Once again, this is the basic Q&A and discussion thread with a generic name cause I'm a generic person. Feel free to post complaints or point out plot holes as well. Also open to suggestions and pretty much anything else you want to say. I'll say in advance that this story has a secondary priority over my other one so updates will be end less frequent (Basically I'm just writing this whenever I feel like it).
Table of Contents
Prologue
Vol 1 - The First Week
Chapter 1 - First Steps to World Domination
Some Research Information about Hermes.
Members (in order of main series introduction):
- Da'in (founder)
- Ray Bard (founder?)
- Steer (assassin, currently responsible for keeping track of information for Hermes)
- Drinfeld (admiral of Haven's 2nd Naval fleet, introduced vol 20)
Vol 24 Chapter 2 characters
- Pollon (a Hermes leader???)
- Rafael (a Hermes leader???)
- Taleukin (a Hermes leader???)
-
Excerpts of all the times Hermes was mentioned.
Da'in's first appearance in Lavis Vol 2 Chapter 6
Spoiler :
Flowers and even some herbs were blooming all over. It was about time to rest since he had just been in a fierce battle against Skeleton Mercenaries. Weed refilled his water bottle and was just about to sit when he saw a silhouette. Upon further inspection, he found a woman sleeping in the middle of the dungeon, with nobody else around.
“Who are you?” she asked. Weed, who had been waiting for her to wake up, was startled.
“I’m Weed. Wh.. What about you?”
It was unpolished speech, not like him at all. Weed had never imagined that someone other than himself would be there.
And the look on her eyes as she woke… was exactly Weed’s type.
“My name is Da’in,” she said, smiling an aloof smile.
Hyun hadn’t met many girls before. Of course, he had taken classes with girls, but he’d never spent time with one personally. It wasn’t that he was unpopular. There were some girls who approached Hyun, saying that his downcast and detached aura was attractive. He found them foolish.
“You think this is cool? Try experiencing poverty yourself and you’ll change your mind.”
He hadn’t gone on dates with girls either. Dining out, even just coffee cost money. Hyun found food samples from the grocery stores and home-cooked meals much more economical. What he really couldn’t understand was why dating a girl involved spending enormous amounts of money every time there was some sort of anniversary.
Plus, when others went to the drive-in to watch movies, Weed climbed up a nearby telephone pole. The only time he watched TV was when somebody else had one. Of course, he’d picked up a TV that someone had thrown away, but he didn’t watch it because it would run up the electricity bill. He only ever watched it around midnight when the electricity charges were much lower. The cheapskate Hyun, and therefore Weed, had almost no experience with girls.
Da’in. That name was deeply engraved into Weed’s mind. Every man had a dream girl. Weed was no exception.
The woman of his dreams had long natural hair, a young, intelligent face, and a kind, attractive smile. But these were nothing but details.
If a girl could make him fall in love at first sight, then she was his dream girl. Weed developed a small crush on Da’in. That was it.
I don’t trust anyone.
He hadn’t completely trusted Pale or Surka either even though they had trained together. Humans changed.
They might appear to be friends at the moment but he highly doubted that they would take a bullet for him.
‘Give as much as you take, no more and no less.’ That was Weed’s philosophy. He could not trust anyone except his family.
Weed’s gaze sharpened.
“Da’in. How did you come here?”
Only Avians lived in the City of Heaven. Humans could not climb up there and judging by her clothing, she was an adventurer.
“Here? I’ve been here for three months already?”
Three months. A thought flashed into Weed’s mind.
“By any chance, are you one of the adventurers who discovered the City of Heaven?”
“Yes, I was part of that group, but I don’t want to talk about that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m the only one left here.”
“I see.”
Da’in yawned gracefully and stretched.
“I am level 134 and a Shaman.”
Her level was lower than Weed had guessed. He assumed she would be at least level 170 since she was alone in the Cave of Dead Warriors. Weed being there at only level 109 was also an anomaly. A regular player wouldn’t have dared.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I mean if you are alone, let’s form a party. What, you don’t want to?”
“No, that sounds great.”
Weed accepted, not just because Da’in looked somewhat like the girl of his dreams, or because he trusted her.
Weed, ever suspicious, couldn’t trust a girl whom he just met just because she asked him to train in a party. But Weed liked to keep his enemies close.
The girl was suspicious. Besides, Weed had stored many items in his various hideouts within the dungeon so he couldn’t just leave Da’in alone.
Shamans could use white magic to cast buffs that increased Strength, Agility and Speed, and black magic to decrease enemy stats. They could use offensive spells and healing spells, counteract poison and dispel curses. They could also wield swords and maces, meaning they had some physical combat skills.
In essence, they were the jack-of-all-trades! However, the shaman class was unpopular since they had a few skills in every aspect, but weren’t outstanding in any of them. Their healing ability was weaker than a Cleric’s, and the curses they cast were weaker than a Black Mage’s. Their melee skills were comparable to that of an Archer with a sword instead of a bow.
Low HP, low Vitality and magic weaker than a Mage’s. Stats couldn’t be invested in just one area, but had to be equally distributed, so this was a class that couldn’t do much. Weed had no expectations from Da’in. He just hoped she wouldn’t hold him back! Maybe he could just ditch her after retrieving all the items from his hideouts.
