‘It’s oddly quiet.’
After a few days of investigation, I found something strange.
So quiet.
The main heroines are way too quiet for their own good.
By now, there should be movements in the Holy Kingdom, the Northern Region, and Petenburg trying to catch me.
But there’s not a single notable movement anywhere.
As if nothing happened, the world just keeps spinning along peacefully and normally.
Considering the fact that the main heroines have already made a bold move by sealing off the dungeon, this is a bizarre phenomenon.
Blocking my cash flow and then remaining silent?
It’s completely incomprehensible behavior.
‘Did I misjudge something?’
The curse placed on the dungeon might not be a declaration of war after all.
I can’t rule that possibility out anymore.
Every time I enter, the chilling air and malice seeps into my bones, ready to freeze me to death, and just thinking about that toxicity and malicious blessings stirs my anger even now.
But that might not have been their intention.
Thinking like that broadens my perspective.
The possibilities increase.
‘Was it not a curse targeting me? Or could it be Draken’s distortion? If that’s not it…?’
Of course, no matter how much I rack my brain, I won’t find the answer.
The most certain thing would be to directly go and ask the main heroines…
But that carries way too much risk.
I can’t ignore the possibility that they set a trap.
‘Sorry, but I still can’t completely trust those guys.’
I don’t want to be suspicious, but there’s no other choice.
They also suspected my wishes without any hard evidence in previous rounds, so I guess it’s a draw.
So, the place I should head to now is nowhere other than Elvenguard.
For now, one of my strongest allies.
I need Mia’s counsel, the priestess who influences the entire Elvenguard.
‘Should I head to Basel first, though?’
First, I need to check on Tay.
Just want to make sure she’s safe.
Basel.
This city, meaning “City of Water,” was nothing more than a quiet tourist town except for its developed mana stone processing industry.
It surely was.
But now that city…
“What’s going on here?”
“Looks extravagant.”
“W-Wait, is this Basel?”
It has developed beyond recognition.
It used to have just one tall building like a magic tower; now, there are at least four more like it.
Around those buildings sprawls a chaotic urban area.
“Are all these branches?”
After hearing from passersby, it turns out that all of these buildings are owned by Tay’s workshop.
With a significant share owned by Tay inside, you could pretty much consider it all hers.
Tay took drastic measures since the workload was stacking up faster than she could handle it.
She decided to take on apprentices.
Up until Tay arrived, numerous top-tier mana stone artisans, raking in money, bowed their heads to seek instruction from her.
After a strict vetting process, Tay selected her apprentices and set them through harsh training.
Within a month, four apprentices were appointed as her assistant artisans.
Each one is now in charge of a branch processing the workload…
‘With the supply of mana stones increasing and their usefulness rising… I guess she’s gonna be busy.’
Magical engineering is advancing at a rapid pace.
Mercenaries are now more active than ever in dungeon conquests.
Even high-grade mana stones, once processed, double in efficiency under Tay’s hands, so it’s only natural she’s overwhelmed with work for the time being.
‘It definitely wasn’t like this in the previous round…’
In the last round, Tay awakened her talent late.
And just as the market began to grow, that was coincidentally when the ending came.
I had no idea this early awakening would result in such a butterfly effect.
Now it seems Tay’s workshop’s income might surpass that of the entire Basel.
“What brings you here?”
“Just to meet someone for a bit.”
“Do I know them?”
“No, not at all.”
Kali, who’s been clinging next to me, seems pretty unfamiliar with the changes in Basel.
But some things remain the same as before.
“Water?!”
“Hey, hey, stop pulling my hair! That hurts!”
With water coming in periodically, Mi Jeong panics and jumps onto my head.
Is this some kind of blood ghoul trait that will never be fixed…?
Eventually, Mi Jeong trembles as she clings to my back.
For some reason, Kali glances at her with an envious look while wandering beside me.
Looks like her legs are quite sore from walking for a while.
Soon, we arrived at the main workshop.
“Hello! How may I assist you… Oh! Please come this way.”
The staff’s demeanor changed completely upon seeing the black mana stone.
Then, they guide us to the VIP waiting room.
The magic sword that I’ve stopped using now has a black mana stone detached from it, acting as a sort of ID to identify my status.
“Do you know the artisan here?”
“No. I know the manager.”
“Ah… You’re using a professional manager.”
“Not exactly. Just the creator of this workshop, so they got involved in management.”
“…”
Kali makes a peculiar expression.
Looks like she finds it hard to comprehend.
It’s understandable.
This workshop hasn’t grown through investments.
It’s been purely funded by Tay’s resources to build and expand the workshop.
But does she have enough money to open four branches?
That raised some suspicion.
“When you reveal that you’re Kali…”
“I know. I’ll keep my identity hidden unless you say it’s okay. I won’t reveal anything. I’ll just pretend to be the orphan you picked up. I remember everything.”
“Great. Then…”
Just then, the elevator doors open, and a girl with bronze skin jumps out.
Tay, looking as healthy as ever.
“Investor!”
“Yeah. Good to see you. I haven’t been here in a while, but… things have changed a lot.”
“Hehe! Right?! The workshop has gotten huge!”
“Really…”
It seems not just the workshop has expanded.
Tay has noticeably grown taller than I remember.
She already surpassed Mi Jeong in height.
Her figure has shed much of its youthful awkwardness.
I could feel that clear from the hug.
Of course, she’s still just a kid.
“What’s the occasion? Should I take a guess? It doesn’t seem to be because of the mana stones since you haven’t brought any to process recently…”
“It is because of the mana stones.”
