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Chapter 188: The Seven Lords (1)

The seven rulers of the Heavenly City.

Whether they formed guilds and acted in groups, or played solo.

Their paths were different, but they had one thing in common.

They were exceptional from the start.

The same was true for the guild master of Shadow, the representative information guild of the Heavenly City.

Succubus Queen Lilith.

Her combat power was the lowest among the Seven Lords. However, she had an advantage that the other Lords didn’t.

Regardless of age or gender, her charm was fatal. She gathered numerous talents and established a guild. Thus, she became the ruler of the underworld.

And now, the ruler of the underworld was twitching her lips as she looked at a document.

“Oh my? Haha! Is this for real?”

“The information was delivered by express. There’s no doubt about its authenticity.”

“There’s chaos in the 9th District?”

“Yes. Just as the report says, the allied guilds were all defeated. Three district heads were killed as well.”

“And Blood Wolf’s brother was among them?”

“….That’s right. They say he was beheaded in a single strike.”

“Hmm….”

Lilith hummed.

Her eyes sparkled like stars.

“His personality seems quite fiery.”

“It might be. Anyway, the order of the 9th District has been reorganized. The top 10 guilds have all been absorbed. By that Kim Minwoo.”

“The guild name is… let’s see. Money-Throwing? What’s that?”

“It probably means he’ll spend a lot. We’ll be able to collect a lot of taxes from now on.”

Lilith put down the report and looked at the Ratman in front of her.

Agatha, the small, one-eyed Ratman wearing glasses, was her advisor.

“Have some.”

“Thank you.”

Agatha’s eyes gleamed as she handed him a piece of cheese crawling with maggots.

For him, a Ratman, cheese was practically a panacea.

Especially the rancid cheese with maggots squirming in it. As he swallowed the thick, bursting juices, his brain started to work furiously.

“What should we do…….”

“There are three options. We can ignore it, help him, or side with the Red Flag.”

“Help Blood Wolf? Hmm… I don’t know. Even if we help, I don’t think that arrogant wolf will give us much.”

“Probably not. At best, he’ll throw us some scraps.”

“Ignoring it doesn’t feel right either. It’s been a while since a promising seedling has appeared. It would be a shame if it withered before it bloomed, don’t you think?”

Lilith twirled her hair with a smirk. It was a variable that had appeared after a long time.

A major event that could potentially reshape the stagnant order of the Heavenly City. It was still in the 9th District, but there was no law saying this storm-like momentum couldn’t reach the higher districts.

“We’ve always lacked power. Always.”

“That’s right. A beautiful lady like the Queen needs a strong, steel-like knight to protect her. If we nurture him well, he could become a valuable asset.”

“What do you think that wolf will do?”

“Blood Wolf’s personality has made him many enemies, so it’s difficult for him to leave his high position and personally address matters in the lower districts.”

“He’ll probably send his subordinates.”

“Yes. That’s highly likely. Or he might not touch him for now. It’s also an option to deal with him when he comes up.”

“True. That would minimize the sacrifices.”

Agatha nodded.

“Blood Wolf is one thing, but what about the others?”

“They’ll probably wait and see. It’s a big deal, but it’s still only happening in the 9th District. If they’re a bit more proactive, they might consider persuasion.”

“But even if they do, they won’t come down here themselves like me, right?”

“….Pardon?”

“Why are you so surprised? You said he’s a good talent, right? If you want to recruit him, you have to make a personal effort. What’s my specialty?”

“That would be… your incredibly fatal charm.”

“Exactly. If they see my face, won’t it be over in one shot? No matter how strong this human’s willpower is.”

Lilith grinned and pinched Agatha’s nose.

“Like this! I’ll pierce his nose right away. Isn’t it when his price is the lowest?”

“….No one can resist the Queen’s charm. However… I’m not sure if he’s worth that much.”

“Why, don’t you like him?”

“The cost of going down there is enormous.”

“Do we lack money, not power?”

“That’s true, but…”

Lilith chuckled.

She knew why Agatha was acting like this.

Kim Minwoo.

He was definitely a promising seedling.

But right now, he was only a seedling. Whether he would truly bloom and bear fruit was still unknown. Moreover, he was hostile towards the Red Flag.

If she invested directly and he collapsed midway, it would be a huge loss.

“Agatha, easy tasks only bring easy rewards.”

“How could I ever stop the Queen?”

“You know me well. Keep up the good work. I’ll be back.”

Lilith, wearing a robe, headed towards the secret passage.

* * *

[‘Deadly’ quest cleared!]

[You refused the contract, defeated the top 10 guilds, and established a massive unified guild!]

[You have been awarded 1,000 achievement points!]

[‘Guild Management’ window unlocked!]

[‘Guild Shop’ unlocked!]

A message popped up.

He had unified all the surviving top 10 guilds and established a guild in the Heavenly City. The name was the same as on Earth, the Money-Throwing Guild.

The guild master was, of course, Kim Minwoo, and he appointed Amteron as the vice-leader.

‘He’s the best fit.’

The Heavenly City had a structure where non-residents had to come and go.

Since the same would apply to people from Earth in the future, a local had to manage the guild.

As there was no one else suitable for the figurehead role, he appointed Amteron as the vice-leader.

‘The internal issues are roughly settled.’

Forcibly recruiting members like this could easily lead to problems, but they had the magical tool of a contract.

A contract overseen by the Heavenly Realm.

Since they had tried an unfair contract, he reciprocated with an equally unfair one.

It basically said that they couldn’t betray him and were eternally bound to the guild.

