Emperor of Solo Play Chapter 37:
Skeletons Hunting Skeletons (3)
Large build, thick armor, bone-chilling sword, and fire-like eyes that shone between the helmet’s gap .
These were features that represented Skeleton Warriors . At the same time, these were the features of the grim reaper for any players hunting in the Dead woods .
However, the body of the Skeleton Warrior lying on the ground showed no signs of any of these features . Its shoulders and knees were completely busted, its armor was caved in as if it had been kicked multiple times, and its sword lied broken in half . Its helmet with the fire-like eyes…
Clack, clack, clack!
Was stuck under the shoulders of a man wearing a leather jacket as it was beaten up again and again .
It was a gruesome sight that was difficult to describe . If the Skeleton Warrior had human like emotions, it would undoubtedly be crying . Of course, the cause of this scene was none other than Hyrkan .
However, Hyrkan seemed to be in a bad mood as well .
‘This **** magic power . ’
Until just a few minutes ago, he had been feeling better than he ever had . In fact, he had been feeling good since the start of the day’s battle . He was in an even better condition than he had been at the Lizard Swamp . It wasn’t just Hyrkan that was feeling this way . His Skeleton Warriors were showing much better movements than usual . The battle data they had accumulated so far was finally being reflected in their fights .
Here, Hyrkan decided .
‘Let’s film a Time Attack video!’
He set his goal high .
To kill 100 skeletons in 100 minutes!
Of course, Hyrkan knew better than anyone else that this was impossible . Even so, there was nothing wrong with setting one’s goals high . When he began, he was killing at an extremely fast pace . He even wondered if he could really achieve his goal .
However, his happiness quickly turned to disappointment due to his chronic disadvantage .
‘I know I’m an all-strength necromancer, but it’s not like my magic power is that low compared to normal necromancers at my level…’
Lack of magic power .
It was especially more draining in bold and forceful battles . When he used Skeleton Magicians to speed up his hunting pace, he found his magic power disappearing into the air .
As a result, he had to cut down on the number of Skeleton Warriors, which was why only Hyrkan remained standing .
Now that he had finished off the Skeleton Warrior, Hyrkan immediately checked his stat window . Checking his stat window signified the end of a battle .
[Hyrkan]
– Level: 33
– Class: Magician
– Title: 9
– Stats: Strength (190) / Stamina (30) / Intelligence (101) / Magic Power (141)
141 points .
That was Hyrkan’s current magic power stat .
Most necromancers distributed their stat points into magic power in a 1 to 4 ratio . In this case, disregarding the stat points from items, their pure magic power stat was 150 . If one factored in their titles and items, it would be over 200 points . Of course, if the player was full of Unique items, it could be over 300 or even 400 points .
Compared to this, Hyrkan’s magic power was indeed low . However, it was a fine number considering he was an all-strength necromancer . He had yet to run into any problems either .
Until now that is .
‘So there’s no problem if I’m driving safe, but once I step on the accelerator, my fuel runs out in a breeze . ’
It was a problem only Hyrkan could understand .
His individual performance was exceptional . In terms of cars, he would be a Lamborghini . Of course there would be a problem if one put in regular fuel in it instead of premium .
‘Tsk . ’
In truth, it wasn’t anything like a fatal problem . No one could run at full power forever . Most people that earned their living in Warlord did so by running safely and steadily . They only ran fast every once in a while . Warlord was a marathon, not a sprint .
Even so, it wasn’t easy for him to ignore it after feeling the problem with his own body .
Most importantly .
‘It’s going to be real dangerous after level 40 . ’
At this rate, his problems would only get bigger with Golem Summon . No, Golem Summon wasn’t the problem . Once he hit level 40, Skeleton Fragment would rank up and he would have another Skeleton Warrior to summon .
In truth, he already had his answer .
‘Damn, if only I had the money . ’
Money!
Everything would be taken care of if he had the right items .
It was a simple and obvious solution, yet something Hyrkan couldn’t do at the moment .
Then what should he do?
Efficiency .
He had to mind his fuel efficiency . He had to ensure his battles were as efficient as possible . Even if he fought boldly, aggressively, and assertively, he had to make sure his battles used as little magic power as possible . To do that, what he had to change was…
‘My condition is good, but not as much as in the past . ’
Hyrkan himself .
Because of putting his Skeleton Warriors in front, he wasn’t doing as much as in the past . There was a difference between doing his best and being the best .
Hyrkan turned off his stat window .
‘I can’t make my skeletons work; I have to make myself work . ’
★★★
Romany was currently bursting with excitement .
“Wow!”
Because of taking on so many boring and uninteresting works recently, he was about to go crazy from forcing himself to work . After a long time, however,he had received a request from a client that had once drove him crazy .
Hahoe Mask Hyrkan .
He had sent him an immense amount of battle videos, which Romany picked at random to watch . It was just one . Even so, Romany spent a full hour watching the video from start to finish .
