novelThe Only Way for You to Live (2)
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"You need to become my second slave!"
"Caw! Slave?"
Kobbit had a nervous expression on his face. Since his eyes were moving like crazy, he must be debating the pros and cons of it.
Why does he even need to think about it? Even if he had to roll in a pile of dog shit, it's still better than dying.
I helped Kobbit make up his mind.
"Never mind. Let's just kill you. What is the point of having a monster like you as a slave?"
I forcefully started to lower the hand hoe toward Kobbit's neck.
Kobbit quickly kneeled down.
"Caw! I will be your slave! Please take me as your slave!"
Quite a few messages popped up. I liked each and every one of them.
But there was one message that made my heart beat the fastest.
'42, 000 bars of gold!'
Gold is extremely precious in Royal Roader as well. Mithril is also expensive, but gold was the best.
Each bar was worth about 100, 000 won. 42, 000 bars would be over 4, 200, 000, 000 won.
If you include the other minerals as well, it should total over 5, 000, 000, 000 won.
'Aigoo, what a good boy!'
And one more thing!
Bogochan's Necklace!
If you consider the value of this thing, it is just as important as gold. In fact, dwarfs would consider this item a treasure.
It was because of the affinity to fire this necklace created.
Durability: 96/96
Fire Affinity +10%, Earth Affinity +20%, Intuition +20
In addition to the stat window, skill window and expansion window, there is also a disposition window. I haven't had a reason to check it until now, but now it is time to start using it.
I put Bogochan's Necklace around my neck. I then opened the disposition window.
Hometown: Titan Valley (Batoru Kingdom)
Disposition: Militant
Fire Affinity: 12%
Water Affinity: 2%
Wind Affinity: 2%
Earth Affinity: 81%
Light Affinity: 100%
Ice Affinity: 2%
Everything other than the Earth and Light affinity were at the basic level.
Light affinity was thanks to the 'Owl's Eye' I received as a gift from Hades.
Earth affinity was of course because of working in the mines.
I pretty much earned everything I had planned on earning.
Ah, except one thing.
There was still a window open in front of my eyes.
It was the question about whether I was going to take this monster as a slave.
I had been waiting for this moment from the instant I started to think about developing the Northern Mines. The selection was 'YES' for sure, and I had never even considered picking 'NO'.
But I had a sudden worry as I was about to click yes. The moment I take this punk as my slave, I will be forced to make one of two sacrifices.
First option is a ton of pain!
Pain so bad that just thinking about it makes me shiver.
It wasn't too bad in the game because all I had to do was sit in front of the monitor and press some buttons on my keyboard. But if I had to feel that pain with my own body... just thinking about it made fear fill my mind like a giant storm.
'I might not be able to handle the pain. '
I did think of a backup plan for that case, but it still wasn't easy to get rid of the fear.
The second option?
Paying it off with money. But it costs too much. It'll cost at least 15, 000, 000, 000 won. An amount much higher than what is currently in my inventory.
If you consider the money I will make in the future, it isn't too big of a value, but it was still a hefty sum.
Either way, I can't give up on this monster. There are too many things I need to give up on if I give up on him.
First, whether I have him or not will determine the total amount of minerals mined from the Northern Mines. He knows this place inside and out.
Second, I will need to give up on entering the Southern district. That is actually the biggest loss. The Southern district is a real gold mine that has not been found yet.
Third, I will need to give up on developing a relationship with the dwarfs.
There's quite a few other trivial things as well.
He really is someone I need to get regardless of the cost.
'If I really feel like I can't handle it, I'll just compensate for it with money. '
I closed my eyes and clicked YES.
As expected, his infamy was extremely high.
Now it was a fight against time. My infamy would have been immediately reported to the Tower of God, and Infamy Hunters will start arriving tomorrow morning to arrest me.
There are only three methods to escape from the clutches of the Infamy Hunters.
Complete a temple quest, donate an extravagant amount of money to the temple, or increase your fame to be higher than your infamy.
My only option right now is the first one. I need to get rid of my infamy quickly.
