Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Merchant Group (1)
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A moment later,
After Elena, her face flushed for some reason, left the lord's office with a tongue-tied "H-hi there~!", Kim Hyunwoo gazed at the blue bone she had left behind.
'Necromancer of the Blue Forest...'
That epithet was a name quite dear to Kim Hyunwoo.
And for good reason—it was the character who had died during a labyrinth raid while he was deep into playing Arteil.
Kim Hyunwoo briefly recalled that time.
Back then, by the standards of the latest update, when he conquered the labyrinth's lowest floor at that point, the 28th layer, he lost her—one of the heroes he had raised with his blood and sweat—as the price for defeating the 28th layer boss.
'Of all times, she had to get the death penalty then...'
In Arteil, when a hero's HP is fully depleted, their fate is determined by probability.
The most common outcome was "Severe Injury," which wasn't a huge problem.
If it was "Severe Injury" or worse, as long as another companion pulled them out of the labyrinth, revival was guaranteed.
The next most likely was "Coma," which also wasn't a big deal.
You could recover from it using Blue Stones gathered in-game.
However, the infamous "Death"—which only triggered with a 1% chance on enemy attacks exceeding twice the hero's HP, rumored to hit only the unluckiest bastards—had no way to reverse it.
'Even thinking about it now makes my head spin.'
It had been over ten years, but Kim Hyunwoo could still feel his vision darkening at the memory.
Back then, he had poured his life into Arteil—skipping classes for night shifts to gear up his heroes, grinding minigames instead of studying to craft their accessories.
When that hero died, he sobbed into the dawn, making his parents seriously worry if their son was being bullied at school.
Her death—one he had raised from 1-star alongside his other heroes—kept even the hardcore gamer Kim Hyunwoo from logging into Arteil for a full week.
The hero, infused with immense care and affection, had vanished spectacularly along with all the money he had invested.
Even now, thinking of her existence, Kim Hyunwoo felt a twinge of depression, reminding himself once again just how serious he had been about Arteil back in the day.
'If only there had been a revival system...'
...Actually, a revival system did exist, just as Kim Hyunwoo had pondered.
Even when his beloved necromancer hero died, the revival system was there, and he knew about it.
The problem was that it was a revival system brimming with the game's developers' pure malice.
'Who the hell spends millions reviving a hero...'
As far as Kim Hyunwoo remembered, there were two ways to revive a hero.
One was using cash currency.
The other was collecting items that dropped at abysmal rates in-game.
Reviving with cash was simple in execution but required an outrageously malicious amount of money.
He couldn't recall the exact figure, but it was equivalent to over half a year of his underpaid night shifts.
Of course, the Kim Hyunwoo back then couldn't afford such a fortune, so he chose the second path and was grinding for the materials despite the horrific odds.
His teenage obsession had made it feasible.
Still, he ultimately failed to save her because he quit the game in disgust at the devs' predatory monetization before gathering everything.
"..."
In any case, that left Kim Hyunwoo pondering why this blue bone had popped up in the labyrinth, staring at it for a good while.
The day after the first layer of the labyrinth was cleared,
the Droal Mercenary Group promptly received their promised payment from Kim Hyunwoo and departed.
Alta's eyes brimmed with irritation from yesterday's humiliation, but he didn't bother engaging her, simply paid up and sent the mercenaries out of the territory.
Returning to his office, Kim Hyunwoo checked the items from this first-layer expedition.
'We got 220 lowest-grade magic stones and 1 low-grade magic stone.'
No artifacts, unfortunately, but he wasn't particularly disappointed.
He knew artifacts were extremely rare on the first layer anyway.
More importantly, his goal for this labyrinth dive wasn't just clearing layers—it was laying the foundation for a labyrinth city.
To build the labyrinth city he envisioned, he needed at least the first three layers cleared.
'Should I just try it right now?'
The thought crossed his mind, but he shook his head.
No matter how he sliced it, for the labyrinth city to work and achieve his desired setup, the labyrinth needed to be open at least to the third layer.
'Low-grade magic stones start appearing from layer 3, not the lowest-grade ones.'
