Episode 97. [Fear of war, preparation for war – 2]
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If you look at the gnome ruins, you will find that secret ancient race. I could tell that he also enjoyed gambling.
Not a few elements of the objects they produced were ‘random’ in other words.
For example, like the ‘food-random box’ piled up in the Laputa warehouse or the ‘random water temperature faucet’ in some shower rooms, it
was a format where you could experience the joy of winning a ‘big hit’ or a ‘small hit’ depending on the probability.
‘And this [Gnome’s subspace vending machine] is the representative product.’
If you insert this coin called [Ancient Coin of the Underground Kingdom] into it and turn the lever, one of the numerous ‘material items’ contained in the subspace of the outer dimension will randomly drop.
‘But no matter how much of an engineer race they are, they enjoy Gacha, whose rewards are material items, as if it were a national game… They are such perverts.’
But the truth is… the person who enjoyed the perverted gnome’s taste more than anyone else was Lee Hyun-wook himself. He attempted more ‘draws’ than most blacksmiths or alchemists.
I don’t like gambling, but I couldn’t help it because it was almost the only way to obtain rare and precious metals that couldn’t be obtained no matter how much money I had.
Bampara—Bam— Bam— Bam——!
…Like right now.
‘What is this fanfare from the beginning…’
Then something fell into the product outlet at the bottom with a clattering sound. It was… a product packaged in a round capsule.
Lee Hyeon-wook turned it and opened it, and the dwarves watching from the side were scared and ran away when they saw the true nature of the contents.
“Ugh—that’s—!”
“Ma Ma oh my… it’s the heart of a star!”
-Obtained ‘Magneta Crust Piece’.
Among the neutron stars that are born when stars burn out, the most powerful being was ‘Magnetar’, and this item seemed to be inspired by that astronomical phenomenon. Of course, the actual ‘properties’ were clearly different.
yes–!
If it had been a neutron star, Magnetar, it would have emitted a powerful ‘magnetic field’ like a whip and disintegrated everything in the area into atoms, but it was emitting dense ‘mana’ like crazy.
Lee Hyun-wook was once again amazed as he sensed the flow of mana.
‘…It’s virtually infinite mana.’
Well, strictly speaking, it was a finite entity that was a powerful condensation of a huge amount of mana and would disappear after all of it was released.
However, the sun will also go out one day, but if we look at it from a mere human perspective, isn’t it actually ‘infinite energy’? This was the same concept.
‘As far as I know, there may be a small amount of this in the core of the [Dwarven Great Mountain Engine] that I swallowed during the 4th wave.’
In other words, it was possible to make five or six such incredible engines with just this small gemstone.
As expected, it was an item worthy of the nickname ‘Heart of the Star’.
“That thing! I don’t think you’ll ever use it…”
The dwarves gathered around swallowed their saliva. They looked like a bunch of puppies snooping around in front of their owner’s table.
“No, I will eat it… no, I will use it.”
Then the dwarves showed their disappointment quite openly:
“No… I’m not ignoring you, but those rare materials must be handled by real experts! Shouldn’t that be us?”
“Okay, if you leave it to us, we can make it into something really cool. Why don’t you trust us? huh?”
“Oh, or just sell it to us! I don’t have anything right now, but I will pay for it by working all my life…”
Lee Hyun-wook avoided those short, thick hands and lifted the ‘Magnetar Crust Piece’ up to chest level. .
“I’m sorry, but absolutely not.”
Then a shadow fell on their expressions.
If it had been any other metal, I could have invested in it to increase their favorability, but I could never give this to them. As Lee Hyun-wook put it in his pocket, there was disappointment in the dwarves’ eyes. “Now, let’s be disappointed
. It’s early. There are still many coins. If something good comes out in the future, I will trust you and entrust it to you.”
Lee Hyun-wook lifted the plastic bag and 140 coins jingled inside it.
Then the dwarves’ faces turned bright red.
“Oh yes! “It was a huge hit from the beginning, so it’s very exciting!”
Next, a few more draws were made, but there was no fanfare.
‘Well, these are rare enough things, but…’
This is how treacherous it is that legendary metals such as mithril, adamant, orihalcon, and iron are no longer in the realm of spirituality.
Since I had gained so much value from the beginning, the taste of gambling had diminished a bit.
Hyunwook Lee stopped drawing when there were 100 coins left.
“How would you like to receive this?”
Lee Hyun-wook gave 7 pieces of adamant to the dwarves.
“Oh! Is that really true? “Isn’t Adamant quite expensive?”
“Couldn’t you make that expensive thing even more valuable?”
“Hahaha! That’s right! Shall we show off our skills after a long time?”
