◈ 042. [Side Story] Box Cracker (2)
3 days after the end of stage 2.
The fortress city of Crossroads was busy, but the air was calm.
Flags hoisted all over the city fluttered in the wind.
White flags voluntarily raised by citizens, as well as the four main gates and government offices, were waved from house to house.
Although he gave up his lordship, Marquis Charles Cross had ruled the city for decades.
Not everyone respected him. But his lifelong dedication to the city was evident.
Given that such a symbolic person died while protecting the city, it is only natural that the entire city would become depressed.
Sluggish morale seldom recovered easily.
‘The fortunate thing is that there is some time left until the next stage.’
I glanced at the system window.
[STAGE 3]
– Until the start: 12 days
The total number of waiting days until the next stage, including the last 3 days, is 15 days.
This is pretty generous.
Fortunately, the degree of damage to the wall was better than the last time it had two sides, and repairs were completed in about five days.
The masons’ guild leader assured me that he would risk his own life this time to finish it perfectly, so you can trust it.
‘If only the walls are repaired without flaws, a better battle will be possible next time.’
I gritted my teeth thinking about it.
‘But what if another variable appears at the next stage?’
I remembered the hostile NPC ‘Pied Piper’ from the last stage.
He simply gave the order to attack a spot on the wall, but that almost caused the entire stage to fail.
‘We have to proceed while blocking and excluding possible variables, but variables that shouldn’t come out keep popping up, so this is it… … .’
As I was rubbing my forehead in pain, I suddenly remembered what Ader had said.
– You’ll know when you clear one more stage. Why did these things happen… … .
“… .”
I ran my hand over the leather necklace around my neck.
Ader said that its functionality will be unlocked after stage 3.
– I hope you can afford it. I hope that one day, even after knowing all the truth about this crazy world, you will be able to fight as strong as you are now. sincerely.
Ader said so.
I frowned. The truth of this crazy world?
How much more do you mean I don’t know about this game?
And how do you know it all?
It’s full of mysteries, but we have no choice but to move on for now.
‘Proceed to the next stage.’
After that,
‘go to the next stage again.’
singly. singly.
I just step on the path to the ending steadily.
My work doesn’t change anything. nothing… … .
***
Instruct party members and soldiers to rest.
Repair the damaged walls. Repair fences and moats.
sell magic stones. Buying people and goods. Doing accounting… … .
After the last stage, I had been working hecticly for three days, and there was one thing I hadn’t taken care of yet.
3 gray boxes and 1 purple box in your inventory.
– N grade reward box: 3
– SR grade reward box: 1
Random box received as a reward for clearing the last stage.
‘Somehow, it’s an early stage, but an SR grade box popped up.’
Manor house bedroom. night.
Sitting on the bed, I looked at the purple box in my hand suspiciously.
Why is this floating already? Is it a reward for jumping in difficulty?
‘It wouldn’t be such a friendly game.’
The grade of the reward box guarantees the lowest grade of the contents.
In other words, SR grade boxes always contain items of SR grade or higher. This is not something that will appear in Stage 2.
‘But since I gave it to you, I’ll eat it.’
There is no reason to decline. Chew very well and eat well.
First of all, I opened the N-rank box. three at the same time!
“Did you finish it?!”
Of course, gray light leaked from all three boxes, as if mocking my cry.
All of them are N-rank items… … .
“Damn I didn’t expect that.”
He grumbled and checked the contents of the box.
[Rewards]
– Status Abnormality Removal Potion
– Status Abnormality Cancellation Potion
– Standard Low-level Magic Core (N)
2 Status Abnormality Removal Potions and 1 N-grade Magic Core.
I really need it, but I don’t feel like eating it. I pursed my lips and tossed the results into my inventory.
‘This is the main game!’
I held the SR grade box in my hand and swallowed dry saliva. please!
“One more time to complete the ssal!”
Last time, there was an entertainment item like Lucky Strike, so this time it’s a scam item that really destroys the balance, but only one!
I opened the box wide.
“Did you finish it?!”
And the light emitted from inside the box… … It was purple.
“Sheesh.”
First of all, the SSR rating has crossed the water. What is the SR rating though?
I picked up the reward in the box. It feels heavy to the touch and heavy. Are you sure it’s finished?!
[Rewards]
– < Magic Gun > Hunter’s Retribution (SR)
“Is it really complete?!”
What came out of the box was a long rifle. I checked my options urgently.
[Hunter’s Retribution (SR) Lv.25]
– Classification: Horse Gun
– Attack Power: 50-75
– Durability: 5/5
– Ammo Capacity: 10/10
– Armor Penetration Rate increases by 10% when attacking enemies from behind.
– Increases critical rate by 10% when attacking an enemy’s rear.
“Eh? The horse gun is floating here… … ?”
I looked at the weapon in the form of a long rifle in my hand.
magic gun.
It is a weapon similar to Earth’s gun, but the principle of operation is different. It is a weapon that creates and shoots magic bullets from the magic core embedded in the barrel.
To put it simply, it is said that the magic cannon was miniaturized so that one person could use it.
It has a shorter range than a bow, but its rate of fire and damage are superior.
It sounds good just by listening to it like this. In fact, it is a very flawed weapon.
First of all, since the cannon was reduced in size for personal use, it was filthy difficult to use.
It is difficult to aim and the recoil is terrifying. It’s a weapon that’s hard to hit precisely.
Also, for the same reason, only the size of the cannon is reduced, so it is unstable.
Minor breakdowns are frequent, and if the magic core overheats, the entire equipment is often destroyed.
More than anything, the fatal problem is the amount of ammunition.
The amount of magic bullets that can be generated by the magic core is fixed.
