109 – Request for Troops (1)
About seven hours had passed since Kim Hyun-woo upgraded the Youngju Castle.
As the sunset beyond the mountains slowly disappeared and darkness began to fall, he could receive a report from Elena and Shardra, who had gone on a labyrinth exploration.
“You’ve reached the 7th floor…?”
“Yes.”
Kim Hyun-woo, who was receiving the report in the administrative district instead of the Youngju Castle, unknowingly showed a surprised expression.
Of course, he thought Elena would be able to break through up to the 7th floor with the help of the trainee knights, but he still thought they would be short on time.
After all, it usually took Elena about 4 to 5 hours to clear one floor.
However, this time, although they came out much later than before, they had cleared not one but three floors at once. Upon hearing the news, Kim Hyun-woo’s expression showed a startled look.
“Ahem!”
Soon, Kim Hyun-woo turned his gaze to the voice coming from beside him without realizing it.
There, Shardra, who had a look on her face that seemed to say “I did well!” and a gaze that clearly sought praise, stood with her chest puffed up. Kim Hyun-woo chuckled and ruffled her hair.
“Euhem-♪”
As Kim Hyun-woo lightly ruffled her hair, Shardra tilted her head from side to side with a look of great satisfaction.
“Thank you for helping.”
“Don’t mention it! Besides, it’s only natural that this would be my place once some time passes.”
“I’m grateful you think that way.”
“Really?”
Shadra laughed brightly and hugged Kim Hyunwoo tightly.
“…”
Elena’s eyes flickered at the fact that Shadra’s arms were wrapped around Kim Hyunwoo’s neck, but she casually continued the conversation as if she didn’t care.
“Do I have to make a wish just because I tried hard? Is that a rule?”
“Well, if I can grant it, then of course I should. Why not?”
“Hmm-”
Shadra, contemplating Kim Hyunwoo’s question for a moment, turned her gaze to Elena and spoke.
“I’ll talk about that later! Is that okay?”
“Well, sure, it’s okay.”
Shadra, nodding in agreement with Kim Hyunwoo’s gesture, confidently expressed herself with a determined expression.
“Oh, and by the way, if you need additional help for the next level, just let me know. I’ll help!”
“Hmm, got it. But I probably won’t need that much help until after passing the 9th level.”
“Huh? Why?”
Innocently questioning, Shadra asked, and Kim Hyunwoo replied.
“From the 8th level onward, the space becomes significantly smaller.”
In Kim Hyunwoo’s mind, who had completed the minimum of several hundred conquests on each level, information about the 8th level surfaced.
“The ant nest is undoubtedly a challenging terrain for summoning golems and engaging in battle.”
Fundamentally, though mazes, even if located underground, are not small in size, the 8th and 9th floors distinctly transform the characteristics of the maze into something different from a typical one, resembling an ant nest.
The paths shrink, giving way to numerous branches, entwined like a maze.
As a result, exploration here was inevitably more challenging than on other floors, and since the passages themselves were small, using golems was impractical. Thus, Kim Hyunwoo explained the situation to Shadra.
“Well, that can’t be helped.”
Shadra nodded regretfully, as if expressing disappointment. Shortly after she left, Kim Hyunwoo, who was receiving additional reports from Elena, asked:
“Again?”
“Yes.”
Soon, he could see the blue bones she brought, as if she had been waiting for him. While not as large as the previous time, the three bones in front of him differed in size.
“…They gradually grow each time you clear a floor?”
“That’s right.”
Observing the blue bones after Elena’s nod, Kim Hyunwoo quickly confirmed the markings on them. He then asked:
“Has Shadra seen these markings?”
Thinking that, as a magician, she might have knowledge about such things, he threw the question, but Elena shook her head.
“No, she did confirm them, but she said she didn’t really understand. She mentioned that these kinds of patterns require archaeologists.”
“As expected.”
Kim Hyunwoo, with a disappointed expression at Elena’s words, exchanged a few casual words with her and was about to leave, expressing his gratitude.
