## Chapter 247 – 247. The Starting Floor (3)
#247. The Starting Floor (3)
Arcana’s land prices are high.
The constant influx of new players and the well-developed infrastructure in the lower levels have led to a continuous population increase, but the city’s area is limited, making it unavoidable.
My total assets are 76,127 WP.
Adding the WP of the other three, it comes to about 100,000.
I don’t know the exact market price, but this should be enough to get a clan house.
I managed to get it in a week, but even 10,000 WP was a considerable sum in the lower levels.
Of course, using WP to buy a building wasn’t a very wise choice.
The Tower’s basic currency is ‘Lua,’ not WP.
You can exchange 1 WP for 100 Lua, but you can’t exchange it back.
Since 1 Lua is worth 100 won, a simple calculation would put 1 WP at a value of 10,000 won in Korean currency.
But the reality is different.
The inability to exchange back means that, depending on the situation, you could have hundreds or thousands of Lua and still not be able to get even 1 WP.
Unless it’s really urgent, exchanging WP for Lua is insane.
But that doesn’t mean I can just not get a clan house.
The purpose of creating a clan varies, but most prioritize recruiting companions for the Tower’s trials.
Now that I’ve reached the 5th Circle, I could go straight to the middle levels without any problems.
But things will be different after that. According to Lucifer, there are levels that semi-force party play.
It’ll be too late to try to find companions then.
Nine out of ten will already be affiliated, and the rest will be flawed.
It’s much cheaper to find reliable companions in the lower levels and develop them yourself.
‘Even if Lucifer and Yua-rin take the front line and I and Iserin take the rear, I’m worried that there isn’t a single pure tank.’
Besides, we also need administrative talent to take charge of the clan’s operations.
Considering all that, a clan house was essential.
Of course, we’ll have to get a new clan house when we go to the middle levels, but until then, it’s better to base our activities in Arcana.
Fortunately, I had a way to get a clan house without exchanging WP.
***
Clans are divided into regular clans and underground clans that commit illegal activities.
Black Roar.
An underground clan that operates mainly in Arcana, dealing in usury, smuggling, and gambling.
The reason why such guys’ clan house can be openly located in the commercial district is simple.
Here in Arcana… no, in the Tower, usury and gambling aren’t illegal.
Of course, smuggling is illegal.
If there was solid evidence, not only the clan leader but also the executives would be dragged to jail.
‘Was the clan leader, Christopher, a player?’
I was able to get some minor information from a bar on the outskirts of the commercial district. Of course, nothing significant.
For the record, I had the other three stay at the hotel. It’s easier to move alone in situations like this.
As I was walking around the commercial district, as expected, I noticed I was being followed. The footsteps were faint, so they were pretty good at tailing me.
But the fact that they revealed themselves as soon as I entered an alleyway made me think I overestimated them.
Do they not realize they were lured?
After that, I tortured them appropriately to get information about Black Roar.
The guys who initially kept their mouths shut were eager to spill information after a few rounds of bone-crushing torture.
I’ve been practicing lately, and I felt proud to see how effective it was.
“Is this the place?”
“Y-Yes…!! This is our Black Roar’s clan house!!”
I dragged the guy, whose limbs were half dislocated, by the neck towards the outskirts of the commercial district.
There were a total of five who attacked me, and I brought the one who seemed the quickest as a guide because I liked him.
The rest? Well, the last time I saw them, they were lying on the street.
But they probably won’t be able to get up for the rest of their lives.
“…Aren’t you guys an underground clan?”
“Y-Yes! That’s right!”
“Then why is the building so clean?”
Honestly, since they were an underground clan, I expected it to be covered in dirty paint, with trash rolling around.
But what’s this?
The exterior walls were a clean white tone, and there wasn’t a speck of dust around.
“H-Hehe… The clan leader emphasized that unmanaged buildings lead to a decline in real estate value…”
They were unnecessarily economical for criminals.
