Volume 42 Chapter 2

“No tax, no tax. I didn’t realize when I was young. The chilling taste as I got older.”

“Huhuhuk, yesterday was the first time I registered with 3 females as friends.”

“I have lukewarm beer. Those who drink lukewarm beer can buy 1 cup for 1 silver! A small amount of cold beer is being sold for 3 silver. Those salted with spinach are 2 silver!”

The northern users were having a night festival in the vicinity of the Earth Palace.

All the users had come together to share their joy.

Bonfires were built all over the place and food was cooked. The number of people meant the alcohol and food was scarce so they were sold regardless of the price.

Ttararang!

The harp and guitar were played.

Beautiful female users were dancing around the bonfires.

The merchants willingly supported people wearing armour or wanted clothing.

In fact, it was close to impossible to feed all the people filling the plains. A vast amount of materials were consumed and victory was undecided so they hadn’t bought food in anticipation of a festival.

However, there were a huge amount of supplies from the Haven Empire.

By the end of the battle, the northern users looked like a swarm of ants.

“Dried filefish!”

“Ohh, dried filefish! It would go perfectly with this glass of wine.”

“Aaaaah, another dried filefish!”

“Look here. A whole carriage stacked with dried filefish!”

“All the carriages in the back have dried filefish.”

“This is a filefish’s hell!”

While Weed was busy obtaining loot from the Hermes Guild, there was a procession of carriages. The northern users packed the food and supplies into their backpacks and pockets.

Even the basic weapons of the Imperial soldiers were great.

The steel arrows could be sold at a fairly good price.

The northern users were even willing to go to remote areas to sell the loot.

The merchants smelled money and already bought a lot of loot from the northern users. The merchants already purchased horses and carriages in order to sell the products to other villages.

‘Passage!’

‘I will become the next legendary merchant in the north. The money in this world is mine.’

‘One arrow can earn 60 copper each. How much is this?’

The mind of the users became warm after the war ended.

A wide variety of cheeses, whiskey and other specialties of the Central Continent were generously distributed. The festival celebrating the victory spread throughout the plains.

People were drinking from wine glasses.

“Heeok! Shall we hunt together in the kobold dungeon?”

“Yes, let’s go for Eksoju-nim.”

“Of course. Many northern users have fallen in this place. It has been a really long time.”

“The kobold dungeon was my first adventure. It feels like the past is catching up with me.”

“We won’t be able to feel the excitement of that time.”

“There has been a lot of growth since then.”

“What is Nero-nim’s level now?”

“54.”

“You are awesome! I’m only level 51. Do you have tips?”

“Just work hard and you will be rewarded like me. Little by little you will become stronger.”

“I will keep it in mind.”

In one corner, a cat and mouse chase was occurring.

“I asked you to study! There is a test at school tomorrow but you are connected to the game? Fireball!”

“Kyaak, please help me!”

A number of users were singing and dancing around the campfire.

“In the mountains, the red sun rises and heavy winds blow, chwi chit. The clouds that foretell a heavy battle approaching, I stood at the frontlines with the dark elves, chwit! ”

Male and female users started to sing.

“My fresh hopes in the morning, chwi chwit. Our courage and desire for victory, the noble sprit and soul! I want to sing, chwiik! I have to sing more strongly than the dark elves, a song of my wish to win. If you don’t give up then you can win.”

A song of the orc Karichwi!

More than 1,000 female and male orcs had gathered around a bonfire to celebrate.

The night was dark but there were plenty of people dancing and playing instruments.

The busy users left the plains on horseback in the middle of the night but most remained in order to relax and enjoy the situation.

“Ya, amazing.”

“This is the north’s culture!”

The northern users were able to enjoy a long festival.

“I’ve found a very dangerous tomb. I’ve died three times already.”

“Did you smell a quest?”

“What is that?”

“I smelt a quest related to Weed-nim, the God of War.”

Information about adventure and trade were actively exchanged.

In one corner, the architects were going through the rubble of the Earth Palace with a tape measure and shovel.

“Well, this pillar has split so it can’t be used again.”

“Jackpot. After examining the roof of the Royal Palace, those who made it really paid a lot of attention to durability. We are lucky.”

“Is it possible to recycle it?”

“It is a bit unreasonable. Still, we can take advantage of it even if it can’t be used to reconstruct the Royal Palace. It is possible to use the remaining parts to create a monument……”

“The stone is well preserved but it won’t take much for it to crumble. Too bad.”

