Compared to when they came as an expedition with Ian for the Griffin Egg hatching, Hellaim and the knights had become even stronger.
And that was the same for Ian as well.
He was still no match against the Pachyao, which was over lv 180, and the Teranodon, which was close to lv 200, but he had gotten to a point where he could do the work of one of their arms.
On top of that, with Kaizar, who was a strong person to the point it was hard to differentiate who was superior between Hellaim and him, joining them, the terrifying hunting ground, Sky Highlands, transformed into a honey-like bonus dungeon.
“Wow… Ian, you’ve been hunting in an environment like this all the time?”
Along with admiration, Fiolan sent him a look of jealousy.
Ian scratched the back of his head.
“No, it’s also been a while for me…”
However, Ian’s excuse(?) was dismissed by Herz’s words that followed.
“This dude. To have been sucking on honey like this alone… No wonder you level up so fast.”
Fiolan also nodded her head while agreeing.
“I agree. Ian, this is too much. Please look after your guild members a little as well, please.”
“That’s right, that’s right!”
All of a sudden, Ian had become a selfish Lord that doesn’t take care of his guild members.
“…”
Either way, through their smooth hunting, Ian’s party had made their way through Sky Highlands in an instant and were approaching the central continent.
And shortly after, a white curtain appeared in front of the party.
That was a dimensional border that could be seen whenever a field was crossed.
It was proof that they had arrived at the central continent.
Fiolan, who had moved to stand right in front of it, asked Ian with a fluttering expression.
“Could it be that we’re the first, Ian?”
“Who knows. If the giant guilds have moved quickly, then it’s possible that they arrived first…”
And the one that answered the two people’s conversation was Kaizar, who appeared from behind.
“We are probably the first. Since there isn’t anybody that knows the geography of this place better than me.”
At those words, Ian nodded his head internally.
‘Definitely… We did arrive incredibly quickly.’
The section from Sky Desert to Sky Altar was a desert so desolate the horizon could be seen.
However, once they passed the Sky Altar and got closer to the central continent, boulder canyons lined up closely together, and for sure, if it wasn’t for Kaizar, they would have wasted a lot of time trying to find the right path.
“Then… Let’s go in and see.”
With a fluttering expression, Ian moved his feet with big strides.
Because the first discoverer’s reward was shared with all party members that were in the same area, it didn’t matter who went in first.
And as soon as Ian passed through the current of light, system messages popped up in front of all of the Lotus Guild’s members.
Ring-.
• You are the first discoverer of the central continent, ‘Shikar’.
• Your Fame has increased by 100 thousand.
• The reward obtained from all monsters in Shikar continent will increase by double (If you are the first discoverer of a dungeon, then the EXP reward obtained will overlap).
• The Guild Fame of the Lotus Guild has increased by 100 thousand.
At the system messages that poured out, all of the guild members, including Ian, were all smiles.
“Keu, we even filled up the Guild Fame by 100 thousand! We’ve also met the requirements for promotion all of a sudden.”
At Herz’s words, Ian nodded his head.
“No kidding. It looks like we won’t have to go around doing territory wars so annoyingly.”
And the sentence that caught Ian’s eyes first was, as expected, the increased reward obtained for hunting.
On top of that, at the friendly explanation that the dungeon first discoverer’s buff would even overlap, Ian’s eyes shone.
‘Let’s go, lv 130! If I just find one dungeon, I’ll hit it immediately!’
Ian’s gaze naturally turned to Kaizar, the excellent bus driver[1], and Kaizar, who met eyes with Ian, gruffly opened his mouth.
“Why are you giving me such a greasy look, Lord guy.”
Ian seemed to be in a good mood even at the words Lord guy, as he responded while snickering.
“You don’t need to know, heuheu.”
And Ian pulled out the Royal letter that he received from the king and read it again.
It was just called a Royal letter, but in Ian’s case, it was similar to instructions where the quest content was just explained kindly.
• Exploration of the Historical Site of Shikar
In the historical site of Shikar, ‘Holdream’s Holy Grail’ is hidden there.
