Chapter 321 – Letter of Friendship (6)
Team: HH, thursdays, Yahiko (9/10)
“Why do you have to leave so hurriedly? We still have a lot to talk about. Why don’t you leave after a break?”
The Gluttony Emperor looked at Yeon-woo with regret. He usually hated taking even a few steps outside of the castle, and seeing how he came outside of the castle himself, Yeon-woo could tell he was sincere.
“No. I’m grateful for the exemplary treatment. I barely made enough time to come here. I’ll make some more time for my next visit.”
“Pahahaha! Well, your life is busier and fiercer than anyone else’s, and that is your charm. I’ll cheer you on from far away.”
The Gluttony Emperor patted Yeon-woo’s hand with his own. When he licked his lips, he looked like someone who was losing out on something delicious.
Just then, Duke Tuan Tien brought a chest over and silently held it out to Yeon-woo.
“This is a gift that His Majesty is bestowing upon his friend.”
Yeon-woo looked at it and asked the Gluttony Emperor.
“What is this?”
“Try opening it.”
The Gluttony Emperor smiled with a face filled with his large pores.
Yeon-woo took the chest from Duke Tuan Tien and carefully opened it.
With a clack, a sword that was about the length of an arm was there.
The blade was bent, and the jewels on the sword made it look more like a sword for decoration instead of for battle.
[Moonlight of Blessed Ones]
Category: Dagger, amulet
Rank: S
Summary: The sky always covers the sky and shines on those walking in moonlight. The path that you walk will always be blessed with bright light.
*Moonlight Leading Luck
A great amount of luck will be given to whatever the owner does. The percentage of the owner’s success will increase as long as it doesn’t harm the rules and laws surrounding it.
It will raise attacking and defensive power. When creating something, the item will be blessed.
The concept of “luck” wasn’t that clear in the Tower. There were always unknown variables that would occur with whatever people did.
However, because it raised the percentage of success directly, the Gluttony Emperor’s gift was extremely priceless.
“Didn’t you say you were working hard on something? I don’t know what it is, but I hope you succeed. This item is something I cherish, too. Wear it around your neck as a necklace. It’ll be very effective. Pahaha!”
Yeon-woo closed the chest, looking at the bright Gluttony Emperor, and bowed with gratitude.
‘What a giving tree. Is this a bribe to talk to the Martial King about him?’
With the alliance against White Dragon, the Jamshid Liquor, all kinds of elixirs, and now the Moonlight of Blessed Ones, Yeon-woo was beginning to feel sorry for the Gluttony Emperor.
‘Not that anything will change.’
「That pig guy needs to know what you’re thinking.」
‘Shut up.’
He ignored Shanon’s provocative remark and left the Blood Land’s Outer Space.
* * *
Creutz carefully approached Yeon-woo and asked him a question.
“Are you planning on allying yourself with the Gluttony Emperor?”
The alliance with Blood Land and Black Dragon. If this became known, the Tower would be flipped on its side. There would be a force to oppose the great White Dragon. Also, it hadn’t been long since the River of Souls incident.
Also, Yeon-woo’s decision could change the outcome of the war.
There wasn’t anything to say about the One-horned tribe, which was in a special relationship with Yeon-woo, and the souls he commanded were destructive enough to stand against an entire emerging clan. On top of this, the Fantasy Regiment considered Yeon-woo close to it.
Anyone allied with all of them would have a dramatically greater amount of forces.
Yeon-woo was a threatening storm whose small actions may cause commotion in the Tower.
Of course Creutz would be sensitive about this matter. He needed to know how close Yeon-woo and the Gluttony Emperor were. He was feeling rushed, which was unlike himself.
But.
“.......”
Yeon-woo didn’t say anything and just looked at Creutz. He had an indifferent gaze.
Creutz suddenly came to attention. He sighed.
“Sorry. That’s none of my business.”
In fact, it was only the Fantasy Regiment who considered them close, and that wasn’t the case for Yeon-woo.
Rather, he had already done a lot by revealing his location to a stranger.
But if he was acting that close, there was a need to put some distance between them.
Creutz realized he just broke his promise and apologized, leaving on the Flying Dragon. He was going to come back after organizing his thoughts.
Yeon-woo looked at Creutz’s back and confirmed his quest window.
[Materials to construct ‘Kynee’]
Apodis Scales(45/45)
......
Magic Sword Stone (2/2)
Jamshid Liquor (12/5)
Adamantine Nova (0/1)
‘Now, only the Adamantine Nova is left.’
Yeon-woo narrowed his eyes.
