Chapter 31
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Bald is the Strongest? (1)
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[...Thank you for listening to my long story.]
Only after five minutes of asking for a ‘simple greeting’ did the Lord finally finish speaking.
It wasn't a short amount of time.
It wasn't a back-and-forth conversation, but a one-sided stream of speech bubbles.
It was basically five minutes of non-stop talking.
“Uh, so…”
Through that five-minute ‘simple greeting,’ I learned two things.
First.
This female knight is more soft-hearted than I thought.
To the point where she'd hand out bone broth made from a horse's skeleton to each of her subordinate monsters.
Second.
The situation in the Lord's Castle is so dire that the Lord herself can't even eat properly and has to cook with monster byproducts.
[Conversation finished. Leave now?]
1. Leave.
2. Don't leave.
In other words, that was all I could glean from the ‘conversation with the Lord.’
I tapped the pixelated window in front of me.
[You waved goodbye to the Lord.]
[Farewell.]
The female knight bowed her head.
The zoomed-in image of the Audience Chamber reverted to the original view of the Lord's Castle.
Eventually, the ‘MonMonMak’ screen itself disappeared, leaving only a single line of text.
[You listened attentively to the Lord's story. The Lord's favorability has increased by 1.]
“…Well, I did get one more thing out of it.”
Come to think of it, the Dream Lord was on the recruitment list.
The conditions were not just 999.9 billion gold, but also reaching 100 favorability.
*Hmph.*
As I was blankly staring at the night view, something soft touched my face.
The Sage was pressing itself against my cheek.
It seemed worried about me, lost in thought after my conversation with the Lord.
“Don't worry, Sage.”
I met the beholder's steady gaze and stroked its head.
To be honest, since awakening my ability, I had never given the Lord's Castle itself much thought.
It was only natural.
The reality of being a Hunter felt much more tangible than a world represented by pixels.
But now.
I realized I had to care about the world within the pixels just as much as reality.
‘The Dream Lord and I are in a symbiotic relationship.’
It's not a one-sided sponsorship like with the Gardener of the Mother Goddess.
I hire monsters from the Dream Lord's Castle to be my forces.
The Dream Lord's Castle gets the magic stones and defensive troops it needs to maintain itself from me.
We're indispensable to each other.
If one side falls.
The other side falls too.
‘I want to get a more detailed grasp of the castle's situation.’
The Lord only told me a series of fragmented anecdotes.
I needed someone who could give me a more detailed report.
***
“The state of the Lord's Castle… you ask.”
Summoned to a neighborhood hill in the middle of the night, Odolph stroked his protruding tusk.
“It seems something has happened to cause a change in my lord's heart. You have never asked me such a thing before.”
“That's right.”
I affirmed.
Odolph looked at me with a benevolent gaze before dusting himself off.
His whole body was covered in rock dust and dirt.
Even the hat on his head was caked in a thick layer of dust.
I heard he had been called away while restoring a collapsed passage in the Lord's Castle.
“The Lord's Castle is in this state.”
Odolph said, shaking a fist-sized rock from his hat.
“This state?”
“Dry, barren, and weathered. It could collapse at any moment.”
“...”
I didn't have much to say.
My worries simply deepened.
“Is there anything I can do to help…”
Something landed on my shoulder with a thud.
Odolph had reached out and placed part of his enormous hand on it.
“My lord, needless worry is a poison.”
Warmth filled the ogre's intelligent eyes.
“You are doing well, my lord. In fact, the Lord's Castle has improved significantly. Many times better than when I was first assigned as a berserker.”
When he was first assigned as a berserker. That was before he wore the Archmage Gandolph's hat.
Back when I only had Gono.
He was saying that things were much better now than they were back then.
And that it was all thanks to me.
Those calm words.
They pulled me up from the depths of my worries.
“So, my lord, you only need to continue as you are.”
The ogre archmage already knew what worries were filling my head.
“Continue to do what you wish to do. As you do, the Lord's Castle will naturally prosper.”
As he finished speaking, he removed his hand from my shoulder.
He was preparing to leave.
“Ah, but there’s one more thing I want to ask.”
“Please, speak.”
“What about the Dream Lord? Does she care for you all?”
“The Dream Lord…? Ah.”
Odolph's mouth opened.
At a glance, it might have looked like a ferocious monster growling, but his eyes transformed the expression into a benevolent smile.
“If you are referring to the young lady, then yes. She cares for us a great deal. Enough to cook and serve us meals herself.”
Meals, huh. Is he talking about the skeleton horse bone broth?
As if reading my expression, Odolph gazed at a distant mountain with a wistful look and added.
“…We are truly grateful. Monsters such as myself do not need to eat at regular intervals, but we could never refuse the young lady's sincerity.”
The ogre archmage never once said it was delicious.
“Still, the Lord has to eat. I'd like to support her with some food supplies.”
Odolph shook his head.
“It is not yet possible to bring items from the mortal world into the Lord's Castle. A certain ‘device’ would be needed to make that possible.”