In this way, they seemed to feel pleasure in handling the mineral rather than possessing it.
In other words, no matter how much they pampered them, there was no need to feel guilty.
‘Okay, if I want to pamper them well from now on, I have to make them feel good like this every now and then…’
Meanwhile, team leader Kyo-Jun Lee and other employees of the [New City Planning Department] led the dwarves to the residential area, ‘Upper City Center.’ There were
many residential-commercial buildings lined up there, and according to a preliminary survey, as many as 1,456 households could move in. He said there was.
The first residents had come in.
“Then, after we interview these dwarves and find out their personal information, we will assign roles according to their tendencies and abilities.”
Team leader Kyojun Lee approached and said.
“Yes, I’m sorry, but I would appreciate it if you could take care of that. It’s hard for me to care about such things.”
That’s why a large number of ’employees’ were needed, and now the foundation has been established to some extent.
In other words, even without him, the employees would share their roles and run this huge facility called Laputa.
Immediately after, Hyunwook Lee returned to the Order Tower.
And immediately swallowed the [Magnetar Crust Piece].
Gulp— –
(unknown amount of time) left until metal absorption.
‘As expected… I’ll have to rest for quite some time to digest this…’
However, there was still one thing to take care of.
“Talos are you listening to me?”
– Yes, Master! Do you need anything?
Talos’ voice soon entered my ear. In this way, AI Talos could be summoned anywhere and at any time in Laputa.
“Is there a place where items from other races are stored?”
A few days ago, the Black Orc Kingdom declared war on Korea and explained that the relics of their ‘ancestors’ were in Laputa. And to get it back, they would invade Korea.
‘First, we need to check if such a thing really exists.’
Laputa was so vast that it was still full of unknowns.
“Ah… I guess you’re talking about the [War History Exhibition Hall].”
“So where is it?”
“Yes, this is the B43 floor of the lower research area.”
Lee Hyun-wook went down there under Talos’ guidance.
The majority of Laputa’s floors were still unopened and neglected. That was the same as the B43 floor. It was natural that there were no people at all. It was a dark atmosphere, as if we were on an abandoned spaceship.
Soon, we came across a museum-like space in the center of the B43 floor.
As Lee Hyun-wook entered, the crystal tiles on the ceiling began to glow.
Ugh——
The space that turned out to be pure white and quite spacious.
“Hmm… Is this the Talos museum?”
“Yes that’s right! Gnomes have fought numerous wars throughout history, and the loot they have acquired from each time is stored right here.” “
So you’re saying they kept the looted items?”
“Haha—not necessarily, there must have been tributes!”
But it was more like an exhibition hall than a museum. Several items were hung in transparent glass, but there was no explanation for them. Isn’t a museum supposed to provide related information
? Anyway, here… it’s all quite high-quality stuff.’
This entire space was plastered with items of at least hero grade. And among them, the ones Lee Hyun-wook saw were mixed in.
‘Wait a minute, this is… [Bloody Dawn], right?”
It was a longbow with a dark red color.
“Ah! Do you know?”
As you know, it is a sacred relic of a race called the Dark Elves, and the Dark Elf general had shot it and caused the [Gate Sentinel], a very large airship, to crash
. It meant that it was a fearsome bow that was no different from a tactical weapon.
‘Was this what was here originally?’
The Dark Elves, the rulers of the 3rd wave area… They were probably an unknown race.
Today, the erosion area of Berlin is known only as a green hell covered in man-eating creatures.
But it turns out that there is an army of Dark Elves underground. It was expanding, and that fact was a secret known only to some vested interests in Germany.
‘So the villains passed this on to the Dark Elf race?’
In the past life, they owned Laputa, so it seems like they made some sort of deal with those monster powers.
And perhaps as a result of that deal, the dark elves, who had maintained neutrality, sided with the villains and took part in the war to conquer Europe. ‘In other words ,
such an opportunity has come to me to some extent.’
Next, Lee Hyun-wook faced a huge axe. It
was so large that its total length was likely to be 5 meters.
‘…This is it.’
The legacy of the Black Orc ancestors It was clear that this meant this.
Lee Hyun-wook placed his hand on the transparent glass screen.
– The item is currently in a ‘sealed’ state.
* Special conditions are required to unseal it.
“Hmm… Talos “Can’t I take this out now?”
“That’s right. Since it is such a valuable item, the gnome who designed this space installed a quite complicated locking device.”
“…What is that?”
