s feelings, so it shut its mouth . After the NPC shut its mouth, its expression worsened considerably . Peun’s affinity toward Hyrkan had been very high, but this conversation had pretty much bottomed out that affinity .
Hyrkan was well aware of this fact .
However, Hyrkan didn’t care about Peun’s affinity towards him .
‘Why did a **** like this have to stick to me… I’m already going nuts from the stomach ache caused by this . ’
It hadn’t been easy to gather 100 thousand gold for the donation .
Of course, if Hyrkan sold all the Items he had on, he could easily get over 100 thousand gold . Even now the Skeleton were equipped with gears that was each worth an expensive bike .
In the real world, it was hard to find a rich person sitting on a huge amount of cash . Similarly, it was hard for Hyrkan to immediately gather 100 thousand gold . The selling of his Items would be a last resort . However, even if he did decide to sell his Items, it wasn’t as if he would be able to get fair market price on all of them .
It was also difficult to purchase the gold through cash . He couldn’t purchase 100 thousand gold in one sitting . When he saw the additional fees that was deducted at each transaction, Hyrkan truly felt frustrated .
Anyways, he cleaned out everything he could give up to reach the 100 thousand gold . He even emptied the money he had set aside for his payment and maintenance fee for the V Gear . He also emptied next month’s subscription fee . Of course, he emptied his food money too . He stocked up on a lot of delicious ramen, cheap coffee and grape candies .
There was no way Hyrkan would be in a good mood . Hyrkan wouldn’t have reached this point if such things didn’t bother him .
He followed after the quiet Peun . Hyrkan sharpened the knife before his inside could rot away .
‘If he really was lying, I’ll hit him an amount equal to his likes on his video . Every time he gets an additional like, I’ll beat him to death again . ’
Bbah-dook, bbah-dook .
The sound of Hyrkan grinding his teeth filled the silent hallway .
2 .
“Which Tree Map do you want?”
After descending the numerous steps, they reached a space where not a single iota of light reached . It was an underground cell . It felt as if he was being sent to an underground prison for donating 100 thousand gold .
Moreover, unlike before Peun spoke with a very cold voice .
‘Patience . Be patient . ’
His temper was worsening considerably . He pushed down his anger as he replied with his choice .
“Body Modification . ”
“Black Magic Body Modification . Please wait a moment . ”
After several minutes, Peun opened the door once again, and it gave Hyrkan a scroll . The scroll was large enough that the sides of the scrolls were protruding even as Preun carried it with both hands .
“I’ll return in 30 minutes . Please come to a decision before then . ”
Peun handed over the scroll then it immediately left the room .
Then… .
Ddoo-roo-roo, kwahng, kwahng!
The sound of several locks turning roughly assaulted Hyrkan’s ears . Hyrkan smirked .
‘It feels like I’m paying them to treat me like an inmate . ’
“Hoo-ooh!”
He wiped the smirk off his face, and a long sigh immediately escaped his mouth . Several emotions were mixed in with the sigh .
He was sighing because he had paid 100 thousand gold to see this old scroll . He was also sighing in relief, since it seemed Woody hadn’t lied .
Then there was the final feeling…
‘Shit . If I see something I like, I bet I’ll once again empty out my account to buy it . ’
Seeing is wanting .
There might be some amazing skill he hadn’t known about in the Body Modification Skill Tree . Eventually, he knew he’ll be tempted to buy it, and he would inevitably have to fork over a massive amount of money . He was worried about the future, so he let out a sigh of worry .
As the sound of his sigh made up the background noise, Hyrkan opened the scroll . He kept unfurling the scroll, but it abruptly came to an end . It was like unfurling a toilet roll, and the scroll ended at the level 190 Skills . It looked like the one half of a scroll .
Level 200 .
It basically meant it won’t be able to show him the Skills one receives after the 2nd Advancement .
‘I paid 100 thousand gold . Couldn’t they have shown me the 2nd Advancement skills too? Are they perhaps going to ask me for another 100 thousand golds later to see it?’
Hyrkan spoke in a brusque manner .
Of course, the light in Hyrkan’s eyes was more serious than ever . He quickly looked through the Skill Tree .
