– Special Mission Dispatched!
– Queen Irena of the Sail Kingdom has declared war on the Free City Alliance!
A special mission appeared with the alarm, a rare occurrence after a long time.
The problem was…
“Declared war?”
Queen Irena had declared war on the Free City Alliance.
“Suddenly?”
The Free City Alliance was, in essence, the only democratic nation on the El Dorado Continent.
It was a nation where citizens elected their leaders, with fixed terms, a system most similar to Earth.
Of course, it had its downsides; politics constantly changed based on the leader’s disposition, inevitably affecting diplomacy with neighboring nations.
“Weren’t the Free City Alliance supposed to be neutral?”
At least, during my time on the continent, the Free City Alliance was the sole nation maintaining a neutral stance.
What on earth had happened in my absence?
I immediately continued reading.
– Special Mission: Transform the Kingdom into a Great Empire!
– The White Church has designated the Free City Alliance as a heretical nation. Consequently, the Sail Kingdom has declared war on the Free City Alliance.
– Dispatch dungeon monsters to ensure the Sail Kingdom’s victory in the war.
– The number of monsters that can be dispatched for the war has been confirmed.
5-Star or higher monsters (0/5)
Monsters below 5-Star (0/200)
“Ah, so that’s what it was?”
Though I didn’t know the exact reason, it seemed the Church had labeled the Free City Alliance as heretics.
Even if they maintained a neutral position, there was nothing they could do.
The White Church’s word was absolute.
Once branded as heretics, there seemed to be no way to escape it.
“It doesn’t concern me much, but…”
If the nation was destined for ruin anyway, wouldn’t it be better for the Sail Kingdom to take over?
It seemed like the best way to minimize damage to ordinary citizens as well.
“For now, let’s look at the rewards.”
Special missions always came with rewards.
Success would likely bring rewards this time too.
– Success Reward: The Sail Kingdom will be elevated to the Sail Empire. Consequently, the action radius of dungeon monsters will expand to encompass the entire Sail Empire.
Gem prices will increase, but causality will be lifted, removing the limit on real-money purchases.
The special mission itself was simple.
Aid the Sail Kingdom in winning the war.
“Gem prices are going to rise?”
Of course, with causality lifted, the removal of the real-money purchase limit was a good thing.
No matter how much money I had, I couldn’t spend an infinite amount on purchases, could I?
‘Besides, money is going to start piling up from now on.’
The funds earned from selling Mana Potions were expected to be beyond imagination.
Naturally, even if gem prices increased, the removal of the purchase limit was the biggest benefit for me.
“And the action radius is expanding.”
The expanded action radius for dungeon monsters was definitely a good thing.
“Right now, unless I dispatch units, the Sail Kingdom was the limit.”
If they won this war and became the Sail Empire, the range of monster activity would increase immensely.
‘That way, I’ll get a little closer to the White Church too.’
While an expanded action radius was beneficial, it wasn’t entirely positive.
It meant the territory would expand, and I would share borders with the Orbis Empire.
This implied more complicated diplomatic issues.
“Well, I’ll worry about the minor details later.”
I haven’t even won the war yet, and moreover, the management of the Sail Kingdom is Queen Irena’s responsibility.
My role is simply to dispatch monsters and ensure the Sail Kingdom’s victory.
However, this time there wasn’t just a reward for success.
– Failure Penalty: Celia will be sad.
“……?”
How could Celia be sad if the Sail Kingdom failed?
I didn’t understand why.
* * *
To win the war, I needed to dispatch monsters.
“Five monsters of 5-star or higher, so…”
This was a foregone conclusion.
“Celilia must go, no matter what.”
However, I decided not to send Maru on this mission.
‘Maru has too much to do here, so I’ll exclude him.’
Maru’s role was no longer on the El Dorado Continent; here, he needed to stay with me to protect the Terrilif Tree.
Moreover, given the uncertainty of how long the war would last, there was no need to send Maru.
“And Necros and Death Knight are mandatory, and also…”
Baalcherit was also excluded for the same reason as Maru.
Baalcherit needed to remain as the administrator of ‘The Wandering Maze,’ a Minotaurus Dungeon managed by the Fire Bird Guild.
So, there was no other option.
On the other hand, if a large-scale war broke out on the El Dorado Continent, the dungeon defenses could be slightly relaxed.
‘Because all attention would be focused there.’
It was highly probable that mercenaries and adventurers alike would participate in the war for a chance at a big payout.
Considering all this, dispatching Celilia was a strategic move.
Of course, I had no intention of leaving the dungeons empty.
‘It’s best to minimize variables.’
The dungeon ‘Evil God’s Nest’ is connected to my life, so I needed a substitute for Celilia and Death Knight.
That substitute would be Goblin Lord.
In that sense, Celilia, Death Knight, and Necros were confirmed for the 5-star or higher monster slots.
