RTGR 16

Chapter 16 …

ShieldMaster LV9
FrownSquad LV9
Yubin-kkung LV9
Kaiser LV9

They had all leveled up a total of 5 levels, reaching level 9.

Of course, not all level 9s were equal.

Compared to the others who had gained 25 points, Dohyun had gained 35 points.

Even in the early stages, he was already 10 points ahead.

[Player: Kaiser]
[Level: 9]
[HP: 1,170 / 1,200]
[MP: 120 / 250]
[Stamina: 100 / 230]
[Class: Last Adventurer <Apostle of Kashiyar>]
[Titles (2)]

Maximum Favorability from the Start?
First Slayer

[Stats]
<Strength: 28 (+22)> <Agility: 27 (+20)>
<Stamina: 5 (+19)> <Perception: 16 (+18)>
<Magic: 5 (+18)>

Remaining Points: 0

Dohyun once again invested 14 points in Strength and Agility and 7 points in Perception, as he still didn’t feel any problem with Stamina.

“Level 9 stats… that’s ridiculous.”

No wonder the goblins melted under a single critical strike.

And that wasn’t even the end.

[Swordsmanship Proficiency LV6]
[Dagger Proficiency LV3]
[Blunt Weapon Proficiency LV4]
[Poison Needle Proficiency LV2]

By hunting using all four of his weapons, his proficiency in each rose evenly.

Even accounting for his skill, the speed of his mastery was abnormal.

It was the advantage of being a Weapon Master.

Combined with the First Slayer title and his necklace, it was inevitable that he would deal massive damage.

As proficiency rises, so does damage.

[Effect of Swordsmanship Proficiency LV6: sword-related damage increases by 6%]

“Nice, nice.”

That was a full 1% per level. Usually, beginners only raise proficiency from 3 to 4 before leaving the starter city, but Dohyun was already level 6. Even his non-primary weapons were level 3 to 4.

It was clear why Weapon Master was considered overpowered.

Experiencing real combat, both Hidden Dragon and Weapon Master proved to be excellent traits.

“Looks like we’re actually hitting now. Did you see how accurate that was?”
“Yeah, no. Kaiser and ShieldMaster drew all the aggro. Remember your mistake at the start that almost wiped us?”
“Ahem. Don’t talk about the enemy. That wasn’t the rookie FrownSquad back then. And you were firing Mana Bolts at corpses too, weren’t you?”
“…Just making sure.”
“Seriously, ‘making sure’? Those were already long dead. Kaiser, you saw that too, right?”

Looking to the side, Dohyun could hear his companions chatting.

Now that they were slaughtering goblins easily, their initial clueless expressions were gone.

Watching Yubin-kkung and FrownSquad bicker, ShieldMaster chuckled awkwardly.

“Haha… They’re a bit immature, huh? They fight over nothing all the time.”
“I understand.”

Dohyun added casually.

“…And I’m used to it.”
“Eh?”
“Never mind.”

Shaking his head, Dohyun let out a small laugh.

“People really are all the same.”

Two companions bickering like rivals, and him watching like an amused observer—he felt a sense of déjà vu.

That was probably why the party didn’t feel awkward at all.

More importantly…

With that, they had cleared the Green Goblin quest.

Only one quest remained.

“Shall we go now?”

At Dohyun’s blunt suggestion, the bickering Yubin-kkung and FrownSquad froze.

FrownSquad scratched his head while Yubin-kkung nervously fidgeted with his staff.

“…We should go. We have to… hmm. Feeling a bit nervous.”
“They say it’s a beginner killer… will it be okay?”
“With my form now, I could probably pierce his forehead….”
“Nope, that’s not it.”

Listening to their conversation, Dohyun glanced at the quest window.

[Mutant Goblin’s Blood]

Rarity: Rare
Description: This quest was requested by the long-lived alchemist ‘Kalde’. He has recently been interested in mutant goblins and seems to have found a clue. Collect the fresh blood of the ‘Mutant Goblin Warrior’ residing in the Ardé Forest Cave for him.
Kill Mutant Goblin Warrior (0/1)
Collect Mutant Goblin Warrior’s Blood (0/1)
Rewards: 1 Gold, certain amount of XP, Silver Ring made by Kalde
Risk of Failure: Kalde’s favorability may decrease
Time Limit: None

“Exciting.”

The Mutant Goblin Warrior was the first elite boss players encountered in Godose.

[How do you defeat the Mutant Goblin Warrior?]
[Third try fail in a row. Did they really design it to be beatable?]
[If you follow the strategy, you can.]
[I am following it… but it’s insane. One mistake and everyone dies.]
[True, I struggled a lot with it when I was a newbie too.]

