Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: The Goblin Craftsman
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“Me? Where?”
“On my channel.”
An appearance by Jeong Yu-ra.
It was a sudden thought, but the more I considered it, the better it sounded.
It could divert some of the attention focused on me and allow me to upload more videos than I was currently managing.
Of course, if the quality dropped while only the quantity increased, it would be worse than nothing, but that was a matter of filming well.
Besides, just putting her face on the thumbnail would likely take care of any worries about view counts.
So, the only problem was her willingness.
Jeong Yu-ra tilted her head and asked.
“You want me to be on it too?”
“Yeah.”
“But you said I wouldn’t have to do anything.”
“Did I say that?”
“…Hey!!”
“I’m kidding. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to…”
Jeong Yu-ra scratched her cheek.
It wasn’t that she was against it.
There had been times when Lee Shin and Arthur were talking about things only they knew, and she had secretly wished she could join in.
It was just that her worry outweighed her interest.
Lee Shin asked.
“What are you worried about?”
“That you’ll do something weird again.”
“What weird thing have I ever done?”
“This is what I’m worried about…”
He’d reached a point where he didn’t even know what was weird!
Jeong Yu-ra lightly touched her forehead.
Seeing this, Lee Shin thought for a moment before continuing.
“So, if it’s not weird, you’d be willing to appear?”
“Uh… yeah, I would.”
“Hmm.”
For now, it was a positive answer.
However, since she said she didn’t want anything weird, he couldn’t just jump into filming.
He had been planning something unconventional, like ‘What happens if you endlessly curse a target tied up by tentacles?’ or ‘What happens if you cast a berserk curse on a monster and send it after a player?’
Lee Shin glanced at Jeong Yu-ra and shook his head.
*‘This won’t work.’*
She would definitely hate it.
No, it would be more than just hate; she might get genuinely angry.
So, he needed to think more about what to film.
Lee Shin licked his lips and said.
“Alright, I’ll think about it some more and let you know. The ideas I have now probably won’t work.”
“Huh? Oh, okay. But what were you thinking of that you can’t use?”
“…Why do you need to know?”
“I’m just curious… No, seriously, what is it!? You’re making me nervous…”
As Lee Shin trailed off vaguely, Jeong Yu-ra suddenly grew anxious and raised her voice.
But Lee Shin simply brushed off her concerns and headed toward the lord’s castle with the group.
“Why the lord’s castle? Weren’t we going somewhere else?”
“We are, but I have something to ask first.”
“The lord?”
“No. The lich.”
For Lee Shin to acquire the remaining Salseong skills, he had to either discover the will of the previous Salseong or find his past achievements.
It was like when he met the lich and discovered the Salseong’s will, or when he met Regreus during the pirate subjugation and found an achievement of the previous Salseong.
However, there were no clear guidelines for this.
Lee Shin’s encounters with both Regreus and the lich Adam had been products of chance.
He had just stumbled upon them.
In other words, he had been fumbling around in the dark and gotten lucky.
And this was unavoidable.
Lee Shin hadn’t become the Salseong through any legitimate process; he had simply ‘become’ one due to his transcendentally high notoriety.
He had to search for every clue and every provision the former Salseong had left for his successor all by himself.
Therefore, even the smallest clue was a godsend for him.
That was why Lee Shin was going to see Adam, clutching at straws.
Even though he was a captive, he must have met the Salseong many times, so Lee Shin thought, ‘Wouldn’t he know something?’
“This is the place.”
The knights guiding Lee Shin stopped at the entrance.
The identity of the lich Adam was a top secret within the domain, so only those with Count Aaron’s permission could enter.
“We will wait outside. Please call if you need us.”
“Alright.”
Lee Shin left the knights behind and walked inside with his party.
[You have entered the Lich’s Workshop.]
[This is your first time entering this area. All stats increase by 1.]
Adam’s workshop was built in a remote part of the domain.
It was incredibly spacious (as it had to hide golems), so ‘workshop’ was less fitting than ‘factory.’
And scattered throughout this factory were half-finished golems left by someone.
Lee Shin reached out to one of them.
*T-ring.*
[Half-finished Golem]
• A failure. It shows the creator’s lack of skill.
*‘Looks like Cedric made this.’*
He had heard from Count Aaron that Cedric was learning golem-making from Adam.
But since he had just started, it seemed he was producing a lot of failures.
Lee Shin grumbled internally.
*‘This must have cost a pretty penny.’*
The material costs naturally all came from the Count’s treasury.
Considering that golem-making wasn’t cheap, a considerable amount must have already been spent.
It was a good thing they had the gold mine; otherwise, the domain’s finances might have taken a noticeable hit.
Anyway.
After a brief look around the workshop, Lee Shin went to Adam and asked.
“What? You want to know if I know anything about the previous Salseong?”
“Yeah. Got anything?”
“I know a great deal.”
“!!!”
A great deal?
He hadn’t expected much, so such a response made Lee Shin’s eyes widen.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the kind of information he was hoping for.
“I know better than anyone what a phenomenal serial killer he was.”
“No, I know that too. Not that kind of stuff.”
“Then what do you want to know?”
“Things like his hidden achievements, or a hidden space like this dungeon that he left for his successor.”
“Hmm, I don’t think there’s anything like that.”
“Nothing at all? Even something trivial is fine.”
“Is that so? Then I shall think for a moment.”
Adam sank deep in thought.
Soon, as if he had remembered something, his eyes glowed as he turned back to Lee Shin.
“You got something?”