[Guild Management]

[Guild Name: Money-Throwing]

[Guild Master: Kim Minwoo]

[Vice Guild Master: Amteron]

[Total Members: 564]

[Guild Level: 13]

[Monthly Income: 3,000,000 Marks]

[Funds Held: 1,000,000 Marks]

Perhaps it was because he absorbed all the allied guild members at once.

From the start, it became a large guild with over 500 members. Of course, these weren’t all the guild members. The allied guild members were only the elites selected from a thousand.

‘But, there’s no need to accept them all.’

Like on Earth, the standards would be high. That’s why he only accepted those who had attacked him. The rest of the guild members lost their guilds overnight, but he didn’t care.

They would find their way to other lower guilds.

That wasn’t all he gained.

By merging the guilds, the information they each managed was gathered in one place. Things like valuable hidden quests, secret leveling spots, and so on.

He planned to utilize them later.

He looked at Amteron, who was now promoted to vice-leader.

“Vice-leader.”

“Yes, Guild Master.”

“About the monthly income. How does it come in so consistently?”

“It’s protection money.”

“Huh?”

“Each guild manages a certain area. There are shops there. We collect protection money from them.”

“….Protection money? Are we gangsters?”

No matter how he looked at it, it was a term that reminded him of thugs. Amteron hurriedly waved his hands at Kim Minwoo’s frown.

“It’s not a bad concept.”

“Then what is it?”

“Guild Master, you haven’t been here long, have you?”

“Two days, I think.”

“Then you haven’t experienced a ‘raid’ yet.”

“Raid?”

“Hmm… would you look at the map over there?”

The 9th District map that Amteron pointed to had areas shrouded in fog.

“The Fog Forest. It’s an area full of hybrids with no particular intelligence.”

“Hybrids? Are they like monsters?”

“You can think of them as roughly similar. Anyway, a horde of hybrids raids the district from there once a month. The guilds have to defend against it.”

“Because we receive protection money?”

“That’s right.”

“And that’s that 3,000,000 Marks?”

“Yes. The currency unit here is ‘Mark’.”

“Is this a lot of money?”

“It’s not a small amount. We’ve taken over the areas that the top 10 guilds were protecting. Of course, only the profitable ones. For reference, the Hamorn Guild received about 500,000 Marks per month.”

He nodded.

If the second-ranked guild earned that much, then 3,000,000 Marks, nearly six times that amount, was definitely not a small sum.

“Achievement points and Marks…”

“I’ll summarize it simply. Think of achievement points as a valuable currency, and Marks as a common currency. In any case, both are essential resources.”

“Is it possible to exchange currency?”

“It is. But the exchange rate isn’t very good.”

“So you have to throw a ton of Marks to convert them into Achievement Points?”

“That’s about right.”

Kim Minwoo nodded.

He roughly understood.

But there was one question.

‘It seems like guilds are a kind of feudal lord here…….’

They collect taxes and provide protection.

Doesn’t it look exactly like medieval feudal lords?

“Vice-leader.”

“Yes.”

“The infrastructure here is a mess, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Didn’t you guys invest in the 9th District? If you develop the city through investment, wouldn’t you be able to print Marks?”

The reason why it was possible to “print” money was simple.

It was due to a kind of systemic ability. For example, if you obtained materials and sold them at a rest stop, you would get Marks.

As long as you had enough quantity, you could get an infinite amount.

Simply put,

If you build walls, develop infrastructure to make the city function, and enable more efficient material gathering through hunting, you could circulate more Marks.

Did the top guilds not know this?

That’s why he was asking.

Amteron scratched his head at the question.

“Well… it’s not that easy.”

“Why not?”

“Everyone’s power is more or less equal. And there are always those who pocket some on the side. City development? Isn’t it more profitable to exchange Marks for Achievement Points and strengthen your Heavenly Projection?”

“So they focused on short-term gains rather than long-term?”

“I can’t afford to fall behind while the other district heads are getting stronger. It’s not that there weren’t attempts to pool resources and invest together. But…”

“Someone once said, if five people gather, one of them is bound to be trash.”

“What a… great sage! That’s exactly right.”

Amteron clapped his hands in agreement.

“But even if the other top guilds are like that, the Red Flag is different, right? Didn’t they invest or anything?”

“The successful ones eventually move up. So why would they care about the lower districts? They need to get stronger quickly and move up. This place is just a stopover. There are no philanthropists who would pour their money into a place they’re leaving.”

“Huh…”

The reasons were a bit complicated. It was the 9th District, a place they would eventually leave.

And investing alone wouldn’t solve anything. For various reasons, the 9th District couldn’t shake off its slum-like atmosphere.

“If we develop this place, it would be helpful for the higher districts too, right?”

“Yes. Even the Red Flag paid taxes to their branch in the upper district. But I don’t know if it would be a huge help. If it were, the Seven Lords would have come down here and wreaked havoc already.”

He was right.

But what the Seven Lords lacked, Kim Minwoo had.

‘Crafting.’

The Seven Lords.

They were strong.

But that was just physical strength.

They didn’t have the production skills to enrich and strengthen the entire city.

Even if they had production workers, they couldn’t match his massive supply.

He would arm and strengthen the citizens. Make them bring in more taxes, more materials.

Rebuild the city through that.

If he established infrastructure and grew the city that way…….

‘How much Achievement Points would that be?’

It would be far greater than destroying ten rotten guilds, wouldn’t it?

It was a grand scheme.

But, the grander the scheme, the better.

“Let’s do it.”

City development.

It seemed worthwhile.