NoveLight ™
Chapter 47 – Teammates (Part 1)
The cost of the equipment of the Yellow-Haired Four was only 800,000.
5 million gems obtained from the Guild and 1 million obtained through blackmail. In addition, I received 30,000 as compensation from the innkeeper.
The Golden Mask costs about 500,000 stones, but... If I'm going to keep it, let it be.
Of that amount, not counting the 300,000 that I gave to Ainar and the 150,000 that I threw into the sewers, my current state was...
6.61 million stones...
In truth, it was a huge figure. With the current standard of living maintained, it was enough to survive the next 3 years without having to enter the maze. Of course, this calculation was based on the relatively low cost of taxes in the early years.
If you subtract about 70,000 stones for a sufficient subsistence minimum, the total budget is... 6.54 million stones.
I walked hurriedly, remembering the items on the shopping list I had made the night before. However, I did not go to my destination.
"Is this wagon heading to Sector 2?"
— Exactly.
Arriving at the common platform, I paid 500 stones and got into a cart for 10 people.
The original price per person was 250 stones, but I paid that much because the barbarian was too big to allow another person to sit next to him.
Damned discrimination.
For some reason, this made me angry, perhaps because it was a reasonable argument.
"We're here.
After sitting in our seat and falling asleep with saliva in our mouths, we arrived at Sector 2, the northern area of the Commelbi Commercial District. It took about four hours. If we could cross the royal capital of Carnon, we would cut that time in half, but with my current reputation, that was impossible.
After a quick bite to eat at a nearby restaurant, I headed to my destination using a map I had bought in advance. Getting there turned out to be much easier than I thought. It wasn't long before I saw a majestic building in the distance.
[Alminus Central Exchange].
One of my favorite structures in the game, the Central Exchange. It gave you an advantage: you didn't have to wander around town to buy goods directly, but instead you could find certain items much more easily. But in return, a commission was charged for using it.
— Do you want to register for consignment sales?
— No, I don't. I'm here to search for things.
Taking the numbered ticket and waiting for a while, I handed the employee my pre-written documents.
"In total, there are 12 subjects that meet the criteria. Do you want to verify the information?
— Of course.
The fee for finding each item was 3,000 stones. After payment and some waiting, the employee took out a few papers and handed them to me.
"Once you've read everything, you can tell that worker what items you'd like to get, and they'll take you to them.
In the game, you just had to click on the "Buy" button, but I guess that's how it happened in real life. It is clear why such a system was paid. It was payment for labor.
Anyway, let's read this first.
Like the other clients crowded around the exchange, I sat down in an empty seat and began to read the documents. There were only 12 items that met the criteria, so it didn't take long to read them all.
"I want to see that point.
Having chosen the product with the most reasonable price from the list, I went to the warehouse with the help of the staff. After checking several times for defects, I did not hesitate to buy it for cash.
[Expandable Backpack
Storage area: 8 class
Shape: Standard Medium Size Backpack
Enchantments: [Auto Placement], [Individual Replenishment and Removal], [Weight Reduction] (Low)
Price: 2.5 million jewels]
The expandable backpack was a little different from a regular subspace backpack, but with my current budget, I was grateful for at least that. If the storage level was class 8, then it was already 3 times the size of my extra-large backpack.
And it came with all 3 sets of magical enchantments.
In general, it was worth it. Even if I could give up on the [Auto Placement] spell that kept items in the best possible shape, [Weight Reduction] was almost necessary. Think about it. It didn't matter how wide the space in the bag was, as long as the weight remained the same, it was pointless.
In this sense, the same applies to the ease of individual placement of things inside and out.
It was an expandable backpack bought for convenience.
However, if it wasn't possible to easily put and remove an item from your backpack, you'd have to do it in the order you put them in.
In the game, it was already very inconvenient, and in reality it will be even worse.
A little disappointing was that it was in the form of a backpack, but I shouldn't be greedy. I decided to be satisfied with this and returned to my original place with the backpack I bought. Then I continued to search for other objects. My remaining budget was about 4 million stones.
***
[Character equipping an expandable backpack, the inventory has been greatly increased].
***
Now that I've taken care of convenience, it's time to increase my actual combat power.
4 million stones. This was a huge amount, enough to equip yourself with a full set of iron armor or immediately raise the Imprint of Immortality to level 3. None of the options were bad, but I didn't choose any of them. Because now the situation was different.
(P) [The Source of Darkness] is resistance to death while the heart is intact.
I had the Vampire Essence, which was not originally part of my plans.
Because of this, my body won't die as long as my heart was whole.
In other words, strengthening the Imprint of Immortality or installing parts like gaiters would inevitably reduce my efficiency compared to the cost. After much deliberation, I made the final decision.
Raise the level of equipment.
In other words, instead of iron, which was Class 1 metal, I decided to purchase gear made of Grade 2 metal, commonly referred to as the upper level.
***
[Equipping a Lithinum Chest Plate, Item Level +270]
***
Lithinum: Grade 2 metal, twice as light and strong as iron. Its characteristic features are white color and a ridiculously expensive price.
1.91 million stones for one breastplate...
The breastplate I bought through the stock exchange was the same shape as the iron half-armor I sold for scrap, but the price was 5 times higher.
