The Forgotten City's Treasures
As they descended through the underground passage and into the ancient imperial city, they were greeted by a bustling crowd of spectral NPCs, with the Wraith Count standing at their head.
"Did you really drive those beastmen away?"
"We drove most of them out and captured a few," Tae-hyun replied casually.
"Ohhh...!"
"Unbelievable! He didn't even look that strong!"
"But Your Grace, the surface has gone quiet! It's true, they've retreated!"
"Is that adventurer truly so powerful? To achieve a feat even our empire's finest warriors struggled with... Hmmm!"
The Wraith Count groaned, wrestling with his thoughts, before finally nodding in resignation.
"Thank you! I misjudged you!"
"Well, it happens. Everyone makes mistakes in life," Tae-hyun said, waving it off pragmatically.
"To be honest, I doubted you because of the question you asked earlier."
"?"
Ah. Tae-hyun realized what he meant.
"So, if those beastmen warriors make it down here, you'll fight them, right?"
"Of course. ...Wait. That question sounds a bit strange. Why do you ask?"
"Haha. No reason. Just curious."
He was referring to that exact conversation!
"But I feel ashamed of myself," the Wraith Count continued. "To think I doubted an exceptional adventurer without recognizing his worth. Then again, unless one belonged to the notorious Archisus Church, who would be crazy enough to intentionally drag their enemies down here to force a fight?"
"......"
Carbanog stares at you with absolute, deadpan disbelief.
In truth, he had planned to do exactly that! If he hadn't finished them off up there, he was absolutely going to drag them down to the ancient city and force the wraiths to fight alongside him.
"...Of course! A person has to have a conscience!" Tae-hyun declared, his voice ringing with righteous conviction.
"Once again, you have my deepest gratitude," the Wraith Count said.
The Wraith Count, ruler of the Forgotten City of the Ancient Empire, has granted you entry!
Full access to the city is now unlocked.
Your reputation has increased significantly!
Ancient Empire Contribution Points have increased!
You have obtained the title: Saviour of the Forgotten City!
Full access to the city! This meant they could freely use all the city's facilities and interact with the NPCs. Normally, access to a newly discovered city was heavily restricted—especially a special place like an ancient imperial city. The effort put into the quest had truly paid off.
'Oh...'
An unexpected extra reward! Contribution points were always as good as cash. But...
To use Erangs Kingdom Contribution Points, he had to go to the Erangs Kingdom. To use Sadiq Church Contribution Points, he had to go to the Sadiq Church... wait, no, it was the Archisus Church now.
'Where on earth do I spend Ancient Empire Contribution Points?'
The empire had fallen so long ago that he didn't even know where to go to spend them! Could they be used in this city?
Carbanog suggests that there might be other surviving or connected cities from the Ancient Empire, just like this one.
'True. There might be some remnants that survived.'
Hearing that made him feel a sudden surge of anticipation.
Kingdom or Church Contribution Points were incredibly valuable. They allowed players to acquire skills that could only be learned in that specific kingdom, or items that could only be obtained from that specific church. If it was the Ancient Empire, the rewards would undoubtedly be legendary.
...Of course, that was only if he could find where to spend them!
'And "Saviour of the Forgotten City" is a pretty good title too.'
Tae-hyun decided to grab the garrison commander and ask. Since the city was heavily damaged and in decline, asking was much faster than searching for everything one by one.
"What kind of useful facilities are left in this city? Facilities that a living person can actually use."
"Hmm. There was a blacksmith forge that had been passed down since ancient times..."
"!"
"Ah. Come to think of it, it hasn't been operational for about five hundred years. There was no one left to use it."
"......"
Tae-hyun's face fell. Of course, why would a bunch of wraiths need a blacksmith forge!
"The blacksmith forge is broken... the alchemy shop is broken... the mages' quarters are also broken..."
"...What kind of Sadiq-like luck is this..."
"Pardon? What did you say?"
"Nothing."
"Ah. But the Workshop and the Kiln are still standing."
"Oh."
Tae-hyun felt a wave of relief. At least it wasn't a total bust!
"And the Weaving Mill, Tannery, and Jewelry Workshop are also intact..."
"...???"
Tae-hyun was dumbfounded. Of course, having them intact was better than nothing. But why were only the crafting-related buildings perfectly fine?! Except for the blacksmith forge, which was the only one Tae-hyun actually wanted to use!
"Why didn't those get destroyed?"
"Well, the blacksmith forge, alchemy shop, and mages' quarters were constantly used even after we became wraiths, so they eventually broke down. But we had absolutely no use for those other facilities, so they remained untouched..."
"...Right. Well, we can just repair them."
Fortunately, the surface was absolutely crawling with players eager to work. He could drag them down here, make them repair the facilities, and activate places like the Workshop or Kiln to run daily quests.
Nodrantse barely generated any income, but if they utilized this underground city, they could finally start turning a profit.
"Uh... hey, Kim Tae-hyun."
"Yeah?"
"I'm a Count, right? Shouldn't I be the one ruling this place?"
"Hmm. That's a fresh perspective. Why don't you go over there and tell them that yourself?"
"N-No way. That would make me look incredibly rude."
Cain hesitated. Going up to the NPCs of an ancient empire and saying, "Hey, I was appointed as the lord up there, so you guys should serve me too," required an insane amount of courage. It was the perfect way to get a sword through the skull! Unless you were someone like Kim Tae-hyun, you couldn't just say things like that.
"If you can't persuade them, it's impossible," Tae-hyun said.
"What if we take it by force?"
"If we fight and take it, the NPCs and the facilities will all be destroyed. What's the point of ruling an empty shell? Are you going to rebuild everything from scratch? It would be a waste of these ancient imperial facilities."
"What if you persuade them?"
