Chapter 32

[Black Wall] [Grade: Legendary]

[The Black Wall of Pandemonium has never been breached except on the final day of the Dark Empire’s fall, and it was a wall with absolute defensive capabilities, among the best in the Mythical Age.]

[It is protected by various ancient Black Magic spells, and randomly inflicts various curses on those who attack the wall.]

…….

[Dark Temple] [Grade: Legendary]

[It is a temple dedicated to the Dark G*d, the center of faith towards the Great Darkness, and the place where Dark Priests reside.]

[Dark Priest Class Change Quest Open (Inactive)]

[Faction Dark Church Unlocked (Inactive)]

…….

[Abyss Lighthouse] [Grade: Legendary]

[This lighthouse was used in the Dark Empire to communicate with the Merfolk, one of the six children of darkness. It remained at the eastern edge of the coast until 10 years ago, but sank and was destroyed without a trace during the Great Cataclysm. If the Black Ring Society had summoned the Merfolk using the Abyss Lighthouse before the battle with the Pirate King in Lawless Port, the Pirate King would have been the one to face defeat.]

…….

Legendary grade facilities with terrifying capabilities!

Out of the numerous constructible buildings, the ones I decided to build immediately were only these seven: City Hall, Training Grounds, Luxury Hotel, Shipyard, Abyss Lighthouse, Black Wall, and Dark Temple.

Among them, there was a familiar name.

The Abyss Lighthouse!

Just as Khalid had said, the Abyss Lighthouse had the function to summon the Merfolk.

I instinctively realized it.

That building this lighthouse and using the ‘Abyss Light’ function was the start of the Merfolk quest.

‘There’s no need to start the quest right now, but I have plenty of money anyway, and it comes with port function enhancement features, plus I’ll have to meet the Merfolk someday because of the Apostle’s Path quest, so building it wouldn’t be bad.’

Thinking that, I looked over the facilities I decided to build once more.

Of course, there were more facilities related to the Dark Empire besides these.

For example, facilities like the Dark Knight Training Grounds that trains Dark Knights, or the Catacombs where Necromancers reside and research immortality and death!

If properly built, they would unlock the veiled dark-type class, Dark Knight, and the Necromancer Class Change Quest that countless people longed for, truly tempting facilities.

However, I couldn’t build those facilities right now.

‘There are no NPCs.’

It was because I lacked the most important thing: NPCs with the relevant classes to serve as class change instructors.

As you could guess from the fact that the Class Change Quest opening function of the Dark Temple was inactive, simply constructing a building didn’t activate all its functions.

The NPCs working in those buildings had to be recruited and filled in through recruitment and other means!

While there were facilities like casinos and luxury hotels that could be easily staffed, in the case of the Dark Temple, because the Dark Priest class itself had never appeared in the previous game, simply building it wouldn’t allow me to utilize all of its functions.

To fully utilize the functions of a facility, I needed the necessary NPCs for that building.

‘Well, considering raising the Dark G*d’s favorability, increasing the culture stat, and the Dark Blessing function, the Dark Temple is a building worth investing in, but buildings like the Catacombs or Dark Knight Training Grounds are a bit of a waste in that sense to build right now.’

The Dark Temple was worth investing in to raise the Dark G*d’s favorability, and also for the city’s cultural stat increase and the Dark Blessing function, but other Dark Empire related facilities were not.

It meant that there was a high probability that they would become money-eating white elephants if I built them now.

‘Unless I recruit NPCs with Dark Knight or Necromancer classes later, building them now is premature.’

Since I needed NPCs with the relevant classes to properly operate the facilities, I postponed the construction of those facilities.

Even though I was rolling in money right now, there was no need to waste it unnecessarily.

Investing money in the right place at the right time!

That was the fundamental principle of territory management, and I knew it very well.

After checking a total of seven facilities, I selected the sites on the holographic map of Lawless Port floating in the air, and soon a notification window appeared before my eyes.

[Total Construction Cost: 170,000,000 Gold]

[Do you wish to proceed with the construction?]

The total construction cost was 170 million Gold!

An enormous amount of money that exceeded 1 billion won in real-world terms!

I poured that money in without hesitation.

“Proceed.”

[Construction is proceeding.]

[Development Level has increased due to the large-scale development project.]

[You can shorten the construction time by distributing construction-related daily quests to users.]

[Do you wish to distribute daily quests?]

Quest distribution!

It was literally a method to shorten the construction time by distributing construction-related daily quests to users.

Of course, the quests naturally required corresponding rewards, and those rewards were usually Gold.

Therefore, quest distribution was, in a way, similar to the concept commonly seen in mobile games, where you pay gems to shorten the upgrade time of a building!

In short, it was like buying time with money.

Of course, distributing quests would be useless if there were no users, but I knew.

That low-level users from all over Ard World would flock to Lawless Port to play the new Warlock class!

Of course, since Warlock was a class that could be changed to from Magician, not all the users gathering would be low-level, but those intermediate and above users had other uses, so it didn’t matter to me.

Anyway, if I utilized the influx of users, shortening the construction time through quest distribution would be a piece of cake.

Of course, the more quests users completed, the more money it would cost.

But Lawless Port had hundreds of millions of Gold donated by Shin Ha-yeon.

‘I’ll spend as much money as I need!’

Thinking that, I said.

“Distribute.”

[Please set the daily wage.]

“10 Gold.”

[Daily wage has been set.]

[Distributing daily quests.]

Daily quest distribution!

After finishing the last task, I exited Management Mode.

[The Dark G*d smiles with satisfaction at your decision to build the Dark Temple.]

[The Dark G*d sponsors you with 10,000 points.]

The Dark G*d’s sponsorship message appeared as soon as I exited Management Mode.