They looked among the rubble for parts that could be recycled. It was a waste to throw away the premium materials that the palace had been built with.

“Use the broken stones to lay the road.”

“The metal can be smelted and re-forged at the smithy.”

“We aren’t lacking steel due to the loot from the Haven Empire. There will be a huge surge in demand in the north.”

“Let’s go quickly. We should take this opportunity to gather a lot of people.”

The architects immediately proceeded with their planned restoration of the Earth Palace.

The finance and budget of the Arpen Kingdom hadn’t been decided yet. But the architects rushed to rebuild because they loved their building.

“In the past, the Royal Palace was built on the mountains.”

“That will be harder now that the mountains are cut.”

“Originally it was a palace with its own unique taste. Can we build up the dirt, stones and sand again?”

“If we work hard then our workforce can make a few mountains.”

“This is the palace so we can easily mobilize millions of people.”

The architects envisioned a terrible plan.

They came up with the plan to use the huge labour force of the north to build a large mountain.

“Hmm, the Earth Palace is good but it only had a medium height. It is okay to drastically increase the height of the mountain by 500 metres or 1 kilometre?”

“It is a good idea to erect the buildings while climbing up the mountain.”

“But then the difficulty of the construction and smoothly maintaining the supply and demand will increase……”

“The number of residents in the north is always growing. If we build the palace earnestly then it will be 2~3 times the scale of the previous palace.”

“This…we really have a lot of practice building a royal palace.”

However, Pavo was skeptical. In his view, the plans for the royal palace were becoming too extravagant.

“I understand your thoughts. My heart also wants to restore the Earth Palace and make it better. But this part shouldn’t be handled with an architect’s greed.”

“Huh?”

“The Arpen Kingdom needs a palace as soon as possible. If the Royal Palace isn’t present then there will be a downturn in the cultural and commerce development.”

It would be a disadvantage to governing a territory if there isn’t a palace.

The regional villages and cities wouldn’t run smoothly, identifying and managing state affairs would be difficult and taxes would be lowered. Due to corruption, there would be some budget losses and security wouldn’t be maintained at 100%.

The sheer size of the Arpen Kingdom meant thieves would become more frequent.

There would be a disadvantage with large facilities, commercial buildings and work buildings. If it wasn’t a big city like Morata then establishing public buildings would become more difficult.

Users who were knights wouldn’t be given advanced skills.

General users who went to a place where the kingdom’s fame was low might be forced to accept disadvantageous quests and trades.

In the meantime, the Arpen Kingdom had grown without a palace.

The users received the disadvantage early on so they took it for granted.

But after accepting a number of territories and having a population boom, the palace was now necessary for the development of the kingdom.

The architects also knew this part.

Merchants made villages and cities wealthy but the architects firmed up the foundation. They constructed buildings and saw the population and commerce growing every day so they couldn’t be happier.

Architects made stunning buildings for the main streets as well as comfortable places for people to live.

Pavo’s opinion continued.

“Now is the time for the Arpen Kingdom’s development so our desires as an architect can’t be greedy. Aren’t the northern architects better than this?”

“Make the necessary buildings. The buildings for the people.”

“Yes, that’s right. If the architects are too greedy then the schedule will be lengthened and an endless amount of funds will be needed.”

“Uhh, the plan to rebuild the palace on a mountain is too reckless.”

“It is important to build fast but this palace will play a pivotal role in the Arpen Kingdom.”

The architects stayed up all night and established a basic plan for the reconstruction of the palace.

1. The Arpen Kingdom will be rebuilt on the back of the current rubble.
2. The building materials from the wreckage will be reused if possible and the rest will be procured through merchants.
3. The palace will be built on a flat area that is 3 times larger than the past. After the central area is complete, further expansion can be added as required.
4. Near the palace grounds will be a city larger than Morata with a river. In particular, the best land will be pre-assigned for 7 Grand Buildings.
5. For the future development of the Arpen Kingdom, the new city will be called ‘Dawn City.’
6. For a seamless workforce and to save on construction costs, new users will participate in the basic development of the palace’s construction.
7. Shacks will be built for 7 days and will continue to grow with future needs.
8. All architects in the north will co-operate with the foremost goal being the reconstruction of the Royal Palace.

“Is this enough?”

“Unfortunately any more will be greedy.”

The architects decided to announce the plan to rebuild the palace.

But without revealing it, they internally agreed on some extra stipulations.

