Emperor of Solo Play Chapter 51:
Lucky Drop (2)
A lucky drop!
To gamers, it was just as good of a word as level-up . It was similar to a package delivery that made one to open his door with anticipation .
To achieve this taste of a lucky drop, one just had to hunt monsters . There was no other way . It was enough to just hunt monsters .
Kiyaa!
A 2-meter tall skeleton with a red lizard-skull made a strange cry . This lizard-skull skeleton was carrying a blazing flame in each of its hands .
This skeleton was the Skeleton Magician made by using a Lizard Sorcerer as material . The flames it was holding in its hands were like grenades, and the sound it had made was to alert its allies . After it had warned its allies, it threw the flames in its hands without hesitation .
The target was the back of a level 60 monster fighting tens of meters away . The Sword Monkey .
Kiii!
With its back now on fire, it let out an earsplitting scream . It didn’t show any signs of stopping either . Considering that the fire was spreading wildly across its body, it was no surprise .
It was truly a bloodcurdling scream, one that would make someone unable to fall asleep at night .
However, such a scream was unable to affect its surroundings in any way .
Clang!
Metallic sounds rang out from different areas as did more screams of Sword Monkeys .
Different kinds of Skeleton Warriors were continually clashing swords with Sword Monkey . The pain-filled cries of the monkeys and metallic ringing from the clashing of swords easily buried the bloodcurdling screams of a single Sword Monkey .
However, there was one sound that distinguished itself .
Whoosh!
It was the sound of a Golem swinging its arm like a whip and smashing a 1 . 3 meter tall Sword Monkey .
Boom!
With a balloon-popping sound, the Sword Monkey flew across the air and hit the trunk of a tree . It was unable to make any noise . Only the sound of sword monkey’s bones being crushed could be heard .
As if it was content with its attack, the Golem turned its head and stared at the Sword Monkey that had fallen on the ground .
Kiikii!
At the same time, another Sword Monkey that had seen its friend being killed by the Golem jumped on the Golem’s body and slashed its sword at it . As the Golem was made of dirt, the slash marks of swords could be clearly seen . It was a bit later that the Golem turned its gaze towards the Sword Monkey that was leaving slash marks on its body .
In fact, it was the Blood Goblin Skeleton Warrior that made a move before the Golem . Faster than any of the other skeletons, it ran towards the Sword Monkey with the cursed dagger given by Hyrkan, then stabbed the monkey’s back .
Kiii!
The Sword Monkey screamed .
[Sword Monkey falls under the Demon Curse . ]
[Demon Curse skill rank rose to D . ]
The result of the scream was reported to Hyrkan in the form of an alert .
However, Hyrkan ignored the alert . Wearing his skeleton armor, Hyrkan put all his focus into weaving in and out of battles and controlling the overall battlefield . He couldn’t afford to divert his attention .
‘Right side needs help . ’
Hyrkan didn’t fight on the front lines . He was fighting in a support style . If he saw a 1 versus 1 battle, he joined the battle for a brief moment to make a 2 versus 1 situation . If a Skeleton Warrior was being pushed back against 2 monkeys, he aggroed one of them and turned the battle to 1 versus 1 .
‘Gotta attack the left side once . ’
He wasn’t aggressive either . Even when he was helping, he only made one or two light stabs with his sword . Of course, an all-strength necromancer’s light stab couldn’t exactly be considered light . Its power and effect was as clear as day .
‘Let’s finish that one off!’
Hyrkan quickly approached a Sword Monkey on the right side and pulled on his right wrist . When its sword-holding hand extended out, a Skeleton Warrior it was facing slashed down on its arm .
Puhat!
Its arm was cut off in an instant .
Hyrkan simply tossed aside its cut-off arm and stabbed the Sword Monkey without rest . As if to copy Hyrkan’s actions, the Skeleton Warrior continually stabbed it with its sword as well . Soon, the Sword Monkey was deformed to the point it couldn’t be recognized .
