390 - Nobles of the Tower 5
TL/Editor: raei
Status: 5/Week Mon-fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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To put it bluntly, Heroes Chronicle was a virtual reality game that didn''t give players complete freedom.
The basic premise was too clearly defined: team up with companions to climb the tower, establish safe zones, and defeat the Demon King''s army to weaken his evil power.
Whether you climbed the tower or not, whether you left the city to roleplay as a slave or pretended to be a noble genius relying solely on inventory magic, no matter how wild your gameplay got, the main and side quests ultimately revolved around conquering the tower floor by floor.
Yes, "floor by floor."
[Equipment enhanced by the Stone Dwarves'' special technique]
[With this, we might be able to reach the Harpy Queen who controls storms and lightning]
[But those guys, they seemed to be acting a bit strange...]
...
......
.........
......
...
[The safe zone in the plains is like a paradise of golden grasslands]
[But why did the safe zone summon someone from outside the tower?]
[We should investigate this safe zone that can summon people]
"Oh shit, another complication? But if we need to bring Ogre mana stones to get special enhancement stones, that doesn''t add up. ...Must be because of the Season 2 patch!"
This was precisely the area Han Se-ah was least confident in.
Even if she hoarded mana stones in her inventory like a squirrel''s winter food cache, Han Se-ah didn''t spend as much gold as one might expect. Part of it was because our party was so strong that we made good money, and part of it was because she didn''t waste gold on unnecessary things.
Other players would have to rent lodging, pay for food, and repair equipment for long-term hunting, so BB Games set mana stone prices quite high. But since we ignored the prerequisite quests and went straight for the boss''s head, we had gold to spare.
That leftover gold went into the Lucky One''s pocket, and in return we got special enhancement stones. As soon as we got our hands on them, several quest logs whizzed by, not just one—
"No! Can''t a person just kill a boss without enhancing? Don''t you know about broken straight swords? Ever heard of the ''no enhance, no talisman samurai'' spirit?"
-The useless pack mule of the hero party isn''t even checking quests while teacher progresses the game lol it''s the end times
Katie jumped in place at Han Se-ah''s words. Her eyes widened like a child who received a game console instead of a storybook for Christmas.
Though she kept saying it was fine, that we should discuss it first, etc., she couldn''t hide her grinning lips. Because of this, she didn''t even notice Grace and Irene smiling at her from either side with motherly affection.
But Han Se-ah''s decision was understandable.
[Special Enhancement Stone - Winter Fragment]
[A crystal of magic that even the pressure of the underworld, which melts even rocks, could not melt]
We didn''t know yet if there were special enhancement stones other than attribute enhancements, but the first enhancement stone that came into our hands was an ice attribute stone.
"Don''t be so modest. The magic contained inside is ice attribute, that''s why."
"Oh, really? Well, in that case... Hehe!"
While regular enhancement stones looked like metal, crystal, or gems, special enhancement stones gleamed as if advertising their special magical properties.
The analogy is a bit cheap, but... it was like adding LED flair when customizing a computer. With a soft light emanating from inside the sky-blue crystal, it was like looking at a custom-built PC bought with money saved during military service.
Anyway, at this point I could see why nobles would buy something so expensive that they wouldn''t even use. Even with mana stones, there was a culture of using them for show because of their enormous size, despite being less attractive than cut gems.
So an enhancement stone much larger than ordinary gems, with light emanating from inside due to magical effects? To nobles, these weren''t enhancement stones but cutting-edge fashion accessories that would set trends.
"By the way, how do we find a Stone Dwarf who knows how to handle this enhancement stone?"
"Even if we find one, we can''t enhance right away if they''re not on the 50th floor, right? It would take over a day to run to the city on the 49th floor."
"...Oh, right?"
"W-what?!"
But there was a minor yet crucial problem: we didn''t know any blacksmiths. We knew some Stone Dwarves, sure, but no blacksmiths to speak of.
Sure, we progressed through scenarios with Stone Dwarves like Old Bobo and Granny Shasha, and used plenty of Stone Dwarf shops while staying in the underground city... but we naturally wouldn''t know much about master blacksmiths skilled in handling special enhancement stones.
For starters, the named NPC Old Bobo seemed more like an engineering expert specializing in vacuum stones, while Granny Shasha was closer to a civil engineering expert who planned and built the city.
Good weapons came from the fingertips of legendary blacksmiths. Katie, nicknamed "Loli" for her romantic notions about weapons and knights, trembled like an otaku hearing that collaboration merchandise was about to sell out. But perhaps Lukius''s luck had rubbed off on her as well.
"Enhancement stone? One with mana in it? Hmm... Go see Old Didi. He''s been grumbling about having no work lately."
"Ah, I see. Thank you, brother."
With a single question thrown out while buying groceries in the market of the underground city on the 50th floor, our dilemma was immediately resolved. We heard there was a master craftsman whose work had dried up because the nobles who bought special enhancement stones weren''t actually getting enhancements done.
Ah, come to think of it, this must be a required quest.
There''s no way an NPC to progress the main scenario would be absent or too difficult to find.