9. The Royal Palace will become an impregnable fortress in order to ensure that such an unfortunate event won’t occur again.
10. The new palace has to be big and luxurious in order to not embarrass the Arpen Kingdom.
11. Construction costs should be saved as much as possible so the minimum budget for the palace and city will be 17 million gold. The construction costs will increase if necessary.

If Weed knew this then he would immediately collapse.

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Python and Seasoned Crab had considerable achievements in the war against the Haven Empire.

After coming back from the southern desert, they hunted the Hermes Guild and Haven Empire without any hesitation.

Python tried to protect the Earth Palace from the 1st corps and continued to fight until the end of the battle. Python didn’t know the meaning of retreat and survived until the end.

Seasoned Crab was an assassin and went around the battlefield killing the powerhouses of the Hermes Guild.

While the cold weather and tsunami were happening, he had repeatedly infiltrated the enemy and assassinated them.

“Well, only this much? There is no obstacle in taking their lives.”

14 leaders of the knight divisions as well as countless top knights lost their lives.

Seasoned Crab determined their deaths.

After such great achievements, they met up with Weed.

Weed had sent them a whisper first so they were expecting something after the fight finished.

‘Heoheot, my ugly pride. Should I blatantly talk about my skills? Then I need to say a lot.’

‘I am the one who decides death…anyway! They won’t be able to talk about me in this war. Nobody in the Hermes Guild escaped my knife. I took advantage of the turmoil in the war to use my skills.’

The two men were going to boast to Weed. They wanted eat and drink while telling war stories.

Pale nodded silently after seeing that the two men had arrived.

‘He has also survived the battle of the Earth Palace. He really is the famous Python.’

‘War heroes are gathered in this place. An assassin must have enjoyed it.’

Then Weed said.

“I hope you didn’t wait long.”

The two men thought.

‘Indeed, Weed will know 3~4 people here. I want a place. I’d like the north’s leading experts to meet each other.’

‘Well, it is an embarrassing but fun spot. I’ve only introduced myself to female users. But I need to tell them a pseudonym. Cappuccino is acceptable to people.’

Python and Seasoned Crab’s expectations!

Soon Hestiger arrived.

“Great Emperor, all the enemies who have been hiding are defeated. The kingdom is now secure.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The two men squinted at Hestiger.

They had confirmed his unparalleled strength on the battlefield. He was a strong opponent but their pride wouldn’t let them admit defeat.

‘My sword is larger.’

‘There is only one life. I would like to try assassinating him. If I have the perfect opportunity then anyone would die.’

After a while, Alveron the pope candidate of the Freya Church arrived.

Some of the general users didn’t know him but Python and Seasoned Crab were well aware of his identity. During Weed’s crazy hunting, the one with strong recovery magic that was like a curse!

‘Keeok! This configuration is surely……! No, it can’t be, no!’

‘H-hik!’

And Weed said.

“Then let’s go hunting.”

Weed could only resurrect Hestiger for a single day.

He wanted to use him as much as possible.

Irene, Romuna and his other colleagues were too tired to take into danger so they were given a break. Instead of fighting well, they might end up killing their colleagues during the hunt.

“…….”

“…….”

Python and Seasoned Crab’s eyes urgently met.

Their eyes blinked a few times before they talked.

“I’m dizzy and my body is uncomfortable……”

“There is an emergency and I have to go home.”

It felt like a student lying to a teacher in order to leave early.

However, Weed was persistent.

“Are you really not feeling good?”

“Yes. I’m not a man who would boldly lie to you.”

“There is no other choice if you don’t want to go. Just relax and tell me. In the future, do you not want to hunt with me?”

“I need to rescue others. I’m a good person.”

“You are indeed feigning illness.”

“…….”

“Hestiger, your sword. Today I will spill some blood.”

“Yes, Great Emperor.”

“…….”

Seasoned Crab didn’t say anything and was lured along.

Thus they stayed up all night hunting!

There was the strongest warrior Hestiger so they could clear the dungeons with the highest difficulties.

Hestiger could defeat monsters just by punching them.

“My father was worried about thieves and hid a mysterious shovel. In the end, no one could find it.”

The quests associated with the dungeon were meticulously performed.

There wasn’t a lot of risks so there was only short breaks. There was no such luxury like sleeping or eating as they stayed up all night hunting.

“Once again, every minute counts. I want to do as much as possible before Hestiger leaves. Hestiger, this is to protect the peace of the continent so move faster.”

