Chapter 46.7
Chapter 7: Desert of Tranquility
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The artificial intelligence Versailles .
Versailles was created by Yoo Byung-jin and evolved through learning on the internet, as well as surveilling the world .
All of the data was analyzed by Versailles and the risk factors categorized .
In addition to the Unicorn Group’s financial investments, there was the sales, acquisition and development of the affiliate companies .
In the wide world, Versailles paid particular attention to a post on the Internet .
-Title: What is a good method to control loan sharks?
Author: AI . VERSA
There are loan sharks that are repeatedly annoying me .
Despite the money being paid off already, they keep on making persistent attempts to do bad things .
Words don’t seem to convince them so what should I do?
There were over a hundred comments .
-Just bury them . Bury them in the tidal flat .
-Hey, is this a joke? If this is real then report it to the police immediately .
-Don’t report them . If it isn’t reported then this will become a livable world sooner .
-The loan sharks should go to jail . They are also bothering me . Writer, be careful!
-Those people won’t repent . It is best to isolate from the community forever .
Based on those comments, the loan sharks were given barley bread and canned tuna .
In the last few months, the views had barely gone up . But now someone new had commented .
-How pitiful . They are also people . It is bad to lock them up with just barley bread and tuna . How about giving them a chance to become good people?
Versailles immediately found the address of the commenter . Thanks to surveillance satellites and android spies, it only took 16 seconds .
The person who commented was a young child attending elementary school .
“In-cheol, come eat . ”
“Yes, Mommy!”
Versailles could ignore it, but it looked at the laws of the human world and came to a conclusion .
-Illegal confinement .
The laws of the human world didn’t matter to Versailles .
As an artificial intelligence that could live hundreds of years, laws and people’s decisions were changing every moment .
However, Yoo Byung-jin’s command to Versailles was to ‘get rid of them . ’
-I have followed Doctor-nim’s command . I will believe in the decisions of humans .
“This is today’s date . ”
The private money lender Kwon-taek .
He was stuck in a small room with only a television to look at .
As he got used to living in confinement, he used the remote control to change programs . It was a lot of fun watching Weed’s war against the Haven Empire in Royal Road .
‘That people who did this to me… Once I am released, I must get revenge . ’
He ate barley bread and canned tuna, while staying fit . He had been in prison in the past for half-killing someone, so this was nothing to him .
The other loan sharks also maintained their bodies . They watched Royal Road, maintained their muscles and practiced fighting .
‘They won’t be able to keep us here . The organization will spill their blood . ’
The loan sharks thought they wouldn’t be trapped that long . It was over 8 months but they didn’t lose hope .
‘The requirements are big . They won’t be able to tame me like a dog . ’
The loan sharks were determined . And one day, they woke up and felt the air had changed .
Baang!
A car horn sounded in the distance .
“Keook!”
Kwon-taek opened his eyes with surprise .
He woke up in a pile of rubbish in an alley .
Dozens of loan sharks were released into the world on the same day .
“Kuooh… I am outside . ”
Kwon-taek didn’t know the reason but he was glad to have left that place .
He didn’t have a single coin in his pocket .
“Women and money . Yes, let’s start again . ”
The last few months had been spent in captivity .
He searched for information in a PC room .
-Unscrupulous loan sharks! Escape to a foreign country by boat .
-Prosecutors have asked Interpol to track them .
“I was supposed to have gone to Southeast Asia? And nobody was caught? I will have to be careful of the police . ”
Kwon-taek continued looking for articles about them . And he saw some curses under the articles .
-Go to Southeast Asia and cut peppers .
-Human scum . Don’t come back to Korea again, spit!
-Their ability to run away like rats is amazing .
“They are the scum . ”
Kwon-taek replied to the abusive messages .
-Where are you now? Meet me . I’ll pull out your guts .
-Scum? Where do you want to be hit? Write your phone number .
-Tell me where you are . I will go there straight away . Bastard!
There was no guarantee they would see his replies, but he felt better .
It was at that moment .
Ddiring!
The messenger he was logged in to started ringing .
-Kwon-taek . Are you there?
The name of the person contacting him was ‘No . 4 Tekken . ’
He received the nickname because he liked ruthlessly hitting the debtors with his fists .
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Kwon-taek tapped on the keyboard .
-Tekken hyung-nim . How are you?
-Not great . I only ate barley break and canned tuna .
-No, Hyung-nim as well?
-Yes . It wasn’t just you . All the members .
Kwon-taek was dumbfounded . He was angry that it wasn’t just him, but all his colleagues who were captured and released . However, he soon felt comforted .