With that as start, the sound that had been filling the air began to quiet down .
Hyrkan looked around him .
‘Is this the 200th?’
The monster Hyrkan was hunting for his lucky drop was none other than Bulkas Mountain Range’s Sword Monkey . It was a monster that would soon become one of the most popular monsters in the region . Although bones and skin were useless, it dropped a material called Sword Fragment that was used to make good level 50 Normal items .
At the same time, Sword Monkeys were categorized as small-sized monsters, and because they lived in large packs, they were rather weak by in small groups . They were one of the easier monsters to hunt and many could be hunted at once . Moreover, there weren’t a lot of people currently in Bulkas Mountain Range . Because not many knew the true value of Sword Monkeys, Hyrkan was currently enjoying it to the fullest .
Of course, what Hyrkan was aiming for wasn’t the Sword Monkey’s Sword Fragments .
‘I wish it would drop a Sword Monkey Jewel already . ’
What Hyrkan was aiming for was a crafting jewel that Sword Monkeys dropped at a very low rate .
Hyrkan’s goal was to make a Rare rank item using that crafting jewel .
In other words, he would stop hunting Sword Monkeys once he got the crafting jewel . Sword Monkeys were no doubt good monsters to hunt, but that was for average players . It was just too easy for Hyrkan . The battle just now was proof of it .
Hyrkan and his summons began fighting a group of 13 Sword Monkeys, and the fight ended in less than 10 minutes . At this point, Hyrkan’s battle prowess easily jumped levels . To maximize his level-up speed, he had to hunt stronger monsters .
The problem was that Hyrkan could not find the Sword Monkey Jewel even after hunting close to 200 Sword Monkeys . It was rather troubling as he expected one to drop in about 100 kills .
‘Please . I can’t keep hunting these damned monkeys forever . ’
As Hyrkan skinned off the Sword Monkey, he prayed as if he was waiting for a jackpot at a casino .
When Hyrkan skinned the Sword Monkey, it began to melt . Soon, only its bone, skin, and sword were left . After turning them into crafting coins, Hyrkan examined the ground with scrutiny .
‘Shiny . Something shiny . PLEASE . ’
However, Hyrkan couldn’t even find a rock, much less a jewel .
“FUCK!”
In the end, Hyrkan exploded .
“WHY? JUST WHY?”
Hyrkan punched the trunk of a nearby tree . Meanwhile, his Skeleton Warriors of various type and Golem stared at him in silence .
If someone who wasn’t aware of the circumstances had seen this, he would surely take a video to upload on YouTube with the title ‘A Crazyman in Warlord!’
‘How can there not be a jewel after killing so many of them?!’
However, if the person knew the circumstances, he would understand Hyrkan’s feelings without doubt .
He had hunted 200 Sword Monkeys . It wasn’t a small number at all . Although they lived in packs, it wasn’t as if they all slept in one place . They were spread out throughout the forest, and the time it took to find and lead them to a place appropriate for battle wasn’t small . At times, Hyrkan even had to run away from strong monsters . With all this, 6 hours had passed since Hyrkan began to hunt Sword Monkeys .
Moreover, he still had not gotten a jewel . How could it not drive him crazy?
‘Was I this unlucky?’
Usually, a jewel dropped in about 100 kills . How could one not have dropped in 200?
He was simply unlucky .
In most cases, one would stop for the day given such a bad luck .
“…No . ”
‘I’ve killed so many . The next one is bound to drop one . ’
If one didn’t drop until now, it will soon!
It was a simple mindset that trapped many gamers . To them, it seemed as simple as how salmon went back up stream to lay their eggs .
Hyrkan raised his head up
‘I’ll catch one more pack . I’ll stop after that . ’
Hyrkan resolved himself .
Of course, this resolution wasn’t bound to end well .
★★★
[You have leveled up . ]
[You have obtained the title, ‘Sword Monkey Slaughterer . ’]
[Your Skin Sewing skill rank rose to D . ]
He leveled up .