“A device.”
“I cannot give you the specific details, my lord. As I am also bound to the Lord's Castle, I am under certain restrictions.”
“It’s okay, this is more than enough.”
I now knew it was impossible to cram anything other than magic stones into the Lord's Castle for the time being.
And I had a pretty good idea what kind of device was needed.
“For now, it seems I have no choice but to keep providing magic stones.”
“That is the best course of action. Magic stones are not only the power source for maintaining and repairing the castle, but also a currency for replenishing food and weapons. Fortunately, we've gathered a lot of good byproducts from the undead corpses this time, so we have more than enough gold to purchase magic stones.”
It meant there wouldn't be any mishaps like a delayed payment, as with Jen Karuk's soul stone, or a lack of gold to buy magic stones.
In that case, my path was clearer.
“I hope to see you on a fierce battlefield next time.”
Odolph smiled, affirming my thoughts.
***
I turned on my computer as soon as I got back.
A brief moment of leisure, the first in a while.
There were people I wanted to see.
[Bald is the Strongest: Whoaaaaaa where'd our streamer go, you're finally back?]
[CrappyGame-bro's Stalker Fan: The greatest fraud of our time has arrived, I see~]
[Monster Blocking Hunter: Ah lol, a stream that started 10 seconds ago? Couldn't resist.]
The moment I started the stream, all six viewer slots filled up instantly.
“Long time no see, everyone.”
[DdongDdongMak: hihi CrappyGame-bro I changed my ID lolol]
[The Last Pro: Ah bro hurry up and spill the tea on the Garden of the Abyss lololol]
The Garden of the Abyss.
I had made a promise with them.
That I would clear the ‘Deepest Part’ of the Garden of the Abyss and bring back proof.
The chat was already buzzing.
[Monster Blocking Hunter: CrappyGame-bro probably couldn't even get in, what story could there be lol]
[DdongDdongMak: Right?? The dungeon's gone, how could he clear it?]
[CrappyGame-bro's Stalker Fan: ? Wut u mean, CrappyGame-bro is the hunter who cleared the Garden of the Abyss's deepest part]
[The Last Pro: Isn't that Kim Hanul hunter CrappyGame-bro?]
[Bald is the Strongest: I'm staying neutral for now~]
Among the six viewers, excluding the silent Viewer 1, the opinions were split exactly 2-to-2.
One side believed my promise to clear the deepest part of the Garden of the Abyss.
The other was skeptical, doubting that the CrappyGame-bro they knew could be that rumored Hunter.
What should I do?
I thought for a moment.
On my desk was a single sheet of paper.
The certificate of completion for the deepest part of the Garden of the Abyss, issued by the Association headquarters.
The only one of its kind in the world.
If I showed them that.
I would become that ‘rumored super rookie’ Hunter to them.
But in exchange, the user known as ‘What Kind of Crappy Game Is This,’ who laughed and cried over a dead game, would disappear.
“I'll have to say no comment for now.”
That’s why I decided to postpone the decision.
[DdongDdongMak: C'mon, even for you, CrappyGame-bro, this is a bit much;;;]
[The Last Pro: Whoa, CrappyGame-bro is pulling *that* line on us?]
[Bald is the Strongest: Classic crappy-game pro attitude haha]
Naturally, the chat got a little restless.
But the one who calmed them down was the viewer who had been watching quietly until then.
[Viewer 1: I understand. I'm sure the day will come when you'll tell us, What Kind of Crappy Game Is This.]
As expected of Viewer 1-bro!
Viewer 1 was the one who had given me the mission in the first place.
He was also the most influential viewer in this situation.
[DdongDdongMak: Whoa, as expected from God-Viewer-bro... He's letting it slide]
[CrappyGame-bro's Stalker Fan: God Viewer 1 is the king, gotta admit;;]
When the person who had dropped ten million won said that, the slightly heated chat quickly cooled down.
[Bald is the Strongest: So you'll tell us later?]
“Yes, I promise I will tell you someday.”
[DdongDdongMak: CrappyGame-bro... You're not just gonna ghost us after this, are you?]
[The Last Pro: If you do, I'll chase you to the ends of the earth fr fr]
Of course not.
In a way, these six people were like family to me.
From the time I had to be a pillar for someone else rather than lean on anyone.
This was the only place I could rely on.
I had no intention of hiding the truth from them forever.
“Alright then…”
As I trailed off, the chat exploded.
[The Last Pro: Don't tell me you're asking for dungeon recommendations again?]
[DdongDdongMak: Crappy but recommended game bro!]
“Nope. This time, I want to run a MonMonMak simulation with you all. Of course, since the game is dead, it'll be in our heads… I'll use MS Paint if needed.”
[DdongDdongMak: Crappy game simulation lmao asdfghjkl]
[CrappyGame-bro's Stalker Fan: Why are we talking about a dead game that shut down?]
[The Last Pro: LMAO poking the corpse of a dead crappy game lololol]
The chat scrolled by quickly.
