Chapter 86
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: A Secret Sponsor (1)
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After filing a preliminary clear report at the Dungeon Administration's Ulsan branch, I arrived back in Seoul a little after 3 a.m.
“Nyaaa.”
I greeted San-gun with a pat, took a quick shower, and immediately linked to the Lord's Castle.
I tapped on the newly added 'Father of Steel' in the recruitment list.
[Paying 4000 gold to hire the 「Father of Steel」.]
Whooong!
Just like before, an orb shot out from the rift that opened behind me.
When I caught it, I was surprised to find it felt a bit heavier than the others.
The orb for summoning the Father of Steel was, of all things, a steel ball.
“Living up to the name.”
With a chuckle, I dropped the steel ball onto the floor.
Pshhhh!
A hazy mist soon filled the living room, and a lanky, stick-bug-like figure nearly two meters tall appeared.
However, its appearance was slightly different from what I'd seen in the dungeon.
This one wasn't wearing a wooden mask.
Thus, its smooth face, reminiscent of a wooden doll, came into full view.
It looks even more like a stick bug with its bare face.
“Oh, oooh! Human!”
The golemmancer, suddenly thrust into the world, immediately turned its head toward me.
Its eyes, as small as buttonholes, widened to the size of large coins.
Then, it stretched out its long arm, pointing back and forth between itself and me, and shouted.
“Human! I'm alive! It's all thanks to human!”
For some reason, San-gun, who was in my arms, and the Sage, perched on my shoulder, reacted to its words.
“Nyaaa!”
[The Sage is angry that this monster is pointing at you without knowing its place. (╬ Ò ‸ Ó)]
Well, since they were this worked up, I figured I should say something too.
“Not 'human.' From now on, I'm your master.”
“Master?”
The golemmancer tilted its head and stroked its chin.
“Other world has master too. Two masters?”
“If by 'other world' you mean the Dream Lord, then yes. For now, the Dream Lord and I are in a cooperative relationship.”
“Ooh, then human. Lord of Lords, King of Lords!”
What is this bald wooden doll talking about?
The golemmancer kept shouting things like 'Kuuuh, Kooo, King of Lords!' until it was silenced by a swipe from San-gun's claws.
Thanks to that, I could continue the conversation in a much more peaceful environment.
“Anyway, that's how it is. You'll follow my orders from now on.”
“Follow master. Father of Steel is very good.”
The golemmancer gave a thumbs-up.
“And Father of Steel is very smart.”
I casually ignored its added remark and had the Sage properly analyze the golemmancer.
It quickly displayed the analysis window before my eyes.
[Father of Steel]
[Type: Named Monster]
[Rank: MonMonMak Standard, 5-Star]
[Stats: Strength 5, Agility 5, Stamina 10, Intelligence 85]
[Skills: Golem Creation Lv.10, Golem Modification Lv.10, Magitech Engineering Lv.5]
[The Father of Steel is the smartest golemmancer. Countless lives have been lost before his terrifying wisdom.]
“...”
“How is it, master. Father of Steel, very capable!”
Uh. For a 5-star, its stats are unbelievably low. A Strength of 5 is even lower than mine was before I awakened.
‘But what is this Magitech Engineering skill?’
The Sage didn't display any particular information. This meant that even it, a repository of all knowledge, didn't know much about it. So, I asked the stick bug.
“I see you have a skill called Magitech Engineering. What is it?”
“Magitech Engineering is Magitech Engineering! Father of Steel, very smart about Magitech Engineering!”
...So what is Magitech Engineering?
I gave up asking. I'd find out on my own eventually.
Still, its exclusive skills, Golem Creation and Golem Modification, were at max level.
At the very least, I had more than achieved my original goal.
“Anyway, I'll be counting on you. Go back to the Lord's Castle right away and start making golems. As many as you can. I'll have a use for them soon.”
But once again, the stick bug raised an issue.
“Father of Steel cannot make golems now!”
“?”
“To make golems, need workshop!”
A workshop. It's probably a special space, like the Gnome's Forge, right?
With the creature in front of me, I linked to the Lord's Castle.
I had two Special Space Development Vouchers left.
I selected one and checked the list, quickly finding a special space called 'Golemancer's Workshop'.
“Alright. I'll build it for you now.”
I created a passage deep inside the Lord's Castle, next to the Audience Chamber, and built the workshop there.
“Thank you, truly the King of Lords!”
“Now go back. Oh, and.”
I took the wooden mask from the dimensional pouch I'd left on the desk and held it out.
“Here.”
“Oh, oooh!”
The wooden stick bug let out a cry of delight as it took the mask.
It immediately put it on and then grabbed my hand.
“King of Lords, truly Father of Steel's greatest benefactor! I will definitely repay you!”
“Uh, yeah. Sure. Go on now.”
I sent it back to the Lord's Castle, feeling like any more conversation would just tire me out.
Building the workshop took about eight hours.
So, when I woke up after a good sleep, a status window was floating right before my eyes.
[Construction of the 「Golemancer's Workshop」 in the Lord's Castle is complete.]
I checked the Lord's Castle while holding a yawning, stretching San-gun.
Inside the workshop, which was piled with various scraps of metal, the Father of Steel was already making something.
The moment I tapped the pixelated screen to check the workshop's information.
[Would you like to check the Magitech Engineering upgrade list?]
I was expecting something like a list of constructible golems at most, but something completely different popped up.
It seemed the golemmancer procured the byproducts and created the golems on its own.
