The Legendary Moonlight Scluptor

The Appearance of a Beast

Scanning of your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?

As Lee Hyun connected to Royal Road, the first voice that reached his ears was a feminine voice.

He looked around to see who had spoken to him, but there was no one else; space in the universe. Then he realized that he was in the process of activating a new account.

"Yes!"

Choose your avatar name-

"Weeds." Weed, the lowest of the lowest in the plant kingdom. To Lee Hyun, it sounded most suitable to him.

Choose your gender from male, female or Neutral-

"Man!"

Royal Road had forty-nine tiers. You can choose races from 29 main-race races

"Man!"

You can change your appearance-you

"Persis is like me."

Your account has been activated. Your stats and profession will be determined when you play Royal Road-Top

"pass!"

Choose the city and kingdom you want to start-up

"The fortress of Serabourg, the Kingdom of Rosenheim!"

Welcome to Royal--

"pass!"

Afraid of wasting even a second, Lee Hyun skipped the tutorial stage and made a quick decision according to his prearranged plan. The monthly bill of three hundred thousand won for the game was a huge expenditure for him.

...* * *...

In Royal Road, there were over a hundred major cities and thousands of cities. A new player begins his adventure in a capital or a big city of comparable size.

Similar to where Weed started.

The flash!

With a flash of light, he appeared in the Citadel of Serabourg, Rosenheim.

"This is - "Weed was swayed by the sight of countless avatars, users and NPCs — Non-Player Characters — like getting lost in the middle of Seoul.

"Where am I? That's incredible!" Weed was too surprised, unable to believe his eyes as he looked around. The commotion of those who bargained and chattered was clearly heard in his ears. The scenery that unfolds before his eyes is exactly with the real world, people are busy passing by.

He looked at his feet that were on the ground. He felt stuffy as people did not stop walking around him while he stood in the middle in a daze.

"Look at him. I'm sure he's a rookie. ”

“It looks like he has never played a virtual reality game before.”

As it passes, some users make fleeting comments that they can still hear. They reminded him enough to calm down.

"They're right. This is Royal Road. The world of virtual reality, and my new workplace."

No matter how thoroughly Weed prepared things, his knowledge of virtual reality and his research into gaming systems came second after the strange experience he was having now.

He was being confused, but it was temporary, he soon calmed down, the difference also started to attract his attention.

His feelings were consistent with reality, the people around him were wearing armor or leather vests.

Close to where he appeared were bulletin boards showing off maps, descriptions of Rosenheim Kingdom, and instructions for using them for newcomers.

"I'll start now." Weed clenched his fists, and then he started practicing.

Weed started warming up. He moved his entire limbs, trained in the movement of his legs, hands and then started running small, jumping high, rolling, kicking and punching.

He twisted his waist and carefully tested one joint after another. He wiggled his fingers and toes, and jerked his head forward and backward.

Despite a flood of embarrassing comments from other users nearby, Weed was determined to finish warming up.

“What is he doing now?”

“It looks like he's training his body. Maybe he's still uncomfortable with virtual reality games."

"That's possible. But what's the point of making a show in the middle of a crowded street?”

The humiliated feeling had fought Weed so deeply to stop his determination. It's embarrassing for him.

"Damn it!" Weed went in a hurry to another place.

A newcomer to Royal Road was restricted to his hometown for a week. A week in the real world results in four weeks in-game, thanks to parallax between one place and another.

Most newcomers learn the basics, follow low-level quests, or learn craft skills, such as sewing, blacksmithing, and cooking, which are relatively easy to understand.

The game puts forward its unlimited flexibility, almost to a high level, and while all the highest ranking positions are still occupied by NPCs instead of users, this reinforces the need for personal contact.

On the other hand, a large number of users work in libraries or stores to make money.

Central Square is full of merchants setting up stalls to buy and sell with fellow users and many new parties in pursuit of adventure are forming impromptu in minutes.

After watching them casually, Weed did not hesitate to head to the Training Hall.

The Training Hall is open to all users as long as he wants, and most users visit the hall to experiment with newly acquired skills.

It was almost impossible to find someone like Weed, going straight to the Training Hall as soon as he created a new avatar.

Not only were newcomers more interested in finding out what kind of kingdom and city they were born in, but also because the training in the Training Hall was considered less effective.

As the instructor saw Weed walking at the entrance, his eyes glared sharply.

"Young adventurer, could it be that you have just arrived at the Versailles continent" the instructor said.

"Yes, sir" Weed said briefly. He was still upset that he had made himself laugh on the first day.

“You'll assume sword practice is definitely necessary when you're already dealing with monsters. Do you need my guidance? So take a scarecrow and attack him any way you want. The wooden sword placed in front of the scarecrow, it's all yours. "

"Thank you Instructor. Enough's enough! I don't need guidance anymore. "

"All right."