If you shoot all the bullets, there is nothing you can do during the creation cooldown of several hours.
As a result, most of the weapons were abandoned because players did not use them.
There were many bows and crossbows with reliable performance, but there was no reason to use many horse guns.
‘No, it seems like you’ve been giving me only pretty trash items since before? What’s wrong with them?’
I groaned.
‘Where can I use this… … No, wait.’
While I was thinking of disassembling and recovering materials, an idea flashed through my mind like lightning.
‘What if Damian uses this?’
The horse gun has the highest damage among personal firearms.
For Damian, who has no offensive skills, the horse gun can be a pretty attractive alternative.
‘There are three major disadvantages of horse guns. It is difficult to aim, the stability is poor, and the amount of ammunition is insufficient.’
Of these, Jo Joon has nothing to worry about. Because Damian has [Clairvoyance].
Then, if you can catch the remaining two, you can dramatically increase Damian’s combat power… … .
“… good!”
I closed my eyes for a moment and thought about it, then jumped up from my seat.
As I left the bedroom and headed towards the entrance of the mansion, I shouted.
“Lucas! Prepare the wagon! Go out!”
***
It was late, but I rode Lucas’ wagon and entered the city center.
Suddenly, he stormed into the forge.
“No, Your Highness the Prince?”
The head of the Blacksmith Guild, who was left alone and was organizing the smithy, greeted me with a puzzled face.
“What happened at this time… .”
“I came because I have something urgent to do.”
I went into the blacksmith’s shop and placed the items I had brought on the table.
“Do you know what this is?”
It was the SR grade horse gun ‘Hunter’s Retribution’ I just picked up.
The head of the Blacksmith Guild, who carefully picked up the horse gun, exclaimed, “Ohhh.”
“This… It’s a magic gun.”
“I know you well.”
“sure. It is a weapon group that was developed and researched about 100 years ago and then died. It is difficult to handle and the stability is poor… … .”
It seems that it is not only in the game, but also in real life.
“Is there any practicality?”
“Haha, the price is high and the efficiency is not good. I’d rather use a cannon… … As an antique, it has its own value.”
I tapped the horse gun on the table with my fingertips.
“Anyway, seeing as you’re recognizing, I guess you could make a new one?”
“yes? That’s right. Anyway, it is included in the imperial army’s standard equipment, and the structure is almost the same as that of the magic cannon.”
The head of the blacksmith union hurriedly added.
“However, it is more of an artifact than a personal weapon, so an alchemist is required to make it.”
“I will tell the alchemist’s workshop. Let’s work together to make it happen.”
“All right. If you provide only the magic core that will be the core of the equipment, we will start manufacturing immediately… … .”
Before the head of the union finished speaking, I poured the magic cores I had stored in my pocket onto the table.
There were a total of five magic cores rolling out with a rumbling sound.
One standard low-level magic core (N).
Ratman Champion Mana Core (R) three.
And one Black Spider Queen Magic Core (SSR).
It was all of the mana cores he had collected so far.
“… .”
I nodded at the blacksmith’s union leader, who was looking at the magic cores with his mouth wide open.
“Make five bags.”
Not enough ammo?
lack of stability?
Then you just have to push the volume.
It was only in the game that a character could use only one weapon, but this is reality.
Carrying several guns does not mean that someone will take them away from you as a foul.
‘Let’s not be bound by the rules of the game.’
The monsters are not acting according to the rules of the game. I also need to be flexible in my thinking.
‘I’ll be sure to clear it, damn game.’
I bit my lip.
‘I will definitely reach the true ending or whatever… … !’
***
On the way back to the mansion after a night out.
In the carriage, I was lost in thought. While envisioning the future in my head.
At that time, Lucas, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, cautiously approached me.
“majesty.”
“huh?”
“Of course you have ideas, but… Magic Core is a high-end strategic resource with extremely limited quantities. Rather than using it all up like this, why not save a little… … .”
Yes. Magic cores are expensive things.
It is essential for crafting advanced equipment or artifacts. Even the automatic defense turret built a few days ago works with R-class magic cores.
I used up all of this in one go.
In addition, they are trying to drive several high-end equipment like this to one person. Definitely inefficient.
‘But if the user is Damian, the story will be different.’
Damian’s [Clairsight], which penetrates the enemy’s weakness with every shot.
If you can use this properly, it’s not a waste to use several mana cores.
“Thanks for the advice, Lucas. But right now, you never know what will happen in the next defensive battle.”
I smiled at Lucas.
“Now is not the time to save on things like magic cores. And the magic core will be available again soon.”
This is also true.
Because in the second area of the free exploration that will be leaving soon, the magic core is guaranteed to drop. several of them too.
‘I’m not impulsively using it all up. Rather than hoarding them, let’s rotate them quickly.’
hmm. To be honest, I was a little impulsive, but whatever!
Lucas didn’t say anything anymore and started driving the wagon again. I was grateful to Lucas for giving me advice.
After running for a while, I saw the mansion. Suddenly, a feeling of fatigue took over his body. I yawned profusely.
“Whoah… … .”
I should not do anything else today and get a good night’s sleep. I look towards the mansion thinking.
“huh?”
I found something strange.
The entrance to the manor house.
A little girl was standing there.
“what.”
It was a girl with bright green eyes and platinum blonde hair that gleamed brightly even under the moonlight at night.
Tadak!
As soon as the girl saw us, she stomped her legs and jumped toward the carriage.
“What about that guy Lucas-”
Before I could say anything in my fright,
the girl jumped up and stabbed me at the wagon I was holding.
It was an incredibly gigantic cavalry spear.
“What the fuck-?!”
At the same time as I spit out curse words
-!
Splashes of spears shattered the wagon in one fell swoop.
