Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: The Great Gacha Era (1)
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He's a master blacksmith from the Norba Kingdom—a nation often called the land of blacksmiths, despite its many other nicknames.
Among such blacksmiths, the dwarf Koman, who bore the prestigious title of Artisan Master, had been trudging toward the Lartania territory just moments ago.
...With a somewhat sullen expression on his face.
But that was unavoidable.
Dwarves, as a race, generally disliked venturing elsewhere; they preferred holing up in one spot, hammering away at iron. Koman was no different.
Yet the reason Koman had left the Norba Kingdom for this distant Lartania territory was a direct order from his blacksmith guild—the one that had bestowed the Artisan Master title upon him.
'Go check if the Lartania territory is worth setting up a guild branch.'
Koman let out a sigh.
Of course, the guild's command wasn't unreasonable.
He had joined the guild himself to receive support in materials and tools, after all.
But now that he was actually tasked with fieldwork, Koman found the whole affair incredibly bothersome.
'...Well, if the rumors are true, it probably is worth it, which is why they sent me.'
Naturally, Koman had heard the rumors circulating among mercenaries—rumors that hadn't spread too widely yet but were gaining traction.
A territory unlike any other, where magic stones generated infinitely. Lately, it was even being called a labyrinth city.
Still, Koman figured there was some exaggeration in the mercenaries' tales.
As far as he knew, Lartania was a tiny territory that had only been rebuilt a few months ago.
Common sense dictated that a ruined wasteland couldn't transform into a 'city' in mere months. Koman chalked up the 'labyrinth city' moniker to mercenary hyperbole.
Mercenaries loved to exaggerate, after all.
'It might be different if a blacksmith guild branch actually opened up.'
Separate from Koman's pride in the guild, establishing even a branch brought massive benefits to a territory.
Adventurers and mercenaries would flock there just to visit the guild—something even rare in the Norba Kingdom itself.
And that's not all.
A guild branch meant the lord could procure items directly from Artisan Masters.
...At a premium price, of course.
But that was all hypothetical—only if the guild set up shop. Koman had no intention of giving Lartania a lax evaluation.
'...I think there were rumors of a mage tower and mercenary guild coming too.'
Those were just rumors, though. When evaluating Lartania, Koman planned to lean heavily toward whatever benefited the guild most.
'No matter how I look at it, this doesn't seem profitable.'
Koman chuckled dryly as he kept walking.
And an hour later.
When he finally arrived at Lartania.
"...?"
Koman blinked in confusion.
Which was understandable—the Lartania before him looked nothing like the one he'd heard about.
Right at the entrance stood massive walls.
Walls built from proper stone blocks.
The stone quality wasn't top-notch, and there were no signs of magical enchantments or special forging, but he couldn't help but be impressed.
Lartania had only been rebuilt a few months ago, after all.
With a slightly astonished look, Koman showed his credentials to the guards and passed through to the inner area, crossing the secondary wall.
"!"
And once again, he was stunned.
Because beyond the secondary wall lay a vast empty plot—nothing built yet—but two sites immediately caught his eye.
Well, not quite buildings.
Just plots where construction materials were being unloaded.
But what truly shocked Koman was the emblems marked on those sites.
'Those are... the mage tower's emblem and the mercenary guild's emblem.'
The plots stacked with materials bore the clear symbols of the mercenary guild and mage tower.
Meaning the rumors were true—they were indeed setting up in Lartania.
'...Even with all those magic stones, how the hell did a mage tower and mercenary guild end up here?'
Koman stared at the barren plots in puzzlement, but only briefly.
As he reached the primary wall, his jaw dropped.
"...What the—why are there so many people?"
The moment he entered the primary wall, an enormous crowd assaulted his senses.
Streets teeming with people, markets buzzing with energy.
But what drew Koman's gaze most were the 'weapons.'
'...Almost everyone in sight is armed with armor and gear. Which means... most of these people wandering around are mercenaries!'
Of course, he'd heard the rumors.
That nearly every mercenary on the continent was gathering in Lartania.
But he hadn't fully believed it—and even in the Norba Kingdom, he'd never seen so many mercenaries in one place. His mouth hung open involuntarily.
