Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: The Dimensional Fortress
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I've been curious about it for a while now.
Delmarck, the Chancellor.
What kind of legacy he might have left behind.
Especially now that it had been revealed to be meant for the revolutionaries, my curiosity had only grown stronger.
For his successor.
And for the revolutionaries led by that successor.
What kind of legacy would satisfy him?
Strengthening their forces?
Building up their influence?
Or overwhelming power?
There were plenty of possibilities to consider, but since it was a force resisting the kingdom, I'd guessed it would be something helpful for growing that force.
A force resisting the kingdom.
A legacy from the chancellor just for that force.
Even before checking the reward myself, I'd been inwardly curious about that part.
But the moment I confirmed its true nature...
'Dimensional Fortress, huh.'
Not just some mobile fortress—it existed within a dimension.
A space no one could detect unless they tore through the dimension itself.
And right now, Luke was in that dimensional space.
This luxurious mansion.
The vast garden stretching out beyond it.
All of it was part of this space.
Plus, as long as there was a spot to create an entrance nearby, he could access the Dimensional Fortress from anywhere, anytime.
And it connected directly to this mansion.
Thanks to that, Luke could come and go between the field and the mansion with ease.
No more leaving Poko alone at the inn every time he logged out, either.
Dimensional Fortress.
He could just station it in this private space that only he could access.
"Poko."
"How do you like the new home?"
"Poko!"
"Oogoo goo, yeah yeah."
Affinity, which had been quiet for a while, rose again.
"You little rascal, you like it, huh."
"Pokopoko!"
"I don't know what you're saying, but sure, I get it."
Luke petted Poko before standing up from his seat.
He then checked the detailed skill window for the Dimensional Fortress again.
Stage-based abilities.
The skill description was so long it even had a separate detailed window.
'This is basically on the level of a Door to Anywhere.'
A magic door that lets you go anywhere, anytime.
Of course, with the Dimensional Fortress, the exit was always fixed here, but the structure seemed similar enough.
A secret space only he could access.
The kind of dream everyone had as a kid at least once.
Maybe that's why.
I felt a secret thrill inside.
As long as there was a spot nearby to make a gate, he could come here from anywhere.
And no one else could even notice it.
His own personal space.
This mansion and garden he could see were all his.
'The problem is...'
Luke looked up.
Beyond the terrace stretched a distant horizon.
As if the sky had split open, everything from a certain point was dyed black.
The ground below looked the same.
Beyond the visible edge of the garden.
From there on, every area was shrouded in darkness, just like the sky.
To restore the blackened spaces to normal, he'd have to unlock these areas in sequence.
Luke roughly guessed that the unlock conditions for the ability and areas were tied to the skill level.
'That bastard Delmarck was planning to hand this over to the revolutionaries.'
Originally, the owner of this Dimensional Fortress was supposed to be Drauder, the leader of the revolutionaries.
That was the story's flow.
But when Luke recovered the secret map from Lerik's corpse, that flow changed completely.
The revolutionaries wiped out.
Drauder dead too, so Luke ended up claiming the authority and the secret map instead.
If he hadn't had the authority, the chancellor's secret door wouldn't have recognized him as the successor of noble intent.
He wouldn't have become the owner of the Dimensional Fortress either.
"Uwahahaha, all this land is mine, you say?"
"Pokopoko."
"Yeah yeah, I'm the owner of this Dimensional Fortress now."
"Poko!"
"Hey now, that's no way to act toward the fortress owner. How rude."
"Pokoooo—!"
Thud thud!
Poko cutely drummed on his ankle with its tiny paws.
Luke scratched his ankle before looking around contentedly.
'Dimensional Fortress—this skill has endless potential!'
Even just the unlocked Stage 1 ability and area were this impressive.
Considering the future stages, the potential of this fortress was impossible to ignore.
'I was already thinking about making a guild for item storage and Poko stuff...'
That problem was solved in one go.
Through this Dimensional Fortress.
With this skill, he wouldn't even need a separate guild house.
And that wasn't all.
It could double as a temporary shelter too.
Luke had learned that from an earlier experiment.
'I can even make a dimensional gate mid-battle and escape here!'
A gate no one else could detect.
He could open it right in front of an enemy and flee.
Straight to the Dimensional Fortress.
To the enemy, it'd look like he'd vanished into thin air.
'Plus, anyone I permit can enter the fortress with me.'
