Reinforcement (1)
Archeon returned to the lair.
His condition didn’t look good.
Blink. Blink.
The light in his eyes flickered unsteadily, as if it might go out at any moment.
Fssssss.
A faint purple smoke leaked from his energy core.
“Ah!”
Bellerin let out a strange cry after checking Archeon’s condition.
“What? Is it bad?”
I asked anxiously.
“Ah! No! It’s just that Archeon’s core hasn’t taken any major damage, so repairs shouldn’t be a problem!”
Bellerin smiled in relief.
“Oh, really? Then can we start the repairs right away?”
The tense atmosphere began to ease.
“Yes, but it will take some time. The connections around the core are quite damaged. Still, we can fully restore him!”
Bellerin hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“There are two problems, though.”
“What problems?”
“First, we need resources to replace Archeon’s energy core.”
“Do we have to wait until the Seondo opens?”
“I think it would be better to connect the highest-grade and high-grade mana stones he brought back this time to make a new core!”
“Connect mana stones?”
“Yes! The best option would be a Supreme-grade mana stone, but that’s impossible right now. Even connecting high-grade and highest-grade stones should give better output and stability than using Seondo!”
I agreed without hesitation.
Archeon was the only one who could gather resources from the outside right now.
Higher core output meant greater combat power for him.
“Okay. Let’s do that. What’s the second problem?”
“We need adamantium to repair the broken outer shell.”
“Ah.”
That was the real issue.
There was no way to obtain adamantium at the moment.
Where would I even find unmined ore on Earth?
‘I’ll just have to wait until I level up and unlock the adamantium room…’
Wait a second.
A sudden thought struck me.
‘Platinum Lounge.’
That place overflowed with EX-grade resources. Maybe it had adamantium too?
I searched immediately.
Adamantium (1kg) — 1,000,000 Coin
It was there!
Huh? But the price…
‘One million coins per kilogram?’
I must have misread.
Shouldn’t there be another zero?
Why was it so cheap?
I thought that because on the Superhuman Net, mithril traded for about one million coins per kilogram.
‘No way.’
I searched for mithril in the Platinum Lounge as well.
Mithril (1kg) — 100,000 Coin
Insane!
One hundred thousand coins?
If I bought mithril from the Platinum Lounge and sold it on the Superhuman Net, I could make ten times the profit.
I decided to leave all the mithril in the mithril room for Bellerin’s use.
From now on, I would buy from here and sell on the Superhuman Net.
‘What about orichalcum?’
Maybe it was cheap too?
Orichalcum (1kg) — 100,000,000 Coin
“Hmm.”
Not exactly cheap.
One hundred million coins was one trillion won in real currency.
Still, once my coin income increased, it wouldn’t be too burdensome.
Maybe I could replace Archeon’s entire outer armor with orichalcum later?
‘While I’m at it, let’s check Supreme-grade mana stones too.’
Supreme Mana Stone (Low-grade) — 3,000,000,000 Coin
‘……’
Three billion coins for the lowest grade?
Absolutely not.
First, let’s buy adamantium.
“How many kilograms of adamantium do we need to repair Archeon’s armor?”
“About ten kilograms!”
Perfect.
The mithril ingots I had listed at auction weighed around twelve kilograms.
The proceeds should be enough to buy the adamantium.
“Alright. I’ll get the adamantium. Start working on the core first.”
“Ah? Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes! Understood, Master!”
Bellerin dashed straight to her workshop.
She picked up her hammer right away.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The mana stones stretched like taffy.
‘That never stops being amazing.’
It wasn’t even a magic hammer.
How did the stones stretch like that?
‘Ah.’
Watching the scene gave me another idea.
The Gold Lounge request board.
Another way to earn a huge amount of coins had just appeared.
「Gold Lounge」
「Requests」
I entered the request board and saw countless posts.
- [Request] Bow crafting commission.
- [Request] Suncheon Irregular Portal subjugation request.
- [Request] Looking for a 3rd-circle magic tutor.
- [Request] Gathering materials for Abyss Tower floors 1–50.
Most were people posting requests.
I left a post of my own.
Category: Request Fulfillment
Title: Crafting Mithril Equipment
Content: I will craft any mithril equipment you need. Please provide the required equipment, options, and your offered price. I will review and proceed with the crafting.
My gut told me this would bring in massive profits.
If the request fulfillment went as smoothly as I hoped, the Platinum Lounge shop’s utility would skyrocket.
Of course, I couldn’t start taking commissions right away.
Repairing Archeon, building the probe, and crafting the dimension amplifier had to come first.
『Archeon, get better soon.』
“Popo!”
“Chuuu.”
“Kkiiing, kkiing.”
While I was lost in thought, Dania and the guardians gathered around Archeon to comfort him.
“Hmph. That mantis guy… I really hope I get to see him again.”
Azkai licked his red lips with his tongue.
His expression remained languid, but I could feel a quiet anger in his eyes.
This was his own way of offering comfort.
We stayed by Archeon’s side for a while, supporting him.
Then, some time later…
“The core is finished!”
Bellerin brought over the new core.
It was a Bellerin-style energy core made by combining highest-grade and high-grade mana stones with Seondo.
We installed it in Archeon immediately.
Goooooo-!
Red mana surged from Archeon’s heart.
It was far purer than before.
『Keron. Normal operation commencing.』
Flash!
Archeon’s eyes, once faintly flickering, now burned with brilliant clarity.