And then.
As he realized the rumors weren't exaggerated.
'I wasn't even the one to decide if it's worth building here...'
Seeing thousands of 'customers' under the mercenary banner milling about, he couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.
"Phew—"
Kim Hyunwoo, having just cleared five Labyrinth Breaks over the past day or so, wore a satisfied smile as he checked his resource window.
Seeing his Red Stones replenished from a measly 480, he immediately purchased a maintenance package for the labyrinth city and grinned.
'That buys me another month.'
His Red Stones dropping from 7,980 to 980 stung, but Kim Hyunwoo shook off the regret.
Maintaining the labyrinth was essential for his territory now.
'Still, it's about time to prepare for the next phase.'
Kim Hyunwoo glanced at his gold.
Once over a million, now down to just over 350,000.
In truth, his gold was draining in real-time as he kept exchanging for magic stones.
'Not really a loss, though.'
The magic stones he was buying were essentially money. Trading them would cover any deficits, but he had no plans to do so.
'The more magic stones circulate on the market, the cheaper they'll get.'
It had only been about a month since the labyrinth city opened, so values held steady for now. But eventually, they'd drop—it was inevitable.
Especially once mercenaries started funneling them outward; prices would plummet.
Which made sense.
Goods' value fluctuated, dropping as supply increased. Basic economics.
'Once magic stones spread widely and uses emerge, supply and demand will balance, stabilizing prices.'
The issue was uncertainty over how much value they'd lose, but it wasn't a huge concern for Kim Hyunwoo.
He could control supply for mid-grade stones and above, at least.
Until they reached those layers, he'd limit raw sales and process them instead.
Not just any processing, either.
'The kind that squeezes out at least ten times the profit.'
Kim Hyunwoo smirked slyly—
Lowest Explorer's Magnifying Glass
A shoddy magnifying glass that even a blue merchant can whip up in seconds. Use it in the labyrinth on glowing spots to randomly obtain items and artifacts.
Probability Table
Great Amalgam Sword: 0.0000001%
Heavy Demon Bow: 0.000004%
Divine Sword Iron Armor: 0.000006%
Owl Bear Transformation Manual: 0.000014%
Kamalran's Necklace: 0.000119%
....
Lowest Potion: 15%
Divine Power Bandage: 20%
Potion of Passion: 30%
Rusty Sword: 35%
1 for 50 Red Stones | 10 for 500 Red Stones
[Purchase? Y/N]
※ Purchase the blueprint from the blue merchant to craft it yourself.
—as he pondered introducing Arteil's most infamous trash business model: probability gacha.
While Kim Hyunwoo smirked at the thought of implementing Arteil's worst gacha ever...
"..."
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness had arrived near Lartania.
Not for any business with the territory, of course.
She was in the midst of 'cleaning up' the Kalan Kingdom—but it was barely getting started.
In that context, her reason for returning to Lartania was absurdly simple: to see Kim Hyunwoo's face.
Even she knew it was ridiculous.
The distance between the Kalan Kingdom and Lartania was vast, even generously estimated.
But after realizing some shady dragon was peeping on Kim Hyunwoo, she'd felt an odd urgency. With the flimsy excuse of 'I don't have much to do yet anyway,' she'd rationalized the trip to herself.
"...Ahem."
...She knew it was a self-serving justification, even to her own ears. But the prospect of glimpsing him, even from afar, filled her with immense joy.
If only she hadn't overheard Merrillda and Riu chatting as they approached a window with a clear view of the lord's manor office.
"Boss is here?"
"Yeah. This artifact's seriously good."
"Right? Honestly, I was wondering what to do with something that lets you sneak into a territory without the lord knowing. Glad it works here."
"Yeah."
"..."
...Lin had always been content with what she had.
But if she could claim something even greater.
Especially if it let her see him not from afar, but a little closer.
Well, that changed everything.
"...Ahem, ahem..."
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness appeared before Merrillda.
Merrillda's startled expression at the sudden arrival was short-lived.
"G-Gimme one too—"
At Lin's follow-up words, Merrillda blinked blankly for a moment.
Then.
She smirked.
"No thanks?"