In that case, these Magitech Engineering products must be related to the 'Magitech Engineering' skill, the Father of Steel's unique trait.
“Let's check it out.”
[Magitech Engineering Upgrade List]
[Consume 1 Energy Core to perform a special Magitech Engineering upgrade.]
A new description window appeared.
“...Huh?!”
A list I could have never imagined unfolded before my eyes.
[Castle Wall Upgrade]
[Mana Railgun Upgrade]
[Mana Pulse Trap Upgrade]
[Mana Force Field Upgrade]
...
[Audience Chamber Auto-Defense System Upgrade]
These were just some of the most prominent ones.
It was the ability to upgrade the Lord's Castle's defense system itself.
A feature I'd never seen in the original MonMonMak.
On top of that, the performance of each upgrade was outstanding.
“An Energy Core... I'm sure I...”
I scrambled out of bed and checked my dimensional pouch.
Soon, a potato-sized sphere of light emerged in my hand.
“Alright, let's test it right away.”
* * *
It took Gono ten hours to return to the Lord's Castle with the Energy Core.
The Energy Core itself wasn't very large, but the amount of energy it contained was immense.
I immediately tapped on the workshop to check, and a list of activated items appeared in blue.
Except for things I didn't have yet, like the Mana Railgun, they were all useful upgrades.
“Still, this one has to be first.”
But I didn't need to think about it for long.
[Castle Wall Upgrade]
A castle, by definition, must have a strong foundation.
The walls surrounding the Lord's Castle were the first piece of armor that needed reinforcing.
[The golemmancer 「Father of Steel」 will now use the Energy Core to begin the castle wall upgrade.]
I wondered how long it would take this time, but then.
[Castle wall upgrade complete.]
“That was fast.”
The upgrade was completed after a single clatter.
Simultaneously, the pixelated image of the Lord's Castle changed.
Zzzhng!
With a pixelated sound effect, a blue light enveloped the gray walls surrounding the castle.
[The castle walls have been reinforced using the Energy Core. A mana force field now covers the entire wall.]
[When defending against a wave, deploying the mana force field will slow the movement speed of the invading wave by 30%. The mana force field can be continuously upgraded by consuming Energy Cores.]
And the results of the upgrade unfolded before my eyes.
As a test, I tapped the newly created 'Deploy Mana Force Field' button on the side of the Lord's Castle screen.
Whoooosh!
A massive blue dome materialized, covering not only the Lord's Castle but also the northern road where the waves invade.
“Oho.”
A cheer escaped my lips.
The castle itself had gained a skill that cast an area-wide debuff.
It was a skill that would undoubtedly prove useful starting with the upcoming 704th wave.
“Let's see. I've got a decent debuff now.”
Although I'd obtained a brokenly powerful ability, I couldn't let my guard down.
This was a wave I'd never managed to clear before, so my preparations had to be even more thorough.
I continued to search for anything that could help with wave defense.
“It would be nice to have some defense turrets that could bombard enemies from a distance.”
Considering the Void-attribute Idic's proliferation and consumption traits, establishing an independent defense system was more important than just increasing the number of defensive troops.
Turrets that could attack from afar and couldn't have their stats stolen by the wave were the best choice.
Unfortunately, however, there were no defense turrets available to build at the moment.
The problem was the materials.
The 'Electric Railgun,' which could be considered the ultimate weapon in MonMonMak, required an insane amount of unheard-of materials.
Even the terribly inefficient 'Wooden Defense Tower' required byproducts I'd never seen in reality, like 'Arkinian Timber'.
At this rate, it was impossible to procure the crafting materials in the real world.
‘I guess there's no helping it for now.’
There were eight days until the next wave.
All I could do was prepare as much as possible.
Just as I was about to contact Ju Jisan, just in case.
Vrrrrooom!
My smartphone rang.
I disconnected from MonMonMak and checked the screen.
It was an unregistered number.
Thinking it might be Sanarae, I answered right away.
- Ah, Hunter Kim Hanul. Is that you?
But the voice that came through was that of a gruff man.
“Yes, it is. Who...”
- It's me, Yu Geonha.
“?”
I flinched.
Samwol Group.
The chairman of one of Korea's leading conglomerates since the Great Cataclysm, and, in a way, the man whose son died at my hands.
Why would Yu Geonha be calling me all of a sudden?
“What can I do for you, Chairman?”
I asked, my voice laced with caution.
- My apologies for calling so late at night.
“How did you get my number?”
- There are ways. I apologize if it makes you uncomfortable.
Sanarae does a pretty good job of protecting my personal information.
It must have taken quite an effort to get past her defenses.
Why would he go to such lengths to contact me?
The reason.
- I'll be direct.
Yu Geonha stated in an emotionless voice.
- Have you ever heard of corporate sponsorship?
Corporate sponsorship.
I had.
It's when a private corporation, not a guild, provides various goods and expenses to a super rookie or a Hunter with great potential for growth.
Hunters can use it to build a more abundant foundation for their growth, while the corporation can establish connections with future leaders of the Hunter world and greatly increase its public recognition.
In that sense.
“I've heard of it, but why are you asking me about it, Chairman?”
The Samwol Group, already established as a leading conglomerate, has never sponsored a single Hunter before.
They had no need for the benefits that came with corporate sponsorship.
So.
- You ask the obvious.
Yu Geonha's next words were enough to make me doubt my own ears.
- I've chosen you to be the first to receive the Samwol Group's sponsorship.