Tactical Stock (3)
Fall passed and winter came.
The wind, which had been cool until yesterday, pierces coldly through your clothes.
Chris, who was heading to the training ground today as always, wondered if he should change his clothes.
Anyway, once I start practicing, it gets hot right away, but until then it’s painful.
It’s been 5 days since he got the new epic class.
Of course, of course, Chris started training to grow the ability of the Epic class.
However, the Epic class did not grow even after harassing Tyrone at the training ground.
It seemed like I needed to have a new experience, just like when I got epic experience points.
Chris, on his way to the lord’s castle through the frozen road, found Illesis with his axe eyes open for some reason.
As the seasons change and the people change, she is blowing a chill overnight.
He asked politely, changing his posture almost instinctively.
“What’s wrong, ma’am?”
“excuse me.”
Judging by the way Illesis pointed at the city below the lord’s castle in the distance, it seemed that the familiar flying over the village had found something.
A group of people are waiting in line in front of the wall that protects the mine and the population of 10,000.
I couldn’t see very closely because it was obscured by the walls, but the guards are flustered, so they don’t seem to be ordinary wanderers.
“Who are these people?”
“That is what I want to ask. Do you know a player named Luana?”
“Luna? He must be in the South?”
Just in time, hearing from Baren that a guest had arrived, Chris hurriedly walked away with his eyes wide open.
In the drawing room that the servants of Yeongju Castle showed you to, a beautiful woman with a familiar face is sipping tea in a slightly haggard state.
Tyrone on the other side greeted him, mouth to ear.
“chris! Who is this?”
“Hello, Count Vector.”
Putting down the teacup, Luana got up from her seat and smiled happily and greeted her according to the etiquette.
Chris also accidentally receives it and faces his benefactor.
“What is Luana-sama doing here… Oh, this is the man who got me out of prison the moment I was summoned.”
The atmosphere in the room softened even more when Chris, who couldn’t win Tyrone’s glare, hung up and explained. Chris and Illesis sat down while Varen bit off Hulin and Jack, who had been waiting outside the drawing room.
However, Illesis’ rigid attitude has not yet been corrected.
Luana reveals her situation in a slightly awkward atmosphere.
“In fact, the city where our guild was located was swept away by the demon king… I was looking for a new place to settle down.”
“ah… You have really bad luck.”
Even if she lost her base overnight, she didn’t think it was Luana’s mistake.
The Demon King’s forces are like natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes.
It is not a reason for human beings to be criticized for failing to go against the natural order.
Luana smiled bitterly and shook her head.
“It’s fortunate that I just saved my life from the demon king.”
“So, did you come here to make a fresh start?”
“Hey, Elesis!”
Unlike the two who intentionally stayed quiet, Illesis went straight to the point without mercy.
Tyrone and Chris were taken aback by what could have been considered slightly rude.
Fortunately, Luana didn’t look too unpleasant.
She shows off the composure of a giant guild leader and smiles softly.
The experience of hanging out with high-ranking aristocrats from many years ago did not betray her.
“I know it’s rude to come here like this, but… Our situation is so difficult… … . They usually try to oust us or subjugate us.”
As Chris knows, Luana has gone through a lot of trouble to get her old place.
There are about 10 players from countries that are said to be famous in the middle and south of the continent.
Even a powerful country like Saidran could not exceed twenty.
However, Luana’s guild had more than twenty players.
Although about half of the guild members are minors or non-combatants… Whether it’s the native people’s fear or greed. One of the two is a position you have no choice but to get. In the end, she must have come to him to settle down in Vector.
Chris began a troubling calculation at her request.
“How many players are in the guild right now?”
“Including myself, there are a total of 15 people. Nine of them are non-combatants, though only six are actually active. During the disappearance of the status window, a lot of people left.”
“everyone… Did you get the status window back?”
“Yes, fortunately all the remaining guild members have their status windows back. The black flag people who stole our status window must have been killed by someone.”
Five bombs that don’t know when to explode, nine lumps of luggage.
The cost of recruiting Luana, a resourceful guild that ran a guild in the south-central continent, was cheap. To be honest, Chris had no expectations from the players other than her.
Baren, on the other hand, is visibly agitated.
Even if they were nominally neutral, there were 15 players that could be used as full strength in case of emergency.
For Basilonia, which suffers from the Breton Empire every year, this is too sweet a fruit.
Luana’s Guild was an organization organized to prevent players from committing atrocities, so it had enough pretext to stand against Breton, who had the Player Prime Minister.
He sent a hot gaze to Chris and asked for Luana’s recruitment.
However, Chris turns a blind eye to it and asks carefully not to sound too harsh.
“Then can we just provide the land?”
“Yes. Because we can earn the operating expenses ourselves… I don’t think I will be able to work properly for a while anyway.”
Luana said that and slightly lowered her eyes.
It seemed that the condition of the guild was worse than expected.
It must be that now, rather than interfering with others, it is more important to take care of yourself.
Tyrone is Gingaminga. Illesis showed signs of objection, but Chris was determined to allow Luana to reside.
Even if the debt had already been paid, it was hard to see his benefactor wandering aimlessly.
Besides, he found a use for her just in time.
“Baren, is there a building in town that can be used as a guild headquarters?”
“I don’t have it right now, but I can make it soon. After all, the stonemasons of the city were playing.”
“chris… … .”
Illesis muttered lowly, but in the presence of outsiders he was no more stubborn.
Chris added a few words to redistribute the discomfort in the room.
