episode_0159

‘Strangely quiet.’

After several days of investigation.

A strange discovery was made.

Quiet.

The main heroines, even when quiet, are too quiet.

By now, there should be movements to capture me in Sunggu, the North, and Petenburg.

However, there is no special movement anywhere.

As if nothing is happening, the world just continues peacefully and normally.

Considering that the main heroines have already closed off the dungeon, it is a strange phenomenon.

Blocking my financial resources and declaring war, only to remain silent?

It’s an inexplicable behavior.

‘Did I make a mistake?’

The curse in the dungeon may not be a declaration of war after all.

The possibility of excluding that has become impossible.

Thinking about the bone-chilling cold that seeps into my bones every time I enter, filled with malice and toxicity, and the vicious blessings, it still feels like the evil is creeping up.

But it may not be their intention.

Thinking like that broadens the scope of my thoughts.

The possibilities increase.

‘Was it not a curse aimed at me? Or Draken’s distortion? If not that, then…’

Of course, no matter how much I think about it, the answer may not come easily.

The most certain thing is to go directly to the main heroines and ask them.

But that is too risky.

I cannot ignore the possibility of traps being set.

‘I’m sorry, but I can’t fully trust them yet.’

I don’t want to doubt them, but I can’t help it.

They also doubted my intentions without any evidence in previous encounters, so it could be considered a stalemate.

So, the place I should head to now is not elsewhere, but Elvengard.

One of the most powerful allies at the moment.

The advice of Mia, the priestess who controls all of Elvengard, is needed.

‘But maybe I should go to Basel first.’

There is something I need to do with Tay.

I need to make sure he is safe.

Basel.

Meaning the city of water.

Apart from the fact that it is a city where marble craftsmanship is advanced, it was just a quiet tourist city.

That’s how it used to be.

“What is this now?”

“It’s so different.”

“Wait, is this Basel?”

It has developed beyond recognition.

If before, there was only one tall building like a tower, now there are four more of those buildings standing.

Around those buildings, a bustling city center has spread out.

“All of these are branches?”

According to the passersby, all these buildings are owned by Tay’s workshop.

Since Tay has a significant stake in them, it can be considered all Tay’s property.

When the workload started piling up faster than it could be completed, Tay took drastic measures.

He decided to take on apprentices.

Before Tay appeared, several top marble craftsmen who used to spend money recklessly sought Tay’s guidance and bowed their heads.

Tay rigorously selected apprentices after a strict assessment and subjected them to harsh training.

In just a month, four apprentices were selected as Tay’s assistant craftsmen.

Each of them is in charge of a branch and is currently digesting the workload.

‘The supply of marble has increased, and its usefulness has also increased… They must be very busy.’

Magical engineering is advancing rapidly in real-time.

The dungeon conquests by mercenaries are more active than ever.

Even if it is a top-quality marble that has already been processed, when it goes through Tay’s hands again, the efficiency increases by more than double, so it is somewhat natural to be overwhelmed by the murderous workload for the time being.

‘It wasn’t this intense in the previous chapters…’

In the previous chapters, Tay awakened his talent late.

And it was around the time when the market was just about to expand.

I didn’t expect that by awakening his talent early, it would lead to this butterfly effect.

Now, it seems like the income of Tene’s workshop is larger than the entire income of Basel.

“What’s going on here?”

“I have someone to meet for a moment.”

“Do I know this person too?”

“No. You probably don’t know them at all.”

Kali, who is sticking close to me and looking around nervously.

The changed scenery of Basel seems quite unfamiliar.

But there are still some things that remain the same.

“······Water?!”

“Hey hey hey. Don’t cover your ears. It hurts.”

Due to the periodic water rushing in, Mijeong has a seizure and jumps onto my head.

This seems to be a characteristic of the vampire race that will never be fixed······.

Eventually, Mijeong trembles and clings to my back.

For some reason, Kali walks beside me and looks at Mijeong with a slightly envious look.

It seems like her legs hurt a lot from walking for a long time.

We soon arrived at the main workshop.

“Hello. How may I help you······ Oh! Please come this way.”

The attitude of the employee changes when he sees the black magic stone.

He then guides us to the VIP waiting room.

The sword that I no longer use since obtaining the Magi sword.

The magic stone separated from that sword is now used as a badge to prove my identity.

“Are you acquainted with the craftsmen here?”

“No. I’m acquainted with the owner of this workshop.”

“Ah······. Are you using a professional manager?”

“Not really. Just because I’m the founder of this workshop, I ended up participating in the management.”

“······?”

Kali makes a strange expression.

It seems like she can’t easily understand it.

It’s understandable.

The scale of this workshop didn’t grow because of investments.

It was built and expanded solely with Tene’s funds.

But opening about 4 branch workshops, does that mean they have a lot of money?

I felt a little puzzled.

“If you reveal that I’m Kali-”

“I know. I know. Don’t ever reveal my identity without your permission, as there may be spies of those bastards hiding somewhere. Pretend to be an orphan you picked up. I remember everything.”

“Alright. Then······.”

At that moment.

The elevator door opens and a girl with a pale complexion pops out.

Tene, always looking healthy no matter when.

“Investor······!”

“Yeah. Nice to see you. It’s been a while and······. A lot has changed.”

“Hehe! That’s right! The workshop has gotten a lot bigger!”

“I see······.”

It seems like it’s not just the workshop that has grown.

Tene, whom I met after a long time, had grown much more than I remembered.

She has already surpassed Mijeong in height.

And her physique no longer shows any signs of being young.

I clearly felt that as I hugged her tightly.

Of course, she’s still just a kid.

“What’s wrong? Shall I guess! It’s not because of the magic stone. You haven’t come to entrust any magic stones for processing recently······.”

