Chapter 61 - Kraken (2)
“Magician-nim!”
After he sent off the two girls to different locations, it didn’t take too long for Artpe to be surrounded by numerous people. They came in waves. The inner city should be safer than the top of the wall, yet people were convinced that the safest place was near Artpe.
“Magician-nim, please look at the Kraken!”
“Do something! I beg of you! We don’t have the power to do anything against the Kraken, magician-nim!”
“Magician-niiiiiiiiiiim!”
When he saw the people blindly cling to him, he thought about what happened one year ago in the mountain village. At that time, they begged for his help. They had looked at him with desperate eyes.
They didn’t care what price Artpe and Maetel would have to pay in order to help them. Even if they knew it, they had acted as if they were ignorant of that fact. Since the two of them had the power, the people had acted as if it was a given that Maetel and Artpe would have to help them..
“Stop sticking so close to me. Get off of me.”
Artpe dislodged them using his cold voice, and he extended a finger. He pointed towards the location where the 3rd barrier wall was being erected. The lord of Frate was standing near it, and it looked as if his soul had been sucked out by the appearance of the Kraken. One could also see the Dungeon merchant Mycenae, who was trying to hold the lord’s attention as she gave a desperate speech.
“Even if you guys pool all your powers together, you won’t be able to do anything against the Kraken. It is the same for me. I have no chance of mixing it up with the Kraken with my bare body. If you want to survive, you have two choices. You can try to avoid the Kraken coming ash.o.r.e by running away towards the mountainous regions. Or you can give that merchant what she needs.”
“However, that merchant is spouting nonsense! We are in a dangerous situation, yet she is trying to make profit off of the trade…..”
The man went into a lengthy speech.
However, the argument could be simplified into this.
Level 200 Magic Stones were items in high demand, yet the supply was extremely limited. This was why many sellers of Magic Stones colluded with each other to fix the price. However, their rivals were present here, so it would be impossible to fix the price.
“So what price will you be satisfied with?”
“Money isn’t important! We are talking about my family’s Magic Stones. It isn’t something that should be sold in bulk. I have to find the proper owner…...”
“How much?”
“I...I would have to receive 15 thousand gold each…...”
“······what?”
It was idiotic to boost the price of an item that was hard to trade. However, Artpe was sure of one thing. There was no way a level 200 Magic Stone was worth over 5,000 gold.
Mycenae told him she would take care of everything with money. However, she probably never expected the n.o.bles to act like this. Even Artpe thought it was ridiculous.
“I’m the one who asked her to acquire the Magic Stones. You all probably know this, but it is impossible to fight off the Kraken with the power gathered within this city. The best way to stop its charge is through the barrier wall. However, a barrier of this caliber can’t withstand the Kraken. I have to Reinforce it using a lot of high rank Magic Stones. If not, this city and the people within it will be smashed into pieces.”
“Still, you are talking about 500 Magic Stones······.”
“That is why you aren’t cursing out the merchant. You are bad mouthing me. Well, let me ask you this. Am I the one trying to profit from this dangerous situation? Or is it you guys? ”
Artpe’s gaze was bottomless. It was hard to thinking of him as a 14 year old. He was oozing with charisma, and it prevented the people from arguing with him. They shut their mouths. This was an ability that existed only in true heroes. Artpe was really annoyed right now, so he didn’t realize this fact.
“But…..”
“Koo-hmmm. Kmm, kmmm….”
Despite his words, they refused to open their mouths in the end.
Some wondered if the magician was lying to screw over the foreigners. Others wondered if Reinforcing the barrier wall was really the only way out of this. There were countless excuses running through their heads, and Artpe could clearly see through all of them. He wasn’t using his Read All Creation ability. In the past, he had countless encounters with such people, so his prior experience let him know what they were thinking.
A bitter smile appeared automatically on his lips.
“Hoo-ooh…. Humans really the same whenever or wherever you encounter them.”
“But magician-nim…...”
“f.u.c.k off. Get out of my sight.”
If he acted on his emotions, he would have thrown the lot of them into the ocean. However, Mycenae asked him to leave it all to her. He wouldn’t step forward until she asked for his help.
