Lokan's hunting went smoothly. There were still few users who had advanced to the Bandit Den, and the low-level hunting ground where his Berserk after-effects usually led him wasn't overly crowded. This meant he didn't need to push himself unnecessarily.
Most importantly, people recognized Lokan and gave him a wide berth.
No one dared to touch the monsters he hunted or staked a claim on. Even if they accidentally stumbled into his territory, users wouldn't risk going against Lokan's intentions; instead, they would usually apologize and retreat rather than attempt an attack. This held true for normal users and even major guilds.
No one dared to pick a fight with Lokan and Chuck.
The context of this peace was the abrupt disappearance of Pyria and the subsequent disbanding of the Blood Chaser and MP Guilds. Pyria, who had been eerily silent after Lokan posted his counter-attack video, disappeared and hadn't logged in for over ten days.
The two major guilds, having lost their core leadership, naturally disintegrated. Now, only the MP Guild and Pyria remained as essentially one-man guilds, and since Pyria was inactive, it felt as though she, too, had vanished.
"I thought there'd be at least one last stand, but it just folded."
It was slightly disappointing for Lokan, who had been expecting a final, large-scale raid to counter, but it wasn't a bad outcome either. Thanks to the lack of user interference, he was able to level up comfortably even during the debilitating after-effects of Berserk.
Meanwhile, Lokan was reaping the rewards. He hadn't gained any more special titles, but his steadily increasing level allowed him to handle the bandits well, even in the state of the first after-effect. In the state of the second after-effect, he could enter the Bandit Den with caution.
This allowed him to accumulate experience points far more quickly. Though not a 2x or 3x difference, hunting level 90 monsters offered about 1.5 times the experience of level 70-80 monsters. As a result, he even began to contemplate clearing the Bandit Den, which no one else had yet touched, entirely on his own.
"It's coming soon… The Bandit Boss was level 99, I think, and the Bandit Leader was level 100."
According to Lokan's memory, the Bandit Boss was level 99, and the Bandit Leader was level 100. However, compared to the Lake Knight Artwight, their fighting prowess was far weaker. Frankly speaking, Artwight, the Knight of the Lake, was on a national scale, while the Bandit Leader was only on a district scale. Although the leader had a combination skill, his level was relatively low, and he was often used as a sacrificial enemy by those confident in their control skills during the 3rd job change process.
"Perfect. If I plunder the Bandit Den and complete the main scenario quests, I'll be able to finish this area as well."
It would be a bit tricky if the two bosses were together, but they were no match for the current Lokan. Since they were level 99 and 100, they were suitable opponents for Lokan, who had already reached level 89, even without Berserk. If he killed the Vice-Boss, who was a thief class, it would be possible to hunt the rest with minimal risk.
He had left them alone until now because of the numerous bandits blocking the path, but he was getting tired of dealing with the lower-level mobs. So, Lokan decided to eliminate the bosses quickly and advance to the next area.
"I might as well complete the episode quest sequel while I'm at it."
The level 90 hunting grounds were not limited to the Bandit Den. Nevertheless, the reason Lokan chose this location as his main ground was that it was the starting point leading to the 'Wrath King Quest'. Each of the eighteen Bandit Dens located in various secondary cities holds an episode quest item. Catching the Bandit Leader and taking this item begins the confrontation with the Raging King, the bandits' supreme leader.
It's one of countless episodes in The Lord, so it could be skipped, but the Ax of Wrath used by the Raging King was quite useful.
"I'll soon reach level 99."
Once he made up his mind, his steps quickened. Even after hitting level 99, it would take some time to hunt level 100 monsters, prove his qualifications, and find the path to the next area, but it was better to be prepared. After all, his opponent was the King of Creation who had claimed most of the first achievements.
Lokan violently drove back the bandits and charged into the center of the Bandit Den.
"Get out of the way!"
Heh heh heh heh heh!
The cruel sound of his roar resounded throughout the living room. Hearing this, the enemies might come rushing in, but it didn't matter. Among those enemies would be the Bandit Leader and the Vice-Boss.
After a while, the Bandit Leader appeared, accompanied by ten strong bandits.
"What kind of fool are you!"
"Come! Charge!"
[Bandit Leader Girotine] [Lv 100]
However, Lokan's focus was not on him.
"Throwing! Leaf Attack!"
"Ugh!"
Lokan's figure blurred, and a focused attack poured down on the Vice-Boss, who was trying to hide.
If it weren't for this particular mob, it would be much easier to deal with the rest of the group head-on. There was a saying that the true boss of the Bandit Den was the thief-class Vice-Boss. The standard strategy for the Bandit Den was to draw out the difficult Bandit Leader, Girotine, then interrupt the stealth of the hidden Vice-Boss and eliminate him with a single shot before he became a nuisance.
And Lokan was executing this strategy alone.
"You fiend!"
Furious at the sudden death of his Vice-Boss, who hadn't even had a chance to react, Girotine and the remaining second-in-command charged.
Girotine was a Warrior class, and the remaining Vice-Boss was a Shield Knight class.
At a glance, Lokan recognized the Vice-Boss was a defector from a defensive class, but it didn't matter. It wouldn't make a difference if he couldn't block Lokan's axe.
