Chapter 53: The Core Rekindled

Archeron returned to the lair.

His condition did not look very good.

Blink. Blink.

The light dwelling in his two eyes wavered dangerously, as if it might go out at any moment.

Fsssssss.

A faint purple smoke was leaking from his energy core.

“Ah!”

Bellerin let out an involuntary exclamation after checking Archeron’s condition.

“Why? Is it serious?”

I asked with an anxious expression.

“Ah! No! That’s not it. Fortunately, Archeron’s ‘core’ itself hasn’t suffered major damage, so repairs shouldn’t be a problem!”

Bellerin replied with a relieved smile.

“Oh! Really? Then can you start repairs right away?”

The tense atmosphere began to ease little by little.

“Yes, but it will take some time. The connection points around the core are quite badly damaged. Still, I can restore it completely!”

After saying that, Bellerin hesitated briefly before continuing.

“But there are two problems.”

“What problems?”

“First, we need resources to replace Archeron’s energy core.”

“Do we have to wait until the guide opens?”

“In my opinion, instead of using the guide, it might be better to connect the top grade and high grade magic stones that Archeron brought back this time and make a core from those!”

“Connect magic stones?”

“Yes! Ideally, we would use a supreme grade magic stone, but that’s unrealistic right now. If we at least connect high grade and top grade magic stones to boost the mana output, it’ll be far better than using the guide in terms of both output and safety!”

I agreed without hesitation.

At the moment, Archeron was the only way to procure resources from outside.

Increasing the core’s mana output meant strengthening Archeron’s combat power.

“Okay. Do it that way. What’s the second problem?”

“The second problem is that we need adamantium to repair the half destroyed outer armor.”

“Ah.”

That was the problem.

There was currently no way to obtain adamantium.

Where was I supposed to find an ore that hadn’t even been discovered on Earth yet?

‘The only option is to wait until I level up and the adamantium room opens…’

Wait a moment.

A sudden thought surfaced.

‘The Platinum Lounge.’

If it was a place overflowing with EX grade resources, wouldn’t it have adamantium as well?

I searched immediately.

“Adamantium (one kilogram) - one million Coin”

It was there!

Huh? But the price.

‘One million Coin per kilogram?’

Did I misread that?

Shouldn’t there be one more zero?

Why was it so cheap?

The reason I thought that was because the market price of mithril traded on Choinet was about one million Coin per kilogram.

‘No way.’

I searched for mithril in the Platinum Lounge as well.

“Mithril (one kilogram) - one hundred thousand Coin”

This was insane.

One hundred thousand Coin?

If I bought mithril in the Platinum Lounge and sold it on Choinet, I could make ten times the profit.

I should leave all the mithril in the mithril room for Bellerin to use.

Going forward, I should buy it here and sell it on Choinet.

A plan took shape.

‘Then what about orichalcum?’

Isn’t it cheaper than expected?

“Orichalcum (one kilogram) - one hundred million Coin”

“Hm.”

Not cheap.

One hundred million Coin was about one trillion won.

Still, if my Coin income increased, it wasn’t an unbearable price.

Maybe later I could even replace Archeron’s entire outer armor with orichalcum.

‘While I’m at it, supreme grade magic stones too.’

“Supreme Magic Stone (low grade) - three billion Coin”

‘……’

Three billion Coin for low grade?

That was insane.

I would pass on that.

For now, I should buy adamantium first.

“How many kilograms of adamantium do you need to repair Archeron’s outer armor?”

“About ten kilograms!”

Perfect.

The mithril ingots I had put up for auction this time weighed about twelve kilograms.

I could buy adamantium with the proceeds from that sale.

“Alright. I’ll get the adamantium, so start making the core first.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes.”

“Y-Yes! Understood, Master!”

Bellerin immediately ran to her workshop.

Hammer in hand.

Clang, clang, clang!

As she hammered the magic stones, they soon began to stretch like taffy.

‘That’s amazing every time I see it.’

It wasn’t even a magic hammer.

How did magic stones stretch like that?

‘Ah.’

Watching that scene sparked another thought.

The request board in the Gold Lounge.

Another way to earn a large amount of Coin came to mind.

“Gold Lounge”

“Requests”

When I entered the request board, countless posts appeared.

[Request] Bow crafting request.

[Request] Suncheon irregular portal subjugation request.

[Request] Looking for a third tier magic tutor.

[Proxy] Abyss Tower floors one to fifty material procurement.

Most of them were requests.

I left a post of my own.

Category: Proxy Service

Nickname: Archmage

Title: Mithril equipment crafting available.

Content: I can craft mithril equipment as requested.

Please provide required equipment, options, and price offer. I will review and craft accordingly.

My intuition told me I could make an enormous profit from this.

If this proxy service went as smoothly as I imagined, the usefulness of the Platinum Lounge shop would increase explosively.

Of course, it would be difficult to start crafting requests right away.

Right now, repairing Archeron, building the exploration vessel, and creating the dimensional amplifier all took priority.

‘Get better soon, Archeron.’

“Popo!”

“Chuuu.”

“Kiiing, kiing.”

While I was lost in thought, Dania and the Guardians were offering comfort to Archeron.

“Hm. I really hope I get to see that mantis bastard next time.”

Azukai said, licking his red lips with his tongue.

His expression still looked languid, but I could feel a faint anger flowing from his eyes.

This was his way of offering comfort.

So we stayed by Archeron’s side for a while, looking after him.

Then, some time later.

“The core is complete!”

Bellerin brought over the new core she had made.

A Bellerin style energy core, blended from top grade and high grade magic stones, along with the guide.

It was immediately installed into Archeron.

Whooooo!

Red mana surged and overflowed from Archeron’s heart.