“Grr!”
Skeleton Mercenaries appeared and Weed tensed. So far he had faced no more than three Skeleton Mercenaries at once.
No matter how great Weed’s combat skills were, it was difficult to face five at once.
With his back turned, even one or two blows could add up to considerable damage, and he couldn’t use first aid until the battle was over, so it would have been dangerous.
At that moment, Da’in raised her right hand and cast a spell.
“Light of courage descended from the ancients; give this hero the power to fight his enemy! Power up!”
Weed’s body glowed with bright light and his strength was raised by nearly 100. Da’in then graciously raised her arms, as though she was awaiting an embrace.
“A breeze drifts past. Fight the enemy with a light heart. Light will be your steps. Up, spirit, Wolf”
Weed’s Agility and Speed increased significantly. He took just one step towards the enemy and he felt as if he was running.
“You, fated to bring death, blood and carnage, the battlefield shall be your home! Bloodlust!”
Da’in’s various Shaman buffs boosted Weed’s stats, now he could easily take on five Skeleton Mercenaries. But at that moment Da’in cast curses on the Skeleton Mercenaries: Their speed and strength decreased, they could no longer heal their wounds and they lost their will to fight.
‘No way can a Shaman’s magic be this strong.’
Weed didn’t understand the situation. After easily killing the five Skeleton Mercenaries, he didn’t even pause to pick up the item drops before turning to question Da’in.
“Your magic is unbelievable for a level 134. How is that possible? If I don’t understand the reason, we can’t be in a party together.”
He ran the risk of hurting her feelings, but she answered back with a happy smile.
“It’s because of my hobbies.”
“Hobbies?”
“Yes, please don’t think I’m crazy. I don’t like killing monsters, I just…” she spoke shyly.
“I use curses on monsters, holy magic, and sometimes ranged attack spells. After that when their HP drops, I cast Healing Hand on them…”
“On monsters?”
“Yeah, I just played around like that.”
What Da’in was saying was shocking. She was level 134 but her magic was very advanced. So Da’in played around by cursing, then healing the Skeleton Mercenaries, Dullahan and Ghouls in the dungeon…
Information on the Hermes party that found Lavias + other information about Da'in character Vol 2 Chapter 7
Spoiler :
Weed was constantly worried that she might betray him, even as he fought. Having spent so much time there, Da’in knew a lot of things about Lavias. According to her, until just recently she had been going around Lavias gathering information. She had gone into the dungeon just around the time Weed’s party arrived.
‘Pretty unbelievable story,’ Weed thought. But it was true that he had never encountered her in Lavias, so it must have also been true that she had stayed in the dungeon that long. Nevertheless, that was not reason enough to believe everything else she said.
“How about we change training grounds? I happen to know of a few undiscovered dungeons, though I haven’t been to them yet.” According to Da’in’s investigations, there were at least eight undiscovered dungeons.
“When you say undiscovered dungeons, do you mean nobody has entered them yet?”
“Yes.”
Weed cocked his head in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
Da’in was a member of the first party to ever enter the City of Heaven, and yet there were dungeons they hadn’t visited? It was very hard to believe.
“There was no reason to, since everyone other than me was over level 200.”
“So they didn’t bother to enter the lower-level dungeons? Even so, I don’t think anyone would purposely ignore a dungeon.”
There were multiple benefits to discovering a dungeon, but the one that couldn’t be ignored was the increase in Fame. A considerable amount of Fame was gained for discovering a dungeon, and exploring the whole map of it awarded even more Fame, and even money. Even if their levels were so high that there was nothing worth hunting, who would pass on that Fame? Da’in was hiding something about the party she had been part of.
“If you don’t tell me, then I won’t move from here.”
“I can’t tell you what they did…”
“Is it a secret?”
“Yes, I promised not to tell anyone… It’s hard to explain, but I am telling the truth. You have to trust me.”
Weed decided to let it go. There was nothing he could do to convince her to reveal the secret. Words that seemed frail had a higher chance of being true. Plus, they had just left the Cave of Dead Warriors to explore other dungeons. So at least she was being truthful about that.
--------------------
Weed fought while Da’in assisted. The two dominated the dungeons. Da’in worked so hard at healing and casting buffs that Weed didn’t regret forming a party with her. Da’in was a woman who became more mysterious the better he got to know her. When she spotted a monster, she cursed them multiple times all while looking at them with sorrowful eyes. Plus she was not careless with money or items. Whenever Weed tried to get a few more silvers, or even coppers, she noticed and pointed it out.
Near the Secret Area of Pan Lake, there were many places where herbs bloomed. There she bent down with no hesitation and dug up the herbs. A formidable survival instinct! Sometimes she would write a poem or sing a song. Her clear, refreshing voice rang out beautifully. Thanks to that, Weed could hunt joyfully.
‘To think that it could be this much fun not being alone…’
No one else visited Lavias. Pale and Surka messaged him, saying they had settled in a hunting ground at the Citadel of Serabourg. Since their parents were still new players, it was hard for them to leave.