『Kkyu! Archeon’s energy is back!』
“Popo!”
“Chuchu chu!”
“Awooooo!”
His outer armor was still a mess.
But the moment Archeon’s energy returned, the guardians cheered as if it were their own victory.
“Archeon, are you conscious?”
『Yes, Master. My thought circuits are operating normally.』
“Haa… Thank goodness. You really worked hard, Archeon. Truly.”
『You flatter me.』
Creak. Click.
“Stay still.”
『Yes. Understood.』
Archeon tried to stand and salute at my words.
I stopped him and praised him again for his hard work.
Then…
『Thank… kshhh… you.』
“Huh? What’s wrong? Bellerin, why is Archeon like this?”
“Ah! The core hasn’t fully stabilized yet. We need to perform stabilization work.”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
“Archeon, don’t push yourself. Just rest.”
『Keron. Order received.』
Archeon switched to temporary activation mode.
The raging mana in his core visibly subsided.
They said it would take several days, so I probably wouldn’t see Archeon active for a while.
“Is there any way to speed up the stabilization of Archeon’s mana?”
“Being in a place with high mana density would help a little!”
We placed Archeon beside the Gongcheong Oil spring.
The mana flowing from the spring made this spot the densest in the lair.
「Gongcheong Oil, Lv102」
“It leveled up again already.”
Was there really a magical rice cooker or something?
At this rate, I was curious just how high Gongcheong Oil’s level could go.
“Rest well for now.”
We left Archeon by the Gongcheong Oil spring.
That decision led to an unexpected situation.
That night.
When everyone had fallen asleep…
Splash!
A figure poked its head out of the Gongcheong Oil spring.
A being covered in blue scales.
It was the same mysterious creature that had appeared in the spring before.
“Whii whii, whii whii whii—”
It let out a soft whistle.
Then it turned its head and opened and closed its mouth.
It had spotted the pitch-black golem near the spring.
“Whii whii— whii whii—”
Swish.
Its tail swayed as it approached the golem as closely as it could.
The barrier surrounding the spring stopped it from getting any nearer.
Still, its appearance became clearer above the water.
The being with faintly glowing blue scales was unmistakably a fish.
“Whii whii, whii whii whii—”
The moment the mysterious fish wagged its tail and called out again…
Vwoooom, vwoooom vwoooom!!
Both the fish’s body and Archeon’s body lit up with blue light at the same time.
It lasted only an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the blue light vanished without a trace.
However, a significant change had occurred in Archeon.
Vwoom, vwoooom vwoooom.
The energy core’s mana flow began stabilizing much faster.
That wasn’t all.
The small scratches covering Archeon’s entire body.
While the broken outer armor showed no major change, the minor scratches underwent a meaningful transformation.
A blue light lingered briefly before the scratches disappeared.
A miraculous sight.
“Whii whii.”
The fish let out a satisfied sound at the scene before diving back into the spring.
Vwoooom!
A faint blue glow once again rippled across the Gongcheong Oil spring.
Someone had witnessed the entire scene.
“Hmm?”
One being had noticed the presence from the very first moment it appeared.
“Is this something Master is raising?”
It was Azkai, who had been sleeping farthest from the spring.
Still lying down, he opened his eyes slightly and watched the blue fish.
“That looks delicious… gulp.”
Azkai smacked his lips, but upon realizing the fish held no hostility, he closed his eyes again.
A peaceful night passed.
***
Some time after Archeon’s return.
The Lili tribe members Archeon had rescued safely joined Elatria.
And then…
“Aah.”
“Th-the Forest Essence…!”
“Thank you…!”
The Lili tribe members of Lucien’s group, who had already settled in, shared the Forest Essence with the newcomers.
They quickly recovered their strength.
The next thing they did was produce more Forest Essence.
“Liri— liri, liri—”
“Liri, liri—”
They held hands and spun in circles.
Each tribe had a different method of creating Forest Essence.
This tribe’s Lili created it by spinning round and round in a circle.
Fwoooosh!
New Forest Essences were formed.
Though slower, they produced essences of higher purity than Lucien’s group.
『Aah… how wonderful… Lili tribe…』
『Power… overflows…』
『It has been so long… since I felt… the sensation of growth…』
The Elatria.
They gained a foundation for growth through the Forest Essence created by the Lili tribe.
This was the Lili tribe’s greatest strength.
They lived in symbiosis with the forest and aided its growth.
When the forest grew, the Lili tribe grew stronger through the richer Forest Essence.
That growth in turn helped the forest grow even more.
According to legend, the World Tree itself was said to have been born through the Elder Lili tribe.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Rumble rumble!
Thanks to the Lili tribe, the Elatria began to grow as well.
***
A massive canyon in the north.
Its walls were covered in millions of sparkling crystals.
Whenever faint rays of light touched them, they emitted a rainbow glow.
A place that felt almost sacred.
A group arrived there.
Shhhhhhh.
Beings with dozens of legs.
Centipedes.
“From now on, move carefully.”
Karsera, who led the centipedes, gave a quiet order.
An outer god slept here.
If discovered, annihilation would be inevitable.
So…
They would carefully search for traces of the Dragon’s Lair.
“We must find it. No matter what.”
“Kiiiiiik!”
“Kiik!”
The centipedes responded in low voices.
Shhhhhhhhhh.
Thousands of centipedes began to silently cover the Canyon of Light.