Chapter 187

The perfectly identical twins went round-eyed at the exact same time. One was the brother and the other was the little sister, but it was impossible to tell which was which from their appearances.

"Eh?"

"Eh?"

The two dwarfs' beards quivered. After seeing this a few times, it kind of reminded me of Senia's wings trembling.

"No way?"

"No way?"

The two dwarfs trundled up to me, the long spears in their hands clattering to the ground. They took the lump of Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron with both hands.

"It really is Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron?"

"It really is Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron?"

The brother dwarf spoke to his sister dwarf.

"Little sis. Is this really possible?"

"Brother. Is this possible?"

The two dwarfs shook their heads simultaneously.

"It's impossible."

"This doesn't make any sense."

The little sister dwarf asked me, "Human. How did you get this? Was there a human among humans capable of collecting this?"

There probably weren't any yet. Collecting a special material like this was typically only possible for Players with classes like 'Miner' or 'Collector'. But I got it, and I got it legitimately. Being overgeared was another form of skill.

Pedro puffed out his chest.

"Ahem."

The shocked reactions of the dwarfs seemed to have injected him with needless confidence.

"Actually, I dug it up with the T—"

Even before I could stop him from saying he dug it up with the Tomb-Pilfering Shovel—

"Shut up."

"Shut up, dumbass."

The dwarfs ruthlessly cut him down. His nostrils flared a little, but he promptly conceded on his own.

"Yeah, these kinds of conversations are fine between manly men."

In any case, the gatekeepers were extremely shocked. Was this such an amazing feat at this point in time? I hadn't hoped for such an exaggerated response, either. The news must have spread somehow, because Elder Bufafa appeared from the wall again.

"This is hard to believe." He took the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron. "To think you really did bring it within one day."

He peered at me suspiciously. "Did you already have it, by any chance? That would be a violation of the commandment. You must tell the truth."

"No. I swear that I did not have this in advance."

Bufafa stared at me.

[The Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire discerns lies and truth.]

I waited for a moment. The commandment would discern the truth.

'I'm not the one who had it.'

I didn't have it in my Inventory; Pedro did.

[The Commandment of Iron and Gold and SIlver and Fire confirms that the statement is true.]

What I said about me not having it was, of course, the truth. I hadn't lied.

"You really did collect it…?!"

[In accordance with the Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire, Elder Bufafa's schedule is forcibly adjusted.]

[In accordance with the Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire, Elder Bufafa cannot gain any monetary compensation or profit from the current commission and job.]

Bufafa's body moved, not by his own will, but as if his body were being moved by some kind of external force. It kind of felt like watching a puppet being controlled by strings.

"I will begin the job right away."

And for free, at that.

[The 'Merchant of Venice' is awed by your trading technique.]

[The 'Merchant of Venice' has sent you a 500 Coin sponsorship.]

The first quest was cleared.

[The quest 'Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire' has been updated.]

The next part was revealed.

[Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire]

You have brought Elder Bufafa 'Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron', thus earning the first qualification. Now, Elder Bufafa will take the 'Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron' and make a 'Fire Bowl'. Bufafa will create the Fire Bowl with his full concentration and sincerity. You will need to pay the appropriate compensation to get the Fire Bowl.

*In accordance with the commandment, the compensation has already been paid.

Thanks to my little trick, the bill was already settled. I gained a dwarf's pricey labor for free. All we had to do was wait. Bufafa would use the Ten-Thousand Year Old Cold Iron to make a 'Fire Bowl', an artifact with which we could safely obtain and transport Millenium Lava.

That would be the next part of the quest. If we kept following the quest line, we would be able to restore the Old Crown before long.

"May I ask how long it will take?"

"Normally, it would have taken two weeks plus three to four hours."

But we jumped two weeks ahead of the schedule. I couldn't help an unconscious smile.

"Three to four hours, then."

* * *

Song Junghye gathered her forces. She was bolder and more enthusiastic than her brother. At least, it appeared so on the outside.

"Alright. The contract has been concluded."

