49 5 . First Death -2 (1/2)

Ian had gotten two very big quests unintendedly. He then sighed.

'At least I know where to go to complete the Trace of the Forgotten Ancient Monster quest… but I

don't even have a clue about the Griffin's egg.'

He could do nothing about both quests right now.

So, Ian decided to focus on the Arena that would be opened in a few days.

'The Arena is opening in 5 days, is there anything I can do apart from gaining levels? I want to

excel…'

Ian was much more powerful than users of his level. That was a fact.

However, that didn't mean that he could relax.

Countless users enjoyed the game, so no one could know what kind of change would happen.

The new classes would be tested for the first time in PvP.

No one could tell what would happen before the actual fighting began.

Ian couldn't reckon how high he would be able to go up in this Rookie's League.

”Shall I go to raise the Proficiency of my new skills?”

Right now, Ian was Lv. 50 and had 0% EP.

'I just have to remain as Lv. 50, so I will raise my EP until it reaches 99% of the Lv. 50. Plus, I need to

raise the Skill Levels and Proficiency of my new skills… then I should go hunting.'

Ian could just rest for 5 days, but he appeared to be infected by some virus that would make thorns

sprout at his butt if he didn't hunt.

'Where should I go?'

Ian recalled all the decent hunting grounds that were close to Muran.

He soon remembered a good one, 'The Ant Tunnels! Right, it's not far from here!'

The Ant Tunnel wasn't the home of real ants.

It was a famous instant dungeon in which giant monsters similar to ants lived together.

An instant dungeon was a dungeon where no one could go in, unless the user or party that had gone

in left or died.

Popular instant dungeons were very crowded therefore you needed to make a reservation, so the

impatient Ian didn't like that kind of dungeons.

However, this Ant Tunnels was a little different.

It was an instant dungeon, but it was composed of dozens of similar dungeons. That was why it was

called the Ant Tunnels. No one had to wait there, even when there were many users.

At least 30% of the dungeons were empty all the time.

'Great! It is the perfect place to practice my new skills.'

Giant Ants of the Ant Tunnels were about Lv. 48.

However, there were so many of them, so users who actually hunted there were mostly at least Lv.

60.

It was a dangerous dungeon where even Lv. 60 users died when plying solo.

However, Ian had cleared the Dungeon of Chaos, so he was sure he could handle it.

'Okay, let's go!'

Ian was about to go to the dungeon when he received a message from Harin.

'Um? It's Harin!'

Ian checked the message.

- Harin: Ian, what are you doing now?

- Ian: Oh, I am about to go hunting.

- Harin: What? But you are Lv. 50! Didn't you tell me that you would compete in the Rookies' League?

Ian and Harin often talked by sending messages, so Harin knew a lot about what Ian was up to.

- Ian: Yes. But my EP is still 0%, I can raise it to 99%.

- Harin: Ha…

Harin was dumbfounded at Ian's obsession with leveling-up.

- Harin: Actually, I came near to our university to meet a friend today.

- Ian: Really? Are you at the university now?

- Harin: No, but I am near it. I came to a café to talk about the vacation task with a friend.

- Ian: Oh, I see…

- Harin: Why don't we have a meal together later? You live nearby, right?

Ian thought about the offer.

'It would be good to go out and eat some decent food…'

Actually, if it hadn't been for a situation in which he couldn't gain levels, he would have refused Harin's

offer immediately and go hunting.

However, for the first time since he started to play Kailan, he was free. Therefore, he found the idea of

going out quite appealing.

'But I want to try the Lightning Spheres skill…'

Ian was more excited about hunting with his new skill than eating out with Harin. So, in the end, he

refused the offer.

- Ian: Um… I'm sorry, Harin. Maybe later. I am almost at the hunting ground, so I cannot log out now.

He was still in the Village, but Ian lied.

He tried to deny his guiltiness and muttered silently, 'It is a white lie to not make Harin feel bad…'

- Harin: I see. Then send me a message when you finish hunting. Um… I won't be online, so I will

give you my phone number.

Ian didn't know when he would finish hunting, and he wasn't yet sure if he would like to bother himself

by going out. However, he still wrote down Harin's phone number.

'Well… I will go out if I die while hunting.'

He said that only because there was a 24-hour access limit death penalty.

However, he would not die in the Ant Tunnels, so he wasn't going to go out of his home.

Ian finished talking with Harin and hurried to reach the Ant Tunnels.

…

”Ha, just as I expected.”

Ian entered the Ant Tunnels. He then grinned widely at seeing the Giant Ants in packs of 10~15.

Luckily, he had been able to enter Dungeon 7, which was known to have more Ants than the other