novelraw Chapter 113: Balance
Chapter 113: Balance
"Nice, Guild Master, solid as always!"
Leon gave Marlon a thumbs-up, then went back to filling out the registration form.
Once it was done, he handed it to Marlon, who gave it a quick look. Seeing no issues, Marlon put it away.
"Alright, the paperwork’s finished. Whether it passes the main review or not, I recognize you as an adventurer here. So, Leon, welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild."
Marlon stepped forward and patted Leon on the shoulder. "Gil and I can guard Stardew Valley for another ten years or so, but in the future, this place will depend on young people like you. I have high hopes for you."
"Do new members get any standard-issue gear or benefits?" Leon shrugged, clearly uninterested in Marlon’s pep talk.
"No. If you want gear, you’ll have to buy it. But first, you need to pay the membership fee." Marlon shook his head, then held out his hand.
Leon stared at him wordlessly but still took out a 20G note and put it in Marlon’s palm.
"Look, you’ll have to buy your own gear, but I can give you a twenty percent discount on your first purchase."
Taking the money, Marlon immediately pulled out a thick illustrated catalog and handed it to Leon.Leon opened it. The pages were filled with armor, shields, and rings—no weapons at all. (In the original game, there’s no armor or shields, only footwear. This is unique to this story’s setting.)
Considering Marlon knew about his Galaxy Weapon, Leon wasn’t too surprised.
"Got a weapons catalog?" Leon asked casually.
The book in his hands suddenly felt heavier, and Marlon simply tapped the cover without saying a word.
Sure enough, after flipping a few more pages, Leon found weapon listings that hadn’t been there before.
It was just like he’d suspected—unlike the fixed catalogs used by the town’s regular merchants, special product lists could change dynamically. The Traveling Merchant’s Directory worked this way, and apparently, so did the Adventurer’s Guild’s catalog.
But after browsing for a bit, Leon closed it. The prices were steep—cheapest iron weapons started at 500G, and rings and other accessories went for at least 2,500G. Completely out of his budget.
"I have a question about wearing rings, Guild Master."
He handed the catalog back to Marlon.
"Let me guess—you’re wondering if you can wear ten rings with special effects, one on each finger, right?" Marlon asked before Leon could say anything.
"Don’t be surprised. Lots of rookie adventurers ask this. I can tell you, yes, you can wear ten rings—but whether you can use all of their effects at full power is another matter."
"What do you mean?" Leon leaned forward, curious.
"Take that Small Magnet Ring you have now—it attracts light objects within about two meters. Even if you wore ten of them, your range wouldn’t jump to twenty meters. At best, it’d be eight or nine meters."
Marlon pointed to Leon’s ring. "In fact, five rings might get you almost the same range as ten. More rings doesn’t always mean more power."
"Because the special energies interfere with each other?" Leon guessed.
"Exactly. Well put." Marlon gave him an approving look.
"If I wore a Magnet Ring along with a different type of ring, would there still be interference?" Leon asked.
"It depends on the number. We usually wear just two rings and carry a few others to swap in when needed. Even if you wore a Flame Ring and an Ice Ring—two that give your weapon elemental powers and naturally conflict—there’d be no interference. You’d still get their full effects."
"I didn’t see those in the catalog." Leon’s interest was piqued—elemental enchantments sounded powerful, and very stylish.
"That’s because they’re rare." Marlon rolled his eyes. "I don’t even have one. I only mentioned them as an example."
"I see." Leon felt a pang of regret. If such rings were for sale, he’d save up no matter what—it wasn’t just the power, but the style.
"Gear is just an external aid. It’s your combat instincts and experience that truly make you stronger," Marlon reminded him.
"Mm."
Leon nodded, expression unreadable. Marlon wasn’t sure he’d taken it to heart, so he changed the subject.
"Since you’ve been in the mines and seen the monsters, what’s your impression?"
"Pretty weak," Leon said after thinking for a moment.
"True, but the deeper you go, the stronger and stranger they get. Be careful." Marlon warned.
"One more question—do monsters leave corpses when they die?"
"No. When they die, they return to their world in the form of energy. Haven’t you killed plenty of Slimes already?" Marlon asked.
"That’s why I’m asking. I’ve seen them weather away into nothing. If they return as energy, then cleared areas of the mine should eventually repopulate with the same monsters."
"Yes. The spatial rifts stay open, and the mine layout isn’t fixed. You reached level five last time, right? You probably smashed a lot of ore. But if you go back to level one now, you might find it completely different from before."
Marlon’s tone grew helpless. "We still don’t know why. Nearly every mine is like this. In the end, we decided Yoba must have designed the world this way—so miners can gather an endless supply of ore."
"If there’s too much ore, wouldn’t that cause inflation? But the prices at the blacksmith’s aren’t that cheap," Leon wondered.
"Because mining is hard work, and no matter how much ore is dug up, it’s never enough to meet the demand from every trade. Plus, discarded ore and crafted items eventually return to the earth—just like the monsters—rejoining nature. That’s Yoba’s balance."