Chapter 148: The Leash of Legendary Gear

“The overseas export of Vulcanus Equipment that we discussed last time has been finalized.”

“First, we’ve signed preliminary contracts with five countries, including the United States.”

“I’ll send the contracts via message, so could you take a look?”

Equipment export.

It was a matter we’d only recently talked about.

I didn’t expect it to be concluded so quickly.

Most of the Hunters in Korea had already purchased Vulcanus Equipment, and I’d even heard rumors that my gear was being sold to foreign countries through the black market.

It was a relief that official exports were now possible.

“The contract terms look fine as well.”

Honestly, how would a shut-in like me know if the contract was good or bad?

But I liked the clause that required them to supply not just cash but also S Grade or higher materials proportional to the sales of the equipment.

“You said you were short on high-grade materials last time, so we’re buying up S Grade and above materials globally.”

“Anyway, the guild has more operating funds than we need lately, so we’re buying only within reasonable limits for now.”

“If you allow it, we’ll try to expand the budget to procure even more high-grade materials.”

“Wow, as expected. I really did choose the right person!”

They were buying S Grade and higher materials, too.

Truth be told, I was relatively well-stocked with S Grade materials, but not to the point of being wasteful.

Besides, with the recent rise in monster difficulty, I was increasingly using S Grade materials as disposable items.

For someone like me, the more S Grade materials, the better.

As for money, with the addition of this export deal, it wasn’t just full—it was overflowing.

I even thought about buying a large building and moving, like our Vulcanus Guild.

‘Nah, I like it here better.’

This little building was precious to me.

It just felt comfortable, somehow.

I was living well with no issues at home, so I didn’t want to move for no reason.

I’d rather spend all the extra money on buying more materials.

“Nam Bora.”

“Vulcanus! You’re really okay, right?”

“Yes. You’ve made a lot of progress in the meantime, haven’t you?”

“Sorry for pushing things ahead on my own. We had to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other countries, so it was hard to keep postponing it.”

“Thank you. Please continue to handle things that way. Oh, and get as much S Grade and above materials as possible. We have plenty of funds, right?”

“Yes, I’ll do my best.”

I had a long conversation with Nam Bora after a while.

The messages she’d sent only contained the key points.

But when I actually talked to her, I realized just how many matters there were related to the Vulcanus Guild and Vulcanus’s Forge.

Most of them were only minimally handled and were waiting for my approval, so I listened to each and gave my decisions.

Since the things she had done were all well-thought-out, I approved nearly all of them.

“What about the equipment requests?”

“After Douglas, rankers from all over the world have been sending requests to the forge.”

“It seems Douglas tagged things like ‘#Vulcanus, Vulcanus Equipment, #L, #Legend’ along with a photo of his saddle on social media.”

“Now everyone’s come to accept the existence of Legendary Grade and is putting in requests.”

“Apparently, after hearing about Douglas’s terms, everyone is offering SS-Class Material for crafting and as compensation.”

“He tagged it?”

“Yes. It was deleted right away, but everyone who wanted to see it already did.”

“Ugh…”

This was troublesome.

I don’t mind people wanting my items, but it’s chaos now.

Even with Douglas, I felt uneasy about making a Legendary Grade weapon or armor, so I only made him a Legendary Grade saddle.

But to craft Legendary Grade items for other countries?

No way.

Even during the conversation with the two statues earlier, I’d heard that the most dangerous beings during the time of destruction were Awakened who’d given up on life.

I’d only grant Legendary Grade items to Hunters fully under my control.

That’s my policy.

In Douglas’s case, it was only because the government kept requesting it for the sake of relations with the United States, so we compromised with the saddle.

“For now, please refuse them all.”

“All of them? They’re not pressuring or anything, but it’s almost impossible to get SS-Grade Items with money alone. Without such requests, you won’t get them.”

She had a point.

SS-Class Material was hard to come by, no matter how much money you had.

Hearing it put that way made me hesitate.

