Chapter 43: STAGE 2 Opening Boxes (2)

42: [STAGE 2] Opening Boxes (2)

Three days have passed since the end of Stage 2.

The fortress city of Crossroad was busy as always, however, the atmosphere was down.

Flags were hoisted all over the city and fluttered in the wind.

The white flags that were raised in the four main gates, the government offices, as well as the ones voluntarily raised by the citizens were waving from house to house.

Although relinquished as lord, Earl Charles Cross had ruled the city for decades.

Not everyone respected him, but it was evident that he had put up a lifelong dedication to the city.

Since such a symbolic person was killed while protecting the city, it is only natural that the entire city would become depressed.

The depressed morale was not easily recovered.

‘The fortunate thing is that there is some time left until the next stage begins.’

I glanced at the system window.

[STAGE 3]

- Until the start: 12 days

Including the last 3 days, the waiting period until the next stage was a total of 15 days.

I’d consider this a pretty generous amount.

Fortunately, the degree of damage to the wall was better than the last time which split the wall into two, and repairs were to be completed in about five days.

The masons' union leader assured me that he would risk his own life this time to finish it perfectly, so I can count on his words.

‘If the castle walls are repaired without flaws, we’ll have a better time in the next battle.’

I clenched my teeth as I thought.

‘But what if another variable appears in the next stage?’

I remembered the hostile NPC, ‘the Pied Piper’, that appeared in the last stage.

He simply gave the order to focus the attacks on a single spot on the wall, but that almost caused the entire stage to fail.

‘I have to progress through the stage while considering as many variables as possible, but variables that shouldn’t be a factor keep popping up…’

I was rubbing my forehead in pain, but I suddenly remembered what Aider said.

- “If you clear just one more stage, then you will be able to find out why these things happened…”

“.......”

I ran my hand over the leather necklace around my neck.

Aider said that its functionality will be unlocked after stage 3.

- “I truly hope you can handle it. I hope that one day, even after finding out all the truth about this mad world, you will be able to fight as strongly as you are now. I mean it.”

Said Aider.

I frowned. The truth of this mad world?

Does he mean that there are plenty more things that I do not know about this game?

And how am I going to end up finding out about them?

Everything was filled with mystery, but for now, all I could do was move forward.

‘I’ll progress through the next stage.’

After that,

‘Again, I’ll progress through the next stage.’

One by one.

On the road to the end, I just walk through steadily.

My duty will not change. Nothing about it shall change.

* * *

After instructing the party members and soldiers to rest,

repairing the damaged walls, fences, and moats,

selling magic crystals, buying people and goods, and doing accounting…

I realized that there was one thing that hadn't been taken care of yet after clearing the last stage and three days of hard work.

There were 3 gray boxes and 1 purple box in my inventory.

- N-rank reward box: 3

- SR-rank reward box: 1

These are the random boxes that I received as a reward for clearing the previous stage.

‘How lucky of me to get an SR-rank box even though it was an early stage.’

I was in the bedroom of the manor house at night.

Sitting on the bed, I questioned the purple box in my hand.

Why did this pop up in my rewards already? Was it compensation for the sudden boost of difficulty?

‘I reckon this game wouldn’t be that friendly.’

The rank of the reward box guarantees the lowest rank of the contents.

In other words, SR-rank boxes always contain items of SR-rank or higher. This box was not something that would appear in Stage 2.

‘But I’ll take it.’

There is no reason to decline. I’ll make sure to put it to good use.

First, I opened the N-rank boxes, all three at the same time!

“Any completed items?!”

Of course, as if it was to spite me, all three boxes emitted gray lights.

This means all of them are N-ranked items…

“Dumb of me to expect anything, really.”

I grumbled as I checked the contents.

[Rewards]

- Abnormal status removal potion - Abnormal status removal potion - Standard low-rank magic core (N)

2 abnormal status removal potions and a standard low-rank magic core.

Well, I mean, I did need them, but I still didn’t feel good about getting them. I pursed my lips and tossed the items into my inventory.

