The Mage Tower Branch in Lartania.


    Unlike when Shadra first arrived, the interior of the Mage Tower Branch in Lartania was now filled with various magical equipment and items.


    Perhaps even more than what was sold at the Mage Tower itself.


    The reason was the mercenaries.


    Unlike other territories, Lartania had an overwhelminglyrge number of mercenaries, which created a high demand for scrolls and various equipment made by wizards.


    Thus, following thew of supply and demand, the Mage Tower Branch in Lartania was selling a much wider variety of magical items and scrolls than the Mage Tower itself.


    Additionally, recently, there had been a significant increase in the sale of magical materials.


    Normally, even in ces with many mercenaries, magic scrolls and equipment would sell well, but magical materials were rarely sold.


    Magical materials were primarily in demand by wizards, not mercenaries.


    However, the reason the Mage Tower Branch was sellingrge quantities of magical materials was that the few wizard mercenaries in existence had all gathered in Lartania.


    If there was only one wizard among the many mercenaries, they wouldn’t bother selling perishable reagents at the branch.


    But in Lartania, the concentration of wizard mercenaries was so high that the Mage Tower was selling magical materials as well.


    As a result, not only mercenary wizards, but also independent wizards who studied magic alone were flocking to Lartania to buy materials from the branch.


    And Shadra, the branch leader of Lartania’s Mage Tower and Master of the Blue Tower,


    “Finally arrived…”


    arrived at the Lartania territory with a slightly tired expression.


    She should have arrived a few days earlier, but the meeting regarding the demons took longer than expected, causing her to be dyed by several days.


    But Shadra, who was showing a slightly tired expression, soon changed her expression and smiled.


    It was because she had obtained something from this trip to the Mage Tower.


    “Heheh-”


    Shadra smiled as she fiddled with a small wooden box in her possession.


    Inside that small box was the item Kim Hyunwoo had requested.


    ‘I had to work hard to get this.’


    As she recalled the hardships she endured to obtain the item in this small box, Shadra smiled at the thought of telling Kim Hyunwoo about it and receiving praise.


    ‘Dad won’t notice if I don’t show it-’


    Shadra smiled and lightly shook her head from side to side, humming to herself.


    ‘Only one left now?’


    She recalled Kim Hyunwoo’s words.


    Kim Hyunwoo had already promised her twice that he would grant any wish.


    ‘Now there’s only one wish left…’


    Shadra, recalling what Kim Hyunwoo said ten years ago, looked forward to fulfilling thatst wish as she walked.


    “…?”


    After quickly unpacking at the Mage Tower Branch and heading straight to Kim Hyunwoo, Shadra suddenly stopped as she entered the first floor of the branch.


    The reason was that people were huddled together on the first floor, where the counters were.


    Shadra, watching this, tilted her head in curiosity and walked over to where the people were gathered.


    Soon, Shadra saw something.


    “Please, please, let it go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”


    “It has to work this time!!!!”


    “Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-”


    “I spent all my sry, it has to work, pleasepleaseplease!!! Oh Heavens, oh Gods, oh Divine Beings, oh Spirits of the Earth!!!!”


    The wizards were shouting things that didn’t suit those who sought the truths of the world.


    In the middle of them stood her assistant, holding her weapon, a white spellbook, in one hand and something resembling a hammer in the other, with a very serious expression.


    And then.


    “Gandaaat-!!!!”


    With his powerful shout, the hammer came down on the white spellbook.


    Paaaat-!


    Soon, a bright light burst forth-!


    Pseok-!


    The hammer shattered.


    “Aaaaah!!!”


    Her assistant twisted and started thrashing about, while the wizards collectively let out groans of disappointment.


    “…What’s this?”


    Seeing this, Shadra muttered with a puzzled expression, and one of the wizards, noticing her return, quickly bowed.


    “Tower Master, you’ve returned?”


    “Yes, but what’s going on here?”


    At Shadra’s curious question, the wizard immediately exined.


    “It’s the Hammer of Enhancement.”


    “…Hammer of Enhancement?”


    “Yes. It’s a new artifact that the Lord of Lartania released, along with the Magnifying ss-”


    The wizard began to briefly summarize the current situation for Shadra.


    The Lord of Lartania had started selling an artifact called the Hammer of Enhancement, which could strengthen any weapon, along with the Magnifying ss a few days ago.


    The sess rate of the Hammer of Enhancement was extremely low, but when it seeded, the performance of the weapon increased to an unbelievable degree.


    As a result, all the mercenaries in Lartania were buying the Hammer of Enhancement to strengthen their weapons.


    “Hmm-”


    Shadra made an intrigued expression but soon spoke with a peculiar look.


    “It’s certainly interesting…but does it really make them that strong to be so obsessed?”


    Shadra asked with a somewhat confused expression.


    The wizard was about to exin something.


    “This…you should see it for yourself.”


    Muttering that, the wizard called over Shadra’s assistant, who was in despair on the other side.


    “Shalon! The Tower Master has returned!”


    “Ah!”


    Noticing Shadra’s arrival btedly due to her deep despair, Shalon quickly collected herself and hurriedly approached, bowing her head.


    “I’m sorry, Tower Master. I was a bit preupied.”


    “It’s okay, that happens.”


    “Shalon, please exin the effects of the Hammer of Enhancement…!”


    “Ah.”


    As soon as the Hammer of Enhancement was mentioned, Shalon’s eyes lit up, and she began exining.


    “…So, if you seed in enhancing the weapon just three times, it bes powerful enough to surpass circles?”


    “Yes! It’s true! I’ll show you!”


    Nodding with eyes filled with a mix of regret and joy, Shalon immediately began preparing a spell, and Shadra, who had been watching with a disinterested expression,


    “…!”


    soon looked at Shalon with a shocked expression.


    In reality, Shalon’s magic was clearly no different from a 4th-circle spell, but the power and magical force had distinctly surpassed the 4th-circle.


    Seeing Shadra’s shocked expression, Shalon stopped her spell.


    “Look at this, Tower Master! I’ve only seeded three times, and now I can use the power of the 5th-circle…! If the Lord’s weapon seeds in just three enhancements, it could reach the 8th-circle!?”


    She spoke with shining eyes.


    “…If it seeds three times, 8th Circle…?”


    Shadra unconsciously muttered as she looked at her weapon.


    “If it seeds three times…”


    Her eyes were tinged with a strange greed.


    The Hammer of Enhancement was selling exceptionally well.


    Not just at a sessful level, but to an unbelievable extent.


    “It’s already sold out?”


    [Yes, My Lord]


    “…That’s not easy.”


    Before Kim Hyunwoo started selling the Hammer of Enhancement, he had already made over 500,000 hammers.


    The Hammer of Enhancement was being sold for 1 Gold Coin, but the cost to produce each hammer was only around 15 Silver Coins, making it feasible to have such stock.


    But in just a few days, all the Hammers of Enhancement had sold out.


    ‘…I didn’t even properly advertise it.’


    Kim Hyunwoo realized anew just how powerful the Enhancement magic was.


    ‘Well…I did expect it to sell well to some extent, but…’


    Of course, in a fantasy world, and especially in this Labyrinth City, power was an extremely important factor.


    This Labyrinth City had a structure simr to a game, where the higher your strength, the more wealth you could earn.


    However, increasing one’s strength in this world was not easy.


    Unlike in games where leveling up increases your stats, in this world, unless you became a hero, only your pure experience could increase your strength.


    He turned his gaze outside the Lord’s castle.


    Outside the Lord’s castle, the line of mercenaries waiting to buy the Hammer of Enhancement extended all the way to the outer edge of the second wall.


    ‘I didn’t think it would be to this extent.’


    Kim Hyunwoo absentmindedly watched the mercenaries while turning his gaze to the resource window.


    [Red Stone: 5,200]


    [Blue Stone: 232]


    [Gold Coins: 865,422]


    [Magic Stones: 442,222]


    ‘…I won’t have to worry about the territory’s development.’


    Seeing the absurd amount of money umtedpared to the 300,000 Gold Coins he had just a few days ago, Kim Hyunwoo thought to himself.


    “I should reassign about ten of the skeletons making Magnifying sses to start making more Hammers.”


    Muttering that, he smiled faintly.


    An empire in the Southern part of the Continent.


    Inside the Imperial Pce of Lar, a territory more prosperous than any other andrger than any kingdom.


    A woman, sitting in a chair far too luxurious for amoner, yawned out of boredom.


    “Hmm…so the Mercenary Guild requested something from another lord…is that right?”


    “Yes, you instructed us to report everything rted to Lartania…”


    As the secretary spoke cautiously, the woman, still wearing a bored expression, nodded and replied.


    “Alright, let’s hear it.”


    “To summarize…there’s been a request to apply political pressure on the Lartania territory. The report says they were wronged.”


    “Wronged…”


    She pondered for a moment, then let out a chuckle.


    “Interesting.”


    “…What should we do?”


    “Bring the person involved to me. Let’s see their face.”


    Saying that, she wiped her bored expression away and twisted one corner of her mouth into a smirk.


    “…The face of someone daring to spout such nonsense against Lartania in the empire I rule.”