Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 263

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Chapter 263 – Clumsy Person

It’s the same old rundown shop on the back street.

I rang the poorly constructed doorbell, entered the shop, and saw the dwarf man arranging materials on a desk in the back.

“Hello.”

“Huh? You’re that rude kid from the other day. What’s up? Need your equipment repaired?”

Despite his initial complaint, he examined my equipment closely.

But that wasn’t why I was there this time.

I leaned over the counter and told him what I wanted.

“This may be sudden, but what kind of equipment can you make?”

“What a sudden question. I can make anything up to B rank. Are you asking me to make something higher than B rank?”

“If you can, I’d like to ask you to make something for me. That’s why I came to you.”

“Why?”

“Huh?”

I was taken aback by his sharp retort.

I didn’t expect him to ask me why.

“Why did you approach me? I never said I could make it. Besides, this is Lowenfort. You don’t need A-rank equipment in a B-rank hunting ground, do you?”

“Well, equipment is like a partner you entrust your life to, so I’d rather have mine made by someone I trust. And if I may be so bold, I’d also like to contribute to your sales.”

As I said this, I looked up at the ceiling, where a large rain stain was spreading.

It didn’t look like it would collapse soon, but Zeo’s log house was clearly more impressive. I started to worry about this person’s financial situation.

He’s not broke, so where is he spending his money?

“Did you happen to go to ‘Balnir’?”

“Yes.”

“I see… Was it thriving?”

“The building was large and beautiful. There were three women working at the counter, and there was a self-portrait of the master craftsman hanging on the wall.”

“Tsk, they’ve been poisoned.”

“…”

I guess I was right after all.

But that’s only half of it. Maybe…

“Did someone put you up to this?”

“…She said I could make money if I did what she said. She said she’d produce it for me, and she spouted other nonsense… That woman!”

Sigh.

I can pretty much figure it out from that answer alone.

“They don’t understand that if we get too greedy for money, the hunters will push themselves too hard and die!”

It’s probably that woman again.

The one pulling the strings behind the scenes is probably Marie, the reincarnated girl.

“So, they’re taking a cut of the sales as a production fee or something?”

“I refused, so I don’t know. I don’t understand such complicated things. All I know is that some of the guys who didn’t agree to the proposal had their shops burned down. Now, they have to rent space somewhere else, but they can’t get A-rank or higher-quality materials anymore.”

“You mean… So that’s why you moved here?”

I didn’t ask about this before, but now is the time.

“Hmph. Here, I can make equipment without any unnecessary interference. I can still get B-rank mithril. If they bring me the materials, I can make armor faster than other blacksmiths can.”

Those words were certainly true.

But even after he finished speaking, the dwarf man stared intently at his own thick hands.

“I still want you to make it for me. From what you said, you can make A-rank equipment if you have the materials, right?”

“If I have the materials…”

“Then, I have a proposal.”

I don’t know if it will work.

But if one condition is met, there is a possibility.

When I made the proposal, the old man—the dwarf who called himself “Lodge”—definitely changed his expression.

He wasn’t here by choice.

He probably wanted to craft higher-ranked equipment himself, but he lost his position because he insisted on doing things his way.

That’s why I wanted to help him in any way I could.

Ideally, I’d like to make all of my and Carla’s equipment.

I almost said so, but I held back, thinking it was too early since I hadn’t accomplished anything yet.

I should save that for when things go well.

First things first, though, I needed materials.

I told him I’d be back and immediately headed for the hunting grounds.

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

A few kilometers north of the additional outer wall surrounding Rosberia.

As I moved through the sky, I looked down on a winding mountain road reminiscent of Japan’s Irohazaka. I arrived at the Quoitz Dragon Burial Mountains.

The area is dominated by tall trees and large rocks, with grass-like undergrowth, giving the area the appearance of a plateau.

Though the ground is far from flat, there are many stable spots for hunting, and multiple parties have taken up positions near Rosberia to fight the flying monsters.

