“There’s a lot of meat, so you have to carry it.”
“That’s an absurd reason. Yellowy’s strength is good too, is it not.”
Weed replied as if it was obvious, “We need to store it in refrigeration.”
The method to extending the expiration date of the meat! The King Hydra and Imoogi meat did not spoil in the low temperature. It was a certain fact that putting them on Bingryong’s back would cryogenically freeze them nicely. The meat would keep for a long time before it defrosted again.
“Move quickly. Work long and stretch your back only once in awhile.”
At Weed’s urging, Yellowy and Bingryong cleared the wreckage with faces full of only dissatisfaction.
The Embinyu Church’s treasures and decorations were crushed underneath the rubble. Weapons and defense items were in pieces, but even obtaining those fragments yielded lots of money.
Yellowy sulked with his tail hanging down.
“Don’t pout! Right now is easy. Back when I worked, I had to crawl to the bathroom! You guys, do you think that the chance to make money by digging in the ground like this is common?”
Bingryong and Yellowy could only resent being born by the impoverished Weed!
If you sit, you want to lay down, and if you lie down, you want to sleep. It was a sad life where you had to put aside even your frustrations and work, living according to that ironclad rule. Yellowy carved it deeply into his memory.
“Money is something really hard to earn. I should never spend it carelessly.”
Weed and the sculptured life-forms found a large amount of jewels and metal scraps within the rubble. Because he was not able to fit everything into his pack, he had to make 5 new large pack using his Tailoring skill. Made by cutting a little Imoogi leather, the backpacks were lightweight, sturdy, and even had an option to halve the weight.
“It’s a waste that the Dark Knights are dead. The EXP and items I’d have gotten by hunting them would’ve been considerable…”
Endless greed!
“Balkan, that scoundrel, fighting so hard when it wasn’t even going to die…”
Blah blah.
“That bastard King Hydra, the hell was it trying to do by completely demolishing the fortress…”
Weed had his own secret method whenever he did difficult work. If he worked while resenting others, his efficiency rose and his fatigue lessened. He didn’t need a sense of accomplishment while doing intense, hard labor. He just had to curse absently.
“I met the wrong master…”
“Bad master.”
Bingryong and Yellowy worked while resenting him like that. Only Phoenix was loftily grooming its feathers atop a high spire. Even though Weed certainly made the sculptured lifeforms suffer, Phoenix became subject of Bingryong’s and Yellowy’s hatred.
“The guy that can play even though we have to work.”
“Phoenix is the worst!”
After clearing all the debris of Embinyu Church, Bingryong and Yellowy were afflicted for a long while because of excessive use of Vitality.
Though medicines were useless, Weed forced himself to rise. “Before the prices fall… I have to sell them quickly.”
He was anxious since he was carrying valuables. Cashing them in as soon as possible was the priority.
Weed went to the Matallost Church’s temple. On the brink of collapse, the wall of the dilapidated temple shone faintly.
“So that’s where the hidden room is.”
When he pushed the wall aside and entered, he saw an inactive, large portal. It was like looking at a mirror made of white light.
In order to make a portal through which one could teleport to another place, an enormous sum of money, jewels, and Magicians were required.
“Still, once they’re complete, it becomes pretty convenient to move between cities.”
There were teleport gates in Versailles Continent castles and in big cities. Only, there was a limit of only being able to teleport the weight or size of what could be moved in one day, so they couldn’t be used in businesses. Since they required mana stones as well as a team of Magicians, even maintaining them cost a lot of money.
Compared to a teleport gate, a large portal put two spaces in one. Of course there were some restrictions regarding weight and count, but compared to a teleport gate, the limitations were less strict. After it was first set up, there were almost zero maintenance fees as well.
“I’ve already chosen the location for the portal.”
Weed immediately decided to open a portal into the heart of Morata Castle. He had made his choice without needing to think of other places.
“Connect portal to Morata Castle.”
At that moment, the portal activated with blue light.
Weed strode into the portal without pause. Yellowy followed behind him, ambling along.
* * *
“Who is selling food! I’ll buy all kinds indiscriminately.”
“Specialties from the distant Belnine Kingdom have arrived. Who will taste this dried fruit peel! It’s sweet.”
“Come to the precious metals shop, the Goldrich. From specialize precious metals to rare ores, we stock all kinds.”
Merchants had set up booths in the plaza of Morata Castle. There were tons of players who had moved to the North for hunting and quests. Having grown large as a city for them, Morata was acting as the capital of the entire North.
The portal that Weed connected opened in the center of the plaza. The blue light that fell in a straight line from the sky grew bigger and bigger, making a broad portal.
“Eh, what’s that?”
“I’ve seen that before. I think it’s a movement portal.”
“A movement portal is forming in the plaza?”
The traders briefly stopped their commercial activities in surprise.
Onlookers flocked in an instant.
“Could it be a quest?”
“A monster might come out.”
There were Warriors putting hands to their weapons and Magicians chanting spells in anticipation of a some kind of event.
Morata’s plaza had been on the large side even before it had been developed, and it had grown enormous through city planning. Hundreds of Merchants were doing business, and players selling japtem and even people acquiring team-mates for quests were gathered.
The portal drew to completion in the center of the swarming, crowded plaza!
Weed didn’t even consider other places.
‘It has to be this place.’
The core of real estate speculation.
You had to invest in a place where people frequently gathered. Near a train station, a department store, or around a mall are the places where business is most swell.
Making a plaza had been necessary to collect movement portal tolls and increase the number of users, as well as to develop businesses.
Why was escalator rather than elevator use always aggressively recommended in malls or department stores? There was a reason for this!
[T/N: To understand this line of thought, you have to know that there are tons of escalators in Korea. Because of an acute lack of space, buildings are built up rather than out. While riding an escalator, you can see products on the side that may lure you into buying them. A plaza performs the same function.]
As soon as the movement portal was completed, Weed appeared from its blue light.
“It’s Weed.”
“The great Sculptor Weed! Morata’s Lord has returned!”
It hadn’t been long since the end of the broadcast, so there were many people who recognized Weed.
Weed appeared amongst enormous popularity.
“Whew…” Weed pretended to use his hand to block the stinging sunlight and glanced around.
There were at least several thousand people looking at him. They had come from the tops of the castle walls and even the shopping district buildings to look at Weed.
“It must be due to my fame that people are gathering around like this.”
He was greatly satisfied!
Then he heard the words of young merchants selling japtem.
“Soo-il, is that hyung over there Weed?”
“Shhh! Watch your mouth. He might hear.”
“Is that person really the violent Weed with the foul mouth and personality from the Continent of Magic?”
“…”
Weed from the Continent of Magic back in the day! In truth, there was no difference between him and a ruthless tyrant.