The Mutant Goblin Warrior, nicknamed the Beginner Killer, was infamous in Ardé.

Not only was it the first elite boss for newbies, but it was also notorious as the dungeon where most players first experienced a party wipe.

The first try was always fatal.

A preview raid.

Infinite TsukuXmi.

Ardé’s grave.

A dungeon with no positive epithets—an extreme difficulty environment.

The Mutant Goblin Warrior’s habitat was relentless.

“Damn it!”
“No way… I died?!”
“I need a shotgun, seriously.”

In reality, curses were less frequent than swearing.

Players entering the dungeon swore immediately, as if on cue, their faces filled with disbelief.

“Hmm, first try, I see.”
“Looks like they died in phase 2?”
“You can’t expect success on the first try.”

And indeed, all of these parties were first-time attempts.

The dungeon was shockingly difficult for first-time players.

Why were newbies so shocked?

“Crazy difficulty!”
“Did they make this to be beatable?!”
“Better make it solo if you can. I want to punch my party member every time they mess up.”

The difficulty was far higher than fighting goblins.

Combined with team-based mechanics, it was pure hell.

Parties confident after killing goblins were wiped like corn kernels, and frustrated members were busy asking each other about their parents’ well-being.

Even those wishing for group projects would’ve sympathized.

Even if you played perfectly, a teammate’s mistake meant death.

In a dungeon demanding full team coordination, newbies vented, and the Godose admins had to intervene to keep order.

Experienced players, however, recognized its value.

“Looking back, beating that thing helped a lot.”
“High-level content is all hard. If you can’t beat it, you won’t get far anyway.”
“Better to suffer early and build patience… nothing to be done.”
“No death penalty in Ardé anyway.”

Ardé allowed unlimited deaths without penalty.

It was just a matter of enduring the moment, learning, and eventually feeling satisfaction while filtering out trolls for future attempts.

The problem:

“Never killed a Mutant Goblin Warrior?”
“Sorry, your guild won’t do. We don’t take trolls. Who knows if you’ll leave mid-battle?”

In real life, companies prefer experienced hires. Games were no different—perhaps worse.

Players didn’t want stress-inducing factors in their parties, especially with death penalties in play.

Failing the Mutant Goblin Warrior quest was like a red mark on a record.

Could you fake it? Not in Godose.

“May I see your Adventure Log?”
“Looking for an elite boss tri-party ranged dealer. Must have cleared the boss 3+ times.”

The Adventure Log tracked all the rare achievements, boss kills, and exploration players completed.

Without recorded boss victories, parties would not accept you.

The next city’s boss required a kill, so no connections meant tough luck.

“Like a frog forgetting it was once a tadpole. What’s good about that?”
“I’m about to explode! I want to graduate quickly and cast some Fireballs myself!”

Newbies had no choice but to conquer the dungeon immediately.

Yubin-kkung shivered watching them.

“…Looks really tough.”
“Yeah… infamous, for bad reasons.”
“We can handle it, right?”
“We have secret weapon Kaiser.”
“Exactly the problem. If we mess up, everyone dies.”
“…True.”

The same went for ShieldMaster and FrownSquad.

The reputation was intimidating in person, though Dohyun calmly surveyed the surroundings, amused by the angry chatter.

“Of course. They’ve caused trouble here too.”

One teammate’s mistake meant death. Even with beginner support, Godose delivered no mercy.

[Mutant Goblin Warrior’s Habitat]

Rarity: Rare
Type: Party Dungeon
Specialty: Single Boss
Description: The brave warrior of the Green Goblins, cursed and forced to leave his tribe, resides here.
Entry Limit: 4 players
Level Requirement: Below LV10

A party dungeon meant soloing was impossible.

“Full 4 players required. Complaints guaranteed.”

The dungeon demanded four flawless teammates for patterns.

Newbies who just killed goblins faced a cruel system, though nothing Dohyun hadn’t experienced before.

“Party dungeons? Just another day in Demrock.”

For Dohyun, it was as familiar as breathing. Countless party dungeons had been conquered, and strategies studied.

“Shall we enter?”
“Ah, yes! Ready!”
“Phew… nervous.”
“I’ve read the guide over ten times! Won’t mess up!”

Ignoring the stiff, tense companions, Dohyun approached the entrance.

Seeing him, ShieldMaster hurried forward.

“Ah… entering now.”

Party dungeons required the leader to trigger entry notifications.

As he stepped into the warp, a message appeared: