I Entered a Gacha Game That Had Been Abandoned for 10 Years

44 – What? (1)

Amidst the cheering at the news of the Executor’s echo resonating from the absolute ruler of darkness, Hyunwoo Kim began to exclaim to Elena.

“The boss on the third floor is the Quartz Golem. Naturally, being a golem that moves with magic stones, it won’t tire easily, and its attack and defense capabilities will be outstanding.”

Hyunwoo was discussing the third floor with Elena.

“However, it shouldn’t be a difficult opponent for you, Elena. The Quartz Golem moves slowly and its actions are sluggish. If you just remember the positions of the weaknesses I’ve mentioned so far, it won’t be difficult to defeat the golem. Actually, on the third floor, you should be careful not of the boss but of the monsters around it—”

Hyunwoo continued to inform Elena about the details of the third floor.

In fact, he had called Elena beforehand to talk yesterday, but he judged it best to go over it again as a review. So, even before setting off for the third floor, he was discussing it with her.

“Well then, I think I’ve told you everything you need to be careful about. Please take care and come back safely. Also, make sure to inform the soldiers and mercenaries about the monsters on the third floor.”

“Yes.”

At Hyunwoo’s subsequent words, Elena smiled faintly, concluding the conversation and leading the soldiers and mercenaries down to the third floor.

Watching the soldiers and mercenaries entering through the window of the Castle of the Sovereign with Elena, Hyunwoo pondered.

“Will it be alright?”

Actually, according to Hyunwoo’s own assessment, there was hardly any need to worry about the third floor.

While the dungeon became more challenging as they descended, Elena’s current stats were sufficient to clear the third floor. Even though the units that hadn’t been upgraded despite their increased proficiency might die, he had employed mercenaries in large numbers.

Having mercenaries would, at the very least, prevent the soldiers from dying as much as possible.

“Of course, I should refrain from taking soldiers into the fourth floor and beyond for now.”

That wasn’t a problem to be concerned about immediately.

In the first place, the layers required for Hyunwoo to create the labyrinthine city he desired were only up to the third floor.

So, for now—

“Once we conquer the third floor and come out, we can immediately start the labyrinthine city. There’s no need to worry about that, but… what about resources?”

Watching Elena completely immersed in the labyrinth now, Hyunwoo diverted his thoughts and worried about resources.

Thanks to the remaining magic stones, the workshops in Larvania had all been repaired. However, naturally, the rate of resource production couldn’t keep up with the development speed of the territory.

Using the blue stones would gradually become wasteful, and waiting for progress was too slow.

“Even the trade post I believed in would only be possible with good relations with nearby territories.”

Regrettably, at present, Hyunwoo was not in a situation where he could foster camaraderie with neighboring territories.

At the moment, under Hyunwoo’s command, there were only Elena and Rani as heroes.

“…Anyway, if I think about running the labyrinthine city in earnest, things will naturally fall into place then. Should I consider development around that time?”

Considering these circumstances was the point where Hyunwoo was mulling over what to do.

Far away, on a distant hill, stood Hyunwoo in contemplation.

“…”

Merilda was looking at him.

Lately, her mood hadn’t been all that great.

It wasn’t that there was something wrong with her if you were to ask.

From the beginning, there hadn’t been any significant events for her since the Absolute of Darkness visited last time, and although Gyrall had come afterwards, he disappeared at some point.

In other words, there was no one here who could upset her mood.

No, to be more precise, her recent mood was often better than when she lived in the territory of the Red Eyes she had originally created.

Unlike the times when she just sought him in her dreams without any emotions, she was now directly savoring the appearance of her master every day.

Moreover, the praise she heard last time still brought a natural smile to Merilda’s lips when she thought about it.

…And yet, perhaps because of that, Merilda’s mood was getting worse recently.

Naturally, it wasn’t Kim Hyunwoo’s fault.

If you were to call it a problem, it was Merilda’s problem.

More accurately, it was the problem of praise, and what came after, that she desired.

At first, when she first rejected Kim Hyunwoo and received a gift on the day she came out of the Larthania territory, Merilda thought of supporting him from behind, accumulating affection, and waiting for him to call her again.

Having thought that, Merilda helped Kim Hyunwoo without revealing herself even once.

Silently assisting Kim Hyunwoo from behind, she waited until he realized this fact.

There was clearly no dissatisfaction in her life.

However, at some point, Merilda’s determination wavered when she unexpectedly heard Kim Hyunwoo’s praise.

Honestly, she thought that Kim Hyunwoo’s feelings towards her would not be that pleasant.

But surprisingly, Kim Hyunwoo – no, the master’s feelings towards her were not like that.

Instead, Merilda heard him praise her in front of Elena.

So, Merilda felt an unparalleled joy, and at the same time, she began to think.

If the master doesn’t think badly of her.

If he has slightly better feelings rather than negative ones, wouldn’t it be good to reconsider? – such thoughts.

Certainly, it was a different thought from what she first decided, but the thought that had already invaded Merilda’s mind unconsciously began to test her patience and gradually took over her patience.

