Emperor of Solo Play

­ Lucky Drop (2)

A lucky drop!

To gamers, it was just as good of a word as level-up. It was similar to a package delivery that made one to open his door with anticipation.

To achieve this taste of a lucky drop, one just had to hunt monsters. There was no other way. It was enough to just hunt monsters.

Kiyaa!

A 2-meter tall skeleton with a red lizard-skull made a strange cry. This lizard-skull skeleton was carrying a blazing flame in each of its hands.

This skeleton was the Skeleton Magician made by using a Lizard Sorcerer as material. The flames it was holding in its hands were like grenades, and the sound it had made was to alert its allies. After it had warned its allies, it threw the flames in its hands without hesitation.

The target was the back of a level 60 monster fighting tens of meters away. The Sword Monkey.

Kiii!

With its back now on fire, it let out an earsplitting scream. It didn’t show any signs of stopping either. Considering that the fire was spreading wildly across its body, it was no surprise.

It was truly a bloodcurdling scream, one that would make someone unable to fall asleep at night.

However, such a scream was unable to affect its surroundings in any way.

Clang!

Metallic sounds rang out from different areas as did more screams of Sword Monkeys.

Different kinds of Skeleton Warriors were continually clashing swords with Sword Monkey. The pain-filled cries of the monkeys and metallic ringing from the clashing of swords easily buried the bloodcurdling screams of a single Sword Monkey.

However, there was one sound that distinguished itself.

Whoosh!

It was the sound of a Golem swinging its arm like a whip and smashing a 1.3 meter tall Sword Monkey.

Boom!

With a balloon-popping sound, the Sword Monkey flew across the air and hit the trunk of a tree. It was unable to make any noise. Only the sound of sword monkey’s bones being crushed could be heard.

As if it was content with its attack, the Golem turned its head and stared at the Sword Monkey that had fallen on the ground.

Kiikii!

At the same time, another Sword Monkey that had seen its friend being killed by the Golem jumped on the Golem’s body and slashed its sword at it. As the Golem was made of dirt, the slash marks of swords could be clearly seen. It was a bit later that the Golem turned its gaze towards the Sword Monkey that was leaving slash marks on its body.

In fact, it was the Blood Goblin Skeleton Warrior that made a move before the Golem. Faster than any of the other skeletons, it ran towards the Sword Monkey with the cursed dagger given by Hyrkan, then stabbed the monkey’s back.

Kiii!

The Sword Monkey screamed.

[Sword Monkey falls under the Demon Curse.]

[Demon Curse skill rank rose to D.]

The result of the scream was reported to Hyrkan in the form of an alert.

However, Hyrkan ignored the alert. Wearing his skeleton armor, Hyrkan put all his focus into weaving in and out of battles and controlling the overall battlefield. He couldn’t afford to divert his attention.

‘Right side needs help.’

Hyrkan didn’t fight on the front lines. He was fighting in a support style. If he saw a 1 versus 1 battle, he joined the battle for a brief moment to make a 2 versus 1 situation. If a Skeleton Warrior was being pushed back against 2 monkeys, he aggroed one of them and turned the battle to 1 versus 1.

‘Gotta attack the left side once.’

He wasn’t aggressive either. Even when he was helping, he only made one or two light stabs with his sword. Of course, an all-strength necromancer’s light stab couldn’t exactly be considered light. Its power and effect was as clear as day.

‘Let’s finish that one off!’

Hyrkan quickly approached a Sword Monkey on the right side and pulled on his right wrist. When its sword-holding hand extended out, a Skeleton Warrior it was facing slashed down on its arm.

Puhat!

Its arm was cut off in an instant.

Hyrkan simply tossed aside its cut-off arm and stabbed the Sword Monkey without rest. As if to copy Hyrkan’s actions, the Skeleton Warrior continually stabbed it with its sword as well. Soon, the Sword Monkey was deformed to the point it couldn’t be recognized.