"Where do you get the nerve to challenge my strength?"
Lokan scoffed at Girotine, who was wielding a greatsword. Instead of parrying, he swung his axe with unparalleled force against Girotine's weapon.
"Ngh!"
The two heavy weapons collided, but it was Girotine who was pushed back. Lokan's basic abilities were higher, and several title effects had been added to his power.
"Shield Attack!"
Aiming for that opening, the Vice-Boss thrust his shield forward. Loaded with the strength and weight of his charge, he threw himself at Lokan.
"Blink!"
Lokan's reaction was surprising. He initially planned to dodge, but instead, he used the Blink device built into his ring. Although the target suddenly disappeared, the Vice-Boss couldn't cancel the skill and continued his run, allowing Lokan to catch up with Girotine instead.
"Strike!"
"Hey!"
Whoosh!
Girotine was startled and managed to turn his sword. His body was lowered as if he were going to roll on the floor, and the force of the weapon impact was slammed into the ground. He hadn't been able to offset the momentum of Lokan's axe.
"You have no escape."
Thud!
Lokan gave a vicious smile to Girotine, who had collapsed and was crawling on the floor.
All of the combination skills Girotine used were attack skills that required his feet to be firmly on the ground. None of them could be used while lying down like this. If Girotine had used a combination skill from the start, like Artwight, it would have been a difficult fight, but he had failed to do so.
"Don't worry, I'll finish this soon!"
The axe was inherently the most powerful weapon for striking down an opponent. Lokan unleashed a relentless attack, giving Girotine no chance to rise. Each blow was a potential fatal wound if not blocked.
Typically, a party would have the Tank mark Girotine while killing the Vice-Boss, bandits, and archers first, but Lokan was doing this alone.
"Shoot, shoot!"
Driven onto the defensive, Girotine used his subordinates as shields.
"Berserk!"
But Lokan didn't care. The arrows of the level 90 Bandit Archers were fierce, unlike those of users, but he believed in the Berserk's immortality effect. Using the exponentially strengthened power, he destroyed Girotine in an instant.
"This time it's you!"
Then it was the turn of the Vice-Boss and the remaining dwarves.
Lokan had even used Berserk for a fight that wasn't strictly necessary, so the result was obvious. All the bandits that had appeared were wiped out in less than 10 minutes, before the Berserk effect expired.
[You have leveled up.]
"Whew, that was close. Cancel!"
He had already been level 89, but by clearing the Bandit Den and catching Girotine and the two Vice-Bosses, he went up 3 more levels. Although they weren't officially recognized as 'Named' monsters, they were still boss-level enemies, and he benefited from catching the two semi-bosses.
With this, Lokan's level was 92.
He was left with the after-effects of Berserk, but Lokan went into the building without hesitation.
There might still be a few more bandits left, but he was confident he could overcome that level of resistance with pure control. He didn't have enough time to set up a safe zone and wait for the after-effects to end.
"Is it this way?"
Groping his way inside based on faint memories, Girotine's room appeared. Most users would leave disappointed, as they wouldn't bother to check things like wall ornaments, but if one looked carefully, something was hidden.
"Here it is."
[You have obtained the Wrath King's Letter.]
A letter that was usually dismissed as just plain paper. Having obtained the letter, which was only recognized upon placing it in his inventory, Lokan escaped the Bandit Den without any regrets. He judged that there would still be quite a few remnant bandits, but their significance was minimal now that Girotine and the Vice-Boss were gone.
For that reason, Lokan was planning to spend a moderate amount of time in the city.
"Let's see. I can put the items up for auction, complete the quest to clear the bandits, and then replenish the consumables. How many more intermediate potions should I buy? Advanced health potions are too expensive."
Gold trading was finished for now. He still had 300 gold, which was a lot of money at the moment, but he had already earned a large sum from the previous transaction. When he moved to the third city, he would need as much gold as possible to get ahead again.
'Besides, the video proceeds will arrive after a month,' he thought.
Lokan had previously uploaded all the videos from his sniping of Pyria and the MP Guild onto YouTube. Originally, he had planned to upload the first video as an issue only when he entered the third city, but as the situation changed, he started running a YouTube channel in advance.
He only uploaded videos and created basic covers without any other management, but the uploaded videos had at least 5 million views. This was enough to generate over 2 million won (approx. $1,500 USD) in revenue from just one video. Since he uploaded a total of 7 videos, including a general hunting video that showed his temporary invincibility, he could expect an additional profit of about 10 million won (approx. $7,500 USD). For Lokan, who had no interest in anything other than playing The Lord, that amount was enough money to live on for a year. If he uploaded a third city introduction video, it would generate even more in the meantime.
"Finally done."
[You have obtained the Harkinne's Journal Bundle.]
After returning to Trin-sik and completing all maintenance, Lokan finally compiled Harkinne's journal. He had acquired the last page yesterday, but there was only one reason he waited until now to finish it: his level was not high enough.
The final scenario quest, Death, was level 100, but the quest area and instant dungeon, 'Sealed Cave of Death', had an entry limit of level 90. It seemed this limitation was imposed to prevent users from receiving the quest by expediency, as Lokan had. It was a way to protect the user, but it was just annoying for Lokan.
And now, Lokan had crossed that limit.