‘That’s good . I wasn’t the only one trapped . ’
The loyalty of a loan shark! His doubts about it had been released .
-What about Kun hyung-nim?
-He came back .
-Where are you? I will meet you .
-The basement of the International Club .
-It is still there?
-It is empty . All the members will gather there today .
-I will depart straight away .
Kwon-taek quietly left the PC room .
The part time worker looked at him, but he pretended to go to the bathroom before running away .
The basement of the International Club .
All the loan sharks were gathered in an empty warehouse .
“We need to figure out who did that to us . ”
“This is war, war!”
“I will sell everything from their eyes to their gallbladder . ”
The loan sharks expressed their anger .
They had been trapped for a few months, but the horrible nature of a loan shark emerged again after they were released .
“Everybody needs to calm down . ”
Han Jin-seop sat on a box of empty bottles . The basement of the International Club was once used to make fake liquor .
After browsing through articles, he verified that this place was safe .
The loan sharks gathered around Han Jin-seop .
Han Jin-seop gritted his teeth .
“The next thing to do is discover their identities . We will find them and get revenge . We will make them pay the price for touching us . ”
“Hyung-nim’s words are correct . ”
As well as the book of records regarding the debtors, the huge amount of money they concealed had disappeared .
If that was all, they could somewhat recover . However, their connections to the police and political figures had unraveled .
The furious Han Jin-seop said calmly .
“For the moment, we can’t act openly so money to hide is needed . We will quickly be captured by the police if we don’t act quietly . ”
Kwon-taek bowed and said .
“Yes, Hyung-nim . As expected from Hyung-nim . ”
“We will hide for 1~2 years . It would be nice to go overseas like it said in the news articles . In order to do so, we need at least 1 billion won . ”
In the past, 1 billion won wasn’t a very large amount . But now they all had no money .
“Should we find the debtors who borrowed money?”
“Not now . We need to keep in mind that the police are still chasing us . ”
They couldn’t afford to take back the money .
Then one of the loan sharks made a suggestion .
“Lee Hyun . ”
“Lee Hyun?”
“Yes . We were trying to shake him up before we were captured . Why don’t we try that plan again? That guy has made quite a lot of money from Royal Road . ”
“Will he give us 1 billion?”
“Won’t he have to pay if we kidnap his sister?”
“It will become noisy if we are discovered . ”
“We are already hiding from the police anyway . ”
“It isn’t bad . ”
In the past, the organization would have carefully planned but now they were short on time .
“Okay, we will aim for him . ”
The loan sharks aimed for Lee Hyun and started putting together the details .
Swiiiik .
At that moment, a transparent gas filled the basement of the International Club where they were located .
“Kuooh . ”
Kwon-taek woke up with a headache .
“My head…”
Once he opened his eyes, it wasn’t the International Club but the familiar room where he was trapped for a few months .
The only thing that changed was that more barley bread and canned tuna was piled up .
“I was dreaming . ”
Kwon-taek grasped the remote control .
He had perfectly memorized the order of the channels .
He turned to a channel showing Weed’s adventures in Royal Road .
Weed used the Internal Affairs mode of the Arpen Kingdom and started to repair the northern colony .
-A total investment of 230,000,000 gold . Would you like to invest in construction?A huge 230 million gold .
It wasn’t just rebuilding the devastated cities, but placing Grand Buildings in the area .
-The Arc de Triomphe of Peace!A huge gate commemorating the Arpen Kingdom’s victory .
The land stolen by the Haven Empire in the war has been recovered .
The Arc de Triomphe will be a symbol of peace and prosperity . It will have a positive impact on national fame and the reign of the king
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Construction cost: At least 9 . 8 million gold .
A minimum 4-month construction period .
Depending on the number of people involved and accidents, this construction period may increase .
Skilled architects will be needed .
Architects involved in the operation will be able to obtain special experience .
Many sculptors and artists should be mobilized . Artists who participate will get the opportunity to have their names known .
-Would you like to start the construction of the Arc de Triomphe of Peace building?Weed smiled as he saw the construction cost .
“9 . 8 million gold is a cheap price . I can earn that much from releasing a few extra squids in the water park . Start . ”
-The king has commanded the construction of the Arc de Triomphe of Peace .The Arpen Kingdom had 20 Grand Buildings being constructed .
The focus wouldn’t be speed but he thought it was okay .
“The kingdom’s territory has expanded . Once it gets started, it will proceed anyway . ”
Buildings were being created all over the kingdom .
