Chapter 128: Dearside (3)

In the original work, the Five Heroes quickly recruited several prominent forces immediately after awakening from their long slumber.

While my own significant role as their descendant played a part, that was obviously not the only reason.

For example, by utilizing Tiamia’s Proxy of the Guardian Tree (S-) trait, it was possible to rapidly grow plant-based elixirs.

Whether they were scions of prestigious families, members of martial schools, or simply martial artists and mages—everyone, regardless of age or gender, went crazy for spiritual herbs and elixirs.

Tiamia had the capacity to mass-produce B-grade elixirs, which were high enough quality that even major territorial lords treasured them. After all, outside of special locations like the Black Market, it was difficult to even see such elixirs.

Scrape, scrape…

Linia buried the Gulgangcho seeds into flowerpots filled with soil from Robe Territory.

“Preparation complete, Young Master.”

“Good.”

Whiiiing!

I activated the ‘Symbiosis’ authority within the Proxy of the Guardian Tree. Light emanated from my hand and touched the flowerpot. Immediately, the growth of the Gulgangcho accelerated at a visible rate.

Plebelziam grumbled.

[That pink-haired fairy’s face is faintly coming to mind. How unpleasant.]

“Still, my personality is much better than hers, right?”

[Hmph.]

Seeing him snort suddenly, it seemed he had nothing to say.

I recalled Tiamia from the original work.

Unlike me, a half-breed, she was a pure-blooded high fairy. Using her Proxy of the Guardian Tree trait to the fullest, she had once created an entire small forest in a single morning.

My version of the trait had a ‘-’ attached to it, unlike my ancestor’s, meaning its power was significantly weaker. However, I didn’t need anything that grand. This level was more than enough to create enormous economic ripple effects.

Before long, the fully grown Gulgangcho bore fruit that looked like small blue cherry tomatoes.

They were called ‘Gelp,’ a luxury food item. Unlike the roots or leaves, the fruit itself had no elixir effects. Instead, it was filled with a powder-like substance that had a salty taste, making it commonly used as a spice.

I pulled the Gulgangcho from the pot and used Appraisal.

Gulgangcho (B)

• Promotes increase in HP/STR/AGI upon consumption.
• Continuous consumption has a low chance of raising potential level.

“Good. It’s fully grown. Separate only the seeds from the fruit and store the main body safely.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

On average, three or four Gelp fruits hung from each Gulgangcho plant. Having obtained three seeds, I buried them in the field and once again used the ‘Symbiosis’ authority.

After devoting an entire half-day to the task, I successfully mass-produced around thirty Gulgangcho plants.

[Warning. Mana reserves are low.]

[Rest is recommended.]

Although I had often practiced growing plants before, my proficiency was still lacking, so this was my current limit.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

“…Let’s stop here for today.”

Ten days after Aiden arrived in Robe Territory.

Dayorbek Clan executive Casper Schirek stared at the unbelievable report in front of him, completely stunned.

“Is the information written here really true?”

“Yes.”

“Three hundred Gulgangcho have been released onto the market? How is that even possible? We took measures specifically to prevent this kind of mass release.”

The Dayorbek Clan had used its authority to the fullest and signed contracts with the wealthy farmers. The contracts stipulated that Gulgangcho could not be released onto the market without permission and could only be sold to the Dayorbek Clan at a fair price.

“Before reporting to you, Lord Casper, we cross-checked the farms’ production volumes with the items circulating in the market one by one. None of them matched any of the farms we have contracts with.”

“……”

Casper rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

It was true that Gulgangcho prices were currently through the roof. It wouldn’t be strange for some to be blinded by greed and violate the contract.

He requested Clan Master Schuberker Lund to convene an executive meeting to discuss the Gulgangcho situation.

Upon reading the report, the Dayorbek executives’ expressions hardened just like Casper’s.

“This cannot be taken lightly.”

“Three hundred is by no means a small amount. How much Gulgangcho stock do we currently have in our warehouses?”

“Exactly 3,410.”