He had been given 30 minutes . He had to identify all the Skills he didn’t know about in the Body Modification Skill Tree . On top of that, he had to choose a skill he needed .
First, Hyrkan checked the level 190 Skills .
‘There are two level 190 Skills . ’
There was a level 190 Normal Rank Skill and a Unique Rank Skill . There were a total of two Skills .
These two Skills were the pinnacle of the Skill Map he could see . These two fruits had numerous roots branching out towards the bottom .
There was the normal Rank Skill [Golden Tattoo] . It was the skill above Skin Sewing . The location where the Golden Tattoo was placed increased the defense of that region . One had to use a gold type Item coin, and the ingredient would be destroyed once the new tattoo was placed . It was a consumption type skill .
‘Why do all these skills require spending of money?’
There was a Unique Rank Skill called the [Piercing Pocket] . One could create holes in one’s body, and consumable items like Skeleton Fragment and Bone Explosives could be stored inside these holes . Basically, it would make one’s body into something akin to a drawer .
‘That’s not too bad . ’
The Skill was unexpectedly decent . If he could store it inside his body, there was a very low chance he could lose his Items . This was a problem for Hyrkan, who had to carry so many things into battle .
Moreover, it was a Skill that reeked of being specifically made for a Necromancer . He could use his body as a chest of drawers? This wasn’t something that couldn’t be done in reality, but Warlord allowed for such customizability .
‘Won’t it be cool to open up my forearm, and take out a lot of Bone Explosives?’
For a brief time, he forgot about the fact that he had to give a payment of 100 thousand gold for this opportunity . The desire to purchase these Skills overrode his previous emotions . Currently, the Body Modification Skill Tree Map was like a home-shopping commercial for him .
‘This is?’
A Rare Rank level 160 Skill called the [Black Heart] drew Hyrkan’s attention the most .
‘……it exists . ’
Hyrkan touched his Skill Window to read a detailed description of the Skill . The hologram window floated on top of the old scroll . Hyrkan’s gaze planted itself squarely on the Skill’s effect .
– Magical Energy is consumed to increase Strength .
‘Even the Black Magician Class has a Magic Swordsman type skill . ’
The Skill allowed one to consume magical energy to strengthen the User’s physical ability . It wasn’t a unique skill . In the White Magician’s Body Research Skill Tree, there existed a level 100 Skill called the [Body Revolution] . It allowed for a very similar effect .
The [Body Revolution] Skill allowed one to swap Intelligence Stat with Strength Stat and vice versa . This skill was the reason why White Magician’s were the best at surviving, and as a magician, they had developed a unique style of Magic Swordsman .
The Magic Swordsman Style used Body Research and Transcendence Magic . It was a style that utilized these two Skill Trees as their main power . The Body Research was akin to the Body Modification . The Transcendence Magic were Buff type magic .
The Magic Swordsman style was unexpectedly very popular . Most of Warlord’s monsters targeted the magician when hit with magic . This style used this fact against the monster . A talented Magic Swordsman was very good at Aggro Control .
There was no Class that could rival the Magic Swordsman at the job of luring monsters . They weren’t great at one thing, but they were able to carry out various roles . In a Raid where there were multiple opponents, a skilled Magic Swordsman was valuable .
This didn’t hold true for the Black Magicians as they didn’t have a Sword Magician type . Black magic had a debuff magic of Curse rather than the Buff Magic of Transcendence .
‘It is less effective, but…… . ’
Of course, the [Black Heart] allowed one to burn magical energy to increase one’s Stat, so the effect wasn’t that great . Moreover, wasn’t magical energy the lifeline of the Necromancer class? It wouldn’t be much help to Hyrkan .
However, the important part for him was the fact that there was a branch heading upwards .
There was a higher level Skill that was better than the [Black Heart] skill .
He didn’t know what it was, but he was well aware of the implications . At the very least, he thought about the possibility .
‘I hope I’m not going to have to spend all my money on buying the skill books in the future . Shit . It isn’t as if I can resell Skills like Items… . ’
Of course, there were other implications too .
3 .
[Life Vessel]
– Proficiency : Rank F
– Skill Effect : When the skill is activated, Stamina is increased by 500 points . However, when the Life Vessel is activated, any type of Stamina recovery skill will not work on the User .