However,
“Um, my lord?”
“Hmm? Why?”
“Well, I…”
“?”
Kim Hyunwoo, looking at Elena with a smirk.
And Elena, to him,
“No, it’s… not…”
With a slightly embarrassed laugh, she tried to turn away, but then, awkwardly, she turned back, clearing her throat.
Then,
“Um… Could you… maybe give me a compliment?”
“A compliment?”
“Yes, uh… for… fixing your hair.”
As she spoke, Elena blushed deeply, and Kim Hyunwoo’s expression became somewhat perplexed.
In fact, she had never behaved like this before.
So, with a strange expression, Kim Hyunwoo said,
“It’s not that hard, you know?”
Awkwardly nodding, he lightly touched Elena’s hair a few times.
She flinched.
As if Kim Hyunwoo had touched something wrong, Elena flinched a few times.
“Now… I’ll, um, go.”
“Uh… uhh…”
Leaving the administrative district with a subtle atmosphere lingering behind.
And.
“…What is it?”
Without realizing it, Kim Hyun-woo found himself making a strange expression as he looked at where Elena had left, caught off guard by the peculiar atmosphere she had created a moment ago.
####
The next day.
Finally, as the level of the Yeongjuseong had reached 2, the Yeongjuseong where Kim Hyun-woo had been staying changed.
The level 1 Yeongjuseong, which had been delayed and postponed, was practically in a state of minimal repair and on the verge of collapse, but the newly expanded Yeongjuseong at level 2 was different.
To some extent.
“…Was the Yeongjuseong like this at level 2?”
Kim Hyun-woo found himself making a bewildered expression as he looked at the level 2 Yeongjuseong, which was so refined that he couldn’t help it.
Not quite as large as the actual palace, which resembled it in some ways when he had been training with Arte, but now the Yeongjuseong looked quite like a luxurious mansion.
In addition, with the level increase, all the worn-out areas and parts in need of repair had been fixed, so Kim Hyun-woo couldn’t help but feel satisfied.
“Unlike other buildings, the Yeongjuseong naturally upgrades when the Yeongjuseok places materials around it. That’s why it feels completely different.”
With that thought in mind, as Kim Hyun-woo entered the Yeongjuseong, he could see that even the interior had been replaced with a rather high-quality wooden floor, not just an ordinary wooden floor.
And as soon as the Yeongjuseong reached level 2, the first thing Kim Hyun-woo did was…
“…Fuel?”
“Yeah, if possible, could you research it? Since you’re an alchemist, I thought maybe you could do something like this.”
From Noble mtl dot com
It was immediately requesting fuel research from Shardra.
Having read what Kim Hyun-woo had written for a while and listened to his story, Shardra…
“Hmm, I’ll talk to that dwarf and give it a try!”
“Please do.”
“Exactly! Whose request is this anyway?”
With a lively laugh, Kim Hyun-woo left the office, signaling the start of his work once again.
####
Exactly one week had passed since then.
As the time to renew the package payment approached, Kim Hyun-woo sincerely felt a sense of satisfaction with the increase in his level in Yeongjuseong over the past week.
It was understandable since the increase of just one level in Yeongjuseong didn’t unlock any additional functions, but his life had become more prosperous.
Cooking, in the first place, wasn’t a big deal since Lani always took care of it, but his bed was now much softer compared to the uncomfortable one at Yeongjuseong level 1. At night, it was subtly warm, and he no longer woke up from the cold.
Of course, aside from the prosperous life, there were some strange things happening, like Elena occasionally changing her hairstyle or subtly holding his sleeve for the reason of reading his palm. But among them, what had changed the most in that one week was…
[Red Stones: 30] [Blue Stones: 232] [Gold Coins: 325,422] [Magic Stones: 242,231]
It was the supply of magic stones.
In fact, it was clear that Kim Hyun-woo’s supply of magic stones, as seen in the exchange window right now, had significantly decreased.