“So nearly one-tenth of that has been dumped onto the market all at once.”

Gulgangcho was a plant with very weak vitality and high sensitivity to environmental changes. That was why, despite nearly two years of effort, the amount Dayorbek had secured was still very limited. Only after skilled gardeners invested long periods of care could the plants finally bear fruit.

“They must have used some clever tricks, but the sources of Gulgangcho production are extremely limited. If we question the merchants, we’ll quickly get a clear picture of the situation.”

“How dare they violate our contract? Once we catch them, we’ll make them pay dearly.”

They immediately took action.

According to the reports, the initial three hundred Gulgangcho had been sold by seven different merchants. Dayorbek captured all of them and interrogated them, only to discover an unexpected fact.

“…So you’re saying a martial artist from the Dearside school supplied them? The Gulgangcho?”

“H-how could this lowly merchant dare lie to you? The person who sold the Gulgangcho was definitely Lord Hampus Linden, an elder of Dearside! Since he came from a prestigious martial school, I thought there would be no problem and bought them immediately! If it had gone against the Dayorbek Clan’s wishes, I never would have accepted them! Please believe me!”

The merchant stammered with a face turned deathly pale. His expression was filled with genuine grievance. No matter how one looked at it, he didn’t seem to be lying.

As time passed, the other six merchants gave the same testimony, throwing the Dayorbek executives into complete confusion.

“…Is there someone in a martial school skilled enough in horticulture to cultivate Gulgangcho?”

“More realistically, it seems they released a large amount of stock they had accumulated in their warehouses over the years all at once. There are widespread rumors that they are on the verge of financial difficulties.”

“Indeed…”

The Dearside school’s sources of revenue were being cut off one by one. It was a plausible theory that they had sold off their warehouse stock to raise emergency funds.

However, there wasn’t much Dayorbek could do to punish them. After all, they didn’t have an exclusive contract with Dearside.

“Even if they are growing Gulgangcho themselves, with only a few gardeners they would only be able to produce a few dozen per year at most.”

“In summary, there is almost no possibility of a large quantity of Gulgangcho being released onto the market.”

After much deliberation, the Dayorbek Clan executives made their decision.

“…Very well. Purchase all three hundred Gulgangcho, even if we have to pay a slight premium.”

“Yes!!”

The next day, they managed to secure over two hundred and sixty of the three hundred Gulgangcho that Dearside had released into the market.

Although coercive measures were used during the recovery process, there was no one bold enough to openly oppose the Dayorbek Clan.

Executives including Casper were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, two weeks later, their faces were once again colored with disbelief and shock. This time, a staggering five hundred additional Gulgangcho had flooded the market.

Whiiiing!

The production of Gulgangcho was still proceeding smoothly. Thanks to the significant increase in ‘Symbiosis’ proficiency over the past month, I could now produce around sixty per day.

It was just a gut feeling, but I sensed there was still plenty of room for further development.

“If I continue honing this skill, mass-producing Supreme Gulgangcho (A) might become possible as well…”

Once ‘Symbiosis’ proficiency reached its limit, it would go beyond simple growth acceleration and allow something akin to variety improvement. If I took full advantage of the resulting benefits, amassing wealth second only to the Gray Caravan would no longer be a dream.

“Young Master. I’ve returned.”

“Linia. How is the situation in Robe Territory?”

“The price of Gulgangcho has dropped to around eight gold coins. It seems martial artists from all over the Union Kingdom heard the news and flocked to the markets.”

“As expected.”

Before I started releasing stock through the Dearside school, the market price of Gulgangcho had been as high as three platinum coins.

Since ten gold coins equaled one platinum coin, the price had plummeted by nearly three-quarters in just one month.

By now, the Dayorbek Clan must have been in a panic. Not that they could come up with any effective countermeasures.

On our side, we had the Sword Saint—one of the continent’s strongest. Even for a colossal clan like theirs, resorting to armed conflict would be extremely burdensome.

“With this, the Dearside school’s finances should be stable for a while.”

