58 – The Tower (4)
For about three days after that, as Adriana visited every day and looked at him, Kim Hyun-woo’s expression became increasingly dubious.
It was no wonder, because at least as far as Kim Hyun-woo thought, there was no reason for Adriana to continue staying here.
Immediately after Lartania became a popular city due to the opening of the maze, even the top merchants of Tynus could make a decent profit here.
However, despite reaching a place where the economy was thriving, Kim Hyun-woo began to have doubts, knowing that it was much more profitable to travel around and sell goods than to stay in one place.
“Hmm, I probably won’t be able to see your face starting tomorrow.”
“Has the next destination been decided?”
“Yes. I have somewhere to go. Uh-!”
“…Why are you acting like that?”
“Oh, my head just hurts for a moment… It’s a bit noisy in my head.”
“You’ve been like this for a few days now. I’m worried if something is wrong with your body.”
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“Ahahahaha, it’s nothing like that, so don’t worry. Anyway, I’ll see you next time.”
With those words, Adria left Yeongji.
“…What on earth was that?”
For a few days, Kim Hyunwoo tried to guess the reason why Adria had been visiting constantly, but of course, he couldn’t grasp her intentions.
“If there’s anything different… She’s been staring at my face constantly for a few days.”
Kim Hyunwoo briefly turned his gaze to look at his own face and thought.
“No way, is she in love with me?”
For a moment, he entertained that thought and let out a wry smile.
Although he thought of himself as having a fairly ordinary appearance, it wasn’t to the extent that a pretty girl would fall for him.
If his appearance had been outstanding, he wouldn’t have been playing with real girls, but instead would have been with them.
“Anyway, it’s a relief that I don’t look good since I’m stuck in the game world.”
Therefore, Kim Hyunwoo felt a somewhat melancholic gratitude for his ordinary appearance and brought up the information window.
—-
Yeongji Lartania.
Yeongji Development: 745
Yeongjimin
[Human: 4746]
Owned Buildings
[Castle LV1 ＞＞＞ 99% Upgrading [Temporary pause]]
[City Wall LV2 ＞＞＞ 42% Upgrading]
[Residential Area LV2 ＞＞＞ 32% Upgrading]
[Forge LV3 ＞＞＞ 13% Upgrading]
[Barracks LV3↑]
[Tavern LV2]
[Market LV2↑]
[Lumber Mill LV1]
[Restaurant LV1 ＞＞＞ 0% Upgrading]
[Tannery LV1]
[Quarry LV1]
[Trade Post LV1]
[Secondary City Wall LV0 [Under construction] 45%]
[Inn LV0 [Under construction] 72%]
[Administrative District LV0 [Under construction] 44%]
Military Strength
– Regular soldiers 200 [Upgradeable soldiers available!]
Over the past few days, Yeongji had been steadily developing.
The barracks, which had only had a simple training ground when the level was raised, now looked quite orderly, to the point where it could be called a perfect barracks.
The training ground of the barracks visible through the window of Yeongjuseong had grown so much that it was incomparable to before.
In addition, as Kim Hyeonwoo, who was looking at the soldiers coming into the barracks, wondered if they were recruiting new soldiers, he soon turned his gaze to the market.
The market, which stretched across the north of Yeongjuseong, had definitely expanded its area compared to before.
Clearly, with the change to a two-row structure from just a straight line before, the market had become much wider than before, as merchants had begun to take their places in various alleyways, but it was still quite crowded compared to before.
The biggest change was the city wall of Lartania.
The first-phase city wall, which had only been made of logs and watchtowers until now, had begun to be built with stones.
In other words, the first-phase city wall was finally being built up enough to be called a proper city wall, and in addition, the second-phase city wall was also being built with stones.
Because, if enough resources were consumed according to the level of the first-phase city wall, the second-phase city wall could be raised to the next level immediately.
“Thanks to that, a lot of gold coins have been spent, and I’ve already used up all the resources I bought from Tesnoka Territory.”
Because reclaiming the territory was clearly necessary, Kim Hyeonwoo said that he didn’t regret spending the gold coins and resources.
“Loria, how is the public order?”
[Since the last incident, public order has begun to be restored. It’s not at its peak like before, but it’s being maintained at a fairly good level.]
“And the happiness level?”
[Similarly, it has been restored. In fact, the happiness level has practically returned to its highest level.]
“That’s a relief.”
Kim Hyeonwoo nodded with a satisfied expression.
In fact, it was a bit of a loss to have only handed over the land to Matab with just a magic scroll.
At least, as Kim Hyeonwoo thought, the Lartania Territory would grow even larger than the Lartania he had nurtured ten years ago.
However, even if he suffered some losses in terms of future value, Kim Hyun-woo thought the deal with Matap was quite alright. It was partly because of happiness and public safety, but mostly because he had a way.
A way to thoroughly exploit the land he had purchased from Matap.
“If I think about that, I won’t suffer any losses.”
With a smile on his face, Kim Hyun-woo soon realized that the newly recruited soldiers in the military also needed to be upgraded.