With that as start, the sound that had been filling the air began to quiet down.

Hyrkan looked around him.

‘Is this the 200th?’

The monster Hyrkan was hunting for his lucky drop was none other than Bulkas Mountain Range’s Sword Monkey. It was a monster that would soon become one of the most popular monsters in the region. Although bones and skin were useless, it dropped a material called Sword Fragment that was used to make good level 50 Normal items.

At the same time, Sword Monkeys were categorized as small-sized monsters, and because they lived in large packs, they were rather weak by in small groups. They were one of the easier monsters to hunt and many could be hunted at once. Moreover, there weren’t a lot of people currently in Bulkas Mountain Range. Because not many knew the true value of Sword Monkeys, Hyrkan was currently enjoying it to the fullest.

Of course, what Hyrkan was aiming for wasn’t the Sword Monkey’s Sword Fragments.

‘I wish it would drop a Sword Monkey Jewel already.’

What Hyrkan was aiming for was a crafting jewel that Sword Monkeys dropped at a very low rate.

Hyrkan’s goal was to make a Rare rank item using that crafting jewel.

In other words, he would stop hunting Sword Monkeys once he got the crafting jewel. Sword Monkeys were no doubt good monsters to hunt, but that was for average players. It was just too easy for Hyrkan. The battle just now was proof of it.

Hyrkan and his summons began fighting a group of 13 Sword Monkeys, and the fight ended in less than 10 minutes. At this point, Hyrkan’s battle prowess easily jumped levels. To maximize his level-up speed, he had to hunt stronger monsters.

The problem was that Hyrkan could not find the Sword Monkey Jewel even after hunting close to 200 Sword Monkeys. It was rather troubling as he expected one to drop in about 100 kills.

‘Please. I can’t keep hunting these damned monkeys forever.’

As Hyrkan skinned off the Sword Monkey, he prayed as if he was waiting for a jackpot at a casino.

When Hyrkan skinned the Sword Monkey, it began to melt. Soon, only its bone, skin, and sword were left. After turning them into crafting coins, Hyrkan examined the ground with scrutiny.

‘Shiny. Something shiny. PLEASE.’

However, Hyrkan couldn’t even find a rock, much less a jewel.

“FUCK!”

In the end, Hyrkan exploded.

“WHY? JUST WHY?”

Hyrkan punched the trunk of a nearby tree. Meanwhile, his Skeleton Warriors of various type and Golem stared at him in silence.

If someone who wasn’t aware of the circumstances had seen this, he would surely take a video to upload on YouTube with the title ‘A Crazyman in Warlord!’

‘How can there not be a jewel after killing so many of them?!’

However, if the person knew the circumstances, he would understand Hyrkan’s feelings without doubt.

He had hunted 200 Sword Monkeys. It wasn’t a small number at all. Although they lived in packs, it wasn’t as if they all slept in one place. They were spread out throughout the forest, and the time it took to find and lead them to a place appropriate for battle wasn’t small. At times, Hyrkan even had to run away from strong monsters. With all this, 6 hours had passed since Hyrkan began to hunt Sword Monkeys.

Moreover, he still had not gotten a jewel. How could it not drive him crazy?

‘Was I this unlucky?’

Usually, a jewel dropped in about 100 kills. How could one not have dropped in 200?

He was simply unlucky.

In most cases, one would stop for the day given such a bad luck.

“…No.”

‘I’ve killed so many. The next one is bound to drop one.’

If one didn’t drop until now, it will soon!

It was a simple mindset that trapped many gamers. To them, it seemed as simple as how salmon went back up stream to lay their eggs.

Hyrkan raised his head up

‘I’ll catch one more pack. I’ll stop after that.’

Hyrkan resolved himself.

Of course, this resolution wasn’t bound to end well.

★★★

[You have leveled up.]

[You have obtained the title, ‘Sword Monkey Slaughterer.’]