He obtained a title .
His skill rank even went up .
Most Warlord player would be happy, if not completely overjoyed .
‘This time, please . ’
However, Hyrkan couldn’t smile .
“PLEASE . ”
As he waited for the Sword Monkeys to melt down, his expression had remained stiff .
Eventually, the Sword Monkeys melted down . Their swords, bones, and skins were on the ground .
However, there was no jewel to be seen .
Still wearing his Hahoe Mask, helmet, and gloves, Hyrkan covered his face with his hands . It was a funny yet sad sight .
“God **** it…”
This was the 1000th monkey . It wasn’t just a 1000th monkey . Every time he caught one, he had to skin them as well . It was annoying to just count how many times one breathed . What would it feel like to kill 1000 monsters and still not have the result one wanted?
‘I don’t get it . ’
It wasn’t like Hyrkan was asking for anything big . He simply wanted to get an item he needed as he leveled up a little . He didn’t think things would turn out so badly . He wasn’t aiming for a Unique item or anything . All he asked for was material for a Rare item .
But not a single one dropped .
Not a single one!
Hyrkan took his hands off his face .
‘Is it a bug?’
At this point, Hyrkan couldn’t help but wonder . In most cases, Rare rank crafting jewels dropped once every one hundred kills . For middle or large sized monsters, the number was even lower . Boss monsters almost always dropped one .
‘Should I just sell what I have and buy one?’
Furthermore, there wasn’t really a reason for him to be so adamant on obtaining a Sword Monkey Jewel anymore . By selling the crafting items he got from hunting 1000 Sword Monkeys, he could easily buy a level 50 Rare rank item . Furthermore, Hyrkan had profits outside of the crafting items he gained . Although his lion suit had yet to be sold, it would sell for quite a lot when it did . The amount he made from YouTube wasn’t small either .
If he really wanted, he could probably obtain a low-end Unique rank item as well .
‘Damn it . ’
But that’s just how humans were . Especially for gamers, once one felt spiteful, not even his ancestor would be able to stop him .
Hyrkan began to agonize over his decision .
The logical side of him told him to stop **** around and go buy the item from an auction site .
His instincts told also told him to go buy the item; that there was no guarantee the jewel will drop the next time .
However, his sense as a gamer told him that the next one was bound to drop one .
‘I really feel like the next one is going to have it… . I mean, with how many I killed, I won’t be satisfied until it does . ’
Next time…
It was how people became addicted to gambling .
Hyrkan got up .
‘I’ll kill just one more pack . Just one more . If that one doesn’t drop it, I’ll buy the weapon even if I have to sell my house . ’
At that moment…
“Hey!”
Someone called out to Hyrkan .
If Hyrkan was sitting aloof before, he was by now tense and prepared for battle . Then, he turned towards the direction the voice came from .
What Hyrkan saw was a group of three players . One of them was wearing an armor he had once seen before .
“So it really is Hahoe Mask Hyrkan . ”
“See! I told you . I told you he would be here . This is where he took the Armor Monkey video . ”
“Interesting . ”
They even knew Hyrkan’s nickname . Hyrkan narrowed his eyes .
‘They don’t look like they’re my fans . Don’t tell me…’
Since his job was uploading Warlord videos to YouTube, he had expected some people to recognize him . It wasn’t too big a surprise in this aspect .
Moreover, he knew not everyone would be happy to see him . After all, he had once had the entire world as his enemy .
Hyrkan prepared to snap his fingers . The fact that he was tense could be seen by his tightly shut mouth .
At that moment .
“My name is Quiyote! Hahoe Mask Hyrkan, I challenge you to a duel!”
A man wearing a lustrous, white armor shouted . It was the White Mamba set .
Hearing this, Hyrkan’s mouth relaxed .
‘Kyaa . ’
He could feel the stress he had accumulated disappear in an instant .