1: The Whereabouts of the Last Three Marvels
ACT 1 The Whereabouts of the Last Three Marvels
In the high seas between Schudenberg Kingdom and Bristania Kingdom, ‘The Lost World=Seutandal’ has emerged. There are numerous legends thriving in Seutandal so please enjoy a new adventure.
That was the message every user in New World saw a few days ago. Of course, users responded to this news hotly. New monsters, new hunting grounds and new dungeons! The emergence of Seutandal lit a fire in users who were always thirsty for new things. But it wasn’t just users with warrior professions who were stimulate. It was easy to understand when looking at the history of mankind. The appearance of a whole new civilization could possibly upset the normal economy. It was similar to the great navigational era in Europe’s history where things like tea, spices and silk came pouring in. The merchants in New World would not miss such an opportunity. All anybody could talk about in the merchant city of Giran was Seutandal.
“Let’s go to the land of opportunity, Seutandal!”
“We can’t be later than the other guilds, hurry up!”
Thanks to that, the passenger ferries on the East coast of the continent became crowded with users. While many warriors and merchants were flocking to Seutandal, Ark had actually left Seutandal and arrived in Giran.
‘Phew, everybody here is distracted.’
Ark dusted himself off and looked around. The NPCs and users in every village he dropped in at would only talk about Seutandal. So many users flocked to Seutandal that the normally busy Giran felt empty. Ark realized how huge it was after arriving on the continent.
‘Well, it’s not a bad thing if people gather in Seutandal.’
Ark looked warmly at the users heading towards Seutandal. The hunting would decline thanks to the users flocking there. So far Ark had monopolized the dungeons in Seutandal and now he had more competitors.
‘But I can’t monopolize all the prey in Seutandal by myself. And the situation in Seutandal is now 180 degrees different from the previous month. More people gathering would naturally make it evolve faster. When that happens, the benefits would outweigh having the dungeons stolen by other users.’
Ark recalled what happened in the last few days in Seutandal.
‘Things have worked out better than I thought.’
Although Seutandal rising to middle earth was a big event, it was an even more tremendous event for the Baran clan. The world they knew for hundreds of years was changing. The Baran tribe elders were filled with fear and confusion of the unknown. Their reactions were natural. Although Asia was a new continent for the Europeans in the exploration era, to the natives they were just scary predators. Even though Ark only received 60 points in history class, he knew at least this much. So he quickly gathered the elders when Seutandal finished rising.
“Although Seutandal has finished rising, you can’t interact with the continent.”
“What kind of place is the continent?”
“It is a huge place many times larger than Seutandal. There is the Bristania, Sinius and Schudenberg kingdoms, with each kingdom having thousands and thousands of soldiers. In addition, the soldiers’ equipment is so developed that it can’t even be compared to yours.”
“T-then what will we do if they invade?”
“We’ve only just managed to prevent the threat of the Nakujuk……”
The elders murmured with uneasy looks. Ark deliberately put on a serious expression and spoke once again.
“I definitely can’t guarantee that there is no risk.”
“Then isn’t this a serious problem?”
“But the Baran clan aren’t weak like before. Didn’t you manage to defend against the threat of the Nakujuk? I promise. If everybody unites together then not even the kings of the strong continent would dare invade.”
“Umm……..”
The elders still looked worried.
“I see what you mean. But we don’t know anything about them. We don’t know how to communicate and build goodwill with them.”
“There’s nothing to worry about. If you don’t understand then you should trust someone who does.”
Ark grinned and replied. In fact, the Three Kingdoms couldn’t afford to invade Seutandal. It was 100% that the ambassadors from the continent would be friendly. But there was a reason for him crating an uneasy atmosphere. It was in order to recommend Isabel who was the head of the Dark Brothers as the representative for Seutandal.
“Oh, that’s right. There is such a way.”
“Yes, we can leave it to the head of the Dark Brothers.”
The elders were so anxious that they all unanimously agreed to have Isabel represent them. Shortly afterwards, Isabel led all of the Dark Brothers and moved them to Seutandal. They settled at Haman Fortress which was renamed ‘Eastern Nation.’ Isabel and the Dark Brothers were finally able to break from their stained past and achieve the new home that they so desired.
‘Then the contract with Isabel has been completed.’
Of course, Ark didn’t do this for Isabel’s good. Isabel promised to give Ark two rewards if everything finished perfectly. He could now receive the rewards since Isabel was appointed the representative of Seutandal. So while Isabel was settled in Haman Fortress, the continent’s delegation arrived in Seutandal. Although he would only briefly describe it, there were two reasons why the delegation came to visit the Baran clan instead of the Nakujuk. The first was that they were a chaotic race and the second reason was that the Nakujuk already tried to invade the continent. They boldly attacked the kingdom of Schudenberg. That’s right. It was the event where Ark sent 50 Nakujuk from the valley village to Selebrid. So the continent judged the Nakujuk as threatening monsters and only sent a delegation towards the Baran clan. Although Isabel was chaotic like the Nakujuk, her beauty made a good impression on the delegates.
“We want to become friendly with all three kingdoms. The Netherworld isn’t an evolved civilization like the continent but it has many resources that can’t be found on the continent. It would be beneficial to everybody if we develop a good relationship. If you want to interact with us then please allow us to send somebody to each kingdom. All future negotiation will go through our ambassador.”
“Yes, of course…..”
So the Eastern Nation was able to establish an official branch in each Kingdom. Isabel also had a condition for the Schudenberg Kingdom.
“I would like you to build the Schudenberg Kingdom branch in Lancel Village.”
The representative from the Schudenberg Kingdom showed reluctance.
“I don’t understand. Lancel is a mountain village that doesn’t have any adjacent villages and isn’t close to the Royal Road. Why would you install a branch in such a complicated place?”
“I understand your point but I’m sorry. But Lancel village has already entered an alliance with Seutandal.”
“Huh? How is that possible?”
“I cannot tell you all the details. Anyway, we have formed a connection with Lancel village which makes our relationship with the Schudenberg Kingdom even deeper. As a sign of friendship, we promise to trade more through Lancel village and give more benefits to the Schudenberg Kingdom than any other kingdom.
“If that’s the case, there is no reason to refuse…….”
The representative didn’t fully understand the situation but accepted her proposal after scratching his head. There was no reason to refuse when they would gain even more benefits.
“Huhuhu, that’s it. That’s it!’
This was one of the rewards Isabel promised Ark. It wasn’t necessary to explain again, but the centre of politics and diplomacy was bound to have commercial development. If Lancel village was designated as the communication place between Schudenberg Kingdom and Seutandal, a number of users of NPCs would rush there. Lancel village was only a mountain village but it would emerge as the new trade centre. Of course, the real estate would boom and Ark’s Comprehensive Store would enjoy more profit.
‘Now the items from Seutandal will be traded exclusively through Ark’s Comprehensive Store to the Schudenberg Kingdom!’
Of course, Seutandal still had a low cultural level so there weren’t that many products to trade. However, the Eastern Nation had already decided its capital city. And Isabel had already used her funds to build a variety of facilities around Haman Fortress. When the construction was completed and Seutandal’s development increased, trading would probably become active. If Ark’s Comprehensive Store monopolized the trade in Schudenberg Kingdom then obviously he would get a large profit.
“This is just the beginning.”
Ark opened his contract with Isabel.