Chapter 192: Start Inn
Chapter 192: Start Inn
Barbara is a metropolis located in the heart of the Northern Continent. Mule, on the other hand, is nothing more than a small city in the northern part of the continent. In fact, its development had stagnated, leaving it at the level of a pioneer town from its early days.
Large and small. In writing, it was a simple one-word difference. But to experience them in person was to feel a difference as vast as that between heaven and earth. The size, the foot traffic, the level of the active Users—nothing was even remotely comparable.
Any User who had only traveled between the two cities would find the scale of Barbara overwhelmingly unfamiliar at first sight.
The kids were no exception. They had, of course, spent three months here for the User Academy. But during that time, they were cooped up inside, and after graduating, they went straight to the Warp Gate, never getting a chance to see the city properly. Perhaps because of that, Ahn Hyun, Ahn Sol, and Lee Yoojung found the metropolis of Barbara quite alien.
Just the environment surrounding our current inn seemed to be a considerable mental shock to them. I had deliberately chosen not to stay at a nice place. The place where we’d paid for a week’s stay was called the Morning Sunlight Inn, which would be considered low-grade. We had more than enough money to stay at the finest inn, but I wanted the kids to see and experience the lives of ordinary Users.
Users grieving the loss of comrades after an expedition. Users begging here and there, with no money for food or lodging. Users kicked out of caravans, wandering around looking for new companions. Users whose stats were too low for expeditions, working odd jobs day after day just to get by. I hoped that by seeing such people, the kids would come to recognize their own circumstances.
Four days had already passed since we arrived in Barbara. With each passing day, news arrived—news that brought despair to some clans and a source of malicious glee to others. As the communications trickled in, the political currents of the Northern Continent shifted by the day. I was meticulously checking these developments, comparing them with the future I remembered.
Of course, I wasn't only focused on external factors. As I mentioned before, I was also addressing unresolved issues within the clan and among its members. My plan was to resolve what I could now and, at the very least, check on the progress of other matters.
This week in Barbara could be a time of rest for some clan members, and an opportunity for others to solve problems and improve their abilities. Our solidarity was strong, but from a Clan Lord’s perspective, I could still see unrefined areas.
How should I put it? It felt like things were branching out haphazardly rather than growing in an orderly fashion. Some of these things required my intervention, and some didn't. But even for those that didn't, it was my duty as Clan Lord to pay attention.
The first User I focused on was Shin Sangyong. He had inherited his Rare Class just before we left Mule, so he didn't seem to fully understand it yet. As such, he needed time to comprehend his class and carefully consider his future path of growth. It would have been difficult for him alone, but fortunately, he had a good teacher in Vivian. Therefore, I thought it best to trust her with him rather than micromanage.
My next target was Ahn Sol. Ahn Sol was currently the most problematic User among the clan members. I felt the right approach was not to act rashly, but to slowly resolve the issues I could handle, one by one.
So, I decided to bring up the matter of her Luck stat, something I had been mulling over for a long time. I had given her Luck stat a great deal of thought and ultimately concluded that it would be best to raise it to 101. Honestly, even though she had 4 reward points, I felt it was a waste to invest them in Luck.
Let’s take an example. Suppose Mage A has 50 Strength and 59 Magic Power, while Mage B has 30 Strength and 60 Magic Power. Assuming all other variables like class and equipment are identical and they use the same spell, Mage B would win with a probability of over 70 percent. There would be a 20 percent chance of a draw, and only a 10 percent chance of Mage A winning.
This example shows that for Mages or Priests, the importance of the Magic Power stat is on a completely different level compared to other classes. If Ahn Sol’s Luck had been below 100, and if she hadn’t obtained the ring that raised her Magic Power by 1 point in the Ruined Laboratory, I would never have considered this. It was the allure of 101 points that made me think, what if?
Even so, I couldn't help but worry that it would all be for nothing. In my first playthrough, I had never seen or even heard of a Luck stat of 101. Unlike Strength, Durability, Agility, Stamina, or Magic Power, it seemed unlikely that hitting 101 Luck would produce an immediate effect. That's why I felt a great deal of hesitation as I prepared to bring it up.
Luck was just that kind of stat. After all, even after more than ten years in the Hall Plain, I still defined it as an unknowable stat. However, Ahn Sol’s sense of direction and anxiety detection during our expeditions in the small city of Mule had left a deep impression on me. The value of those two abilities was immense, and the thought that they could develop even further was a temptation that was hard to resist.
Of course, this was just my opinion. No matter how much I was the Clan Lord, I couldn't put my personal desires first. As long as she was a User on our side, respecting her rights as an individual was something I absolutely had to do. Ultimately, Ahn Sol’s own will was the most important factor in this decision, and I intended to make it the top priority.
The kids didn’t know that I was aware of their Player Status. Ever since the User Academy, I had repeated the same rule like a mantra: keep your stats hidden at all times, and never reveal your information to other Users—not even to us. Going back on my word now would be extremely delicate. One wrong move, and I could give them the impression that I already knew their stats.
I wondered how I could gently coax Ahn Sol. In the end, there was only one way: to guide her toward expressing her own opinion through indirect suggestion. However, asking for her own opinion was by no means an easy task. I made my preparations and managed to arrange a conversation with her, but it was then that I experienced the feeling of resignation for the first time in my second playthrough.
