Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Ch. 40 .｡.:✧ A Big Catch ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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I had forgotten while only clearing black star dungeons recently, but red star dungeons were also insanely dangerous.
Even mercenaries were extremely cautious when exploring a new dungeon.
Nevertheless, the fact that a red star was attached meant there was always at least one wtf pattern.
With extreme strength and insane level reaction speed, it was possible to single-handedly break through a red star dungeon with just these two conditions.
“Now go, Undemon.”
“…Huh?”
I wondered if Undecided satisfied all those conditions. I was quite looking forward to it.
When I lightly pushed Undecided’s back, her puzzled gaze turned to me.
What are you looking at, dude?
Advance forward.
Then you’ll know how strong you are.
“You’re not scared, are you?”
“…Not. Scared.”
Undecided gripped Blin’s Wooden Club (Enhancement +1) tightly and stepped forward. Anyone could tell she was scared.
Her pupils trembled.
Her hands and feet shook.
Strange.
I thought she wasn’t scared before even when a pack of Fenrir bared their fangs and rushed at her.
After 5 minutes of advancing forward. We soon arrived at a room full of orcs.
‘Is this the Weak Point trait?’
[Trait: Weak Point]
[You can see the weaknesses of monsters. It is effective against all types of monsters.]
When I focused a little, red marks appeared on the orcs’ heads and chests. They disappeared when I unfocused.
I already knew the orcs’ weaknesses well, so I didn’t need it, but it would be very useful later.
Especially when fighting the Four Heavenly Kings.
“Ugh?”
“…Eek.”
Undecided, who encountered the orc horde, stopped.
I was ready to jump out and help at any time, watching from behind a rock.
But the orcs just glanced at Undecided and turned their backs again. They showed no hostility.
‘As expected, she’s classified as a monster.’
Unless a specific trigger was touched or she attacked first, there was no way a monster would attack Undecided first.
I had already confirmed that in the battle with Belphegor.
It meant I could use Undecided for surprise attacks when challenging a somewhat difficult dungeon.
‘Will it work even against the final boss?’
I suddenly had that thought.
I imagined giving Undecided a huge weapon and having her strike the final boss with a guaranteed first hit.
Of course, it was just my imagination.
Even Belphegor immediately counterattacked when he saw Undecided attacking.
He would probably recognize Undecided as an enemy the second time we met.
If the final boss Draken had intelligence, that trick wouldn’t work on him.
“…Huff.”
When Undecided rubbed the ring on her right hand, light rippled from the mana stone. And immediately after, red light flashed in Undecided’s eyes, and her small body shot up into the sky in an instant.
“Guek!”
Smack!
The wooden club exploded, and the orc’s head crumpled like soft glutinous rice cake.
It was a power hard to believe came from that small frame.
As soon as one orc fell, the other orcs noticed the abnormality and immediately attacked Undecided, but…
“Gurk!”
“Kyak!”
Bam.
Smack.
Bam.
Their clubs only cut through empty air.
Undecided was already moving at a speed surpassing the orcs’ dynamic vision, smashing their heads.
Seeing this, orcs might look like slowpokes, but that’s not actually the case.
Orcs have huge bodies, tough hides, and monstrous strength, yet they’re as agile as humans.
That’s why all dungeons with orcs have 5 stars.
Even the most skilled mercenaries need at least five people to distract and ping-pong aggro to catch an orc.
Hunting not just one, but several such orcs alone was already proof that her combat power had surpassed the level of mercenaries.
“…I. Got them all.”
Undecided, who had exterminated the orc horde and stood on their corpses, made a V-sign.
When she was trembling in fear, she now had a completely smug expression.
I didn’t think she would be this strong.
I just thought it would be enough if she could take care of annoying small fry in my place.
But if it’s like this, the story is different.
Maybe I can even entrust my back to her.
The key is whether I can trust that blood ghoul kid…
“…Yoo-jin. Praise.”
“Well done, dude.”
I had to trust her.
If it wasn’t for Undecided, I wouldn’t have escaped being a corpse in the underground dungeon of Cologne.
“What is this?”
It had been about a month since we left Basel.
It felt like not much time had passed, but when we returned, an unfamiliar sight greeted us.
Instead of the crumbling workshop signs, they had been replaced with shiny new ones.
Both inside and outside were crowded with people.
For a moment, I was confused whether this was a mana stone processing workshop or a trending cafe on SNS.
The people in line were each holding large safes or boxes.
Judging by how they were thoroughly guarding them with escort knights or slaves, it seemed each one of them had come to entrust the highest-grade mana stones.
It really seemed like the highest-grade mana stones from all over the continent were gathering here…
What on earth happened to my little craftsman in just a month?
I should be happy that my exclusive craftsman became famous, but I felt an inexplicable bitterness.
“Hey! What are you trying to cut in line for! Go to the back, the back!”
“That’s right! We’ve been waiting for 8 hours now!”
“Commoner. You came to the wrong place. This line leads to Tay the Craftsman’s exclusive reception counter. If it’s not the highest-grade mana stone, go to the general counter.”
