The Final Boss Has Returned Episode 28
[You have completed the quest 'Revival of the Black Ring Society'.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
…….
[You have acquired dominion over Lawless Harbor Granado.]
[You have acquired the title 'Ruler of Lawless Harbor'.]
[Fame has increased by 1,202.]
[All stats have increased by 20.]
[Your level has increased.]
…….
[The Demon God of Darkness smiles in satisfaction at the contractor's exploits.]
[The Demon God of Darkness sponsors you with 10,000 points.]
Level-up notifications were always a pleasure to hear no matter when they came!
At the very end of the barrage of notifications flooding my vision, I finally spotted the message saying I had acquired dominion over Lawless Harbor.
Lawless Harbor!
That city was finally in my grasp.
And the very first thing I did after gaining dominion over Lawless Harbor was!
"I'm ending today's stream here."
After ending the stream.
"Territory Management Window."
It was opening the Territory Management Window, a privilege permitted only to the ruler of a city.
[Lawless Harbor Granado]
[Development Level: Intermediate Stage 1]
[Granado is a city of outlaws that has maintained its lineage for ages in Arde World. Outlaws with nowhere else to go across the continent, along with countless vicious criminals, flock here to escape death or after being exiled, making it a city of evil, and simultaneously the garbage dump of Arde World.]
[Over a decade ago, the surrounding land sank due to the Great Upheaval that shook the continent, bringing it into contact with the sea, and the city of outlaws transformed into the harbor of outlaws.]
[Now the city's true ruler has returned. A new wind shall blow through Lawless Harbor.]
[Military: D] [Military strength is low.]
[Economy: B+] [Economic power is mid-to-high tier.]
[Public Order: E] [Public order is severely poor.]
[Culture: D] [Lacks anything that can be called culture.]
[Population: 22,420]
[Available Funds: 12,343,210 Gold]
[Monthly Income: 750,000 Gold]
[Notable Features]
[NPC outlaws and criminals comprise the majority of residents. Their presence is causing public order to deteriorate severely.]
[It is the final destination of a smuggling route extending from the Eastern Sea. Countless smuggled goods and stolen items are traded in the Black Market, accounting for a significant portion of Lawless Harbor's revenue.]
[The city was heavily destroyed in the course of battle. The development level has dropped. Restore major facilities to recover the development level.]
[The residents fear you for destroying the city with overwhelming force. Resident Loyalty has temporarily increased significantly.]
[To properly rule Lawless Harbor, you must earn recognition from the five major powers. Reveal your strength and bring them under your command.]
[It is a city devoid of cultural facilities. With poor public order and virtually no culture, improving this area will require considerable expenditure in many ways.]
[Key Facilities]
[Harbor – Basic infrastructure largely intact.]
[Reconstruction Priority: D]
[Black Tower – A symbol of the Black Ring Society and black mages. However, it has been considerably contaminated by the pirates. Maintenance is required.]
[Maintenance Priority: B, Reconstruction Priority: B]
[Black Market – Basic infrastructure is intact, but the storage warehouses organizing various goods were destroyed, requiring maintenance and reconstruction.]
[Maintenance Priority: C, Reconstruction Priority: C]
…….
'It's not the absolute worst I imagined!'
It wasn't the worst-case scenario!
That was the first conclusion I drew after examining the Territory Management Window.
Territory management. Lordship.
These positions were exceedingly familiar to me.
Because I had done them to the point of sickness in the previous game.
From a Lord to a monarch who seized hegemony over the entire continent!
From the perspective of someone who had truly climbed from rock bottom to the apex, Lawless Harbor's current state wasn't bad at all.
'The available funds are quite decent, monthly income is okay, and while military and public order stats are at rock bottom, they'll rise if I just pour money in, so it's no big deal.'
Money!
In games or reality, everything was ultimately a money problem.
And Lawless Harbor Granado, true to its nature as the Pirate Alliance's cash cow, had accumulated considerable funds.
The problem was that restoring the city even with all that money would be a stretch!
Though the city's available funds were 12.34 million gold, rebuilding the ash-covered city to its original state would fall far short with merely 12.34 million gold.
Truly, restoring a destroyed city to its former state could only be called an undertaking of astronomical proportions.
'Well, money isn't exactly something I need to worry about.'
I didn't pay the money problem any mind.
Money!
That was Sin Hayeon's department, not something I needed to concern myself with.
She provided me with wealth and power, and I used her support to stage a rebellion!
I liked our current relationship, built on strict give-and-take.
Right as I was thinking this and that about Lawless Harbor.
"Contractor."
Kallid spoke to me.
I closed the Territory Management Window and looked at Kallid.