"...Do you think I can persuade anyone just by opening my mouth?"
"You can't?!"
Carbanog is shocked that Cain actually thought you could persuade anyone of anything.
"...Even if my Eloquence skill is at the supreme grade, it's not omnipotent. I have to read the room and use it contextually."
Because Tae-hyun's Eloquence skill was so outstanding, some players mistakenly believed that he could get away with anything just by talking. Eloquence was actually one of the most minor skills in the game! Perhaps that was why there were so many misunderstandings. However, no matter how high the skill level was, the user's ability to read the situation and timing was what truly mattered. Even if Cain were given the Supreme Eloquence skill, he wouldn't be able to use it like Tae-hyun.
"Stop talking nonsense. Go back up, post some quests to have the players repair the damaged facilities, and start running daily quests to gather materials. We need to raise the territory stats."
"On it!" Cain pumped his fist with determination. Cain's dream was to recreate The Valley.
A bustling territory filled with countless players chatting excitedly...
"Let's burn those Guild Alliance bastards to the ground!"
"Burn the Guild Alliance!"
A territory where various NPCs handed out all sorts of quests!
"Bring me materials to craft bombs to blow up the Guild Alliance!"
"Craft an alchemical potion that can put the Guild Alliance to sleep..."
"I will definitely build a territory just like The Valley!"
"Why specifically The Valley? There are plenty of other great cities out there," Tae-hyun spoke as if he found it absurd. Why not choose a normally successful city as a role model? But Cain was stubborn.
"If Nodrantse can become even half as good as The Valley, I'll have no regrets in life."
"The air conditioner... I mean, the Sky Castle is back!"
"She looked at me! She actually stared right at me!"
"She wasn't looking at you!"
"She turned her head and looked me straight in the eye!"
"She was glaring at the Guild Alliance, not you!"
"No! She chose me! She's going to take me to the paradise of air conditioning!"
The Sky Castle returned incredibly fast. It was hard to believe they had caused such a massive uproar just moments ago!
...However, the players had not returned to their senses.
"What does this mean? Do you all see? This is proof that what we are doing is right!"
"If we stop, they might take it away again! Let's not be selfish! Every guild, every party, and every player using The Valley! Do you really want to live in this scorching heat?!"
"Let's capture the Guild Alliance members! To our friends in the Guild Alliance! Please, make a small concession! All you have to do is sacrifice yourselves a little!"
"What kind of bullshit is that, you lunatics?! Has the heat melted your brains?!"
From the perspective of the Guild Alliance members, this was utterly absurd. They had just happily finished their quests in the Demon Realm and stepped out of the portal, only for a bunch of crazy people to grab them and throw them straight into jail. How could something this ridiculous happen...?!
"Come on, just cooperate a little!"
"How is throwing us into jail without warning 'cooperating'?!"
"You guys are used to this kind of stuff anyway! Just accept it!"
"You bastards, there are some things you just don't say...!"
The players relentlessly captured every Guild Alliance member they could find and locked them in the territory jail. The territory jail, which was usually completely empty, was now packed to the brim—a truly bizarre phenomenon! The Guild Alliance members still in the Demon Realm were dumbfounded, but there was nothing they could do.
- Who is the one attacking us right now? Is it Kim Tae-hyun? Contact him immediately and tell him to stop!
- No, Kim Tae-hyun didn't order this! There are dozens of guilds participating! No one is leading them, they're just running wild on their own, so it's impossible to stop them!
- Are you kidding me...?!
An overwhelming number of players who simply could not be reasoned with! The Guild Alliance could only hunker down in the Demon Realm and pray for the situation to blow over. However, the players actually began crossing over into the Demon Realm to hunt down the Guild Alliance members. Even members of other guilds who were already in the Demon Realm joined in on the assault.
- What do you think you're doing?! Do you think you'll get away with this?!
- Haha! It's always great to eliminate the competition! Get lost, Guild Alliance!
The Guild Alliance, which had always overwhelmed its opponents with sheer numbers, was experiencing the bitter taste of being outnumbered for the very first time.
Tae-hyun led his party and entered the Ancient Empire's Training Tower.
While some players dismissed these training facilities as unimportant, Tae-hyun thought differently.
'These are actually the most important facilities in any city.'
It was a place where one could obtain various stats and skill rewards! Any player who avoided such places simply because they were tedious didn't deserve to be called a ranker.
What would the Ancient Empire's Training Tower be like?
⚠️ All stats are reverted to base values.
⚠️ All skills are prohibited.
⚠️ Level is locked at 1.
⚠️ If you die inside the Training Tower, you will be expelled immediately.
"...!"
The party stared at the message window in sheer horror. They could practically smell the difficulty radiating from it!
"Wait, if our levels and stats are completely stripped..."
"And we get kicked out instantly if we die even once?"
Since they were all high-level rankers, they had experienced training facilities a few times before. Tae-hyun had even seized another church's building to use for himself. But even for them, these conditions were incredibly harsh.
All levels, skills, and stats sealed, and they had to climb to the top without dying even once!
"What are the rewards?"
🎁 Clearing a floor grants a random stat reward.
🎁 You will randomly obtain one of the treasures of the Ancient Empire.
"...!!!!"
Everyone's eyes lit up. This... they absolutely had to do this!
"We have to do this right now!"
"Let's leave Cain outside to command the players while we run this!"
"......"
Cain looked at them with puppy-dog eyes, but the party was completely resolute. Although the chances were slim, there was a possibility that the treasures might run out, leaving subsequent players with nothing. To prevent that, they had to clear it as fast as possible!
...However, their worries were entirely misplaced.
The moment Tae-hyun and his party stepped onto the first floor of the Training Tower, they realized the truth.
'Ah, even if we stream this to the entire world, no one's going to clear this anyway!'