Chapter 25

<The Lucky Domain>

[The [Class-Exclusive Weapon Box (Heroic)] listed on the Exchange has been sold for 50 Gold.]

With so much to do in Hanimo, I had completely forgotten about the Weapon Box I had listed on the Exchange.

My jaw dropped at the amount in the sudden message.

“50 Gold?”

After the fee, 40 Gold was deposited.

“I’m rich!”

The burning passion I had felt just moments ago seemed to cool a little.

But when I thought about the money I would have to spend in the future, it flared back up.

“I have to work even harder.”

I set a goal.

I couldn’t do everything.

The lack of available information would only be temporary.

After all, not all the countless users playing Fantasia were in Moina.

After a day or two, users would start appearing in Hanimo one by one as well.

It was only a matter of time before they received the Main Quest to subjugate the undead.

“Let’s do whatever makes me the most profit.”

Making a lot of money with something like Magi Purification Water seemed like the best option.

But there was no need to waste time trying to find the exact same method.

As long as I could profit somehow, that was all that mattered.

With that in mind, Han Youngwoong thought of something only he had.

‘The Saintess’s Necklace.’

A necklace loaned to him because he was the Lucky Hero.

He planned to use the Mythical-grade item, which could create a Lucky Domain once a day, to obtain whatever he could while progressing through the Main Quest.

To do that, he headed for the Enhancement Forge.

Unlike in Moina, the Enhancement Forge was quiet, with no other users around.

Here, where there was no Land of Golden Light, he touched the necklace.

Hummm-

He tried using the lightly resonating necklace.

Fated Prayer was also an authority that created a Lucky Domain, but the prayer alone couldn’t reliably create one at the moment.

Even though I had used it when I caught the Cursed Ferocious Bear, I didn’t know whether it required special conditions afterward or had some kind of internal cooldown. Muttering it only made me look like a weirdo, and nothing happened.

But this necklace created a Lucky Domain when used.

“Oh!”

A wide, thirty-meter-radius Land of Golden Light spread across the Enhancement Forge.

It was bright.

Radiant.

A cozy feeling, as if I could do anything.

“First, let’s open this.”

I took a box out of my inventory.

It was a Rare-grade box I had obtained from the Tricolor Slime Dungeon.

I wondered whether anything amazing could really come out of a Rare-grade box, but since I was at it, it was best to open anything involving Luck on the Land of Golden Light, the Lucky Domain.

“Please!”

I opened the lid of the blue box.

Inside were three Slimes, each a different color, split into fist-sized portions.

“Huh?”

[Blue Slime’s Droppings (Heroic)]

[Drops from a Blue Slime. They are extremely rare and have a powerful effect.]

● Instantly restores 88% Health

● +25 Strength for 15 minutes

[Red Slime’s Droppings (Heroic)]

[Drops from a Red Slime. They are extremely rare and have a powerful effect.]

● Instantly restores 77% Mana

● +25 Magic Power for 15 minutes

[Moss Slime’s Droppings (Heroic)]

[Drops from a Moss Slime. They are extremely rare and have a powerful effect.]

● Health and Mana recovery effect +50%

● +25 Agility for 15 minutes

They looked exactly like Slime, but since they were labeled as droppings, I felt reluctant to touch them.

“Heroic-grade?”

But the moment I saw they were Heroic-grade Buff potions, I quickly put them away in my inventory.

“The effects are insane.”

Although the effects were temporary and only lasted 15 minutes, the amount of Stats they increased was incredible.

If I ate them all at once, those droppings could become a crucial asset in a boss Monster raid like the fight against the Cursed Ferocious Bear.

“Nice.”

I could tell it was a good reward for opening a Rare-grade box because the bright Land of Golden Light inside the Lucky Domain had faded considerably.

After a little while, the Lucky Domain disappeared.

“Aww.”

If there had been just a little more time left, I would have tried Enhancement too.

