Little Rock (3)
“Why… won’t it work?”
He wasn’t releasing mana directly to threaten them, but his face carried a kind of fear that was impossible to explain. Perhaps because she was suppressing her magic, her hair was slowly lifting into the air.
Her expression, fixed on the space ahead without so much as a single blink, looked almost devoid of emotion. I didn’t know if it was the effect of Mind’s Eye, but there was even a trace of madness buried somewhere in the deepest part of those eyes.
Yikes…
All in all, she had a dangerous air about her.
Being able to instill fear in people with nothing more than that expression—without even releasing killing intent or mana—was, in a way, a talent. It felt as though a dark shadow were pressing down on everyone except me.
“It… works.”
Marriage is off.
There was no doubt it would be the death of her. Before this, I’d already known Jung Hayan had gotten stronger. I’d spent so much time standing beside monsters like Cha Heera and Kasugano Yuno that I’d also noticed how stressed she’d become over her lack of ability.
Maybe the reason she hadn’t caused some huge incident was simply that she’d been too busy.
Whenever she wasn’t with me, she buried herself in magic like a lunatic.
I need to get stronger. I need to try harder. I have to grow more today than I did yesterday, and more tomorrow than I do today.
That was the sort of creature geniuses were.
[Player Jung Hayan's status window and latent potential are being checked.]
[Name - Jung Hayan]
[Title - None. You should work a little harder.]
[Age - 21]
[Alignment - Defender in Love]
[Class - Archmage - Heroic Grade]
[Stats]
[Strength - 18 / Growth limit: Rare or below]
[Agility - 17 / Growth limit: Rare or below]
[Stamina - 30 / Growth limit: Heroic or below]
[Intelligence - 71 / Growth limit: Heroic or above]
[Endurance - 25 / Growth limit: Rare or below]
[Luck - 63 / Growth limit: Heroic or above]
[Mana - 81 / Growth limit: Legendary or above]
[Equipment]
[Staff of the Life Water Lost to Light - Heroic Grade]
[Shadow Robe Filled with Mana - Heroic Grade]
[Holy Protection - Rare Grade]
[Trait - How to Become a Mage - Heroic Grade]
[Overall Evaluation - Her mana stat has exceeded 80. That number includes item effects, but for a player who hasn’t even been active for a year, it’s frankly absurd. Of course, her other stats are comparatively terrible, so it’s hard to call this balanced growth—but what she’s showing is still deeply unreasonable. Rapid growth is good, but it could put strain on her body, so you’ll need to help her develop in a balanced way. Of course, taking care of her mental health comes first. Do your best, Player Lee Kiyoung.]
Jung Hayan’s mana stat was now higher than Hwang Jeongyeon’s. Just as the evaluation said, it was hard to believe a player who’d only been around for less than a year had grown this much.
Of course, because she’d focused so obsessively on one thing, her other stats were atrocious. But even so, who could complain? Jung Hayan already possessed abilities that placed her among the upper echelon of this continent.
No—given her naturally genius talent for magic, her value went far beyond what was visible on the surface.
After I finished thinking, I glanced at Jung Hayan again, and the same sight from before came into view.
Ugh…
The master of our little rock, who could be said to have a fairly high level of composure himself, seemed to be shaking off the effect, but the lackeys standing behind him looked completely overwhelmed.
As soon as she stirred up her mana, the guys behind her let out long, shaky breaths.
“Haaah… haaah…”
“Hayan, relax your face.”
“Y-yes…”
“I’m sorry about this. My girlfriend doesn’t seem to be in a very good mood today. If it weren’t for you all, we’d still be out on a date. Ahem. Anyway, to continue, I have the power to make possible the things you’re saying can’t be done.”
“……”
“Since it seems you don’t believe me, let me put it in the simplest terms. I could ask Lady Marlin for help, or—though it’d be a little rough—I could cling to a religious pretext. I could also dump mountains of dirt-cheap potions and goods into Castle Rock and completely wreck its market economy, or move Lindel’s excellent free citizens here to Castle Rock. Ah! Wouldn’t it be great if the Red Mercenaries opened a branch office in Castle Rock? Maybe I should ask Heera noona if she’d like to try her hand at business.”
“……”
“What if I brought over the Yozora Guild that Kasugano Yuno and I run in Japan? The initial investment would be a bit heavy, sure, but I could set up a massive potion factory right here in Castle Rock. Isn’t the Little Rock Guild already dabbling in the potion business? I don’t know what you’re selling them for now, but I can easily absorb half of whatever price you’re charging.”
“……”
“What do you think about selling off your other source of income too—the monster byproducts? If I do it cheaply enough, I’m sure it’ll be plenty painful for you. Or we could just buy the land you’re standing on. Hahaha. You’re free citizens, so you’re using land leased from Castle Rock, but I, as an Honorary Bishop, can buy land outright.”
“……”
“Of course, if that disgusts you, you can always move to another city. Then you can help develop that place with the spirit of a young artist all over again. Once the fruit is ripe, I’ll come back and happily pick all those sweet fruits you worked so hard to grow. It doesn’t have to be in the Holy Empire of Benignore, either.”
“Yo… you’re crazy…”
“If you come back to Lindel… if you stay in Castle Rock… even if you all move completely to another city, I’ll keep my eyes on you. If you want to get away from me, you’ll have to join the Republic or the Kingdom Alliance—or hole up in the mountains and scrape by committing crimes.”
