novelraw Chapter 33 : Chapter 33
Chapter 33 : Chapter 33
Chapter 33. Turmoil (2)
Bart nodded.
“Understood. I'll look into it, so you can rest. And, um… please try some of this.”
Bart casually pushed the snack box he had brought as a gift towards Riman and then stood up.
He turned on his laptop and started searching for something while making calls here and there.
In the meantime.
Riman and Ji Byeong-seo opened the snack box Bart had given them.
Inside it was…….
“What is this?”
It was filled with something round.
At first glance, they were macarons, but… for some reason, the surface was strangely glossy.
Ji Byeong-seo picked one up and said.
“Hmm? Mr. Leman, haven't you tried this before?”
“What is this……?”
“Macaron tanghulu.”
“Good heavens, diabetes.”
The already sweet macaron was even coated with sugar.
It seemed that this kind of terrible snack was popular in Seoul in the year 2200.
Crunch……
Riman put one in his mouth as a test.
It was disgustingly sweet.
It was the moment he realized that when sweetness surpassed a certain limit, it tasted bitter.
“Ugh……!”
“Ah, it's a little sweet, isn't it?”
“A little……?”
What.
Had the meaning of the word ‘a little’ changed in 200 years?
“Then try eating it with something bitter. It'll go down much better.”
“Ah, like coffee……”
“Vodka.”
“Vodka.”
Looking at Ji Byeong-seo, who was saying crazy things in a soft voice, Riman felt an indescribable emotion.
“The bitterness of the alcohol helps to cut through the sweetness.”
“Is this a two-track method to screw over my liver and blood sugar?”
“What? Ahem, if it's a bit much, you can just take a potion, haha.”
You're the only one in this city who can patch things up like that with medicine.
Just as Riman was looking at Ji Byeong-seo with that kind of gaze.
Twitch-
Saya moved slightly.
Seeing that, Ji Byeong-seo was surprised and said.
“Oh? Is it awake?”
“…It probably reacted to the word 'alcohol'.”
“Yes?”
Thanks to the medicine Ji Byeong-seo had made, its life was not in danger.
But this medicine was only a temporary measure.
He had to get a fundamental solution as soon as possible.
And for that, Bart was now searching through various exchanges.
But……
“Um… Mr. Leman.”
After about 30 minutes of investigation and phone calls.
For some reason, Bart's expression was dark.
Riman knew what would come out of his mouth.
“There's none, right?”
“Yes? Ah, yes.”
What Riman had asked Bart to look for was the egg sac of an insect-type Demonic Beast.
But……
“It's not in the exchanges or the black market. Everyone agrees that it's not a product that comes to the market in the first place.”
“Hmm.”
To be honest, he had expected it.
It was a product that had no reason to be on the market.
An egg sac.
It was a general term for the substance that enveloped the eggs of a Demonic Beast.
You could think of it as a hugely enlarged version of a spider's or mantis's egg sac.
But in reality, this egg sac was not very useful.
It wasn't durable enough to make equipment, and its processability was mediocre.
On top of that, it didn't have any particularly useful properties or components.
“Then is there no way to get it separately by talking to the hunters?”
“Of course, I looked into that as well. But……”
“That's difficult too, right?”
“Yes……”
There were two reasons why it was difficult for hunters to get an egg sac even with a separate request.
First, the egg sac only existed in the queen's room.
Naturally, you had to kill the queen, the boss, to get to the egg sac.
Finding and killing the boss was a very difficult task, so that was the first hurdle.
The second reason was that the standard procedure was to burn and destroy the egg sac during the clearing process.
The egg sac contained literally dozens or hundreds of eggs.
It was natural to burn the eggs and the egg sac together during the clearing process, because if all those eggs hatched, it would be unmanageable.
Of course, if the egg sac itself was useful enough, they would have tried to secure it somehow.
But as mentioned before, the egg sac was almost useless.
There was a good reason why it wasn't on the market.
“Of course, if you pay a lot of money, there will be hunters who will get it for you. There's nothing in this city that can't be done with money. But honestly, I can't recommend it.”
“It's not something that can be done with a small amount of money.”
“That's right.”
First of all, it would take ages just to find the boss room in a Demonic Beast habitat.
The labor costs would continue to rise as time went on.
On top of that, you had to fight a boss, not just any Demonic Beast, so there would be a risk premium.
And you couldn't do it with just one or two people, so you had to hire a surprisingly large number of people.
It was too inefficient to spend money like this.
In that case…….
“I'll go myself.”
“Yes?”
“Mr. Bart, are there any insect-type Demonic Beast habitats currently being excavated in Korea?”
“Are you planning to go in yourself?”
“It seems to be the fastest way.”
“Actually, I thought you might, so I've already prepared the contact information and location.”
Bart turned his laptop and showed him the contact information and map he had displayed on the screen.
Quick on the uptake.
He was certainly a competent broker.
Riman looked at the map and muttered.
“One in Gyeonggi-do, one in Daejeon… it's better to go to Gyeonggi-do. It's closer.”
“Yes. But of course, you can't just go in. Both are being excavated by companies, so you either have to be hired by that company or get permission, one of the two.”
“Aha……”
The one in Gyeonggi-do was a spider Demonic Beast's habitat, commonly known as the ‘Spider Den.’
The company in charge of excavating the Spider Den was a small and medium-sized enterprise called Jeoksong Company.
‘Jeoksong Company……? Was there such a company?’
Riman had never heard of the company before, but he just went with it.
There were more than a few companies in this world.
“So, what I need to do now is get hired at that Jeoksong Company's Spider Den excavation site.”
“I thought so, so I contacted them in advance. But… they're not hiring hunters.”
“Hmm.”
