Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Hoarders in the Marketplace
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- Isn't it just me who thinks this is weird?
- The marketplace updated, but it was all gone.
- What happened?
ㄴ Are we gallery folks still living in the Stone Age or what?
ㄴ Fuck, someone's been hoarding for a week now.
Hoarding.
Hoarding had finally hit the marketplace.
Especially the food and weapons categories—everything had been snapped up.
I couldn't help but be surprised.
"No, they're only showing up now?"
How long had it been since the marketplace appeared, and hoarders were only just emerging?
What was even more bizarre was that there were no reports of reselling or anything shady.
And the hoarders weren't working alone.
- No fuck, how did they hoard for days without getting caught?
- They're buying up every damn thing;;
- Even the mint choco sky bread that went up yesterday, all gone.
ㄴ (Enlightened elf kon)
ㄴ What the hell is mint choco hoarding?
ㄴ Shi
ㄴ t
ㄴ My
As my point income grew, the number of items listed on the marketplace had ballooned enormously.
Snapping them all up right at listing time? No way that was a solo job.
"Not even a decent noble could pull that off?"
It was on the scale that only an organization or even a nation could attempt.
Thanks to that, the gallery users returned to their roots.
[Title: Legend lololol]
(Clip of digging up roots in the backyard)
Never thought I'd be doing this shit again, for real.
Thanks, hoarders, you fucking legends~
- Lolololol what're you doing in full armor?
- Whoa, this clip brings back memories.
ㄴ For real; hits hard thinking about the old days.
ㄴ Makes me wanna puke lololol.
The marketplace had guaranteed at least one meal a day, but hoarding shut that down.
Back to foraging wild greens in the hills and fields, or eating monster meat like old times.
"Hmm, this won't do."
Luxury goods? Hoard away, who cares.
But hoarding food and weapons—the lifelines of the gallery users? That was a serious problem.
Naturally, gallery users started hunting for the culprits one by one...
[Title: What are the dwarves doing here?]
(Clip investigating something near Elrad Forest)
(Clip of dwarf scouts taking a break and pulling out marketplace food)
- No way, why are dwarves in Elrad?
- Just looking at the map, that's like opposite ends of the world, right?
It didn't take long to narrow down suspects.
Dwarves in Elrad, chowing down on hoarded marketplace goods.
Not just one or two—dozens, looking like a full scout unit.
- Huh? Come to think of it, I saw some too.
- Pretty sure I spotted them inside Elrad Forest recently...
- And that food looks like the hoarded stuff?
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ Wait, no way?
Food and weapons hoarding.
Dwarf scouts in Elradrien territory.
- That thing, war horns! War horns blaring!
- Hiiiik, alert! Elves, emergencyyyy!!!
It screamed war to anyone watching.
The elves went into full panic mode.
*
Dwarves hated elves with a passion.
Hated—no, despised them.
[Title: Brothers, come vote]
What do you hate more?
1. Magical beasts
2. Elves
Poll results: Magical beasts 52% Elves 48%
[Recommendations 3423] [Disrecommendations 2134]
- Whoa, on par with magical beasts?
- Lololol real talk.
- Didn't the dwarves skip going after elves even during the Great War? Lololol.
The poll results showed they hated elves almost as much as magical beasts. That said it all.
Elves and dwarves were infamous bitter enemies.
But it wasn't always like that.
Back at first contact between races, they got along decently.
Dwarves traded finely crafted weapons and armor; elves shared Elrad materials and magic knowledge.
- Haha, these tall, long-eared smartasses ain't half bad.
- Might even help our tech advance.
ㄴ Heh heh, of course!
ㄴ We're elves graciously exchanging with you^^
ㄴ Ugly shorties lolol.
ㄴ ??
ㄴ ?
Of course, elf social skills were deranged then as now.
But it wasn't bad enough to break relations.
The trouble started about a month into exchanges.
[Elf-Dwarf Trade Agreement]
1. Dwarves will visit Elradrien directly each month for exchanges.
2. To exchange with elves, prepare 100kg gold and 100kg silver each time.
3. Dwarf King performs a respectful ceremony to the Elf Queen to seal the contract.
After a few trades, the elf delegation showed up at the dwarf king's door with this document.
"What's this?"
"From now on, dwarves must follow these terms when visiting Elradrien."
A blatantly unfair contract.
The delegation stood tall and proud, demanding it. The dwarves were left dumbfounded.
Naturally, the old dwarf king's verdict was unanimous.
"Do these elves have necks made of steel or what?"
They turned the elf delegation into elf segments—guillotine showtime.