"Thank you sincerely for granting this old man's request."
Kallid!
The leader of the Black Ring Society and an NPC with Over Ranker-level strength now had five other black mages standing behind him, and he was bowing respectfully to me.
"It was only natural, so don't think too much of it."
I responded with modesty, and Kallid bowed his head deeply to me as he continued.
"Contractor, if you command it, I will see the Black Tower restored and reopen the doors of the Black Ring Society this very moment. Will you grant me permission?"
[A quest has occurred!]
[Restoration]
[Rank: Heroic]
[The headquarters of the Black Ring Society, an organization of black mages that has inherited its legacy since antiquity. Here, black mages stored, developed, passed down, and researched their magic, using the fruits of their labor to continuously develop and spread the dark gospel.]
[The time has come to rebuild the fallen Black Tower. Excavate the remains of the old Black Tower hidden deep within Granado, and recover the legacies left behind by the previous Tower Lords.]
Having checked the quest window, I gazed at the cityscape where smoke was still rising.
A black spire so high that it was clearly visible even from the pier where I stood!
I had known since long ago that the spire's name was the Black Tower.
Because even in the previous game, when Lawless Harbor had been called the Lawless City, that black tower had stood in the city's center, and its name had been the Black Tower even then!
"I permit it."
"Thank you."
[You have accepted the quest.]
[500,000 gold will be deducted from territory funds for maintenance costs.]
Along with the quest acceptance message, a notification appeared saying 500,000 gold had been deducted from territory funds, but I wasn't particularly surprised.
Because it was money I had to pay anyway to proceed with the next Oracle Quest.
[Black Tower]
[The headquarters of the Black Ring Society, an organization of black mages that has inherited its legacy since antiquity. Here, black mages stored, developed, passed down, and researched their magic, preserving and exchanging their achievements to achieve continuous development.]
[Protected by numerous defensive magics including ancient black magic, it is the mage tower of black mages that harbors countless secrets.]
[The symbol of oppression that abominable pirates had used to rule Lawless Harbor has finally regained its true form with the return of the Black Ring Society.]
[Time remaining until maintenance completion: 71:59:55]
[Functions]
[Sells black magic-related items.]
[Black magic skills can be learned.]
[Class changes to high-tier or related black mage classes are available.]
[After maintenance is complete, Black Mage class change quests will be unlocked for users.]
[After maintenance is complete, Black Ring Society-related faction quests will be unlocked for users.]
[After maintenance is complete, Oracle Quests bestowed by the Demon God of Darkness at the Black Tower can be undertaken.]
But after checking the Black Tower's functions in the information window that appeared afterward, I couldn't contain my surprise.
The fact that the Oracle Quests hadn't ended yet was something I'd already guessed, so it wasn't particularly surprising.
Yujin!
I already knew through prior investigation just how massive the Oracle Quest of Luminous, the Goddess of Light, that he had received was.
The Demon God of Darkness was an existence equal to that Goddess of Light!
For the Demon God of Darkness's Oracle Quest to end on the scale of merely claiming a single Lawless Harbor was, based on all my experience until now, utterly absurd.
The notification that users could undertake Black Ring Society-related quests was also, as mentioned, not particularly surprising since it had already been stated that the Black Ring Society would reopen.
What shocked me was the message saying that Black Mage class change quests had become available.
'The Black Mage class change quest unlocked!'
Black Mage.
An NPC-exclusive class whose class change method hadn't even been revealed by the end of the previous game!
That class was finally being unlocked by my hand in Second.
The time remaining until the Black Mage unlock was 3 days in-game time, 1 day in real time!
If Black Mages were unlocked once that time passed!
Enormous repercussions would strike not only Arde World but even the real world.
I smiled, imagining the future.
Because those repercussions would be positive for me if anything; there was no way they'd bring negative results.
New content in a game was always welcomed.
If it was a new class, all the more so!
The users would love it.
And the users' favorable public opinion toward the new class would naturally flow toward me, the one who had unlocked it.
It was truly like a pumpkin I'd never even imagined suddenly rolling right into my lap, vine and all!
I laughed at the sudden stroke of fortune.
The power of public opinion that had brought me down in the previous game!
I could sense that power finally moving toward my side this time.
* * *
The Lawless Harbor Recapture Battle!
After that war was completely concluded, I handled the aftermath together with Ignis.
Not that there was much to the aftermath itself.
Disbanding the gathered users, doing fan service by taking selfies together, and treating the users who stayed until the end kindly to leave a good impression—that was all.
But the number of people gathered was enormous, and the event itself was on an insane scale, so it took quite a long time to wrap everything up.
Right as I finished all the wrap-up work and was about to log out.