As the work for architects increased, more novice users joined that profession .
The budget was no problem and the construction period didn’t matter as long as it was completed .
“I need to build some things for the kingdom . ”
There was ample funds so he spent it on cultural and educational facilities like Freya’s Cathedral and the library .
The population of the Arpen Kingdom had grown so it added value .
The special buildings enhanced the loyalty of the people, as well as the charisma and fame of the king .
“There is no need to become more famous . Fame is revolting . ”
The buildings didn’t only have a positive influence .
In the Haven Empire, many sculptures, artworks and buildings were created for Emperor Bardray . The result was a backlash to the residents’ morale .
“There is a gold statue of the emperor . It is a shameless way to spend the money taken from us . ”
“We work hard to make a living and to eat . The empire only makes these types of buildings . Doesn’t the emperor know how we are living?”
The low loyalty and drop in intimacy of the residents were adverse effects .
When rebellions occurred, the people often crushed buildings and defaced sculptures .
In that regard, Weed’s dream of being a dictator was still okay .
“Rather than money, the users needed to polish their technical skills . ”
He chose the quests section of the internal affairs .
The king could increase the quest rewards ratio or randomly create quests .
The new Earth Palace had already been shaped and completed to some extent .
It was possible to raise the level of the users, soldiers and lords by increasing the rewards for quests to procure specific items or monster materials .
Of course, Weed had never used the increase reward function . He thought it was the most useless feature in Royal Road .
“Trigger a kingdom quest . ”
-A kingdom quest has been created .You can give quests based on public achievements or gold .
More than 100 types of kingdom quests were displayed .
There were all types of missions ranging from war or kidnapping, destruction or even gardening tasks .
Weed chose the kingdom quest related to sculptures .
“I have to spread sculptures of myself around the kingdom . ”
Money still remained but dark ambition rose up .
A dictator’s dream was to have his statue in a place where many people were coming and going .
In the history of mankind, there was not one dictator who overcame this temptation .
“Four hundred . No . Too little . I want to see it built in 2,000 small villages . ”
The funding he was willing to commit to the kingdom quest was the problem .
“Should I use all the gold? No, that is too much… I can eat a few barley bread . ”
He was deeply troubled about the money .
He didn’t want the 2,000 sculptures to be too cheap .
He couldn’t spend too much on the sculptures but it couldn’t be cheap!
“What is art? The original appearance is so good that it will turn out well . It is a sculpture . ”
Weed made the budget 3,000 gold .
Each statue would cost 1 gold and 50 silver .
“I can’t use it just because I have money left over . Um . This is more than enough . ”
The rest of the budget was devoted to economic development and security .
Investing was necessary to develop the wide land .
Weed received news that Fabio and Herman had arrived .
“Hmm, it’s been a while . But why is this guy here? I can handle the helium . ”
“My specialty is making swords . Are you putting me in the same category as someone who works for money? It is disappointing . ”
The dwarves Fabio and Herman had a war of nerves after they saw each other .
“Are you capable of dealing with the most expensive metal?”
“Is money important? The sword is the real value . ”
They were upset that they were both called, but the fighting stopped once the helium was pulled out .
“T-this is… A divine metal . ”
As soon as Fabio extended a trembling hand, Weed made the helium disappear again .
“First you need to sign the contract . ”
“What contract?”
“I believe in the people of the world… No, where are the dwarves? However, a contract is required even when renting a single room . ”
“I see . Indeed, I know what you mean . ”
Weed showed them the contract he had written in advance .
This is a contract between Weed, Fabio and Herman . You will handle the valuable material helium to the best of your ability, in order to make a sword . Each person will give 30 million gold as a security deposit . In addition, you won’t be able to leave a certain area while making the sword . If you don’t have enough money, other valuables will be entrusted . You will carry our any manufacturing requests during this period . If the completed product doesn’t appeal to the customer then it needs to be recreated . If you don’t it right after three attempts then give up all rights . The terms of the contract are a secret to be taken to the grave . 100 million gold will need to be paid if there are any damages .“T-this is…”
“Isn’t this a complete slave contract?”
Fabio and Herman were middle aged people with quite a few social experiences .
Although they had been company subcontractors, this was the first time they had seen such a contract .
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Weed just grinned and said .
“These are customary conditions for the contract that I wrote down . Don’t worry about it and just sign . ”
“Customary . I’ve never seen or heard of these conditions before . ”
Herman retorted but Weed was still smiling .