At all times they were alone together. Plus, she was a woman who looked like the one in his dreams. As a man, it would be a lie to say his eyes never strayed toward her. At first, Da’in was all smiles, but sometimes a shadow crossed her face. However, it lit up again as she hunted and had her meals with Weed.
One day, Weed decided he wanted to become her friend. “Um… Do you want to hunt together from now on?” he asked.
But Da’in fell silent.
“I’m sorry, Weed-nim,”
She said after a while, with a serious expression on her face.
“What do you mean?”
“Once, I made a bad decision. I thought nobody loved me… I couldn’t trust anybody.”
“… Is that, by any chance, why you were left alone in Lavias?”
“It’s hard to explain the whole story, but yes, it’s somewhat related. Anyway, I was encouraged by spending time with you, Weed-nim. Perhaps, I might find my place once again…”
“So?”
Weed was a bit frustrated.
It was good to hear that spending time with him helped her regain her courage, but hearing that she would go back made him feel like he had been used.
No one liked being used.
“I didn’t mean it like that. After meeting you, I feel as if I can live on.”
“No way. Do you…”
“Yes, I…am ill. Even though I can get an operation, it’s not certain that it will make me better. I was postponing the surgery, but it’s time to take the chance.”
“…..”
“Please don’t look at me like that. I’ll be fine. Destiny and coincidence are so similar it’s sometimes hard to decide which it is. I don’t want our meeting to be a coincidence. If it was destiny for us to meet, then we will meet again. I really hope I can meet Weed-nim again.”
Da’in logged out. Weed felt empty after Da’in left him. He hadn’t really spent much time with her because he was suspicious of her and concentrated on hunting. Maybe she never tried to hide her sickness. Weed was always busy. As soon as she logged on, he would drag her somewhere to hunt.
For over a month, they had barely conversed and just hunted. He felt regret. Maybe Da’in could never come back.
‘If she never comes back, there won’t be many people who would remember her. She was in Lavias alone and nobody came to look for her. I guess that’s the reason why she spent her time cursing and buffing monsters.’
Loneliness and fear of death can only be understood by those who had experienced it.
Ray Bard/Hermes First Mention Vol 4 Chapter 7
Spoiler :
“Now you will hear some wonderful news. Take a break from other issues for a few minutes. Now, at last in the Kingdom of Haven, the player Bad Ray received level 370, which was called the ‘impenetrable wall.’”
“Wow! Superb!”
“Remember that Bad Ray is one of the leaders ranking among the highest-level players, and certainly you know of the nickname ‘The Black Knight.’ Inside the tower, the soldier finally reached level 370. The highest level in the game! Now, let’s see how this happened.”
Warriors of the tower.
A gathering place for the strongest warriors of Royal Road to compete. A knight in black armor wielding a black sword was fighting against a fierce barbarian. The barbarian, screaming in a fit of rage, inflicted a terrible blow with his two-handed sword. However, using foot techniques, the black knight easily avoided and deflected the enemy attacks.
The speed of high-level players defies description. Blades flashed with unimaginable speed. And when you take into account their equipment, you would have thought that it was a battle between a red and a black dragon. Still, the winner was immediately clear: the black knight was playing with his opponent! In the end, the dark player won the battle.
“You just said that the player Bad Ray won the fight and become the highest-level player in the game! Thanks to the victory over the warriors who guarded the tower, he reached level 370. I also would like to addthat the technique which Bad Ray used in this fight has never been seen or used before!”
“Oh, ho, ho. Amazing!” Joo-wan was waving his arms and cried about. “However, Bad Ray must have been pushed, to have revealed such skills and technique?”
“What amazing insight! That’s correct; Bad Ray is from the guild, Hermes. And as you may recall from our earlier news, Hermes took on the previous ruler of the kingdom of Haven, Iluina, and announced that they have chosen the path of a military dictatorship.”
“That is, you mean to say that Haven declared war on all of the United Kingdoms?”
“Yes. Apparently their recruitment of more forces boosted their confidence.”
“Moreover, they have Bad Ray.”
“Exactly that! Although the leader of the guild is a different player, Bad Ray is in fact the face of Hermes. Thus, from the showing of his increase in level from the tower’s warriors, Bad Ray announced to the world the supremacy of his guild.”
Later on, the news turned to other matters. They mentioned that somewhere far off, some guilds started a war against a powerful wizard in a newly discovered cave. On the mainland of Versailles, something was becoming commonplace: someone lost their items due to the outbreak of tornadoes and earthquakes. So if you are going to an unfamiliar area, you must be careful and try to gather more information to avoid the maelstrom.
‘Level 370….’
The numbers refused to leave Lee Hyun’s mind. In the Continent of Magic, he was the best player! However, even then, Lee Hyun did not realize the true value of that nickname. He only played for fun, slowly beating monsters and almost never talked to other players. When he gathered an especially numerous amount of items, he would visit a town and then sell them. Hence, the nickname of the ‘Best’ had a hollow ring to him. It was only when he decided to sell his character that he came to the realization of such a title!
‘Bad Ray… if you sell your account, how huge an amount of money will you make!?’
This was especially so, as the number of players in the Continent of Magic is not comparable to Royal Road. Over one hundred million people play Royal Road! Office workers, freelancers and many others used the game as a vacation spot. It is so popular!