“It’s because of the magic stone.”

“Oh? Really?!”

“I might entrust an important magic stone to you soon. So, please don’t go on vacation or leave the workshop unattended unless necessary.”

“Of course. I won’t go anywhere even if you don’t say that.”

Tene confidently says.

When I glance at Kali, she tilts her head in confusion.

An important magic stone.

One will be coming soon.

Kali probably can’t even imagine what that is······.

“But who is this child?”

“Child?! Who would look at someone and say······!”

“She’s not human? Is she a changeling?”

“Well, she is, but······.”

She snaps and yells, but when I warn her with my eyes, Kali calms down.

It seems she hasn’t forgotten my instructions.

Seeing her faithfully follow my orders, it seems she won’t go around revealing that she’s Kali to others.

“······Just, an orphan.”

“I see.”

Tene nods without asking any further questions at Mijeong’s response.

It seems like an uncomfortable situation to ask for more details.

But something seems off about Kali’s demeanor.

When I looked at her, she immediately lowered her eyes, as if she was afraid of something, specifically afraid of me.

Did something happen while I wasn’t looking?

“By the way, what’s going on? Why did you suddenly expand the branches so much?”

“We received a lot of orders. It seemed impossible to handle them all with just the main branch within the contract period, so we received investment to significantly expand the scale.”

“Investment? Who invested?”

“It was from the ordering party. It was an order placed by the Petenburg Foundation, and they require over 3000 processed top-grade magic stones just for preparation for war.”

“······.”

The Petenburg Foundation.

Although it was established by the Petenburg Merchant Guild, it is a well-known fact that Yulia is in charge of its actual operation.

What could be the reason for Yulia needing so many top-grade magic stones?

“Can I take a look at the order details?”

“I’m sorry. Even though they are investors, it would be difficult to disclose the contract details. However, I can give you a brief overview. Could you lend me your ear for a moment?”

“······?”

As I tilted my head, Tay put her hand to my ear.

Then Tay whispered quietly.

“She requires different outputs for each magic stone. When I gathered them all, they seemed to form a certain pattern.”

“······!”

A vague explanation.

But I understood from this.

I got a hint from Tay’s words.

Yulia is not trying to start a war.

Although I had forgotten for quite some time, Yulia is a skilled magic engineer.

And when it comes to magic, she has the talent to incorporate anything into magic engineering.

It is clear that Yulia wants to reproduce the network of dungeons and the other world using magic stones.

Placing magic stones all over the world, creating a system where commands can be given and reports received in real-time simultaneously.

If this is completed.

Yulia will have information power surpassing all information institutions.

That’s not all.

If she wants to use it for war, it is entirely possible.

This might bring Yulia an unparalleled power.

“Hey, can you not mention that I said anything?”

“Of course. Thank you.”

I obtained valuable information.

Yulia wants to build a large network.

And the purpose of it is probably······.

To find me.

Suddenly, a chill ran through my body.

I would like to tear up the contract right away.

But since I have already received investments to build four branches and have been working on the project, overturning the business would ruin Tay financially.

I can’t do that.

This is something that I will have to face Yulia about someday.

Coming to this conclusion, I was about to leave the workshop.

Kali showed interest in one of the rings hanging on the wall.

“Why are you like that?”

“The ring is pretty······.”

“Oh, that. You can take one. They are made from failed top-grade magic stones, so they are practically worthless.”

“······.”

It’s unbelievable.

Even just this magic stone is already quite efficient.

At the beginning of the series, this would be considered a high-end magic stone.

But now it’s already being referred to as ‘such.’

It seems that the magic stone craftsmanship has developed to the point where it can be called ‘mediocre.’

I think I know what kind of monster I have raised.

Kali took the ring and came out.

We decided to head to the next destination.

To create the ‘important magic stone’ I mentioned earlier.

The ingredient needed to make it is one.

Kali’s soul.

.

.

.

|Kali!!!|

Boom!

A figure burst out of the space, emitting a powerful aura and screaming loudly.

At the sound of that scream, the ghosts and spirits wandering around instantly disappeared.

I definitely felt Kali’s energy somewhere around here.

The vibrations of Kali’s soul!

It meant that Kali was nearby.

If only I had Kali’s soul! If only I had her soul! If only I could retrieve her soul······!

Luna quickly rummaged through various places, starting her search.

With Kali’s soul, resurrection was possible no matter how many times.

Creating a suitable body for Kali was nothing to Luna.

That was the ‘perfect resurrection.’

Where are you, Kali! Where are youuu!!!

But no matter where she looked, Kali was nowhere to be found.

There were traces of Kali’s soul existing, but.

As if she had disappeared somewhere in the middle, her tracks were cleanly erased.

Aaah!!!

Then, at that moment.

Luna’s ethereal form discovered an unforgettable face.

The hateful man.

The one who persuaded Solra to kill Kali and ruined Luna’s plans.

Nursing a grudge, Luna followed him and noticed a strangely familiar girl by his side.

After confirming that face.

Luna’s ethereal form froze in midair.

It was Kali.

Clearly, it was the young form of Kali.

Kali was holding onto the man’s arm.

Walking closely, as if deeply trusting and relying on him.

At that sight, Luna’s mind collapsed for a moment.

What have you done to my, my Kali!!!

Luna belatedly chased after the three, but.

She was pushed back by a barrier surrounding the building.

A barrier blocking her ethereal form.

Luna had no choice but to wait, biting her finger.

After a while, the main gate opened, revealing the three again.

Aaahhhhh!!!

And Kali, who reappeared, was happily linking arms with the man.

Trying on a ring in her hand.

At this, Luna’s mind completely crumbled.

I will kill you! I will kill you! I will kill you!!!

Luna’s ethereal form’s fist passed through the man powerlessly.