Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Magic Tower (4)
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Over the next three days or so, Kim Hyunwoo grew increasingly puzzled each time Adria dropped by, showing her face at regular intervals.
That made sense, since as far as he could tell, there wasn't a single reason for her to keep hanging around this place.
Lartania had turned into a booming city thanks to the labyrinth opening, so the Tiinus Merchant Group was raking in decent profits from their business.
But even in a thriving territory like this, merchants made far more money by traveling from place to place rather than camping out in one spot. That was common knowledge, so Kim Hyunwoo couldn't help but wonder.
"Ahem. I probably won't be seeing you starting tomorrow."
"Got your next stop lined up?"
"Yeah. There's somewhere I need to head to. Ngh-!"
"...What's wrong?"
"Oh, just a headache for a second... My head's feeling kinda noisy."
"You've been like that the past few days. I'm starting to worry something might be wrong with you."
"Haha, nah, nothing like that, so don't worry. Anyway—see you next time."
With that, Adria left the territory.
"...What the heck was that all about?"
Kim Hyunwoo tried to guess why she'd been coming by so steadily over the past few days, but of course, he couldn't figure out her intentions.
'The only change is... she's been staring right at my face these last few days.'
He glanced sideways at his reflection and thought it over.
'No way... she fell for me?'
The idea crossed his mind for a second before he snorted in amusement.
He figured his looks were nothing special—perfectly average, not the kind that would attract a beautiful woman.
If he'd been handsome, he would've been out dating real girls instead of holed up playing Arteil, raising beautiful heroines.
'Good thing I'm not good-looking, since I'm stuck in a game anyway.'
With that, he felt a weird sort of gratitude (or melancholy?) for his ordinary face that had never even landed him a girlfriend. He pulled up his info window.
Owned Buildings
Owned Forces
The territory had been steadily developing over the past few days.
The leveled-up barracks were now a proper training facility, far more organized than the simple yard it had started as.
From the Lord's Castle window, Kim Hyunwoo could see the training grounds had expanded massively compared to before.
On top of that, he spotted residents heading into the barracks—probably new recruits—and shifted his gaze to the market.
The market, stretching north from the Lord's Castle, had definitely grown in size.
It had been a single straight row before, but now with a two-row structure and merchants spilling into the alleys, it felt much bigger—yet still packed to the brim.
The biggest change, though, was Lartania's walls.
The primary walls, which had only had logs and watchtowers until recently, were now piling up with stone.
In other words, the primary walls were finally becoming real walls. And the secondary walls were rising with stone too.
The secondary walls could jump levels as soon as resources allowed, once the primary ones hit the right level.
'Of course, that's burned through a ton of gold and the resources I bought from Tesnoka Territory already.'
Reclaiming territory was necessary, so Kim Hyunwoo didn't regret the spending.
"Loria, how's public order?"
"Happiness levels?"
"Good to hear."
Kim Hyunwoo nodded in satisfaction.
Handing over a magic scroll for just a plot of land felt like a slight loss.
In his view, Lartania would grow even bigger than the one he'd built up ten years ago.
But he still thought the Magic Tower deal was solid, despite the future value hit—not just because of happiness and public order, but because he had a plan.
A way to royally fleece the Magic Tower after they bought that land.
'With that in mind, no way I'm taking a loss.'
Smiling to himself, he realized the new recruits coming out of the barracks needed upgrading too.
[Eligible personnel for advanced troop upgrade (200)]
[Can advance to 'Watchman'] [Can advance to 'Scout'] [Can advance to 'Cavalry'] [Can advance to 'Apprentice Soldier'] ...
[View More Upgrade Options]
-Standard Equipment-
※ Highly proficient from long training—excellent combat efficiency!
※ All soldiers carry magic scrolls, greatly boosting combat efficiency!
Staring at the alert window, Kim Hyunwoo pondered calmly.
'Right now, it'd make sense to upgrade them all to Watchmen.'
With the growing population and mercenaries straining public order, most should become Watchmen.
They cost less than other upgrades, had low upkeep, and boosted city security.
But the issue was Watchmen's upgrade path dead-ended there.
Great cost-performance, but low ceiling.
'...Apprentice Soldiers might be better.'
Apprentice Soldiers sounded vague—and they were, among regular soldier upgrades.
Even weaker than Watchmen, but twice the cost and upkeep.
Still, Kim Hyunwoo hesitated between them because Apprentices had a sky-high ceiling.
They matched regulars up to Apprentice Knight, but shone as full Knights.
At the top tier, Honor Knights were unbeatable among soldiers. A group could even take on 4-star heroes.
And the rare Swordmaster beyond that? Not a hero, but could solo a 4-star hero.
'Well, Swordmasters basically count as heroes anyway.'
He knew advancing from Knight to Honor Knight required insane cash, luck, and BM. Still, he weighed it.
'...I've got money to spare, and the high ceiling's worth it.'
He decided to upgrade all 200 to Apprentices.
They could still guard, after all.
And in Arteil territory wars, heroes were key—but high-tier soldiers were next.
'More precisely, high-tier troops prevent fights from breaking out.'
With that thought, he upgraded every regular soldier to Apprentice.
A few minutes later.
"?"
Kim Hyunwoo blinked in confusion at the sudden alerts.
Thirty minutes later.
"We'll work hard, guh-huh-! We'll work hard, my Lord!!"
"Me too, me too! We'll work hard!!"
Watching the guards at the Lord's Castle weep openly, Kim Hyunwoo could only stare in bewilderment.
'...What's with these guys?'
A massive tower loomed in the northwest of the continent.
From afar, it seemed to pierce the heavens, exuding an aura of mystery just by existing.
The geometric patterns etched into its surface occasionally glowed, signaling the protections woven by countless spells.
This was the Magic Tower—the mages' stronghold, divided into five schools. At the top floor.
"Mm-"
Grand Mage Raran sat across from the Blue Tower Master—a woman in a massive conical hat, humming a tune as she swayed her head side to side while sipping tea.
Raran watched her long, flowing hair sway for a moment before speaking.
"You seem pretty chipper."
"Huh? Oh~ yeah, somethin' like that."
She stretched out her reply lazily.
Raran looked intrigued.
She always had a smile, but he'd rarely seen her this happy in all their years together.
So.
"What's got you in such a good mood these past few days?"
Raran asked.
The Blue Tower Master.
"Mm~ wellll."
Pretended to think it over, then grinned mischievously.
"I might get to meet someone soon. Someone I thought I'd never see again... but really wanted to."
She said it just like that.