"Chop the pointy-eared bastards' heads off."
"Hiiiik."
"Eek, spare the pretty, beautiful, all-doing elves!"
The dwarves turned the delegation into chunks, and that sparked it all.
The Elf-Dwarf War erupted before even the Great War.
The Great War interrupted, making survival tough for both, so they paused...
But with the marketplace now, resuming war wouldn't be weird.
"Evande."
Learning this history, my mind went ice cold.
Magical beasts still kicking around, and war now?
That was 100% suicide.
Luckily, I knew a dwarf gallery user, so I messaged current dwarf king Tada-in right away.
Judak*: Fuck, stop it NOW!!!
Taldrue: Ah, stopping ain't possible.
Taldrue: But what exactly should we stop?
Already knew everything, playing dumb?
Everyone saw the war supply hoarding and armed dwarf scouts.
I get most races hate elves—pin it on them if shit hits the fan.
But now wasn't the time for war.
Judak*: Stop the war with the elves!
Tried to talk him down somehow...
Taldrue: Brother, what are you talking about?
Judak*: ?
Taldrue: Elves are kill-on-sight pointy-ears, sure, but no war plans here.
The dwarves were clueless.
Just more gallery-fueled fake news.
*
Dwarves had cut back on gallery activity lately.
No dwarves to debunk war rumors, so the gallery burned hot.
- War? What's that now?
- If not dwarves, lay off the daytime booze.
Dwarves arriving late were totally baffled.
- Don't lie lolol.
ㄴ Fr, you think we don't know you're stockpiling war supplies?
But war's all about bluffing.
Especially humans, bluff masters—they didn't buy the dwarves' denial at first.
Dwarves = aggressive, right?
But there was solid proof they weren't prepping war.
- Wouldn't Lord Judak shut down the marketplace if war started?
- How do you wage war without booze?
ㄴ Huh? True.
Dwarves were 70% booze by body mass.
Aggressive and battle-loving, sure, but war? I'd shut the marketplace.
War meant swearing off alcohol.
- Might as well die before going dry.
- Don't drink booze.
ㄴ What?
ㄴ Don't drink booze, they say.
ㄴ How do you even do that?
Not even considering the "w" in war.
"So why the hoarding then?"
But questions lingered.
Why hoard then?
- You guys hogging all the marketplace food?
- Fr, hoarding and owning it.
- Recommend if you think dwarves are selfish lolol.
No matter how you sliced it, it looked like war prep.
Only one answer.
[Title: Kilgrot Kingdom Mines...jpg]
Poster: Taldrue
(Clip of abandoned mine)
(Clip of countless rifts inside the mine)
(Clip of magical beasts swarming outside the walls)
Then come block it for us.
- Uh.
- Good hoarding approved.
- Whoa fuck, those numbers real? So many lololololol.
- Ah lolol; can't blame 'em.
ㄴ (Knight kon clutching head with both hands)
Magical beasts swarming Kilgrot Kingdom.
The numbers were the issue.
One or two waves? Dwarves could mop 'em.
But cold winter region, kingdom at mountain base—they don't chase distant waves.
Scattered waves snowballed into an army.
"But compared to the reclamation battle before, the numbers are actually fewer?"
If just that, no sweat.
Dwarves were entrance-sealing pros against worse.
Problem: New entrance inside the mine.
Rifts inside that could burst anytime—crisis.
Safe at mountain base with one entry, but that became the weakness.
"So the scouts were looking for new kingdom sites."
Dwarves were trapped, unable to advance or retreat.
- Taldrue) Think we'd buy up even shit-tier choco for nothing?
No time for picky eating.
Most understood once the full story dropped, but plenty didn't.
[Title: So what now? Lolol]
Your problem, why make us suffer??
Idk fr.
Should've stocked food properly ages ago, why steal mine?
(Farmer frog flipping off kon)
- Fr lolol.
- So you're the dumbass?
- Don't care about war or beasts, just give back my tuna cans ah lolol.
Screw other races' survival when I'm hurting.
Solution was simple, though.
"I could ramp up marketplace stock."
But then I'd be the problem.
Market's my exp farm, sure, but points need balance.
Flood more, and outflow beats inflow.
Can't solve every crisis by dumping stock.
"Hmm... war supplies."
War needs easy hunger fix: portable, long shelf life.
Tasty enough, cheap, mass-distributable combat rations.
"Anything like that?"
Of course.
That dirt-cheap army PX staple I ate endlessly.
[Barley Hardtack 10kg] - 25p
At ~30g per pack, insane quantity for the price.
Basically 72 won per pack—nuts efficiency barley hardtack.