Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Warrior Creates a New Training Method
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A few days after the era of the Great Coins dawned.
After hearing about the Abyss Coin, a massive number of factions converged on Laiter to enter the Abyss Depths.
And, as expected!
"This area's ours."
"Yeah, get lost."
The locals clashed with the newcomers in the city, and all sorts of chaos broke out.
And even before a single Abyss Coin had surfaced.
Deeds promising to hand over rights to the coin upon acquisition started circulating.
The competition got so cutthroat that in the end, the church stepped in.
But how does a church that worships gods regulate the economy?
It's useless in the information age, but in this era, there's one incredibly simple method.
That method is!!!
"You godless scum!!!"
"Kuhuk!!"
"Uwaaaak!!"
That's right! Just beat them!
On top of that, the church's bat squad was swinging with full permission from the empire and the city, who sensed the crisis from the skyrocketing economy—no one could stop them!
And if the vested interests tried to defy the church to protect their wealth?
'You're excommunicated.'
'Huh?'
Ahh! Yeah! They just had to take the beating!
With such an obvious bat squad in action.
They managed to drag down the sky-high price of the Abyss Coin.
And anyone daring to manipulate the price of the Abyss Coin—which was still just virtual currency—while the church was moving?
They wouldn't end up in prison later; they'd meet the heavens right then.
As a result, those who came to their senses under the holy bat swings of the priests.
Started trading in a very healthy(?) manner.
In just a few days, the Abyss Coin—which had exceeded 1,000 gold per coin—crashed hard.
"Our dreeeeams!!!"
"GyaAAAAK!!"
"Come on, who buys high and sells low? Haha… hahaha… huwaaaaa!!"
"I mean, right now one coin is worth 378 gold, right? Who'd buy at 362? It's obviously heading to 246—buying now is a loss~ Huh? Currently 645 gold per coin? It's 317 right now?"
Of course, penny stock owners popped up in this era too, but the coin was still ridiculously expensive!
Because of that, people who hadn't professionally trained in combat heard the rumors of the pricey Abyss Coin.
And they abandoned their trades to shove their heads into the dungeon!
"Uwaaaak!!"
"Y-you want us to break through this?!"
"Pip?"
"Huh?"
After that, farmers, merchants, fishermen, herbalists, and all sorts came to the dungeon. But this was a place even world-saving heroes could end up if they slipped.
Their fates were sealed.
Plus, there was someone watching these utterly ordinary folks die in the dungeon.
In the most pathetic ways imaginable.
"Kraaaak! My eyes!!!!"
M-my god!!
These newbies were even worse than the previous batch!!
What in the world was going on?
How could they not even react to arrows flying right at them!!
To think there were players with such trash control!
"My eyeeeees!!!"
Uguuuuh! My eyes are rotting, but I can guess why these guys rushed in here.
One of the short-cut takers I killed recently took a merchandise catalog with him.
That dude must've spread the rumors far and wide!
But weaklings like that swarming in?
S-something feels off….
No!
This world is a game with insane freedom like reality!
In high-freedom games like this, there are combat-focused players.
But there are always players who want other content!
So those guys' identities are!!
"Tch… Looks like all the herbivore NPCs and players have flocked here too."
That's right! They're the herbivores—NPCs and players!
***************
Typical RPGs with any degree of freedom.
Divide into carnivores who love PVP and combat.
Herbivores who do some combat but prefer farming, blacksmithing, etc., building wealth like in a tycoon game.
And omnivores who want both.
Thanks to that, player-to-player trading cycles emerge in-game.
And the economy starts rolling.
But there's one case where these boundaries shatter….
"This merchandise catalog stuff must be worth that much, huh?"
When one side goes belly-up, the lines blur!
Players normally chase fun while avoiding losses.
Say you fight monsters for an hour and net 10 profit.
But over there, an hour of farming nets 20?
Would players keep fighting?
If everyone farms, the game enters a great agrarian era.
And everyone turns herbivore!
The reverse happens too.
Because of my dungeon's merchandise catalog, herbivore players judged combat profits too high, ditched their hoes, and picked up weapons!
Which means….
"I should wait."
I'll just check in occasionally.
And turned off the feed.
Huh? Shouldn't I fix this?
No no~
Anyone who's played an MMORPG once knows.
When carnivores swarm like this!
Demand spikes for combat potions, buff foods, and such.
Prices soar.
But few herbivores left?
Supply drops, and herbivore goods balloon in price.
Plus, the pretend-carnivore herbivores must've realized by now.