For monsters below 5-star, I decided to start with 4-star monsters.
“Skoll and what else was there?”
I reviewed the list of 4-star monsters.
There was ‘Dambi,’ a half-vampire, and a young hydra. And also the cursed guardian of light I obtained during the Sail Kingdom’s civil war.
“Let’s put them all in.”
After all, there were 200 slots for monsters below 5-star.
It was more than enough, no matter what I put in.
“But there are fewer high-rank monsters than I thought.”
Similar to Maru, Azmo and Betta also couldn’t participate. Most importantly, there was a severe lack of monsters rated 5-star or higher.
Although the forces I possessed were strong, they were scattered across various locations, making it difficult to gather them in one place.
“Shall I try doing some draws?”
So, with the special mission presenting itself, I decided to do some draws after a long time.
“First, let’s buy some gems.”
I immediately touched my smartphone screen and entered the shop.
– 100 Gems: 2,200 won
– 500 Gems: 11,000 won
– 1,000 Gems: 22,000 won
– 2,000 Gems: 44,000 won
– 5,000 Gems: 110,000 won
A 10-draw of monsters costs 5,000 gems.
Of course, I had plenty of money now, so I had no burden with real-money purchases, but the causality issue still remained.
– Purchase successful.
– 5,000 Gems will be delivered via mail.
– Purchase successful.
– 5,000 Gems will be delivered via mail.
………
……
…
After purchasing gems several times, the following message appeared on the screen.
– There is a risk of causality distortion.
– You cannot purchase additional gems at this time.
“Ah…”
What’s the point of having money if I can’t spend it as I please due to something called causality?
“So, this special mission must be completed no matter what.”
Instead of lifting causality, gem prices would increase. I didn’t know how much they would increase, but I had enough money now not to care.
Terrilif Mana Potions alone could be sold to the Fire Bird Guild for 5 billion per unit.
When money is being duplicated, why worry about gem prices?
“Alright, the gems are all charged, let’s see.”
There were various ways to use gems.
I could draw monsters, or general goods items.
Even if not, I could use gems to develop dungeons.
But now, I needed to prepare for the upcoming war.
“In that sense, I’ll postpone dungeon expansion for later…”
Only draws for monsters and general goods remained as choices.
“Hmm.”
No matter which I drew, it would be of benefit, but I had to decide what to prioritize.
“Shall I try general goods draws first?”
Even if there were few high-rank monsters, if all monsters including 1-star were included, the total number of monsters was quite large.
But what was the point of having a large quantity if the items supporting them were insufficient?
For example, equipment.
The red dress Celilia wears and the robe Necros wears were both obtained from general goods draws.
The Maid Outfit that Death Knight carried on his shield, though not from a general goods draw, was obtained similarly.
‘The effects were all top-notch.’
Of course, the probability of getting good items from general goods draws was abysmal, but even one good find was worth the real-money investment.
“It might be a good idea to equip the others with gear as well.”
Arming each individual with good equipment would be beneficial in the long run.
In other words, each individual would be like an elite unit.
Not only the dungeons on the El Dorado Continent, but now the threat to Azmo’s dungeon on Earth was also increasing.
However, how long could they continue to operate solely on their own abilities?
‘I need to do something too.’
It was fortunate that I could easily overcome situations so far, but would that continue to be the case?
‘No.’
I couldn’t just arbitrarily increase the rank of monsters.
Increasing their rank required a material called a soul stone, and recently, special packages had also become almost non-existent, making it impossible to purchase even if I wanted to.
From that perspective, what I needed most right now was items.
If monsters could leverage the power of items, they could compensate for their weaknesses.
“Alright, let’s do general goods draws first, and then monster draws.”
– General Goods Draw! (1 draw: 1,200 Gems)
– General Goods Draw! (10 draws: 10,000 Gems)
The gems required for 10 general goods draws were 10,000. In terms of money, it was 220,000 won.
Without hesitation, I touched the general goods draw.
– You drew Stone Fragment from Golem (E).
“As expected.”
I sighed and shook my head.
I didn’t expect to get anything good from the start.
“Still, that’s a bit much though.”
Where would I use a stone fragment from a golem?
“Let’s move on to the next one. Please, this time!”
I hoped for the next draw.
– Moldy Bread (F-)
– Holed Socks (F)
– Rusty Key (F+)
– Novel with a Torn Ending (F-)
“……”
– Twig (F-)
– Bitter Tea Leaves (E)
Only truly useless items came out.
After doing several 10x draws, a usable item finally appeared.
– Sturdy Leather Backpack (C+)
“Ah.”
A sigh escaped me again.
Compared to what I had drawn so far, this was indeed a usable item. However, it wasn’t what I needed at the moment.
“Please, give me something good next time.”
But in the next draw…
– Holy Sword of Light (S)
“…What?”
A Holy Sword appeared.