“Understood, Great Emperor. Your great and noble heart hasn’t changed at all.”

“It is hard to defend justice. So I need to work harder. The sleeping treasures of the world…no, I will definitely resurrect justice.”

They hunted in the Northern, Central and Southern Continent.

It was just a brief stop in the central regions so the Hermes Guild didn’t notice them. If possible, he wanted Hestiger to wipe out some enemies but there was no time.

Weed was also worried about invading the Haven Empire.

“There is only a few hours left until Hestiger disappears. Should I feed Bardray to him?”

The Imperial Palace had already collapsed but the Haven Empire currently contained some of the highest levelled people on the Versailles Continent.

If Hestiger went there then he could get good results by killing a large number of Hermes Guild users. Weed felt a lot of pleasure at the thought.

The only one who could pull it off was Hestiger.

In the future, it would be difficult to resurrect a strong person like Hestiger with such absolute obedience.

There were other desert subordinates that he could resurrect but it was a dangerous idea.

Weed didn’t become ruler of the desert through benevolence. He had showed off his power. Every time he chased after a quest, his subordinates were decreased by a few people.

They thoroughly obeyed Weed but it was a completely different situation once they were resurrected. Weed would be weaker than the desert warriors.

“A few of them are dangerous and might even try to loot the Arpen Kingdom.”

Weed thought for a while before eventually abandoning his plans to invade the Haven Empire’s Imperial Palace.

It was risky to have Hestiger go to the Imperial Palace to slaughter the Hermes Guild users.

There were tens of thousands of the best users.

A variety of professions as well as NPC knights.

He would be able to deal with more enemies than Van Hawk but Hestiger wasn’t immortal. Weed and Alveron couldn’t help in that environment.

It wouldn’t be good if Hestiger was like Van Hawk and was killed by Bardray. Killing the legendary hero would increase the morale of the troops and the authority of the Empire.

If Hestiger’s power fell from the battle then a result similar to the battle between Van Hawk and Bardray might appear.

From the Hermes Guild’s perspective, they could make a lot of money if it turned out well.

And there were quite a few high level users so killing them would incur a penalty and reduce the power of the Hermes Guild.

In the end, Weed decided to use Hestiger to supplement his losses.

Weed had succeeded in the final secret sculpting technique quest but had suffered a lot of damages.

“Yurin, let’s go to the next place.”

“Yes. I’ve been preparing. Picture Teleportation!”

After defeating a dungeon, Yurin would move them to another place.

She drew a few destinations in advance. She just needed to finish off Weed and his companions and they could move quickly.

‘The devil’s skill. A painter and sculptor is truly like the devil.’

‘I don’t have the rights of a human while hunting. I am just like a combat slave. The human brain and body is moving while my spirit has flown away.’

After the all night hunting, the party finally returned to Morata.

It was after a series of continuous hunts in the southern desert so they were mentally and physically exhausted. Right now if a level 2 novice with a knife came to rob them then they would hand over all their money.

Most users were at the Earth Palace after the Haven Empire’s invasion so Morata was unusually quiet.

There was almost no one entering and exiting the gates so it felt like a miracle.

In the aftermath of the war, the victory festival was still going on. But soon people connected to Royal Road and returned to Morata in droves.

New users were also starting in the north.

By the time Weed arrived with his colleagues, novices were busy doing the apple delivery quest.

The bustle of the city.

The sound of birds chirping as they woke up in the morning. The warm sun, cool breeze, clear birdsong and scent of flowers that could be felt on adventures was a big advantage of Royal Road.

“Great Emperor, I was assaulting monsters until the end even if I was too old. Now it seems so peaceful.”

“I think so too. I’m sorry. We encountered many things in the desert.”

“I’m tired. I would have liked to see Great Emperor’s ambition in the past.”

“This world made me passive and quiet.”

Python and Seasoned Crab stared at Weed and Hestiger with disbelief.

The relationship between the two of them was overly inflated. The ridiculous conversations that they shared while hunting! It was like a nightmare had come to life. They were fatigued so it had a large emotional impact on them.

Hestiger bid a nice farewell to Weed.

“It was an honour to serve you again. Your power might be weaker than it was in the past but you are still the Great Emperor. It is truly impressive that you are committed to the peace of the continent.”

“Well, it isn’t a big deal. I’m just trying to live right.”

Weed had pulled a cover over his eyes.

Hestiger turned his head and looked around when they were near Morata’s gates.