"""How the hell do you clear this!!!"""
That no matter how many hours they grind here, they can't reach a dungeon rest area to use or gain resources!
You think herbivores can instantly match veteran carnivore control?
Especially when players control their own bodies?
So those herbivores will never profit in my dungeon.
In the end, all sorts pile up!
And the die-hard herbivores rake in massive gains!
The fake carnivores, seeing farmers thrive, will think:
'Ah… I shouldn't have come.'
'I should've just kept making potions.'
'Crazy! That player's already bought a house?!"
'Clumsy?! Me, ME! Clumsy??!!'
That's right!! HODL always wins!!
Seeing extreme herbivores profit big, the others will slink back.
Carnivores don't profit on easy mode either.
Herbivores know it takes serious effort.
The longer it goes, the less they'll touch this place.
"Game devs don't intervene lightly in cases like this for a reason."
In MMORPGs, when players scream for nerfs on one side.
Devs hesitate to step in because of this.
Why? Time triggers a 'self-correction' in the economy.
Unless it's extreme, they can't move!
So I'll wait for the players' self-correction.
Meanwhile, I'll use these ballooning coins to make training gear.
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Lately, the quality of players and NPCs entering the dungeon plummeted.
No one even passes the first room.
Herbivores are straight-up griefing.
Pip! Pip!
Pip pip pip pip!
"Uwaaaak! Why's that still active!!"
"Who stepped on it agaaaain!!!"
"Damn it! It blew up again!!"
Oh right, I didn't remove that.
And with headcount constantly exceeding limits, giant iron balls roll.
Or they dodge a trap, but trailing herbivores trigger it, wiping both.
For some reason, I swear I can hear carnivore rage at herbivores building up from here.
"Bro Balrak, whatcha up to?"
"Oh, lil' Peri! You're here! Good to see you're sticking to the 8-hour shifts."
"Honestly, staying longer wouldn't hurt…."
"Never bet your life on work. Even if it's tied to your dreams, rest when you need to. The golem covers for you anyway."
I asked the skeleton merchant to install a clock in the dungeon rest area synced to outside time.
So based on that, five hours a day!
I recommended four days a week to lil' Peri.
But he loves wiping cups daily or researching recipes.
So he works freely, but no more than eight hours.
"You're right. And I gotta keep getting stronger too. Wanna spar today?"
"That sounds good, but lil' bro, got any training or workouts you've been wanting lately? I'm about to make gear beyond those iron pillars."
"You're making training gear? Hmm… Cardio's the biggest issue, right? Sure, the gravity belt you got me handles intensity, but it's so boring."
Cardio, huh….
Honestly, same for me.
Ever heard of someone at the gym running on a treadmill without music or distractions?
Unless they're grinding iron for family revenge.
Long runs are that boring.
So… gotta make it fun! Only way!
Kuuuuk!
"You called, Balrak?"
"Skeleton merchant!! Can you install the magic bullet traps from the third room—my boss room—here!"
"Huh? Th-those here?"
"Upgraded dozens of times over!"
The third-room magic bullets are slow enough for normals to dodge.
But! Upgrade to dozens of times faster!
Pew pew pew pew pew!!
"Yes!! This is it!! Skeleton merchant! Activate the rest!"
"Y-yes sir!"
Soon, excluding the blue ones that destroy others.
Ratios adjusted for colored magic bullets.
And they rained down on me like a storm.
"Whoa… this'll actually be fun, huh?"
"You think? Nah, suits us martial artists."
"Kariyan, you should try…."
"Absolutely not."
Tch, wanna drag the skeleton merchant into fitness too.
But he won't bite.
True orthodox mage—hates moving.
"Something gave me chills. Just my imagination?"
"Yeah, imagination! Alright, I'm done!"
"Your turn now, bro?"
"Yup! Crank the difficulty with the gravity belt!"
"Ooooh!! Can't wait!"
Heh heh, genius brain strikes again.
Dodge the bullet storm non-stop.
Counter different colors too—no boredom!
Boost intensity with gravity belt.
Or faster bullets!
This is supreme training, number two!
One of the absolute best methods!
And this ain't the last!!!
"Balraaak!! Like this?!"
"Ooooh!! That's it!! Exactly thiiiis!!"
"Whoa… those bullets scattering so beautifully… and the music's great!"
Some famous bullet hell shooter.
Scatters these in boss phases like art!
Add killer BGM?
Kuhuhu~ Cardio perfection!
Trains reaction speed, wide vision, multitasking!
Supreme training indeed!