Chapter 72: Great Gacha Era (3)
The word ‘sex’ was surprisingly a term Kim Hyunwoo often heard in daily life.
Even outside the world of Arteil, terms like ‘sex appeal’ and others were frequently used in communities, and one of his friends would always embarrass others by constantly talking about sex, like a cicada unable to find a mate.
In other words, Kim Hyunwoo wasn’t particularly embarrassed by the word ‘sex’ itself.
However, that was only when it was mentioned by internet communities or friends talking incessantly about sex, which he could dismiss as white noise.
“….????”
But when the one saying the word wasn’t a friend or a community, but Adria, whom even Kim Hyunwoo thought was very beautiful, the story changed.
Kim Hyunwoo looked at Adria with an expression full of doubt.
Dozens of responses flooded his mind in an instant, but naturally, he couldn’t choose an appropriate answer.
Rather, the more he tried to find an answer, the more Kim Hyunwoo wondered if there was even an answer to this question.
“Th… Yes?? What… did you say?”So, Kim Hyunwoo asked again.
Perhaps he had misheard? With that thought, he gave Adria one last chance, and fortunately, Adria within consciousness caught on to Kim Hyunwoo’s intention.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. I find this topic quite embarrassing, so could we talk about something else?”
Adria understood his implied meaning.
Therefore, Adria was very grateful for Kim Hyunwoo’s consideration and immediately tried to switch her consciousness to respond to his words, but…
“Uh, uhuhuh??”
The real problem was the Crimson Dragon that was controlling Adria.
Obviously, she was well aware that her response had been a blunder.
No, not realizing it would be idiotic.
Despite being aware, upon hearing Kim Hyunwoo’s question, she instinctively…
“I, uh, asked… if you like sex.”
She blurted out an answer that even the dragon herself would find astonishing.
“Ah…”
[Ah…]
As Kim Hyunwoo and Adria sighed, the dragon belatedly realized what she had done and her face turned pale.
“I, uh, just to clear any misunderstanding, I meant… it was entirely about adult toys!”
“Ad-adult toys?”
“Yes. Given that Lartania has a lot of mercenaries, right? Typically, such… underground products sell well where there are many mercenaries. I-I was distracted and misspoke…!! Ha-hahaha…! Sorry!”
Thanks to Adria’s swift topic-drifting skills, as if performing 28 consecutive aerial flips, Kim Hyunwoo belatedly managed an awkward laugh.
“Ah, ahh, is that what it was?”
“Yes. Yes, yes! That’s it, haha, sorry. I misspoke.”
“No, I think that happens. Hahaha… You must be a bit tired these days.”
“Must be, I guess I’ve been quite tired recently… haha.”
With incredible agility, Adria smoothly shifted the topic and immediately started talking about business.
Only then, Kim Hyunwoo, looking relieved, began various discussions with Adria.
“Ah, then, the Coma Recovery Potions you mentioned before, will you be providing them next month?”
“Yes, next month, I will provide other items along with the Recovery Potion.”
After finishing the business talk with Adria as they had done before, she said,
“Then, I’ll take my leave for today. My visit today was just a brief stop.”
“I see. Then, I look forward to our next meeting.”
She bid farewell much quicker than usual, then turned around and opened the office door.
“Ah.”
“Hello, Merchant Group leader.”
“Hello, Elena.”
She soon encountered Elena.
Elena, whose lips bore a faint smile but whose eyes were not smiling at all.
The sound of something sharp…
Adria, smiling awkwardly, inadvertently looked down upon hearing the sharp sound of metal, and then saw the hand axes Elena was holding in both hands.
The axe was so sharply honed that even a slight scrape against the office’s exterior wall produced a sound of metal grinding and slightly gouged the doorframe.
When Adria’s gaze turned to the hand axe, Elena quickly hid it and said,
“Oh, my apologies. I was in a hurry coming from the training ground and forgot to put down my hand axe.”
“Ah- So, you had some urgent business?”
“Yes, I thought it was more urgent than I expected… but it seems it wasn’t, fortunately.”
Elena said this, nodded, and then stepped aside,
“Then, I’ll see you next time.”
“Ah… Yes.”
With Elena’s somewhat chilling gaze as the last interaction, Adria was able to leave the Lord’s castle.
And then,
“My Lord, I will go back to training.”
“Didn’t you say you had some business?”
“Oh, that? It seems to have resolved itself now. So, I will return to training.”
After bowing and then disappearing with her dual axes, Kim Hyunwoo, watching Elena go, said,
“…What on earth was that?”
He murmured to himself, bewildered by the whirlwind of events that had just passed.
After a storm had passed and three hours later.
As the sun set and the sunset dyed the world orange, Kim Hyunwoo confirmed that he had gathered all the materials needed to make the Lowest Grade Explorer’s Magnifying Glass.
