The Staff-Wielding Thieves
The Magic Tower Lord spoke.
"To unleash the power of a staff that bears a dragon's essence, a vast quantity of mana is required."
"And what does that mean, exactly?"
"Ten 4-star items of the same level as the staff's current level. Or a single 5-star item. That much should suffice."
"..."
"You will also need one hundred high-grade mana potions, and ten vials of high-grade holy water."
"..."
"The remaining materials can be purchased here at the Magic Tower, so set your mind at ease."
"Hold on... why does enhancing a level 1, 1-star eat that many materials?"
Would the Magic Tower Lord really lie to me? The thought flickered past, and still I was dumbfounded. Even a rough sum of the materials he'd already named—what would that come to?
The materials he'd named were bad enough. What worried me more were the rest—the ones he said I could simply buy from the Magic Tower.
The viewers laughed. These little troublemakers had guarded me like it was their own money when I was about to get suckered, and yet the moment an NPC was the one doing the fleecing, they welcomed it with open arms.
"...I should do it, right?"
I was curious, I'll admit. A weapon that gulped down this much money—if I grew it all the way, what kind of power would it show?
A comment creepy enough to raise goosebumps climbed the chat, but I forced myself to ignore it.
"You can see the staff's options right now, can't you? There's no way those options are bad. Haven noobs, get out!!!!!!!!"
It has to be good. It absolutely has to be good.
"Ho ho. To think the descendant who came to unseal the Dragon's Staff would appear before I die. You cannot imagine my joy."
The Magic Tower Lord let out a pleased laugh, sat himself down, and began spilling stories no one had asked to hear.
"The Dragon's Staff's power was so immense that sealing it demanded materials and strength greater still. To undo a seal laid in such a fashion consumes twice the effort and twice the resources. Having watched every step of it, I feel both regret and a thrill. The overwhelming draconic might that once swept the world—to think the day would come when I might behold that power again. Ho ho ho. I only pray you awaken before this old body gives out."
"Ah. Yes."
"This very moment is the first step. The simplest stage, and yet the most important. The peeling away of the shell around a staff wrapped in layer upon layer of seals. That is why it demands still more materials, still more mana, still more holy power. Ho ho ho."
"Haaahm."
Why is this old man volunteering a speech nobody asked for, and why is all that lofty talk about the dragon's descendant thinning out the longer he goes? An NPC getting comfortable with you wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I played along well enough.
"Then speak to me once you have gathered the materials. Within our Magic Tower, we too must craft and collect what is needed to release the seal."
"Yes. Please gather them quickly. I'll be back with mine before you know it."
I stepped out of the Magic Tower and looked at the sky. It was blue.
"Haa... this game just sucks money dry."
I'd exchanged a hundred billion won just this morning, so there was no need to cash in anything more. Of the two hundred fifty billion, fifty-five billion had gone to the Lich King's soul pouch, and 7.7 billion to Ellen's Tears. I still had a hundred eighty-seven billion left.
"Hmm. But listen."
"Thinking it over again—if it weren't for all of you, I was ready to go as high as thirty billion for Ellen's Tears, you know? I got it for 7.7 billion, so that's twenty-three billion in profit, right?"
It was just a thought that happened to surface. Guilt over spending so much had me hunting for anywhere I could patch the feeling, and that was what came up.
I felt a little easier.
"I ought to buy with a clear conscience."
"All right, everyone. Auction house first."
"Lu-lu."
I bought the materials. One hundred high-grade mana potions. Maybe I'd been throwing money around too hard lately—three hundred million barely even registered.
Six vials of high-grade holy water were up at the auction house as well. These days there was nothing the auction house didn't sell. Seventy million won apiece.
"What kind of people buy something like this to drink?"
For a second, a fundamental question hit me. Why would anyone drink a potion that cost seventy million a bottle? Supreme Holy Water, at least, granted a permanent effect. High-grade holy water did not. Seventy million, just to feel a buff for a little while? What was the reason?
"Aha."
Fair point. You didn't have to buy holy water in order to drink it. The stuff got used all over the place. The remaining four were the problem.
"Hmm... I wonder if GoldenHolyKnight is around."
GoldenHolyKnight donated 100,000 won.
"Oh!"
Not long after, GoldenHolyKnight appeared in front of the auction house and handed over four vials of high-grade holy water.
"Thank you, truly. Please come by again! I can't speak of the Supreme Holy Water on the broadcast, but it seems I may be able to obtain some before long."
"Ooh! If you need anything, just say the word, anytime."
"Thanks to the money you gave me, I've overhauled my gear, and the knight order's specs have shot up as well. Thank you."
What remained were ten level-1 4-star items. Or a single level-1 5-star.
"Hmm."
That was where I stalled. Was buying ten 4-stars the right call, or one 5-star? He hadn't restricted it to accessories or armor, so finding them shouldn't be all that hard. I stepped into the auction house. One or the other—whichever side actually had stock, that's what I'd take.
Another billion won walked out the door.
"Ugh. Seriously. Can you not progress in this game without spending money?"
"Ho ho. The path to becoming a hero is never an easy one. Still, without an investment of that scale, how could one obtain power to match?"
The Magic Tower Lord took the materials I held out, wearing that good-natured smile, and led me into his laboratory. An altar stood inside. He set the Dragon's Staff upon it and scattered the mana potions and holy water across the stone.
Vmmm—
This was no empty ceremony. The Dragon's Staff on the altar proved as much by resonating, rising little by little into the empty air, and the ten 4-star items rose after it. There had barely been any listings to begin with, so I'd swept up whatever existed, and I couldn't pretend I hadn't overpaid a little.
"Ooh."
"Well? The sight of a seal coming undone. Is it not radiant?"
"Yes. Completely radiant."
"Now we need only lay the materials upon it, and it will be done."
"Yes."
"The materials were all prepared just a moment ago."
"Yes."
"You arrived rather quickly, so it was no simple task."
"Yes."
"Even so, for the sake of the dragon's descendant, every mage in the Magic Tower set aside their work and prepared together."
"...Yes."
"There. Now we need only bring the materials, and it will be finished."
"......Yes."
"Then I shall have the mages fetch the materials....."
I knew. I knew exactly what that manner of speaking was fishing for. And the reason I'd answered like I meant to let it slide was simple. A moment this important. The owner of the item, sitting there drinking in the atmosphere.
"Come on. Between us, can't we put it on a tab? You're killing the mood."
"Ho ho. Quite so, quite so. I could hardly fail to trust the dragon's descendant, the next Magic Tower Lord."
The moment I scowled and said my piece, the Magic Tower Lord flicked a hand. The materials came in one by one.
They must have been the real thing—high-grade materials even the viewers could recognize. As each one was laid upon the staff, dazzling lights bled into one another. Last of all, a dragon's heart came to rest on the Magic Tower Lord's palm.
"Ho ho. Not a dragon's heart—a hatchling's heart. Rarer than that of an adult. The Magic Tower possesses only one. As Magic Tower Lord, I made the decision for the sake of the dragon's descendant."
"Ooooh!"
"All together, thirty-three billion."
"..."
"Ah. That includes the use of my own mana... and what I said I would contribute to the Magic Tower's development fund."
"Staff-wielding thieves, the lot of them..."
The Magic Tower Lord pretended he hadn't heard me and only watched.
"Ah. Fine, I get it, so just hurry up and do it."
The hatchling's heart was laid upon the staff.
Pop!
Every light sank into the staff.