That’s how good it was .
‘This is incomparable to those casuals . This is on a completely different level!’
He had seen countless number of videos from countless number of people . Although they probably sent what they believed to be one of their better fights, Romany had to forcefully edit and direct to make something barely passable .
However, Hyrkan’s video was enough to make him shudder in fear . How could he make this better? It would be fine even on its own!
‘My **** . ’
His every movement was art . Others played what seemed like a turn-based game, but Hyrkan prevented his opponent from ever attacking as he poured attack after attack . Watching Hyrkan dodge attacks by the hairs-breadth was simply breathtaking .
The best part of it all…
‘Do they take after their owner? How can they move like this?’
Was that Hyrkan’s Skeleton Warriors fought just as well .
One can dance alone, but it was even more marvelous when done in a group!
Not only that, their opponent was also a top choice .
Skeletons vs Skeletons!
Just thinking of the film’s title made him shake in excitement .
The actual video was enticing as well . It was grotesque, yet captivating . As he watched, Romany found his heart beating fast .
There was just one problem .
‘What’s up with his getup? Is he wearing that on purpose? Or is there some sort of a problem?’
His fashion .
“Who’s his fashion coordinator? Or did he do this on his own?’
In any case, it was Romany’s job to make this look as good as possible . His scenario was already finished .
He even had a title in mind .
“Skull Clown . ”
That would be the title of this film .
★★★
Baseball, soccer, basketball, etc . No matter what sport it may be, there were two factors that made their fans quiver in excitement . The first was the victory of the team they cheered for . The second… was the appearance of a super rookie . In particular, rookies caused not just one team, but the entire sports scene to be heated up .
It was the same in Warlord . There was now 2 months left until the 1-year anniversary . Because of recent appearances of super rookies, Warlord was currently heated up to the extreme .
– Fallout Online’s Rank 10, Rony Jackson joins the Hydra Guild!
– The Machine Rank 3rd, Ugo Sanchez joins Red Bull!
Recently, with top-tier players of other virtual reality games moving to Warlord, related articles, interviews, and videos were making headlines .
But, as always, it wasn’t the royal road that people were interested in, but the road of a jewel crawling up from the bottom to the top .
It was because of this .
Skull Clown!
The 15-minute video of Hahoe Mask Hyrkan fighting skeletons in the Dead Woods achieved 150,000 views in just 3 days of going public . Showing what seemed to be an infinite amount of potential, it signaled the appearance of another super rookie . Naturally, stories of Hyrkan began to circulate around the internet .
– I’ve seen this guy hunting by himself in the Lizard Swamp . It was amazing .
– I saw him too . He always hunts by himself . He’s the master of solo play . He never does party .
– After seeing this, I’m going to go make myself a necromancer .
– What’s up with his clothes? Isn’t it too much?
– He’s probably doing it on purpose . What sane person would wear this? He’s probably doing it to get attention .
With Hyrkan gaining all sorts of attention, there were those who didn’t see it in good light .
‘What’s this?’
Until her secretary, Park Suji, reminded her, Choi Sulyeon had forgotten about Hyrkan .
When she watched Hyrkan’s new video, she was amazed from the bottom of her heart .
However, along with the end of the video, her amazement changed to suspicion . She asked Park Suji whether she had scouted him as she had asked, which Park Suji assured she had . When Choi Sulyeon asked what the result was, Park Suji replied that she didn’t even get a response .
It was a justified suspicion .
The scout offer came from none other than the Stormhunter Guild . Even if he had no choice but to decline, it was proper manners to at least give a reply . No, rather than proper manners, it was the obvious thing to do .
However, there was nothing .
Then?
‘Is he ignoring us?’
Never mind the refusal . There was great chance that he was ignoring them . The fact that he had been silent this entire time with nothing but a new video meant that he treated the Stormhunter Guild as no different than any of the other small guilds .
That being the case, Choi Sulyeon didn’t think that Hyrkan was looking down on Stormhunter Guild . She didn’t even consider that he would have a personal grudge against the Stormhunter Guild .
After all, it was impossible .
According to her standards, it was impossible for a Warlord player to act in such a way .
Instead, she came up with a different answer .
‘Is he part of another guild? If he’s some other guild’s hidden card, it makes sense that he can’t give a reply . ’
That Hyrkan was part of a guild and was currently hiding his identity! That was the answer she came up with . It wasn’t that she couldn’t think of any other possibility . It was just that, to her, that was the only possibility .
“Hmph . ”
And this fact only served to fire her up . A treasure without an owner and a treasure with an owner . Although a treasure without an owner had more worth, there was a certain thrill and sense of achievement to stealing a treasure with an owner .
‘If he grows, he can one day become the Stormhunter Guild’s ace . He has just as much… no, even more potential than me . ’
And just like that, Choi Sulyeon once again played Hyrkan’s video, Skull Clown .