She decided to occupy the Gran Seoul Dungeon. To that effect, she sought out and gathered Players who could exert 'authority' over gates. They weren't very strong individually, but if their powers overlapped again and again, they would definitely be powerful.

Sitting with her legs crossed, Junghye said, "Very well. I'll give the compensation right now. An advance payment of $100k."

$100k per person.

"And if you guys can completely seal the gate and restrict Players from entering like you claim you can, you'll have another $100k."

Junghye smiled lightly.

"Now that you've been paid, you'll need to show you were worth the price."

"Of course."

Junghye stared at the men in front of her. She was the one who brought them together into a temporary guild she named 'Icewall'. Icewall should be able to effectively dominate the Gran Seoul Dungeon's entrance.

The temporary guildmaster of Icewall, Song Byeongchan, nodded. "We won't disappoint you."

"I'll put my faith in you."

Thus was their deal established. Song Byeongchan moved quickly. He found it fun that there were people with similar abilities to him and that he could work together with them.

"From now on, the gate will be occupied by us, Icewall."

They used the item Song Junghye had given them, a 'Stacking Talisman'. Song Byeongchan intentionally spoke aloud.

"A scroll that stacks similar abilities of party members."

That was the cue. The seven Players of Icewall cast their skills.

[Using the special skill Entry Blocking.]

[Using the innate ability Gate Guard.]

…

…

[Using the title skill He Who Rejects.]

And the last one, Song Byeongchan, used his ability.

[Using the special skill Gatekeeper's Permission.]

All the abilities were stacked. Now, no one could go into the Gran Seoul Dungeon without Icewall's—no, his—permission.

Naturally, the Players protested. Song Byeongchan snorted.

"The authorities and skills have already been cast. If you want to go in, go right ahead."

A few Players approached the Gran Seoul Dungeon entrance, and all of them were killed on the spot. One fell with his arrows lodged in his head, and another was shot clean through the heart.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Song Byeongchan shrugged. "That wasn't us. We warned you that the skills are in place. It was those guys who chose to move."

Murder aroused no sense of disgust or guilt in him. This was Playing. This was the nature of Playing from the start.

There was no right and wrong in Playing, only whether it was fun or not. The laws of the real world had no sway on Players. After all, the Players were backed by Intermediate Administrators. That was how Song Byeongchan thought.

It went without saying, but Song Kiyeol of Taeguk Shield also protested.

"What do you think you are doing right now?"

Song Byeongchan recognized Song Kiyeol. A bigshot like Song Kiyeol could not be treated carelessly. Byeongchan deployed the defense he had prepared in advance.

"Combat classes gain profit through combat. Production classes gain profit through production."

"..."

"Then isn't it right for gate-related Players like us to gain profit by using our gate-related abilities?"

An Intermediate Administrator appeared, snickering. They looked similar to a goblin and had two raggedy wings on their back.

"Of course, of course. How an ability is used is up to a Player's capability and discretion."

Pressing the complaint would be difficult with an Intermediate Administrator taking a stand. Song Kiyeol chewed his lip.

'Up to a Player's capability and discretion.'

If so—

"Then it should be fine for us to use our methods to shatter the strange abilities rigged on that gate and go inside."

"If you think you can do it, you are more than welcome to try. That's Playing, after all."

Meanwhile, Song Junghye shook her head upon receiving a report of the situation.

"Brother really is weak."

If it were her?

"I would have used whatever methods possible to kill them."

Icewall was made up of special classes that were very strong when in the vicinity of a gate. In other words, they were markedly weaker when not around a gate. They couldn't camp in front of the gate 24/7. They had to at least go to the bathroom and go eat.

Her right arm, the man who would later gain the name Kang Woongmin the Adamant, listened to Song Junghye in silence.

"If they're killed, the skills on the gate will all disappear."

"..."

Junghye bit her nails. "As I thought, Oppa isn't qualified. He isn't qualified to lead Sungshin."

She resolved herself once again.

"I will be the one to take Sungshin."