Luke looked down at Poko, dropkicking his ankle.
Poko, whom he'd permitted entry to the Dimensional Fortress before entering.
Inside the fortress, its status and authority were displayed like this.
'If I use this right, I could even relocate a large group all at once.'
Of course, there were probably other uses too, but these were the main ones for now.
'But...'
Then.
Luke's expression suddenly soured.
The Dimensional Fortress had countless advantages and uses.
But there was one huge problem.
'How does a guy who was even the kingdom's chancellor leave nothing behind in this mansion?'
Yeah.
The issue was the complete lack of any additional assets.
No matter how thoroughly he searched the mansion and garden, there wasn't a single gold coin or jewel.
In other words, the Dimensional Fortress ability was the entire legacy.
"Sigh, I should've known."
Luke glared irritably at the frames and pottery around the room.
They looked expensive enough.
But they were utterly useless to him.
'Guess I'll have to sell that stuff later.'
Finishing his skill assessment, Luke grabbed Poko with both hands and hoisted it up.
"Up you go."
"Po, Poko?"
Poko naturally slipped into the backpack.
At the same time, Luke grinned and stepped through the dimensional gate.
"Alright, time to clock in."
Before leaving the Ruined Lands.
There was one thing he absolutely had to handle here.
It was the essential quest I'd mentioned before.
'Can't miss out on permanent stat rewards.'
It was random and only one, but even that was a huge help.
The quest was in Chandler's northern district.
You got it from NPC Brigan, who'd been researching golems for ages.
The condition was golem cores from mines or abandoned shafts.
Collect them and keep bringing them to Brigan.
A five-stage chain quest.
Every time you hunted golems, you had to visit Brigan.
'Golems are especially tough massive monsters to take down solo.'
Usually, you partied up for them, but the problem was their high durability—classes like thieves couldn't pierce them easily without penetration damage.
Plus, golem core drop rates were abysmal, driving up market prices sky-high.
'I've got penetration damage now thanks to Black Wolf's Fang, but...'
Still, Luke didn't go hunt golems.
Instead, he headed to Chandler's northern district.
Right to NPC Brigan.
"Oh! Adventurer Angimo Tutu! It's you! Got those golem cores?"
"Yes, right here. But please don't shout my name so loud..."
"What's wrong with your name? Angimo Tutu. Such a cool name!"
"Ah... Sure."
The bustling street.
As expected, tons of users lined up in front of Brigan.
'And I see some hyena bastards mixed in.'
Yeah.
Controlling the line were none other than the Half-Ogre Alliance.
The White Tiger Guild, current rulers of Chandler.
"Wanna take the quest? Pay the usage fee first."
"Hey, you! Trying to cut in line sneaky-like? No fee, no quest, got it?"
Just as expected.
These guys sniffing out money were even charging users to pick up quests.
Watching them...
Suddenly, the ant nest interior blueprint popped into his head.
The blueprint item he'd been pondering how to deal with since infiltrating.
Its value was immense.
Especially to the goblins facing the alliance forces.
'Hmm.'
Luke mulled it over as he casually approached a White Tiger guild member.
[Steal Success!]
[Obtained 30 Silver Pouch]
[Steal Success!]
[Obtained 10 Silver Pouch]
Sneak Mastery-enhanced Shadow Step.
Thanks to it, he rifled through their back pockets with barely a sound or footstep.
'Man, carrying all their cash in pouches. They're seriously out here collecting fees.'
After pocketing the money pouches, he smoothly joined the back of the line.
Soon, a White Tiger guild member noticed him and hurried over.
"Hey, entry fee."
"Here you go."
"Yeah, that's more like it—pay up quick."
"Tell me about it."
The satisfied guild member.
But he had no idea the money Luke handed over was his own from moments ago.
Unaware, the guild member took a liking to Luke's attitude and made a proposal.
"By the way, you look like a thief class. Golem cores must be tough to farm, right?"
"Well, what can you do? Gotta scrape 'em together somehow."
"Ahem, listen. Why not buy golem cores from us instead?"
"From White Tiger?"
"Yeah, we'll cut you a deal. Let's see, per core... uh..."
The guild member rattled off his pitch like he'd been waiting.
Thief classes can't farm cores easily, so buy from us.
At half price!
Any user clueless about market rates would bite.
'They're jacking up prices by 1.5 times or more.'
Not Luke, though.
"Oh, really?"
Knowing the truth, Luke just smirked.