Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Lord of Kramis (2)
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It was a choice that required no thought.
“I must decline.”
“Do you have someone you left behind in your hometown?”
His question brought Tae-soo and the members of the Golden Lion Guild to mind.
They would have answered yes.
“That’s not exactly it. I’ve been alone since I was young…”
But I wasn’t like them.
“Then why…?”
The Lord Almondeu looked as if he didn’t understand.
“Is it because you haven’t been properly informed of the lord’s privileges? Within Kramis, the lord can do anything…”
“I don’t need an explanation. It’s because I have no intention of stopping just yet.”
To be honest, I didn’t dislike this world of Elsia all that much.
I was flustered at first, but it was surprisingly livable.
In fact, aside from a few minor things, life in Elsia was better than it had been on the outside.
I wasn’t sure how great being a lord was, but in Kramis, it was probably as good as being a king.
But could being a lord be as good as my traits?
I didn’t think so.
Above all, I hadn’t even faced a real challenge yet. It made no sense to give up here.
Giving up without even trying wasn’t my style.
“Is that so? I suppose all Pioneers are the same.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“A friend of mine was just like you. He never stopped.”
I worried for a moment that he might be offended and penalize me in some way, but thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case.
“Excuse me, but did your friend happen to reach the 100th floor?”
“Well, that I do not know. We naturally grew distant after he chose not to stop.”
“Still, you could find out news of him if you wanted…”
“I believe he said he reached the 95th floor, but I lost contact with him after that. Personally, I like to think my friend reached the 100th floor and returned to where he came from.”
His expression was lonely, suggesting they had been quite close.
“I’m sure he did.”
“Well, he could have died along the way. In any case, since you’ve refused my offer, I will give you a mission.”
[Mission from the Lord of Kramis
Defeat the 50th Floor Boss, Blakey.
Reward: 100,000 Contribution Points. 1x Selection Ticket for the Lord of Kramis’s Vault.]
The 50th floor boss?
“Wait…”
“What is it? Have you already defeated it?”
“No, not yet…”
“Then there’s no problem. If you’ve decided to keep climbing, you must keep moving forward, no?”
He had a point, but I hadn’t even gotten my class advancement yet…
“Are you not confident?”
“That’s not it.”
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t worried at all, but I was different now from the person who had first gone to the 50th floor because of Bio.
****
When I left the castle after my talk with the lord, Tae-soo was waiting for me.
He was curious about the lord, so I gave him a brief summary.
“To think you can stop at the 50th floor…”
He looked very surprised and was lost in thought for a long time without a word.
I found it unexpected, as I thought he wouldn’t think too deeply about it since the Golden Lion Guild’s top priority was to return home.
“Is there a problem?”
“Ah, of course, I have no intention of giving up, but with an offer like this, I feel like a lot of people might choose to stop…”
“But wouldn’t people capable of reaching the 50th floor be able to earn enough to pay the taxes?”
“They would, but don’t the taxes increase every year? Besides, it’s not like we’re just earning money. We’re risking our lives for it.”
He had a point.
From my perspective, I had the attendance reward, but others didn’t.
“Perhaps some members of the federation might quit as well.”
After all, there were people like those in the Silver Wolf Guild who blatantly prioritized their influence in Elsia over clearing the labyrinth.
“Not just the federation, but probably our Golden Lion Guild too. People are bound to get exhausted as they keep climbing.”
Indeed… they couldn’t have reached the 42nd floor without some sacrifices.
“Thanks for telling me.”
“Don’t mention it. In that case, it would be best not to tell others about this.”
“Oh, would you do that?”
“Besides the Golden Lion Guild, I don’t know anyone else anyway.”
They would find out naturally upon reaching the 50th floor, but there was no need to cause confusion by telling them now.
It was getting to be lunchtime, so I had lunch with Tae-soo at a nearby restaurant before we parted ways.
I had to go to the labyrinth again tomorrow.
I stopped by the general store to buy a few necessary items and returned to Kabisa.
In the lobby, I asked them to prepare food for my trip to the labyrinth tomorrow morning.
“Understood. However, your lodging period will end after you return from the labyrinth tomorrow. Would you like to extend…”
A month had already passed.
“Extend it for a month… no, just for one day, the last day of this month. And then from the 10th to the 20th of next month.”
Unlike the labyrinth at the beginning of the month, the one at the end of the month didn’t have a ten-day break.
After going to the labyrinth from the 21st to the 30th, the entry period would open again after just one day.
I had the 30% Pioneer discount and a long-term stay discount, but there was no need to waste money.
“Understood. That’s 11 days for a total of 220 gold, with a 10% discount for staying over 10 days, that’s 198 gold…”
“Does the Pioneer discount not apply?”
The discount had been applied at the general store I visited earlier.
I was pretty sure it included facilities…
“Ah, are you a Pioneer? Then please allow me to confirm.”
The employee took out a crystal orb from a shelf under the counter.
Just as I had at the Mage Tower and the Lord’s Castle, I placed my hand on the crystal orb to complete the verification process.
“With a total discount of 40%, that will be 132 gold.”
Even with the discount, it was over 100 gold.
It wasn’t a small amount, but there was no place in Kramis like Kabisa.
I took out the gold to pay, but huh?
The employee took out a white key and offered it to me.
“What’s this?”
“The owner of Kabisa has instructed us to upgrade the room for any Pioneer who visits. From today, you will be using the Royal Suite.”
Oh, if I had known about this benefit, I would have mentioned it sooner.
To be honest, I had no complaints about the Premium Suite I was currently using.
It was more than spacious and nice enough for one person.
Even Tae-soo, who had visited once, said he wanted to live there.
“If you have any luggage, we can move it right…”
“Ah, I have no luggage, so it’s fine. By the way, is the owner of Kabisa perhaps…”
“He is the Lord of Kramis, Duke Almondeu Syupereuteu.”
So Kabisa belonged to the lord as well.
The facilities, service, and prices were on a completely different level from other places.
I took the key and went up to the 7th floor.
The Royal Suite, true to its name, was located on the top floor.
I had seen it while using the lounge, so I found the room right away without getting lost.
[Room 701]
The door itself was made of marble, large enough to be four times my size.
When I inserted the key into the keyhole, it made a clicking sound and the doors slid open to either side.
Wow, it was truly breathtaking.
The furniture and design were similar to the room I had been using, and the size was comparable, but there were doors everywhere.
Just how many rooms were there?
There were three bedrooms, a swimming pool, a garden space with trees and plants, a minibar stocked with all sorts of alcohol, and even the bathroom had a wooden tub that gave off a pleasant fragrance.
I hadn’t realized one tier could make such a huge difference.
*As expected of the highest class,* I thought, lying down on the bed.
The one I had been using was great, but this one felt like it was molded to my body.
A pleasant scent wafted from it as well.
I wonder if a room like this costs around 30 gold a night?
It was a shame I had to go to the labyrinth tomorrow.
Drowsiness began to creep in, but I decided to do one last check of my inventory. Wait a minute, I’ve collected them all.
I had ten Orbs of Traits.
I had bought nine from the VIP shop, but I’d bought so many things that I’d forgotten.
I couldn’t use the Summoner’s Shop inside the labyrinth, so it was a good thing I checked. I immediately accessed it.
“Hello, Hyeon-ung.”
“I’ve collected ten Orbs of Traits.”
“Oh? Really?”
I took out ten orbs from my inventory and held them out.
“It’s true. These are hard to come by…”
The assistant quickly snatched them up. With a flick of her hand, the small orbs glowed and merged into one.
“Congratulations. If you place your hand on the orb, you can acquire a new trait.”
Thankfully, it was just as I expected.
I asked if this trait would also be related to my job or abilities from my original reality, but she said that wasn’t the case.
“However, it’s fundamentally designed so that you won’t get a trait that doesn’t suit the ones you already possess.”
“Oh, really?”
“It would be a problem if you went to all the trouble of collecting them only to get a trait that doesn’t match your growth path, wouldn’t it?”
Ugh, how could she only say the right things?
Elsia truly was a god-tier game.
If such a mechanism existed, it was worth getting my hopes up. I placed my hand on the orb.
A blue light flashed from my body, and the orb disappeared.
“Huh? Did it work?”
“Yes. Go ahead and check.”
No notification window appeared, which startled me for a moment, but then I remembered that I hadn’t gotten one when I first acquired my traits either.
‘Status.’
[Oh Hyeon-ung - Cycle 34
Level: 21
Class: None
Titles: Pioneer, Gold Lycanthrope Slayer
Strength: 126 / Magic: 103 / Stamina: 134 / Agility: 124 / Luck: 96
Stat Points: 21
Traits: Failed Game Master (EX), Leader’s Dignity (EX)]
Leader’s Dignity?
No, the new trait aside, my stat values caught my attention even more.
To have these numbers without Bio, without a legendary weapon, and without having used a single stat point yet.
It seemed to be the result of all the equipment I’d recently obtained and the Pioneer +30 effect.
The belt and sword I got from the Silver Wolf Guild’s vice master probably played a part too.
Hoping the trait was a good one, I tapped on Leader’s Dignity.
[Leader’s Dignity (EX)
Increases the stats of guild members by 10% of the trait holder's stats.
The holder's own stats also increase by the number of guild members who have at least one stat higher than the holder's.
(Only applies when the trait holder is the Guild Master.)]
Uh… um?
Didn’t she say unrelated traits were excluded?
“Hyeon-ung, what’s wrong?”
“Well, I got a trait that doesn’t seem very related… or does it?”
Thinking about it differently, it occurred to me that I might have gotten a stat-related trait because my stats were high for my level.
Hmm, it wasn’t completely useless, but it was a shame it wasn’t a trait that would be immediately effective.
It said my own stats would also increase depending on the condition, but I wasn’t sure if there was anyone who could have even one stat higher than mine.
No, before that, I didn’t even have a guild…
“Hyeon-ung?”
“Is there any way to change this using Jewels?”
“That’s not possible.”
Tch, what a shame, but it couldn’t be helped.
It didn’t seem like I had anything else to do in the Summoner’s Shop, so I returned to reality.
The first thing that came to mind was the Golden Lion Guild. Should I talk to Tae-soo?
But asking him to give up the Guild Master position, not even the Vice Master position, would probably cause a backlash from the existing members.
Revealing my stats would also be a bit problematic.
I’d have to think about how to utilize the trait later. For now, I should finish checking everything else.
I looked through my inventory again. Just pack the food for tomorrow and I’m all set… Huh?
In a corner of my inventory, there was a box I hadn’t seen before.
[Random Item Box
A mysterious box. Who knows what will come out?]
Ah, this must be what I got from the Pioneer benefits.
I had gotten so much that I’d completely forgotten about it.
If I had checked earlier, I could have asked Tae-soo about it.
Anyway, thinking the description was quite simple, I took it out and was startled.
A very familiar light was leaking from the box.
It was the golden glow I’d seen every time I obtained a legendary item.
Was the bad trait draw just a bit of bad luck to be paid forward?
*What a windfall,* I thought, immediately opening the lid.
…?
It was definitely the same light I’d seen every time I got a legendary item, but…
What was in the box wasn’t a piece of equipment, but a small, black egg about the size of my palm.