While he improved his fishing skills, Weed saw many people like this. They came to the river Bensa to relax, away from family or work. Having picnics or sunbathing under the hot sun. Even if only level 50, their mood did not spoil.
The players do not hunt monsters for loot; instead, they just bought it all at once in the shops with real money. Often, they did so just to show off in front of their friends, as if they had come on vacation to a resort. In general, that was not far from the truth. With Royal Road, you did not have to take a leave of work for a week, or miss a weekend, as long as you have a capsule in your home.
Lee Hyun did not blame these players. On the contrary, he considered them as a different form of clientele. While there are such people in the game, anyone can make a little more.
Lee Hyun’s thoughts all came back to Bad Ray. Everyone, from junior office workers and ending with company presidents played in Royal Road, so the cost of the highest-level character would be astronomical!
However, in the case of Bad Ray, if he is not a fool, it is unlikely he would sell his account. Royal Road has only recently begun its triumphant run throughout the Earth, and according to experts, its popularity will last for at least another 10 years. So selling a character, the value of which will still grow further, would not just set you back in the game, it would also be a great folly.
Information on Ray Bard's Hall of Frame videos Vol 6 Chapter 1
Spoiler :
Other videos in the Hall of Fame get millions of hits. Of the Hermes Guild, Bad Ray’s movies get more than 100 million. Especially for the Champion’s Tower video, Bad Ray’s authorized scene boasted a whopping 1.7 billion hits.
Ray Bard becomes king/Hermes takes down 3 castles Vol 8 Chapter 7
Spoiler :
The Church of Freya!
There were a few people trying to purchase holy water and blessings.
“Hey did you hear the news?”
“What news?”
“The Hermes Guild took down three castles yesterday.”
“Even that one castle?”
“Yea. It lasted quite long but it couldn’t handle an all out attack from the Hermes Guild.”
Urban cities were greatly different.
Urban cities could train soldiers and archers from the population.
They could also conquer cities for commercial gain.
For a castle, having military power is an important role.
“They’re occupying all the territories of Haven Kingdom. Have they already occupied the entire kingdom?”
“Not yet. There’s a still a few cities left.”
“The towns and cities won’t be able to stop it.”
“Well its not important. They’re all going to fall to the Hermes Guild.”
“Bad Ray called himself the king. He’s going to be ascending the throne shortly. It’s a wonderful coronation with over 6000 guests apparently.”
Between users there was endless talk about the Hermes and Bad Ray.
He was the first person qualified to be king and the strongest in the Versailles Continent.
He was the true meaning of a king.
Bad Ray did not have a very good reputation.
To get where he was now, he had to fight a lot of battles.
Cruelty, do not accept any surrender!
Thats to that notoriety, it has risen to the heights it has now.
“That castle had miserable military strength.”
“Still, the Hermes Guild is not going to have a bright future.”
“You’re right. Half of the guilds under the Hermes Guild’s banner are useless.”
“I heard that the Iron Templars and the Lone Wizards Guilds are forming a coalition.”
“It looks like there’s going to be a great war with the Hermes Guild. Which side should we go with?”
“No no. The Hermes Guild will collect funds in the meantime and devote the money to internal affairs.”
“Come to think of it, they did acquire a lot of land. They’re going to get attacked.”
“Keeping something is harder than taking it.”
“The war will not stop.”
Thus people were talking.
Then the Templars that represented the Church of Freya entered.
People stopped their conversations to watch.
Large movement of the Church of Freya’s Templars!
“What’s going on?”
“It looks like something is happening.”
Ray Bard's level and update on Herme's rivals Vol 9 Chapter 2
Spoiler :
‘Maybe even over 400.’
Hermes Guild’s Bad Ray unveiled his level at his coronation. Surprisingly, his level was revealed to be no less than 412. In Royal Road and on the Internet, there was a lot of excitement. Even when considering the amount of time passed after his level was known to be in late 300s, his level up speed was still fairly rapid.
‘Probably because the guild is herding monsters for him. As the head of Hermes Guild, of course he’s receiving benefits.’
Actively utilizing supplies and equipment, as well as collecting information on hunting grounds. Blacksmiths crafted for him and Bards were always on standby. In addition, in most of the battles Bad Ray would deliver the finishing blow to the monsters. Receiving such strong support, it was no surprise his fast leveling speed remained unchanged.
Originally, Bad Ray was a famous gamer in other games. There are a lot of forces that would follow him. In Continent of Magic, those who followed Bad Ray were very common.
Weed did not clash with Bad Ray because he was the first to quit the game. Bad Ray in Continent of Magic was one of the top 5 Warriors and his guild was the strongest force there. According to an unconfirmed rumor, his actual fortune was so enormous you could hear the sound of wealth.
The scene of Bad Ray revealing his level at his coronation brought about a large topic in the Hall of Fame. Not only that, all game broadcasters treated it as a major news issue. Furthermore, the revenue of bars in Versailles Continent increased by more than 5 times.
“Bastard looks good at whatever he does.”
“We slowly walk and he just flies off the shelves quickly.”
“I’m still level 357. When will I be over 400?”
Bitter soreness!