—-
[Rank] Ordinary Soldier
Leader: Maron [Skill Level 100/100]
Number of Members: 200 [View Details]
Combat Efficiency: Very Good
[The possibility of upgrading to a higher rank has emerged (200 members)]
[You can advance to the higher rank ‘Guard’.]
[You can advance to the higher rank ‘Scout’.]
[You can advance to the higher rank ‘Cavalry’.]
[You can advance to the higher rank ‘Apprentice Soldier’.]
…
.
[View More Upgraded Ranks]
-Basic Equipment-
Head: Helmet
Body: Lightweight Armor
Waist: Leather belt.
Legs: Leather-lined greaves.
Armor: Iron bars. Unarmored: None.
※Highly skilled in combat through long-term training!
※All soldiers carry magic scrolls, greatly enhancing combat effectiveness!
—-
Kim Hyun-woo, who was gazing at the notification window that had popped up, pondered calmly.
“In reality, at this point, it’s best to upgrade everyone to guards.”
With the increasing territory and the proliferation of mercenaries, it was best to upgrade most of the personnel to guards, considering the current situation where it was difficult to handle security.
Upgrading to guards didn’t cost much in terms of money and maintenance compared to upgrading to other types of soldiers, and it actually raised the city’s security level.
However, the reason Kim Hyun-woo was pondering was that the guard’s career path ended at just being a guard.
In other words, while it was cost-effective, the potential was not high.
“…I wonder if trainees are better after all.”
Trainees.
Just the name made it seem like a very ambiguous type of soldier, and in reality, trainees were the most ambiguous type among the soldiers that could be promoted to regular soldiers.
Moreover, the abilities were slightly lower than guards, and the maintenance and cost were twice that of guards.
However, the reason why Kim Hyun-woo was pondering between trainees and guards was precisely because the potential of trainees was overwhelmingly higher than that of guards.
At the moment, trainees showed abilities similar to regular soldiers up to the next stage, trainee knights, but they showed their true worth from the stage of becoming a “knight” and beyond.
Especially, when they ascended to the highest tier, “honorable knight,” there would be no one among the soldiers who could surpass the honorable knight, and if knights gathered, they could even handle up to 4-star heroes.
And beyond the highest tier, when the occasionally appearing “swordmaster” appeared, even though not a hero, they would possess the strength to face a 4-star hero alone.
‘Well, in reality, transitioning from a Sword Master to a Hero is pretty much the same as becoming a hero.’
In addition, Kim Hyun-woo knew that it takes more than just experience points for a knight to rise to an honorable knight; it requires deadly BM (Battle Mastery) and a stroke of luck.
‘…Well, I do have quite a bit of money and it’s good to have a high score.’
In the end, Kim Hyun-woo decided to upgrade all 200 soldiers to high-scoring knights.
Even if they were trainees, they couldn’t be left out of guard duty.
Furthermore, despite the fact that heroes were the most important in the territory war of Arteil, ultimately, the next most important thing was high-tier soldiers.
‘More precisely, high-tier soldiers are necessary to prevent fights.’
With that in mind, Kim Hyun-woo upgraded all the regular soldiers to trainees.
A few minutes later.
“The trainees’ morale is at its peak!”
“The trainees’ loyalty is at its maximum!”
“The trainees feel unwavering loyalty to the lord!”
“The trainees pledge unwavering loyalty to the lord!”
“?”
Kim Hyun-woo was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the notification window.
30 minutes later.
“We will work hard, my lord!”
“I will, too! I will work hard!”
Kim Hyun-woo looked at the soldiers guarding the lord’s castle, tears streaming down their faces.
‘…Why are they like this?’
Perplexity was the only expression she could muster.
####
A colossal tower in the northwest of the continent.
From a distance, the tower extended so far that it seemed to touch the sky, evoking a sense of mystery just by gazing upon it.
Various geometric patterns carved on the exterior occasionally emitted light, indicating that this massive and towering structure was protected by various enchantments.
Divided into five different factions, the community of wizards, who could also be considered a fortress of wizards, gathered on the top floor of the wizard’s tower.
“Umm-“
Archmage Lar’an and, on the opposite side, a woman wearing a grand wizard hat, humming a tune, and identified as the Blue Wizard’s Disciple, shook their heads while sipping tea.
Observing the long flowing hair swaying with each subtle movement of the head, Lar’an, who had been watching her for a while, spoke to the Blue Wizard’s Disciple.
“You seem to be in a good mood?”
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“Huh? Oh well~ Yeah, I guess.”
The Blue Wizard’s Disciple replied lazily.
Observing her, Lar’an wore an expression of fascination.
Although she generally had a smile on her face, having known her for a long time, Lar’an hadn’t seen her in such a good mood often.
Therefore,
“So, why have you been in such a good mood these past few days?”
Lar’an threw the question, and in response, the Blue Wizard’s Disciple said,
“Well, um, I don’t know, really.”
Seemingly pondering for a moment, she soon burst into a genuine smile.
“Before long, I thought I wouldn’t be able to meet them, but it seems like I’ll be able to meet the person I wanted to see.”
– That’s what was said.