[Lord Drakan.]
Sin Hayeon sent me a whisper.
[What's up?]
[Since you finished your work well, I wanted to treat you to dinner. Is that alright?]
Dinner!
The topic she brought up was surprisingly mundane, unlike my expectations.
[I don't mind.]
[Then let's meet outside.]
Since I had no reason to refuse, I accepted the proposal, heard her response, and logged out.
* * *
After logging out, I rode in Sin Hayeon's car with her and arrived at a high-end Japanese restaurant.
Truly the kind of restaurant that usually appeared as a backdrop when conglomerates or politicians had secret conversations in movies or dramas!
That scenery now unfolded before my eyes.
Sushi and sashimi laid out in a room with neat interior design, clearly made with great care by the chef, came into my view.
"Since I didn't know what you liked, I ordered the signature menu in advance to be safe. I hope it's to your taste."
Listening to Sin Hayeon, I naturally sat down across from her.
Even six years ago, when I had made quite a lot of money as the master of the Ironblood Alliance, I didn't frequent restaurants like this.
Partly because I grew up poor, but also because I'd thought it better to give that money to my parents than to indulge in luxurious food.
Anyway, since I couldn't refuse the food offered, I quietly picked up my chopsticks, lifted a piece of sashimi, dipped it in soy sauce, and put it in my mouth.
'Delicious!'
The taste of the sashimi melting softly in my mouth brought a faint smile to my face.
They say expensive food is expensive for a reason; it seemed that wasn't a lie after all.
Seeing my expression, a smile rose to Sin Hayeon's lips.
"Did you know? During the Lawless Harbor recapture battle, your real-time streaming viewers exceeded 5 million?"
"That is quite a lot."
"Just counting the donations from today alone, you've already surpassed the hundred-million mark. You even briefly reached #1 in the real-time streaming rankings. It was an impressive performance in many ways."
Donations!
I'd been too busy watching the chat refreshing every second to pay attention to how much the donations were exploding, but to think they had surpassed the hundred-million mark!
'I heard real-time streaming was lucrative, but I didn't know it was to this extent!'
Of course, my donation amount wasn't ordinary, but still, it was income incomparable to six years ago during the previous game, when I'd sell gameplay videos to cable broadcasters for at most around ten million won.
I truly felt how much the market size of Arde Saga Second had grown compared to the previous game.
Looking straight at Sin Hayeon as she spoke with a smile, I chewed and swallowed a piece of sushi, then spoke.
"So, did you call me here just to compliment me?"
"I was curious about your plans going forward."
Sin Hayeon's eyes turned toward me.
She still wore a smile across her entire face, and I trailed off slightly.
"Plans, you say."
I nodded slightly at Sin Hayeon's words.
To take revenge on Yujin, to make the grand scheme of rebellion a success, I definitely needed plans.
Of course, in both the previous game and Second, variables in Arde World were as numerous as in the real world, and many things didn't go according to plan, but some direction was still necessary.
"First, I'll have to rebuild and grow Lawless Harbor."
A city that had come into my hands, a city I could call my own!
Beyond rebuilding that city, growing it was my first goal.
"Next, I'll have to fight the Pirate King."
The Pirate King, and the Pirate Alliance!
They were my next target.
The Eastern users. Beyond maintaining their favorable public opinion, to make them my solid, concrete base of support, war with the Pirate King and the Pirate Alliance was essential.
I looked straight at Sin Hayeon and continued.
"And after that, I'll have to devour the Gasan Kingdom based on the support of the Eastern users and the fame gained from subjugating the Pirate Alliance."
The Gasan Kingdom. A nation steeped in corruption ruling over the eastern part of Arde World!
I planned to devour that nation.
The Pirate Alliance!
If I crushed them, not only the users' public opinion but also the kingdom's NPCs suffering from the Pirate Alliance would surely support me.
And riding on their support, I planned to topple and devour the Gasan Kingdom groaning under corruption.
Just as I had usurped the throne of the Jaksen Kingdom in the previous game!
This time too, the throne of the Gasan Kingdom would fall into my grasp.
And the power of the Gasan Kingdom gained thusly would become the cornerstone for the grand scheme of rebellion.
Hearing my answer, Sin Hayeon smiled brilliantly.
"As expected, choosing to join hands with you, Lord Drakan, was the best decision."
In a smooth, gentle voice, she filled her own glass with sake, then poured warm sake into my glass as she spoke.
"You are the perfect candidate for rebellion and the best partner I've ever met."
"The feeling is mutual."
Clink.
Her glass and mine met in midair.
I smiled, savoring the warm sake that slid smoothly down my throat.
The grand scheme of rebellion!
The time had come to take its first step.