However, in order to use Class 2 metal, you need to earn at least as a level 4 researcher, so this is quite obvious.
Among the equipment for various parts of the body, my reason for choosing the chest plate was quite simple: The more reliably protected the heart, the greater the benefit of the passive skill [Source of Darkness]. In any case, safety was paramount, so there was no arguing. But the second piece of equipment had to be tinkered with until the very moment the purchase was completed.
***
[Equipped with a large litinum battle shield, total item level +315]
***
Should I replace a weapon or shield that was sold for scrap metal? After much deliberation, I paid 2.1 million stones to buy the shield. There were many reasons, but the main one was that I don't need to deal damage now. Until now, I have entered the labyrinth only in the company of one person. However, to climb to a higher floor, a team game with at least four people was required.
This meant that it was more effective to hold the shield and become a living barrier to protect the team.
Vampiric Essence is not a damage essence.
Also, unlike weapons, the shield was a piece of equipment that I could continue to use even after receiving the essence. And without a shield, I felt like something was missing. At that moment, my wallet was completely empty.
Hmm, the gear is starting to shine now.
When I looked in the mirror, my heart felt satisfied. Is this also a change that occurred after I became a barbarian?
***
Björn Yandel
Level: 3
Build: 155
Spirit: 90
Special Abilities: 115
Item Level: 683 (Nov. +585)
Total Combat Strength: 527.75 (Nov. +146.25)
Acquired Entities:
***
By the time I've finished my sensible spending, it's already dinner time. After dining at the same restaurant where I had lunch, I took the wagon back to Sector 13, where my inn was located. After that, the day was over.
Travel time takes too long...
Later, when I really make a lot of money, I'll need to move to the central area. Life on the outskirts is fraught with many inconveniences. Even if this inn was a little closer to the center than the previous one, I still had a long way to go to Dimension Square.
In the end, it all comes down to money...
Since I spent a lot today, I went to bed with the firm intention of making even more money.
***
The next morning, like a diligent barbarian, the first thing I did was go to the library.
I've figured out what I need now, so it's worth going there again.
Gamers had a habit of doing manual labor in their free time. Well, it was manual labor that could be done because it was a reality, not a game. I still lacked common sense and knowledge about this place.
On that note, it would be nice to find a house near the library.
Books were food for the soul. The reason I was able to spend money on the stock exchange was because I was reading about it in the library.
What was the name of that book?
I couldn't remember, but it recorded the average trading prices of goods on the stock exchange over the past 10 years. It was difficult to read because there were so many figures, but there was no better textbook for studying market prices than this book.
While I walked around thinking about this and that, I reached my destination. Nothing had changed from when I had been here before: the smell of books emanating from the entire building, the skinny nerds who had come even before me, and the librarian sitting at the counter with a sleepy face.
"It's been a long time.
When I greeted her like last time, the librarian looked at me and gave me a strange look. Then she muttered:
— ... How?
Oh, did she notice?
"Haha, it's a bib and a shield made of litinum. In total, there were 4 million stones. And this is an expandable backpack on my back-...
— [Parsitiev].
Hmm, no humor as always. I left the librarian to suffer from chronic fatigue. After casting a spell on me, she began to doze off again, and I went through the library. Thanks to the fact that I was wearing high-quality equipment, I felt more eyes on me than usual. Most of them looked on in awe. I couldn't say exactly what those looks meant, but any other looks were embarrassing, so I decided to think so.
... Was it too much to come to the library in full armor?
It's possible. But who cares? I am a barbarian.
I decided to stop worrying and go about my business. After typing a few keywords in my mind, I pulled out a bunch of books:
After being framed and nearly killed, my interest in the Explorers Guild, institutions under the direct control of the Crown, and the law grew. There is a well-known saying: "Power is in knowledge, knowledge is in power." Therefore, you need to learn, no matter what it takes.
After going to eat every 4 hours and returning to the library to read, another day came to an end. I decided to read the books that I had not yet had time to read tomorrow, and returned to the tavern.
I received a letter, which had never happened before. Sender: Explorers Guild. The letter said that Hikurod Murad wanted to meet with me.
It looks like I won't be able to go to the library tomorrow.
After wiping the shield and bib with a dry cloth for an hour, I lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
***
I had some free time in the morning, so I slept more than usual. It was a little after noon when I washed my face slightly and headed for the meeting place.
*Zing!*
The shop was a tavern, a restaurant, and a tavern at the same time. Entering the hall on the 2nd floor, I saw quite a few people eating and chatting. After looking around for a while, I finally found the one I was looking for. After all, dwarves were so small that they were hard to find. I wanted them to eat standing up. Although wasn't it the same in any case?
"It's been a long time, Hikurod.
"Ha!" It was really you! You've been marked as rank 7, so I wasn't convinced-...
The dwarf, who had greeted me with a smile, suddenly flinched at the sight of me.
"Wait, what kind of equipment is this?"
Oh, so you noticed him too.
I answered as if there was nothing special about it.
"Oh, this?" As you can see from this brilliant luster, this is lithinum armor and shield. And this on my back is called an expandable backpack. Nothing much. Just what I bought for the next run.
Indeed, it was a trifle.