Kim Hyunwoo felt there were still too many shortcomings to open a labyrinth city right now—both in systemic terms and for generating revenue.
'Now that we have magic stones, I should at least build the basics.'
So, while Elena geared up for full-scale labyrinth raids and pushed to clear the third layer, he planned to build what the territory truly needed.
He already had enough magic stones, the main ingredient for the primary facilities that upgraded from basic buildings.
As he mulled this over—
"?"
Kim Hyunwoo saw that notification window.
Alta, who had fled Lartania practically in a panic, was still seething with rage and frustration thanks to the lord who had bluntly said she was inferior to Elena just moments ago.
But now.
Kududuk—!
"Kyaaak—!"
She was screaming, her right arm twisted backward.
'It hurts! It hurts!!'
Even as she shrieked, she couldn't fully grasp how this had happened.
All she registered was walking with the mercenary group, someone grabbing her head, her vision spinning wildly, and realizing she had been kidnapped.
So, amid the horrific pain of her arm being wrenched, Alta desperately scanned her surroundings to make sense of it.
Having been a mercenary for years, she knew assessing the situation was key to survival.
But.
"Ah—"
The moment she saw who gripped her head, a deeper terror gripped her.
Those emotionless red eyes stared down at her.
Of course, Alta had never met Merrillda in person, so she didn't know exactly who she was—but one thing was crystal clear.
The being before her was several times stronger.
Instinctively, she trembled in mounting fear.
Merrillda, watching with utterly impassive eyes, suddenly spoke.
"If I'd heard even a whisper of you badmouthing her alone, I'd have killed you."
With that, she released her grip.
Thud—!
The instant Merrillda let go, Alta collapsed to the ground, paralyzed by bone-chilling terror, trembling uncontrollably in place.
Her reason was so numbed she couldn't even use her intuition properly.
"This time, it was just arrogance, so I'll let you live. Plus."
But Merrillda gazed at her with an emotionless expression.
"I agree with you—she's useless."
She murmured softly and vanished.
With her right arm still twisted, Alta hadn't fully grasped the situation, but her intuition told her she had survived—and she felt genuine gratitude for it.
Kim Hyunwoo knew Arteil had a merchant group system.
Anyone who had played the game for even a little while couldn't miss it.
Merchant groups were a key element for territories not focused on combat.
But even so.
'This one's massive.'
He had never seen a merchant group this enormous.
He glanced beyond the lord's castle.
Row after row in the residential district: dozens of luxurious wagons, easily over that number, each with stalls open, selling goods to the territory's residents.
Staring blankly at the sight, Kim Hyunwoo turned his gaze to the merchant leader before him.
No—a hero.
"I—"
"I'm Adria, leader of the Tiinus Merchant Group."
She introduced herself with a confident smile and a slight bow, her appearance dazzlingly ornate.
Her clothes were extravagant, and her hands and ears were adorned with jewelry without a single gap.
Kim Hyunwoo was briefly impressed.
Ornaments were best in moderation; too many often looked cheap.
But with Adria, no such thought crossed his mind.
Her beauty was striking enough to make all that jewelry work.
Subtly admiring her looks, Kim Hyunwoo soon heard her out.
"I stopped by Lartania this time to pay my respects. But first, should I introduce myself properly? You don't seem to know much about our group."
He nodded in response.
Naturally, he knew nothing about the Tiinus Merchant Group.
It hadn't existed back when he played.
"Then, a quick rundown."
Five minutes after Adria began explaining—
Having heard it all, Kim Hyunwoo summarized.
"So, you travel the entire southern continent doing business? You buy everything, but specialize in valuables and artifacts."
"Exactly. We have no fixed base—we wander. So, no matter the region's specialties, you can find them all at Tiinus."
Kim Hyunwoo nodded at her confident words, then voiced a sudden curiosity.
"So, the Tiinus Merchant Group isn't tied to any specific territory?"
He knew most merchant groups were affiliated with one territory.
"Well, precisely—we are affiliated, but not to a territory."
To his question.
"Then...?"
"We're under the protection of our guardian, 'Crimson Dream Dragon'."
That was Kim Hyunwoo's answer.