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49 – Absolute Master of Darkness (Part 2)

The square Kim Hyun-woo had stepped into was teeming with mercenaries and adventurers, a sight that struck anyone’s eyes as remarkably vast.

Some gazed with curiosity.

Others with suspicion.

Mercenaries and adventurers, each with their unique emotions, observed Kim Hyun-woo.

Having taken a moment to glance around at them, Kim Hyun-woo ascended the podium he had prepared for today’s use. He looked around and began to speak.

“Welcome, everyone. I am Kim Hyun-woo, the lord of Lartania. I presume all of you gathered here are here due to the opening of the labyrinth in the Lartanian territory.”

Observing the mercenaries who began to murmur at his words, Kim Hyun-woo immediately continued.

“In short, what I said is true. Each of you gathered here will have unrestricted access to the labyrinth in the Lartanian territory for the next three days. Moreover, the items you acquire inside will be exclusively yours.”

As Kim Hyun-woo spoke, the mercenaries started to buzz with excitement.

Watching them for a moment as they murmured, Kim Hyun-woo raised his hand to calm the mercenaries and continued speaking.

“However, the mana stones you bring out will naturally incur a tax to the Lartanian territory.”

Kim Hyun-woo spread out four fingers, excluding his thumb.

“40%, you must pay 40% of the mana stones you bring out from the labyrinth as taxes to our territory. However, the mana stones beyond that? They belong solely to all of you.”

In truth, imposing a 40% tax on mana stones mined in the labyrinth in the Lartanian territory was close to an unreasonable profit.

After all, it was the mercenaries who mined the mana stones.

But still, despite that.

“40%, is that for real?”

“Unbelievable…”

“What a tremendous opportunity.”

“We made the right choice coming to this territory…!”

The mercenaries were already boasting with excitement as if they had obtained a tremendous stroke of luck.

The reason was that in this continent, which served as the backdrop for the story of Arteil, it was common for lords to take advantage of exorbitant profits like in the medieval ages.

In other words, from the mercenaries’ perspective, the 40% offered by Kim Hyun-woo was enough to be excited about, considering that taxes often exceeded 60% in this place.

Moreover, the reason the mercenaries were already celebrating was primarily due to the high value of mana stones.

No matter how small, mana stones held significant value.

Originally, only a limited number of lords who could monopolize the production of mana stones were spreading them in small quantities.

In other words, even if mercenaries obtained 10 mana stones here and paid four as taxes, the price of the mana stones themselves was high enough to make it a profitable venture.

So.

“If you bring out mana stones and deliver them to the reception desk right in front of the labyrinth, we will return the stones after deducting the tax. If you wish to exchange the mana stones immediately, we will also handle that at the reception desk. It’s all about the ‘cost,’ after all.”

“Ah, and let me make it clear regarding tax evasion—don’t even think about hiding magic stones just because you don’t want to pay taxes. If you’re caught hiding magic stones, not only will all the mined stones be confiscated, but you’ll also be expelled from the territory.”

“Now, feel free to enter the labyrinth as you please.”

Kim Hyunwoo spoke.

At the same time, the mercenaries immediately began moving towards the labyrinth of Lartania.

####

Leading a small mercenary group of about eight members, the leader Allen had been hunting goblins on the first floor for several hours.

“It’s another one!”

He picked up the revealed magic stone and opened his mouth with an extremely pleased expression.

“How many is it now?”

“It’s already the fifteenth one.”

“Well, if we detach six, that makes nine… Wow, are we really becoming rich?!”

“We’re going to feast for real today!”

As Allen picked up the magic stone, he looked at the members around him who started to murmur excitedly and smiled, putting the stone in his pocket and thinking.

‘What kind of luck is this…!’

In fact, initially, Allen had still been skeptical before entering this place.

Being able to enter the labyrinth immediately was good, but he knew that the monsters in the labyrinth were limited.

So, Allen had wondered if he could touch even one monster in the labyrinth, and indeed, when the mercenaries first entered the labyrinth, they had snarled at each other, pointing their swords.

However, that situation was resolved in less than an hour.

The reason was that the mercenaries realized that goblins were endlessly regenerated on the first floor.

From then on, the mercenaries began focusing their efforts on killing the goblins in front of them rather than threatening each other with swords.

Thanks to the strong mercenary groups who realized that they could obtain more magic stones by going down to the second floor, where they could get even more stones due to the constant regeneration of monsters, Allen was also able to obtain magic stones.

