Chapter 38 Part1 (1/2)
<chapter 38.=”” the=”” peddler=”” and=”” the=”” adventurer=”” -=”” 1=””>
[Master, the level of Mana Parasite has risen, increasing its functionality.]
'Mm?'
It had been ten days since Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had snuck into the large city, 'Kuroa's Glory' and had begun acting as the peddler, Lawrence. Another merchant was right about to sign his contract, but Rem chose that time to give its report.
'The level rose?'
[That's correct. The skill has leveled up before, decreasing the mana consumption and increasing its speed, but this time, it gained an additional ability... It occurred when the skill reached level 5.]
'Wait a sec. Give me the details a bit later.'
Mana Parasite was paramount to achieving his goal on the surface, so Lee s.h.i.+n Woo couldn't afford to ignore Rem's report. However, now wasn't the time. The merchant was right about to sign the contract, but he looked at Lee s.h.i.+n Woo anxiously.
”Is there something wrong with the contract?”
”I'm sorry. I just remembered something important... Yes, you're all set. The confidentiality clause is perfect as well. It's done.”
”Hoo.”
The merchant sighed in relief. The contract referred to the wine auction. He'd hired a few trustworthy merchants among the ones he'd befriended in the past ten days, and put them in charge of setting up the auction, promoting it, and running it.
In layman's terms, they would do miscellaneous tasks and act as his 's.h.i.+elds', since he came out of nowhere and had hundreds of bottles of expensive wine. He'd promised to pay them, so the merchants pleasantly agreed.
”Then, I'll be counting on you for a month. You can send your regular reports to my accommodations.”
”That's my line.”
He thought he'd be interrogated, but the merchant didn't do so, and instead just picked up the contract. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had picked him for this very reason, so he supposed it was only natural.
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo picked up his own contract and perused it again. After that, he slightly nodded his head and left. He was now being rewarded for acting as a peddler for ten days. He wouldn't have to worry about it for the time being.
”So what's the new ability?”
[Infection.]
”Infection...”
Once Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was alone, he followed up with Rem. Rem explained the new ability with a single, concise word. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo understood what it did immediately.
”As expected, it goes from a contagion to an infection.”
[Exactly. Master, you must be aware of the fact that golems produced for the same purpose and stationed in the same area, are connected like a network of sorts.]
Arema Steelworker's golems were like that. According to Rem, the technique used to make the golems here and the ones underground were the same, so early on, he'd figured that the Magic Empire's golems would be connected like a network.
[I am now able to secretly infect all the golems in the network if I just infect a few of them. If the ability grows even further, then I should be able to infect other golem networks as well.]
”That's...”
That's a virus! Lee s.h.i.+n Woo knew how dangerous Rem was. If this technique worked on humans, then it would be game over. This wasn't a hero's ability; it was a demon king's! What's worse, the Magic Empire had golems everywhere, so it was pretty much already game over.
He'd only brought Rem along to help him out, but never thought that that trivial decision would've made such a difference!
”Good job, Rem. Go wild. Infect them all.”
[Understood.]
Even so, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo unhesitatingly yelled 'go'. Since there was no possibility of danger, he didn't plan on stopping, no matter what happened afterwards. He would worry about world peace after he was completely safe!
[According to the network's information sharing, there are at least 50 level 7 golems in the capital, Enart. If I manage to infect them as well, then you should be able to move more freely. I believe we will be able to hold the Emperor at bay...]
”You can infect level 7 golems too?”
[It's difficult to infect them myself, but if I infect them through the capital's network, then there's a high chance for success. If the Mana Parasite levels up even further, then the likelihood increases even more.]
”What are the chances the Emperor finds out?”
[No one will find out about the infection. I a.s.sure you.]
”...Good. I'm counting on you.”
[I will begin right away.]
After it finished its report, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo thought that perhaps Rem, out of all of them, was the busiest, but for some reason, decided to ignore it. Since he was doing his best too.
”Why do you keep looking at me?”
”I wasn't looking.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo led his sharp witted pack horse and hit the road.
He'd gotten rid of all his useless items in the past ten days, so he needed a new supply, but because he wasn't a real merchant, he didn't need to buy local products. Then how would he fill his inventory? What would he fill it with? There was only one choice.
”We're going to clear a new dungeon.”
”But dungeons aren't common.”
”Including the golems guarding and patrolling this city, there are thousands of golems infected. Do you really think they wouldn't have any info regarding the dungeons?”
That's right. He'd learned some facts about the Magic Empire, the popular items, as well as monster and dungeon information separate from the Underground Empire.