“Yes! Sol's Luck stat is 100!”
“…”
“And my other stats are~. Let's see~.”
“Ah, no. Hey—no, Sol-ah. Wait. Just wait a second.”
Right. I had forgotten the most important fact: that I was talking to Ahn Sol. All my worries leading up to the conversation were completely overshadowed by her own drastic opening.
“Hmph…”
“Hmm?”
When I cut her off, Ahn Sol pressed her lips together. Her round eyes and beaming smile. It should have been a pleasant sight, but I suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. A feeling of… self-negation?
In the end, I was only able to get to the main point (suggesting she raise her Luck by 1 point) after a lengthy lecture on the importance of protecting her Player Status.
“We've received a lot of your help during our expeditions, whether you realized it or not. I think those abilities are closely related to your high Luck. As far as I know, there's no upper limit on stats. So, I was wondering what would happen if you raised it by one more point from 100.”
“Yes! Okay!”
“…It feels a little wasteful to spend your reward points that way, but you do have a ring that raises Magic Power by one. Anyway, that’s what Oppa thinks, but I wanted to hear what you think too, Sol.”
“Yes! Okay!”
“Hah… No, Sol-ah. Listen. Oppa—I, okay? I said I wanted to hear your thoughts. Don’t just agree with everything. They’re your stats and your Player Status. Think about it yourself. Please.”
In Mule, I just saw them as kids. But now that we were in Barbara, I had resolved to treat them as proper Users. Having made that decision, I found my conversation with her incredibly frustrating. Barely suppressing my heavy frustration, I raised my voice, speaking each word distinctly, as if playing staccato.
This time, she seemed to have actually heard me, tilting her head. A question mark popped up over her head, soon replaced by an exclamation point. I could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her expression.
“Yes! I think raising it is a good idea too!”
“Mm! Okay, and why do you think so?”
“Because you said it would be a good idea, Oppa!”
“…”
Seeing Ahn Sol answer with a bright, innocent smile, I felt a wave of shock and horror wash over me. Finally, I let out a huge sigh and buried my face in my hands. If she were an enemy, I would have slapped her across the face or cut her throat on the spot. But she was an ally, a kid who followed me around because she liked me, so I couldn't think of what to do. (Of course, I couldn't deny that some of the blame was mine.)
In the end, the question of Ahn Sol’s Luck stat was resolved very simply thanks to her eager cooperation. Ahn Sol was a terrifying User. As if the shock and horror weren’t enough, she left me speechless with the profound declaration, “If it’s good, it’s good, right?”
In any case, Ahn Sol immediately used 1 of the 4 points she received as a reward from the Academy and told me she had raised her Luck to 101. Of course, nothing like a sudden windfall of money or a dramatic increase in her stats occurred. Meanwhile, as if she had learned only the worst from Yoojung, Ahn Sol suddenly stared at my face with innocent eyes. Then, using the excuse that she was hot, she took off her robe and slightly exposed her shoulder. Naturally, the mysterious event she was expecting from me did not happen.
I gave her a hard smack on the head and kicked her out. Now that the die was cast, I had no intention of being impatient. I was counting on the ability for direction-finding and anxiety detection during expeditions anyway, so it was something I could check once we left the city.
Only after resolving the matter with Ahn Sol, which I had considered the biggest hurdle, could I finally turn my attention to other things. Those other things included the issues with Lee Yoojung and Vivian.
First, I decided to keep an eye on Lee Yoojung for a little longer. Thinking back to our exploration of the Cave of Screams made me want to confiscate her Demonic Sword immediately, but considering other factors, the situation felt ambiguous. Above all, she was extremely fond of it, so I figured it was best to leave it be, at least while we were in Barbara.
As for Vivian, she had been spending more and more time in a daze lately. Of course, she was still researching diligently and properly fulfilling her role as Shin Sangyong’s mentor. But in her spare time, she often just stared into space with a blank expression. It seemed she had found a clue regarding the elixir's alchemical refinement.
From my perspective, this was a good thing, but from hers, it was a source of immense stress. Vivian had initially said it was possible. But the more she researched and the more she specified the process, the more minute details—factors that contradicted her own theories—began to emerge.
The +4 Stamina Elixir for those under 80, the +2 Stamina Elixir for those under 70, Vivian’s Alchemical Refinement, the heart of the high-ranking demon Belphegor, and Horrence’s magic core. Every single ingredient for her research was immensely valuable. Considering her pride and the rarity of the ingredients, failure was bound to be a significant blow. On top of that, perhaps because she thought I had high expectations, she would occasionally sigh and show a weary expression. I tried to reassure her that it was fine, but it would be a lie to say there was no pressure.
However, all I could do was wait. The actual refinement couldn't begin in earnest until we settled down and built a workshop anyway, so until then, I would trust her and wait.
Even as I watched the currents of the Hall Plain, I continued to refine and examine the inner workings of the clan. A clan’s beginning is crucial. The founding members who first established the clan need to function properly to inspire trust in new members who join later.
After this rough internal check-up, there was still one matter left. And that was the ambiguous relationship between Ko Yeonju and Ahn Sol.