‘I really don’t know how monsters regenerate like this, but…’

In fact, what was important to him as a mercenary was not why monsters regenerated but the fact that he could obtain magic stones from monsters, so he smiled.

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“Hey, should we try hiding these once and leave? Nine is already amazing, but fifteen would be a real jackpot, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s absolutely not allowed.”

Allen immediately stopped her in response to the following words of a mercenary.

“Why?”

“There are still two days left, right? There’s no need to take such a risk to hide the magic stones. If, by any chance, you hide the stones and get expelled…”

“…True, that would be more than just a loss.”

The mercenaries quickly agreed with Allen’s words.

Actually, most of the mercenary groups that entered this place initially considered stealing mana stones, but they abandoned that thought as they saw monsters continuously resurrecting.

For mercenaries, this place was a very good place that allowed them to earn more money than their labor.

So.

“Shall we go catch them right away?”

“Wait, aren’t you a bit hungry? Let’s eat something first.”

“We didn’t bring anything, did we?”

“Earlier, in the rest area where the soldiers were, they were selling simple items along with food.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, honestly, things like food and relief supplies are a bit more expensive here compared to above… but considering our can mana stone, it’s enough to use, right?”

“…Then should we eat and do it? It’s not worth spending time outside just because it’s a waste of money.”

“Then let’s eat quickly and hunt more goblins.”

With smiles on their faces, the Allen Mercenary Group headed straight for the rest area where the soldiers were.

####

It has been two days since mercenaries started gathering in earnest in Lartania.

“Here, just one jerky!”

“Here too!”

“Give me everything on this side too!”

“I want all these goods!”

Hans, who was doing business on one side of the market, had a happier smile on his face than ever before.

The reason was that business was going so well since mercenaries started flocking to the Lartania territory.

‘I can be this happy…!’

Hans handed goods to the constantly incoming mercenaries, and even his wife, who came to help in the market due to the shortage of hands, had a smile on her face.

Although his body might be tired right now, the money he earned in the past two days was comparable to the sales he had made since he started business in the market.

Therefore, despite sweating profusely from his entire body due to the hard work, Hans smiled.

No, it wasn’t just Hans.

In fact, most of the merchants selling goods in this market were facing mercenaries with happy smiles, just like Hans.

Therefore, amidst the busy work, Hans was sincerely grateful to the Lord of Lartania.

If it weren’t for the Lord of Lartania, Hans and the residents of the territory might not have survived, and they knew that they were enjoying this happiness because of the power the Lord possessed.

‘Indeed, the Lord may be a real guardian of heaven…!’

So, Hans was genuinely thankful to the Lord and worked hard.

Kim Hyun-woo, who created this entire situation.

“[My lord, the overall revenue within the territory has increased by 2800%. Thanks to this, we expect the taxes to be significantly higher starting from now.]”

“Good. Have the taxes caused any discontent among the people of the territory?”

“No, since the tax rate has never exceeded 50%, there hasn’t been any rise in discontent. Moreover, due to your efforts, the territory has become more active, and the happiness index has reached its peak.”

“Also, the security concerns you’ve been worried about haven’t deteriorated significantly.”

“Is that so?”

“While the military force hasn’t been upgraded to the top tier yet, it seems that the experience level has increased significantly.”

“Indeed, it was the right choice to build up expertise in advance.”

Kim Hyun-woo glanced at the ledger with a satisfied expression as Loriya’s report continued.

“[Red Stones: 6800] [Blue Stones: 17885] [Gold Coins: 105211] // [Quarterly Tax +1231] [Magic Stones: 12842]”

“Wow.”

Unconsciously, as Kim Hyun-woo continued to observe the increasing quarterly tax, he couldn’t help but admire it.

While 1231 gold coins might seem trivial compared to his current wealth, considering it came from a territory whose development had barely reached 300, it was an unbelievably high amount.

“Even though a considerable amount of gold coins has been spent exchanging a lot of magic stones…”

Rather unexpectedly, Kim Hyun-woo found himself smiling.

The rapid accumulation of magic stones might seem questionable, but it greatly aided in maintaining the integrity of the dungeons and was immensely beneficial.

With a smile on his face for a while, Kim Hyun-woo called Elena through the guards.

“Well, now that they’ve had a taste of it to some extent… let’s move on to the next stage in earnest.”

He smirked and rose from his seat to prepare for the next task.

As Kim Hyun-woo got up to prepare for the next endeavor, at that moment…

“Phew.”

The sovereign of darkness gazed at the Larutania territory, just visible through his eyes, filled with both anxiety and hope.