Chapter 125

Anxious…

I continued my frenzy today as well.

“Login”

Tap! Tap!

Kang! Kang!

As I raised my head while reading the next chapter, I saw everyone working energetically except for those who were still captured. Their stamina was sufficient after several days of recovery underground, fueled by ample meat consumption.

“Hey! Tighten this screw!”

“Make more wheels!”

“Just carry lighter items with the yokes!”

The Ahjins scoured the city, gathering usable items and loading them onto newly constructed horse-drawn carriages. Although many would become useless upon reaching Iron Castle, I didn’t discourage them from bringing everything along.

“By the way, with 150,000… If they don’t scatter to other cities, Iron Castle will be packed this time.”

I thought there was plenty of room since I had been dispersing residents beforehand, but I didn’t expect such a sudden influx.

‘I can immediately put the water people into Wild Boars for meat production. No wait, we already have sufficient food, so it’s better to make them Players and send them to high-level or rare dungeons. What exclusive training methods are available for Ahjins? I need to search MyTube.’

With these thoughts, I continued my frenzy.

The next morning, I completed the transcription of the Steel Flame skill without any issues.

“As expected…”

After posting the last item, I waited anxiously. Soon, the number of views on all posts started to rise…

[Wow! Galaxy has sponsored you with 2.5 million dragon stones!]

“Let’s see… 250 million won.”

It was the lowest sponsorship amount for any treasure-grade book so far. However, it had only been one day since starting the frenzy!

“B-Billion won per day…”

I felt exhilarated, but the problem was that there weren’t many treasure-grade books left. There wouldn’t be such massive sponsorships like before.

[Galaxy: These duplicate materials are quite fulfilling.]

“So, they really mean ‘duplicate materials.’ This… I don’t know what sentiment is meant by ‘fulfilling’.”

In any case, it was good news that my debt would be quickly cleared. Instead of resting, I immediately created the World Tree’s Book forum again. It was a thin booklet like Steel Flame Blueprint.

‘This will also take one day.’

Once again, I spent a day transcribing the World Tree’s Book.

[Wow! SF-elf has sponsored you with 2.7 million dragon stones!]

[SF-elf: Are there still elves remaining in the wilderness?]

The sponsorship amount was slightly higher than for the Steel Flame Blueprint.

“Eh, isn’t ‘elf’ part of their name? Moreover, the sponsorship message is a question!” I promptly sent a message:

[Hello. This is the author. As mentioned, this knowledge was obtained from the elves. Would you like to discuss it further?]

I wondered if I could get information about the criteria or reasons for sponsorship. However, the result was the same as before.

“Ah, no response again.”

I clicked my tongue when there was no reaction even after waiting for several hours. The sponsors were grateful but their identities remained unknown.

“SF elf… Maybe space elves? Or mechanical elves?” I grumbled while checking my purchasing power.

(-432,155,970 won)

“Well, they have paid back quite a lot.”

A significant number of stats had returned. It was similar to the level when filming with the professor candidate.

‘In other words, it’s enough to proceed with the filming.’

I checked the shooting schedule and questionnaire sent by PD Nataek. Apparently, I would have to do a pre-interview with a TV writer later on.

“Let’s see… The filming date… It is late summer.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem too tight so I could participate in all the competitions. If things went well, I might even be able to attend pro tournaments.

“Log in.”

I entered Ardenia. After placing the two books in my backpack, I got up from my seat. In the distance, I saw the sun dipping below the ridge.

“It’s almost time.”

I moved towards the meeting place. There were numerous Ahjins filling the plain, their homes scattered amidst them. Surprisingly, within just two days, thousands of carts and wagons had been constructed.

“I guess it’s because of all those dwarves. They accomplished this much in such little time.”

“The monsters barely touched anything from the city, which helped. Plus…for some reason, there was an abundance of excellent lumber available.”

Nasha Blackwood, the leader of the elves who had approached unnoticed, explained with a smile.

It must be loot drops.

Not all high-rank monsters under the World Tree were elves; otherwise, the special boss would likely have been an elf queen or something similar. Instead, her dungeon contained elite dryads, and their drop tables included premium wood.

“It wasn’t just wood, right?”