Weed gripped the wooden sword and walked over to the scarecrow that was standing alone in the far corner. Then, he started hitting her, once, twice, three times. His hands gradually began to get used to the weight of the wooden sword and the feeling of beating a scarecrow.

In Royal Road, the new avatar level was locked for the first four weeks, as he was forbidden from traveling outside the city gates and hunting monsters in the field.

It is very common to conduct as many searches as possible, so build profitable public service points, make money, and form your own private network of contacts.

Despite this, Weed steadfastly continued to attack the scarecrow with the wooden sword.

There were about a thousand scarecrows in the Serabourg Fort Training Hall, and an endless supply of wooden swords on the walls to use. The hall is usually frequented by users who want to test their skills.

However, at this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on a Weed.

“This guy must have iron guts.”

"He's so tough."

“Can't believe anyone in their right mind is fighting this hard.”

Weed was drenched in sweat.

The white clothes and pants he wore from the start had absorbed the sweat and stuck tightly on his body. He was still beating the scarecrow without a minute's rest.

Strenght :+1

After six hours of attacking the scarecrow, Weed heard good news. He felt as if the muscle in his hand that grasped the wooden sword was getting lighter. "Status Window," Weed murmured while hitting the scarecrow.

Character name: Weed

Guild : Neutral

Level 1: 1

Profession : None

Title: None

Fame: 0

HP 100

Where :100

Strengths: 11

Agility 10

Durability: 10

Wisdom :10

Intelligent: 10

Luck :0

Leadership :0

Attack :3

Defense :0

The Magic Resistance:

Fire: 0%

vat: 0%

Earth: 0%

Dark magic: 0%

Weed's avatar was so weak that nothing was out of the ordinary.

...***...

Five hours later.

Vitality : +1

Agility :+1

Both statistics increased almost simultaneously.

"Gee."

Weed finally put down the wooden sword and rested for a moment. Without eating or drinking, he had hit the scarecrow for nearly eight hours straight.

He was physically tired, and worse, his throat was dry, his stomach was rumbling.

"Stat Window!"

With the preset keyword, a semitransparent image of all the items in Weed's inventory floated before his eyes. In his inventory was drinking water and ten slices of rye bread. That'sthat's all.

In Royal Road, you have to find out for yourself what you need. Other users made money by searching for the low-level trail for four weeks, but Weed could not spare a single minute.

He took out a piece of rye bread and drinking water, and began to chew the bread. As he ate, it calmed his hunger and the satisfaction factor increased.

“I have to eat every five hours. It is better to eat more often if exercising intensely, but I do not need to increase the satisfaction factor completely. Who needs to stay away from death. "

Weed finished his meal quickly, he picked up the wooden sword in his grasp and stood in front of the scarecrow.

"He's crazy."

"I think he holds a grudge against that scarecrow or something."

"I don't think he's gonna stop until he smashes the scarecrow into some powder."

"Is it an illusion that a scarecrow looks like it's done to him?"

Weed's wooden sword hit every inch of the scarecrow. The same kind of questions appeared among all the spectators.

"Why did the man hit the scarecrow like that?"

"I don't think it will help at all — if he wants to raise the skill rating of a skill, it's much better to go to the field and use it on a rabbit than a scarecrow here."

“See what he did. He didn't use any skills. To me, it looks like he beat up that scarecrow out of revenge."

"Maybe he raised his stats." A knight in armor commented, immediately attracting the attention of everyone at the scene.

“Can you increase your stats just by hitting a scarecrow?” A dark-skinned warrior asked.

"Huh? Ah, yes, that's true.” said the knight.

“Then, why don't you keep hitting the scarecrow instead of fighting hard to raise your level?” The warrior asked again.

The knight next to him named Pluto had a very high level, so he had learned a lot of information from a reliable source. He was also the only person who correctly guessed Weed's action motive.

"If a player uses his stamina, as a consequence, his vitality and strength will develop, and if a priest casts many spells, his wisdom and intelligence will increase. But such an increase was trivial compared to the stat bonus points that were accompanied by a level increase."

Half a day of hitting a scarecrow without a break might yield one or two stats. Considering that the number of stat bonus points as a reward for leveling up was five, what Weed was doing looked foolish.

"It's really ridiculous." A priest shook his head when he heard Pluto's explanation. But he thinks otherwise.

“Not really,” says Pluto.

"Huh?"

“You can only earn a small amount of experience points if you kill monsters weaker than your current level. You know that, right?"

"Of course."

“In other words, the higher your level, the harder it is to raise it. But if you increase your strength by undergoing such training in the initial phase, you can hunt monsters more easily later. This will be valid during the game."