Crowds tried to resolve their so called bitterness with alcohol. Immediately known up to the present, Bad Ray recived all their attention. King of the Continent. Officially named Emperor, he challenged for supremacy with with his ability apparent. Of course, Hermes Guild’s scale and breadth of their forces had just as many enemies.
Stolen novel; please report.
In the wide Versailles Continent, though not as strong as Bad Ray, users with the level to restrain him numbered at least a dozen people. There was also quite a lot of tension between Hermes and other guilds. Single guilds capable of standing against Hermes were only 7, but when considering guild alliances, more than 15 were able to deal with Hermes’ hegemony.
Although not as desired, all users in Versailles Continent focused their attention on Bad Ray. They all envied the strongest on the continent. Such was the person Bad Ray.
Information on Haven Kingdom and Hermes Vol 12 Chapter 8
Spoiler :
Kingdom of Haven.
The central powerhouse of the continent, wide and fertile territories, along with mineral rich mountains.
For these reasons, many users chose this kingdom when they first started out playing Royal Road.
“A lot of mountains, meaning a lot of dungeons, lairs, and dangerous hunting grounds exist here.”
Here, it’s primarily filled with adventurous classes or Bard.
“The trading posts here are great too. It has convenient access to all other kingdoms, and…with the amount of adventurer types, there’s no end to the spoils.”
Merchants also chose the Kingdom of Haven.
Warriors, Priests, and even those that wanted to hunt, also decided on the kingdom.
Thanks to this, the kingdom flourished commercially along with explosive military might.
A person unrelated to the kingdom will probably see this as a crowed town.
Whether it was Illuin, Khiden, or Balkiseu castles, even as soon as dawn the streets were bustling with crowds.
But the too many people, Mulline, has endless amount of disputes.
Whether they were at dungeon, lair, mountain, or in the plains, endless amount of battles took place among guilds.
“The first to strike will not be eaten.”
“War! We should get together for war!”
It was filled with counsel and tactical meetings.
Guild alliances and unions often met with repeated disbandment and betrayal.
In the Kingdom of Haven, there exists several thousands of guilds ready to go to war.
Along with mercenaries obtained from other countries, increasingly larger wars were fought.
The powerhouse Bar-Ray leads the Hermes Guild to occupied the Noreunjawi castles led by Bar Ray with the intention to reign over the entire kingdom.
Blood Knights, lone Mercenaries, red Mages units set their flag where the oppositions of Hermes had fallen.
Hermes is one of the guild successful in hunting a boss monster Vol 13 Chapter 3
Spoiler :
Today as well, millions of people have accessed the Royal Road webpage. The lot of them were watching the live feed on the Hall of Fame page.
-The Tower of Light Guild went into the Cruel Urolba cave.
-In just a bit, Urolba will appear.
The Tower of Light was a guild with a towering number of 30000 members.
It wasn’t a guild filled with high-leveled personnel, but the number was something of a huge force.
They occupied a territory that contains the Urolba Lair.
Cruel Urolba.
A typical Boss Monster, an evil spirit whom revives itself once every month on the Versailles Continent.
The power of the Electric Whip it wields was not something comparable to that of a Dragon’s breath; but if having been struck, one's body will be Paralyzed as well as being depleted of Stamina. Preceding its emerging familiars, the Evil Spirits, which does so in an extremely quick manner, their resistance made the hunt much more difficult.
The Tower of Light Guild mobilized a massive scale of personnel to raid this Urolba.
“We are in a position to establish justice on the Versailles Continent. The cowardly monster Urolba, it hides itself instead of coming out. It is in my position to punish this wicked being for the sake of all!”
The Guild Master Hertz proudly exclaimed in the huge cave. Then, Urolba emerged.
And the appropriate battle began!
The focus of the battle for the Guild was to obtain a new item; the Blessing of Enormous Wealth from the God of Battle, Tyr.
‘This is an opportunity to elevate the guild’s honor that we can’t afford to miss.’
Until now, the number of guilds that have hunted Urolba didn’t even reach six. Among all these prestigious guilds, only the Hermes Guild’s hunt came out successful.
The Tower of Light Guild didn’t hold back on investing their all on this gamble.
“Take Urolba treasure. Let's get his whip too.”
The warriors too, craved for the stats.
The person who bears the occupation of a Sculptor, Weed, his stats rise when he is able to create Masterpieces, Classics, or Magnums. This method was only available to the Sculptors and not to any other occupation.
In cases with the melee's lot, if it was a successful hunt after risking it all with Boss Monsters, Reputation and sometimes, stats, could be obtained.
Though this was something easier said than done.
Their targets were often something terrible; most times, they would risk their lives and fight with their all.
The Cruel Urolba fits the category.
As for the non-melee type adventurers: in this case Grave Robbers, there were rumors that their stats would rise if they identify locations that haven’t been discovered, a grave belonging to someone who once was a celebrity, or when they investigate dungeons.
While the clergymen can gain Piety stat points by treating someone in deadly condition, and gain Faith through deliverance of monks from the grasp of evil.
Art occupations such as professional Painters, can simply gain stats by drawing qualifying pictures. Architects gains stats by creating architectural marvels. Of course, Blacksmiths that produces luxurious weapons and armors can gain stats.