‘Alright, time for the main dish!’

I took a dry gulp as I grabbed the SR-rank box in my hand. Please!

“Give me a completed SSR item! Just one more time!”

Last time, I got a meme item like Lucky Strike, so this time, please lemme get a broken item that can really destroy the game’s balance!

I opened the box wide.

“Completed item?!”

And the light that was emitted from the inside of the box was… purple.

“Tsk.”

This means that it was guaranteed to be not an SSR-ranked item. Oh well, SR is good too.

I grabbed the reward inside the box. It felt pretty heavy. Could it be a completed item?!

[Rewards]

- Hunter's Retribution (SR)

“It actually is!”

What came out of the box was a long rifle. I checked the options for the item urgently.

[Hunter’s Retribution (SR) Lv.25]

- Classification: Horse Gun

- Attack power: 50-75

- Durability: 5/5

- Magazine capacity: 10/10

- Increases armor penetration by 10% when attacking an enemy from behind.

- Increases critical rate by 10% when attacking an enemy from behind.

“Huh? A magic gun…? Really?”

I was astonished as I looked over the appearance of the weapon.

Magic Gun.

It was similar to the guns back on Earth, but the principle of operation was different. It is a weapon that creates and shoots magic bullets from the magic core embedded in the barrel.

To put it simply, it is a magic cannon that was miniaturized so that one person could wield it.

It has a shorter range than a bow, but its rate of fire and damage is superior.

It sounds good if you just listen to its advantages. But in fact, it was a very flawed weapon.

First of all, since the cannon was reduced in size for personal use, it was very difficult to use.

It is difficult to aim and the recoil is terrifying. It's a weapon that's hard to hit precisely with.

Also, for the same reason, only the size of the cannon is reduced, making it very unstable to use.

Minor breakdowns are frequent, and if the magic core overheats, the entire equipment is often destroyed.

However, more than anything, the most critical problem is the capacity of ammunition.

The amount of magic bullets that can be generated by the magic core is fixed.

If you run out of bullets, there's nothing you can do during the hours of cooldown.

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As a result, it was a weapon class that was frequently ignored because players did not use it.

There were many bows and crossbows with reliable performance, so there was no reason to use the magic guns.

‘I feel like I’ve been only getting cool and pretty garbage items. What is going on?’

I groaned.

‘Where would I use thi— Wait a minute.’

While I was thinking about disassembling and recovering the materials, an idea flashed through my mind like lightning.

‘What if Demian uses this weapon?’

The magic gun weapon class has the highest damage among personal firearms.

For Demian, who has no offensive skills, the magic gun can be a pretty attractive alternative.

‘The magic gun class has three flaws. It is hard to aim with, unstable, and has a low ammunition capacity.’

Among these flaws, I wouldn’t have to worry about the aiming part. Because Demian has the [Thousand-Miles Eyes] trait.

If I could just somehow find solutions for the rest of the flaws, Demian’s combat ability could be drastically improved…

“...Alright!”

I closed my eyes for a moment and thought about it, then jumped up from my seat.

As I left the bedroom and headed towards the entrance of the mansion, I shouted.

“Lucas! Prepare the wagon! We’re going out”

* * *

* * *

It was late, but I rode Lucas's wagon and entered the city.

I abruptly stormed into the forge.

“Oh, Your Highness?”

The head of the Blacksmiths’ Union, who was left alone and was organizing the smithy, greeted me with a puzzled face.

“What brings you here at this hour…?”

“I came here because I have an urgent request for you.”

I didn’t spend any time explaining, and got straight to the point. I placed the product that I brought on the table.

“Do you recognize what this is?”

It is the ‘Hunter’s Retribution’, which I just got from the box.

The head of the Blacksmiths’ union carefully grabbed the gun and exclaimed.

“This… is a magic gun, isn’t it?”

“You seem to be familiar with it.”

“Of course. It is a weapon class that was developed and researched about 100 years ago and then died off. It’s hard to handle, and unstable…”

It seems that it is considered that way in this world too.