‘I still collected them faster than I thought.’
If he had searched for them one by one, it would’ve taken him at least a few months.
It could’ve taken even longer, or he might’ve not been as successful in obtaining them. Time was of the essence, but a lot of the materials were from the higher floors.
Still, since he had By the Table’s help, he was able to progress much faster.
Atran said the Adamantine Nova was in the process of being procured, so he would be able to have it soon.
‘Shouldn’t the negotiations be done by now?’
Yeon-woo blew his Consciousness into Freesia’s Mirror.
“Atran.”
Above the bead, a hologram popped up.
Atran turned around with surprised eyes.
Only half of his body was turned around, and he wasn’t looking at him properly. He looked like someone who had been caught hiding something.
『W, What?』
What was he doing? Yeon-woo looked at him suspiciously.
He usually spoke formally to his customers while also calling them pushovers, but he looked rushed for some reason.
“I was wondering how the Adamantine Nova was going. You said they were in the final negotiation stage.”
『Ah, it’s going fine, so don’t worry. I’m busy right now, so I’ll contact you later.』
Atran quickly ended the call. He had tried to hide it, but he couldn’t avoid Yeon-woo’s sharp eyes.
‘It looks like he has a black eye.’
Was he beat up somewhere? Yeon-woo narrowed his eyes.
* * *
It was evening when Atran showed himself again. He didn’t come through the messaging device but through the portal.
And for some reason, his shoulders were drooped, like he had suddenly become depressed.
“.....What’s wrong with your eye?’
He even had a patch on one of his eyes.
“H, Huh? Oh, I fell tripped.”
Atran couldn’t meet Yeon-woo’s eyes and turned his head around.
Yeon-woo looked him up and down.
“Were you beat up by someone?”
“Why would I be beat up by someone?! I’m Atran! I’m a big fish of By the Table who doesn’t have much longer to go until the Flower rank! Who would dare touch me?!”
「He was beat up. A lot.」
「It’s not easy to touch a mysterious merchant, though.」
Shanon and Hanryeong looked at Atran, who was jumping up and down, and nodded.
At the same time, they were surprised. Mysterious merchants always lived in danger. It was because of the thieves who mugged them.
So while mysterious merchants created unions for safety, they were famous for using mercenary clans or the Bureau to get revenge.
Also, Although Yeon-woo considered Atran a loser, he was actually well-known in his field.
Still, the fact that they had touched him meant that they were confident or someone skilled.
Yeon-woo lightly sighed.
“I guess you were beat up after chasing down some deal.”
“.....Are you some kind of psychic?”
Atran looked at Yeon-woo with a scared face.
「He does have some harsh feelings towards our master.」
「It seems like he failed the negotiations.」
Yeon-woo snorted and ignored what Shanon and Hanryeong were gossiping about.
Actually, it was easy to guess what happened if one thought about it a bit.
Possessors of Adamantine Nova had to be strong.
Atran, who went crazy for money, had probably stuck on the person like a leech even after they denied his offer.
And as for what happened after? It was obvious what had happened. Players mostly had cold or rushed personalities. It was rare to see someone nice.
Atran sighed, thinking he couldn’t hide it anymore.
“Fine. You’re right. The negotiations fell through.”
“What did they say?”
“That they would never sell it.”
Atran frowned.
“At first, I thought they were just bargaining. So I continued to raise the offer, and then, I was hit with a pipe....! Argh, that granny!”
Atran muttered to himself that there was never a need for violence and that she wasn’t able to get married at that age because of her violent impulses. He seemed to have been wronged.
‘Pipe? Granny?’
Yeon-woo tilted his head in curiosity.
“Who was the owner?”
“I can’t..... tell you that.”
It was By the Table’s rule to keep information about its customers a secret.
“Do you really need that Adamantine Nova? If you have time, I’ll try to gather Adamantium and ask for it to be made.....”
“No. I need it now.”
Adamantine Nova wasn’t an item that could be made so easily.
First off, it would take forever just to gather the adamantium, and it would take years to condense it. Even if an artisan got to work on it, it would take at least a year.
But the situation in Tartarus? They didn’t have that kind of time.
“Just what kind of quest did you receive to need that kind of stuff.....”
Atran hadn’t heard about what Yeon-woo was planning on making, so he sighed.
“Are you interested in selling information about the owner? I’ll try convincing her.”
“No.”
“Why? Can I not purchase peoples’ information?”
“That’s true..... but it’s a bit complicated.”
Atran frowned.
