Chapter 70: Great Gacha Era (1)
Although it has many nicknames, it is often called the country of blacksmiths, belonging to the Norba Kingdom.
Among those blacksmiths, the dwarf blacksmith Koman, who holds the title of master, was walking towards the territory of Lartania until just a moment ago.
...With a slightly sullen expression.
But that was inevitable.
Basically, dwarves do not like to move to other places and like to hammer iron in a corner, and Koman was no different.
Nevertheless, the reason Koman specifically moved from the Norba Kingdom to this place, Lartania territory, was because of the order given to him as a master by the blacksmith guild he belonged to.
‘Check if there is value in establishing a branch of the blacksmith guild in Lartania territory.’
Koman sighed.
Of course, the order given by the blacksmith guild was not unreasonable.
After all, Koman himself had joined the blacksmith guild to receive support for various items from the guild.
But now that he was actually receiving work, Koman felt very annoyed by the situation.
‘...Well, if you just listen to the talk, there’s definitely value in setting up a branch, so I guess that’s why I was sent.’
Of course, Koman also knew about the rumors of Lartania territory, which had not spread widely yet but was still quite talked about among mercenaries.
A territory that, unlike other territories, generates Magic Stones infinitely and is now called a Labyrinth city.
However, Koman thought that there was certainly some exaggeration in the words of those mercenaries.
After all, as far as Koman knew, the Lartania territory was a small territory that had just been rebuilt a few months ago.
Koman, who well knew that a territory that was nothing but ruins could not turn into a ‘city’ in just a few months, judged that the Labyrinth city was a fabrication made through the exaggeration of mercenaries.
After all, mercenaries liked to exaggerate.
‘If a blacksmith guild is established, then who knows.’
Apart from Koman having his own pride in the blacksmith guild, if the guild establishes a branch within the territory, it brings a lot of benefits to the territory.
Just the construction of one of the few branches in the Norba Kingdom would have adventurers and mercenaries visiting the territory to find the blacksmith guild.
And that’s not all.
Having a branch of the blacksmith guild means that the lord can receive supplies from the masters.
...Although it would be a bit expensive, of course.
But that was a story for when a blacksmith guild was established in Lartania territory, and of course, Koman did not casually evaluate Lartania territory.
‘...I heard that a Mage Tower and a Mercenary Guild were also coming, though.’
That was just a rumor, and Koman intended to evaluate Lartania in a way that would be infinitely beneficial to the guild.
‘No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like there will be any benefit.’
Koman smirked and moved on.
Then, an hour later.
When he arrived at Lartania.
“...?”
Koman unwittingly wore a puzzled expression.
That was because the Lartania territory Koman was looking at had a completely different appearance from the Lartania territory he knew.
The first thing he saw upon arriving at Lartania was a huge wall.
And it was a wall made of proper stone.
Of course, the quality of the stone wasn’t that great, and it didn’t seem to have magical formulas or to have been specially refined, but he couldn’t help but admire it.
After all, Lartania had been rebuilt just a few months ago.
So, with a somewhat surprised expression, Koman had his identity briefly checked by the guard, entered, and crossed the second wall.
“...!”
There, he couldn’t help but be surprised again.
That was because, immediately after crossing the second wall, all he saw was a huge empty lot, but two buildings caught his eye.
No, to be precise, they weren’t even buildings.
The site that surprised Koman was just now beginning to be filled with various materials.
But the real reason Koman was truly surprised was because of the emblems displayed on that site.
‘That’s... the emblem of the Mage Tower and the Mercenary Guild, isn’t it?’
The site where the building materials were piled up had the emblems of both the Mercenary Guild and the Mage Tower.
This meant that the rumors about the Mage Tower and the Mercenary Guild coming to Lartania territory were true.
‘...No matter how many Magic Stones are produced, how can both the Mage Tower and Mercenary Guild...?’
Koman briefly wondered as he looked at the empty lot except for the two guild sites.
Yoichi's Bow:
0.000004%
Divine Sword Armor:
0.000006%
Owl Bear Transformation Scroll:
0.000014%
Kamalan's Necklace:
0.000119%
....
...
..
.
Lowest-grade Potion: 15%
Bandage of Holy Power: 20%
Potion of Passion: 30%
Rusty Sword: 35%
1 piece: 50 Red Stones
10 pieces: 500 Red Stones
[Would you like to purchase? Y/N]
※You can make it yourself if you purchase the blueprint from the Blue Merchant
-No, he thought with an evil smile.
Around the time Kim Hyunwoo was smiling at the thought of introducing the worst gacha BM (Business Model) in the history of Arteil.
“......”
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness was near the Lartania territory.
Of course, she didn’t come because she had business in Lartania.
She was in the midst of ‘cleaning up’ within the Calan Kingdom, but in other words, she had just taken her first steps.
The reason the Absolute Ruler of Darkness returned to Lartania, somewhat absurdly, was to see Kim Hyunwoo’s face.
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness knew that what she was doing was ridiculous.
The distance between the Calan Kingdom and Lartania was very far, even at best.
After realizing that a sinister dragon was spying on Kim Hyunwoo, she felt a strange sense of urgency and decided to come to Lartania for the somewhat ridiculous reason of ‘since I have nothing else to do yet, maybe it’s okay to come?’
“...Ahem.”
...She knew that it was a bit absurd, just an excuse to do as she pleased, but she soon felt great joy at the fact that she could see Kim Hyunwoo from afar.
“Is the Boss here?”
“Yeah. This artifact is really great.”
“Right? To be honest, I was wondering where I would use an artifact that allows you to sneak into a lord’s territory without being noticed. I’m glad it can be used for this.”
“Yeah.”
That is, if she hadn’t overheard Merilda and Ryu talking while walking towards a window with a good view of the Lord’s office inside the castle.
“......”
...Rin was basically known to be content with what she had.
But if she could have something even greater than what she already had...
If, instead of watching him from afar, she could see him a little closer, then the story changes.
“...Hmm, ahem...”
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness appeared in front of Merilda.
Merilda’s surprised expression at Rin’s sudden appearance was brief.
“Th-that, can I also-”
Following Rin’s words, Merilda momentarily wore a blank expression.
Sneer.
“I don’t want to.”
She said with a sneering smile.