I had already secretly negotiated with the head, Nils. In exchange for supplying Gulgangcho, he agreed not to interfere with the duel between the Sword Saint and the Thousand-Man Slayer.

He still seemed uncomfortable with the fact that I had learned the vision of the variant sword faction, but he must have decided that accepting this proposal was more realistic than trying to hold onto Edval, whose mind could change at any moment. Especially since the school’s core senior disciple held a favorable view of me.

Suddenly, Edval came to find me.

“Aiden, could I have a moment?”

“What is it?”

“I have something I wish to say to you personally.”

The place I followed him to was a small training ground set up near a cave.

While I had been busy mass-producing Gulgangcho, Edval had been here conducting sparring lessons with Epio and Ray. Especially Epio, whose stat distribution was quite similar to Edval’s, had learned a great deal.

He said to me.

“By chance, I saw you practicing swordsmanship late at night. Just as I heard, there are similarities with Regenshauer.”

“Hmm…”

“Don’t misunderstand. I do not believe the righteous sword is the only correct path. Everything in this world has its advantages and disadvantages.”

I was surprised.

No matter how gentle a person’s nature, a martial artist who had reached the pinnacle would naturally hold immense pride in the path they had walked. My great-uncle, the master of blunt swordsmanship, was exactly like that.

“In that sense, I will point out a few areas in your swordsmanship that could be improved.”

“Improvements?”

I felt slightly puzzled.

I was already a quasi-Twelve Heroes level swordsman. At this level, even if the opponent was far stronger, if their technical direction differed, it was difficult for them to casually give advice.

If the speaker had been anyone other than Edval, I would have dismissed it as mere lip service.

“I don’t know how, but it seems you can operate an astonishing number of heart methods.”

“That in itself is a remarkable advantage.”

“However, I noticed slight shortcomings in your stance transition the moment you switch heart methods. It’s extremely minor, but against a warrior of the Twelve Heroes level, it could become a rather fatal opening.”

“To supplement that…”

As I listened attentively to his explanation, a strong flash of insight suddenly struck me.

[Understanding of Dearside Variant Swordsmanship (A) has increased. ‘Expert’ stage.]

[Northern Advanced Swordsmanship (C) has been integrated.]

[Mercenary King Style Dual Swordsmanship (B) has been integrated.]

[Show Vision Quick Swordsmanship (B) has been integrated.]

[Kluber Defensive Swordsmanship (B) has been integrated.]

[Rikium Swordsmanship (A) has been integrated.]

Goosebumps rose across my entire body at the same time as the messages appeared.

Unlike the other strong sword faction martial artists, Edval seemed to have paid considerable attention to Dearside Variant Swordsmanship as well. Most likely because of his upcoming duel with Regenshauer.

I bowed my head to him.

“…Thank you, Lord Edval.”

“It is merely repayment for the help you gave our school. If anyone should be thanking the other, it is me.”

“By the way, you seem to have very deep insight into variant swordsmanship as well. Is this based on the logic that to defeat an enemy, one must first understand them?”

“Hmm….”

Edval crossed his arms for a moment, then looked at me and said.

“…‘He who can cut apart the flames of the gods with sword strikes like lightning shall be able to slay even the God of Martial Arts.’ That is a maxim left behind by the founder at the time of the school’s establishment.”

“I’ve never heard that before.”

“That is understandable. In truth, everyone avoids mentioning it. After all, it is the fundamental cause that split the Dearside school into two.”

As I looked at him with eyes full of curiosity, Edval continued.

“Dearside originally pursued the creation of a perfect swordsmanship in both power and speed by utilizing three types of energy: fire, lightning, and light. However, due to the fundamental limitations of heart methods, this attempt hit a wall, eventually causing conflict among the members. The interpretation of the founder’s maxim was also divided into two paths.”

Ah, I see.

The faction that focused on ‘sword strikes like lightning’ became the variant sword faction, while the one that focused on ‘cutting apart the flames of the gods’ pursued the strong sword path.

“…However, having heard this story passed down from previous generations, I could not help but feel a fundamental question.”

“A question?”