LIGHTNOVELSTORY chapter 14
14
I was already thinking about ways to sell potions.
But then the princess, whom I had no appointment to meet, came to me and immediately started talking about an expeditionary force.
She even asked me to be the backbone of the expeditionary force.
‘Who is looking through my head?’
It was strange that things were going too smoothly.
In the real world, my life would have been in ruins.
In any case, I asked the princess with an indifferent expression, trying not to reveal my innermost thoughts.
“An expedition, huh? Tell me more about it. What’s the goal?”
“We are going to kill Teidon, the king of the forest to the east, and extract his heart.”
Teidon’s heart, I had heard of it somewhere.
It was from the mouth of a little girl who was the daughter of the royal palace chef.
Minhyuk asked the princess the same thing he asked the girl back then.
“What will you do with Teidon’s heart if you extract it?”
“We will restore the power of the altar.”
“The altar?”
The princess explained about the Altar of Protection to Minhyuk.
She said that a Grand Sage created the altar 100 years ago to protect the people from the Cataclysm.
And the area affected by the altar’s power was the Area of Protection.
‘So that’s why monsters can’t enter?’
Minhyuk’s curiosity about the Area of Protection was resolved.
“The altar requires a huge amount of mana to operate. The Grand Sage used a dragon’s heart to infuse mana into the altar. 12 altars were completed with the hearts of 12 dragons. One of them is in Astel.”
Every time an altar was created, the sage suffered from a great magical burden, which ruined their body and separated their soul.
In the end, after completing the 12 altars, they vanished without leaving behind even a corpse.
“His noble act of sacrificing his own life to protect humanity is still respected by all today.”
The 12 altars were installed all over the continent according to the Grand Sage’s will.
Thanks to that, many lives were saved from the Cataclysm.
“However, the power of the altar is not permanent. It has to be constantly infused with mana. That’s why…”
“You need Teidon’s heart, right?”
“Yes, because it’s unrealistic to obtain a dragon’s heart.”
In the past, there were some transcendental beings who could hunt dragons, including the Grand Sage.
However, there was no such person in Astel now.
Moreover, no one had actually seen a dragon since the Cataclysm occurred.
“Even if it’s not as good as a dragon’s heart, we can restore the power of the altar to some extent using Teidon’s heart.”
Minhyuk nodded.
He had a general understanding of the situation.
The expedition to obtain Teidon’s heart was a hugely important undertaking on which the survival of the entire Astel Empire depended.
“Learning from the failures of the last expedition, this time we will organize an expedition dozens, no, hundreds of times larger.”
“Then you will need a lot of soldiers. And a lot of money.”
Minhyuk slyly brought up the subject of money.
“This is a matter of life and death for everyone. We must obtain Teidon’s heart, even if we have to exhaust all of Astel’s resources!”
Minhyuk smiled inwardly.
If he became the mainstay of the expedition, he would also be involved in the procurement of military supplies.
It was a good opportunity to sell potions.
They were buying my potions with national funds and letting me use them.
I could sell even the highest-grade potions as I pleased and even set the price as I wanted.
Of course, if I made too much of a profit, it would be considered military profiteering.
‘Since I’m a man of integrity, I’ll just take 5 million won per egg.’
Minhyuk had already accepted the princess’s request in his mind.
Whether the expedition was successful or not, he would be able to get his hands on a huge amount of gold just by preparing for it.
“So please…”
The princess asked Minhyuk again, pleadingly.
“For the sake of Asdel’s people, please lead the expedition!”
A new message popped up before Minhyuk’s eyes.
＜The Princess of Asdel asks for your help. Lead the expedition to obtain the Heart of Teidon.＞
＜Reward upon success: 24 hours of return time.＞
＜Current return time: 22 minutes and 50 seconds.＞
Wow!
If the expedition was successful, he would get a whopping 24 hours of return time.
It was a reward on a whole different level compared to the seconds and minutes he had been getting so far.
24 hours was a whole day.
If he had that much return time, Minhyuk would be able to enjoy huge benefits.
‘I wouldn’t have to run around buying things myself anymore.’
He still hadn’t received the batteries and yogurt he had asked the old man next door to buy for him when he went to buy a lottery ticket.
That was because time in the real world stopped while Minhyuk was in this world.
After asking the old man to buy the things, Minhyuk had come to this world and spent a night there.
However, time for the old man had only passed by as much as it took for Minhyuk to run to the ATM and check the price of a USB memory stick.
He must have just finished his business at the convenience store or might still be inside, choosing lottery numbers.
For the same reason, he couldn’t have anything delivered either.
However, if he got more than a day’s worth of return time,
He would be able to order things online and have them delivered, not to mention getting things delivered.
It would be a world where he could buy something in the evening and have it delivered to his doorstep by dawn.
He could order the things he needed, pay off his debts, spend the money, and play around, and when the delivery arrived, he could just put it in the fridge.
It would be a completely different world from what he had known until now.
‘I have to succeed and get those 24 hours!’
It was a golden opportunity to earn gold and also get a lot of precious time.
However, Minhyuk controlled his expression and asked the princess as usual.
“What will you give me if I help you?”
The return time and the gold were Minhyuk’s personal rewards, and he needed to negotiate separately with the princess.
The princess had also anticipated that Minhyuk would ask for something in return and had prepared for it in advance.
“If the expedition is successful, I will give you a fiefdom.”
