Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Heat Stone Riot
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Peace had finally returned to the gallery after a long time.
Days filled with dozens or hundreds of users vanishing daily, tactical nukes flying around, and aggro posts overflowing with lewd content.
I filled the bathtub I'd bought from the shop with water and activated a single Heat Stone.
*Boil boil*
"Magic is pretty impressive sometimes."
Heat Stones were a troublesome byproduct from the magic towers after experiments—hard to dispose of safely.
If shocked or cracked, they released intense heat, making natural dispersal difficult.
This once-problematic Heat Stone was now shining in the world of bathing culture.
"I think they said the magic tower was making a good income from these last time."
I removed the now-cooled Heat Stone and began enjoying my bath.
Sweating it out in a long-overdue soak, topped off with a glass of cool orange juice.
"Ahh, this is living."
With my mind finally at ease, I lay back.
I had to savor these rare moments of peace.
Endless debate posts gave me headaches every time.
What aggro would pop up next?
Would Geonjeonjoshin ever post a selfie?
Lost in such thoughts, I opened the gallery.
- Fuck, we're doomed!!!!
- Magic tower, wake the fuck up! Wake up already!
- Is the magic tower lord sane, selling Heat Stones at these insane prices?!
- I'm losing my mindI'm losing my mindI'm losing my mindI'm losing my mind
"Ah."
Of course.
Sure enough, the gallery was heating up to the brink of explosion over a new issue.
*
Kellerton's one and only magic tower, Jusak Magic Tower.
To understand the beginning, we go back to shortly after Kellerton's founding.
**[Title: Gonna Build a Magic Tower and Become a Grand Mage!]**
**Author: zlSupremeStormMage**
*(Screenshot of empty lot next to Kellerton castle)*
If I build a magic tower here, won't Grand Mage Judak take notice?
Already got the building permit lol
History has cases of gaining grand mages' favor this way, so I'm giving it a shot.
Magic tower lord Judak! Watch over me!
- (Watching. Con)
- Oh god, not this again. Go eat something.
- Another Judak simp incoming?
- Who knows lol
- (Rampaging mage con)
One of those shitposts that popped up in the gallery.
Like most posts, I figured it was just another delusion-fueled crap.
Who builds a magic tower just to get attention? The scale was insane.
But it wasn't mere bluster.
**[Got the frame up for now, let's go!] - One month ago**
**[Kellerton magic tower under construction ㅇㅇ.jpg] - 20 days ago**
**[Gotta make money so grinding magic tower while building. No Q&A.] - 14 days ago**
**[10th floor complete ffs finally done] - 3 days ago**
**[Judak recruitment post) Magic Tower Lord] - One day ago**
They'd actually completed a 10-story magic tower.
And in the center of the 1st-floor lobby hung a portrait of some beauty claiming to be "me."
On top of that, all the mages who'd split from Adrian had gathered at Jusak Magic Tower.
Its scale had grown larger than expected.
"And something about researching magitech?"
Magic towers specialized by field.
Jusak Magic Tower's focus was magitech.
Enamored with all the Earth items I'd dumped into this world, it became a place researching my "magic" (or whatever).
Thanks to that, they produced the most Heat Stones, but it hadn't been an issue until now.
**[Title: Selling 1,000 Heat Stones]**
**Author: zlSupremeStormMage**
*(Magic golem screenshot)*
*(Short clip of magically animating a beast to command it)*
*(Screenshot of Heat Stones piled high)*
Got carried away with research and now Heat Stones are overflowing;
Selling for 1 quadrillion each;
- osax
- Need Heat Stones for baths, perfect timing
- Gimme all of them now!
- Heat! Stones!
- Hard to like mages, but you're doing great
ㄴ Keep it up
Since even folks from Kellerton and Adrian bought up the troublesome Heat Stones.
Using the barter tab made it convenient—no need to travel everywhere.
Of course, the fees from that all piled up nicely in my warehouse.
The problem was, it caught the dwarves' attention.
- Oh
- Heat Stones, excellent stuff
- Good for baths, and if used right, could heat forges too
ㄴ zlSupremeStormMage) Oh really?
ㄴ I'll buy
ㄴ Hand 'em over
ㄴ zlSupremeStormMage) OK OK how many
ㄴ Hand 'em over
ㄴ zlSupremeStormMage) ?
ㄴ All of them
The dwarves bought them all out.
Well, not exactly hoarding.
They used every one they got.
Surprisingly, baths got more use than forges—dwarves had loved bathing long before it trended.
"This is unexpected: clean dwarves."
But it made sense.
Miners covered in grime were the ones obsessed with cleanliness.
- Kughhh, nothing beats beer in the bath!
- This is the meaning of life
- Can't tolerate filth from brewery work
- Beard care requires hygiene too
Amid the dwarves' fervor, the stock vanished.
Not just reduced—completely wiped out.
Dissatisfaction in that situation was inevitable.
All sold to dwarves, not even fellow humans in Kellerton?
- This ain't about price difference
Eventually, the gallery users marched to Jusak Magic Tower.
Kellerton's intelligent, wise citizens had no choice but to protest and demonstrate.
"Storm Mage you son of a bitch."
"Normalize the prices!"
"It's WWE as usual, push it and it becomes UFC. Wanna kiss my left fist?"
"lol this guy's scary, hiding now."