“You know this method, so I guess you went through the same training? Wouldn't everyone do the same if they knew? ”

"Not really. Even if people knew, no one would do it. Going back to the origin, is there anyone who wants to keep hitting that scarecrow for ten hours to increase their strength by one point? ”

“…"

“There is a limit to how far you can increase your stats by working on a scarecrow known as the weakest opponent. In the case of strength, I estimate it to be forty or so. Is there anyone who wants to keep hitting the scarecrow for at least a month to increase the power of forty points? I'll be sick and tired of it, and give up in a few days."

The crowd watching Weed nodded in unison.

You'd rather find a cool weapon than relentlessly attacking a scarecrow for an entire month to increase your strength by forty points. An item that maintained the strength of forty points was unique, yet far from rare.

“This only works for beginners who cannot go beyond the limit. It used to be popular to beat scarecrows like this, but it was quickly abandoned because, when you consider it what you can get in the long run, it was too boring, and exhausting.”

Weed overheard the heated discussions of the people around him. He hoped to train in a deserted place, because as long as he was not allowed to leave the Citadel, he could not avoid attracting unfavorable attention in the Hall.

What makes you call it boring? Weed swung the wooden sword at full strength.

If you work hard, then your avatar becomes stronger step by step. As the avatar evolves, it can defeat more powerful monsters and make more money. For Weed, this was the highest entertainment of his life.

Weed inherently tended to do routine physical work. All this time, the instructor was watching him while smiling with satisfaction.

...* * *...

Three weeks have passed.

Weed walked into Royal Road every day, except for the minimum hours of sleep, to the point of addiction. His physical condition, which he had decided to build up before he started the game, allowed him to not sleep more than four hours a day. Now that he looked back to the last three weeks, it made him sick.

Once into the game, he spent an average of eighty hours attacking the scarecrow repeatedly, leaving him mentally exhausted. If it wasn't for the pop-up messages that pushed him, he would have given up.

Strength :+1

Agility :+1

New Stat: The Fighting Spirit

New Stat: Luck

In Royal Road, new stat was sometimes made in addition to the original.

Fighting spirit!

You can summon superhuman strength for a while, or bring weaker monsters to your knees with the power of your eyes alone. You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to other stat, and this stat increases spontaneously, depending on the actions of its avatar, especially if you fight monsters for a long time, the statement said, or often face monsters stronger than your current level.

Pop-up messages related to the skill sometimes appear as well. The only skill Weed had at the time was Sword Mastery.

Level Up: Sword Mastery [3]

Increase Attack Power with sword (+ 30% ATK)

Increase Attack Speed with sword (+ 9% ATK SPD)

Effect: You tend to use less stamina when in action. You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to any other stat.

Every time a pop-up message appeared, Weed was secretly pleased with the progress he had made. But what really bothers him is the frustration of having strayed from his original goal.

For the past three weeks, as he devoted himself to defeating the scarecrow, his strength had only increased by twenty-eight points, his agility by twenty-five, and his vitality by twenty-two.

“Unless I take a step, I will spend more precious time on this scarecrow even after the restrictions are lifted. I must finish it before leaving the Fortress. "

Weed's eyes were burning with determination.

crutches!

At that moment, Weed's stomach decided it was time to eat. In addition to the slow progress with his stats, he was tormented by the fact that he was running out of bread.

He could run to the nearest fountain and fill a bottle with water, but bread was different - he had to pay for it.

Sniffed. Weed smelled an appetizing scent from somewhere.

Weed, swinging the wooden sword, paused for a moment and caught a glimpse of the instructor who was taking out his lunch box for lunch break.

"Hehe, esteemed Instructor." Weed wagged his invisible tail, he walked towards the instructor.

“Hmm, who is this, aren't you Weed? What brings you here?” Ask the instructor warmly.

“Isn't it lonely lunch alone? I'm here to accompany you, " Weed said politely.

while his stomach didn't stop rumbling, Weed kept a flat face, but he couldn't fool the instructor.

“I think you're hungry. Sit beside me! I brought a lot of food, enough to feed two mouths."

"Thank you instructor."

“Enough with your humility! It is my honor to serve food to a would-be adventurer like you, Weed-nim. I assure you that your reputation will one day reverberate beyond the confines of Fort Serabourg. When that day comes, please remember me!"

"Yes instructor, I will always remember. "

After lightly flattering the instructor, Weed enjoyed lunch with him. It was a sad scene, yet he was grateful that with a little effort, he could fill his stomach.

After all, he was not interested in a real man. What was the matter if NPCs could speak fluently with artificial intelligence?

In addition to the stats that Weed had improved upon defeating the scarecrow over the past three weeks, he established a good relationship with the instructor. This additional effect is rather impressive.

While Weed was busy devouring lunch, the instructor suddenly asked, "By the way, Weed-nim, what do you think of Sculpture Mastery?"

"Sculpture Mastery? What the hell?"

Weed chewed on one boiled potato and swallowed it before he asked back, "What do you mean by Sculpture Mastery?"

