Chapter 54: The Madoge Craze

Hong Seolhwa.

The eleventh superhuman to reach Lv eighty.

After reaching Lv eighty, she continued her active rise.

The first thing she began was climbing the Tower of the Abyss.

The Tower of the Abyss holds a trial every ten floors, and the results of those trials are recorded on the Abyssal Stele.

That was how Hong Seolhwa became the eleventh person to engrave her name onto the Abyssal Stele of the eightieth floor.

But astonishingly, that record placed her at third overall.

As a result, the global superhuman rankings were thrown into turmoil.

In an instant, she became a superhuman ranked among the upper tier even within the existing Ten Sovereigns system.

Because of that, South Korea’s national standing rose alongside her.

In the current golden age of superhumans, a nation’s status depended on how many top-tier superhumans it possessed.

Perhaps because of that, the frequency of irregular portals occurring in South Korea dropped sharply.

Though not yet definitively proven, it was widely accepted that there was a correlation between the speed of conquering the Tower of the Abyss and the frequency of irregular portal appearances.

As a result, South Korea’s international risk rating dropped by two levels.

Tourism began increasing compared to before.

Domestic consumption revived, the economy grew more prosperous, and a virtuous cycle began.

In this way, a single top-tier superhuman had a sweeping impact on an entire nation.

South Korea’s Hong Seolhwa. How did she suddenly break through Lv eighty?

Someone said on SuperhumanNet that Madoge helped her.

What kind of help?

Madoge provided a special elixir. Thanks to that, her serious illness was cured and she was able to break through the Lv eighty wall.

If that’s true, that’s incredible.

Rumors inevitably spread that the superhuman known as Madoge was the one who had made Hong Seolhwa.

Who exactly is Madoge?

I heard he sells special spirit herbs or crops.

Special spirit herbs? What does that mean?

People who had never heard of Madoge before began to learn his name.

Various events he had influenced began receiving focused attention.

The Guardian of the Northern Hemisphere who recently broke through Lv eighty, Taesan, also said he reached Lv eighty thanks to Madoge.

Right. Taesan said he was able to cross the wall thanks to Madoge.

What the hell. Just who is Madoge?

Nobody knows.

There are rumors he is an unofficial strongest-ranked player. Some say he already reached Lv ninety-nine.

Yeah. Otherwise it makes no sense.

I heard the person called Rainbow Potion who made the new mana potion is also connected to Madoge.

Seriously? That potion was related to Madoge?

Madoge really is involved in every hot issue these days.

Don’t be surprised. One of South Korea’s superhumans who was declared dead due to mana circuit failure was revived thanks to Madoge.

I know that one. It was Gugu’s Baeksundae, right?

Yeah.

Is Madoge some kind of healer? Even in that Chinese international competition drug scandal, Chef Ahn Jaeseong said he was able to detoxify the drugs thanks to Madoge.

At this point, he definitely doesn’t seem like an ordinary superhuman.

Lv ninety-nine, I don’t know, but it’s certain he’s reached the uncharted territory of the nineties.

For real.

Taesan, Rainbow Potion, Gugu’s Baeksundae.

All of the major hot issues recently were repeatedly reexamined as being connected to Madoge.

When you think about it, most of the people who benefited from Madoge are South Korean.

I’m jealous of Koreans.

Same.

Never thought I’d be jealous of Koreans like this.

At this rate, aren’t all future Lv eighty breakthroughs going to come only from South Korea?

That’s actually possible.

Damn. Can’t I change my nationality to Korea?

Envy toward those who had received Madoge’s favor began to boil like madness.

There has to be something special about the spirit herbs or crops Madoge sells.

Damn it, I should have bought them even if they were expensive.

No wonder people with money bought everything up despite the high prices.

This time I’m going to scrape together even my soul and buy them for sure.

If you keep eating Madoge-brand spirit herbs, reaching Lv eighty might really be possible.

I want to reach Lv eighty too.

Thus began the wildfire-like Madoge craze.

That fire spread even to the Mithril Ingots Madoge had listed.

Mithril sold by Madoge.

