Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Revival of the Ancient Emperor (4)
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Having resolved his biggest hurdle by raiding his bank account, Young-min brushed off his mother's pleas to stay the night and headed back home.
When he emphasized that this was a crucial moment and he needed to do it properly, even his father didn't object much. After all, he had given formal permission.
Thanks to that, Rokan returned home and, forgetting his fatigue, was able to log back into The Lord.
"It's about time to release them."
The first thing Rokan did upon logging into The Lord was to list items at the auction house.
The auction house was already bustling with trades of items left behind by the remnants of corrupted monsters, but there was one problem.
They were ridiculously expensive.
Because of prices that regular users couldn't even dream of affording, the corrupted wave had ultimately turned into a feast for high-level players.
As a result, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer phenomenon was in full swing.
Regular users only suffered damage from the corrupted monsters, while the strong ones upgraded their gear even further, widening the gap dramatically.
On top of that, guilds backed by corporate sponsorships had started buying up weapons with cash, making it a common occurrence.
'On the other hand, even regular users would scrape together what they could for these.'
Just as things were solidifying like that, Rokan threw in a stone that would cause massive ripples.
Reinforcement stones.
He began flooding the integrated auction house with reinforcement stones, which hadn't been released in large quantities yet and were either trading at exorbitant prices or being quietly monopolized by high-level users who kept their existence under wraps.
Of course, they were expensive. Extremely so.
There was no need to slash prices dramatically when the market rate was already sky-high, so Rokan started listing them in small batches at market price.
[Reinforcement stone has been sold.]
'As expected.'
Instant sale. Less than five seconds after listing the reinforcement stone at the integrated auction house, it sold out.
The next one he listed went in three seconds.
It was as if someone couldn't bear to watch a reinforcement stone sit in the auction house, snapping them up in the blink of an eye.
'Let's see how long they can keep this up.'
Rokan got excited and kept listing more.
Three seconds, four seconds, two seconds, three seconds, one second.
Even though it was the integrated auction house shared by all users, the reinforcement stones Rokan listed sold at absurd speeds.
But once the quantity surpassed a hundred, things slowed down.
They were running out of funds, and they started getting suspicious.
Had the drop rate for reinforcement stones skyrocketed? Or had someone found a gold mine? Or maybe a repeatable quest for them had been added? Or... a duplication bug?
'So, you won't buy anymore?'
Rokan, who saw right through their psychology, smirked and played his next card.
Price drop.
He lowered the price just enough that, even with suspicions, they couldn't resist.
It was still expensive, but guilds had no choice—they couldn't afford to miss out, as it would only delay their growth while letting rival guilds get stronger. They scraped together funds, gritting their teeth.
He repeated this a few times.
Once the number of sold reinforcement stones surpassed three thousand, the price dropped to the level Rokan had in mind. The gold in his inventory had multiplied far beyond what he'd had before cashing out.
Not just today, but planning to sell at least a hundred per day going forward, the price would stabilize, and even regular users could snag a few.
'Can't hog it all myself this time. No helping it.'
Up until now, there'd been no need to empower other users, but the situation was different this time. If things went as planned, he couldn't handle it alone, nor could he rely solely on NPCs.
Even if users were mostly meat shields, he needed them to hold out to some degree.
One might think it would only last a few days, but whether it would end in days, weeks, or months was anyone's guess.
'Time for me to level up a bit too. And this guy.'
Chirp.
After finishing his business, Rokan tapped his left shoulder with his finger. Kai, who had been playing nearby, waddled over, flew up clumsily, and settled on his shoulder like it was a nest, beaming innocently.
Rokan felt inexplicably drained at the sight, but what could he do? He'd decided to raise it.
He pulled out one of the potions he'd stocked in his inventory and headed to a nearby hunting ground.
[Vital Big Bird of Life, Kai][Lv 161]
While waiting for the ancient emperor to awaken, Rokan roamed the hunting grounds, leveling up Kai.
It could level from food alone, but it also got a share of Rokan's hunting experience, so the levels came quickly.
Moreover, Kai had consumed a growth potion that even Rokan hadn't, so it would have been weirder if it hadn't grown rapidly.
It couldn't quite reach Rokan's level yet, but it quickly shed the class beginner stage and hit class user level.
'Not yet.'