The holy water that is inside Holdream’s Holy Grail makes the growth of the bases of the central continent two times faster, and it reduces the time that it takes to occupy a base by half.
Let’s put our hands in Holdream’s Holy Grail before Kaimon Empire does and use it as a foothold to occupy more bases.
Quest Difficulty Level: SS
Quest Condition: Unknown
Time Limit: None.
*If a user of Kaimon Empire obtains the Holy Grail first, the quest is failed.
‘Holdream’s Holy Grail, huh… It says there’s no time limit, but it’s a structure where we can’t help but move as quickly as possible.’
Ian asked Kaizar.
“Retainer, do you know where the historical site of Shikar is?”
At Ian’s question, Kaizar nodded his head without delay.
“Of course. The historical site of Shikar is right in the core of the central continent.”
“Then what about Holdream’s Holy Grail?”
Kaizar’s expression slightly showed change.
“Hmm? Holdream’s Holy Grail, huh… I do know of Holdream, but this is my first time hearing the name Holdream’s Holy Grail.”
Ian was a little disappointed, but he nodded his head.
Since even just the fact that he knew the location of the historical site was a big help.
“Understood.”
Kaizar opened his mouth with a curious expression.
“The item called Holdream’s Holy Grail, is it an incredible artifact?”
Kaizar’s two eyes shone.
At his gaze, which was similar to when he wanted the Greatsword of the Dark Fenrir, Ian was startled as he waved his hands.
“It, it’s nothing like that. It’s an item that His Majesty has told me to find.”
“Ah… I see.”
Only then did Kaizar turn his interest away.
While looking at that form, Ian mumbled to himself.
‘By any chance, could it be that if I find a good item and give it to Kaizar, I could raise his Loyalty?’
Ian somehow strongly felt that it was possible.
* * *
“The fact that the first discoverer’s reward didn’t pop up means that someone has already stepped foot into the central continent first.”
At Shyakran’s words, Ceilron, who was following behind, nodded his head.
“That’s right, master. I have no idea how they were able to arrive quicker than us… But it seems that there are users who have arrived first.”
And Emily, who followed them, added on.
“Isn’t the chance that it was the DarkRuna Guild the highest?”
Just like the Titan Guild, the DarkRuna Guild dispatched an expedition to the central continent as soon as the large update finished.
True to their name of being the number 1 guild, Emily’s thoughts were obvious in a way.
“Hmm… Were we one step late this time as well…”
Shyakran’s expression slightly wrinkled.
He had rushed that much in order to step foot onto the central continent first before the DarkRuna Guild, but having to think that he was late in the end made him a little angry.
“What will we do now? It would be best for us to first find a base and occupy it, no?”
At Ceilron’s words, Shyakran shook his head.
“No, there’s something we must do before then.”
The corners of Shyakran’s mouth curled upwards.
‘We may have lost the continent’s first discoverer buff to the DarkRuna Guild, but we should be able to receive the Holy Grail first.’
The reason why Shyakran was sure was simple.
This was because the one who received the Holdream’s Holy Grail Obtaining Quest was him.
Empire Quests were different from normal quests, so the same quest wasn’t given to multiple users.
And it was rare for a quest that already occurred to happen again.
In other words, it meant that the DarkRuna Guild didn’t even know of the existence of the Holdream’s Holy Grail.
‘As long as we just have the Holy Grail, then we can turn around the loss for not having received the first discoverer’s reward.’
On top of that, soon, the Kaimon Empire Knights who were sent to support them by the Kaimon king would arrive at the central continent soon.
Shyakran turned around as he opened his mouth towards Ceilron and Emily.
“We will move to the core of the central continent.”
At that, Emily asked back with a flustered voice.
“Huh? Then what about the abundance of bases that are lying around?”
Ceilron also stared at Shyakran with a puzzled expression, and Shyakran’s mouth opened again.
“As long as we just find the Holdream’s Holy Grail in the historical site first, rehabilitating bases won’t even be a task.”
It seemed the guilds of the enemy country Luspel Empire weren’t even on Shyakran’s mind.
* * *
Bang- Ba-bang-!
Along with the Abyss Hole that exploded out of both of Ddukdae’s arms, Lake’s Breath ferociously covered on top of it.