As I expected, seeing the reaction after deciding to build the Dark Temple, it was definitely the right choice.

‘Now the city looks a bit more like a city!’

I smiled, recalling the facilities that had just begun construction.

A super luxurious casino and a luxury hotel!

These were the t*ump cards I had prepared for the city’s development.

And they were also the cards that suited Lawless Port the best.

‘There’s no business that makes more money than gambling!’

Whether in reality or in games, no one would be unaware of the fact that gambling, while carrying addiction and risk for those who participate, is a business like a goose that lays golden eggs.

And the regulations on gambling were strict in both Ard World and the real world.

No, the gambling regulations in Ard World, where gambling itself was considered evil due to the different values of the fantasy world compared to the real world, were even stricter.

Each nation in Ard World prohibited gambling itself, and therefore, most gambling establishments in Ard World were operated on a small scale in the shadows.

But Lawless Port was different.

Lawless Port!

Literally a lawless zone where laws didn’t exist and the dumping ground of Ard World!

Naturally, there couldn’t be any gambling prohibition regulations in such a place, and thanks to that, I had confidently built a super luxurious casino.

The Pirate Alliance. I was filling in the part of the gambling business that they had relatively neglected while focusing on smuggling and the black market.

‘I’ll turn Lawless Port into the Macau of Ard World!’

The Macau, the Las Vegas of Ard World.

A dazzling casino city that attracts not only NPCs but also users!

That was the image of Lawless Port I was aiming for.

To rapidly develop Lawless Port through the casino business and turn it into the largest port city in the east, and then use that influence to swallow up the Gasan Kingdom. That was my ultimate goal.

Just as I was smiling pleasantly while imagining the future.

[Drakan-nim.]

Shin Ha-yeon’s whisper reached me.

[The Pirate King has sent an envoy.]

And her following words deepened the smile on my lips.

The Pirate King!

He had finally started to move.

▄ ▄ ▄

The Pirate King’s envoy!

The identity of that envoy was ‘Skull Crusher’ Edward, the second-in-command of the Pirate Alliance and the Pirate King’s right-hand man.

A legendary pirate infamous for mercilessly crushing the heads of his enemies with his Hero-grade mace, also called ‘Skull Crusher’, just like his nickname, just as Riach, the Pirate King’s left-hand man who wielded Death’s Cog, now dead by my hand.

A muscular giant with bronze-tanned skin and a shiny skinhead entered my view.

I looked at Edward silently and thought.

Reclaiming Lawless Port!

It was absurd for such a big event, a war, to just end vaguely like this.

Moreover, Lawless Port wasn’t just any city.

It was the Pirate Alliance’s cash cow, the endpoint of their smuggling routes, and at the same time, a port city with a good location.

There was no way the Pirate King would sit still after losing such a city.

‘Seeing that the second-in-command has come, it seems the next quest will be quite large-scale.’

However, even so, Edward was a tremendously important NPC, too high-ranking to be sent as an envoy!

Sending such an Edward was like foreshadowing that the next quest would be no joke.

Edward spoke.

“Are you the contractor of the Dark G*d who took over Lawless Port this time? You’re famous. My ears have been burning quite a bit.”

“What if I am? Stop beating around the bush and tell me. What’s your business?”

“Submit to the Pirate Alliance.”

Edward’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“Drake-nim is a generous man. He cherishes those with ability. Of course, you have committed the grave sin of burning Lawless Port and killing Riach, but looking at it from another perspective, it means you have that much ability.”

Edward spoke in a low voice.

“Drake-nim said that he would forgive all your past sins if you swore allegiance to the Pirate Alliance.”

Edward’s proposal was simple and clear.

Excluding the flowery language, the content was simple.

He was trying to scout me because I seemed capable!

Indeed, Edward’s proposal was tempting.

For an ordinary user, that is.

Unfortunately, however, I was not an ordinary user, and I was someone who was confident in doing whatever it took to win the hearts and minds of the users.

If I submitted to the Pirate Alliance now, I might be able to avoid the immediate crisis.

However, in the long run, it would be a huge loss for me.

What was important to me now was public opinion!

The hearts and minds of the users.

And to seize that public opinion, I had to eliminate the Pirate Alliance.

Of course, it didn’t mean I could win over the opinion of every user playing Ard Saga, but at least the users in the east would absolutely support me.

Thinking that, I said to Edward.

“I refuse.”

“You refuse too quickly. But as Drake-nim said, I will show mercy.”

Edward raised his left index finger.

“One month.”

“What?”

“I’ll give you one month. In one month, I will come to collect tribute. If you intend to submit, raise a white flag on the Black Tower. If you haven’t prepared the tribute by then, this city will be reduced to ashes.”

The moment Edward finished speaking, a quest window appeared before my eyes.

[ Crossroads of Fate ]

[Grade: Hero]

[Pirate King Drake is very displeased with you for killing his subordinate. However, he also acknowledges your ability to k*ll his subordinate and take over Lawless Port. He has judged you to be someone who could benefit his alliance.]

[He intends to reclaim Lawless Port, and if you do not submit, he plans to reduce the city to ashes once more.]

[You have been given one month to make your choice.]

[In one month, the Pirate Alliance’s fleet will arrive to collect tribute. Make your stance clear.]

[Will you resist Drake and wage war against the Pirate Alliance’s grand fleet?]

[Or will you submit to him, preserve your life, and become a member of the Pirate Alliance?]

[Everything depends on your choice.]

[Completion Conditions]

[Raise a white flag on the Black Tower and pay 10,000,000 Gold in tribute to the Pirate Alliance]

[Or]

[Successfully defend Lawless Port against the Pirate Alliance’s fleet]

[This quest cannot be refused.]

[You have accepted the quest.]