If he was hired as a hunter, he could freely roam the inside of the excavation site under the pretext of clearing Demonic Beasts.
The pay was also quite high.
So in this case, going in as a hunter was the best option, but……
“Then what other positions are they hiring for besides hunters?”
“Miners.”
A Demonic Beast's habitat was also a place where Magic Stones were mined.
To be precise, it was more common for a Magic Stone mine to become a Demonic Beast's habitat.
A place where a large amount of Magic Stones were buried had a correspondingly high concentration of mana.
So the resident flora and fauna were more likely to be altered by mana.
That's why a Demonic Beast's habitat and a Magic Stone mine often overlapped.
Riman said.
“Miners are good. Once I get in as a miner or a hunter, I can manage the rest myself.”
“Yes, then I'll apply as a miner……”
Just then.
“Wait a minute.”
Ji Byeong-seo interrupted.
“Mr. Leman, are you really going to go in as a miner?”
“Yes. Is there a problem……”
“There is a problem. Your left arm is broken. Can you swing a pickaxe with that arm?”
“Ah.”
The left arm that had been broken in the fight with Jade.
He had forgotten about that.
“…Is there any medicine that can mend bones?”
“I'm not some kind of panacea maker.”
“Kuh.”
Still, there was a way.
“Then I'll have to buy a medical support device and wear it on my arm. Then I can move my arm.”
“Will that be okay?”
“Well, I'm not going in to mine Magic Stones, but to infiltrate the boss room.”
With this, everything was decided.
How he would get the Demonic Beast egg sac.
Bart asked.
“Then Mr. Leman, I'll submit your application to Jeoksong Company.”
“Please do.”
While Bart was filling out the application.
Ji Byeong-seo asked Riman.
“But I have a fundamental question.”
“What is it?”
“What does a Demonic Beast's egg sac have to do with treating this creature named Saya?”
“A Demonic Beast's egg sac is a structure for protecting eggs. So, in addition to shock absorption, it has various functions to protect the eggs, such as temperature control, nutrient supply, and mana concentration synchronization. And Saya is an egg.”
“Aha, so……!”
“So it's an essential item for bringing Saya back to life.”
Riman looked down at Saya.
‘Don't die.’
The amount of money I spent to buy you… is secondary.
This creature had suffered such a serious injury while trying to obey Riman's command.
Then it was only right for Riman to do his best to save it.
Give and take.
Take as much as you give, and give back as much as you receive.
This was a principle that had to be observed even in this city, which seemed like a lawless zone at first glance.
If you broke this principle and acted erratically, you might be able to make a profit for a while.
And there were many such people.
But then, you would definitely not last long.
Because there was a reason why principles were principles.
‘Alright then…….’
Riman looked down at his splinted left arm and muttered to himself.
‘First, I need to buy a support device for my arm.’
* * *
The next morning, at the entrance to the Spider Den.
An employee of Jeoksong Company rummaged through a list and asked.
“Leman White, right?”
“Yes.”
After that, after a simple body search and being given a pickaxe.
“Follow that person in.”
Riman took a step towards the entrance of the Spider Den.
At that moment, people carrying various weapons rushed past Riman and entered.
They were hunters.
Those who hunted the Demonic Beasts in the Spider Den to create a safe mining environment.
They also collected the Magic Stones from within the Demonic Beasts.
Riman followed them into the Spider Den.
‘Hoo…….’
He could feel the air change.
As soon as he entered the vast den, Riman could feel it.
That the concentration of mana was much thicker than outside.
It was natural.
This place was a Demonic Beast's habitat and also a place where a vein of Magic Stones was exposed.
It was an enclosed space and there were also Magic Stones, so the concentration of mana was bound to be high.
Of course, its effect on the human body was minimal.
But its effect on electronic devices was significant.
Because electronic devices would malfunction inside.
Of course, devices wrapped in mana shielding equipment or equipped with a Magic Stone generator could be used.
But those were expensive, and of course, they were not used often.
That's why electric drills for mining couldn't be used in a Magic Stone mine.
This was the reason why the Magic Stone miners, including Riman now, had no choice but to use pickaxes by hand.
Clang!
Riman continued to mine Magic Stones.
He planned to mine for a while and observe the situation, and then come up with a plan.
But…….
“Hey you there! Aren't you going to work properly?”
“I-I'm sorry!”
Riman saw.
A person who was constantly being reprimanded and cursed at by the foreman for not being able to work properly.
If their hands slowed down a bit, or if the amount of mining did not meet expectations, curses would fly without fail.
It was a place where the punishment for not being able to work was much harsher than expected.
‘…This is a bit different from what I expected.’
In the game, there was no need to mine Magic Stones.
It was natural, since the main content was hunting Demonic Beasts and bounty hunting.
So Riman didn't know that the atmosphere of a Magic Stone mine was like this.
‘This is a bit troublesome.’
Currently, Riman's left arm was not in a normal state.
He was wearing a support device, but that didn't mean he could exert his usual strength.
On top of that, Riman's original stamina itself was not very good.
‘…If I'm not careful, that could be my future.’
Riman had no intention of working hard.
But he had even less of an intention of being cursed at or drawing attention for not being able to work.
“Hmm… ah, right.”
After thinking for a moment, as if something had come to mind, Riman placed his palm on the rock wall.
* * *
An hour later.
The foreman, who was on his rounds, came to where Riman was.
Then, a very unpleasant sight came into his eyes.
A strangely slow movement, a pickaxe swing that seemed somehow sloppy.
He strode towards Riman with an angry face and shouted.
“Hey you! Where are you slacking off?! Aren't you going to work properly… no… uh…….”
The foreman who came to Riman was at a loss for words for a moment.
Because he had seen the enormous amount of Magic Stones piled up next to Riman.