A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 111

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 111

Swish.
Swish-swish.
A gentle rustling sound keeps going on and on.
I’m supposed to be busy wrecking Count Ponsen’s territory, yet somehow a surprise healing time has arrived.
“How can something be this peaceful?”
On top of that, the forest is fairly wide, so it doesn’t seem like much of a problem even from a woodcutter’s point of view.
If anything, the people around here should be worried that the woodcutter might switch to farming.
Even to an ordinary person like me, this land has turned into absurdly excellent soil.
At the very least, it’s soil quality you rarely see in South Korea.
Whatever you plant here is bound to yield a bountiful harvest.
Swish.
Of course, I have no intention of turning it into a granary plain on the scale of Myuren.
The true granary plain is going to be born in Ash Village.
The area around Liam is worth considering as well.
Among them, the southern part is an empty stretch where you can only gather a few medicinal herbs and mushrooms, which makes it well suited for conversion into farmland.
If we could harvest any crop at all from there, even the absurdly large population we have now could be sustained.
But that plan was put on hold.
If you compare Liam to Seoul, the problem is simple.
Anyone with a bit of common sense knows that building on empty land is far more profitable, so there are plenty of people who understand that.
Besides, no matter how favorable a position we managed to secure, nobody could say for certain how the war would turn out.
Shh.
Swish-swish.
The grind kept repeating itself.
Geopgal Gwisu didn’t seem to be unhappy about anything, and if anything, it was following my orders with obvious satisfaction.
Is this the direction this magical existence wants things to go?
The further I get into this work, the more I find myself curious about curse magic.
“Curse magic might be a decent class if you dig into it.”
Shamans are, without question, a class that can handle magical existences.
Even setting the Golden Juryeok aside, I figure there must be a way to take magical existences for myself.
Most magical existences grant only minor status of around 1 to 3, and their accessibility isn’t bad either.
If a shaman like that were paired with a cheat-like unique ability such as Gwisu’s, he would have climbed into the ranks of the Rankers in no time.
“Adventure really does matter, after all.”
The community offers a flood of information about the paths novice players should take.
And given how Korean players tend to be, most of that information points toward the most efficient growth route.
That’s probably why no shaman ever set foot in the Withered Lands, where Gwisu was.
“I’m just grateful for that, honestly.”
Thanks to that, I’ve gotten a lot of motivation.
Apart from the plan, I’ve decided that wandering through every corner of regions players neglect is a really good idea.
If I’m lucky, I’ll find a Hidden Piece, and even if I’m not, it’ll be a healing trip where I feed Gwisu.
Kwee-ik.
“Oh, are we done?”
Before I knew it, the reclamation of this section was finished.
And before I knew it, the wall of Loren Fortress loomed right in front of us.
The walls here look even taller and sturdier than the ones in Liam.
“Thankfully, I don’t see any Guard Soldiers.”
I had no intention of relaxing just because no guards were visible at the moment.
A fortress means superior order and strong defenses compared to anywhere else, after all.
“Not exactly easy to get over that, huh?”
Kwee-ik.
“Yeah.”
A city wall and Geopgal Gwisu.
It was a combination that sparked countless ideas.
Just making the ground beneath the wall soft might turn into a remarkably effective siege strategy, I think.
But I have to be patient.
Baron Rockwell and Count Ponsen, the rulers of this place, are bound to end up at odds with each other.
“Maybe they’ll fall out even if we just sit back and do nothing?”
The farmland reclamation alone had already been enough of a blow.
With the Count, his father-in-law, gathering rations under the pretense of preparing for war, a sudden report that his son-in-law had reclaimed farmland would look very strange indeed.
And on top of that, I had sent Lantz in as insurance.
I couldn’t say how far he would go, but this reclamation was not going to be read kindly by the Count.
If the rumors spread properly, that would be the icing on the cake.
“Then I’d better look suitably dumbfounded when I see these fields.”
I retrieved the Geopgal Gwisu and returned to the mountain path.
Of course, I made sure not to make the mistake of retracing my steps.
The soil where I’d turned it over had changed completely, and now it held footprints nicely.
‘Good. Act natural.’
Just then, a man who looked like he belonged to Loren Fortress was walking toward me from the opposite direction.
With those fleshy jowls, he didn’t look like an ordinary villager.
A face like that was hard to come by in medieval times.
He was the sort of target one could easily work on.
“Hello there. Are you by any chance a man of Rockwell Baron?”
“Hmm? An outsider? Who might you be?”
The NPC had identified me as an outsider.
That meant I could fall back on the Player’s own way of doing things.
“Ah, I acquired an ability to read land. I heard some splendid farmland had been reclaimed here, so I came over to invest.”
“Farmland? Then shouldn’t you have gone to Bexon?”
“Hmm? The skill told me it was here, though.”
From an NPC’s point of view, an outsider must be something like an alien.
Just by killing monsters, they grew stronger on their own, and out of nowhere they picked up strange abilities.