“……”
“If you think I’m lying, try me.”
A heavy silence settled over the room.
The hall felt even quieter than it had when Jung Hayan went off just a moment ago.
My words would not have sounded like a joke. The proof was in Song Jungwook’s face, which had turned quite pale.
Of course, even for me, doing all of that would have been a pain in the ass.
Selling monster byproducts in Lindel in the first place, or setting up a potion factory here—both would clearly be a loss for my side.
A smart guy or two might have been thinking, Would that really be possible? But this was a slightly different matter from mere feasibility.
What if the bastard in front of us was more insane than we’d imagined?
What if he was the kind of man who would throw away every last benefit he had just to torment us out of pure malice?
The moment that thought crossed your mind, the game was already more or less over.
It was only natural that I decided I needed to land the finishing blow.
The moment I quietly opened my mouth, his reaction came at once, and I found it amusing.
“You see, wealth and power are what let trash like me stay on top, even in a world where force is supposed to come first. I know you people, who’ve climbed to your positions through status-window stats and personal strength, must have some pride. But trying to butt heads with me using that pathetic little force of yours is like throwing an egg at a rock.”
“……”
“Unless you’re strong enough to smash the framework of society itself, your role is to keep your head down and stay quiet. What do you think happened to the people who refused to do that? How do you think I’ve managed to stand here when I’ve only been in this city for less than a year? Hm? You understand what I’m saying, don’t you? You’ve got two choices. Do you want to become a young artist? Or do you want to become a parasite feeding on the honey dripping from giant capital?”
Even without asking, the answer was obvious.
“W-what… what do we need to do? Blue Sub-Guild Master.”
Song Jungwook, suddenly all politeness, came into view.
“You picked the right answer. I’m truly relieved we can avoid any troublesome matters. Little Rock Master. Hahaha. At last, I think we can have a proper meeting now. Very good. Very good indeed.”
I had no idea what he was thinking inside, but on the outside he was flat on his face. Whether he meant it or not didn’t matter much. What mattered to me was not whether I could win these people over.
“Hahaha. Isn’t there a more comfortable place than this rigid office? Ah, you there in the back. It’s a good day—bring out some alcohol. That should be fine, shouldn’t it? Little Rock Master.”
“Y-yes… of course. Youngcheol… as he said… it would be good to bring something to drink.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Hahaha. It wouldn’t be fun to drink alone, now would it? Little Rock Master, please join us as well. Hayan, you can relax a little too. What would you like to drink?”
“Y-yes! O-oppa, milk is enough for me.”
“You heard her. Mr. Youngcheol, I think it would be best if you also brought some simple snacks. Ah, and I brought the contract with me in advance.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You can take your time reading it here. I’m not asking for anything outrageous. You already know I run a potion factory. It feels like such a waste to keep these excellent potions all to myself. And I just happened to hear Castle Rock was short on priests, so here I came running, didn’t I? Hahaha. It’s all for the good of Castle Rock.”
“Th-thank you for… thinking of us, Blue Sub-Guild Master.”
“I’ve been considering supplying the large guilds in Castle Rock with potions on a regular basis. Of course, not for free—just at a very, very low price. Ah, but first you should probably look at the merchandise, shouldn’t you?”
“Yes.”
They didn’t look especially eager, but the product itself was real enough. A potion made by Lee Kiyoung was not some cheap trinket—that was nonsense. Brand value was something you wanted to be rising, not falling.
“Take a look.”
Rare Grade
A potion with excellent restorative effects that heals wounds. It has high-tier healing properties and prevents poison and bleeding. After drinking it, the target’s endurance increases slightly for a certain period of time. Creator - Lee Kiyoung
As I rummaged through my bag and pulled out the potion, I saw their eyes go wide.
They clearly hadn’t expected me to be selling something like this, and Song Jungwook’s face also showed confusion, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
The conversation from earlier had been designed to establish the hierarchy between us, and also to make sure I got paid properly for something valuable.
“The price is a very reasonable 40 gold.”
“Ah…”
“40 gold per bottle.”
“I-isn’t that a bit too expensive…?”
“Hahaha. Expensive? Little Rock Master, you’re reading the item’s effects right now, aren’t you? It’s an absolutely appropriate price. And I know very well that you can afford to buy them. Your hunting efficiency will go up too, so there shouldn’t be any real issue.”
“O-our guild doesn’t have the capacity to buy this potion at 40 gold. If you want to sell in bulk, even more so… No matter how I look at it, 20 gold is the limit. If you think about the amount written in the contract, the annual outflow comes to several tens of thousands…”
“40 gold.”
“30 gold… c-can’t we perhaps…?”
“Hahaha. I’m starting to feel hurt here, Little Rock Master. Wanting to take a product like this at 30 gold is a little too much like highway robbery, don’t you think? 40 gold.”
“That….”
“40 gold.”
“A-alright.”
“Just sign the contract. Don’t worry too much, Little Rock Master. We’ll take care of you on our side as well. I’m a very generous person to those who fall into my hands. Hahaha.”
“Yes…”
“There, there. Sign it here, right now! And you’ll be able to receive the potions immediately.”
It was a beautiful situation in which only I was satisfied. That, now, was what a real deal looked like.