After reading the description for the Life Vessel skill, Hyrkan had an expression as if he had just eaten a rotten egg .
‘It was a skill I had been pining for, but I never expected to gain it by giving away 100 thousand gold . ’
Life Vessel Skill recovered a portion of one’s Stamina in a flash . It was one of the best skill for him . He had wanted it no matter the cost . However, he never expected that price to be 100 thousand gold .
If Rich Lich was given the choice of purchasing Life Vessel for 100 thousand gold, even he would have probably balked at the price .
Hyrkan shook his head from side to side as he closed the Skill Window .
‘Yes . I’ll just think of it as an investment for the future . Isn’t this is better than investing in some weird company?’
He tried hard to derail his thoughts away from the cost . Hyrkan once again went through his immediate goals .
His Level Up was important . At the very least, he had to be level 160 to participate in earnest at the Immoral Prince Raid . If he wanted to be on the safe side, he had to reach level 170 .
If he wanted to achieve this, he had to choose the right hunting ground . Hyrkan knew many hunting grounds that was good for leveling up . However, he had to worry about how many people used the hunting ground, and how much money he would be able to gain from filming in that location .
‘Where would be a good spot?’
There weren’t that many likely spots that fulfilled those requirements .
However, a past relation solved Hyrkan’s problem for him .
4 .
[Your Level has increased . ]
After he finished leveling up, Hyrkan immediately checked the caller ID .
‘Who the **** just called me?’
There was nothing worse than getting a call during a hunt . Hyrkan had a thunderous expression on his face as he checked his caller ID . If this was about something trivial, he planned on blocking this number from ever calling him .
However, Hyrkan’s expression quickly changed when he saw the owner of the number . Hyrkan immediately dialed the number .
– Were you in the middle of a hunt? If you had been in a hunt, I’m sorry for the distraction .
“What is it? I never expected you to contact me again . ”
It had be awhile since he had heard the voice of the Whistling Pitbull .
‘What is really going on?’
Hyrkan had been surprised when he suddenly received a call from Whistling . He had given his number to the Whistling Pitbull, but the Pitbull had never contacted him until now . Of course, there hadn’t been any reason to contact each other . Whistling and Hyrkan walked roads that was too different from each other . Both of them understood this truth .
This was why Hyrkan contacted him immediately even if he had just leveled up . A User usually checked one’s Stats first when one leveled up .
If the caller had been someone unimportant, he wouldn’t have even called back to spite the User for interfering with his hunt . Hyrkan was someone who would absolutely do such a thing .
– May you help me?
Whistling words were something he would have never expected . Hyrkan struggled with his thoughts for a brief moment .
‘He is asking for my help?’
Whistling was part of the Fighters guild . Since he was asking for Hyrkan’s help, this meant he was asking for a personal favor .
“Is it related to the Elves?”
Since this was Whistling’s personal matter, there was a high possibility that this was related to the Elves .
– You picked up on it immediately .
It was as Hyrkan predicted . Hyrkan’s continued to hypothesize as he spoke .
“If you require my help, then this must be something really hard . I’ll hear you out first . I’ll determine if this is worth me helping you . ”
In truth, Hyrkan planned on turning down Whistling . Whistling’s words wouldn’t change his mind .
‘I don’t have time to help out on an Elf related Quest . ’
He felt apologetic towards Whistling, but he had suspended even the Main Scenario Quest for his Level Up . He couldn’t waste his time on someone else’s Quest .
At that moment, Whistling asked Hyrkan a Question .
– Do you perhaps know about the Black Tree?
“Uh?”
Hyrkan’s reaction was weird .
“Could you repeat what you just said? It’s loud where I’m at . What did you say again?”
– Do you know about the Black Tree??
“Black Tree? Is it a monster’s name? Or is it a landmark?”
Hyrkan answered as if this was the the first time he had heard the word . However, Hyrkan’s expression indicated otherwise . He was excited, surprised and taken aback . Hyrkan was trying hard to hide his reaction .
‘The level 160 Rare Boss Monster Black Tree’s name had just come out of Whistling’s mouth . He is really like the namesake of Pitbull . He had bitten into something really big . Maybe I should have named my nickname after a dog too . ’
Hyrkan had the opportunity to capitalize on a reward for his past good deeds .