Even though there were only a few days left after one week and now there was only a week left, the minimum number of magic stones had not even reached 240,000.
However, that was only the number of magic stones displayed in the exchange window.
“Show me the lower-grade and intermediate-grade magic stones as well.”
[Yes.]
With Kim Hyun-woo’s words, the exchange window refreshed.
[Minimum-grade Magic Stones: 242,231]
[Lower-grade Magic Stones: 15,231]
[Intermediate Mana Stones: 1,732]
“Hmm.”
Kim Hyunwoo smiled as he looked at the newly updated notification window that appeared before his eyes.
Until now, he hadn’t bothered displaying the collection of low-grade and intermediate mana stones because, initially, it was impossible to gather them. However, after the labyrinth was opened up to the 7th floor, the supply of lowest-grade mana stones decreased, and the collection of low-grade and intermediate mana stones began.
“I was thinking wrong.”
In fact, Kim Hyunwoo hadn’t expected low-grade and intermediate mana stones to accumulate quickly even if he opened the floors immediately. He judged that it would take some time until high-grade mercenaries, who were practically the only ones entering from the 5th floor where low-grade mana stones were said to be common, would flow in.
However, contrary to his thoughts, as soon as the 5th floor opened, low-grade mana stones began to be supplied in earnest. This made him realize that there were quite a few high-grade mercenaries in Lartania, earlier than he had anticipated.
Thanks to that, Kim Hyunwoo’s face was brightening day by day.
Converting low-grade and intermediate mana stones, which had not yet dropped in value, into money cost quite a bit. However, the qualitative difference between low-grade and intermediate mana stones was significant.
Moreover, activating the labyrinth brake with low-grade mana stones gave 1000 more red stones than activating it with lowest-grade mana stones.
In other words, activating the labyrinth brake once would yield 2300 stones.
“Shadra did a great job.”
Kim Hyunwoo recalled how, thanks to Shadra, he had pierced through the labyrinth up to the 7th floor in just one day without a single casualty. He smiled at the thought.
“If I can also produce fuel with alchemy here, it would truly be the pinnacle.”
Thinking about Shadra, who had been researching something for a week since the conversation with River ended, Kim Hyunwoo smiled but soon shook his head.
Actually, it would be great if the fuel could be completed, but it seemed like too much greed, so he was thinking of letting it go to some extent.
Anyway.
“With this progress, if all goes well, I might be able to buy a proposal ring next month.”
While Kim Hyunwoo was smiling at the steadily increasing mana stones, which were going up a bit more slowly than gold coins at the moment.
“My Lord.”
Kim Hyun-woo responded to the voice accompanied by a polite knock.
“What is it?”
“Someone has come from the Tesnoka Territory.”
“…From the Tesnoka Territory?”
“Yes, it’s said to be an urgent matter.”
“Let them in.”
“Understood.”
With Kim Hyun-woo’s permission, a while later.
—-
In the territory, the ★★★ hero ‘Bearer of Darkness’ has entered.
—-
“Greetings to the Lord of Lartania. My name is Roman.”
Looking at Roman, who respectfully bowed in front of him, Kim Hyun-woo nodded with courtesy and asked along with him.
“I apologize, but the Lord is currently very busy and couldn’t come personally. Would it be possible to converse through a communication crystal? I apologize for the inconvenience.”
“That would be fine.”
A simple permission.
Then, with an apologetic nod, Roman placed a communication crystal in front of Kim Hyun-woo.
[It’s been a while, Lord of Lartania.]
“It’s indeed been a while.”
The Lord of Tesnoka Territory, Rania, who immediately greeted him, went straight to the point without delay.
[Since time is pressing, I’ll skip the formalities and get right to the point. Lord of Lartania, could you possibly help me?]
“…Are you requesting reinforcements?”
[Yes, if you help me, I’ll give myself to you. I’m serious.]
Kim Hyun-woo could only respond with a surprised voice before he could even think about it.
“…Excuse me?”
Unconsciously, I had to reply with a dumbfounded voice.