Could this be special too?

Even if I can’t eat it, let’s go.

Buy it.

The Mithril Ingot (twelve kilograms) listed by Madoge saw its bid price skyrocket starting three hours before the auction ended.

Fourteen million two hundred one thousand nine hundred Coin.

Seventeen million six hundred fifty thousand eight hundred ten Coin.

Nineteen million two hundred eighty-one thousand nine hundred ninety Coin.

Twenty million three hundred thirty-one thousand two hundred ninety-one Coin.

Twenty-one million…

The fair price of a Mithril Ingot (twelve kilograms) was originally around twelve million Coin.

But it began approaching nearly double that.

And then.

Final winning bid: twenty-seven million one hundred eighty-eight thousand eight hundred Coin.

In the end, a single Mithril ingot sold for the unprecedented price of over twenty-seven million Coin, setting a sensational record.

Ah, seriously. Some rich superhuman probably bought that again.

This is too much. Let us make a living too.

Ordinary superhumans could only watch helplessly.

Then someone discovered a Request Proxy posted by Madoge.

Huh? Madoge posted a Request Proxy.

For what?

He says he’ll make mithril weapons and gear.

That’s insane.

This is a chance. We have to seize at least this opportunity.

The Madoge fever spread even to the Request Proxy board.

“The Mithril Ingot (twelve kilograms) has been sold.”

“The payment will be issued after deducting the ten percent auction house fee.”

“Hmm?”

I rubbed my eyes and sat up at the system message ringing in my ears.

The mithril ingot.

It finally sold.

How much did it sell for?

Still half-asleep, I checked the amount.

“Huh?”

One, ten, one hundred, one thousand…

One million, ten million…

“???”

Twenty-four million four hundred sixty-nine thousand nine hundred twenty Coin.

That meant it sold for twenty-seven million Coin before the ten percent deduction.

“Insane.”

I woke up instantly.

It sold for that much?

Wow.

My mind spun rapidly.

The piles of mithril ingots stacked like mountains in the mithril room.

Arithmetically, one hundred pieces would be two point four billion Coin.

Selling just four hundred would be nine point six billion Coin.

Enough to buy EX-grade skills, equipment, and spirit herbs.

‘Wow.’

Fireworks exploded before my eyes.

I wanted to put everything up for auction immediately.

But I couldn’t do that.

If I did, the market price would crash.

So little by little.

Slowly and calmly.

‘I’ll list about five first.’

I registered five mithril ingots for auction.

Good. I’ll watch how the price stabilizes and decide how much to release.

‘Heh.’

Looking at my increased Coin balance, I fell into happy contemplation about what to buy.

I needed a new elixir for leveling anyway, so I should look for something suitable.

‘First purchase will be adamantium.’

Repairing Arkeron was essential.

“Purchased Adamantium (ten kilograms).”

Ten million Coin drained away like an ebbing tide.

In exchange, ten kilograms of adamantium metal rested in my hands.

Now I just had to hand this to Bellerin.

‘Huh?’

I casually glanced back at Arkeron.

What was this?

Now that I looked closely, a faint light was flowing from Arkeron’s body.

“What the…”

I hurried over to Arkeron.

Whooooo.

An unprecedented aura rising like a heat haze.

I hadn’t imagined it.

And there was more.

‘…?’

Arkeron’s exterior had changed significantly.

The outer armor that had been covered in scratches everywhere…

‘Why does it look so clean?’

As if it had been freshly repainted, it looked brand new.

It was astonishing.

“Ah. What happened to Arkeron?”

Bellerin, who had approached at some point, widened her eyes in surprise.

“Wow. The energy core has stabilized too. I think we can start repairs right away.”

Right.

Whatever the cause, repairing Arkeron came first.

“Okay. I’m counting on you.”

“Yes.”

Bellerin took the adamantium and stood before Arkeron.

She raised a silver hammer and brought it down powerfully.

Clang.

With the clear ringing sound, Arkeron’s repairs began.

“Ghh…”

Karmarx clutched his chest and groaned.

“Commander.”

“Are you all right?”