The advantage of being a Sculptor and other blue collar occupations is that they didn’t need to risk their lives in order to gain stats.
At the very least, constructions and creating a huge artwork poses a bit of risk; but it was nothing really dangerous to one’s vitality.
Nevertheless, the warriors that has to face higher risks by hunting dangerous Bosses obtain a lot more stats, more spoils, more Reputation; while are continually able to fight stronger and stronger Monsters.
“Iyaaahh!”
“Watch his hand.”
“Melee, spread out to prevent getting hit by the whip!”
“Going head to head is our only way!”
The warriors rushed Urolba.
Meanwhile, the Evil Spirits within the cave made their appearances.
Out of the rocks, Cave Worms appeared and overtook the Clerics and Wizards.
“Save me!”
“Help us here!”
They cried out insanely, but the melees who were locked in the battle with Urolba did not heed their calls.
Though the size of the guild was big, due to the lack in ability to lead its members, as many as 2000 of the Tower of Light Guild members lost their lives outright.
The people who were watching the stream on the Hall of Fame page had already determined their debacle before Urolba and its familiars.
-Waste of time.
-In my eyes, seems like they already gave up.
-Although it’s their first time hunting this Boss Monster, I think the Tower of Light Guild fell too easily.
They did not conceal their disappointment.
Then on the forum, someone posted on the bulletin board after checking out the auction site.
More information on Ray Bard/Hermes Vol 14 Chapter 6
Spoiler :
A conference was held in the early morning concerning Royal Road’s new Public Relations strategy, support for new technologies, and business partners.
Nevertheless, the members of the meeting did not discussed Bard Ray, other high leveled players, or guild leaders. Instead, they focused earnestly on various other important topics.
“Strategist Yoon Young Sil will elaborate. Recently, NPCs from the Kingdom of the Horde have been popular for their cute appearances. I’ve sent documents about character analysis. Did you get a chance to look at them?”
“Yes. We are rushing the production of popular NPCs.”
“More and more users are utilizing the trochet carriage for their vacations. They’re becoming increasingly renowned and well-regarded because of its price, speed, and safety. What do you all think about installing them on resorts?”
“Transportation in the resorts? Whether for mountain climbing, skiing, or golfing, I think it would work out pretty well. I will consider it.”
It was a meeting with light ideas.
The heads of each department ate sandwiches whilst conversing amongst themselves.
As soon as breakfast ended, the atmosphere around supervisor Jang Yoon Soo changed.
“Well.... the external balance of power on Royal Road needs to be examined.”
Department Head Son Il Jang stood up and turned on the screen in the middle of the room.
The territory of each Guild, castle and town were displayed on the map.
“The power in Versailles is split up something like this: Central has 66%, the East 10%, West 8%, South 13%, and North 3%.”
Jang Yoon Soo pointed at flags on the screen which were placed in various places.
“The East is unexpectedly big. There’s a guild occupying the village whose members are impressively high in level.”
“Based on the new users, the kingdoms beyond the plains of despair are blooming, but the Orcs are responsible for the noticeable growth.”
It was a grand sight—races merging together with the emergence of the Orcs, changing the balance of power.
“From the traditional kingdom in the South, there are those who enjoy adventuring using their own strength; in the West, there are only a few players, but, due to the escalating conflicts stemmed from the scarce resources, strong warriors are being born. At this time, the place needs to be focused is the center of the continent.”
Department Head Son Il Jang gestured toward the center of the Versailles continent.
The Kallamore Kingdom and Haven Kingdom were traditionally the powerhouse nations concentrated in the central continent.
“Based on their political economy, the area was perceived to be capable of development. However, the area accumulated overwhelming growth, incomparable with other regions. We must watch out for approximately 149 users.”
Jang Yoon Soo asked in a light tone.
“Yes, how did you decide on those users needed attention?”
“It was determined by the users’ influence and player levels.”
“Then that group must contain a lot of Guild leaders, Nobles and Lords.”
Even supervisor Jang Yoon Soo did not receive materials prior to the conference. Of course, when leaving the conference room research materials could not be taken out. So materials would be distributed at the meeting upon request.
“That’s how it is. Although there are some users who stand out even while playing solo, but in general, their influence is limited. First, take a look at the users in the most prestigious guilds of the continent.”
The members of the meeting took a look at the data of the 149 aforementioned users.Only the rustling of paper could be heard in the silent meeting room.
This information is different from the info spread by the game network. Its been gathered by the Strategy and Systems operation departments, so its highly reliable.
If one was to take a look at the documents, he would see the diversity in both nationalities and genders.
If one particular guild was notably more powerful than the rest, the 5 or 6 guilds which ranked right below the guild will form an alliance against it. In some cases, 10 or more similar sized guilds fought in a single country.
Because of the large number of users in the Versailles continent, this was only natural.
Whenever the balance gets disrupted, the weaker gets absorbed as the winner becomes a little stronger, but when it happens, the stronger side makes more enemies.
There were great wars which would upset such a tenuous balance, but there has yet to be a war so large, the continent itself would be forever changed.
The chief of the company's development department, Ha Yun-Ji, looked doubtful as she read the file and spoke.