“Yes, there were mountains of gold and various equipment items. And…there seemed to be plenty of these things called ‘bullets,’ causing quite a stir among Hellain’s people.”

“Oh, I figured as much.”

The previous evening, jae-yeon had received a message that made everything clear.

[A Hellain acquires a K-2 Rifle (Rare) from the World Tree’s Garden!]

The reason this message appeared now despite the item being dropped much earlier was clear:

Messages don’t pop up when monsters acquire items.

At any given moment, countless monsters might be running their own item factories. If world messages were triggered whenever monsters obtained items, it would resemble the non-stop barrage of notifications during Revenge’s revenge spree, with millions of players hunting simultaneously.

“Still, this is quite beneficial for us.”

It had been similar when I annihilated Edward the Fanatic’s army. Not only did they drop predetermined equipment but also various weapons and gear they had equipped themselves. They weren’t carrying initial items anymore; instead, they were wielding drops!

`

‘They realized that dropped items were better than their own equipment.’

The drop table of Revenge was arbitrary, with a magic book dropping after killing a large dog monster. If they continued to kill and collect good items, it would be easy to acquire much better equipment.

“Did you hear about gold beforehand?”

“Ah, yes. I heard. In the Human Empire, one meal costs 50 gold…I thought it was ridiculous but seeing this pile of gold here makes me realize it isn’t impossible.”

Indeed, she spoke as expected.

“It is pouring down! Gather it all together!”

“No, how can there be so much gold…”

“We can’t load all this onto the horse-drawn carriages! We have to give up some!”

As I entered amidst the noisy Ahjins, they immediately quietened down and made space for me. Then I raised my hand towards the mountain of gold piled up there.

Pfft!

The mountain of gold disappeared instantly.

“Eh?!”

“The gold coins!”

I estimated the amount of gold coins.

[8,813,111,331 gold.]

Despite sweeping away a huge pile of gold, it barely made a difference to my total balance. It was because I already possessed an enormous amount of gold from the beginning.

‘Quite a lot of gold has accumulated. Once I repay my purchasing power, I should buy some stocks and open a shop.’

With this thought, I flipped my hand over again.

Chwaaa-ring!

Gold poured out once more, but this time, the quantity was much smaller. The Ahins were puzzled.

“Huh? What is that? The color of these gold coins seems strange?”

“Wait… Aren’t those platinum coins?”

Regardless of their confusion, I poured numerous platinum coins into the horse-drawn carriage. The volume decreased by one-tenth, making it sufficient to load onto the carriage. Then I explained:

“As I’ve already mentioned, gold doesn’t hold its value like before. These gold coins may seem plentiful, but they’re merely capital for settling down at Iron Castle. You’ll need to rely on your own abilities to find work rather than depend solely on money or goods.”

With that said, I turned and headed back to Nasha, who had been patiently waiting for me.

“So that’s the Player’s ability? Being able to store infinite amounts of gold…”

“Yes. Eventually, you too will acquire similar powers. By the way, what about the books?”

“I have gathered many unreadable books in one place.”

“Good job.”

I decided to keep the skill books for myself. Unlike gold, the value of skill books was still significant. Despite their large quantity, they weighed nothing in my inventory, allowing me to carry them effortlessly on my own.

Pop!

I stored over 13 types of skills, including thousands of skill books with four rare-grade ones. Then, I stood before the bustling crowd of Ahjins.

“They are divided into two groups.”

Out of the total 150,000 Ahjins, 140,000 formed one group, and the remaining 10,000 constituted another. The criteria for the smaller group was evident at first glance—they comprised robust water people, well-equipped elves, and sturdy dwarves.

“Good morning, Your Majesty.”

In front of each group stood a wolf-like humanoid with long legs—a familiar face to me.

“Ah, Long Legs. Why have you separated yourselves?”

“We are grateful to Your Majesty. You saved us from death and despair, giving us a chance at life.”

“But does that mean you can’t join my Empire?” At my question, Long Legs jumped up.

“No way! How could we refuse joining Your Majesty’s influence? Although your human subordinates aren’t trustworthy… nevertheless, Your Majesty is our Savior.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“The number of members in the Crystal Alliance easily exceeds ten million. We were fortunate enough to be saved by Your Majesty, but…most alliance members weren’t as lucky. I wish to rescue them.”

