LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 40
Chapter 40: The Witch of Atrocity (1)
The auction house system in MMORPGs is often directly managed by the game developers, but in Elthera World, it is run by the players themselves.
Combat players hand over equipment or items to merchant players, who auction them in exchange for a commission.
Merchants are also frequently sought after when players want to purchase items.
Buy cheaper!
Sell for more!
That was the key difference between top-tier merchants and ordinary ones.
Rapion from the Sellatan Guild, though not high in level yet, was a hidden talent.
[Rapion: Oh, you’re talking about level 100 gear? Yes, I can procure that easily.]
When Yeonwol listed a few equipment names, Rapion searched the kingdom’s entire merchant guild within 30 minutes and acquired a full set of gear for him.
[Rapion: This is an epic-tier Relzers Shoulder Armor Set. All pieces are high-quality with proper additional options attached.]
For wearable gear, the basics include the torso, pants, gloves, shoes, and helmet, but shoulder guards are also an important element.
Shoulder guards don’t drastically improve defense but enhance job-specific stats and skills, making them essential for some players.
In fact, Yeonwol prioritized shoulder guards above all else.
His lightweight armor leaned towards shoulder decorations rather than functional guards, but names didn’t matter much.
What mattered was the stats.
While there were various types of shoulder armor, Yeonwol preferred those made of leather and fabric.
Though their defense was slightly lower, they significantly increased agility.
The armor was made by combining tough monster hide and wood, making it sturdy, but when compared to the unique-tier gear made of “metal fabric” introduced later, it felt lacking.
[Rapion: Oh, and I also purchased medium armor and an axe for a three-meter-tall half-blood human.]
Considering Eltis’s enormous physique, Yeonwol thought custom-made gear might be necessary, but Rapion easily found such items, suggesting that half-bloods might be more common than expected.
Finally,
[Rapion: I acquired an alchemist combat kit with a level 100 restriction. It was listed cheaply at the auction. A couple of months ago, when Yeonwol’s videos were widely circulated, this item was listed at an absurdly high price. But since then, its market value has plummeted. I guess no one’s interested in buying it anymore.]
Yeonwol chuckled.
Someone must have tried to capitalize on the combat alchemist trend, hoping to sell the kit at a steep price, but who would engage in combat alchemy?
Using the alchemy kit didn’t automatically allow for seamless alchemy during battle. It had taken Yeonwol years to develop such techniques.
‘With this, my mana efficiency when reviving Spectrals will improve significantly. I’ll also be able to use alchemy more diversely in combat.’
With everything prepared, Yeonwol equipped his gear and was about to set off when Rapion sent another DM.
[Rapion: Oh, by the way, I heard you resolved the incident in Duke Dilen’s territory. The comments section on Eltube is filled with requests asking if you’re going to release a video of the quest.]
Comments?
Come to think of it, he’d forgotten about Eltube.
When Yeonwol logged into his account and checked the latest video’s comments, he found numerous requests asking for footage of the incident in Duke Dilen’s territory.
“Hmm…”
The battle in Duke Dilen’s territory heavily utilized his Necromaster abilities, so he hesitated to upload the video.
However, if he planned to continue increasing his fame, releasing the video was inevitable.
Even if he tried to hide the fact that he was a Necromaster, his use of summons during battle would eventually be revealed.
‘I’ll be roaming crowded fields from now on, so plenty of people will witness me using summons.’
There was no way to keep it a secret forever.
If it were going to be exposed by others, it might be better to reveal some of the secrets himself while keeping the critical ones hidden.
‘I’d prefer people to think I’m in a summoner-related class… but even if they don’t, it doesn’t matter. No one in this world can accurately guess my job anyway.’
Yeonwol uploaded the video.
[Duke Dilen’s Underground Dungeon Boss Fight: Zombie Knight Raid]
Song Yeon-Ju, as a favor for receiving Velkiri’s assistance, decided to wear all the equipment, items, and accessories fully sponsored by the Calisodia Guild.
‘Also, post full-body shots or updates on Elstagram occasionally to keep your fans informed!’
Because Song Yeon-Ju rarely updated her social media, her follower count wasn’t as high as expected for someone of her popularity.
On Elstagram, the Elthera World exclusive social media, her follower count was much lower.
Although over a million fans who discovered she was gaming followed her, it paled compared to the tens of millions on her real-world social accounts.
“Ugh… I really hate this.”
But for Song Yeon-Ju, living by her life principle of repaying favors, she couldn’t simply ignore this task.
“Is this how I do it?”