“Lady Luana, I hope you will help Baren with her work whenever the situation arises. He’s taking care of Yeongji’s duties instead of me, but it seems like it’s a bit too much for him alone… … .”
“Hey, lord!”
Baren couldn’t bear to confront him head-on, and protested briefly.
However, Chris did not give up his stubbornness this time.
It seemed a little reckless to have an outsider participate in the management of the estate, but from his point of view, Varen is no different from an outsider.
Although he has already nailed Baren, he is a person who can betray Chris for the sake of Basilonia.
Chris was thinking of using Luana to keep Baren in check.
Having read such an intention, Luana nodded without hesitation.
“If I can help, of course I have to help. I hope to go along well.”
As Luana greeted Varen, the shadow on Illesis’ face lessened slightly. She saw through Chris’ intentions, so she said nothing more.
Chris, who left the drawing room with everyone, was trying to avoid confrontation with the players.
A wagon with a familiar pattern greeted him in front of the Naeseong.
Sang Sang-ju, who had been waiting for the guards’ understanding, adjusted his posture with a very happy expression.
“Chris, how are you?”
“The Supreme Lord?”
Chris was taken aback by the reunion after only two weeks.
I knew I would see Sang Sangju again sometime, but I never thought he would come back this soon.
I wondered if something was wrong with the salt trade.
However, only a confident smile can be seen on the face of Sang Sangju.
He takes out a long wooden box and speaks in a bright voice.
Even if it was a box, it wasn’t a crate commonly used at the top, but a high-end item used only for storing valuables.
“We just finished going up in this area, and a good product just came in, so we came here.”
Judging by his tone, it seemed that he hadn’t come to sell him anything.
What the upper lord is holding must be a rather rare gift.
Chris took him to the drawing room.
Varen was away with Luana to guide her.
Soon after entering the drawing room, Sang Sangju sets the wooden box down on the table before he even sits down.
Chris didn’t hold high expectations, he just asked politely.
“What is this?”
“It is a long sword. It is the best thing for the best warrior.”
“A sword?”
Illesis expresses her doubts with her eyes slightly trembling.
A long sword is the best gift for a swordsman like Chris, but excellent swordsmen are picky about it.
If you bring an ambiguous item for no reason, you may end up being naive, rather than gaining favor.
However, Sang Sangju probably knew this fact better than anyone else, but there was no sign of shrinking in the slightest.
Tyrone hurriedly opened the lid of the box, as if curiously aroused by his imposing demeanor.
An exclamation echoes before the lid that fits into the box is properly removed.
“for a moment. Is this silk?”
“What the hell did you bring… … .”
Today’s hero was hiding his appearance with high-quality silk.
Fingers that tremble weakly from overly high expectations skim off the soft silk.
Before long, what appeared from the inside was a long sword in a fairly familiar shape.
Seeing the scabbard with a stiff yet practical design, it seemed a little dumbfounded, but the moment I saw the hilt revealed above it, my doubts quickly melted away.
Chris stroked the leather strap wrapped around the hilt with a feeling of ecstasy.
The unique scale pattern engraved on the leather makes him doubt his eyes.
“Sir, is it dragon skin?”
“That’s right. Go ahead and try it out.”
Despite the urgings of the top lord, Chris can’t easily pull out his sword.
The enchanting feel of the dragon skin on the hilt clung to his hand, and it was hard to come off.
He clenched his teeth and put strength into his grip as if to shake off his desire.
Oddly enough, the noise emanating from the scabbard was not metal.
A black and smooth sword body appears with a strange sound.
Chris, who drew his sword as if sucking even the sunlight coming through the window, was silent for a moment.
“huh? Isn’t this a sword made of iron?”
“It was made by carving a rock that is only found in very small quantities in the heart of the Dwarf Mine with mysticism. It is nothing compared to a sword made of steel or something.”
To Tyrone’s admiration, Sang Sangju immediately replied.
Chris, who was working as a mercenary, had seen all kinds of swords, but this was the first sword made of stone in his life.
But it never seems softer or weaker than steel.
He injected mana as the longsword guided him and swung it at the wall of the drawing room.
“Hey, Chris!”
“are you okay.”
Chris murmured before Illesis’ screams could even come out.
The longsword imbued with magic cut through the hard stone wall like a tofu.
The blade is so sharp that you might wonder if it splits on its own as soon as it touches.
Of course, there were no scratches on the blade.
Chris commented as Illesis quickly put the wall back to normal.
“The magic conductivity is good. It feels like my arm has been stretched rather than using a knife.”
“I am glad to hear that you are satisfied. As expected, player artisans pay for their money.”
Chris’s body froze for a while as Sang Sangju murmured contentedly.
As far as he knew, there was only one player blacksmith in the world.
“Did you meet old Blackhammer?”
“Did you know? At first, he didn’t even make eye contact with us, but after hearing Chris’ explanation, he handed over the sword.”
“Oh my God, I thought the old man was in the South. If it’s enough to make a sword like this, the old man must have regained the status window.”
Well, the southern part was ruined because of the demon king, so Blackhammer was likely to change his place too.
Chris swung his sword several times, admiring this strange coincidence.
He liked the heaviness unique to Black Hammer products.
Seeing the satisfaction of the customer, Sang Sangju sighed in relief.
Although it was much more expensive than the gains from this trip, I did not regret it.
That gift is a sign of apology for his informant.
‘This person shouldn’t have anything to do with the kings because of me… … .’
While he was struggling to hide his embarrassed expression, Chris got up for a belated reception. However, Sangsanju politely refused and left the lord’s castle.