Chapter 97

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While exploring the ruins of the Nohm, it became evident that this mysterious ancient race also enjoyed gambling. Many of their creations exhibited a significant element of randomness. For example, the 'Food-Random Box' piled up in the Laputa warehouse and the 'Random Temperature Faucet' in some shower rooms were designed to offer the thrill of hitting a jackpot or a dud, depending on probability. 'And this is the representative item of that kind.' When a coin is inserted and the lever is pulled, one of the many 'material items' stored in an external subspace falls out randomly. 'However, even though they were a technologically advanced race, to enjoy a gacha game with material items as rewards to the extent of a national pastime... they really were perverted.' In fact, the one who enjoyed the Nohm's perverted tastes the most was none other than Lee Hyun-wook himself. He had attempted more 'draws' than any blacksmith or alchemist. Although he did not particularly enjoy gambling, it was almost the only way to obtain rare metals that could not be acquired with money, no matter how much one had.

Bam-bam—bam—bam—bam—!

...Just like now.

'What, a fanfare from the start...'

Soon, with a clunk, something fell into the lower prize dispenser. It was... a round capsule containing a prize.

Lee Hyun-wook twisted it open, and the dwarves watching from the side jumped in shock when they saw the contents.

"Huh—That, that is—!"

"Oh, my God... It's the Heart of the Star!"

-You have obtained 'Magnetar Crust Piece.'

A neutron star, the remnant of a star that has burned out, with the Magnetar being the most powerful among them, seemed to be the inspiration for this item. Of course, its actual 'attributes' would be distinctly different.

Rumble—!

If it were a neutron star, it would have emitted a powerful 'magnetic field' that would have disintegrated everything in the vicinity at the atomic level. However, this item was emitting a dense 'mana' wildly.

Lee Hyun-wook sensed the flow of mana and marveled anew.

'...Practically infinite mana.'

Well, strictly speaking, it was a condensed form of an enormous amount of mana, which would eventually dissipate and vanish after being fully released. However, from a human perspective, the sun would also eventually burn out, but it was practically 'infinite energy,' and this was a similar concept.

'As far as I know, the core I swallowed during the Fourth Wave also contained a small amount of this.'

In other words, this single small gemstone could create at least five or six such monstrous engines.

Indeed, it was a fitting item to be called the 'Heart of the Star.'

"That, that! You, you won't have any use for it, will you...?"

The dwarves, who had gathered around, swallowed hard. They looked like a pack of dogs eagerly waiting at their owner's dining table.

"No, I will... no, I will use it."

The dwarves then openly showed their disappointment.

"No... I'm not trying to belittle you, but such a precious material should be handled by a true expert! And that's us, isn't it?"

"Yeah, if you let us handle it, we can make something truly magnificent. How about it, can you trust us? Huh?"

"Or, just sell it to us! I don't have much now, but I'll work my whole life to pay for it..."

Lee Hyun-wook lifted the 'Magnetar Crust Piece' to chest height, avoiding their short, thick hands.

"Sorry, but absolutely not."

Their expressions darkened.

If it were any other metal, he might have invested it to increase their goodwill, but this was something he absolutely could not give away. As Lee Hyun-wook put it in his pocket, the dwarves' eyes filled with regret.

"Well, don't be disappointed. I still have a lot of coins. If something good comes up, I'll trust you with it."

Lee Hyun-wook lifted a plastic bag, and 140 coins jingled inside.

The dwarves' faces lit up.

"Oh, right! It was a grand jackpot from the start, so it's very exciting!"

He drew a few more times, but the fanfare did not sound again.

'Well, these are also quite rare...'

It was just that, after getting something so valuable from the start, even mithril, adamant, orichalcum, and celestial iron didn't seem as impressive.

Lee Hyun-wook stopped drawing when he had 100 coins left.

"How about this? Will you take it?"

Lee Hyun-wook gave the dwarves seven pieces of adamant.

"Oh! Is that true? Adamant is quite expensive, isn't it?"

"Can't you make it even more valuable?"

"Ha-ha! Right, good! How about I show off my skills after a long time?"

They seemed to derive more pleasure from handling the materials than from owning them.

In other words, he wouldn't need to feel guilty about using them.

'Good, if I want to use them well in the future, I need to keep them in a good mood like this...'