But despite their words, they were having fun.
Of course they were.
Even if they hadn't played it themselves, they had enjoyed MonMonMak with me.
They were the ones who were sad to see five years of memories burn away to nothing.
Knowing that, I began my story.
“So, here we have a failing Lord's Castle.”
A castle with no decent trap rooms and barely any proper monsters.
A castle that has to endure waves in the 700s in that state.
The castle of a clumsy newbie.
“…That’s pretty much the situation. What should be done here?”
[CrappyGame-bro's Stalker Fan: What do you mean what;; if you don't want it to get wrecked, you gotta swipe the card;]
[The Last Pro: Nah nah, he said no cash shop. Just gotta restart gg. No decent rooms and few monsters with item buffs, how are you gonna stop a wave in the 700s]
[DdongDdongMak: It doesn't just sound like a failing castle, it sounds like a failed one; It's gonna get wiped without a single brick left;]
Just as I thought.
Most of the viewers spewed negativity.
They were right.
In terms of the simple game MonMonMak, the Dream Lord's Castle was indeed in a precarious situation, like a candle in the wind.
However, among them, there was one who took my words seriously.
[Bald is the Strongest: First, you gotta increase your troops lol]
His thinking was the same as mine.
“Go on.”
[Bald is the Strongest: You said you can't hire 7 or 8-star monsters right now, and can't build high-level trap rooms, right? Can't even do gacha pulls. So shouldn't you just fill it up with 2 or 3-star monsters and overwhelm them with numbers?]
Reinforce the troops.
Increase the absolute number of defensive forces.
He was right.
But there was a problem.
“To block waves with 2 or 3-star monsters with no items, you'd need at least 100 per passage.”
Filling them with 100 monsters each wasn't the issue.
I could just hunt that many different monsters.
The problem was what happened after the defense.
A single wave would probably wipe out at least 80 percent of the forces.
Then I'd have to hunt that many again to replenish them.
It would likely become a case of pouring water into a leaky pot.
[Bald is the Strongest: Do you need to hire a hundred of them? Can't you just stick a monster in the castle that creates a hundred units at a time?]
“A monster that creates a hundred units at a time…”
Ah.
A lightbulb went on in my head.
There was one.
A monster that could create ten squads of monsters in just a few hours, just by being placed in the barracks.
“But…”
My expression darkened.
A monster that creates a hundred units at a time.
In the game, it was a mid-tier unit you could hire once you saved up enough money.
But in reality, it was a different story.
It was an A-rank monster that even a team of decent Hunters would struggle against.
Its byproducts were potent, fitting for an A-rank, but also dropped infrequently.
And it was rare, only appearing in high-level gates.
In other words, it was a very big deal.
So much so that numerous guilds would fight tooth and nail to secure a gate where this thing was spotted.
‘In many ways, it's exactly what the castle needs. But right now, there's no way to get one…’
It was then.
[Bald is the Strongest: Ah, speaking of which. You're a Hunter, right?]
While the chat was going wild over the monster I just mentioned.
One chat message caught my eye.
“Yes. You saw my license, right, Kang-nim?”
[Bald is the Strongest: Just checking one more time. B-rank or higher?]
“That’s right.”
[Bald is the Strongest: In that case,]
[Bald is the Strongest: I'm going to hunt a monster soon, wanna come along?]
“?”
What is this viewer saying right now?
[CrappyGame-bro's Stalker Fan: ?]
[The Last Pro: Hunt what?]
[DdongDdongMak: Bald-nim coming in hot all of a sudden lololol]
This person was a Hunter, too?
[Bald is the Strongest: Why's everyone overreacting;; I told you before.]
[The Last Pro: No... you said you worked in a Hunter-related field, not that you were a Hunter...]
[Monster Blocking Hunter: The unexpected identity lmao I'm shook]
I tried to organize my thoughts as quickly as possible.
The viewer prodded me again.
[Bald is the Strongest: So what'll it be? You said you were starting your Hunter activities again. I've enjoyed the stream so far, so I was thinking of getting you a spot on an expedition team as a thank you. We could meet face-to-face, too.]
[Bald is the Strongest has donated 100,000 Won.]
[Let's go, fan meet]
He even used a donation attack.
This person really seemed to want to meet me.
Bald is the Strongest.
He was certainly the viewer who had donated the most over my five years of streaming.
I just thought he was a rich kid, but if he's a Hunter, it's entirely possible.
‘What should I do?’
Just like with the other four viewers, I had planned on meeting him someday to thank him in person.
“What kind of monster are you going to hunt?”
But I had to be careful.
Not only because public interest in me hadn't died down yet.
But also because I couldn't afford to waste my time hunting some random small fry.
[Bald is the Strongest: Oh, did I not say? It's different from the one in MonMonMak, but it has the same name as the monster we just talked about.]
Ah.
The monster that could create a hundred units just by being placed.
[Bald is the Strongest: My guild secured the gate this time.]