“The faces of people ruled by Great Emperor is filled with laughter. Looking back, this is the kingdom that we dreamed of. I, Hestiger, don’t regret dedicating my life to you.”

“Yes yes.”

“Go in peace. Although the path in front of you will be rough and steep.”

A shimmering light started to appear around Hestiger’s body. Then his body became increasingly blurred.

The time limit of Sculpture Resurrection had reached its end.

A proud hero from the warring period was disappearing completely.

Weed’s face was filled with satisfaction. A subordinate he raised well in the past had done well so he was filled with pride.

‘I also have benevolence.’

He wouldn’t see Hestiger any longer so he didn’t feel hateful.

‘The concept of a good subordinate.’

He never even praised his sculptural lifeforms!

While he was fading away, Hestiger opened his mouth.

“Master, I have some last words for you.”

“Go ahead, loyal Hestiger.”

“The other day, I was telling Master about my trip.”

Y-yes. I remember.”

“While wandering the land with large footprints, I met a human adventurer called Lodsiker who arrived at the land of the giants.”

“Hoh, I have heard of Lodsiker.”

The adventurer Lodsiker.

A legendary adventurer that could be called the hero of the profession.

When looking at the history of the Versailles Continent, he had experienced all types of rare adventures. Finding the existences of unknown sea creatures and many unknown lands.

A master of survival and directions and a person who had returned unharmed from all 10 forbidden zones. He recorded implausible adventures and explored underneath the sea, underground worlds and hell.

At the time, Lodsiker was considered an irresponsible noble but he discovered things that hadn’t yet existed in the world.

He wrote books regarding his adventures but sadly most of them weren’t passed down to the present.

<101 knowledge that adventurers need>

<Method for young adventurers to write a will>

<The reason we need adventure. You can only meet pretty girls after successful adventures>

These were the three books that remained.

Those that read the books could drastically reduce the damage from traps and their sense of direction went up.

The Adventurers Guild set a very large reward and treasure for those who found the tracks of Lodsiker.

Greed momentarily formed in Weed’s eyes.

‘Lodsiker’s bounty has exceeded 300 million gold…I also heard that he owned many rare things.’

The blind greed that couldn’t distinguish between the front and rear.

“Lodsiker explored the land of the giants with me. And from there……”

Ddiring!

“Uhh, I feel faint. It is time to leave.”

“It can’t be. 3 million gold! Tell me more about Lodsiker before you go!”

“Great Emperor, there is no time. If you find the Allium flower while following the large footsteps to the red monument then you will be able to know the rest. Maybe…something there will be waiting for Master.”

Ddiring!

“Heeok.”

Weed finally realized what was happening.

‘Quest.’

He had forgotten about normal quests for a while due to his sculpting technique quest. But originally he had floated all around the continent on quests.

‘S class difficulty quest. And it involves Lodsiker who is a master adventurer.’

Lodsiker’s quest probably had an awful degree of difficulty!

If he wanted to resolve this adventure himself then he would need to accumulate his level.

An adventurer’s quest was often more difficult and required using their heads. If the right clue wasn’t found then he would have no idea where to go next.

Using a specific adventurer skill or infiltrating monsters were sometimes required. Weed would have to bulldoze through it with a sculptor’s skills.

Weed could see a thorny path stretching out in front of him. It seemed like a difficult path that would require an aircraft to pass over.

‘No matter what the problem is, I have confidence that I can solve it.’

He would approach any difficulty and would overcome it. Even the final secret sculpting technique didn’t scare him.

‘I need to actively carry out quests. There is a limit to growth through normal hunting.’

I couldn’t use the final secret sculpting technique yet so I needed to diligently raise Time Sculpting.

But even so, it was dangerous to go on a perilous adventure at the moment.

‘I need to raise my lost levels. And take care of my kingdom. There is a mountain of work to do.’

He would challenge the uncertain future at another time!

‘Well, I constantly obtain chances. With my fame, just saying a few words will allow me to quickly obtain a kingdom quest. Several minor ones would be better than one big quest.’

Weed quickly said.

“Hestiger, I have heard about that adventurer from bards. He is one of the most sought after people in this era. Deserving to be called a true hero.”

Hestiger smiled and said.

“I am relieved to hear Great Emperor say that. Be sure to listen to my words. I hope you can fulfill Lodsiker’s wishes.”

“Keeook!”

Hestiger disappeared in a bright flash of light that connected the earth and the sky.

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