V53C5P1 – Arpen Development Strategy

Weed fell into despair.

“This isn’t how it’s supposed to be…”

The moment he logged on Royal Road he was preoccupied by taking care of the increased number of monsters in the north. He rode on top of Wy-3 and fired arrows at monsters near Morata, and summoned undeads to fight. He had been contacted by Gamong just a moment ago.

– Gamong : Weed-nim. Is there such a thing as merchant registration? Where you can’t sell goods unless you are registered in advance?

He had just begun taking over the Central Continent. Of course there was no such thing as a merchant registration system in Arpen Empire.

‘It’s a great system though. It’s built for an effective exploitation. Whoever created that registration system is a true genius.’

It was a marvelous system and deemed worthy of implementation.

“There is no merchant registration system.”

Weed was wiping up the monsters with the undead whilst the conversation. At first the hunt was not easy, but the number of undead increasing exponentially overwhelmed the monsters.

“Return to the lands where you all once breathed. This is a dark, corrupted land. Engrave the eternal dark rule on all life. Undead, rise!”

Death knights, Dullahans and the skeletal army backed him up and marched. A force comprised of the undead!

– Kuaaaahhh!

One doom knight, and one bone dragon joined forces, amplifying the formidable military power, resulting in high efficiency hunting that raked in a lot of experience and loot. He also pondered deeply about the governance over the Arpen Empire.

‘Now is the beginning of the golden age in my life, how and where should I begin my exploitation. ’

His head was filled with thoughts of exploiting in the Hermes guild’s place!

– Gamong : Alright. Thank you for informing me.

Weed ended the conversation with Gamong, and shortly after that he received a whisper from Pale.

– Pale : Weed-nim is always a righteous person.

“…..?”

Weed was caught off guard as this was strange, but he let it go.

– Irene : Fighting! You’re the best!– Romuna : We weren’t wrong about you.– Zephyr : You’re a guy…. but you’re awesome.Hwaryeong : Charms going wild!

“…..”

Weed heard the whispers of his acquaintances and realized that something had happened.

It didn’t take long before he discovered the conversation footage between Gamong and the Central Continent merchants. It was posted on most major online communities due to the popularity of Royal Road.

“I’m wrecked. This is bad… The merchant registration system must have been reinforced at some point…”

Weed pounced on the ground in regret, channeling his rage into hunting.

“Van Hawk, Torido!”

“Why do you call for me. Master.”

“This is all your fault. Hurry up and fight. You worthless creatures!”

***

“…..”

Seoyoon stayed in the Earth Palace and looked into the internal affairs of the Arpen Empire.

< Porlan Village has been converted from the Haven Empire to the Arpen Empire. National reputation is increased by 1. >

< Castle Midelheim has crowned the new Emperor Weed. 58,000 gold has been offered as dowry to the Arpen Empire. >

< The Arpen Empire’s culture is spreading in the Kallamore regions. The people are desiring for more sophisticated level of artwork to fulfill their intellectual satisfaction. >

< The knights of Fortress Culliber swear loyalty to the Emperor Weed.National reputation is increased by 1. Public security in nearby areas is increased by 10%. >

The territorial expansion was rapid.

< The soldiers of Fortress Batun are suffering from a lack of food supplies. If the starving citizens are fully fed, they will wield their swords for the Arpen Empire. >

< There is an old tale pa.s.sed down in Port Tarantus. >

“Boat, if you have a boat, you can go out to sea. There are a lot of fish in the nearby seas; if you travel a little further, there are hidden treasures stashed away by our ancestors…”

< Building 32 s.h.i.+ps will increase fish production of Port Tarantus at a rapid rate. If fortune is on your side, you could discover the pirate’s treasure. >

Many quests were occurring in cities, villages, ports and mines. Seoyoon originally came from the Central Continent, but back when she was active as a berserker she spent time only in dungeons and hunting grounds. Even so, she remembered countless users living peacefully in villages and cities.

‘What should be done in order to develop this place like the past?’

Seoyoon was caught in her thoughts, then she whispered Weed.

“I want to take care of the affairs.”

Moments later, Weed responded.

– Alright.

“There are many places requiring attention with the expansion of territory. Do you mind if I take care of it for you?”

– Weed : Do as you wish.

Weed already had an incident with Gamong, but he granted permission.

Seoyoon stepping up for something was extremely rare. If it was her request, he would gladly allow her to pour the sauce over the fried pork strips.

“Thank you. I will do my best.”

– Weed : ….. I have faith in you.

Weed was already busy enough hunting the rapidly multiplying monsters, and Seoyoon had proved to be excellent a.s.sistance together with Nodulle in the Hildern quest.

‘She should know what she is doing, though it’s a little unnerving…’

Seoyoon set her priorities after she was granted permission.

“I think we should construct roads for now.”

