Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Change and Stability
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We successfully conquered the Artmus breeding ground.
Strangely enough, the herd of bigmas gathered in the final room didn't attack me.
Thanks to that, I replaced the converter without spilling a single drop of sweat.
I rescued the people who'd fallen into the trap, left the breeding ground, returned to the hut, and confirmed the breeding ground system was running normally. With that, the conquest was complete.
"It wasn't that they didn't recognize me—they were just indifferent to me."
"Pardon? Really? Those foul-tempered beasts?"
"Yeah. There were pine needles spread across the floor of the final room."
Panggo had told me.
Pine needles were like drugs to Artmus.
"They must have a calming effect. If you even add pinecones, they won't eat a thing and just wander around all day in a daze."
I asked Panggo in detail about how to manage Artmus.
The answer was that as long as you properly provide pine needles, they're easy to handle.
"Mr. Yi Hyun. We can easily gather pine needles too. If things go well, we might even solve our food issues."
Soo-jung auntie spoke with evident joy.
Finding pine trees in urban areas is usually tough.
But Samira's land is full of them.
"Yes. When raising Artmus... bigmas, you just need to pay a little extra attention to the females. The rest of the environment isn't all that important..."
I shared the knowledge I'd learned beyond the gate with the group.
Everyone took notes, focusing intently on my words.
"That's about it... Do we have a suitable space?"
"There's a spot on the outskirts of the grounds that could work as a breeding pen. It's a bit of a distance, but..."
The day-night millet we'd planted first had already sprouted.
It had grown visibly in just two days.
Cultivating day-night millet and breeding bigmas.
Solving these two tasks would be like an agricultural revolution for us.
'Plus, bigma hides can be used too...'
It's not an impossible dream.
There'll be trial and error, but I believe we'll pull it off eventually.
"As you all know, day-night millet grows fast, and bigmas reproduce at an insane rate."
"Yes. Both projects will bear fruit quickly. And of course, from a long-term perspective too..."
There are no monsters around here.
I'm conquering gates at a rapid pace.
So Samira can focus its efforts on these two projects.
"Personnel allocation is key."
"We'll select people with any related knowledge and take volunteers too..."
Soo-jung auntie understood my point and outlined several execution plans.
Here, we'd sketch the big picture, then hold another meeting at the internal support headquarters.
"Jang-su uncle, prioritize the breeding ground over other tasks. Make sure the bigmas can't escape even in the worst case..."
After wrapping up discussion on the two projects.
"There's one more thing we obtained."
I placed a fist-sized metal device on the conference table.
"The dwarves call it a mana converter."
I'd chosen the mana converter as my reward for this gate conquest.
Jang-su uncle examined it closely.
"It's an unusual shape."
"Yes. Please research the mana converter too. Bigma breeding comes first, but this is important as well."
In Panggo's world, mana converters are commonplace.
They're made by processing a single metal, and as he said, they're practically semi-permanent.
There was a reason I'd taken such a common item as a reward.
"What we call mana... should we say 'element'?"
"Yes."
"Mana's power is limitless. Even in a world with magic, they haven't fully grasped its nature yet."
Mana is everywhere.
In humans, monsters, natural objects—everything.
We harness this mana resource as mana power.
"Just as not all water is the same, mana varies too. We just lump it all under 'mana.'"
I'd seen it clearly in the breeding ground.
Doors opening without electricity, metals on the ceiling emitting light.
"Can't we do it too?"
Jang-su uncle's general skills are 'Mana Detection' and 'Mana Processing.'
Mana Detection identifies material properties and locates things with those traits.
Mana Processing injects mana into materials to shape them to his level.
So if Jang-su uncle keeps researching, he'll figure out what we can do with various materials.
"The mana converter transforms mana from a specific source into mana suited for particular uses."
"Uses?"
"Yes. For example... they have something called mana cores over there."
Mana cores are a bit different from our mana stones.
Think of them as natural resources in that world.
"Mana extracted from mana cores passes through the converter into specific metals, making those metals glow. The key here is mana loss rate."
"Ah..."
I don't know how it works.
Panggo didn't seem to know the principles either.
"I don't know the exact principles, but I know electricity flows through conductors. And that there's power loss."
What I want are the results.
"Let's figure it all out, one by one, like that."
"I understand. But to do that..."
Jang-su uncle trailed off.
Too much work.
Everyone here felt the same.
"I'm not asking for immediate results."
"Yes."
"I know you've all been working nonstop without rest days."
After sharing the gate conquest details and rewards.
I brought up what I'd really wanted to say.
"We need to grow Samira more."
"You mean..."
"We need more people."
This is my role too.
Setting goals and urging us forward relentlessly.
"I agree we need to expand our forces. But isn't it too soon? We haven't fully solved the food problem yet..."
Soo-jung auntie spoke cautiously.
Relief efforts are premature, she meant.
"We need to draw people in naturally. I'd like to start the groundwork for that."
"Do you have something in mind...?"
After the cataclysm, I'd thought this before.
To gain safety, we must take risks.
It's the same idea.
"Let's use the plaza first. Show them our daily life. Not a direct recruitment notice, but..."
We're constantly changing.
At the same time, we seek stability amid the change.
Samira will advance while balancing that.
I ended the meeting and kept Jang Ho-seop behind.