Thud-
「You have killed Josh Nelson.」
「+601WP」
I threw the guy I brought as a guide onto the floor and walked towards the clan house.
There were guards standing in front of the building.
As soon as our eyes met, they drew their swords. They seemed to know who I was.
“Stop! Knowing that this is Black Roar’s clan house-“
Bang!
Before he could finish his sentence, the guards flew away and crashed into the front door of the clan house.
“I came to see the building, but what kind of manners are those, drawing your swords first?”
The inside of the building was filled with the reek of stale cigarette smoke.
Stepping over the fallen guards on the floor, I entered, and murderous gazes poured down on me.
As expected of a den of criminals, they all looked filthy. Putting aside their ugliness, it was as if their faces said they’d killed people.
“What?!”
“That guy killed Jack!”
“Attack! It’s an attack!”
“Everyone, come out quickly!”
“What big shot is this?!”
“How many are here?!”
The commotion grew louder and louder at the sight of the guards lying under my feet. Soon, Black Roar members poured out from all over the building.
They were like cockroaches.
As if they were used to this kind of commotion, some were aiming at me from the second-floor railing with arrows nocked on their bows.
Regardless, I activated the barrier I had prepared in advance.
From now on, no one can leave here until I allow it.
In the short standoff, someone leisurely walked down the stairs.
It was Christopher, the clan leader of Black Roar, who was over 2 meters tall, with a burly physique and tattoos covering his entire body.
“You’ve lost your mind for a new player.”
The guy who came down to the second floor looked down at me and exuded a murderous aura.
Ting-
「’Incomplete Moon’s Eye’ is activated.」
「Name: Christopher
Age: 43
Contract Constellation: –
Affiliation: Black Roar
Authority: –
Exclusive Trait: Cursed Tattoo (B)
Exclusive Skill: –
Traits: Murder (B), Combat (B-), Quick Movements (C+), Concealment (C), Poisoning (D+)…
Skills: Bombardment (C), Explosive Fist (C-)」
As expected, he didn’t live up to my expectations.
Well, even if they’re called underground clans, they’re just a group of losers who gave up climbing the Tower.
There’s no way the guy who struts around on the first floor would be strong.
It goes without saying, but there is no further growth for players who have given up climbing the Tower.
Of course, you can buy traits, skills, or elixirs using WP, but there are limits to that as well.
Moreover, rumors are circulating that the scale is not what it used to be due to the newly appointed lord of Arcana.
The source of the rumors?
Well, it’s the guys who were subjected to my bone-crushing torture.
“How dare you ignore my words-“
Splat.
At that moment, the heads of the archers who were aiming at me from the second-floor railing flew off simultaneously.
Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere.
I decided not to worry about bloodstains or anything like that. I’m going to tear everything down and redo the interior anyway.
“Wait, I’m looking at the building.”
“…”
「Name: Kang Hyun-woo
Age: 21
Contract Constellation: Fallen Star (Temporary Contract)
Title: Snake Hunter
Affiliation: –
Authority: Black Flame (C)
Exclusive Trait: Path of Magic (S), Unbreakable Diamond Body (A-)
Exclusive Skill: Fire Magic (A)New!, Lightning Magic (A)New!, Light Magic (A)New!, Dark Magic (A)New!, Incomplete Moon’s Eye (B-), Red Cloud Thunder Palm (C), Melee Combat (C), Murderous Intent (C)…
Trait: Magic Resistance (D-)
Skill: -」
As I reached the 5th Circle, I became able to manipulate the elements of light and darkness. It was light magic that blew the archer’s head off just now.
Earth and wind are still to come, but it’s only a matter of time.
“…What the hell are you?”
“Why are you asking when you know? You just said I was a new player.”
Unlike before, the guy looked visibly nervous. The other clan members were the same.
They were all rolling their eyes, as if they realized something.
“Hoo… Good, I’ll give you three clan members who provoked you and 1,000 WP. Instead, join our clan. Then we’ll pretend this never happened.”
As expected of a clan leader, he was quick-witted.