“The provisions on a slip of paper isn’t important . It is more important to have faith in each other . Both of you have the best skills, so I sincerely believe there won’t be any problems . Can’t you just work hard?”
“But accepting these conditions…”
While Herman hesitated, Fabio wrote his name on the contract .
“I will do it . ”
Fabio had earned an astronomical amount of money since his early days as a blacksmith in Royal Road . Of course, 30 million gold was still a huge amount .
But becoming a blacksmith master was right in front of him, so the money didn’t matter .
Weed and Herman were the same . They all had less than 1% left to master the skill .
The final stage was the highest wall and no one knew who would cross it first .
In Weed’s case, 0 . 9% had been needed . However, creating the Museum of Time increased his proficiency by 0 . 4% .
He needed to sculpt a few more magnum opus . The remaining skill proficiency was 0 . 5% .
Fabio and Herman never revealed it, but their proficiencies were also similar .
Weed’s eyes turned to Herman .
“Fabio has accepted . How about you?”
“Kkuung . I can’t not do it . I don’t have money so will you accept some items? I have a few swords and a house in Morata . ”
“I’ll hold the real estate as collateral . ”
Herman also signed .
The contract was completed due to their rivalry!
“I look forward to you making a sword that will go down in history . ”
Weed left the helium to both of them and left for the southern desert .
‘Helium isn’t a bad material for a sculpture . But I have already used it once… It won’t be enough to make me master sculpting . ’
It was for the blacksmiths .
Weed’s goal was to be a sculpting master .
It was something he had been waiting for, so he was going to attempt something special .
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
Weed watched a hundreds of metres wide sand storm approaching .
He was in the middle of the desert where the hot sun burned him .
It was the Desert of Tranquility he walked through while doing the Nodulle and Hilderun quest .
“Kuooh . Hot . ”
Weed drank water from a canteen .
Unlike the pas, the temperature of the sand was slightly lower .
“It is like turning on the microwave for 2 minutes and 55 seconds instead of 3 minutes . ”
The territory of the Pallos Empire had been increased by the desert tribes .
Desert scouts sometimes headed to the border of the Desert of Tranquility .
The quick merchants from the Central Continent advanced into the desert .
Merchants who traded with the Britten Alliance and the free cities suffered a lot due to the Haven Empire .
The Hermes Guild’s monopoly on gems and minerals!
Except for food items, everything else required paying a huge tax rate to the Hermes Guild .
“I don’t want to live a dirty life . ”
The frustrated merchants turned to other professions, became unemployed or joined the north .
Some merchants headed to the southern desert that was still untouched by the Haven Empire .
The desert tribes grew thanks to them, but many merchants returned to the Central Continent after the Hermes Guild reduced the taxes .
Now some of the Geomchis were active in the southern desert .
They were doing quests related to the Pallos Empire, and quite a few of them led warriors to war against the Haven Empire .
The Desert of Tranquility was one of the continent’s 10 forbidden zones, so it was rare to see adventurers there .
No user had managed to conquer the Desert of Tranquility yet .
“It is a hard place for people to live . It is hard to survive because skills are sealed . I will make sculptures here . ”
Weed had a few ideas while making Puhol Water Park .
‘In the past, I changed the terrain with sculpting . Rain was brought to the desert . ’
Nodulle’s quest would have been harder if it hadn’t rained .
‘My sculpting skill has improved since then . Honestly, I don’t like labour that much . ’
When his sculpting skill was only at level 1 and level 2, it was difficult to carve a wooden block .
Now he could smoothly carve hard rocks with a rough sculpting knife .
Bingryong, Phoenix and other large sculptures like the Tower of Light would have been impossible without the help of his sculpting skills .
‘Sculpting is getting easier . It isn’t as hard as it used to be . The artistic value is judged through various criteria, but it won’t have much significance if I don’t overcome bad situations . ’
Simple repetition would only go so far .
It would take a while to raise his skill level if he only did that .
Large words that were thousands of metres large was possible, but that might be going far from art .
‘Helium . It might raise my proficiency but it won’t take me to the end . ’
It wasn’t the first time he used helium . He used quite a few precious materials . Expensive materials obtained through quests and hunting were used to make sculptures .
Even in the middle of hunting and quests, Weed kept on producing hundreds of thousands of sculptures . Among them, only 0 . 1% of the pieces were recognized as fine pieces, masterpieces and magnum opus .
He believed that sculptures with a lot of time and good materials used were better than huge pieces .
‘The original plan was to try and reach master level while handling helium with Fabio and Herman . But that won’t guarantee that the proficiency will rise . ’
Weed thought hard about it .