He must still be in shock.
"Ho-seop."
"Yes..."
"Say what you want. It's fine."
The kid was genuinely upset.
"Bro..."
"Yeah."
"You went too far. How could you do that to me..."
Jang Ho-seop glanced at me, voicing his grievance.
"You said the watch was fine, right? It's valuable! It hurts my feelings..."
He hadn't been this upset when his arm was severed.
"Gates are dangerous places. You can get hurt or die."
"Yeah, sure."
"You seemed like you didn't get that."
Jang Ho-seop shut his mouth at my response.
"When Yu-na and I first entered a gate, you said crowds came to the prophet's place later."
"Yes..."
"Those people all had stronger auras than me."
We'd concluded yellow gates were easy.
Under the premise I was with them.
But that's never absolutely true.
Variables always exist.
"You have to take gates seriously. I want to level up more, and I need your help for that."
I said it straight.
My phrasing differed a bit, but the point was he needed a scolding.
"And you're not really a watch. You're a person. I know that."
"Bro... Yes, you're right. I'm sorry... I got too cocky."
Jang Ho-seop's emotions shifted.
Some resentment lingered, but guilt grew stronger.
"That doesn't mean I'm treating you harshly. We're talking like this right now."
I give Jang Ho-seop special treatment.
I give him chances to cover his mistakes.
I comfort him in my own way.
I make time for him to express his feelings.
With that in mind, I said briefly,
"I even let you hand over the bandages to that Japanese girl. And the beast hide work clothes."
Yui had returned safely.
Taking exp and byproducts with her.
This was me yielding to Jang Ho-seop too.
"Bro..."
He got it.
The resentment I sensed from him vanished.
And gratitude toward me swelled.
"You're right. You could've smashed my thick skull right then... That's your grace too."
"Sarcasm?"
"No, no! Absolutely not!"
I couldn't help but chuckle at his reply.
"But bro... it's obvious, huh?"
Jang Ho-seop grinned along with me.
"Oh, and I thought about something."
"What?"
"You said this gate was suspiciously easy despite the energy stone."
As if he'd never been down, his mood lifted instantly as he chattered away.
For reference, the energy stone was just sitting there in the breeding ground's final room.
"If that bigma herd had been normal, it could've been dangerous, right?"
"Probably."
"Yeah. Good thing it was a breeding ground. Imagine fighting that many in such a tight space..."
Jang Ho-seop's theory made sense.
"Well, you would've been fine anyway, bro."
He went on about being trapped with the top hunter, barely breathing, staying perfectly still.
"Ho-seop."
"Yes, bro."
I listened appropriately, then got to the point.
I hadn't kept him to just cheer him up.
"About posting on the plaza now."
"Yes."
"Post more."
"Pardon?"
Jang Ho-seop posts various info on the plaza.
Mostly quick-spreading stuff.
Thanks to him, Samira's name is quite familiar to plaza users.
"You can reveal a bit more about gates too."
"Really?"
"Yeah. But you know, right? Nothing that benefits us directly. Just share common knowledge moderately..."
Jang Ho-seop's eyes widened.
"And I'll lift the photo restrictions."
"Really?!"
"Yeah. You heard the meeting earlier, right?"
"Yes! I was listening closely!"
The kid bounced with joy.
"Food, living conditions... or what else?"
"The point is to make people envy Samira's life through my posts."
"Yeah. But no location reveals yet. Double-check before posting."
He thumped his chest, asking me to leave it to him.
His enthusiasm overflowed.
Forcing him isn't the way—this approach is more efficient.
"Got it! I'll be careful not to mess up."
"If it's too much alone, tell me."
"I'm good! I can handle it solo. Oh, if needed, I'll recruit others for minor help."
"Alright. You handle it then."
Jang Ho-seop isn't stupid.
He won't repeat mistakes.
Yet I felt strangely uneasy.
Like entrusting fish to a cat.
Two days passed like that.
I logged into the plaza.
Daily posts are decently numerous now.
Still, for Northeast Asia sharing one channel, it's far short.
Due to level and spirit stone requirements, plus mana stones per post.
Except for Jang Ho-seop.
My comment about a decent number of posts excludes Jang Ho-seop's.
'Is he really insane...'
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Jang Ho-seop dominates the plaza.
He's even borrowing charges from Spring noona sometimes to post.
"Ho-seop. Sigh..."
"Yes?"
Even all other users' posts combined fall way short of his alone.
True to his word, he's handling it solo without issue.
"Why post even this useless stuff?"
"Ah~ It's not useless. To showcase Samira's status and leisure indirectly..."
His explanation dragged on.
A bit different from what I envisioned, but the direction's the same, he claimed.
"Bro. Not a single mistake. Trust me!"
"Fine... So what's the post Swordmaster Kang Hye-seon commented on?"
Jang Ho-seop pulled out a notebook.
Too many posts to remember without notes, apparently.
"Author is Na Se-yeon, and..."
Heck, he doesn't even use one account.
With alts, his post count swells further.
"Title is College Girl Gwang-soon Bought Cash Item!!"
"What?"
"Ah, College Girl Gwang-soon Bought Cash Item!! Then parentheses..."
I'd wanted to check since Swordmaster Kang Hye-seon requested help in comments.
But suddenly, I didn't want to anymore.