That’s why I judged that, so long as it was a land-reading skill, I could insist on it and make them understand.
“Isn’t this Loren Fortress? The place Rockwell Baron governs?”
“Hah, well. It is Loren Fortress, but you’ve come to the wrong place. Most of the food we consume is imported, you see.”
“Yes, and that’s exactly why someone reclaimed it. Doesn’t it seem like you haven’t heard a thing about this from the Baron?”
I lightly prodded at his pride and slyly probed for his position.
“That can’t be right, can it? I’m the revenue recorder here.”
“A revenue recorder? So you’re the one who collects taxes?”
“That would be a tax collector, my friend.”
“Ah? That’s odd. You’re a recorder, and yet you don’t know this?”
His position was revenue recorder.
It wasn’t a particularly high rank, but against commoners, it was a position that could wield absolute power.
“Have you been taken for a fool? Looks like you’ve accepted some strange Quest and are running around with it. Now get along on your way!”
“I’m going mad, seriously. Recorder, just come with me. You have to see it with your own eyes to understand. Do you think the skill is a joke? Is the Status Window a joke?”
“What nonsense are you babbling about!”
“Come and see for yourself. No, forget it. Just come along.”
“Hey, what’s with this strength!”
A strong body makes for an easy mind.
He had no chance of subduing me, and I was free to press every claim I wanted to make.
That’s how I dragged the revenue recorder along by force and showed him the farmland I had reclaimed, which I now claimed had been discovered by some sort of skill.
“See? Still think my skill is a lie?”
The revenue recorder’s reaction was just as I had expected.
Given the nature of his post, he would be well informed about everything inside and outside the fortress.
He would even know the flow of money circulating within the fortress.
And yet, the revenue recorder had not a single piece of information about the vast farmland spread out before his eyes.
“Wh-what? What on earth is this? That can’t be happening.”
“Do you believe it now?”
“Huh? If this were real, it would have been reported from above, surely? Huh?”
I confirmed that the revenue recorder’s composure had completely cracked.
And I knew this matter would not end with the revenue recorder.
After all, I had belonged to an organization for a long time myself.
“Wait! Hold on a moment! There’s still no proof that this is farmland!”
“Come now. Are you new to the trade? If this isn’t farmland, what is it? Are you going to build a house here? Good luck with that.”
The revenue recorder, looking flustered, knelt and rubbed the soil between his fingers to examine its condition.
“…It was definitely forest. Heh. Heh-heh-heh-heh.”
There was no choice but to admit it.
That this had become farmland far more fertile than any ordinary field.
“Do you believe it now?”
“…Indeed. Forgive my rudeness.”
The records clerk’s attitude shifted.
Apparently, that was enough to make me seem like a genuine outsider investor.
“Yes. So I was thinking of making some investments.”
“I can’t stop you, but I’d rather not recommend it.”
“Why’s that?”
“I see the news hasn’t reached you yet. Baron Rockwell is scheduled to be dispatched to the upcoming war. Any negotiations will have to wait until after it’s over.”
It was all information I already knew, the answer I had expected.
Not that it mattered much, since I hadn’t approached him with any serious intent to invest in the first place.
“Wait, a war?”
“Yes. Don’t tell me you came here without knowing?”
“Yeah. The land was so good that I just rushed over. Who are we fighting?”
The records clerk answered with a grim expression, as if trying to unsettle me.
“Count Ponsen has declared war on the Royal Court.”
“Wait, the Royal Court? Isn’t the Royal Court the country itself?”
“I understand it may be hard for an outsider to grasp, but there are many calculations behind this. I have nothing to say on that matter.”
“Wow. So it’s real. Guess I didn’t search the internet enough.”
“Still, since you don’t seem like a threat to our Baron, I’ll tell you this: come back once the war is over. I believe I may be able to lend you a hand then.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
“Yes. At least, I believe I was the first to discover this farmland within the fortress.”
Ambition flickered across the records clerk’s face.
This man clearly wanted to climb higher.
“Is that right? And your name is?”
“It’s Somil. My family has served the Baron for generations.”
Somil.
I decided to keep that name in mind.
Given his position, he didn’t seem likely to take the field in the war.
“What a shame. Investing now would have been the best timing, but I suppose I’ll have to wait for another time.”
“And may I ask your name, outsider?”
“It’s Elka.”
There was no need to reveal my true identity before the war ended.
So I offered the alias Elka instead.
“Very well, Elka. Let’s meet again next time, somewhere more fitting.”
“Oh, by any chance, is it difficult to enter the fortress right now?”
“Yes. Given the circumstances, we’re not recruiting mercenaries at the moment, so unless you’re a merchant, I doubt you’ll be able to get in.”
“Oh, I see.”
So I had learned that merchants could still enter.
That was useful information to have.
“Well, if you say so, Somil. Then I’ll visit again once the war is over.”
“Yes. Until then.”
That was enough.
Without ever setting foot in the fortress, I had found the right person to spread the good poison.
I was certain the farmland I had cultivated would become a major variable in this war.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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