Artpe turned his head away. These humans refused to give anything, yet they still expected protection from Artpe. He looked at the battle that was occuring on the ocean.
It was said one should be thankful for small mercies. After the Kraken had made its appearance, the other monsters became timid. There were monsters that were barely able to move in the presence of the Kraken. Even as the humans were running about in confusion, no monsters were able to cross the vibrating wall.
“Maetel…...”
After he finished a.s.sessing the situation, his eyes naturally turned towards her.
Maetel was speeding across the ocean. She was quickly approaching the Kraken. Once Maetel decided to do something, she showed no hesitation or fear.
If she wasn’t a hero, no one was qualified to be a hero. Even though he was still in a dangerous situation, he chuckled.
[Goo-ohhhhhhhhhhhng!]
Kraken let out a roar. The wave containing its Mana spread across the ocean, and it attracted more and more monsters to the sh.o.r.es of Frate.
A portion of the monsters were swept up by the Kraken’s tentacles, and they were eaten. The rest followed behind it.
It seemed the Kraken wasn’t planning on dragging this out. It was filled with the will of wanting to end this quickly.
“Hoo-ahhhhhhp!”
At that moment, Maetel bravely got in its way. While she kept the momentum of speeding across the ocean surface, she put her magical energy into her long sword. She shot out a beam of energy!
She decided to take this approach, because she came to the conclusion that she would bounce off the Kraken if she attacked head-on.
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhh!]
She was a hero approaching level 200, so her strike was effective against the Kraken. She had worried the Kraken would just shrug off her attack. She had worried it would continue to charge forward. Fortunately, it stopped moving when it received Maetel’s attack!
“Not yet! Stay there!”
[Koo-ahhhhhhng!]
The Kraken was p.i.s.sed off. It swung its house-sized tentacle towards Maetel. However, Maetel followed Artpe’s advice as she used her Acceleration skill to avoid its attack. Then she used her beam again!
[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
The energy construct was emitted from the tip of the long sword, and it traveled in a straight line. It split open the forehead of the Kraken as dark blood started to flow.
Everyone had given up when they saw the overwhelming size of the Kraken. However, the people of Frate let out a cheer when Maetel’s attack wounded the Kraken.
Artpe coldly a.s.sessed the damage, and he shook his head from side to side.
“The damage is akin to being p.r.i.c.ked on the finger with fish bone.”
“You speak in such hopeful terms.”
He had spoken those words to himself. He hadn’t wanted anyone else to hear it, yet someone replied to his words. Artpe let out a sight. An out of breath woman had just climbed up to the wall. He raised his hand towards Mycenae as he asked a question.
“Did you gather all 500?”
“Not yet. I’ve gathered around 180. I contacted the Anywhere company’s headquarters, and the outcome was positive. Moreover, I was able to receive support from the Diaz kingdom’s n.o.bles. However, it was as you’ve said. The problem came from…..”
“There is a limit to the supply of Magic Stones that could be gathered in Diaz. I knew this would happen. In the first place, the appearance of monsters over level 200 is very low here.”
Still, the n.o.bles and the merchants from foreign countries that could make up the insufficient supplies were also gathered here. Artpe took the pouch containing the 180 Magic Stones. It was unfortunate, but it might still be possible to accomplish the 1st Reinforcement.
“So what are you going to do? These pigs are refusing to sell their Magic Stones.”
“No, they will sell it to us.”
There was still a bright light twinkling within her eyes. Her eyes swept over the n.o.bles and merchants gathered atop the barrier wall. She just noticed that most of them were from foreign countries. It seemed the greedy ones had sharp eyes for a.s.sessing the situation. They decided not to hide in the city. They were on the front line, yet they decided they were safest near the strongest being within Frate.
“Everyone. Please I beg of you once again. The communication magic and the item summoning magic will be provided by the headquarters of the Anywhere company. We promise to help you out in gathering the items. We are willing to buy the Magic Stones of level 200 monsters for 6,000 gold. You aren’t selling it for a loss.”
“Who are you to demand this of me! I can’t sell it at that price. It will drop my family’s name into the mud!”