I looked around at the water people. There were those armed with iron shields and clubs, dwarf warriors equipped with stone bows, and water people wielding large weapons. I also saw archers with quivers full of arrows and bows. They were valuable forces that shouldn’t be lost.

“Long Legs.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Swear your loyalty.”

My words made Long Legs suddenly tremble all over. That was his only reaction. He didn’t ask me any questions or show any doubts. Without being told, he knelt before me and bowed his head to the ground. Then he shouted loudly:

“I, Long Legs, the chief ranger of the Black Wolf tribe, swear eternal loyalty to Your Majesty!”

“Good.” From my inventory, I took out one card and placed it on his back.

Flash!

As his body turned blue to signify a rare rating, everyone was surprised by the sight.

“From this moment on, you are appointed as the highest-ranking soldier and Heavenly General of the Fierce Teeth Regiment. I grant you the rare Phantom Ranger class, so rescue the allied members in the name of the Human Empire.”

“A-Ah. This power is…”

“The strength against monsters for humanity.” He quickly understood since the concept of Players had already been explained earlier.

“I will serve! I will faithfully serve!”

I created three regiments right away. The Fierce Teeth Regiment composed of aquatic races. The Steel Pestle Regiment consisting of dwarves.

The Black Wood Regiment consisted of elves. I couldn’t awaken all 10,000 Ahjins as Players, so I selected 1,500 individuals with each regiment consisting of 500 members. Naturally, they were chosen from among the most outstanding remaining individuals.

“Then it is farewell now.”

The Ahjins descended underground in perfect order. The burrow created by the crawling building and the land worm was enormous, making their passage effortless.

‘It’s like an eight-lane road.’

“We must meet again!”

“Dad! You have to come back, Sis!”

“Honey! Hic-hic-hic!”

With these emotional farewells ringing out…

“Landworm.”

“Yes.”

Grrrroooommm!

I completely blocked the path leading to the underworld.

“Sigh. That was unnecessarily long. Now let’s go straight to the flower shop.”

[Then I will run at full speed!]

Kuwakwakwa!

Ignoring the loud noise in my ears, I grabbed a book. Literature hadn’t progressed much in the Crystal Alliance, but there were still books available. Among the eight novels collected by these guys, I opened the one that seemed the longest:

[A Merry Tale of Sikyeong and Mead Beer].

“It is said to be quite famous in the dwarf world… Will it really get sponsorship? Log Out.”

I started writing furiously. However, before even a few pages could be written, Cheeda cried out,

“Meow.”

“What?”

“There is a deposit record.”

“It isn’t time for royalties yet. Show me the details.”

Cheeda turned around and words appeared on his back:

[518,556,000 won has been deposited from J.M.T Entertainment.]

”…Huh?”

Money from the movie company. I stared blankly at the amount. It was too unexpected. Last month, it was only 4,720,000 won from J.M.T Entertainment but now it had increased by not 10 times but 100 times.

“No wait… 500 million won?” I checked my purchasing power floating in one corner of my view.

[-432,155,970 won]

”…”

I immediately sat down at my computer and poured all my bank balance into charging.

Then the result appeared:

(+86,404,030 won).

The purchasing power was over 80 million won.

Crack! Crackle!

The sound of muscles twisting was incredibly welcome. It was the same pleasant feeling I experienced when logging in.

Druruk-

I opened the window of my studio apartment and stuck my head outside.

“Hooouu…” I breathed deeply, inhaling continuously. My breathing was so deep that it caused wind around me. It wasn’t just breathing; the air became compressed to such an extent that something seemed to boil inside my lungs.

No, it wasn’t just a feeling.

Chiik!

My body heated up due to the compressed air! Then as I exhaled-

Puhae-haem! Boom!

A gust of wind blew as excessive pressure caused the atmosphere to burst with sound.

Zzzeet!

As the volume expanded rapidly, the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped. This trick couldn’t be used for attack or defense but causing such phenomena just by breathing was beyond common sense. It was something only possible for cultivators with extremely high physique training.

“Haha. Hahaha!” I laughed heartily.

“Finally!”

The annoying restriction of negative purchasing power has ended.