Chapter 64
“Thank you for your hard work, Drakan-nim. Truly, you always exceed my expectations. If we continue like this, we will be able to achieve our goal smoothly.”
After saying that, Shin Ha-yeon hesitated for a moment and took out a key from her pocket.
“This is a gift that contains my feelings for you, Drakan-nim. I hope you like it.”
What Shin Ha-yeon took out was a car key!
I reflexively received the car key she handed me.
It was a key with a foreign car logo clearly engraved on the keychain.
“It’s a Mercedes S-Class. I thought a more expensive car would be a bit burdensome, so I chose a cheaper one…… Is it okay? Or should I change it to a Lamborghini or Bugatti now?”
Shin Ha-yeon’s voice reached my ears as I silently looked at the key.
Lamborghini, Bugatti!
As expected of a chaebol, I laughed as I watched the names of supercars, so famous that even I, who wasn’t particularly interested in cars, had heard of them, pop out of her mouth.
“No. I like it. This is enough.”
Since I was interested in games, not cars, in the first place, it didn’t really matter to me how much the car cost or how luxurious it was.
However, it didn’t seem to be the case for her, as she looked restless until I answered. Such an expression on Shin Ha-yeon’s face brightened up at my single answer, “I like it.”
“That’s a relief. From now on, if there’s anything you want, please tell me. I’ll buy it all for you.”
Shin Ha-yeon’s words reached my ears as I put the car key in my pocket.
Coming from someone who considered a Mercedes cheap and talked about Lamborghinis and Bugattis, it somehow didn’t sound like a joke.
And so, with a good feeling, I finished the meeting, activated the capsule, and logged into the game.
[Welcome to Ard Saga Second, user.]
The view changed along with the login welcome notification that I was now tired of seeing.
▄ ▄ ▄
The scenery that appeared before my eyes was none other than the Sea’s Edge Blade Fortress!
Since I had logged out after dismissing the users and finishing the aftermath of the event after the naval battle, the fortress was still in its destroyed state.
“Management Mode.”
Seeing that, I immediately turned on Management Mode.
Then, a 3D holographic map of the Pirate Archipelago and a territory information window appeared in front of me.
[Pirate Archipelago]
[Development Level: Intermediate Level 2]
[The Pirate Archipelago is a rocky island located in the middle of the Eastern Sea, a strategic point located at the center of trade routes and a key base in the Eastern Sea.]
[These rocky islands have long been used as a base by pirates who plunder trade ships traveling the Eastern Sea, and Pirate King Drake made the Pirate Archipelago his headquarters after unifying the pirate world of the Eastern Sea.]
[But now the Pirate King is dead, the Pirate Alliance is gone, and a new owner has taken over the Pirate Archipelago. Now it’s your turn to bring the winds of change to the Pirate Archipelago.]
[Military: E (A+)] [Military power has plummeted due to the recent battle.]
[Economy: C (C+)] [The already poor economy has worsened.]
[Public Order: E (F)] [The worst public order is showing signs of recovery due to the occupying forces.]
[Culture: D (E-)] [No one calls looting culture.]
[Population: 22,420]
[Funds Held: 24,343,210 Gold]
[Monthly Income: 350,000 Gold]
[Special Notes]
[Pirates make up the majority of the residents.]
[It is a midpoint in the Eastern Sea trade route.]
[Island facilities were heavily damaged during the battle. The development level has dropped. Repair major facilities to restore the development level.]
[Residents are afraid of you, who sank the fleet and executed the Pirate King. Residents’ loyalty temporarily increases significantly.]
[There are abundant fishing resources near the Pirate Archipelago. The residents of the archipelago, including pirates, have traditionally used these fishing resources as their main food source.]
[View Major Facilities]
[Golden Harbor – The large-scale port that was the home port of the Pirate Alliance fleet. Much of the infrastructure is still intact. Requires maintenance.]
[Reconstruction Priority: D]
[Sea’s Edge Blade Fortress – The former headquarters of the Pirate King. Heavily damaged during the battle. Requires repair costs.]
[Maintenance Priority: B, Reconstruction Priority: B]
[Watchtower – Destroyed during the battle.]
[Maintenance Priority: C, Reconstruction Priority: C]
……
The various figures in the territory information window were quite poor, but I didn’t pay much attention to them.
The development level was a figure that could be raised with money, and I was currently overflowing with funds to operate the territory. If it wasn’t enough, I could just ask Shin Ha-yeon for more.
The important thing now was not the development level.
It was how to utilize this Pirate Archipelago.
Well, there were abundant fishing resources nearby that could be utilized, but the profits from fishing and attracting fishermen were a bit lacking.
This was especially true since the Pirate Archipelago itself was mostly rocky islands, so the land’s productivity was low.
It wasn’t for nothing that it was an island that had lived off piracy since ancient times.
‘As expected, should I develop it as a military base even if I have to take some losses?’
I thought so as I looked at the holographic 3D map of the Pirate Archipelago.
It was good that I won the naval battle, but the Pirate Archipelago was a bit of a white elephant. The land itself had little potential, but it was a strategic point militarily.