Meanwhile, Team Leader Lee Gyo-joon and the staff of the organization led the dwarves to their residential area, the 'Upper City.'

There, numerous mixed-use buildings lined up, and according to preliminary investigations, up to 1,456 households could reside there.

The first residents had just moved in.

"Then, we will interview these dwarves, gather their personal information, and assign roles based on their tendencies and abilities."

Team Leader Lee Gyo-joon said as he approached.

"Yes, I'm sorry, but if you could handle that, I would be grateful. I can't really manage such details."

That was why he needed a large number of 'staff,' and now he had established a solid foundation.

In other words, even without him, the staff would divide their roles and run this massive facility called Laputa.

Afterward, Lee Hyun-wook returned to the Order Tower.

And he immediately swallowed the item.

Swallow—

- Metal absorption will take (unknown time).

'As expected... I need to rest for quite a while to digest this...'

However, there was still one thing he needed to handle.

"Thalos, are you listening?"

- Yes, Master! Do you need something?

Thalos's voice immediately came into his ear. Inside Laputa, he could summon the AI, Thalos, anytime and anywhere.

"Is there a place where items from other races are stored?"

A few days ago, the Black Orc Kingdom declared war on Korea, stating that their 'ancestors' relics were inside Laputa, and they would invade Korea to retrieve them.

'First, I need to confirm if such items really exist.'

Laputa was so vast that it was still largely unexplored.

「Ah... I think you're referring to 」

"Where is it?"

「Yes, it's on the B43 floor of the Lower Research Area.」

Lee Hyun-wook followed Thalos's guidance to that location.

Most of Laputa's floors were still unopened and abandoned. The B43 floor was no exception, and it had a dark, abandoned spaceship-like atmosphere.

Soon, he faced a museum-like space in the center of the B43 floor.

As he entered, the crystal tiles on the ceiling lit up.

Rumble—

The illuminated space was pure white and quite spacious.

"Hmm... Thalos, is this the museum?"

「Yes, it is! The Nohm fought many wars throughout history, and the spoils of war were stored here.」

"So, they kept the loot here?"

「Ha-ha— Not necessarily, some might have been tributes!」

However, it was more like an exhibition hall. A few items were displayed in transparent glass cases, but there were no descriptions. Museums usually provide relevant information, don't they?

'Anyway, everything here... is of considerable quality.'

The entire space was filled with items of at least Hero grade. Among them were some that Lee Hyun-wook recognized.

'Wait, this is... ?'

It was a longbow with a dark red hue.

「Ah! Do you know it?」

Of course, it was a relic of the Dark Elves, and the Dark Elf general used it to shoot down a massive airship.

In other words, it was a tactical weapon, a terrifying bow.

'Was this originally here?'

The Dark Elves, the rulers of the Third Wave area, were likely an unknown race.

Today, the Berlin erosion zone is known only as a green hell covered in carnivorous creatures.

However, it turned out that the Dark Elves' army was expanding underground, and this fact was a secret known only to a part of the German elite.

'So, the villains gave this to the Dark Elves?'

In his previous life, they owned Laputa and used these items to make deals with such monster factions.

And as a result, the neutral Dark Elves likely joined the villains' side and participated in the European conquest.

'That means such an opportunity has come to me to some extent.'

Next, Lee Hyun-wook faced a massive axe.

It was so large that its total length was probably about 5 meters.

'...This is it.'

The Black Orc ancestors' legacy, this must be it.

Lee Hyun-wook placed his hand on the transparent glass.

- This item is currently 'sealed.'

* To unseal it, special conditions are required.

"Hmm... Thalos, can't I take this out now?"

「No, it's a very valuable item, so the Nohm who designed this space set up a rather complex locking mechanism.」

"...What kind of conditions?"

「Each item has a 'soul stone' that can be obtained from the body of the 'leader' of the corresponding race. That's the key. However, the soul stones the Nohm obtained in the past were all lost when the five factions escaped during the attack by an unknown enemy.」

"Really, what a mess..."

「...However, when a new leader is selected for each race, a soul stone is generated in their body, so it can be obtained again!」

Lee Hyun-wook chuckled at this explanation.

'...Isn't this setting a bit forced?'

In other words, to obtain these powerful items, he would need to defeat the leaders—boss monsters—of the races that appear after the waves and steal their 'soul stones.'