“Six thousand gold? Ha! If the partic.i.p.ants of the last Magic Stone auction within the capital heard of that price, they would have all mocked you! Fifteen thousand gold! There is no way I can go under fifteen thousand gold!”
Fifteen thousand gold.
It seemed this was the highest price the Magic Stones had sold in their country. He couldn’t believe how foolish these people were. Artpe was looking around the crowd when he had a realization. The ones asking for a high price for the Magic Stones were part of the leadership group that represented each country’s trade administration. The n.o.bles and the merchants knew their future were up in the air right now, but even if they wanted to make the sale, they were afraid of crossing these important figures. They couldn’t easily step out of line.
“Hoo. I see. Is everyone of the same opinion?”
“So you want us to take all the loss?”
Even if they had ideas of selling the Magic Stones for less than 15 thousand gold, they couldn’t do so if some were able to sell it for the price of 15 thousand gold. Greed would naturally rise from within them. That was why all the humans gathered here planned on sticking together. They planned on insisting on the price of 15 thousand gold.
Even the Anywhere company would go bankrupt if they bought 320 Magic Stones for the price of 15 thousand gold. Mycenae no longer tried to convince the n.o.bles and the merchants. She looked straight at Artpe as she spoke.
“Artpe-nim.”
“What?”
Until now, she had always referred to him as customer. He had no idea what changed her mind, but he willingly went along with her request.
“It seems their argument hinges on the fact that they don’t believe the barrier wall could be Reinforced again. If you show them the evidence, they might take my words a little bit more seriously.”
“Do you really believe that? Even if I use Reinforcement in front of their eyes, it looks as if they’ll come up with a different excuse.”
“I’ll deal with it somehow once we reach that point.”
“Ha!”
Good.
She was showing a backbone that befits a hero’s exclusive merchant.
Artpe didn’t reply to her words. He just grinned as he threw the pouch containing the Magic Stones into the air. The string on the pouch loosened, and the 180 Magic Stones letting out prismatic radiance scattered into the air.
“W...what the h.e.l.l!”
“Each of them are treasures worth over several thousand gold…..!”
“M...magician-nim! What are you trying to do······.”
“Watch this well. You won’t be able to act ignorant after this.”
Artpe placed one hand on the barrier wall. The scattered Magic Stones landed all over the barrier wall, and he activated his Reinforcement skill.
“W...wait a moment.”
“It really······?”
In a flash, the barrier wall let out a brilliant purple light as the wall started to vibrate. The 180 Magic Stones started to turn into pure magical energy in ones and twos. They were being absorbed into the barrier wall!
“Hoo-ooh······.”
“Wait a moment.”
The purple light swallowed all the Magic Stones, and for a brief moment, silence blanketed the surrounding. The people on the wall were dumbfounded. They had just witnessed Magic Stones worth several hundred thousand gold disappear in a flash. It happened when they were about to speak.
“Magician-nim, what are youuuuuuu-uhhhhhhhhh?!?”
“Ggoo-ahhhhhhhhhhk!”
All the light was absorbed into the barrier wall, and it shot up several dozen meters!
“Be careful! Don’t fall over the wall!”
“T...the port is being destroyed! Everyone grab onto the barrier wall!”
“My G.o.d…. Even the corpses of the monsters…..”
In the process of Reinforcing the barrier wall, the wall absorbed everything it was lacking from its surrounding. It absorbed the Records of its surrounding to expand its size. It hardened and consolidated the change, and a much stronger power of vibration emanated from the wall.
It resulted in forming an overpowering barrier wall. The 2nd and 3rd tier barrier walls couldn’t hold a candle to this one. Originally, the barrier wall was simply made out of stone. However, after it went through three Reinforcements, the wall was infused with a black purple light. There was a metallic sheen to the wall. It displayed its dignified presence.
[Frate’s Guardian Wall+3]
[Owner : Artpe]
[The desire of the people wanting to protect the country and city was consolidated through the power of the great magician. A jumbo artifact was created by him. Most monsters will be unable to approach the wall thanks to the the powerful vibration emitted by the wall. If the owner desired it, the wall can decrease in size to increase its strength.]
