Chapter 158
Jae-Hyeok: Sorry I didn’t contact you earlier. I was busy during exam week.
Butler Hwang: Young Master, I heard nothing for four days... all because you were busy studying for your exams? Very good, great, wonderful! This old servant can rest easy. Young Master is so diligent. I only wonder if you placed first or second? (Emoji of a cat tilting its head with a question mark above its head.)
Seeing the emoji, Jae-Hyeok laughed. The older he gets, the more childish he becomes. Butler Hwang’s actions were sometimes a bit annoying, but everything Butler Hwang did was out of affection. It felt good.
Jae-Hyeok: I’m on vacation next week, so I will come home for a few days.
Butler Hwang: Ohh! Finally! I will prepare a large, healthy welcome-feast!
Jae-Hyeok: Please don’t touch even a single drop of water. I’ll buy food on the way home.
Butler Hwang: (Crying emoji.) Young Master, you’re too considerate... This old one still has energy to cook when it’s for Young Master.
Jae-Hyeok: ... Just rest your hands. I will get the food. Also, clean the guesthouse. I will be bringing home a few friends on the first day.
Butler Hwang: Friends?
Butler Hwang: ...
Butler Hwang: You haven’t scammed anyone or gotten into a fight, right?
Jae-Hyeok: What? If you are going to bring up Kang Dae-Seong again, forget it. I told you. I’m different from him. I really have friends. We rain together and everything.
Five minutes later, Jae-Hyeok checked his phone, arched a brow, and sent another text.
Jae-Hyeok: Why aren’t you answering me?
......
Jae-Hyeok: You’re leaving me on read now? Maybe I really have to find someone new. (Sighing dog emoji.) Whatever, just make sure the guesthouse is prepared, but don’t rush. You have time. Don’t skip dinner tonight, and make sure you’re sleeping.
Jae-Hyeok threw his phone to the other side of the bed, rolled over, and laced his fingers behind his head.
He felt comfortable in his dorm room. It had been a few months since he’d entered Lion’s Castle, and this quiet room really had started to feel like his own space. Even though he’d slept for four days, he felt like he could doze off again.
However—
I can’t sleep yet.Things won’t do themselves. Jae-Hyeok sat up and opened the Community.
[Welcome, player Kang Jae-Hyeok.]
The first thing Jae-Hyeok did was check his Community points.
390,000.
It was a tremendous fortune.
The experience and achievements he’d gained from protecting the employees of Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals, dealing with the beastmen attacking the Student Council, and surviving that hellish battle four days ago had all nourished Jae-Hyeok and led to his current wealth.
Not only had he reached level 52, but solving those three major incidents had gained him two Amazing achievements and three Miraculous achievements.
It was inevitable to gain points at an extraordinary speed.
Not to mention, I haven’t even started delivering potions to the old pharmacist yet... This must be how it feels to be rich.
Jae-Hyeok grinned. Compared to the days when he had been struggling to spend money on Player Manager, this was how a player should be: relaxed, free!
Jae-Hyeok broke out into a chuckle. He opened Private Chat Room 933917 and left a message.
-Brother Seonghyeon, Senior Se-Yeong, thank you.
Chat Room 933917 was an emergency contact network established at the suggestion of Cho Seong-Hyeon, ensuring a direct line of communication between them, regardless of their location. This time, it had been a great help.
Thanks to Song Se-Yeong telling Cho Seong-Hyeon about the situation in Lion’s Castle, the gatekeepers had been notified and blocked Loren long enough for Jae-Hyeok to arrive at the scene.
I have to thank the gatekeepers as well.
Jae-Hyeok felt light knowing there were no deaths among the gatekeepers.
After leaving Chat Room 933917, Jae-Hyeok searched for Reinhardt-related keywords on various bulletin boards and chat room lists.
Search: Reinhardt, the third princess, Iris, admission ticket...
Results: 0
It is the same every time.
Jae-Hyeok was beginning to wonder how lucky he’d been to have seen that single chat room about Reinhardt on the first day. Still, Jae-Hyeok wasn’t worried. After all, he had one of the most influential item and information merchants on his side:
Blake Borsus, otherwise known as A Conscientious Merchant, otherwise known as Gate Hunter.
He was a top S-class player—his publicly known level was a huge 150. He was a bigshot who could challenge the thunder tribulation and cross into transcendence with just one more level.
Without further thought, Jae-Hyeok sent a whisper to A Conscientious Merchant.
-Are you there?
A Conscientious Merchant happened to be online and immediately started a call.
“T-Thunder Emperor! Do you have anything to say to me?” The latter half of A Conscientious Merchant’s words sounded a bit muffled, suggesting he might be bowing with respect as he spoke.
Jae-Hyeok sighed in his heart. This guy’s misunderstanding is as useful as it is troublesome. He really thinks I’m the Thunder Emperor of all people...
The Thunder Emperor was a person who was always mentioned when discussing who was the strongest in the world. Jae-Hyeok felt it was absurd to be mistaken for the Lightning Emperor just because he’d endured the Remnants of Thunder Tribulation.
Yet, here he was.
I guess players with high lightning resistance are just that rare.
