Chapter 56
Chapter 56
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: We Probably Have About 5 Tons of Orichalcum at Our House
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A few days passed.
During that time, I repeatedly cleared the 24th floor of the tower.
Steady plundering and exploitation.
It was boring, but the results were solid.
I sat cross-legged in the middle of the basement and closed my eyes.
The first thing to check was the changes in my body.
Srrrk.
At my will, the boundaries of my body crumbled away.
In an instant, my body turned into a sand statue.
The transformation spread past my lower body to my waist and abdomen in a flash.
The sensation of sand stopped right below my solar plexus.
Now I could turn more than half of my body into sand.
However, the most important chest and head still hadn't turned to sand.
"Still, this is more than enough."
Satisfied, I released the sand transformation.
Curiosity suddenly struck me.
What would happen if I fully transformed my entire body into sand?
Would I become an immortal being then?
There was no way to know right now.
Curiosity drew me in more than fear of the unknown.
"It was an unexpected gain."
The unidentified mineral I'd obtained from the 24th floor.
I'd decided to call it moonstone, even if it didn't come from the moon.
The moonstone perfectly fused the other minerals mixed in my body, expanding my vessel itself.
Thanks to that, the types of minerals I could ingest increased.
I'd gained one or two extra slots to spare.
"No need to rush yet, right?"
But I didn't immediately seek out new minerals to consume.
I planned to save this precious space for when I discovered truly special minerals later.
Having finished checking my body, I stood up.
Then I looked toward one corner of the training grounds.
There sat a small pile I'd amassed through days of grinding.
Pinkish metal lumps.
Orichalcum.
"Five tons..."
I murmured softly in front of the mountain-like pile of orichalcum.
It was more than enough to 100% fill what my body needed to fully assimilate orichalcum's properties—and then some.
Even seeing it with my own eyes, it didn't feel real.
A map far wider than anyone else's.
The result of deploying dozens of sand clones and kobold slaves in such a place.
Overwhelming mining output possible only for me.
It was dizzying.
How much would all this sell for?
"Mithril's a bit lacking, though."
The amount of mithril was pitiful, however.
What I'd gathered so far barely covered half of what I needed.
"Well, I'll fill it up eventually."
I decided not to worry too much.
I'd keep climbing the tower anyway, and higher floors might have layers loaded with mithril.
No need to get impatient.
I gave the mineral piles one last sweep with my eyes and left the training grounds.
***
I slumped half-reclined in my chair with my sore body and habitually turned on the computer.
Without hesitation, I logged into the Hunter Gallery first.
Today's welcome from the traffic-eating parasitic scum.
[300% Gazwat lololol]
[What do you think about boarding now?]
[New high incoming ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Why go to the tower? Just do coins]
[Money duplicates itself. Can't you understand that?]
Today's gallery was plastered wall-to-wall with coin and stock talk.
No matter how many pages I scrolled, other topics were hard to find.
"Ugh, is this the Hunter Gallery or the Stock Gallery?"
I wrote a post laced with irritation.
Someone replied right away.
└ Stocks aren't even discussed in the Stock Gallery to begin with?
└ We roll stock bait in Hunter Gal, and when bored, go to Stock Gal to roll hunter bait.
"Sigh, these guys are hopeless."
Reluctantly, I started skimming what people were talking about.
I wanted to at least figure out why everyone was suddenly obsessed with coins.
There were a lot of complicated posts, but the core was simple.
Prices for rare minerals from the tower had recently spiked.
As a result, mineral-related stocks and coins were skyrocketing.
People pointed to various reasons.
The big one was intel that major Chinese guilds were buying up every bit of supply hitting the market. And the backdrop to this hoarding was even more complex.
But difficult politics and economics just gave me a headache.
I skimmed over those parts.
There was only one important thing.
The price of my stockpiled orichalcum had risen along with it.
However, what others were focusing on wasn't the minerals themselves, but the coins.
└ Mineral investing doesn't make much money tbh. The real jackpot is ORC coin. Orichalcum-based, up 50% yesterday too.
└ Coin free reading room telg @orc1279
"Same old story."
Whenever something blew up, people trying to snag quick profits somehow.
Most end up losing money anyway.
I'd learned that the hard way from experience.
But seeing the testimonials of profits keep pouring in made my resolve waver.
"Sigh, better quit the gal for today."
If I kept looking, I might start coining again without thinking.
Times like this, I needed to stay sharp.
I closed Hunter Gallery and logged into Mage Gallery.
Surely the people here wouldn't get swept up in the hype and would stay rational.
└ pkootsu: Already made 70% on ORC coin lol thanks for the rec
└ MagicIsFirepower: Told you to buy quick?
"No way, even these guys are into coins?"
What if coins really were the way to go?
Was it a wise investment?
└ Fridge: No. It's obviously a typical shitcoin, why buy it??? Are you insane???
└ Fridge: Cut your losses now. Volatility's too high. If it crashes, it'll plummet endlessly.
"Right? Better not, yeah?"
└ MagicIsFirepower: High volatility is how you make money. Obsess over safety and how do you expect to get rich?
└ pkootsu: Exactly! Just sell right when it starts dropping!
└ pkootsu: If you have to work to eat, you'll work your whole life, don't you get that?!
└ MagicIsFirepower: I even went leverage. Already earned enough for a unique staff.
"Damn... maybe buy just a little?"
pkootsu and MagicIsFirepower, an odd sight of them agreeing.
Normally Fridge would be the one mediating their fights, but today it was the opposite.
I felt my heart waver again at this unexpected unity.
That was when Beetle jumped into the fray.