“The power of Bard Ray and the Hermes guild seems to be far higher than I expected. What are you basing this on?”
“You’ve asked a very good question.”
All eyes slowly concentrated towards Son Il Jang.
The meeting, itself, had to be treated with the utmost secrecy. Until now, comprehensive ranking reports of all of the users’ activities, like brass trading or quest progression, was shared publicly, even with Unicorn Corporation. However, this special report was only available for a few important, special people to review.
In the report, it is a fact the military, financial, and the productive prowess of the Hermes Guild, as well as their territory and skills, were an overwhelming 5 times greater than the other prestigious guilds of the Haven Kingdom was revealed.
“Bard Ray is an amazing user. Ever since the beginning of the launch of Royal Road, he has been the best, and has established the Hermes Guild. There was a time he fell behind while founding and managing the guild, but he quickly ascended back to the top position. This is probably the first time all of you have been aware of Bard Ray’s level being 447.”
Everyone in the conference room dejectedly nodded their heads.
Bard Ray’s level was a matter of course. But they did not know there were this many 400 level users.
The broadcasting stations and users estimated Bard Ray’s level to be around 410.
However, the truth was he had passed his estimated level, and so had his competitors. While they were not at Bard Ray’s level, it was a disparity which normal users would anguish.
Even the people in the conference room were currently quite shocked at what they saw in the report.
“The users at the apex are quite amazing. Their individual power, not just their levels, but their usage of skills, actual battle senses and their practical ability were way above the grasp of the average user.
The reason the videos of the so-called rankers gained popularity was because they were special. The reason why, during the Joseon era, the warriors emulated those of the Goryeo era was due to their fast and efficient battle system.
In anticipation of the difference in individual skills, they used a new method of hunting monsters.
The sight of them dungeoning or storming a monster fortress was akin to watching a really well-made fantasy action movie.
There was an assassin user who stormed an infamous monster fortress in the Baimar Kingdom alone, and took more than ten lives every night.
After making the monsters feel fear, the user destroyed the castle, and raised his own flag from the highest point in the castle. It was the birth of a new castellan, and, through the video footage, created a large force.
It was not a randomly occurred event, but it was not evident from the video, but it took a lot of preparation beforehand in order to conquer it in one go.
“However their true fears lie elsewhere. While there are users who enjoy going adventuring and fighting alone, most people usually made a guild or occupied a village, and ruled over it. Afterwards, they did not stop at political conspiracies and weakening alliances in order to raise their own influence. Especially in the case of the Hermes Guild, they were open about their methods and means of expanding their power. The Hermes Guild represents half of the competition in the struggle to control the Haven Kingdom. While we learned of this fact due to the inquiry, there are 3~4 guilds who have deep ties with the Hermes Guild among the competitors.”
“...”
It was a guild not based on friendship, but supremacy.
Because of the tremendous value of virtual Versailles Continent, many users were after similar authority.
The directors held their heads in their hands.
“There are a lot of amazing people.”
“It’s enough to give me goosebumps; how were they able to do so much like this?”
Director Kim Han Seo said.
“There is nothing to be too surprised at. We expected this much progress ever since we launched Royal Road.”
“...”
“Didn’t everyone already speculate a virtual reality would create a world which would be reigned with supremacy?”
While they anticipated some of this, the users had bewildered them with their unorthodox behaviors.
On the screen was a battle of the higher tier of users, but it was jaw-dropping. It was so action-packed which seemed as though they were fighting against monsters in a real fantasy world. It was daring, keen as a blade, and showed unparalleled skills and usage of their respective abilities.
Originally, they thought it would only be a few particularly powerful or focused users, but in reality, there were quite a number of extremely talented ambitious users!
They were lost for words at Royal Road; the world that they created.
“It is a new world. This is how we must now look upon Royal Road. And no matter what the ruler of Versailles is like, or whatever he does, he is invariably interconnected with us, and thus, we must keep a close eye out. This is the goal for our meeting.”
The members of the meeting nodded their heads while listening to Kim Han Seo.
Son Il Jang repeated.
“Bard Ray and other top level users do not release all the information they have to the broadcasters and media stations. If you look at the publicly released data, they’ve limited it so that users will not feel too unnerved about seemingly unreachable heights.”
Director Jang Yoon Soo groaned.
“I really want to recruit them into Department of Advertisements.”
The public appraisal of Bard Ray, he was a user who easily the supporting foundation of the guild.
Information on the current command structure of Hermes (Ray Bard and the SS) Vol 17 Chapter 10
Spoiler :
Steer was an assassin in the Hermes guild. It was his responsibility to keep an eye on the latest trends in the Versailles continent.
“… The possibility that the northern Lord of Morata is Jeonshin Weed is high.”
Steer needed to report this important matter to the top. Bard Ray was currently hunting in the Kingdom of Haven’s dungeon, Chubenin. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was drenched in monsters. In the Kingdom of Haven and even throughout the rest of Versailles continent, it was known as one of the best and toughest hunting grounds. Bard Ray had his guild chat turned off. So Steer whispered to one of the many shamans that hunted with him.
“What do you want Steer?”
A loaded question. Bard Ray spent most of his time hunting. No one wanted to be the one to stop him. Steer sighed.