Not her indecisive and pushover brother, but her. She was sure that she could inherit Sungshin and raise it to new heights.

* * *

After exactly three hours and thirty minutes, Bufafa emerged from his workroom, drenched head to toe in sweat.

"Here it is."

In Bufafa's hand was a seemingly ordinary brass bowl.

[Fire Bowl acquired.]

The quest progressed further.

[Acquire 'Millenium Lava'.]

"You said you already know where Millenium Lava is located. I think you won't need to waste any time finding it."

"..."

"However, transporting Millenium Lava is extremely difficult and dangerous. Especially for a human."

I knew that as well. One misstep, and I could be burned to death.

"Don't worry." I looked Bufafa directly in the eye. "Please trust me."

"..."

I had already seen the Millenium Lava, and I had the Fire Bowl in my possession. I combined these two factors and ran a mental simulation.

The result was simple.

'I can definitely do it.'

"I won't disappoint you, Elder."

"..."

I immediately returned to the Tutorial Building. The Coin expenditure didn't matter. Time was more precious than Coins. I could save time and just earn more Coins.

My destination was the Gwanghwamun Dungeon.

'I can just collect the Millenium Lava and leave by clearing the Gyeonghoeru field.'

Things should progress smoothly if that worked out. For now, I decided to go get the Millenium Lava alone.

[Enter the Gwanghwamun Dungeon?]

I entered the dungeon, then passed the King's Road like I'd done many times before and stopped in front of the lion statues. Armed with the Fire Bowl, I could now collect the Millenium Lava.

'I just have to carefully fill the bowl.'

Thanks to the 'Pure Person of Fire' title I now had, my sense of fire ki was greatly enhanced. I felt a familiar energy.

'I can't feel its nature.'

The fire ki of Fire Giants was violent. Athenae's fire ki was clean. I couldn't feel a particular nature from the fire ki of the Millenium Lava flowing from the lion statue.

[Fill the Fire Bowl with Millenium Lava?]

I began using the Fire Bowl's ability to collect Millenium Lava. I wasn't physically reaching out to fill the bowl. The Fire Bowl automatically started slowly filling with Millenium Lava, which agitated the fire ki in my body. Fire ki that had no nature came blazing into my body.

'If my Person of Fire title hadn't been upgraded…'

If I hadn't experienced fire ki multiple times already—

'I might have seriously been burned to death.'

That was how fierce this fire ki was—it was stronger than expected. However, it was still within permissible range. I would definitely be able to get out of here with the Millenium Lava I needed.

'But…'

Collecting the Millenium Lava was smooth sailing.

'The problem is…'

There was a tiny hitch I hadn't anticipated.

[A disruption of harmony has been perceived due to an external factor.]

The entire field began to tremble.

'A disruption of harmony.'

I quickly realized what that was.

'Two lion statues. One exudes heat ki, while the other exudes cold ki.'

But I collected a portion of the heat ki.

'I'm the one who broke the harmony.'

[The disruption of harmony creates a crack in the harmony.]

It wasn't visible to the eye, but Observer's Eye could see it. A crack appeared in midair. It was still small, but I knew that it would grow bigger and bigger until it destroyed this very space.

'If that happens…'

I would die. I would perish along with the field. A massive dam would collapse because of a very small crack.

'I had to recover harmony now, while I still can.'

How?

[The collapse in harmony has begun.]

I didn't have much time. The field's collapse would progress faster and faster.

'At most…'

I had approximately five minutes. I needed to come up with a way to recover harmony within five minutes.

'I'll find a way.'

There had to be a way.

[The 'Whispering Devil' is having fun.]

[The 'Nameless Observer' observes.]

[The 'Night of Shooting Stars' is focusing.]

I didn't have time to pay attention to the Guardian notices. At least in this moment, their notices weren't important to me.

'Harmony.'

I could definitely make it. I focused. I would find the path for sure.

'No, I'll forge the path.'

I wasn't sure, but I started to glimpse the way forward.

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