It was far purer mana than before.

‘Keron. Initiating normal operation.’

Flash!

Archeron’s eyes, which had been faintly flickering, now burned brighter than ever.

‘Kyu! Archeron’s energy is back!’

“Popo!”

“Chuchuchu!”

“Awooooo!”

The outer armor was still a mess.

But as Archeron’s energy returned, the Guardians cheered as if it were their own victory.

“Archeron, are you conscious?”

‘Yes, Master. Cognitive circuits are operating normally.’

“Hah. Thank goodness, Archeron. You really went through a lot. Truly.”

‘You flatter me.’

Creak. Click.

“Stay still.”

‘Yes. Understood.’

At my words, Archeron immediately tried to stand up and assume a formal posture.

I stopped him and praised him again for his hard work.

But then.

‘Thank… bzzzt… you.’

“Huh? What’s going on, Bellerin? Why is Archeron like this?”

“Ah! The core hasn’t fully settled yet. We need to proceed with stabilization.”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

“Archeron, don’t push yourself. Just rest.”

‘Keron. Order received.’

Archeron returned to temporary activation mode.

I could see the raging mana of the core gradually calming down.

Bellerin said it would take a few days, so it seemed I wouldn’t be seeing Archeron much for a while.

“Isn’t there a way to stabilize Archeron’s mana faster?”

“Staying in a place with a high mana density helps a bit!”

So we placed Archeron beside the Clear Sky Oil spring.

Because of the mana flowing out of the spring, the density there was the highest.

“Clear Sky Oil, Lv one hundred two”

“It leveled up again already.”

Was there really a diligent house spirit or something?

Now I was curious how high Clear Sky Oil’s level would rise.

“Get plenty of rest for now.”

In any case, we left Archeron by the Clear Sky Oil spring.

And that decision brought about an unexpected situation.

That night.

At a time when everyone was asleep.

Splash!

A being poked its head out from above the Clear Sky Oil spring.

A creature covered in blue scales.

It was that mysterious being that had appeared at the spring before.

“Whi whi, whi whi whi.”

It let out a faint whistling sound.

Then it turned its head and moved its mouth silently.

Because it had spotted the pitch black golem near the spring.

“Whi whi, whi whi.”

Swish.

Wagging its tail, it approached as close to the golem as it could.

Because of the barrier surrounding the spring, it couldn’t get any closer beyond a certain point.

Still, its appearance became clearer above the spring.

With softly glowing blue scales, the being was unmistakably a fish.

“Whi whi, whi whi whi.”

The moment the mysterious fish wagged its tail again and made a sound.

Wooooong, wooooooong!

The bodies of the fish and Archeron simultaneously flared with blue light.

It was only an instant.

In the blink of an eye, the blue light vanished as if nothing had happened.

However, a significant change occurred in Archeron.

Woooong, wooooooong.

The energy core.

The speed at which the mana flow stabilized began to increase dramatically.

That wasn’t all.

The small scratches etched across Archeron’s entire body.

There was no major change to the half destroyed outer armor, but the minor scratches showed a meaningful transformation.

A faint blue light lingered briefly, and then the scratches disappeared.

A miraculous scene.

“Whi whi.”

Satisfied, the fish made a sound and returned into the spring.

Woooong!

A faint blue light once again spread across the Clear Sky Oil spring.

Not everyone noticed that scene.

“Hmm?”

There was someone who had sensed it from the very beginning.

“Is that something Master is raising?”

That was Azukai, who had been sleeping in the farthest spot from the spring.

Lying down, he opened his eyes slightly and looked at the blue fish.

“That thing is tasty… smack smack.”

After confirming that the fish had no hostile intent, Azukai closed his eyes again.

A peaceful night passed.

Not long after Archeron returned.

The Lili tribe members that Archeron had rescued safely joined Ellatria.

And then.

“Ah…”

“T-The essence of the forest…!”

“Thank you…!”

The Lili tribe of the Lucien clan, who had settled earlier, shared the essence of the forest with them.

They quickly recovered their strength.

The very next thing they did was create essence of the forest.

“Lili, lili, lili.”

“Lili, lili.”

Holding hands, they spun in circles.

Each tribe had a different method of creating essence of the forest.

This tribe’s Lili created it by moving in a circular dance.

Paaaat!

New essence of the forest was formed.

The process was slower, but they could create essence of higher purity than the Lucien tribe.

‘Ah… how wonderful… Lili tribe…’

‘So much… power…’

‘I don’t even know… how long it’s been… since I felt… this sense of growth…’

The Ellatrias.

Through the essence of the forest created by the Lili tribe, they gained a foothold for growth.

This was what made the Lili tribe truly remarkable.

They coexist with the forest and support its growth.

When the forest grows, the Lili tribe also grows through the more concentrated essence of the forest.

Based on that, the forest grows again.

They grow endlessly together.

According to legend, there was even a tale that the World Tree was born through the Elder Lili tribe.

Rumbleeeee!

Grrrrr!

Thanks to the Lili tribe, the Ellatrias also began to grow.

A massive canyon in the north.

Its walls were covered with millions of sparkling crystals.

Each time faint rays of light touched them, they emitted rainbow colored brilliance.

A place that felt sacred.

A group arrived there.

Shrrrr.

Beings with dozens of legs.

They were centipedes.

“From here on, move carefully.”

Carsera, who was leading the centipedes, issued a quiet command.

An outer god slept here.

If they were discovered, annihilation would be unavoidable.

So.

They carefully began searching for traces of the dragon lair.

“We must find it.”

“Kiiiiiik!”

“Kiiik!”

At her words, the centipedes responded in low voices.

Shrrrrrrrr.

Thousands of centipedes began to silently blanket the Canyon of Light.