And at Pin’s Crush that followed after, the tons of monsters turned into a sandstorm and dispersed.
• You have killed the Revengeful Spirit of the Desert War. You have obtained 128,910 EXP.
• You have obtained 5 Specialty Points.
The monsters that appeared after they entered the central continent were instead much weaker than the Pachyao and Teranodon that appeared in the Sky Highlands.
The monsters that usually appeared were called the ‘Revengeful Spirits of the Desert War’, and their appearances were of gladiators made of sand.
The level of the monsters was in the early 150s.
They were monsters that were in the similar level range as the Prison Officers that Ian fought in the Pascal Islands too many times.
‘As expected, roundup hunting is the best!’
They were lower-level monsters than the Pachyao and the Teranodon, but as their numbers were higher, if comparing the difficulty level, there wasn’t that big of a difference.
However, as Ian was originally specialized in hunting with many as his opponents, he stirred up the battleground like a fish that met water.
“Celia, please heal Ddukdae!”
“Yes, Lord!”
And thanks to Kaizar, who without a doubt appeared whenever it seemed like it was becoming too difficult and cleared up the situation before disappearing again, Ian’s party was able to advance without a hitch.
‘But what could Specialty Points be? I’ve collected little by little ever since the completion of the last quest, and now I’m almost at about 20 thousand now.’
Specialty Points were a new commodity that began to gather at the top of his inventory.
At the moment, he had no idea where this commodity could be used yet, but he was sure that it would play an important role in the future.
‘Speaking of which, even though I’m fighting with Pin out, there’s not much word on it.’
Ian glanced slightly at Hellaim.
When he first summoned Pin, he pulled him out without much thought, but while hunting, he remembered the existence of Hellaim and the Empire knights.
‘Was I just too worried? But then again… Who would think that there were twins in that egg?’
While Ian was thinking of this and that, a gang of monsters appeared again in front of him.
And the monsters looked like nothing more than lumps of EXP in Ian’s eyes.
“Paulean, please buy some time from the front!”
“Yes, Lord!”
After becoming a retainer, Paulean’s title for Ian also changed.
From the title ‘Viscount’ to the title ‘Lord’.
His Loyalty was also so high to the point it couldn’t even be compared with Kaizar’s, as it had already gone up to about 80.
On the other hand, Kaizar’s Loyalty had dropped by 1 in the meantime and had become 4.
A deep sigh escaped from Ian’s mouth again.
‘It would be great if I could even just move Kaizar as I wish…’
Because Kaizar really moved as he pleased as he poked around the map here and there, Ian somehow felt like he was losing EXP.
This was because even if it was someone in the same party or a retainer, if they hunted in a place that was a certain distance apart, they couldn’t share the EXP.
And whenever they were almost done with the monsters that appeared, as if he had read Ian’s mind, Kaizar suddenly appeared within his sight.
“I think I’ve found it, Lord.”
“Hmm…? You’ve found the ruins?”
“That’s right.”
And as he followed behind Kaizar, giant architecture that spread below a steep, high canyon appeared.
And that was a grand stone building that was reminiscent of pyramids.
A slightly different point from pyramids was that there were several small peaks surrounding a giant peak.
Ian’s expression brightened.
“Alright, then let’s go over there quickly.”
The other party members that had killed the remaining monsters behind before he realized and approached them were also looking down at the historical site.
However, just then, unexpected words flowed from Kaizar’s mouth.
“However, there’s a problem, Lord.”
“What is it?”
Kaizar pointed towards somewhere as his words continued.
“Over there is the entrance to the grave, but I saw someone go inside there first.”
“…?”
For a moment, Ian felt like his whole world was collapsing.
‘What the hell? How could there be someone that has arrived here faster than us?’
Rather than the sense of crisis that someone could claim the Holy Grail first, the rage(?) that he lost the dungeon’s first discoverer’s reward washed over him.
Towards Hellaim, who approached Ian’s side late, Ian turned his gaze as he opened his mouth.
“Let’s move quickly. We cannot lose the Holy Grail.”
[1] bus driver = carry