“I just want to know your opinion. I wonder what kind of view you have of Sculpture Mastery in general,” the instructor said.

"So far I think the instructor is a simple-minded person. He sincerely believed that the sword was invincible, and to him, it was a supreme virtue to train hard enough to sweat in the Training Hall. And now he's asking me what I think of Sculpture Mastery?"

As soon as Weed gathered his thoughts, he frowned.

“Honored Structure! I can't believe you even mentioned it. I'm a swordsman. Did you ask my opinion about-" he paused for a moment, "Sorry before. Sculpture Mastery? With a heavy heart this is my answer — never, never, never once has such a low handcraft crossed my mind."

Despite Weed's attacking tone, which would anger him in other situations, the instructor unexpectedly applauded happily. "I knew you would say that!"

“It's impossible. People like Sculpture Mastery are nothing but big mistakes that we don't deserve to notice. Why would I, a swordsman, need to think about it?"

"You're the most fun, Weed." Weed sensed that, even though it was invisible, his friendship with the instructor grew even further.

This is how to make friends with someone.You don't have to spill blood with them, nor do you need to waste time and money on it. You just join them in talking bad things about something at the first opportunity, and that will invite their sympathy.

Weed expected the instructor to change the topic of the conversation, but he rubbed the back of his head and stayed on the topic.

"Say, there was an unknown man who became a legendary scluptor because he was able to sculpt the moonlight." The instructor's eyes stared into the distance as if lamenting a story of the past.

“I doubt it, Instructor. Rumors are always prone to distortion. How could anyone who mastered the famous useless Sclupture Mastery be able to carve out the moonlight? Maybe it's a moon-shaped pebble." Weed said cheerfully.

“Is that? But I was told by the predecessor. His name is the venerable Mellium, currently a Royal Knight."

Sculpting was considered a fruitless skill, nothing more than cutting small wooden blocks to produce fine ornaments.

Rumor has it that if you lift the plane past a certain stage, you will be able to make projectile weapons out of metal. But it is undoubtedly one of those ancient skills that no one needs to learn.

“Because of that Weed, this question about Sculpture Mastery intrigued me. There is no doubt that the plane cannot possibly rival our swords under any circumstances, but how can you know the truth of a rumor? That's why I'm asking for your help because you're a trustworthy person. If you accept my request, I'll be happy to hear it,” said the instructor.

Then a pop-up message appeared before Weed's eyes.

Ting!

A Sculpture Mastery Has Visited the Royal Palace!

Rumor has it that a man who mastered the art of chisel actually carved moonlight, had long been circulating in the royal palace of Rosenheim Kingdom. Look for traces of the rumor to determine if it is true or not.

Difficulty level: E

Quest Prize: Close friendship with the instructor, reserved only for those who have not obtained Sculpture Mastery.

Recognized as a reliable person by the instructor due to his constant passion for Sword Mastery

Weed could barely contain the whisper of victory. His instincts told him that this quest was the rarest of the rare.

This was because the mission had to meet extremely difficult conditions to begin with. A close friendship with the instructor, who had ever thought of that?

Most users in general did not even know the location of the Training Hall, let alone visit it when they acquired a new skill, they did not need to come all the way to practice it on a scarecrow. Moreover, this was a rare chance that anyone would want to get stuck in the Hall and beat up the scarecrow repeatedly to bring up his stats in the most crude way, just like Weed had done.

If you dig up enough soil, it might be possible to find some users like that, but in Weed's case, he had spent almost the entire last three weeks with the scarecrow. Who else could survive in such a way?

Speaking of a close friendship with the instructor, it was almost impossible to achieve unless someone like Weed approached him, licking to partake of his lunch.

Even with all the above conditions met, you still have to start a new adventure at the Citadel of Serabourg in the Kingdom of Rosenheim against all odds, not to mention you have to find the right moment to condense Sculpture Mastery along with the instructor.

"It's nice. Before I went bankrupt and starved to death. At difficulty level E, this quest seemed easy to complete."

Weed nodded at the instructor.

“I'm honored to receive it. Even though I don't believe in any nonsense, I'll figure out what it's like to sculpt moonlight."

You received the quest!

“I appreciate it. I trust this task to you. Take this money as a retainer," said the instructor while handing over two silvers.“ I give advice, visit the sculpture store first and gather information from there.”

A piece of rye bread, completely tasteless yet enough to fill the stomach, costs three coppers. Since the silver coin was equal to a hundred copper coins, it could be said that Weed had just received the equivalent of sixty-six pieces of wheat bread as retainer, plus change money.

He was confident that after his quest was completed, he could earn more rewards from the instructor.

"Good! I don't have to worry about running out of bread for now."

Many years of direct experience from the habit of hunger persuaded him to avoid malnutrition at all costs.