She proceeded to invest in the land and maritime transportation routes that link the northern and central continents. She invested 40 million gold that was earned from the sales of shacks in Puhol Waterpark. It wasn’t just roads but also the public security and economic development in the vicinity as a whole package, meaning that there were multiple places for money to be spent.

The closer to the outskirts of the North and Central continents, the weaker the public security. St.u.r.dy walls were built and militia were recruited in response to possible threats of a monster invasion.

“This isn’t enough preparation. Some villages may be destroyed with more frequent monster activity.”

Meanwhile, they were hearing stories of monsters multiplying in numbers by the hour. She also had to consider the many cities and villages requesting to join the Arpen Empire. She split her budget meticulously and planned to use every last penny most effectively. However, the expanding territory was beyond what the current finance could cover.

“We are lacking funds…”

Seoyoon was agonizing over the insufficient budget, closing up the affairs.

“I used up all the budget.”

– Weed : All 40 million gold…? You’re lying, right? Huhuhu. I don’t fall for those that easily. Pranks. Yes. It’s a joke.

“I am serious. I have statements that I recorded for each spending.”

Weed was so shocked that she called Yurin and immediately arrived at the Earth Palace through painting transportation skill.

The Emperor’s Office.

The elaborate furnis.h.i.+ng was gone and instead, furniture brought in from the black giant star of Morata had filled the office.

“Here are the statements.”

Seoyoon handed over the budget statements.

There were records such as city wall repairs, food distribution, monster expeditions packed into the statements in a pretty fonts. The records were for small amounts as low as 500 gold to a maximum of a few hundred thousand gold spent, all for a different purpose.

“Mmm. It seems that all of it was used up. Internal affair mode.”

Weed accessed the Arpen Empire affair mode and confirmed the remaining budget.

2 gold remaining!

“Ah.”

Weed’s body that functioned to its maximum output even in front of the black dragon, staggered greatly.

“My money… My money…”

The sense of loss for his money.

Uncontrollable sadness, pain, regret and emptiness rushed inside him. But the moment he saw Seoyoon’s face, he became calm. If he wanted to quarrel with his girlfriend, his anger would disappear after seeing the world’s most beautiful face.

“Hmm, hmm. 40 million gold. That’s a large sum of money, but it was used for the good of the Arpen Empire… Good job.”

“Really?”

“Of course. It’s worth the entire 40 million gold. Even if I was here, I wouldn’t have spent the money with such excellence. This is perfectly spent.”

Weed hugged Seoyoon lightly.

“Cheh!”

Yurin hurried away through the painting transport technique after sensing the coming of a romantic atmosphere.

Weed and Seoyoon. The two pondered about the future of the Arpen Empire

“There are too many monsters appearing. They are roaming around freely as we cannot contain them all.”

“What if all the users return?”

“These monsters, that are too powerful for the novices of the north to manage, will roam in increasingly large numbers.”

“That would definitely cause substantial amounts of damage.”

Even if the monsters multiplied, the users in Central Continent were still able to hunt fairly. However, in the north, if any monster on level 500s were to roam outside the dungeons, nearby novice users could all get annihilated.

“Mmm. It’s not like I can build walls for every single village and city, and the armies are too weak to protect anything.”

“The Central Continent also has many regions without a lot of users. Those places will crumble immediately when the monsters begin their invasion.”

Seoyoon had allocated the budget where it was absolutely necessary, and it was only a temporary measure. There were many places to be accounted for.

Weed had felt that the monsters had grown in numbers significantly during his scout on top of Wy-3. Before, he could occasionally spot some monsters on the ground during his flights, but now they were common.

The Arpen Empire had taken up the North and Central continents, but in military terms it was that the Hermes guild had vacated the lands after losing its army. The lack of soldiers meant that more locations were now p.r.o.ne to attacks, and not all could be protected.

“This is a crisis. Things will get out of hand if cities are destroyed the moment they are absorbed into the Arpen Empire.”

Seoyoon reminisced about the past in the north when she heard Weed’s words.

Weed spent his entire fortune on Morata that was once in ruins and developed it to its current state. Compared to the difficult pioneering mission back then, the current situation seemed like nothing.

“The North and Central continents are vast. In order to govern this empire, we will need lords who will protect and fight with us.”

“Mmm. Lords…. We do need provincial lords. Though the position of lords can be sold for a hefty price.”

“Should we collect money for the lord positions?”

Weed was speaking carelessly, but jolted back to his senses by Seoyoon’s words.

‘Yes. That’s it. We should sell it for money.’

Seat requests or bribery for authority, selling high positions for a price! He was in a position capable of exercising such deeds he saw on the news and was envious of.

‘In the Northern Continent, I made considerable profit by naming lords in barren lands… But, the situation is different in the Central Continent.’

There were small towns and mining villages, but there were also large cities such as the Free City of Somren, the old empire capital, trade cities, production cities and tourist cities. Becoming a lord of such cities were both very honourable and profitable.

(To be continued…)