His subordinates rushed to support him.

“Step back.”

Karmarx did not allow them to touch him.

This was his pride.

It was neither an external injury nor an internal one.

Then what was it?

‘Crack. A blow to the psyche.’

A being capable of affecting the psyche.

He believed it happened because he had been careless.

Had he known it could use psychic attacks, he would not have been caught so defenseless.

‘Healing chrysalis.’

A regenerative space in the form of a cocoon.

He lay down inside it.

Crack.

The cocoon’s shell closed, enveloping his entire body except for his face.

After recovering inside for a time, he opened his eyes.

“…Belgram.”

A softly spoken name.

Sssss.

Darkness gathered, and a being knelt before him.

“At your command.”

It was a mantis with jet-black carapace.

It was also Karmarx’s right-hand man and the vice commander of the First Legion.

“Belgram. Go and find the one who killed Cressar. That being will inevitably return to the Liri and appear in the Rainbow Forest.”

“I accept the order.”

“Above all else, beware of its psychic attacks. That will be enough. With your strength, you should be able to hunt it without difficulty. And if you capture it…”

Karmarx’s eyes gleamed with madness.

“Bring it back alive. I need to tear it apart with my own hands to satisfy my rage.”

“At your command.”

Bang, bang, bang.

The hammering continued without pause.

At some point, the sound stopped.

“All done.”

Bellerin raised both arms into the air with a joyful expression.

“Oh.”

Arkeron’s half-destroyed outer armor was now clean and pristine, like it had just been manufactured.

“Beep. Keron. Ending temporary deactivation.”

Whooooo.

Arkeron’s energy core began operating again.

Red steam rose from Arkeron’s body.

Click, whiiirr.

Click.

Arkeron stood up, restored and spotless.

“Keron. Normal operation successful.”

With those words.

A pure white light flashed repeatedly from Arkeron’s body.

“Arkeron’s level is increasing.”

“Arkeron’s level is increasing.”

“Arkeron’s level is…”

“Lv two hundred fifty-four to Lv two hundred seventy.”

“…!”

It jumped sixteen levels at once.

A massive level-up.

What was going on?

As I blinked in shock, Arkeron knelt on one knee before me.

“I apologize for causing concern, Master.”

“No concern at all. You’ve been through a lot. You really did well.”

Arkeron’s body was fully restored.

And its level had skyrocketed.

That was enough.

For now, we should avoid leaving the lair.

Outside the lair was dangerous.

Once the dimensional amplifier was completed, we would all go out together.

But just as that thought crossed my mind.

A problem arose.

“Chuchu.”

The Essence of the Forest that Chuchu had received from the Liri.

When the Liri handed over the Essence of the Forest, they made a request.

They said that among the Liri remaining in the Eastern Forest, there was a Liri Queen.

They asked if we could save her.

“A queen…”

Regretfully, I was about to shake my head.

She was clearly precious to them, but I couldn’t expose Arkeron to danger again.

“Keron. This time will be fine.”

But Arkeron showed confidence.

“I can now activate Combat Stance Level five. Even if we encounter that being again, it will not end as before.”

Hmm.

That statement made me waver slightly.

Even so, I was about to refuse when…

“If something happens, I’ll use my roar again.”

Azukai said that, and now I was wavering even more.

“If the Liri Queen is present, the growth of Eldrias and Elatrium could accelerate even further.”

Ah.

Now I was really wavering.

I deliberated again and again.

Right.

Once the dimensional amplifier is completed, we need to search for another dragon lair anyway.

Before that, we also need to grow as much as possible.

In that case…

“Be extremely careful. If anything feels off, retreat immediately. Your safety is the top priority. If you understand that, I’ll allow it.”

At my words, Arkeron’s eyes flickered once.

“Keron. I will engrave the Master’s words into my core.”

And so, Arkeron once again stepped outside the lair.

Soon, it entered the Eastern Forest.

We watched the scene anxiously through the scouting probe.

Surely that thing wouldn’t appear again…

At that moment.

“Keron. Multiple enemies detected.”

Something was caught in Keron’s detection net.