When she floated the round camera into the air, it hovered and began circling her.
Every player was provided with a transparent camera that could function like a black box.
Even Yeonwol’s tutorial recording was thanks to this default camera.
However, these black box cameras only activated during combat and didn’t function in safe zones like cities or towns.
In other words, videos couldn’t be recorded even if someone attacked you in a city.
That’s why PK players committing murder in cities could roam freely without their identities exposed.
‘To film in a city, you need a visible camera like this one that others can see…’
The camera Velkiri gifted her was a top-notch model typically used by dungeon reporters.
Floating the camera in the air, Song Yeon-Ju captured several full-body shots of her equipment from various angles and uploaded them to Elstagram and her real-world social accounts.
For someone who had almost never taken selfies, the process felt awkward, but her natural beauty carried her through.
She wore black leggings-like pants for the lower half, while the top consisted of a body-hugging underlayer with a white short robe draped halfway over one shoulder.
The short robe bore the Calisodia Guild’s emblem—two crossed swords—while her earrings and rings also matched the guild’s branding.
When she posted the slightly embarrassed-looking photos on social media, the reaction exploded almost instantly.
Comments poured in real-time, and fans quickly discovered her Elstagram account, skyrocketing her follower count.
-Song! You’re really the same Song Yeon-Ju from Elthera!
-I wasn’t sure since there were no posts on Elsta, but it’s confirmed now!
-wow!
-Beautiful!
-I’m the 180,000th follower on Elsta!
Comments flooded in every second, and her follower count rose so rapidly it was impossible to keep track.
“Sigh…”
Hating the spotlight, she rarely appeared on TV or maintained her social media accounts.
Who would have thought she’d end up publicizing her gaming activities to the world?
After uploading a hastily taken screenshot on her real-world SNS, Song Yeon-Ju posted another photo on Elthera’s Elstagram.
‘You need to give your fans a reason to follow you on Elstagram!’
The second photo was professionally taken, looking like a cover model shoot. Unsurprisingly, it turned out several times more stunning than her own efforts.
The existence of that photo quickly spread through the community.
Even those who hadn’t been following Song Yeon-Ju became captivated upon hearing she had started Elthera, only to be further enchanted by her beauty and hit the follow button.
Within moments, Song Yeon-Ju watched her follower count surpass 3 million before hastily shutting off the internet.
“Ugh, exhausting.”
A DM soon arrived from Velkiri, who gushed about how the Calisodia Guild’s promotional efforts were performing better than any advertisement ever had, but Song Yeon-Ju skimmed the message and didn’t reply.
“I just want to smash something.”
She pressed her throbbing temples and staggered toward the hunting ground.
When it came to forgetting her worries, nothing beat mindlessly killing monsters over and over again—hunt now, think never.
As a globally scaled game, Elthera World always had new topics of interest catching fire in the community.
It was rare for a single topic to remain relevant for more than a day.
If a topic lasted more than an hour, it was deemed interesting.
If it persisted for half a day, it might even make headlines.
If it lasted over a day, three out of ten passersby on the street would have heard about it.
It was nearly unheard of for such a topic to last more than three days, but screenshots and gameplay videos of Song Yeon-Ju in Elthera World had become a phenomenon.
Not many people had initially known that Song Yeon-Ju had started playing Elthera World.
But recently, Velkiri had deliberately shared her video while discussing whether Yeonwol had used a hack.
This not only revealed Song Yeon-Ju’s gaming activity to the world but also led to her opening a new SNS account to post videos, ensuring it became a hot topic.
Was it because she was beautiful?
Of course, that played a part.
However, this world is too vast for beauty alone to guarantee fame.
The original reason for Song Yeon-Ju’s fame:
In real life, during her school days, she once took down an armed robber with just a stick, showcasing her overwhelming physicality.
Her reaction speed was so lightning-fast that it bordered on superhuman.
Her swordsmanship, fantastical to the point of being considered impossible in real life, was extraordinary.
Her dazzling, dreamlike swordsmanship carried over seamlessly into Elthera World.
“What is that? Is that even possible? Didn’t they reveal Song Yeon-Ju’s level? She’s only just hit level 200, right?”
“But how is she soloing Sion Murlik, a level 220 raid boss? That’s a boss recommended for at least a six-player level 220 raid party.”
“Wow, I thought she wore such light armor just for style… But she barely gets hit at all!”
“Insane. It’s supposed to be impossible to overcome level gaps in the 200s like it is for levels in the 100s.”