It would recharge tomorrow anyway, so I soothed my disappointment and left the castle, heading for the Land of Death.

The golden arrow.

To find the holy relic, I planned to first explore the Land of Death and familiarize myself with the terrain.

[Sub Quest]

[Temple Request: Reconnaissance of an Unidentified Area in the Land of Death]

● Grade: Rare

● Search the unidentified area of the Land of Death to reveal the map.

● Reward: 15 Silver, 2,000 Subjugation Contribution

As it happened, the Sealed Holy Relic Quest was also pointing in a similar direction, so I moved with a strange sense of anticipation.

‘Could it be?’

Killing two birds with one stone.

Could there be anything better than completing two Quests at once?

And so, I took a few deep, excited steps into the Land of Death, and 10 minutes later…

“Okay, I give up.”

I returned to Hanimo Castle with 20 undead chasing after me.

===

[Land of Death]

[An outpost the undead and demons have used as a base on the continent for hundreds of years. The land and terrain cannot support life.]

● Recommended Level: 20 ~ 29

I decided not to rush.

I had to earn contribution points anyway.

There still weren’t many users here, so it wouldn’t be too late to spend some time understanding the Land of Death before going to find the holy relic.

If it was like this even for Han Youngwoong, then it seemed nearly impossible for other users to break through this many undead and find the holy relic.

Groooan-

The undead wandered around slowly, making strange noises.

In the front part of the Land of Death, humanoid zombie-like undead with rotting skin and the dogs guarding them roamed in pairs.

They charged the moment they saw a person.

Although they would only approach to a certain distance from Hanimo Castle before turning back, the moment someone stepped into the Land of Death, Aggro was drawn from a fairly wide area. It was safe to assume that every nearby undead would come charging.

“Heave-ho.”

[Lv20 Undead Patrolman]

[Lv19 Undead Patrol Dog]

The fortunate thing was that, while there were many of them, they weren’t as strong as I had expected.

The patrolmen were slow.

The patrol dogs were the same.

Their movements were so clumsy and awkward that even Han Youngwoong, who was practically a klutz, could see and dodge them.

I guess that was one trait of the undead.

Instead, their Health was high.

Whack!

Grrr-

With a +1 Attack Power Boing Hammer, even with a Strength Stat of 41, I couldn’t land any meaningful damage.

They didn’t feel pain and didn’t care about their Health going down. I could see why people were afraid of zombies.

They had to be killed.

[Lucky Strike!]

There was no way to kill the undead other than waiting for them to collapse like machines that had run out of battery once their Health was depleted.

“Phew, what a pain.”

I could handle one or two Lizardmen by tanking their hits with my high Stats, but the undead came in numbers, so it wasn’t easy.

It was a slightly annoying hunting method, getting tangled up with four or five undead and then waiting for Luck to trigger.

Boing-boing-boing-boing-BOING!

Boing-CRACK!

The nonstop fighting and the steadily rising experience points were at least some consolation.

[Sub Quest]

[Temple Request: Undead Hunt]

● Grade: Common

● Hunt 30 undead in the Land of Death.

● Reward: 10 Silver, 50 Raid Contribution

I could also clear the temple request while I was at it.

There were no life-threatening situations or moments where I had to use a potion, so for the dark gamer Han Youngwoong, for whom time was money, it felt like a very secluded and convenient hunting ground.

“This is comfortable.”

It didn’t take long to go from feeling annoyed to feeling comfortable.

Once I got used to it a little, I thought hunting like this wasn’t so bad.

A lot of materials were dropping too.

As I hunted undead at the entrance of the Land of Death for a while, one particular Monster caught my eye.

“Huh?”

A green-skinned pig appeared in an area mostly populated by patrolmen and patrol dogs.

“An orc?”

Its rotting skin didn’t look out of place among the undead, but something about it felt unnatural.

Moreover, it was strange that it suddenly changed direction after seeing me.