Geographically, this area is a mountainous valley, and the monsters fly in from the high mountains on both sides in search of prey.

Black holes were visible here and there from the sky.

Those must be the entrances to the lower levels, the “underground.”

While it seemed unlikely that anyone who chose the sky as their hunting ground would slip and fall, the black holes among the green and brown mountainsides looked eerie, depending on their size. Some were large, while others were small.

Many people had gathered near the entrance to the hunting ground.

It seemed there were two groups: hunters who carried the materials themselves and those who hired people specifically for transport. The transporters carried small loads of one to two materials and transported them to a “special zone” surrounded by additional walls extending along the mountain slope.

No one else does this because it requires an established trust relationship with the transporters.

Well, that doesn’t matter to me.

―Magic Detection―

I deliberately fly to the empty mountains on either side and slash the dragon species that appear one after another.

If this were my first A-rank hunting ground, I would be more nervous, but I’ve fought A-rank monsters in the depths of Palmera before, so I’m bored with aerial combat now.

I didn’t expect to have a hard time here. Although I thought their attack methods were troublesome, I quickly cut off their heads and stored them in midair.

The “foreign objects” floating in the air must be conspicuous.

I am especially grateful to the close-range wyverns that come right up to me and try to eat me.

Occasionally, they release shock waves, but they just blow me away a little when I’m in the air.

I bet it’s tough for the people fighting on the ground, though.

A huge subdragon, about five meters long, dives down rapidly with its claws out and unleashes a shockwave just inches above the ground.

The tankers holding their shields are knocked off balance, and the rear guards are almost carried off into the sky when they get blown away. They have to intercept them every time they come down, making it a nerve-wracking battle.

(But I think the winged dragons are more troublesome…)

There are only two types of monsters on the surface: Winged dragons and wyverns.

Though they differ in the presence or absence of scales and size, they are similar monsters with green bodies.

However, the winged dragons, which are about three meters long, do not come close.

Instead, they continuously unleash fairly powerful wind magic from a distance, which must be extremely annoying for those hunting them on the ground.

They must be taken down using only long-range attacks.

To make matters worse, the wind blades they release are difficult to see, so relying solely on your eyes will result in being sliced to pieces. They also use magic that creates tornado-like restraints.

Some hunters have been caught in them, so Magic Perception is an essential skill if you plan to hunt here.

On the other hand, if you have this skill, you can see the movements of the invisible wind magic, making it easier to take evasive action in advance.

“Alright, that’s 50. Hmm, can I keep going?”

What I’m watching is the magic power consumption over one minute.

Your world will change completely if you acquire it, so I’m carefully checking the magic power consumption of the ultra-god skill, Spatial Magic.

Thanks to the solid groundwork I laid in Palmera, I can now automatically recover about 15 magic powers per minute.

To offset this magic power consumption and generate an additional 50 magic power in one minute, how much storage capacity would be required?

I was conducting that experiment at the same time.

It is said that using an entire creature as material is preferable.

First, I’ll go to the Hunter Guild’s dismantling site for a proper buyout.

If I need to, I’ll go to a dangerous area near the special hunting zone, the “Special Zone,” and sell the materials to a shop that buys materials at slightly lower prices.

If I’m in a bind again, I’ll take the materials to Orgu-san in Falmenta. He’ll be happy to help since the materials are A-rank.

Mizuchi is cheaper, at roughly 800,000 to 2,500,000 Beeke per body.

If it’s just Flight, I think the limit is around 50 million Beeke per day with the weightless cargo transport. However, with a god-tier skill, the world changes, as does the income.

“Fuhahahaha! I’ll keep earning until the guild cries that they’ve reached their limit. I’ll earn enough to not worry about money for the time being until I reach my limit.”

After all, doing things inefficiently in secret doesn’t suit me.

If it’s going to be discovered sooner or later, I might as well go all out.

With that resolve, I began cutting the heads off every monster I saw.

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