“My G.o.d.”
“T...the barrier wall did get higher….”
“The Magic Stones… All those Magic Stones are gone. It seems the merchant wasn’t lying!”
Of course, the power of the Reinforcement skill was amazing. Still, Artpe never expected to be given the ownership of the wall!
Still, he felt tears coming to his eyes when he thought about the amount of Magic Stones he had to consume to accomplish this!
“It’s high.”
“The monsters clamoring below look like trash from up here…...”
Not even the mermen….no, even the Mer-King would be unable to approach a barrier of this caliber. The past Lunatic Waves would have had to pack up and retreat if they had to face this barrier wall.
However, even this barrier wall could only last 5 minutes against the Kraken.
[Koo-ahhhhhhhhng!]
“No! You can’t come this way!”
Maetel was still holding out against the Kraken. However, the Kraken refused to stop its charge as it dealt with Maetel. The distance between the Kraken and Frate was contracting. If it wasn’t for Maetel, the Kraken would have already reached inland.
“You saw it, right! If he Reinforces it one more time, he can stop the Kraken! We aren"t forcefully taking your Magic Stones away for you! We are paying a fair price for them! Your Magic Stones can save your own lives! It can save this city, country and even the continent!”
“Koo-hmm. However, there is no guarantee he’ll be able to succeed in replicating this effect again….”
“Magician-nim, it isn’t as if I don’t trust you….. It is hard to believe that such a vast amount of Magic Stones were consumed.”
“Even if the wall becomes st.u.r.dier, can it really hold off the Kraken?”
Mycenae grinded her teeth. Even in such a situation, the humans were trying to find a way to weasel out of everything. They were being threatened with death, yet these dim-witted people were unable to let go of their possessions!
“This auction has already been a bust! Still, you can think of it as your money saving your own lives! It isn’t a situation where even one of us should be backing off! How long are you all going to take a back seat!”
“The ship I took to get here was sunk. I’ve already taken a ma.s.sive financial hit. That’s right Sir Frantz hasn’t taken any losses yet. I also heard that his family has a pretty good amount of Magic Stones…..”
“Ah, it isn’t like that. I don’t possess any of them. The head of the family has it firmly within his grasp, so I don’t possess the authority to...”
The n.o.bles had nowhere to run anymore, so they started selling each other out. If 320 Magic Stones were gathered, the rest of them would be off the hook from selling their Magic Stones. Each of them struggled desperately to be in the latter group. It was hard to listen to their words.
“······I now know all your intentions. I’ll give up on purchasing the Magic Stones.”
Mycenae was cold and firm with her words. It stopped the bickering between the n.o.bles and the merchants. When a brief silence descended, Mycenae took couple breathes before she raised her head. The light in her eyes was terrifying.
However, she didn’t look at the other people gathered atop the wall. She looked straight at Artpe as she asked a question.
“Artpe-nim. I will be sure to give you the money later with interest. Do you have any interest in selling your product?”
“What product?”
If an answer akin to a soul came out of her mouth, it would have horrified everyone. However, she spoke the name of a more terrifying product.
“I’m talking about this barrier wall. In truth, I spoke to the lord of Frate before coming here. I’ve confirmed with him that he decided to give the ownership of this barrier wall to Artpe-nim.”
“······ho-oh.”
A single strand of smile appeared on Artpe’s lips when he heard her words. He now knew Mycenae and the lord of Frate had come up with this ploy. They had guessed things might turn out like this with the n.o.bles and the merchants. It seemed things were rolling along as she planned!
“What price do you think I should ask for it?”
“Whatever you want.”
“I like how you think.”
Everyone could only watch as the negotiation continued between Artpe and Mycenae. They didn’t even have to ask to know what would happen in the future.
“All right. I’ll sell you this wall. I’m a.s.suming the Reinforcement fee will be given separately?”
“If I do agree to pay that price, will you help punish those that infringe upon my private property rights?”
“Private property rights. I like that word.”
Artpe and Mycenae looked at each other as they smiled.
The n.o.bles and the merchants finally realized that they had no choice from the start.