After a brief pause, I added a condition out of regret.

“Then just accept requests from places that meet this condition.”

I sent her the condition I had in mind via message.

Nam Bora after seeing the conditions said, “Like this? Won’t there be a lot of backlash? People will be furious and threaten to withdraw their requests.”

“Then let them. It doesn’t matter.”

I didn’t care.

I wasn’t the one desperate here, was I?

I’m the one with the upper hand.

In any negotiation, the desperate party is the one who bows their head.

Even if SS-Class Material was tempting, it was necessary to filter requests like this.

Realistically, even if they offered SS-Class Material, there’s no way I could fulfill all those requests by myself.

My resolute answer made her reply.

“Understood. I’ll relay it as is.”

“Please do.”

Nam Bora once again went into negotiations with the world.

***

It wasn’t just one or two countries requesting Legendary Grade equipment from Vulcanus.

At least ten countries, officially or unofficially.

There were individual Hunter requests, but most came at the national level for Vulcanus Equipment.

They’d reached out to Vulcanus’s Forge, and even directly to the Korean government.

That’s how serious everyone was about Vulcanus Equipment.

Among them, the most desperate seemed to be—

“Still no reply?”

“No, not yet.”

“What about the other countries?”

“I can’t say for sure, but according to our intelligence, after the United States, Vulcanus hasn’t accepted any other country’s request.”

“Why won’t they accept ours? The conditions are the same as the United States!”

“Isn’t that the problem? Other countries are offering similar terms, but perhaps we need to raise our offer a bit…”

It was France.

Until recently, France had barely clung to the bottom of the Hunter powerhouse rankings.

But even the bottom meant they were still a Hunter powerhouse.

However, an unexpected turn occurred due to the recent Second Gate Burning.

France’s hero and top-ranked Hunter, Joseph.

He was killed while trying to stop the Second Gate Burning.

He wasn’t the only one.

Many of the rankers centered around Joseph lost their lives or suffered serious injuries.

They barely managed to stop the Gate Burning, but the loss of Hunter power was so severe, France fell out of the Hunter powerhouse list.

“Sigh.”

The man listening to the report let out a long sigh.

Now, France had to rely on help from neighboring countries to block Gates.

But relying on help was no trivial matter.

The costs of dispatching assistance were enormous, and they had to make political concessions in exchange for each deployment.

Until now, France had managed to protect its own Gates without bowing to others.

Now, suddenly having to lower their heads and ask for help was unbearably humiliating.

That’s why they turned to Legendary Grade items.

Looking at Korea’s rankers, or Douglas from the United States.

As soon as they donned Legendary Grade gear, their combat strength soared.

If they could equip France’s top Hunter with such gear—

For a while, they might be able to block Gates without foreign help.

With that hope, they’d requested equipment, but Vulcanus showed no sign of accepting.

Agitated, the man spoke.

“How many SS-Class Materials does the country currently control?”

“Three in total. We’ve offered one as crafting material, another as compensation, leaving one remaining.”

“We have no choice. Offer the last one, too.”

“Are you sure? I was suggesting we add more S Grade materials, not another SS-Class.”

“Other countries will do the same. Besides, there’s no smith capable of working with SS-Class Material anyway.”

“That’s true.”

“Do it. Right now, securing that Legend-grade item is the top priority.”

France raised its offer.

If Vulcanus would make an exclusive item for their ranker, they’d provide an SS-Class Material for crafting and two as payment.

France wasn’t alone in raising the stakes.

With Vulcanus refusing to accept requests, many countries began to increase their offers.

Some matched France’s, some lacked SS-Class Material and offered other benefits instead.

Some even tried to pressure the Korean government directly instead of Vulcanus’s Forge.

Then—

“Prime Minister!”

“What is it?”

“Message from Vulcanus’s Forge has arrived!”

“At last! What does it say?”

“I came running as soon as I got it. Please check for yourself!”

“Good!”