“Huh? Really?!”
“I think I’ll have an important mana stone to entrust to you soon, so please don’t go on holiday or leave the workshop empty.”
“Of course! You don’t even need to tell me that; I won’t go anywhere.”
Tay responds confidently.
Glancing over at Kali, she cocks her head in confusion.
An important mana stone.
One is on the way.
Kali must be clueless about what that means…
“But who is this girl?”
“A girl? Who are you calling a girl?!”
“You’re not human? A long-living kind?”
“Y-You’re right about that…”
I shout, but at the warning from my eyes, Kali immediately calms down.
Looks like she hasn’t forgotten my request.
Seeing her diligently adhering to my instructions, I don’t think she’ll blab about being Kali to others.
“She’s just an orphan.”
“Ah.”
Tay nodded, not probing further into Mi Jeong’s response.
She seems to think it’s a bit uncomfortable to ask for detailed circumstances.
But something about Kali is off.
Whenever Mi Jeong looks at her, Kali immediately looks down—it’s as if she’s afraid of Mi Jeong.
Did she suffer some sort of abuse without me knowing?
“But what’s the sudden deal? Why the huge increase in branches?”
“We had a massive inflow of orders. There’s no way we can handle it with just one main store within the contract time, so we increased the scale with investment funds.”
“Investment funds? Who’s investing?”
“From the ordering side. It’s an order placed by the Petenburg Foundation, but they seem to be preparing for war since I need to process over 3000 high-grade mana stones.”
“…”
Petenburg Foundation.
While it’s established by the Petenburg Trading Company, everyone knows Yulia effectively runs the show.
What on earth does Yulia need with that many high-grade mana stones?
“Could I take a look at that order?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Even as an investor, it’s hard to divulge the contract details. But I might be able to give you a brief hint. Want to lean in?”
“…?”
When I lean in, Tay cups her hand to my ear.
Then she whispers quietly.
“The output requested for each mana stone is different. When I gathered them all, they form a certain pattern.”
“…!”
A vague explanation.
But it made me realize something.
From her words, I understood.
Yulia doesn’t want to start a war.
Though I had long forgotten, Yulia is a competent magical engineer.
Any magic-related matter can be fused into magical engineering with her talent.
It’s certain that Yulia got this idea from the otherworld and dungeons.
Dungeon cores form a web that interacts with and transmits energies.
Yulia intends to recreate that network using mana stones.
By positioning mana stones all over the world, she wants to issue and receive commands in real-time.
If that gets completed…
Yulia would possess information-gathering capabilities superior to any intelligence agency.
Not to mention, should she wish to utilize it for war, she could do so without question.
This could potentially provide Yulia with absolute power.
“Uh, please don’t say I told you this?”
“Of course not. Thanks for the info.”
I’ve gained valuable information.
Yulia’s planning to construct a huge network.
And its purpose is probably…
To find me.
A chill runs down my spine suddenly.
If I had my way, I’d rip that contract to shreds right now.
But having already received enough investment to construct four branches, derailing that business would mean ruin for Tay.
That can’t happen.
This is something I’ll have to face Yulia about one day.
With that conclusion in mind, I was about to leave the workshop when Kali got interested in one of the rings hanging on the wall.
“What’s up?”
“This ring is pretty…”
“Oh, that? You can take it. They made it out of failed high-grade mana stones, so it’s not worth much.”
“…”
I can’t believe this.
Even this mana stone has substantial efficiency already.
At the beginning of the rounds, it would’ve been considered high-end mana stone.
But now, it’s already dismissed to ‘the likes of this.’
I now realize the kind of monster I’ve nurtured.
Kali picks up the ring, and we decided to head towards our next destination.
To make that ‘important mana stone.’
The material needed for that is one thing.
Kali’s soul.
.
.
.
|Kali!!!|
Wooooosh!
One soul bursts through the fabric of space, screaming senselessly.
That scream caused the wandering ghosts and spirits around to vanish in unison.
I clearly felt Kali’s energy nearby.
The wavelength of Kali’s soul!
That means Kali was around here.
|If I can just find Kali’s soul! If I can just find her soul! If I can bring her back…!|
Luna quickly started searching everywhere.
With Kali’s soul, resurrection was entirely possible.
Creating an appropriate body for Kali was no task for Luna.
That would mean ‘complete resurrection.’
|Where are you, Kali! Where are you? Aaaah!!!|
But no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find Kali.
There were clearly traces of her soul’s presence.
It was as if it had completely vanished from the scene midway.
|Aaaah!!!|
Then at some moment.
Luna’s spirit spotted an unforgettable face.
That loathsome man.
The one who enticed Sola, killed Kali, and ruined Luna’s plan.
Luna, harboring resentment, was keenly aware of a strangely familiar girl beside him.
Upon confirming that face, Luna’s spirit halted in mid-air.
It was Kali.
Definitely, it was a youthful version of Kali.
Kali was holding onto the man’s arm, walking as if she deeply trusted and leaned on him.
That sight shattered Luna’s mind.
|What did you do to my Kali?! Aaaah!!!|
Though Luna rushed after the three, she was repelled backward by the barrier surrounding the building.
It was a barrier blocking spirits.
Luna had no choice but to wait, sucking her fingers.
After a while, the main door opened, and the three reemerged.
|Aaaahhhhhhhhh!!!|
Once again, Kali appeared, grinning alongside the man, trying on a ring.
At that, Luna’s mind broke down completely.
|I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!!!|
Luna’s spirit swung her fist helplessly through the man.