As soon as I tried to enter, complaints poured out from all over.
Everyone seemed to have waited for a long time, with their nerves on edge.
I felt a bit sorry about this.
“I’m sorry. I got in the wrong line.”
“Yeah. Don’t snoop around strange places and go where you belong…”
“Tay!”
“Huh? Investor!”
Just then, I spotted Tay passing by inside and called out to her.
Tay turned to look this way with a tired face, and her eyes suddenly widened upon seeing me.
She seemed startled, turning her face red and looking in a mirror to fix her bangs.
Then she looked at me again and gestured for me to come inside.
“Come in, Investor! You brought a mana stone, right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Customers waiting for reception, I’m really sorry! It seems the production will be delayed by a day each! Please keep that in mind!”
“What is this…!”
Escorted by the workshop staff, I passed by the faces filled with evident bewilderment and entered inside.
They all seemed angry, but what could they do?
If they were envious, they should have discovered Tay first.
If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t have even known Tay’s name for another six months.
“Wow. It’s luxurious.”
Entering inside, the workshop’s interior that made my mouth drop open was revealed.
It was a spacious workshop filled with all sorts of tools.
It seemed Tay was finally receiving the treatment she deserved, making me feel proud.
“Hehehe, Investor! It’s been so long!”
“…”
“Huh?”
As soon as we entered and the prying eyes disappeared, Tay ran towards me with her arms wide open.
But she stopped, confronted by Undecided who had somehow blocked my way.
“Wh-what?”
“…Slave.”
Eventually, Tay’s gaze turned to me.
It was a slightly disillusioned expression.
She probably never imagined I would own a slave.
“Ah, no. Investor!”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not as clean as you think.”
“Even so, slave play with such a young child is a bit…”
“What did you say? I didn’t hear well.”
“It’s nothing…”
Tay, who had been whispering in a voice like a mouse crawling into a hole, soon closed her mouth tightly.
It was an eye filled with disillusionment and contempt towards me, with a hint of disappointment.
There seemed to be a bit of jealousy mixed in too.
In what context…?
“Anyway. I need to entrust the commission quickly and leave. The public sentiment outside is hostile.”
“Hehehe. It’s okay. I already informed them that if you come, the waiting list will be delayed. How many are you entrusting this time?”
“Two. Next time, I’ll bring them as soon as I get one. If I bring them all at once and the waiting list gets pushed back, there might be a riot.”
“Th-then you’ll be coming very often? Heh…”
She seemed to be in a good mood again.
Come to think of it, the workshop had changed a lot, but Tay was the same.
Well, even if a person changes in a month, how much could they change?
Still, she looked just like when she was an apprentice craftsman a month ago, with an old work uniform and soot all over her face, which was endearing.
“You seem very busy, so why don’t you take a breather? I won’t set a deadline, so how about taking a break for about three days while working leisurely?”
“I can’t do that! There are many customers waiting!”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“Ugh.”
As expected of a dwarf, she had a strong work ethic.
Without realizing it, I roughly ruffled Tay’s hair, feeling proud.
Her hair was rough and thick, so it seemed Tay wouldn’t go bald.
“Ack.”
Chomp.
It felt quite nice, so I kept ruffling her hair, but Undecided bit my finger from the side.
I almost forgot why I came here.
I withdrew my hand and placed a worn-out, patched sack on the desk.
Soon, Tay also transformed into a serious craftsman’s gaze and focused on the sack.
“What I’m commissioning this time is this and…”
“Wow! Where do you get these from? The crystal structure is so pretty!”
When I took out one raw stone from inside, Tay’s face brightened.
It was a mana stone obtained from the black star dungeon in Cologne.
She seemed happy to see a mana stone from a dungeon after only handling naturally occurring mana stones.
Even among the highest-grade mana stones, the quality difference between the two was huge.
“And the other one is this.”
“Oh…?”
And the moment I opened the second sack, an ominous light gushed out from inside and engulfed the entire workshop.
A mana stone created by condensing Belphegor’s demonic energy into one place.
No, I wasn’t even sure if it was really a mana stone.
To me, it looked exactly like the highest-grade mana stone, so I brought it, but Tay’s gaze seemed unusual.
“Investor. I’m not trying to brag, but thanks to you, I’ve been able to see a lot of highest-grade mana stones in the past month. But this is the first time I’ve seen something like this.”
“Is it a problem?”
“Ah, no. There’s no problem, but I’ve never worked with a raw stone that has such high mana capacity and efficiency. Maybe if I try to process it, it might get worse…”
In other words, it was the best raw stone so far.
“Oh. Start working on it right away.”
“Did you even hear me? I said I might ruin it. It might be better to use it as is…”
“That’s why I’m asking you to work on it right away. I’m in a hurry.”
“Aaaah…!”
It was a big catch.
While the corners of my mouth twitched with excitement, Tay sobbed as if she was about to cry at any moment.
Was she that happy?
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