[Your Skin Sewing skill rank rose to D.]

He leveled up.

He obtained a title.

His skill rank even went up.

Most Warlord player would be happy, if not completely overjoyed.

‘This time, please.’

However, Hyrkan couldn’t smile.

“PLEASE.”

As he waited for the Sword Monkeys to melt down, his expression had remained stiff.

Eventually, the Sword Monkeys melted down. Their swords, bones, and skins were on the ground.

However, there was no jewel to be seen.

Still wearing his Hahoe Mask, helmet, and gloves, Hyrkan covered his face with his hands. It was a funny yet sad sight.

“God damn it…”

This was the 1000th monkey. It wasn’t just a 1000th monkey. Every time he caught one, he had to skin them as well. It was annoying to just count how many times one breathed. What would it feel like to kill 1000 monsters and still not have the result one wanted?

‘I don’t get it.’

It wasn’t like Hyrkan was asking for anything big. He simply wanted to get an item he needed as he leveled up a little. He didn’t think things would turn out so badly. He wasn’t aiming for a Unique item or anything. All he asked for was material for a Rare item.

But not a single one dropped.

Not a single one!

Hyrkan took his hands off his face.

‘Is it a bug?’

At this point, Hyrkan couldn’t help but wonder. In most cases, Rare rank crafting jewels dropped once every one hundred kills. For middle or large sized monsters, the number was even lower. Boss monsters almost always dropped one.

‘Should I just sell what I have and buy one?’

Furthermore, there wasn’t really a reason for him to be so adamant on obtaining a Sword Monkey Jewel anymore. By selling the crafting items he got from hunting 1000 Sword Monkeys, he could easily buy a level 50 Rare rank item. Furthermore, Hyrkan had profits outside of the crafting items he gained. Although his lion suit had yet to be sold, it would sell for quite a lot when it did. The amount he made from YouTube wasn’t small either.

If he really wanted, he could probably obtain a low-end Unique rank item as well.

‘Damn it.’

But that’s just how humans were. Especially for gamers, once one felt spiteful, not even his ancestor would be able to stop him.

Hyrkan began to agonize over his decision.

The logical side of him told him to stop screwing around and go buy the item from an auction site.

His instincts told also told him to go buy the item; that there was no guarantee the jewel will drop the next time.

However, his sense as a gamer told him that the next one was bound to drop one.

‘I really feel like the next one is going to have it…. I mean, with how many I killed, I won’t be satisfied until it does.’

Next time…

It was how people became addicted to gambling.

Hyrkan got up.

‘I’ll kill just one more pack. Just one more. If that one doesn’t drop it, I’ll buy the weapon even if I have to sell my house.’

At that moment…

“Hey!”

Someone called out to Hyrkan.

If Hyrkan was sitting aloof before, he was by now tense and prepared for battle. Then, he turned towards the direction the voice came from.

What Hyrkan saw was a group of three players. One of them was wearing an armor he had once seen before.

“So it really is Hahoe Mask Hyrkan.”

“See! I told you. I told you he would be here. This is where he took the Armor Monkey video.”

“Interesting.”

They even knew Hyrkan’s nickname. Hyrkan narrowed his eyes.

‘They don’t look like they’re my fans. Don’t tell me…’

Since his job was uploading Warlord videos to YouTube, he had expected some people to recognize him. It wasn’t too big a surprise in this aspect.

Moreover, he knew not everyone would be happy to see him. After all, he had once had the entire world as his enemy.

Hyrkan prepared to snap his fingers. The fact that he was tense could be seen by his tightly shut mouth.

At that moment.

“My name is Quiyote! Hahoe Mask Hyrkan, I challenge you to a duel!”

A man wearing a lustrous, white armor shouted. It was the White Mamba set.

Hearing this, Hyrkan’s mouth relaxed.

‘Kyaa.’

He could feel the stress he had accumulated disappear in an instant.