Alternatively, like the villains in his previous life, he could give these items to the races in exchange for something... and the system was designed to push him towards one of these two paths.

"...Well, I'll think about it later."

He would inevitably face these races in the near future.

And at that time, these items would be powerful negotiation cards.

***

Lee Hyun-wook assigned tasks to the 'staff' and went into rest mode. Specifically, he activated his internal furnace to its maximum capacity to focus on absorption.

However, even after two full days, there was no sign of absorption, and the pain of his body being scorched continued.

- Metal absorption will take (unknown time).

Well... it took several days to absorb the previous item, and this one was several times larger.

'...Do I have to stay like this for a week?'

Nonetheless, he would get satisfactory results after this period.

'I just need to hold on a little longer.'

Meanwhile, various news came in.

First, the Black Orc Kingdom showed no unusual activity. They were being monitored 24/7 by military satellites, but no troop movements were detected.

And the Chinese guild claiming management rights to Laputa was persistently pressuring the Korean government.

- Chinese Hongdo side: Korea is illegally occupying Laputa.

- Furious Chinese public: "Laputa was originally China's!"

However, the government decision-makers, including Woo Seong-moon, had already decided to ignore the guild, and they did not respond.

This led to speculation that the Korean government was not responding because they had something to hide.

Soon, a video was released showing several large transport planes with the Hongdo mark entering Laputa's dome—boundary.

This indirectly proved that the Korean government had management rights to Laputa.

'Well, it's better to prove it quietly than to argue loudly.'

International public opinion quickly shifted.

- Korean government's quiet proof... Is the Chinese guild's claim a fraud?

- Now it's Hongdo's turn to prove, world's attention focused!

Given the already poor image of the Chinese in the international community, they were starting to be seen as making baseless claims again.

However, that night, Team Leader Lee Gyo-joon received a call.

- ...The Hongdo guild has made another unknown demand.

His voice was filled with worry.

"Yes?"

- They said they have a very specific item name, . They received a quest to become a 'worker' of Laputa and claimed they could be of great help in using Laputa, asking to meet.

At this point, Lee Hyun-wook could not ignore it. If they mentioned an item name starting with 'ancient relic,' it meant they had something real.

And at that moment, a memory surfaced.

'I guess I need to bring these guys to Korea...'

He turned off his internal furnace.

***

36 hours later, at the Incheon International Airport arrival hall,

Click! Click! Click! Click!

Three players from the Chinese guild stood in a photo line.

The people who had been claiming management rights to Laputa for the past few days had finally set foot on Korean soil, and it was even at the invitation of the Korean government.

This led to renewed speculation that the Korean government, which did not have management rights to Laputa, was trying to negotiate with the Hongdo guild.

The Korean government firmly denied this, stating, "This invitation is not for such a meeting," and the Hongdo guild made no comment.

"Since you're here in Korea today, is it related to Laputa? Are you still claiming management rights?"

And to such a reporter's question—

"Once today is over, there will be good news."

They only gave vague answers.

They got into the prepared car and cast the 'Silence' spell.

"Huh, it's hectic... Hey, did the assassination squad arrive?"

This was said by Sa Jun, the deputy master of Hongdo. He was a rank 21 assassin player in China and was known to be the holder of the key containing 'Laputa management rights.'

"Yes, they are waiting for a 'summon' in the southern part of this land."

And the giant who answered was... not human.

"Indeed, fitting of the ones who assassinated our uncle, they are very thorough?"

While saying this, Xiao Jun felt an unusual tension.

"...Human, be quiet."

The giant was surprisingly a Black Orc shaman in human disguise.

'Why are these guys so... so deadly with every word?'

Despite being a formidable player, Xiao Jun involuntarily shrank. This was partly because the Black Orc shaman belonged to the notorious 'Execution Squad.'

Once they targeted someone, there was no chance of survival.

'Our uncle must have died at the hands of these guys...'

His uncle, Dung Chao, once ranked 4th among Chinese players, an S-grade spirit mage, was torn apart by .

Thus, he was somewhat reassured.

Today's operation would succeed, one way or another.

"Well, anyway, since I have this key, I can identify the real manager. Then, when I pretend to shake hands, I'll bind him with the 'rope,' and he won't be able to do anything..."

He stroked the rope-shaped tattoo on his wrist.

Then, the item information appeared before his eyes.

- Name: