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

50 – Sovereign of Darkness (3)

Two days since the Larutania territory’s dungeon had opened.

Realizing that an endless stream of monsters appeared within Larutania’s dungeon, most mercenaries were vigorously exploring the maze to earn even a single penny more.

Meanwhile, evening was approaching, and mercenaries were taking a break, gearing up for the final push tomorrow.

“Ah, it’s going to end tomorrow.”

“Yeah, kind of regrettable.”

“Ah, they won’t keep a maze like this open for more than three days for sure.”

“Ugh, if we have to keep running these guard duties, it’ll be exhausting.”

The mercenaries were filled with a profound sense of regret as the open period for the labyrinth, ending tomorrow, drew near.

The denizens of Larvania felt the same.

Naturally, once this labyrinth open period concluded, the mercenaries would naturally depart, and the revenue for the denizens would inevitably dwindle back to its original state.

Thus, as personal regrets began to echo here and there, Kim Hyunwoo ascended a platform.

The moment he took the stage, the mercenaries began to gather in the square, just from the motion of him preparing something.

“Allow me to announce some important information from now on.”

As the square started to fill up to a certain extent, Kim Hyunwoo began to speak.

“As you all know, starting tomorrow noon, mercenaries will no longer be able to roam Larvania’s labyrinth.”

A tinge of disappointment showed on the mercenaries’ faces upon hearing those words.

Observing them, Kim Hyunwoo continued.

“However, even after tomorrow noon, there’s a way for all of you to enter the labyrinth.”

At this, the mercenaries instantly buzzed with excitement upon Kim Hyunwoo’s following words.

Observing the square quickly filling up with murmurs and the swift attention of the mercenaries, Kim Hyunwoo waited as if he had anticipated this moment, then pulled out a card from his pocket.

Resembling, in the real world, a card of the size of a credit card, Kim Hyunwoo produced it.

“With this membership card alone, you’ll be able to mine mana stones within the labyrinth anytime, anywhere.”

As if to show the gray-gleaming card in detail to the mercenaries, he flashed it once and continued speaking.

“The membership you see before you is, in simple terms, an entry pass to the Larvania labyrinth. It can be obtained from our territory at a price of 5 gold coins.”

The mercenaries murmured in excitement at Kim Hyunwoo’s words.

Their excitement was expected.

Though for Kim Hyunwoo, the basic currency that came to mind regarding managing the territory was ‘gold coins,’ for citizens or mercenaries, one gold coin was a significant amount.

In other words, a card worth 5 gold coins was indeed an expensive price for the mercenaries.

However, even witnessing the buzzing mercenaries, Kim Hyunwoo calmly continued speaking.

“Furthermore, once you purchase the card and enter, you’ll now be required to pay a 50% tax on mana stones obtained within Larvania.”

At Kim Hyunwoo’s single statement, this time, the mercenaries buzzed a bit louder.

Now amid their buzz, faint voices of discontent began to emerge.

If the tax had been set at 50% from the start, it might have been different, but having to pay both money and now an increased 10% tax within the territory, it was only natural for some dissatisfaction to arise.

Yet, Kim Hyunwoo still looked at the mercenaries with unwavering confidence.

Though there were murmurs expressing dissatisfaction among them, there were no signs of severe complaints or anyone leaving the square.

In other words, if Kim Hyunwoo stopped right here, the mercenaries wouldn’t leave; instead, they would likely spend an extra day just to purchase the card.

“Of course, there might be slight dissatisfaction due to the suddenly raised 50% tax. However—”

However, naturally, Kim Hyun-woo had no intention of ending the announcement here, so he smoothly pulled out the remaining ten cards from his bosom and continued speaking.

“If all of you diligently explore the labyrinth and contribute a considerable amount of mana stones to the Larthania territory at a slightly lower price, we are willing to reduce your taxes based on your public achievements.”

“For instance, with the Bronze card, you can pay only 45% of the tax. With the Silver card, it’s 40%. You can take mana stones with just the current tax rate you’re paying. Is this the end? No.”

Kim Hyun-woo displayed gold-colored cards and cards emitting a blue light in front of them.

“The Gold card you see here allows you to take mana stones by paying only 35% of the tax after a 15% reduction, and this last Platinum card can be obtained with a whopping 20% tax reduction, allowing you to take mana stones at 30%.”

As his words ended, the mercenaries once again stirred with excitement.

Looking at them with a smile, Kim Hyun-woo said, “I will start selling these cards at the stall in front of the Lord’s Castle from the moment I make this announcement. So, if anyone wants to continue using the labyrinth after tomorrow, please make sure to purchase the cards first.”

About to step down from the platform after finishing his speech, he added, “Oh, it takes some time to make the cards, so if you have any thoughts, it’s advisable to apply quickly as the wait may exceed a week.”

Finishing his words, he descended.

At the same time, the mercenaries exclaimed:

“Hey, where’s the Lord’s Castle!”

“There it is, you idiot! Run!!”

“Uh, uh, uh? I don’t have money!? How am I supposed to—”

“Is that the problem!? First, run and buy the cards! If you can just do the work inside, you can earn 5 gold coins quickly!!”

“Move aside! I’m first!!”

“No, I’m first, you bastard!!”

In an instant, they began rushing towards the Lord’s Castle.

####

“Phew-“

Kim Hyun-woo looked at the mercenaries crowded beneath the Lord’s Castle with a satisfied smile.

Due to the overwhelming number of mercenaries, aside from the soldiers guarding the rest area in the labyrinth, everyone else was guarding the card-selling location. Elena, too, was busy commanding the soldiers, but a smile formed on her lips.

The fact that everyone was busy meant that Kim Hyun-woo’s affairs were going well as expected.

Thus, just as Kim Hyun-woo was about to raise an alert to check his upcoming schedule with a satisfied smile.

—-

In the territory, ★★★★★☆ Hero ‘Absolute Master of Darkness’ has entered.

—-

“??”

Suddenly, a notification window appeared before him, and without realizing it, he wore an expression full of questions.

That’s understandable, as from Kim Hyun-woo’s perspective, this notification window seemed entirely out of place.

So, as Kim Hyun-woo stared blankly at the notification window, lost in thought for a moment…

Thud!

Suddenly, in front of the space that had been empty just a while ago, Kim Hyun-woo realized the presence of a woman.

Cloaked in a darkness deep enough to swallow everything, adorned with a dark hooded cape, the absolute ruler of shadows appeared before him.

“…Lyn?”

Unconsciously, Kim Hyun-woo found himself uttering the name of the ruler of shadows.

####

The absolute ruler of shadows.

No, Lyn forcibly suppressed the emotions welling up inside her.

Even now, she wanted nothing more than to rush into the arms of the lord and be embraced, but she knew.

At least, now was not the time for that.

‘Apologize, apologize.’

Lyn knew what she had to do.

However, standing before him, she couldn’t grasp what words to say.

Tears were the only thing welling up.

The fact that he, who she thought she would never see again, was now here.

…And the fact that he called her name, her heart was pounding uncontrollably.

“Hu-“

Knowing she couldn’t continue like this, Lyn forced herself to breathe, but her heart, which had never raced even in the face of heroes who could take her life, was pounding madly just because one man stood before her.

“That… that-“

Deciding to abandon calming her heart, the absolute ruler of shadows chose to speak first.

‘First, from the beginning, we need to talk step by step-‘

Although Lyn heard about Kim Hyun-woo’s return a bit late, she was well aware of the history of Larthania.

She knew about the damned wolf that first came and informed Larthania’s territory of the impending crisis. She also knew that the territory had faced crises several times before.

So, she had to offer an explanation for that.

“First, I apologize for coming so late. It took me too long to retrieve the item—too long…!”

“…Item?”

Of course, all the excuses were ready.

The excuse was about the ‘Executioner’s Blade.’

In fact, due to Lynn conspicuously buying items in Rapenghan, rumors had already spread, and those rumors were sure to reach the ears of the lord soon.

It was certainly not a good thing for Lynn. However, that’s precisely why she wanted to create an excuse using those rumors.

An excuse that she had lost her Executioner’s Blade while searching for it, as someone had stolen it and put it up for auction in Rapenghan. A delay caused by that incident.

At the same time, Lynn wanted to show sincerity.

She wanted to ask for forgiveness by displaying all the gifts Kim Hyunwoo had given her until now, showing that she had never treated any of his gifts lightly, even for a moment.

Therefore.

“Actually, I accidentally lost my Executioner’s Blade… someone took it without me knowing and put it up for auction in Rapenghan! Because of that, I was a bit late in coming to the territory, trying to recover it…!”

The absolute ruler of darkness spoke.

“…The Executioner’s Blade of the Rapenghan territory?”

“Y-Yes, someone secretly took my Executioner’s Blade and put it up for auction-!”

“Uh… that, where is it?”

“…What?”

Lynn felt her head spinning.