“A fiefdom? You’ll give me land?”
“Yes, and not just the land, but also the right to rule the people who live on that land.”
She was saying that she would grant him a fiefdom in the emperor’s name and make him a lord.
“Where are you giving me land?”
“I will give you land outside the castle.”
I was amazed that she would give me land infested with monsters as a fief.
However, I endured and continued to listen to the princess’s words.
“Become a lord who governs the people who live on that land.”
There were no residents there, let alone passersby.
She wanted me to be the ‘only lord’ in such a place?
It was an absurd proposal, but Minhyeok soon noticed the princess’s intention.
“By any chance…”
“Yes, I will give you that land if the territory of Kaho expands more than it is now.”
100 years ago, the territory of Kaho was more than ten times larger than it is now.
However, as time passed, the power of the altar weakened, and now it barely protects the castle.
The swamp and forest surrounding the castle used to be fertile land where crops could be grown and livestock could be raised.
So there were villages where people gathered and lived outside the castle.
“If you restore the power of the altar with the Heart of Teidon, the territory of Kaho will expand several times more than it is now. Then people will be able to live on that land again. It will soon regain its former fertility. I will give you that land!”
She said she would give me the land obtained from the expedition.
It was like a construction company getting the right to use reclaimed land if it succeeds in a land reclamation project.
“Are you giving me all that land?”
“Not all of it.”
The imperial family and nobles participating in the expedition, as well as the wealthy who provide the funds, will share the ownership of that land.
The greater the contribution or investment, the more land they will own when the expedition is successful.
“I promise that you will receive a particularly large share.”
Minhyeok smiled and replied.
“That’s not something you can just say. Let’s make it clear in writing.”
It meant that he would participate in the expedition.
The princess smiled with joy at his words.
.
.
.
The princess returned to the palace, and Minhyeok was alone again.
‘I’m going to be a lord?’
Regarding the distribution of the fiefdom that I will receive as a reward for success, we agreed to talk about it in detail at the Imperial Palace in a fortnight.
I will meet the emperor then.
I will get as much as possible and get a document signed by the emperor.
‘If I become a lord, I’ll get a lot of money, right?’
A lord can collect taxes from the people.
You can be full without farming yourself; in terms of the real world, it’s like being a landlord.
If I cultivate the fiefdom well and the number of residents increases tremendously, the tax revenue at that time will be incomparable to personal earnings.
I will live by piling up gold coins.
Then I will be completely free from worrying about money in the real world.
No, you can live like a chaebol.
Chuckle-
Minhyuk’s lips curled into a smile.
Ahem-
At that moment, someone cleared their throat.
“I kept you waiting for a long time.”
It was General Drake.
He came to teach Minhyuk swordsmanship.
“I apologize for presumptuously reporting to Her Highness that you had come here.”
“No, you were right to do so, considering your position.”
Minhyuk was polite to the general.
Not only had he spent a lot of money to get his money’s worth, but he also knew that he couldn’t achieve great things if he didn’t respect his teacher when learning something.
“I’m relieved to hear you say that. I have a lot I want to share with you, but let’s start with what’s important first.”
The general led Minhyuk to the training ground.
And handed Minhyuk a wooden sword.
Minhyuk received the wooden sword and said with a serious look in his eyes.
“Please teach me everything from the basics. I don’t know anything about swordsmanship.”
General Drake was inwardly impressed by Minhyuk’s humility.
He was a skilled swordsman who had managed to draw his sword just once.
But when learning something new, he was willing to put aside all stereotypes and arrogance.
“I understand. I will also put aside stereotypes and teach you everything from the very basics.”
The swordsmanship lesson began.
Minhyuk quickly absorbed Drake’s teachings like cotton absorbs water.
Thanks to his excellent dynamic vision, he was able to accurately grasp the general’s demonstration moves.
And his strong yet flexible body was able to reproduce even difficult moves in an instant.
Minhyuk’s memory also played a role.
He had been able to enter Korea’s top prestigious university without taking any extra lessons thanks to his excellent memory and mental arithmetic skills.
He wasn’t as good as the memory geniuses with servant syndrome, but he was far superior to the average person.
The general was also impressed by Minhyuk’s learning ability.
However, he noticed right away after starting the lesson.
Minhyuk really didn’t know anything about swordsmanship.
Not only swordsmanship, but he had no experience in any other martial arts.
‘He beat me with just his physical abilities. Just who is this guy···.’
Memories of a journey he had taken in his youth crossed the general’s mind.
It was a training journey to practice martial arts.
At that time, he was young and didn’t know much, so he wasn’t afraid of anything.
While traveling alone outside the territory of Gaho, he was attacked by beasts in the forest and was on the verge of death.
At that time, a man appeared and saved him.
Despite having no martial arts training, he was as free as if the forest crawling with monsters was his own home.
He asked him something, but he left without saying anything.
As the years went by and he grew close to Professor Lehman, he heard stories of those who had adapted to the Cataclysm and gained powerful physiques.
However, the General had not seen such a person again in decades.
And now, one had appeared before his very eyes.
The taciturn General did not reveal his thoughts to Minhyuk.
He was simply curious.
If Minhyuk were to completely master his swordsmanship, what heights would he reach?
‘Am I doing something I will regret?’
The General could not tell if he was creating the strongest hero or the worst monster.
But one thing was for sure.
His patience would not allow him to stop teaching.