In any case, it was a good thing for Jae-Hyeok. He planned to milk this misunderstanding for everything it was worth.
“I got a ticket. You know as well as I do that it isn’t very common to get your hands on this.”
Jae-Hyeok kept his words vague, speaking as if it were obvious what the ‘ticket’ was. Naturally, Jae-Hyeok was waiting for A Conscientious Merchant to fill in the gaps. Perhaps he would learn some big secrets about Reinhardt.
However—
“Ticket... what are you referring to? I’m sorry, but it is hard to understand your words without some context.”
A Conscientious Merchant didn’t immediately think of the Reinhardt Ticket.
In other words, either A Conscientious Merchant didn’t know about Reinhardt, or the ticket wasn’t the usual method to enter Reinhardt.
[Reinhardt Ticket]
[Rating: Myth
You can enter Reinhardt.
Number of available uses: 3/3.]
The ticket was made of a blue metal Jae-Hyeok had never seen before, and it was a myth-rated item.
If A Conscientious Merchant had known about the ticket’s existence and purpose, he definitely would’ve shown interest at its mention. He wouldn’t feign ignorance and risk missing something so valuable... It is a pity, but it seems he really doesn’t know anything about the ticket.
Jae-Hyeok had expected it.
The Community was a hub used by players all over the world. Yet no rumors were circulating about Reinhardt. If even just the top 1% of players had known Reinhardt, it wouldn’t have remained this secretive.
Perhaps only 0.1% of players know about that place, maybe even less.
In other words, it seemed those who knew about Reinhardt were all National Treasures at least. Seol Su-Ah’s image flashed through Jae-Hyeok’s mind.
Should he talk to her?
What type of place was Reinhardt, and was it okay to trust this ticket?
Would it be a curse or a blessing if he went to Reinhardt right now?
He knew too little—even the ticket’s description was practically useless: It takes me to Reinhardt? Cool. How about explaining what and where the heck it is?
Jae-Hyeok was drowning in unknowns.
At this point, he was feeling a little desperate.
“Apologies, Thunder Emperor. I am ignorant, ” A Conscientious Merchant said. When there was no reply, A Conscientious Merchant continued carefully, “If you need my help, could you explain a little bit about the ticket?”
Jae-Hyeok naturally didn’t explain. How could he? He was nearly as clueless as A Conscientious Merchant himself.
-You want to help me?How arrogant.Remember one thing.You missed the opportunity of a lifetime today.Someday, there will come a moment when you realize this and regret it deeply.
All Jae-Hyeok could do was scatter bait. He would make sure A Conscientious went to sleep dreaming about his admission ticket.
A Conscientious Merchant’s voice shook, “T-the opportunity of a lifetime? What is that admission ticket? T-Thunder Emperor! Give me one more chance!”
“Hmph.” Jae-Hyeok snorted and ended the call.
Starting from today, A Conscientious Merchant would definitely take it upon himself to search for information about the ticket—if he, a level 150 player, used all his wealth and connections to search for information, there was a small chance he would find Reinhardt.
If he does, I hope he can tell me something useful at that time.
Jae-Hyeok looked through the list of posts and chat rooms a few more times before logging out.
“Um...”
Jae-Hyeok thought about visiting Seol Su-Ah.
Seol Su-Ah...
Shewas a connection of his father’s and had helped him several times. Before he knew it, Jae-Hyeok had come to trust.
However, it was embarrassing to be indebted to her every time, especially since he would repay her for everything later.
Jae-Hyeok got up from the bed.
Let’s go meet the lion statue first.
***
“Do you know this??”
The lion statue was the symbol of Lion’s Castle and the master of Pearl Island.
In other words, it originated from another dimension. Perhaps this dimension was where Reinhardt existed?
-What should I know about this blue ticket?
Jae-Hyeok pushed the Reinhardt Ticket right in front of the lion statue’s snout, but its reaction shattered Jae-Hyeok’s expectations.
Jae-Hyeok sighed. Looks like I have to ask the chairman after all.
-Huh?
Just then, the lion statue suddenly reacted. Jae-Hyeok’s eyes also widened in surprise.
As the wind cleared away the dark clouds, the moonlight from the full moon illuminated the Reinhardt Ticket. To be more precise, it felt like the Reinhardt Ticket was sucking in the moonlight.
It seemed to be a characteristic of the unknown blue metal.
As Jae-Hyeok stared at the mysterious and beautiful scene, the lion statue muttered in a trembling voice,
-Isn’t this blue orichalcum?
“Blue orichalcum?”
-It is a metal that is said to show its true value the more it is exposed to moonlight. The metal became famous after the world’s stupidest monster made a greatsword from it
“What is the world’s stupidest monster? Are you talking about an orc or something?”
-Oh, no, no. Orcs are smart compared to that monster.But enough about that—what exactly is going on here?Blue orichalcum can only be collected in Reinhardt. Where did you get it?
“Huh?”
Jae-Hyeok’s expression distorted. All this time...
He often had deep conversations with the lion statue, but he’d never thought to ask about Reinhardt.
“So you know Reinhardt?”
-Of course.It is the center of the world where I was born.