“…There’s a round metal, a circular chunk, Mana Water, and Magic Stone powder.”
Kim Hyunwoo, who was checking each item against the blueprint, saw that all the materials were well-gathered, smiled with satisfaction, and immediately started making the Lowest Grade Explorer’s Magnifying Glass.
‘…I never would have originally thought of making it.’
Of course, Kim Hyunwoo was not particularly skilled with his hands.
However, there was one reason why he could make the Magnifying Glass.
It was because the making of the Magnifying Glass was so simple that it made you wonder, ‘Is this really enough?’
The method of making the Magnifying Glass was really simple.
You just had to insert 5ml of Mana Water into the groove in the middle of the rod that would serve as the body of the Magnifying Glass, sprinkle it with Magic Stone powder, and insert a metal rod shaped like a Magnifying Glass. That was it.
Yes, that was really the end, and there was nothing else to do.
‘Well, that’s all if you have this.’
Kim Hyunwoo smiled and looked at the metal rod in his hand.
The rod, which looked like an awl, had a somewhat complex groove carved around where the awl part would be.
‘I didn’t buy the blueprint for nothing.’
Kim Hyunwoo had made a great many Explorer’s Magnifying Glasses in Arteil.
In other words, although he had made them by clicking, the method of making Magnifying Glasses was all in Kim Hyunwoo’s head.
Yet, the reason he had paid as much as 300 Stones for the blueprint was precisely because of the rod that came with it when buying the blueprint.
‘A stamp that naturally engraves a magic circuit when inserted and rotated inside a wooden rod.’
In fact, Kim Hyunwoo had bought the blueprint just for this one thing, and with it, he could infinitely make Magnifying Glasses by simply repeating the above manual labor process.
As proof,
The ‘Lowest-Grade Explorer's Magnifying Glass’ has been made!
Immediately, Kim Hyunwoo was able to make a Magnifying Glass with just that simple manufacturing process.
Therefore, Kim Hyunwoo, who had been looking at the Magnifying Glass with a satisfied expression, soon wore a slightly nervous expression and immediately began making the Magnifying Glass.
The reason was because of the words written on the blueprint for the Lowest-grade Explorer’s Magnifying Glass.
Remaining blueprint uses: 9 times
“Indeed.”
Kim Hyunwoo unwittingly slapped his forehead in admiration.
Of course, it wasn’t an unexpected situation.
Kim Hyunwoo already knew very well that Arteil, which is sincerely dedicated to extracting money from users, had made it so that blueprints could not be used infinitely.
However, the reason Kim Hyunwoo was calmly making the Magnifying Glass despite knowing this was because there was something he needed to confirm.
Therefore, Kim Hyunwoo, who continued to make Magnifying Glasses, precisely when he had made ten of them,
Remaining blueprint uses: 0 times
The blueprint has disappeared
Though he saw the blueprint in front of him disappear in an instant, engulfed in blue flames,
“…As expected!”
Kim Hyunwoo rather shouted for joy.
Because the stamp was absolutely necessary for making the Magnifying Glass was still in his hand.
“Sigh-”
In fact, in the original Arteil, once the blueprint disappeared, it was no longer possible to make a Magnifying Glass.
Because the production of the Magnifying Glass had to be done by clicking on the blueprint.
Therefore, users of Arteil, for the setting reason that it was strange for a lord, i.e., a user who does not know magic, to easily make a magic item, could not make a Magnifying Glass even with the stamp given for the first purchase of the blueprint, according to the Arteil territory development team.
However, since the story of making Magnifying Glasses with the blueprint was only in the game, Kim Hyunwoo, while shouting for joy, still started making the Magnifying Glass with a tense expression.
A little later.
The ‘Lowest-grade Explorer's Magnifying Glass’ has been made!
Kim Hyunwoo, seeing the Magnifying Glass naturally completed even without the blueprint, felt a thrill course throughout his body and smiled broadly.
‘Perhaps I should spread gacha in the medieval era.’
His eyes sparkled.
And at that moment.
From the office of the Tienus Merchant Group, which had left the territory of Lartania.
“This damn dragonhead! This is cheating!!!”
“It’s been creepy since ten years ago, and now you’re completely out of your mind…! Where do you get off spouting such nonsense in front of her!?”
“I think those of you who are watching from the outside seem even more creepy…!”
“Creepy? It’s called being an escort!”
“Hmph, hmpf-! Is being an escort about stealing snacks left over by your Master…!? You reek so badly everyone can tell!”
“…!!! What!? Is that true!!?”
“That- that’s just a toxicity check, you eerie dragon!”
“Che-checking for poison is my specialty!! It’s not for you to do! From now on, I’ll-”
[What on earth is going on…]
Seeing the two women and a Guardian, who seemingly possess monstrous strength yet are engaged in a devastatingly petty argument, Adria within the consciousness wore a bewildered expression.