Because of the island’s position, occupying this land was essential to holding control of the Eastern Sea. This meant that the Pirate King didn’t build a fortress on this barren land for no reason.
An island with low economic value but high military value!
That was the Pirate Archipelago.
I clicked my tongue and pressed the major facilities item.
[Sea’s Edge Blade Fortress]
[The building that was the headquarters of the Pirate King and the Pirate Alliance.]
[Heavily damaged during the battle. Requires repairs.]
[Functions]
[Can distribute the job ‘Pirate’ change quest.]
[Increases the efficiency of administrative work.]
[Allows for zone maintenance.]
[Allows for the appointment of managers for each zone.]
Sea’s Edge Blade Fortress!
Surprisingly, this fortress had the function of distributing the Pirate job change quest.
In other words, it meant that once the fortress was repaired, a new job called ‘Pirate’ would appear, just like the Black Magician.
Of course, rather than being the real pirates of the plundering Pirate Alliance, they would be treated as a kind of combat class, similar to ‘Rogue’ or ‘Thief.’ However, since a new job was being opened anyway, it meant that a certain amount of floating population could be secured.
I smiled.
The more new content was opened, the more positive my image would become to the users. This was already a proven fact from the opening of the Black Magician and Merfolk content.
Especially if a new job was opened after showing an image makeover through the previous interview?
Public opinion would definitely become even more favorable.
I smiled and checked the repairs of all the facilities in the Pirate Archipelago, including the Sea’s Edge Blade Fortress.
[Total Repair Cost 13,000,000 Gold]
[Would you like to proceed with the repairs?]
A price that was a whopping 7 million gold cheaper than repairing Lawless Port Granado!
Satisfied with that price, I pressed the proceed with repairs button.
[Proceeding with repairs.]
[Total Estimated Repair Completion Time: 10 days]
[Large-scale building repair work will be carried out, increasing the development level of the territory.]
[Once all repairs are completed, the Pirate Archipelago will regain its original appearance.]
Just as I was smiling contentedly,
[The Undead King’s messenger has visited Lawless Port Granado.]
Seeing the one-line message that appeared before my eyes, I immediately ran out of the Sea’s Edge Blade Fortress.
▄ ▄ ▄
The Naval Battle!
The impact of this war, which decided the hegemony of the Eastern Sea, was not limited to ordinary users.
The Ten Great Guilds!
The super-large vested interest groups formed by the veterans of Ard World. They too were shaken by Drakan’s rise.
Among the Ten Great Guilds, excluding Eugene’s Lightwing Guild and his allied guilds, commonly known as the Five Eyes, the remaining five guilds were all owned by large corporations or, if not, sponsored by them.
In particular, there was a subtle rivalry between the two guilds owned by domestic corporations, Simseong Milky Way and JDG. Thanks to the collaboration with Drakan, JDG was doing well these days, so the atmosphere in Simseong Milky Way was like walking on thin ice.
“Can’t you see JDG’s popularity rising? What about Drakan? Do you even know how much advertising effect Jeil Group gained from that? How are we going to catch up to them like this?”
Changwang Rio, the guild master of Simseong Milky Way!
The user who wielded the spear best in Ard World. He was one of the twenty Over-Rankers, a star user with a huge fandom, but in reality, he was just a gamer.
Especially in front of the man sitting in front of him.
“I apologize.”
Rio bowed his head.
At Rio’s words, the face of the man in the suit, Shin Jeong-hyeok, the vice chairman of Simseong Group and the crown prince, distorted.
Shin Ha-yeon, the successor of Jeil Group, no, now the empress who had ascended to the throne after overthrowing even her father through the final purge!
Shin Jeong-hyeok had an inferiority complex towards her.
Simseong Group and Jeil Group were originally one group, but they were split due to a feud between brothers. So, even though they were relatives with the same last name, they were famously known to be worse than strangers.
Furthermore, his father, Chairman Shin Dong-jin, had constantly compared him to the intelligent Shin Ha-yeon to stimulate him, who was destined to be the group’s successor from a young age. Thus, Shin Jeong-hyeok had a tremendous inferiority complex towards her.
For Shin Jeong-hyeok, the fact that Shin Ha-yeon’s JDG was monopolizing the spotlight recently was enough to irritate him.
“Don’t just apologize with words, bring me a solution. A solution! Do whatever it takes to get the spotlight. Go to war like the JDG kids!”
“Understood.”
After being nagged several more times, Rio let out a small sigh as he closed the door of the vice chairman’s office after the reprimand was over.
He let out a hollow laugh at the newfound fact that no matter how well he did in the game, he was no match for the real power holders in reality.
Simseong Group!
The chaebol group that held the most power in Korea until Miracle Entertainment, the game company that created Ard Saga, took the number one spot in market capitalization. A conglomerate that was once so powerful that it was called the Simseong Republic!
As the saying goes, “a tiger may be old, but its stripes remain.” The power of Simseong Group, represented by semiconductors and smartphones, still held immense power in Korea and around the world, even though it had fallen to second place in the business world after being pushed back by Miracle Entertainment.
Rio had no right to refuse the order of the crown prince of such a Simseong Group from the beginning.
“War, huh.”
Rio pondered Shin Jeong-hyeok’s words.