But that was also the wrong answer.
Splat.
This time, the heads of the guys who were closest to me flew off. They were all broke, with less than 100 WP each.
The guys who were just watching recoiled in horror at the sight.
“I don’t need that petty money, just hand over the building certificate.”
“…Building certificate?”
The face of Christopher, the clan leader, contorted.
“That damn lord…!!”
Thump!
The guy grabbed the railing and jumped down from the second floor.
He was definitely huge when I saw him up close. His blood vessels were bulging, as if he had injected something.
“Get out, you dog of the lord. There’s nothing I can give you. If you don’t get out within 3 seconds, I’ll kill you.”
Black smoke rose above the guy’s tattoos. It seemed like he wasn’t planning on leaving quietly.
‘Haa… I didn’t want to destroy the building.’
Since things have turned out this way, further conversation was meaningless.
Even if I received the building certificate willingly, I was going to take care of them later anyway.
I’ll just have to think of it as doing that work in advance.
I just have to be careful not to destroy the building.
The moment the guy’s huge fist flew towards me, a flash of light erupted and a beam of light swirled.
“Cough?!”
In a near-instant, the guy was bleeding and collapsed on the floor.
His arms and legs were riddled with holes and tattered. Anyone could see he was seriously injured, but he was better off than the other guys.
At least he was still alive.
「’Dweller of the Swamp’ is thrilled by the scene of bloodshed and fratricide that fills the surroundings.」
「’Dweller of the Swamp’ sponsors 3,000WP.」
「You have massacred a large number of humans.」
「+2,311WP」
「Evil Karma increases.」
「Evil Karma: 1」
What was in Christopher’s eyes as he struggled to look up at me was undoubtedly fear.
“H-How…?!”
I put the corpses into my inventory one by one.
It’s too much of a hassle to clean them up individually, so I’ll just burn them in a suitable place later.
“Is there any need to think so complicatedly?”
Memorize.
It’s a magic that allows you to store magic that has been pre-casted and use it in actual combat without any further calculations.
I could store Shining Ray, a 3rd Circle magic, up to 10 times.
Of course, other mages who have just reached the 5th Circle would be limited to one or two times.
“It’s because I’m stronger than you.”
“Why is a monster like you a new player…!!”
Thud-
I had no obligation to resolve his last question.
「You have killed Christopher.」
「+3,217WP」
“Oh, as expected, the clan leader is the clan leader?”
Killing people was definitely a lucrative and simple business. But there are also risks involved.
If you keep killing, your Evil Karma stat will accumulate like just now.
It might be okay at first, but if your Evil Karma exceeds a certain level, you could end up in jail or have a bounty placed on your head. Not to mention restrictions on entering and exiting cities.
Of course, there are also good points.
Although you may be rejected by constellations of the good alignment, the probability of attracting the attention of constellations of the evil alignment increases even more.
But since they belong to the evil alignment, you shouldn’t expect them to be normal constellations.
Rather, there are many who push players into deadly situations.
Lucifer repeatedly emphasized that it’s best not to get involved with such guys as much as possible.
“Is this it?”
While looking around the office, I found a suspicious drawer with a lock on it.
Click-
Without the need to call a locksmith, I tore off the lock right away.
It was a hit.
“They hid the building certificate in the office drawer?”
Whether it was complacency or they were aiming for the obvious.
Inside the drawer, there were various documents and a small key in addition to the building certificate. It’s probably the key to open the safe next to it.
Click, creak-
As expected, the safe key was correct.
Inside the safe was a wad of cash.
Not only did I get a building with the money I got from the massacre, but I also got unexpected additional income.
I felt good about the satisfactory results.
“Is it about time to finish?”
There’s still a lot of matching time left, but I’ve achieved my goal of reaching the 5th Circle.
Now all that’s left is to reach the pinnacle.
To do that, I’ve decided that it would be better to return to Earth once.
[Would you like to end the matching?]
[Y/N]
“Yes.”
And so, I returned to Earth.