Seeing the protest from inside the tower, Storm Mage had to make a decision.
**[Title: Fuck]**
*(Dwarf sales ban screenshot)*
Human verification pls; Humans first, then other races later.
**[Recommendations 9999+] [Disrecommendations 4523]**
- sax
- Legendary quote
- (Frog con with eyes and tongue sticking out, tears streaming)
- Kyaa now this is a proper gallery
- What kinda law is this?!
ㄴ Jealous? Pay more then, don't bully merchants unreasonably
ㄴ Right! Us elves think so too. This is too unfair!
ㄴ Elves gtfo
ㄴ Don't try to leech off
ㄴ Hing
Fists are closer than words.
Storm Mage had no choice but to kneel to the citizens' reasonable protest.
*
- Squeak
"Huh, how'd a rat get in?"
I'd stepped out briefly for more juice when I heard a squeak near the vent.
Looked like it luckily slipped through a passage, but got spotted by the swords.
Leaving the rat to its life-or-death hide-and-seek with the holy sword and famed blade, I returned to the bathroom.
"Lately, more rats around."
Maybe because the streets got cleaner and people stopped rat-hunting?
I brushed it off and logged back into the gallery.
- Humans are the shittiest short-lived EU species...jpg
- Why pathetic elves saying that are laughable...jpg
- Forge closing till Heat Stone sales
Racial tensions were brewing in the gallery, and the issue circled back to me.
- Judak, rule on who's wrong
- Judak, pick a side
- You spread bath culture, take responsibility!
ㄴ Judak*: Wanna die?
ㄴ Sorry ;
"Ah, I like baths too."
This was an issue I couldn't ignore.
After some thought, I posted.
**Title: Everyone**
**Author: Judak***
Feeling the Heat Stone debate escalating lately.
Getting mediation requests everywhere, so stating my position.
Hoarding from one place is wrong, and controlling merchants with numbers and pressure under free market (lol) is wrong too.
So I see fault in elves, humans, dwarves alike.
Thus, tentatively suggesting quantity limits per race.
**[Recommendations 9999+] [Disrecommendations 9999+]**
- No fuck you!!!
- Good job!
- Don't you know your "tentative" opinion is a bomb in the gallery? ^^
- Elves did nothing, why lump us in? ㅠㅠ
- Pure Elf) Why us
- Disappointing, Judak!
ㄴ How can you call yourself brother?!
ㄴ Thought you'd side with dwarves like a proper dwarf!
ㄴ Why is Judak a dwarf?
ㄴ Judak's an elf ^^
ㄴ Pretty grand mage obviously human no?
ㄴ MyoRan) lol
As expected, total chaos.
Dwarves reacted hardest—calling me brother made the betrayal sting more.
- Even you, Judak...
- Betrayed by my brother
- No dwarves left to trust in this world
Maybe because dwarves had been quiet till now.
That made their second passion after booze—Heat Stones—impossible to give up.
No choice, I stopped bathing and got out of the tub.
"...Guess I have to."
Really didn't want to go this far.
With a dejected expression, I slowly photographed my pale hand and the bathwater.
Then posted a new thread in the gallery.
**[Title: Flying Squirrel]**
**Author: Judak***
*(Screenshot of completely drained hand)*
*(Screenshot of lukewarm-to-cold bathwater)*
*(Screenshot of cracked, powerless Heat Stone)*
F-f-f-f-fuck
Fucking freezing
Let's share
**[Recommendations 9999+] [Disrecommendations 10]**
- Ah lol got it instantly
- 100% convincing
- Understood
- Can't argue with this
- What's that? Look at the blood drain lololol
- Ffs always giving away, now trying to grab some profit and y'all overreact
ㄴ Didn't expect this level
ㄴ Didn't know Judak used Heat Stones ;
ㄴ Ahem, will hold back
**[Title: Implementing Quantity Limits]**
**Author: zlSupremeStormMage**
*(Screenshot of warehouse sorting Heat Stones by count)*
lol knew you'd do this
Heat Stones normalized now
P.S. Will keep a steady supply reserved for Judak
- Tsk, disappointing but right call
- One race profiting means others lose ㅇㅇ;
- One guy sweeping them all was weird anyway
- Ffs why favoritism for Judak only? Unfair
ㄴ Then you save tens of thousands instead of Judak
ㄴ Behold this ungrateful bastard
ㄴ Who gave you the tub and water lol
ㄴ Usual WWE
And so the Heat Stone issue was resolved.
**[Successfully bartered 10 'Heat Stones'! ]**
Judak*: Thanks, will use well
zlSupremeStormMage: Grand Mage Judak welcome anytime for free ^^
zlSupremeStormMage: So when moving into our tower...? ^^
[Left the chatroom.]
New Heat Stone added, tossed into the cooled water—soon it warmed like a hot spring again.
"Ah, nice."
Feeling the warmth all over, I decided to properly browse the peaceful gallery this time.
About one or two hours later.
Stepping out of the tub, sipping orange juice, I refreshed the gallery.
- Doomeddoomeddoomeddoomeddoomed
- Grab it tight, prices skyrocketing nonstop!!!
- Ah lol no blackcows who didn't buy Jusak tower lord early~?
- Kek I'll take my leave fat and happy lol
- Ffs are these prices for real?
- Elffuck yaaaaaa
"Ah, fuck."
Quantity limits succeeded, now prices were going berserk.