“I want to get all the guild personnel together for a meeting. Tell us Bard Ray’s position so we can come meet him in the dungeon.”
Thirty players from the Hermes guild went into the dungeon. All of their levels were over 360 because this dungeon was filled with high-level monsters that never seemed to end. A total of five people were killed by the end of the twist and turns they took to reach Bard Ray. Bard Ray and 12 SS were resting and maintaining their weapons. A foul odor hung around the area from the monster corpses lying around. (T/N: SS are the guild members that hunt with Bard Ray, it’s explained later on as well)
“Bard Ray-nim.”
“Steer. What have you come so far for?”
“To report that thing.”
Bard Ray’s face filled with curiosity. He was armed from head to toe with the finest and strongest items Versailles continent had to offer.
“Jeonshin Weed.”
“Weed…”
Bard Ray nodded.
“Here is his story so far. He is known to have recently revealed himself to be the Lord of Morata. Of course, you already knew this part right? But there are many points that you do not know.”
“What points?”
“It has been estimated that the user Weed started in the Rosenheim Kingdom about a year and a half ago. What I don’t really understand is that his second job is a sculptor.”
“Second job?”
“Given his combat skills, it’s assumed that his real profession is not that of a sculptor. It’s more like a hobby. Still, he has created several masterpieces that have created a stir around the continent.”
With sculpture as a hobby, he created masterpieces such as the Tower of Light, The Sphinx, and statues of the Goddess Freya!
“Ohhh wow.”
“He has a sculptor as a side job? Look at the sculptures he’s made so far! I’m completely impressed.”
Those types of words floated out from Bard Rays’ companions.
“That reminds me, can’t he be referred to as a junior?”(T/N: He started later than they did)
“Him, the one from CoM?”
“He was revealed to be the top player about six months after we left.”
“He was certainly king in Continent of Magic for a quite a long time.”
The SS happily conversed. They were all acquainted with each other through Continent of Magic. They were all from famous castles that had dominated in the Continent of Magic! Bard Ray was the lord of the best castle in the Continent of Magic.
“Talking about this feels nostalgic.”
“Why don’t we wrap this up, leave the dungeon and get some fresh air. We have the advantage now, so we should act soon.”
“I wouldn’t mind going back but… We were having a lot of fun there.”
Being a castle lord meant you were subjected to ugly wars and power struggles. Many of the castle lords had banded together. As Continent of Magic continued to decline, many of it’s users were gathering in Royal Road. There were users in every region of the continent. Many of them were still sensitive over losing their fame and castles in CoM. The lord of a castle gained a huge amount of items, and a substantial monthly income. The amount was measly compared to a regular office worker’s salary. Earning money! There were many dark gamers that were Lords. There were many previous Lords from CoM in Royal Road seeking to gain what they had lost. That was how the Hermes guild came about.
“Weed became tremendously famous right after we left.”
“Remember that quest we gave up on, the Island Labyrinth? The one where we asked Ivan Fort and they said, ‘We also gave up on that one.’ It was really scary.”
“Well, Weed managed to complete that quest.”
Bard Ray grinned while listening to the conversation of the SS. The Hermes guild had a strict command structure, and only the toughest could command. But the SS not only prevailed, they dominated. Bard Ray was the Lord of the castle and the ringleader of the SS, which established the Hermes guild. They were the strongest users and through a series of agreements, they were set up as the rulers of the guild.
The Hermes guild had gone through a number of changes early on. If the SS and Bard Ray saw an opportunity, they seized it faster than anybody else in the competition. To be a successful Lord, one must know when to act and when to hold back. Bard Ray’s sense of judgement was very quick. He had gained very high standing and influence. The Hermes guild, whose core members were part of one the best guilds in Continent of Magic, had obtained information on Weed through various sources.
“Weed in Continent of Magic….”
Bard Ray made a face like he was getting a long awaited prize. It was strange because he often looked expressionless.
“Steer.”
“Yes Bard Ray-nim.”
“Keep your eye on the north.”
“All right.”
“You don’t need to do anything else.”
“What did you say?”
Steers face flashed white.
If a person showed even the slightest hint of rebellion, the Hermes guild would squash them with extreme prejudice. The Killer-Blade army of assassins played an important role in this. They would brutally slash through combat troops, burn down towns and villages and invade castles. They would not hesitate.
‘It is definitely not worth it. No one wants those hyenas to be snapping at their heels.’ Is what Steer was thinking, but Bard Ray nodded his head.
“Daymond’s Resurrection Army is pointed in our direction. We will soon be facing it.”
The forces of the Resurrection Army had been significantly weakened. But even with that, there was movement beyond the fortress of Odin. The Central continent was rapidly shrinking. With the Resurrection Army on the loose, no army can last long in the Central continent. The North still didn’t have a strong kingdom to aim at yet. In that respect, Weed had a desirable position. Weed had also made a big contribution to stopping Daymond by completing the Matallost quest.
“Weed is famous,” Bard Ray said, “but it is a fleeting type reputation that would disappear with one loss.”
Power expansion through high level and hunting skills! Bard Ray had gone on TV merely for one purpose. To demonstrate his power and high level.
‘He’s scary’
Fear was what made other users submit to him.