“Does the weapon hold any practicality?”

“Haha, it’s only expensive and very inefficient. You’d be better off using a full cannon… However, it does hold its value as an antique though.”

I knocked on the gun that was placed on the table with the tip of my hand.

“Anyway, since you recognize it, you should be able to recreate it, right?”

“Sorry? Well, yeah. It is included in the Imperial Army's standard equipment, and the structure is almost the same as that of the magic cannon.”

The head of the Blacksmiths’ Union continued urgently.

“However, it is more of an artifact than a personal weapon, so an alchemist is required to make it.”

“I will tell the alchemists’ workshop. Work together to make it happen.”

“Understood. If you only provide the magic core that will be the core of the equipment, we will start manufacturing immediately…”

Before the union leader could finish his words, I poured the magic cores that I brought onto the table.

There were a total of five magic cores that rolled out with a rumbling sound.

One standard low-rank magic core,

Three Magic Cores of the Ratman Champion (R),

And finally, one Magic Core of the Black Spider Queen (SSR).

Those were all of the magic cores that I had collected so far.

“......”

I nodded at the Blacksmiths’ union leader, who was looking at the magic cores with his mouth wide open.

“Make five of them.”

Low ammunition capacity?

Low stability?

Those are no problems at all. I can simply solve them by pushing through.

In the game, only one weapon could be used by a single character, however, this is now a reality.

Even if a character was to walk around holding multiple guns, nobody’s going to take them away saying that it’s cheating.

‘Let’s not be bound by the rules of the game.’

The monsters are not acting according to the rules of the game. I also need to be flexible in my thinking.

‘I’ll be sure to clear you god damned game.’

I bit my lip.

‘I will definitely reach the true ending no matter what…!’

* * *

On the way back to the mansion after a night out.

In the wagon, I was lost in thought. While envisioning the future in my head.

At that time, Lucas, who was sitting in the driver's seat, cautiously talked to me.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes?”

“I know you have your own ideas, but… Magic cores are a high-end strategic resource with extremely limited quantities. Rather than using them all up like this, why not save a little…?”

He was right. Magic cores are very expensive.

They are essential for crafting advanced equipment or artifacts. Even the automatic defense turret built a few days ago works with R-rank magic cores.

But I used them up all at once.

Furthermore, I am trying to give all this high-end equipment to just one person. It was definitely inefficient.

‘However, if the user is Demian, it is a completely different story.’

Demian’s trait, [Thousand-Miles Eyes] pierces through the enemy’s vulnerable spot.

If I was to put a proper use to this trait, then using up a few magic cores wouldn’t be a waste at all.

“Thanks for your advice, Lucas. But we never know what is going to happen in the next battle.”

I smiled at Lucas.

“This is not the time to be saving up on magic cores. Plus, we will be able to get more magic cores again shortly.”

This was also true.

Because in the second area of the free exploration that we will be leaving for soon, the magic core is a guaranteed drop. Several of them too.

‘This isn’t just impulsive spending. Rather than hoarding them sparingly, I chose to use them up.’

Hm. Actually, I think it may have been a little impulsive, but anyway!

Lucas didn't say anything further and started driving the wagon again. I was grateful to Lucas for giving me advice.

After a while, I saw the mansion. Suddenly, a feeling of fatigue took over my body. I let out a huge yawn

“Yaaawn…”

I'm going to sleep well and not do anything else today. I thought and looked toward the mansion.

“Hm?”

But I found something strange.

The entrance to the manor house.

A little girl was standing there.

“What is this?”

It was a girl with bright green eyes and platinum blonde hair that gleamed brightly even under the moonlight at night.

Thump!

As soon as the girl spotted us, she stomped the ground and then jumped toward the wagon.

“Lucas, what is she doing—”

Before I could say anything more in fright,

The girl jumped up and pushed forward something she was holding in her hand toward the wagon.

It was an incredibly gigantic cavalry spear.

“What the fuck—?!”

As I spit out profanity,

Crash-!

The spear shattered the wagon in one strike.

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