“For each item, there is a ‘soul stone’ that can be obtained from the body of the ‘leader’ of the corresponding race. That’s the key. However, as mentioned earlier, the soul stones that the gnomes had won in the past were all lost when Laputa was attacked by an unidentified enemy and the 5th faction escaped
. ”
“Every time a leader is elected, a soul stone is created in the leader’s body, so you will be able to get it again!”
Lee Hyun-wook smiled at that explanation.
‘…It’s a bit too far-fetched, isn’t it?’
So, in order to bring out these powerful items, it meant that you had to rob the ‘soul stone’ by attacking the boss monster—the head of each race that appears after the wave.
Either that, or like the villain in his previous life, he could receive something in return instead of handing it over… It was designed to go one of those two routes.
“…Well, I guess I’ll have to think about this later.”
They would face each other in the not-too-distant future.
And then these would become powerful bargaining chips.
***
Lee Hyun-wook left work to his ‘employees’ and went to rest. To be precise, the furnace inside the body was operated at maximum capacity—all efforts were devoted to absorption.
However, even after two full days, there was no sign of absorption, and the pain continued as if my body was being cured.
– Until metal absorption (unknown time) left.
but… It took several days to absorb the [Dwarven Great Mountain Engine], but this one was several times that much.
‘…I don’t think I have to stay like this for a week, do I?’
In any case, after this period, satisfactory results are achieved.
‘Hold on a little longer.’
In the meantime, various news came in.
Once in the Black Orc Kingdom, there were still no unusual trends. It was under 24-hour surveillance via military satellite, but no troop movements were identified.
And the Chinese [Hongdo] Guild, which claimed to have administrator authority over Laputa, was persistently pressuring the Korean government.
– China’s Hongdo side and Korea are illegally occupying Laputa.
– Chinese public opinion seething with anger “Laputa belongs to China in the first place!”
However, government decision makers including Woo Seong-moon did not respond in any way as they had already decided to stick to the ‘ban on feeding sick people’.
Then inevitably, opinions poured in that the Korean government was not taking any action because it was not honorable…
Soon after, a video was released showing several large transport planes with the mark entering Laputa’s dome – the barrier. .
This was an indirect proof of Laputa’s administrator authority.
‘Yes, it is better to prove it quietly than to confront it noisily.’
Then, international public opinion took a sharp turn.
– Quiet proof from the Korean government… Is this a fraud by a Chinese guild?
– Now it’s ‘Hongdo’s turn to prove itself, attracting the world’s attention!
Even so, as China had a poor image in the international community, this time began to be viewed as an unreasonable claim.
But that night… I got a call from team leader Kyojun Lee.
– …The Hongdo Guild has made another unknown request.
There was a hint of worry in his voice.
“yes?”
– They actually gave a very specific item name, saying that what they had was [Auxiliary Key of Ancient Heritage]. So, they said that they had received a quest to become an ’employee’ of Laputa and that they could be of great help in utilizing Laputa. I ask for it.
At that point, Lee Hyun-wook also couldn’t help but ignore it. If he mentioned an item name that started like ‘Ancient Heritage—’, it wasn’t just a bluff, but it meant he was really holding something. And at that point, Lee Hyun-wook said something
. A memory came to my mind.
‘I guess I should call them to Korea…’
He turned off the furnace inside his body.
***
36 hours later, at the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport,
click! Click! Click! Click!
A player from China’s [Hongdo] Guild. Three people stood on the photo line.
Those who had been claiming the authority to manage Laputa for the past few days had set foot on Korean soil. It was even at the invitation of the Korean government. In that regard, the
world once again saw that the Korean government, which does not have the authority to manage Laputa, was the Hongdo Guild. There was suspicion that they were attempting to negotiate with the Korean government.
In response, the Korean government stated, “This invitation is not a meeting for that purpose,” and the Hongdo Guild made no comment.
“The reason you came to Korea today is probably related to Laputa! Are you still claiming to be Laputa’s administrator?”
And in response to the reporter’s question—
“…there will be good news after today.” They
only answered vaguely.
After getting into the prepared car, they casted the ‘Silence’ spell.
“Whoa, it’s crazy… Hey, have the assassins arrived?”
The person who asked that question was Hong Dao’s assistant master, Sao Jun. He is the 21st ranked assassin player in China and is known to be the holder of the key containing ‘Laputa administrator authority.’ “
Yes, he is waiting to be ‘summoned’ in the southern part of this land.”
And the big man who answered like this… was not human.
“Are they as thorough as the guys who assassinated my uncle?”
Even as Xiaojun said that, he felt a little nervous.
“…Humans are noisy.”
Surprisingly, the large man was a black orc shaman disguised as a human.
‘Why are these kids so cruel with every word they say?’