[Vital Big Bird of Life, Kai has realized how to smile brightly. Would you like to acquire it?]
[Skill acquisition declined.]
But while its levels and stats shot up steadily, it hadn't learned a single skill. Pets could only have three skills total, so Rokan was being picky.
'If it auto-acquired, it would've been a disaster with junk skills.'
If it had been automatic, it would've filled up with useless trash skills.
The skills Rokan was aiming for were a mounting skill for flight, a flight skill for erratic movement, and a gale skill for versatile use.
But in its current juvenile state, the odds of getting those were near zero, so he had to manually cancel the notification windows that popped up constantly.
[Emergency quest activated.]
"Hm?"
After devoting a few days to leveling, an unexpected alert appeared before Rokan.
Emergency quest.
He hadn't taken any grand quests, nor had anything gone wrong in the hunting ground, so it was odd. But when he checked the details, he nodded.
[Those Trying to Stop the Ancient Emperor's Revival][Emergency Quest]
Individuals who have realized the ancient emperor's revival is imminent are coming to interfere. Protect the lab from those trying to stop the ancient emperor's revival for the remaining 1 day.
-Success Condition: Complete revival of the ancient emperor
-Success Reward: Rewards vary based on the ancient emperor's condition
He didn't know if there were spies from other races in the council. Maybe some had grown suspicious of the sudden human bustle and investigated.
But the key point was that others now knew and intended to interfere.
'And it's not guaranteed to be the Black Dragon Legion.'
It didn't have to be the Black Dragon Legion. Other races might not welcome a sudden surge in human power.
After all, the ancient emperor had subjugated not just the Black Dragon Legion races but even the Golden Lion faction races.
And as a staunch human supremacist, it was natural some wouldn't welcome that.
"If it's users, I don't care how many come..."
So Rokan hurried along, a thread of unease gnawing at him.
If it was users on a quest coming to interfere, he was confident he could sweep away any number. But if master-level beings from other races infiltrated—and not just one, but several—it would be tough.
He needed countermeasures.
"I wanted to hit master level and use it, but... no choice."
Instead of heading to the lab, Rokan turned toward somewhere else.
From experience, assaults didn't happen immediately, and plenty of defensive forces would already be deployed even without him.
Given it was humanity's long-cherished wish, the emperor had surely assigned personnel carefully. The outcome might be the same with or without him.
But power would still be needed after the quest completed. Especially since he wasn't master level yet, he needed to prepare to close and surpass that gap.
[You have entered the Imperial Armory. You may select and take one armament within 30 minutes.]
The place Rokan headed was none other than the Imperial Armory. Thanks to the qualification he'd earned for one more entry after completing the previous quest.
'Nothing boosts short-term power like equipment.'
But there weren't many good options. Axes were out since he'd chosen one last time, leaving armor or accessories.
'Armor should suffice for now. Plus, it's prone to master-level restrictions.'
Armor carried a high risk of being unobtainable like the axe—great stats, but set items were a gamble, and accessories with low level caps could last ages depending on options, offering both immediate and long-term power boosts.
"Necklace is out, bracelets too. Earrings or rings... Considering versatility, ring it is?"
He targeted rings first. Even with subpar options, he could equip up to five, so one good stat made it worthwhile.
He already had the Elf's Tear necklace and Scout Bracelet, so earrings were next best, but if he pulled a dud, it was hopeless. Ring felt safest.
But they weren't neatly categorized, so he wandered the armory, checking spots.
He couldn't see stats anyway, but he could judge by appearance and recall famous items.
"Hm?"
After much deliberation, something caught Rokan's eye.
A black, crude iron chain.
At first glance, it seemed like mere decoration or building material, utterly unremarkable and rough.
But the more he looked, the more something oddly compelling drew him in.
He knew a chain like that had no use, yet his gaze kept drifting back. His heart pulled toward it.
'This is maddening.'
Meanwhile, time ticked away steadily. The armory was about to close.
The moment of choice loomed.
"Hoo, if this flops, I'll melt you down in a furnace."
[Armament selected.]
[Detailed information on the armament can be checked after leaving the Imperial Armory.]
[The door to the Imperial Armory closes.]
Creak, thud.
In the end, Rokan bit his lip and gripped the chain. Clutching the glowing red-and-purple thing like a gambler, he slowly checked its options.
"...What the hell is this?"
Chirp