“Snort-”

It let out an unfitting orc noise and picked up its pace, so I followed out of curiosity.

“Snort. Snort.”

As if aware of me, the undead orc started walking faster.

My suspicion turned into certainty.

“This is weird. Why does it look like it’s heading toward Hanimo Castle?”

Flinch.

At Han Youngwoong’s words, it abruptly changed direction, but it was too late.

I had already caught up to its waddling pace.

Just as I raised the Boing Hammer high to strike, the undead orc finally shouted.

“Snort, w-wait!”

“……?”

“I-I’m a person. Snort!”

The undead orc, now sprawled flat on its face, waved its hands and pleaded for its life.

Then, glancing at the surrounding undead, it slyly peeled back the skin around its neck and lifted it.

“Ah?”

There was a real person inside.

It wasn’t someone with mixed orc and human blood, but a person disguised as an undead orc.

“I thought you were a Monster.”

“For now, you should get out of here, snort.”

Because of the commotion, dozens of undead from the surrounding area were shambling toward us in a horde.

I ran after the orc, who was warily dashing toward the castle.

===

“Who are you?”

“…That’s what I’d like to ask. Are you an adventurer?”

“A Hero.”

In front of the castle, an awkward introduction took place beneath the castle walls where the Monsters couldn’t follow.

“My name is Cale.”

“Cain?”

“Do you know my younger brother?”

The moment Cale took off the undead orc mask, a familiar face came to mind.

Their builds were different.

Cain was chubby enough that even the orc mask would have suited him, but Cale was rail-thin and small.

Instead, their faces and features were similar, so I immediately remembered once I heard the name.

“I met him in Moina. He asked me to get him a Corrupted Mana Stone, so I helped him.”

“You must be a capable person.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“…What I need lies deep within the Land of Death.”

Unlike Cain, who had been happy to see me in Contaminated Moina Forest, Cale scanned Han Youngwoong with a suspicious gaze.

I followed his gaze and looked myself up and down.

“Hmm, that’s understandable.”

My fashion sense wasn’t exactly trustworthy.

But this time, it was Han Youngwoong who needed Cale’s help.

“But I’m the Lucky Hero, currently carrying out a mission from the Goddess. I have to enter the Land of Death to find a holy relic while reducing the number of undead anyway.”

“…Is that so?”

He still couldn’t seem to shake off his suspicion.

Still, maybe he felt he had nothing to lose.

“In that case, would you help me find the Garden of Life?”

“The Garden of Life?”

“Yes.”

“Can life even bloom in the Land of Death?”

“Just because it’s the Land of Death doesn’t mean all the land is dead. Very rarely, there are places where life blooms in abundance. They are thoroughly sealed and located deep inside, so they are not easy to find, but….”

“……”

“The Flower of Life is a miracle that bloomed amid death. With that flower alone, I can mix it with Holy Water to create a potion that can weaken the immortal power of the undying undead.”

“Oh!”

The moment I heard Cale’s explanation, an idea flashed through my mind.

“I’ll get it for you. I’ll definitely get it for you.”

[Sub Quest]

[The Garden of Life]

● Grade: Heroic (Legendary)

● The Garden of Life is said to exist somewhere in the Land of Death. Flowers that bloomed amid death can have a fatal effect on the immortal undead. Find the Garden of Life and bring it to Cale.

● Reward: 3 Gold, [Mist of Life] Crafting Recipe

It was the kind of Quest that would make anyone think back fondly on Magi Purification Water.

I clasped Cale’s hands.

“Thank you.”

“…Pardon?”

“You and your brother are both doing good work.”

“Well, for the peace of the continent….”

“Just trust me. I’m someone working for that peace too.”

Then, looking at the sweat-soaked leather lying on the ground, I asked,

“Do you happen to have a spare? Preferably something like an ogre, something the undead would be scared of and avoid, not an orc…?”

It was a question filled with desperation.