‘…Master.’

Lately, when Kim Hyunwoo was alone, Merilda often imagined standing in front of him.

Immediately standing in front of him, asking for forgiveness, and imagining the owner who had rejected her, stroking her head so affectionately.

“…”

Every time she had such an imagination, a smile appeared on Merilda’s lips, but separate from that, each time she had such an imagination, her patience began to intensify, like a thirsty person drinking seawater, becoming even more severe.

Especially these days, there were times when Merilda felt her breath catch in her throat as she watched her master, Elena, talking. In such moments, Merilda found herself thinking that even her patience, which had reached its limit, was now disappearing because she had come up with a way to appear most logically in such situations.

From Noble mtl dot com

However.

“…”

When her patience reached its limit, Merilda quietly reached into her left pocket, a sensation always felt at such times, and pulled out a small box that her master had given her.

Looking at the tiny box in her hand, Merilda suddenly recalled the voice of Giral, which was absent in this place.

“If you want to impress that human man, wouldn’t it be better for you to take a more proactive approach?”

Giral’s words, which Merilda had cautiously considered when the opportunity to appear had disappeared, were not well received at the time.

“…To be praised by the master…”

But belatedly, his words came to mind.

“To take a proactive approach and be praised.”

She murmured quietly, gazing at the lord’s castle.

####

About five hours later.

Kim Hyunwoo, who confirmed Elena and her soldiers coming out after subjugating the third floor when the sun was slowly setting, said,

—-

[Troop Type] Regular Soldiers.

Leader: Maron [Skill Level 100/100]

Number of Members: 200 [View Details]

Combat Efficiency: Good.

[There are personnel available for the upgrade of the upper troop type (200 people).]

[You can advance to the upper troop type ‘Guard’.”

[The barracks level is not high, so the upgrade of the upper troop type is limited.]

[You can advance to the upper troop type ‘Search Party’.”

[The barracks level is not high, so the upgrade of the upper troop type is limited.]

….

…

..

.

[Upgrade Unit Details]

– Basic Equipment –

Head: Helmet

Body: Lightweight armor

Waist: Leather belt

Legs: Leather-covered greaves

Armament: Iron spear. Secondary armament: None

※ Some soldiers have reached maximum proficiency! Proficiency will be saved!

—

“Thank goodness.”

Upon checking the information screen, Kim Hyunwoo confirmed the clean extraction of the troops, not a single casualty, and smiled.

It didn’t take long before Kim Hyunwoo could hear a report about the third floor from Elena, who visited his office.

Having already seen the soldiers and Elena unharmed, he had some foresight, but hearing the report confirmed that nothing regrettable had happened on the third floor, just as Kim Hyunwoo had predicted.

However, there was something noteworthy this time as well.

“The Azure Bone, did it appear again this time?”

“Yes. This time, we targeted the Quartz Golem first as His Lordship suggested, and eliminated the core located on the right leg, which he mentioned was the most troublesome.”

As Elena spoke, she placed the Azure Bone on Kim Hyunwoo’s desk.

It was slightly larger than what he had seen before.

Staring intently at it, Kim Hyunwoo thought, “There must be something in the labyrinth after all.”

With the appearance of the Azure Bone near the third floor, he became convinced that some secret lay hidden within the labyrinth. He hadn’t fully grasped what the secret was, but at least it seemed to be somewhat connected to the Sorcerer Commander of the Azure Forest.

Therefore, for a while, as Kim Hyunwoo gazed at the Azure Bone Elena had brought, he pushed the bone aside and spoke to her.

“Thank you for your efforts this time.”

“Oh, not at all. Thanks to His Lordship, there weren’t any particular difficulties this time.”

Elena replied with a slight smile.

Engaging in conversation with her, noticing that she seemed to smile much more genuinely than before, Kim Hyunwoo said, “Let’s take a break today and discuss things in detail tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

With that, he bid farewell to Elena, who had worked hard throughout the day, letting her rest, concluding the day.

‘Well, shall we start preparing right away from tomorrow?’

Kim Hyun-woo smiled and thought.

The next day.

Kim Hyun-woo, who went to bed later than usual due to investigating a peculiar point on the blue bones last night, woke up around the time.

“Lord Yeongju, the Duke of Tesnoka in the Norba Kingdom has come to visit the domain.”

“…What? The lord has come?”

“Yes.”

Kim Hyun-woo was momentarily perplexed by the sudden news of the lord from another domain visiting, but he welcomed the Duke of Tesnoka.

Soon, Kim Hyun-woo followed the escort of the guards and entered the lord’s office. There, he could see the beautiful Duke of Tesnoka, whose long, purple hair reached below her waist.

And.

“Do you have any intention of marrying me, by any chance?”

From her very relaxed expression, Kim Hyun-woo heard those words.

“…Yes?”

Kim Hyun-woo unknowingly repeated and asked.

Thump!

A small sound came from the hillside visible through the window where Kim Hyun-woo was.