Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Booming Starting
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However, whether Hayes lamented or not, the march continued, and about an hour later, the Lamb Rounding Brigade arrived at Starting.
“Hunter Lieutenant, you’re back. Your group has grown enormously.”
“It’s the delegation from the Chrome Kingdom and the Hector Kingdom. Here’s the roster.”
“Thank you. Oh, by the way, did you see it?”
Hunter nodded at the guard captain’s words, who exuded such a formidable aura that even knights had to tense up.
“The lord’s new pet, right?”
“Yeah. Isn’t it absolutely massive? I thought it was a legendary dragon! Up close, my legs were shaking... Ah! I’ve held you too long. Pass through!”
With his shout, the guards stepped aside, and the Lamb Rounding Brigade and the delegation passed through the gates. The moment they entered Starting, everyone in the delegation let out groans.
“Ah...”
“No, this is...”
“It can’t be...”
Before their eyes, stretching straight through the city from the south gate, lay a grand boulevard.
Perfectly straight buildings as if measured with a ruler, clean bricks paving the ground, streetlamps embedded at intervals, and occasional buildings over five stories tall.
The city was as wondrous as the walls seen from outside. The buildings, roads, and walls all had a unified design, as if crafted by a single architect.
“How could a city like this appear out of nowhere...”
“It’s more prosperous than Gimail...”
But what truly astonished them wasn’t the city itself—it was the people inside.
“Try our skewers! Starting skewers with alternating meat and potatoes slathered in special sauce!”
“Hot herbal tea for sale!”
“Roasted corn! First harvest since the farm started!”
People bustled about, calling out energetically to attract customers. This phenomenon arose because most of Starting’s free markets were clustered near the gates.
The deeper into the castle’s central area, the stricter the residency requirements became, filled with [directly operated stores] that ordinary folk could never compete with. So the markets mainly served those entering or leaving the castle, selling sundries and food.
“Full of life.”
“The commoners’ faces are plump. I heard food was abundant, but...”
“Not a single beggar in sight. No thugs either...”
“Their clothes are clean. Most are wearing fine leather garments.”
The delegation murmured as they followed the soldiers. The Lamb Rounding Brigade stopped at a supply depot on one side of the boulevard, as per their original mission.
Unbeknownst to the delegation, the brigade was transporting far more goods than they imagined. Their [real] cargo was in their inventories—50 kilograms per person.
They had wild boar hindquarters from Wild Boar Castle via Starting, and from Blue Hammer Castle: goblin battle hammers (common), thick cotton clothes (common), necklaces of stamina (advanced), and more.
The thick cotton clothes were especially popular in the cooler northern regions and dropped frequently as common items, filling their inventories to the brim.
What they loaded on carts or carried on backs were only non-item goods that couldn’t fit in inventories.
“You bastard! Are you insulting me right now?”
At that moment, Chrome’s knight Dalton erupted in anger.
His intimidating presence didn’t faze the man in front at all.
“Pardon? Why would I insult you, sir knight?”
“You just tried to rip me off! Daring to bully a knight?”
Hayes rushed over at the sudden commotion, having been scanning the surroundings.
“Dalton! You idiot. Didn’t I tell you not to cause a scene?”
“B-but, Captain! This lowly commoner insulted me!”
“What insult?”
“Well, 27 gold for one skewer!”
“...What?”
Even Hayes, about to scold Dalton, faltered. It was an absurd price.
27 gold?
One gold coin could buy a decent meal even in the capital. That was due to the capital’s high prices; in the outskirts, it covered three meals.
Considering Han Jaeyeon once equated 1 gold to about 10,000 won, this vendor was charging 270,000 won for a skewer.
By frontier standards, up to 800,000 won!
“You understand, right? This isn’t troublemaking. I’ll smash this punk’s face right now...”
“Ah! Handsome Sergeant, come on in.”
“Hmm~ Smells great today. How much for this special skewer?”
“34 gold. You came right when the seasoning soaked in perfectly.”
“Always a treat.”
Clink!
A man in leather clothes paid with three platinum coins and four gold coins, took his skewer, and strode cheerfully down the boulevard.
“...”
“...”
The two knights stared blankly. The vendor waved them off.
“If you’re not buying, quit making noise and leave. If it’s expensive, don’t buy it. I’m not forcing you...”
In the end, they were chased away from the street vendor.
They couldn’t help but feel bewildered.
“What... what is this?”
“Platinum coins for a street skewer...”
They were confused, but this was actually a natural progression.
Inflation.
The value of gold coins had completely changed since monsters appeared. Unlike the old days of mining gold and minting coins specially, now gold dropped from killing monsters.
Jaeyeon encouraged dungeon clears, but even without that, soldiers—and most healthy people—grinded dungeons relentlessly.
Dungeons yielded food, clothes, experience, and skills.
Of course, plenty of overconfident fools died in the process, but as攻略 systems solidified and elite soldiers increased, mortality rates dropped.
People realized repeating low-tier dungeons was more profitable than overreaching high-tier ones.
Four people clearing a common dungeon once netted over 15,000 gold including rewards. Split four ways, but repeatable.
Gold flooding the market was inevitable.
“Prices... these prices are beyond imagination. Insane.”
“250 gold for one night’s stay!”
Knights who’d briefly scouted the city gathered, faces pale. Hayes raised a hand to calm them.
“Didn’t you already see gold dropping from monsters? Not entirely unexpected.”
“But, but this is ridiculous! What, killing 10,000 monsters a day?”
They were all nobles. That meant the wealthy elite, holding the most gold.
Now, gold’s value had plummeted to 1/50th... no, at least 1/100th. The coins they’d desperately hoarded while fleeing monsters were now pocket change.
Painful.
Enough to drive one mad.
Like investing when a coin hit 100 million won, only for it to crash to 1 million days later—time to speed to the Han River.
‘Trouble.’
Hayes realized she stood at a pivotal moment in history.
Nobles were nobles because of their assets. Land, force, wealth.
But now, all that was turning to dust. Land, power, riches.
And at the center was him.
One Bronze Sword.
‘No, would he cling to that name now?’
A derogatory title from bandits’ use of bronze weapons. Royals and nobles, unable to deny him a title due to the fallen noble guardian of the vein, bestowed it as a slight.
Nobles expected vassal duties, but to her, it was laughable.
‘But if he rejects other nobles’ offers?’
Then they’d unite to eliminate him.
Punish him for breaking the absolute noble oath. Every faction and nation’s nobles, baring teeth yesterday, would ally.
As in centuries of Ardania history, they’d destroy him.
‘However.’
A doubt struck Hayes.
She recalled the beast with gleaming white scales, dragon-like.
And Han riding its back.
‘Even if they all unite... could they defeat Han?’
* * *
[Kasim roars!]
One line of text.
-Roaaarrrr-------- Ang!
A massive wave of light swept away all incoming monsters.
Thud thud thud!
Crash!
Clink! Clink!
Gold coins and items rained down like precipitation! But in about five seconds, it all vanished. Kasim’s auto-item collection ability.
“Ah... too good. This slaps, for real.”
Kasim’s satisfaction soared sky-high. Loving it so much, he bolted from Starting every 12-hour cooldown of Divine Roar to sweep nearby monsters.
“I-I’m a Brave from Adventure Kingdom!”
A shout from below.
“What?”
Looking down, a knight leading about 3,000 civilians and 1,000 soldiers gazed up in awe.
“W-who are you?”
“I’m Han Jaeyeon, guild master of Han Guild and lord of Starting Castle.”
I’d ditched Bronze Sword Castle and reclaimed my name. No point keeping that haughty title when nations were collapsing.
Sure, the ordeal to earn that cursed name and territory stung, but circumstances changed.
“Starting...! That massive castle in Red X Territory!”
“...How do you know that?”
This wasn’t near Starting. No large monster packs remained near my territory.
I’d flown hundreds of kilometers—yet this guy knew Starting?
“I heard rumors. A castle called Starting in the north, where even beggars are plump from abundant food, equality reigns, and anyone can rest easy in paradise...”
“Paradise, huh.”
I chuckled in disbelief, but thinking it over, not far off.
Refugees had briefly destabilized security, but elite patrols and jailing thugs for labor stabilized it.
“I-I didn’t believe it. Thought it was false hope, but...”
The Brave glanced at Kasim, voice trembling.
“Maybe it’s real.”
“Tch. Hold on.”
I logged in and out repeatedly to distribute wild boar hindquarters enough for 4,000 hearty meals.
Raw meat, but plenty of wood around—they’d grill it.
“Th-this... heavens... even that rumor was true?”
“Shut up and bring the wounded.”
I gathered the injured and fed them bean rice cakes (common). Their recovery boost was meager, but a godsend for the lightly hurt.
‘Ah, my hoarded rice cakes are dwindling... Food event soon, probably.’
Finishing up, I remounted Kasim.
“No place to go? Head northeast straight to Starting. Not sure about paradise, but livable.”
“Th-thank you! But straight through this remote wilderness full of beasts...”
“Cleared them all. Don’t worry.”
Wrapping up, I patted Kasim’s back. He crouched low, head nearly touching ground. Power surged in his log-like legs.
Boom!
Violent takeoff! People below collapsed in shock.
“Th-thank you!”
Ignoring the cries, I flew north. Could use return scrolls, but no rush—wasteful.
Above all, riding Kasim was fun!
Kasim was a mount pet! His trait [Mount—Ruler of the Skies (Legendary)] boosted flight speed insanely; this colossal bulk covered 100 km in 30 minutes.
Stamina endless—no mid-flight rests!
“Ah, but it’s too good—becomes a problem.”
Kasim was so overpowered, gifting him to anyone was impossible. Worlds apart from sharing rare hero jobs with trusted subordinates.
No joke... against humans, hit-and-run could topple a nation.
Such power to any subordinate tipped the balance disastrously.
‘Secretly give to Steelstone and limit secret use?’
But even trusty Steelstone was risky. Divine Roar was lethal—even I’d die if caught off-guard.
I trust Steelstone, but... others knowing would swarm him, shaking loyalties.
‘But shelving it is such a waste...’
Clinging to flying Kasim, lost in thought.
“Ah, actually, there’s a way, but man...”
As I said, options existed. Neither gifting nor shelving—a third path.
“Not greed, just... unavoidable.”
Yes. I had a method.
Collect four Kasims like this.
Synthesize them.