└ Beetle: I thought it was gambling at first and didn't buy, but it's been climbing for months straight.
└ Beetle: If I'd bought when Firepower first said to, how much would I have now? Missed out big. Gotta buy more now.
└ Fridge: No, you shouldn't think of that as a loss...
└ Fridge: These guys aren't thinking rationally anymore.
└ Fridge: Wait. Let me explain why you absolutely shouldn't buy that coin.
Fridge vs. Beetle, pkootsu, and MagicIsFirepower.
"...Why does the lone guy seem more trustworthy?"
Especially hearing Beetle was into coins tanked his credibility even more.
Sure, he was an S-Rank Hunter, and a mage like me—someone with a very, very sharp mind...
But thinking back to how he acted when we met in real life, he didn't strike me as someone good at investing.
And ORC coin?
Orichalcum-based coin... Wait, orichalcum?
I bolted straight to the underground training grounds.
Click. Click.
I pulled out my phone in front of the orichalcum pile and snapped photos.
Rushing back to Mage Gallery, I posted a short message with the pic.
[Title: I followed the trend and bought some coin too.]
Author: ㅇㅇ(3R3.3T3)
(Orichalcum real photo)
This the orichalcum coin you're all talking about, right?
Wonder how much this'll sell for.
The moment my post went up, the lively chatter stopped dead like a lie.
Comments poured in shortly after.
└ pkootsu: ??????
└ Fridge: How many kilos is that?
"Kilos? It's tons."
└ ㅇㅇ(3R3.3T3): About 5 tons? Well, minus what I'll consume, not that much.
└ Fridge: Elephant? Tons aren't food.
└ MagicIsFirepower: Did you bring a whole mine?
└ Beetle: What floor were you climbing again?
└ ㅇㅇ(3R3.3T3): Just farmed 24th floor lololol.
└ Fridge: Mined hundreds of times more than others... Because you're an earth mage?
While I was at it, I explained my mining method too.
Once they heard, they seemed to accept this absurd output.
└ pkootsu: No electricity floors or anything? Only illegal ice/earth get special treatment.
└ Beetle: Don't worry. I don't have special floors either.
└ pkootsu: That's called bad luck.
I watched their reactions for a bit, then typed again.
└ Fridge: You gonna do coins too?
└ ㅇㅇ(3R3.3T3): Nah, I don't do coins.
└ ㅇㅇ(3R3.3T3): Gotta do real mining instead of coin mining.
└ Fridge: Smart thinking. At least you can make sensible calls.
└ MagicIsFirepower: Newbie, can't trust sis?
└ ㅇㅇ(3R3.3T3): Honestly, can't trust Beetle though...
└ Beetle: ???
└ pkootsu: Honestly, seeing Beetle buy made me uneasy too.
└ Fridge: He's the human contrarian indicator. Crashes every time he buys.
└ Beetle: Am I that type? I'm good at investing.
└ Fridge: (Hmmm...)
└ MagicIsFirepower: (Hmmm...)
└ pkootsu: (Hmmm...)
└ Beetle: What? Why the reactions?
└ Beetle: I scouted newbies too. I have a good eye, y'know?
Surprisingly, MagicIsFirepower backed off first.
└ MagicIsFirepower: Telling newbies to sell too kinda feels off.
└ MagicIsFirepower: Made enough for a staff anyway... Better quit while ahead.
└ MagicIsFirepower: Hey, since you listened and I sell—if it keeps rising, buy me a meal.
└ ㅇㅇ(3R3.3T3): So if it drops, I get to eat you out of house and home?
└ MagicIsFirepower: I could buy you Busan food even now.
└ ㅇㅇ(3R3.3T3): (Eye twitch...)
Her words were the signal.
pkootsu followed suit right away.
└ pkootsu: Gonna sell too. Made chicken money, satisfied.
Beetle agonized the longest.
He'd started latest, and his profits weren't huge yet.
└ Beetle: Ugh, can't I hold a bit longer and sell?
└ Fridge: Snap out of it, old man. Everyone already made money anyway?
└ ㅇㅇ(3R3.3T3): Yeah. This is a happy ending.
└ Beetle: Sigh, ok. Selling.
Beetle grumbled but hit the sell button in the end.
My mind eased, thinking I'd saved three mages from the pit of evil.
These guys would thank me in a few days.
"Still plenty more to save."
I rushed to Hunter Gallery and started posting orichalcum proof pics everywhere.
So everyone would snap out of it seeing my orichalcum.
I couldn't just watch them head down the path to ruin.
[Title: We probably have around 5 tons of orichalcum at our house too.]
└ At least share 100 burgers, if you don't mind.
└ Damn, kid. Where does he keep getting this stuff?
└ Suddenly hit with life reality...
└ Fr real, I'm staring at charts all day with a pea-sized seed, happy earning 10k a day, but this is fucked.
└ World too unfair fr.
└ Give back my peaceful Hunter Gal, you con artist bastard.
└ AI fake, no need to stress ㅇㅇ.
That aside, orichalcum prices have spiked that much?
I couldn't settle for this.
With renewed zeal to mine more minerals, I headed to the tower.
***
[Entering Tower 25th Floor (EXTREME).]
"Already the boss fight?"
But I felt no fear.
If my guess was right, this would be the easiest boss fight so far.
Before my eyes stretched a ceiling so high it seemed endless.
The stage for this boss fight was the bottom of a massive vertical cavern.
It was so vast, I wondered if this really was just one floor of the tower.
"Huh? Where's the boss?"
But the boss that should be there was nowhere in sight.
That was when, puzzled, I looked around.