Song Yeon-Ju’s swordsmanship was different from Yeonwol’s.
Yeonwol focused on heavy, straightforward, and incredibly fast movements, precisely following the most efficient path to defeat his enemies.
Song Yeon-Ju, on the other hand, excelled in dazzling swordsmanship characterized by soft, flexible movements unique to her as a woman, offering a feast for the eyes.
The reason she became a global star in the field of Kendo in real life!
That very reason applied equally in Elthera World, and her videos were causing massive waves.
Just like Yeonwol’s feats, Song Yeon-Ju’s video showcased her achieving the impossible with her swordsmanship, overcoming overwhelming level gaps, and thrilling countless users.
In the blink of an eye, she amassed a huge number of followers and fans.
However, even she wasn’t perfect.
Viewers showered her videos with glowing praise, calling her flawless, but Song Yeon-Ju knew better.
‘I’m still clumsy at incorporating my Kendo skills into these game skills.’
Her real-life Kendo habits often caused her skill shots to miss or weaken, resulting in frequent mistakes.
The combination of skills and swordsmanship wasn’t as simple as it seemed.
‘I need to blend swordsmanship naturally into my skills. Right now, I’m still using them separately.’
Though she had reached nearly the pinnacle of Kendo in real life, she was far from it in this world.
‘I want to be the best.’
As she always had in real life.
She was someone with fierce competitiveness. Whatever she did, she longed to be the best.
Song Yeon-Ju was aware.
There were those who combined swordsmanship and skills more adeptly and destructively than she could.
It was unbelievable, but she felt that even purely in terms of Kendo, he—Yeonwol—might be capable of surpassing her, despite having no real-life fame to his name.
After an intense hunting session, Song Yeon-Ju returned to her base camp, wiped off her sweat, and drank water.
Out of habit, she opened the internet.
Although she hadn’t been much of an internet user before, she now found herself repeatedly drawn to certain videos.
[Eltube – Yeonwol]
There was much to learn from him.
It wasn’t just about his Kendo skills.
‘That unusual skill. Its movements are huge, full of openings, so if an average player used it, they’d likely get hit mid-pattern, have the skill canceled, and get knocked down.’
Yeonwol’s Sea-Splitting Blade.
She didn’t know the name or exact effects of the skill, but she understood one thing—it was as powerful as its grand movements suggested.
‘Such large movements… That’s impossible to use in real life.’
Large movements meant exposing vulnerabilities to the opponent.
Ordinary players used such skills passively, accepting the risk of interruption and retries after failed attempts.
But Song Yeon-Ju couldn’t.
She pursued perfection.
Allowing even a momentary vulnerability to endanger her was unacceptable to her principles.
Because of this, she had avoided using large-movement skills, dismissing them as trash.
Never showing an opening and relentlessly overwhelming the opponent!
That was the reason she had become a champion in real life.
But in this world, things were different.
‘Even with large movements, if I can guarantee a hit, and if I’m confident I won’t get hit…’
In Elthera World, it was possible.
Despite the grand movements, no one noticed the delays in Yeonwol’s skill.
That was because he seamlessly integrated it with swordsmanship, exploiting the opponent’s vulnerabilities to execute it flawlessly.
Avoiding danger from her own vulnerabilities?
Use the skill only when the opponent exposes a significant opening!
Of course, this approach was incredibly risky.
If an opponent exposed a weakness, it likely meant they were preparing a powerful offensive in return.
Without precise timing down to 0.01 seconds to ensure her attack would be faster, such maneuvers were impossible.
She knew this, yet she couldn’t imitate him.
But.
‘I can do it.’
If someone else could, there was no reason she couldn’t.
If it didn’t work the first time, she’d try ten more.
If it still didn’t work, she’d try a hundred.
As a result, she had begun combining skills and Kendo, managing to use large-movement techniques without interruptions.
She could feel herself catching up to his swordsmanship.
‘I need to learn more.’
She had watched Yeonwol’s videos so many times she had memorized every movement down to the seconds.
So…
She was frustrated.
She needed new videos.
By now, his level must have risen, and he must have improved further.
Frustrated, Song Yeon-Ju sat back down after wiping away her sweat, thinking she had rested enough and was about to head out hunting again.
At that moment, an alert sounded.
[A subscribed Eltuber’s video has been uploaded.]
[Yeonwol – Duke Dilen’s Underground Dungeon Boss Fight, Zombie Knight Raid]
Her eyes sparkled like stars as she quickly sat down to play the video.
And then, her eyes widened in astonishment.
“How… did he do that?”