[Big Shot in Real Estate][Rare]
You are a major player in the real estate industry who has contracted more than ten medium-sized or larger houses at once. Everyone in the industry is starting to watch you.
- Reduction of 0.05% commission on real estate contracts
In addition, he unintentionally acquired a title related to real estate.
Although it was merely a long-term rental rather than a purchase, achievements are relative, and at this point, signing a contract for such a large number of houses at once was recognized as a 'significant achievement'.
Meanwhile, others were still solely focused on creating guilds.
In order to somehow raise 50 gold, the item trading sites went crazy, and players were frantic to establish a guild as quickly as possible by sending all their guild members to hunting grounds to collect the shortfall.
"They don't know the proper order."
It was natural for the leading guilds to attract better members. It was only natural for anyone to want to join the best guild.
"Their pockets are about to get a lot thinner."
Thanks to this, only Lokan was positioned to benefit greatly. Even if he charged only double the monthly rental fee from them, he would receive 65 gold per month. This was on top of recouping the first month's rental fee that Lokan had paid in advance; it represented pure additional profit.
In the end, Lokan only paid the down payment and was now sitting back to make money.
"In reality, real estate speculation doesn't happen for no reason."
And the money collected would be reinvested in the expensive houses that the guilds couldn't afford yet.
There was still quite a bit of time left until the patch for the item that could be considered a singularity, so he planned to save up money gradually until then.
"I should go hunting first."
Lokan, who was happy to look at the 'Lease Contract' items that now occupied several slots in his inventory, soon started moving again. After all, it would take some time for the guilds to purchase the guild stones and to realize the exorbitant cost of storing them securely.
Additionally, they needed time to discover that all the houses large enough to use as a guild house were under long-term lease to someone, and to begin searching for that person. The strategy would only be effective when they were truly desperate.
Lokan immediately made a plan to get out of the noisy city for a while.
The target was the Forest Lizardmen.
"Since they're Forest Lizardmen… … this should be sufficient."
Lokan, knowing there were repeatable quests available, went to the Butcher and the Adventurer's Guild to pick up two additional quests.
It was also a place he had to visit anyway for the main questline.
[Supply Forest Lizardman Tail Meat][Quest]
Forest Lizardman tail meat is popular among gourmets for its elasticity and umami flavor. Gather as much of the meat as you can.
- Reward: 2 Silver per Forest Lizardman's Tail
[Defeat the Forest Lizardmen][Quest]
Recently, the number of Forest Lizardmen has increased, becoming a danger to Trinshik. Let's contribute to Trinsik's peace by reducing their numbers.
- Completion condition: Forest Lizardman's blue feather decoration 0/10
- Reward: 7 silver, standard experience
He also remembered the habitat location of the Forest Lizardmen, but he had no reason not to use the in-game functions.
Lokan, taking the shortest route using the magic map, immediately headed to the 'Feral Forest' where they resided.
"Navigation on. Forest Lizardman Habitat!"
* * *
The Forest Lizardmen didn't form a proper village, but since they constantly roamed their habitat, it was common practice for hunting parties to coordinate roles carefully to avoid attracting too much aggro.
Moreover, as the quests indicated, it was decent content for earning money and experience steadily at a moderate pace, making the Forest Lizardman Habitat quite popular in his previous life.
But what about now? It had been quite a while since Lokan had visited this place in his previous life, so things might be different currently.
Wouldn't monsters that were a little larger and gave a lot of experience at once be more popular?
"I hope there aren't many people… … ."
With that in mind, Lokan cautiously walked into the Feral Forest.
"It's wild… … ."
True to its name, not only the monsters but the entire forest felt rough. The grass grew strong and tall, and the trees were so big and thick that it was hard to see far.
However, the sight that greeted Lokan was not a welcome one. Even as he approached the border of the Forest Lizardman habitat, there was no sign of other users.
"It seems other places are still more popular."
It was understandable. While the experience and income were comparable to other hunting grounds of the same level relative to the average hunting time, players were likely still avoiding it due to the risk of not knowing when a Forest Lizardman Fighter might appear.
Only when more people flooded into Trinsik and the popular hunting grounds became overcrowded would this place be re-evaluated.
"Shall we begin?"
Lokan, who nodded to himself and took out his Orc Battle Axe, rushed toward the Forest Lizardman Warriors who appeared ahead.
Although they often moved in groups, lacking much awareness of kinship, Lokan didn't care.
"Heh heh heh heh!"
He started with a War Cry. The Forest Lizardmen's scales bristled as they went on high alert. Because of the level difference, the effect didn't seem overwhelming.
"Chk!"
Two Forest Lizardman Warriors attacked simultaneously with a muffled sound of iron.
Their blades thrust cleverly, like snakes. Lokan deflected them with a trembling motion of his axe, neutralizing their attacks.
And he followed through with a swing of the Battle Axe.
"Strike!"
"Kyaak!"
The hard scales of the Forest Lizardmen were crushed at once, revealing red flesh and blue blood.
"Shoulder Charge!"
*Koo!*
The other one wasn't safe either. Lokan loaded his strength and weight and slammed into it with his shoulder.
He was still only 1st job advancement, so he hadn't acquired the proper Shoulder Charge skill, but the combat prowess imprinted on his body manifested instinctively.