“I don’t know about achievements… but he did have an associate. Someone who helped him build this dungeon.”
“!”
*‘He had help?’*
An unexpected fact!
He had naturally assumed a Salseong would work alone. In that moment, one of Lee Shin’s preconceptions was shattered.
*‘Then again, it makes sense when you think about it.’*
The Salseong couldn’t have built this dungeon and prison by himself.
While there was no doubting the Salseong’s achievements and prestige, most of his abilities were geared toward interpersonal combat and assassination.
For a large-scale construction project like this, he would have inevitably needed someone else’s help.
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know the details. He always wore clothes that covered his entire body. However, I am certain he was not human.”
“…Not human? How do you know?”
“He was small. I remember his head only came up to your waist.”
“……!”
Small.
It was a minor clue, but if he was that extremely small, it narrowed down the possibilities significantly.
Several small races from Avala Online flashed through Lee Shin’s mind.
When he limited the scope to races with skills in crafting and construction, the list shrank to a handful.
“A dwarf. Or a goblin.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
Dwarves were, without question, a race of master craftsmen, and while it varied by type, some goblins were also skilled in crafting.
They could certainly be included in the scope.
And Lee Shin guessed it was more likely a goblin than a dwarf.
Arthur asked.
“Why?”
“Their dispositions are different.”
“……?”
“Their racial dispositions are different.”
Unlike dwarves, who had very distinct craftsmanship and principles, goblins didn’t really have such things.
Instead, they were obsessed with money.
If the Salseong had said, ‘I need to build an underground dungeon to imprison a dark magician,’ most dwarves would have been repulsed, but a goblin would likely accept if the price was right.
“Was that helpful?”
“A little.”
Based on the circumstances, the person with the previous Salseong was a goblin.
He was skilled enough to build a dungeon alone, was active in the Eteun Kingdom, and had likely amassed a great fortune from the Salseong’s commission.
*‘Hmm.’*
After some thought, Lee Shin came to a conclusion.
If he searched with this information, wouldn't something turn up?
* * *
“Is he in?”
With a few clues in hand, Lee Shin immediately went to an information broker.
Through Dokgo’s introduction, he was able to meet the broker known to have the sharpest ears in Edgar Domain.
“Yoker, right?”
“Hm?”
“I was sent here by…”
“Ah, so you’re the one. Come in.”
Lee Shin followed Yoker inside.
Yoker looked Lee Shin up and down before asking.
“You’re looking for someone?”
“Not a person.”
“Huh?”
“A goblin. Is that okay?”
“As long as the price is right, there’s no reason it wouldn’t be.”
“…Good. Then can you find me a rich, master-level goblin craftsman who was active in the Eteun Kingdom?”
“Hmm…”
At Lee Shin’s question, Yoker tilted his head back and thought for a moment.
Then, as if he remembered something, he left Lee Shin and disappeared upstairs.
He returned a moment later holding a paper scroll.
“Hmm. I found someone who fits the description, but he’s quite old.”
“Oh, really?”
Considering when the previous Salseong was active, it was more natural for him to be old.
This made Yoker’s information seem more credible.
Lee Shin extended his hand and said.
“Let me see.”
“Let’s settle the bill first. This is old information, so it’s a bit pricey…”
“Ah, that’s fine.”
[You have purchased the information.]
[Using the Guarantee Token.]
[550,000 gold has been charged to Count Aaron.]
It cost a hefty sum, but since it was coming out of the Count’s pocket, it didn’t matter.
Lee Shin unrolled the scroll.
[You have used the item.]
[You have acquired information about the Goblin Master Craftsman, ‘Kaka’.]
[You can check his information in your status window.]
“Check information, Kaka.”
*T-ring.*
<Hop Goblin Kaka>
Hop Goblin Kaka is a goblin master craftsman of exceptional skill.
Using his outstanding abilities, he established and operated one of the largest workshops in the Eteun Kingdom, the ‘Kaka Workshop.’
The Kaka Workshop…
*‘That’s enough of this.’*
Below was a lengthy explanation of how he operated and grew the workshop.
The content was quite long and detailed, but it wasn’t the information Lee Shin wanted.
Lee Shin flipped through the pages and found what he was looking for near the end.
…However, before Kaka established the workshop, his past activities are strangely unknown.
How he raised the funds.
And what commissions he took to hone his skills are still shrouded in mystery.
There are rumors that he primarily took on illegal commissions from criminals to raise the funds for his workshop, but this is not certain.
A smile formed on Lee Shin’s lips.
The text occupied about a page at the very end.
It wasn’t highly reliable, just a mention of a rumor circulating among the public, but…
*‘Found him.’*
For Lee Shin, it was enough to give him certainty.
* * *
“I’ll need to be away for a while.”
Lee Shin immediately went to see Count Aaron.
The count asked.
“How long will you be gone?”
“I’m not sure. But if anything happens, I’ll come back right away.”
“Ah, in that case… travel safely.”
“I will.”
Count Aaron readily agreed.
Lee Shin left a message for Dokgo and Tae-yoon, telling them to let him know if anything came up, and immediately went to the domain’s stableman.
The stableman asked.
“Where to?”
“A place called the Kaka Workshop. Do you know the way?”
“I do. Is that where we’re headed?”
“Yes.”
“It’s quite a ways.”
It was a fair distance.
As such, the fare was quite expensive.
But compared to what Lee Shin had, it wasn't a burdensome amount, so he paid the price immediately without haggling.
[99,999 gold has been deducted.]
“Let’s go now.”
“Yes, sir! You can get in the back.”