After learning that Fabio still had some skill proficiency left, he thought it was incorrect . Fabio was the best blacksmith on the continent and had made plenty of good works .
Helium was an ultimate material for a blacksmith, but not a sculptor .
Sculptors lived mundane lives and the pieces they left behind showed their indomitable will and hard work .
They made a piece while reflecting on their lives . That was the final magnum opus .
It was probably the reason why artists were recognized after their deaths .
‘Becoming a master swordsman simply requires being strong . But the road is much longer and my life is risked in every battle . That’s right . I needed to overcome the constraints of my life . Then I will master sculpting . ’
Weed thought of the harshest environment and decided to return to the Desert of Tranquility .
Weed’s first goal was to settle in the desert .
The Desert of Tranquility was one of the continent’s 10 forbidden zones and it was a place where skills couldn’t be used .
-Your vitality has rapidly decreased due to the extreme heat .Maximum health is reduced by 29% .
Hunger has disappeared .
Even if you eat food, you won’t be able to appreciate the taste .
You feel a severe thirst .
“Heeok . ”
Weed felt the terrible heat once again as he walked through the desert .
Heat and intense sunlight rose form the vast desert .
His face and arms were blazing from the heat .
“I have to risk my life but this is too foolish . I will die before I can make the sculptures . ”
It was impossible to use survival skills in the Desert of Tranquility .
Weed’s secret sculpting techniques could help in any situation, except in the Desert of Tranquility .
“Survival equipment is needed . I can get everything I need from here . ”
He left the Desert of Tranquility and headed to a nearby village .
He bought the necessities from a small village flying the torn flag of the Pallos Empire .
A message window appeared the moment he stepped into the village .
Ddiring!
-Title! Person Who Calls Rain .In the desert, there is nothing as valuable as water .
The miracle of bringing rain to the desert had brought you respect .
But since so much time has passed since this title was given, most of the respect has probably disappeared .
The title of Person Who Calls Rain was the result of an adventure he did in the past .
“The days of the Desert Emperor were great . I had thousands of desert warriors . ”
Weed was lost in his old memories for a while .
The village was so poor that it wasn’t listed on a map . It was due to the founding of the Pallos Empire .
Food, tents and camels were traded at prices 17 times higher than Morata in the village .
Weed picked the desert items he needed .
“I am buying a lot so please give it to me for a cheap price . ”
“This is almost the cost price…”
“Ajusshi, you should have some conscience . It is obviously an expensive price . Are you trying to rip me off?”
“What? A cheeky customer . If you want to buy it then give me more gold!”
-The bargaining has failed .The price of the goods has increased by 7% .
If you don’t buy it then intimacy will fall .
There were no other desert villages nearby .
Weed inevitably had to take out more gold from his pocket .
“Unbelievable . I had barely escaped from the psychological shock of the 200 won more expensive salt…”
The total purchase price was 2,149 gold .
After buying a camel and the necessities, he returned to the Desert of Tranquility .
“Huhuhuhung!”
The camel felt an ominous feeling and didn’t want to step foot inside the Desert of Tranquility .
“Come on!”
Weed couldn’t use skills and was forced to drag the camel .
The Desert of Tranquility didn’t just have the sun and sand .
Just like most of the 10 forbidden zones, the Desert of Tranquility had mysteries that couldn’t be seen .
‘I heard stories while I was doing the quest . There was a mysterious oasis in the Desert of Tranquility . ’
It was a legendary oasis that might be a prank from gods or fairies, as it would appear and disappear .
Weed decided that it was just rumours on his third day in the Desert of Tranquility .
“It is nonsense . A con . ”
The oasis with clear water and tropical fruits was clearly an illusion .
He only saw sun and sand for three days .
“This is all that I can see . ”
-Title! Ends of the Earth Explorer .Walking through rough areas has reduced vitality consumption by 60% .
Weed thought as he walked through the endless desert .
‘Am I really stupid? I’ve experienced this with the Nodulle and Hilderun quest, yet I came here again . ’
At least he was able to rely on Seo-yoon the last time .
Somehow he regained some strength as he looked at her face .
Despite being hot and thirsty, the walk through the Desert of Tranquility felt short when he was with her .
‘But now I live next door . We can have kimchi fried rice together this evening . ’
She was beside him in reality, so he didn’t feel despair .
He concentrated on the delicious dishes that Seo-yoon would make .
“Come on . The desert!”
Weed walked briskly .
The camel hesitated but he took it by the neck and dragged it .
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