*… … .*
But it was powerful. With Lokan's immense strength and stamina behind it, it was like being hit by a car.
The Forest Lizardman, struck squarely on the chin, collapsed without even a scream. Lokan quickly got up and threw his hatchet.
*Whoosh!*
The accuracy gained through experience was truly astonishing. The axe blade pierced precisely into its forehead, causing a momentary stun. He couldn't kill it in one shot due to his current attack power, but he had bought time for Lokan to move in.
"Dash!"
Lokan leaped forward and finished off the stunned opponent.
"Oops, I forgot about that."
Lokan chided himself for killing an opponent twice his level too easily.
"Keeek!"
While Lokan was blaming himself, the one seriously wounded in the first blow staggered and lunged. But it was a futile effort. The swordsmanship of the Forest Lizardman Warrior, which relentlessly aimed for vital points to the point of being annoying, was like child's play to Lokan.
Lokan, lightly twisting his wrist to block the creature's attack, followed the deflected sword and drove his hatchet into its body.
Although the crude iron armor on its skin offered wild resistance, Lokan's attack was sharp and penetrating.
The Forest Lizardman Warrior knelt as the attack slammed into its interior as if tearing it apart.
"Not yet."
Lokan didn't let up easily.
After crushing it underfoot to neutralize it, he swung his axe towards its rear with all his might.
*Thwack!*
Then, very easily, its tail was severed and fell to the ground.
[You have acquired Forest Lizardman's Tail.]
This was the only way to get the Forest Lizardman's tail with 100% certainty, aside from the random drop upon death: cutting it off while the creature was alive.
In the process, one could be counter-attacked by their powerful tails, but when attacked with irresistible force, it was their characteristic to shed their tails like normal lizards.
Then, if you killed it afterward, you could get two tails at once—one from the severing and another chance from the drop.
"Good."
Generally, the coin loot from Forest Lizardmen was a little over 1 silver. If you were unlucky and no equipment dropped, it was hard to exceed 2 silver per head at most.
However, by securing the Forest Lizardman's Tail, which was worth 2 silver each, the hourly income would more than double.
It was a trick no one knew yet, but Lokan performed it without hesitation. He had confirmed it wasn't a bug in his previous life.
"Come on, let's play."
And so, Lokan's massacre began.
* * *
Level 70 Lizardmen were different from Level 50 Orc Warriors.
In addition to potentially having enhanced skills from being a higher-tier job, their level was double, so in terms of pure stats, they weren't far behind Lokan.
But the battles were always one-sided.
"Oof!"
Lokan's fighting sense was outstanding, but it was also because Lokan already knew their fighting style well. Later, this Forest Lizardman colony became one of Trinsik's most beloved hunting grounds. It was natural that Lokan in his previous life had extensive experience here.
[You have leveled up.]
Thanks to the double level difference, his level rose steadily. There was no sign of the leveling speed slowing down just because he gained a few levels.
Rather, his hunting speed was gradually increasing thanks to the extra stat points allocated each time he leveled up.
'Hmm, look at this.'
At some point, Lokan's actions began to become more controlled, little by little.
He saved Berserk for when he met a Forest Lizardman Fighter, but when dealing with the Warriors, his attacks became less rough and more efficient, aiming to keep things simple.
Lokan, who usually churned dangerously through enemy lines, now started to methodically take down the Forest Lizardman Warriors with no-nonsense movements, as if playing it restrained.
Then Lokan muttered to himself.
'He's still more cautious than I thought.'
Because he felt someone's gaze.
At first, he thought it was just another party, but the gaze continued to stay on him. It meant someone was watching him specifically.
It was strange, but it would be difficult to pursue and confront them. Wouldn't it be foolish to cause a scene when the other party would likely just flee?
So Lokan acted. He became more careful, like a seasoned hunter, and tried to discern the watcher's intention while engaging several groups.
*Whoosh, whoosh!*
And finally, it happened.
A group of players arrived as rays of light poured down from the sky—a recall spell.
They looked at Lokan battling the Forest Lizardman Warriors with red eyes and trembling with excitement.
'They're here.'
"Is that the guy?"
"If he's really taking on Forest Lizardman Warriors alone, he seems quite skilled, but he's really by himself?"
"You bastards. I knew it would be like this. Let's not miss this chance."
Guys with red swords and bows emblazoned on their chests.
He was seeing their faces for the first time today, but Lokan knew. They were the same three idiots he had met upon first entering Trinsik. And he knew that the PK Guild, once infamous in his previous life, was these very guys.
'It must be the Blood Chasers.'
*Whoosh!*
At that moment, Lokan's momentum changed. He straightened his posture, channeled his power into the Orc Battle Axe, and finished off the Forest Lizardman Warrior in one swift move.
"What, what?"
They were bewildered by the sudden shift in momentum. They looked around warily, wondering if it was a trap.
They had made many enemies lately, so it wouldn't be strange if other guilds had set a trap to catch them.
However, no matter how much they looked, there were no signs of enemy reinforcements.
Meanwhile, Lokan turned to them with a bright smile.
"It's been a while, kids."
It was the long-awaited reunion with Lokan's old, bad acquaintances.