Even though Xiaojun is a person of considerable skill, he cringed without realizing it. This was also due to the fact that the unit that this Black Orc shaman belonged to was a notorious ‘killing squad’ called [Blood Axe].
Once the monsters set their sights on their target, they could never survive.
‘My uncle must have died at the hands of this bastard…’
His uncle, S-rank elementalist Deng Chao, who was once ranked 4th in the Chinese player rankings, was also torn to pieces by the [Blood Axe].
So on the one hand, I was relieved.
Today’s operation was going to succeed even if it was forced.
“Uh well… Anyway, since I have this key, I will be able to identify the real manager. Then, if I pretend to shake his hand and tie him up with a ‘rope’, he won’t be able to do anything…” He said like that
. As he spoke, he stroked the rope-shaped tattoo on his wrist.
Then, item information appeared before his eyes.
[Item information]
– Name: Gleipnir
– Effect: When mana is infused, a specific target is trapped. (The trapped target is magnetic for 10 minutes. (You cannot untie the rope.)
That was a black orc’s spell to tattoo an item on the body, but since it was a skill that was not yet known to the public, there was no fear of being caught. “…You know what you’ll do
after that, right? There’s no reason to rush first. “You have to wait for my signal without moving and making them notice.”
Despite Xiaojun’s repeated words, Black Orc did not respond.
“…Um, yes, we fit together well, right?”
As such, they were openly preparing for assassination after receiving an invitation from the Korean government. This was nothing short of diplomatic madness.
But Xiaojun didn’t care about that.
Because he was a ‘villain’.
Regardless of whether I became porridge or rice, whether my country was turned upside down or my past life exploded, my only goal was to obtain Laputa’s master key.
Before they knew it, the car they were in entered downtown Seoul.
But a crow was flying following their car.
Wing—
it was no ordinary crow.
“Look at these….”
Lee Hyun-wook followed the Hongdo Guild’s car with ‘Hugin’ eyes.
And something was identified in his ‘Insight Lens’.
The target was a large man in the back seat.
A line of text floated above his head.
– Black Orc Shaman (LV. 71)
‘Ha? ‘Polymorph…’
Polymorph, a technology that changes one’s appearance, is an incredibly difficult magic that only a dragon level can use.
‘So it’s the power of the Orc King Snotox?’
The famous boss monster was the best shaman.
‘So this is something that the noble king of the Orcs himself did?’
However, the ‘Eye of Horus’ could not be fooled.
Immediately after, Hyunwook Lee took something out of his pocket.
It was a mana messenger connected one-on-one with Saint Emilia Müller.
***
A while later, in the business room of a hotel in Seoul,
Hongdo Guild members were sitting there waiting for someone.
The Korean government said that Laputa’s manager belonged to a private guild and chose a hotel rather than a government facility for the meeting.
“…Hmm, it’s already been 10 minutes since the appointed time, right?”
“That’s right. These kids have no manners at all.”
“Hehe… It’s okay. It’s all going to be fun anyway, right?”
The players of the Hongdo Guild looked at each other and giggled.
Then the door opened.
“Ah— are you coming in now?”
And the person they expected appeared right there. As expected!’
He was none other than Lee Hyeon-wook, the savior of Seoul.
Then, something trembled in Xiaojun’s inner pocket,
and a system message appeared before his eyes:
– We have encountered the ‘Master’ of Laputa!
He gave us this ‘auxiliary key’ from Amseong. The moment I received it, I was able to identify the master of Laputa because I received a certain quest.
‘As expected, he was the manager of Laputa.’
In fact, this was what the villain side had already expected.
However, because there have been so many failures in recent years, this time it was necessary to make sure everything was done one by one.
‘Today, we will erase the biggest obstacle without making a single mistake!’
Xiaojun smiled as he stood up.
“Ah! hello! “Isn’t this someone really famous?”
He then prepared to infuse mana into his right wrist.
When entering here, all items were returned to the subspace storage box. But as expected, this ‘tattoo’ was not discovered.
And the orc shaman also stood up.
He widened his eyes and glared at Hyunwook Lee.
And as I said before, I waited for the ‘handshake’ moment.
“Haha—I already figured it out. “It appeared before my eyes that I could become a practitioner if I got permission from Laputa’s master.”
“…….”
“Oh, did I talk too much? Now that I think about it, you must be in a bad mood. First of all, I apologize for causing a fuss ahead of you.”
Xiaojun held out his hand to Hyunwook Lee with a kind smile on his face.
But…it wasn’t a hand that Lee Hyun-wook held out.
Clap—
it was a shotgun.
Kwa—ang——!
…Gleipnir There was no time to take it out.