“First, the owner is one of the top VIPs of our union, and she pays us every year not to sell her information. Such VIPs among our customers are rare.”
By the Table had a strong influence in the entire universe, not just in the Tower. If she was a big fish in that group.
‘Is she one of the Nine Kings?’
Or someone at that level. He was suspicious.
“And more than anything.”
There was the most important reason.
“The owner is the best friend of our master..... just telling you this is, you know?”
It meant he was forbidden to talk about it.
Yeon-woo nodded and clicked his tongue. He didn’t know he would be tied up because of the Adamantine Nova, which was something he thought would be easiest to get.
“Then I’ll have to talk to Freesia herself.”
“What? Hey? Hey!”
Fearing that Yeon-woo would meet his boss because he was incapable, Atran shouted.
Hwak—
However, Yeon-woo was already calling Freesia through the jade mirror. It was the first time he contacted her after receiving the jade mirror. Atran’s face turned pale.
『Cain? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?』
She wore a wooden mask on her face. Short red hair that looked like it was on fire. Freesia must’ve been in the middle of feeding her White Wolf because she turned her head with a piece of meat in her hand.
“Y, You really contacted her.....”
Atran covered his face with his hand. His incompetence was going to be delivered directly to his superior.
And on the other hand, he wondered how many customers had Freesia on the speed dial. Yeon-woo was probably on the same level as the owner of the Adamantine Nova.
Actually, while Atran was in charge of Yeon-woo, he didn’t know exactly what Yeon-woo’s status was in the union.
“I think you know why I contacted you.”
『If it’s about the owner of the Adamantine Nova, I cannot tell you.』
So she knew.
『This is her condition. Aside from her being my personal acquaintance, we can’t lose someone like her. 』
“Still, there’s a saying that goes like this. There’s no deal that can’t be done.”
『There’s no deal that can’t be done.』
Freesia repeated what Yeon-woo said and smirked. Not because it was funny but to tell him to show her what he had.
『That’s true. Then what is the item you have in mind? Also, the amount of money that’s going into sponsoring you is the greatest we have ever given. You know that most items won’t even be considered, right?』
From the construction of the Outer Space to Brahm’s experiments, Yeon-woo was like a money-sucking leech to By the Table.
“The reason why Hades is missing, what’s happening in Tartarus, the situation with the Titans and Giants, and what I’m trying to create. Don’t you think that sounds good?”
Freesia’s eyes widened. It wasn’t clear because it was through a hologram, but he could feel he had piqued her interest.
『Please continue.』
Yeon-woo began to speak about what he saw and heard in Tartarus.
From what Yeon-woo saw, the rebellion of the Titans and Giants was priceless information that could be sold at an expensive price.
It was something Olympus and the gods and demons of the 98th floor didn’t know about.
One may think that what went on in the heavenly world wouldn’t matter to the players in the lower world.
However, gods and demons were beings who composed the laws, and they were crucial to the Tower’s system.
Of course, depending on what happened to them, players would be affected, too.
If this information was dealt with well, By the Table could earn a huge profit. Furthermore, military intel was what merchants all wanted.
Atran, who had been listening next to him, widened his eyes. Just what did this human do that he not only shook up Red Dragon but the world of gods, too?
『Hm. So that’s what happened?』
Freesia stroked her chin and nodded. Like what Yeon-woo thought, it was definitely priceless information.
However.
『However, it’s still not enough. Do you have anything else?』
He didn’t think she would come out this expensively. Yeon-woo clicked his tongue and added what he had saved for the end.
“If I can create Kynee, I’ll obtain the title of Artisan. Don’t you want to be the first to receive an item created by an Artisan?”
『It’s tempting, but we have a customer like that. Also, you’re not an Artisan yet.....』
“What if it’s an item that’s created from the help of Brahm, Henova, and even these beings?”
Yeon-woo snapped his fingers.
Behind him, the Cyclopes Brontes and Steropes appeared. The two Giants frowned, displeased, but they had to listen to Yeon-woo, given the current situation.
Freesia’s eyes widened when she recognized the two Cyclopes. Then, she grinned.
『I guess it can’t be helped. If it’s an item touched by two blacksmiths who are equal to Hephaestus, no, his were teachers, then..... I’m tempted. So how about an exclusive supply agreement?』
“That’s not enough, but we can give you priority.”
This time, Yeon-woo stepped back.
When Yeon-woo repeated what she said to him, she clicked her tongue internally. But this deal wasn’t bad.
『The owner of Adamantine Nova.』
The name he heard was familiar.
『Is someone named Anastasia.』