A message from Vulcanus’s Forge had finally arrived.

The contents were still unknown, but the fact they’d replied was significant.

The French Prime Minister checked the message at once.

– This is Vulcanus’s Forge.

It wasn’t sent by Vulcanus himself.

Most likely, this was from his representative.

The greeting was unimportant.

The Prime Minister’s eyes quickly scanned for the main point.

– We at Vulcanus’s Forge are reviewing France’s proposal positively.

“Oh!”

It was the ‘positive response’ he’d been waiting for.

Of course, that alone meant nothing.

It wasn’t a definite answer.

Maybe they’d just sent the same message, swapping in different country names.

Forcing down his excitement, the Prime Minister read on.

If France accepts the ‘condition’ proposed by Vulcanus, we will accept the equipment crafting request.

“Condition?”

What could it be?

Was Vulcanus asking for another SS-Class Material?

That wasn’t feasible.

Not to mention, there weren’t any left.

Or perhaps he wanted more money?

Or maybe some diplomatic leverage via the Korean government?

With all sorts of possibilities in mind, the Prime Minister read the next line—and his face twisted in disbelief.

Vulcanus’s proposal was-

– As an item restriction, ‘recognized by Vulcanus’ will be inscribed.

– In other words, only those recognized by Vulcanus could use the item.

“What?”

It was ridiculous.

That meant even if they received the item legitimately, if Vulcanus didn’t recognize the user or later withdrew recognition, they wouldn’t be able to use it.

It was an absurd clause.

If only Vulcanus had asked for more SS-Class Material or diplomatic perks, they could’ve negotiated.

But this was different.

Of course.

– Even with this restriction, there should be no issues using the item.

– As soon as production is finished, Vulcanus will ‘recognize’ the wearer.

– Vulcanus says, unless the user causes harm or neglects the world in a time of crisis, he has no intention of withdrawing recognition.

– If recognition is withdrawn, returning the item will result in a full refund of fees and materials…

There was additional explanation below.

If it really went as described, there’d be no issue.

Even if the ‘world in crisis’ part was unclear, it didn’t seem likely that recognition would actually be withdrawn.

And if it was, they’d get a full refund.

No problem, in theory.

But—

“So he wants to put a leash on France?”

The issue was the clause itself.

Having to be ‘recognized by Vulcanus’ was akin to putting France on a leash.

How could they accept such terms?

If they did, they’d have to be perpetually wary of angering not only Vulcanus but also Korea.

“This clause is unacceptable! Renegotiate and try to get it removed!”

“Understood.”

Still, now that negotiations had begun, they continued.

But nothing changed.

Vulcanus was unwavering.

No amount of extra money or diplomatic offers moved him.

If the condition wasn’t accepted, he wouldn’t take the commission.

That was Vulcanus’s stance.

At that moment—

“Prime Minister! Taiwan has accepted the condition!”

“They accepted that?”

Taiwan had accepted Vulcanus’s proposal first.

Later, it became clear that the same proposal had gone out to all qualifying countries, not just France.

But Taiwan was the first to nod and submit a request.

With this, the French Prime Minister’s worries deepened.

‘It’s not that bad. The leash is uncomfortable, but… it’s still better than now.’

Right now, France had to bow its head and offer huge sums and various perks to other countries for help.

If they could solve their problems on their own with a Legendary Grade item?

That would no longer be necessary.

Judging by how even the Korean government couldn’t control Vulcanus, there was no need to bow to Korea excessively over Vulcanus’s recognition clause, either.

Of course, they couldn’t risk antagonizing them, but that much was manageable.

“Damn it…”

After much deliberation, the Prime Minister made his decision.

The leash was bothersome, but it wasn’t a poisoned chalice.

This was something that had to be done.

For France’s sake.

“Say yes! Right after Taiwan, before anyone else! No matter what!”

“Understood!”

Following Taiwan and France, other countries also began formally submitting requests, accepting Vulcanus’s proposal.