I definitely will not try to erase it by throwing money. In order to remove 1 infamy, it costs 20, 000, 000 won. In order to get rid of 731 infamy, I would need to pay 14, 620, 000, 000 won. ($~13. 3 million USD)
I will do it as a last resort, but since I know a better way to get rid of it, there is no chance of me throwing money away for no reason.
But no matter how rushed I am, I need to take care of the things I need to take care of first. If I hurry too much, I might lose the things I worked so hard to gain.
Especially Kobbit!
If his loyalty falls while I am gone and he ends up betraying me, my future path will be impacted heavily.
'How high is his loyalty?'
"Open Kobbit's stat window."
[Master the Kobbit Village Level 10]
Dexterity: Intermediate Level 3, 26%
Strength: 123
Agility: 28
Stamina: 221
Intuition: 613
Magic: 99
Vitality: 150
Mana: 852
HP: 1, 486
Loyalty: 50
Faith: 0
Knowledge: 237
Charm: 12
Sensitivity: 661
Fame: 0
Respect: 0
Infamy: 0
His loyalty was exactly 50. It is at a dangerous level. If I let down my guard for just a second, he can instantly betray me.
How can I leave this punk here and leave on my own?
I need to raise his loyalty a bit and put it at a stable level before I head out.
It is simple to increase loyalty. The Kobbit race enjoys precious minerals like gold, and tasty food. You just have to give them a lot of their favorites.
It feels a bit like a waste, but you need to invest in order to make a profit.
But was Kobbit's stats this high in the game?
"His knowledge is quite high!"
I said it as if I was talking to myself.
But once I said it, Kobbit must have liked the compliment as he folded his ear like a dog and enjoyed it.
"Caw! I was revered as a wise man while I was the chief of the Kobbit Village! Caw! Caw!"
And something surprising happened after that.
[Loyalty 52]
A single compliment increased his loyalty by '2'.
Was it really because of the compliment?
It's not like it cost me money to say nice things. No reason to hold back.
"Your HP is over 1, 000. And your sensitivity is even 613? You are much better than I thought you were!"
I was able to confirm it. Every time I gave him a compliment, his loyalty went up.
There definitely is a lot of power in giving praises. It even increases a monster's loyalty.
I didn't hold back on giving him compliments.
Each time I did, Kobbit was so happy he didn't know how to conduct himself.
"Caw. I am a natural at finding mineral deposits. Kekeke."
His knowledge was high, but, maybe because he was a monster, he was pretty simple-minded. Or is it because of his extremely high sensitivity?
Either way, after complimenting him like that for a while, his loyalty, which was at 50, shot up to 62.
But that was the limit.. It wouldn't go up any higher with compliments alone.
Then time for phase 2.
Maybe I won't need to waste things like gold. I pretended he was a person and hatched a plan.
Plan Trust and Admiration!
Although I don't know if it will go well.
"From now on, you are a part of my family. You are what?"
"Caw. Family."
"I will also give you a new name. Let's go with something cool and to the point and call you Chief!"
"Chief?"
"It means the eternal boss of the Kobbit race. Chief! How is it? Isn't it cool?"
"Chief! It is a fabulous name. Keke."
It had an impact like I thought it would. His loyalty, which had been stuck for a while, increased to 64.
"Then I will introduce you to the people who will be your family. Everybody, please come over here. It is safe now."
I raised my voice and called the miners over.
Maybe Chief was scared, but he hid behind me. He seems to be relying on me now that he has become my slave.
The miners responded immediately to my voice. There was some chatter going on as they cautiously headed over this way.
Everybody looked really tired. Even gathered together in the fenced area, the fear of the monster must have kept them up all night.
They then became really surprised after seeing me.
"Ack! What is this?"
"Isn't this the feeling of infamy? What happened? How did you end up that way?"
"I can't get any closer to him!"
A high infamy makes other people feel an evil aura. Especially for people with a high level of sensitivity. If your infamy passes 100, they won't even trade with you.
But my infamy was over 700, so it was normal for some people to react that way.
"After taking him on as my slave, his infamy was transferred over to me."
"Slave?"
I pointed at Chief who was hiding behind me.
The miners finally noticed Chief behind me. His body was so small that it was completely covered by me.
But there were no miners who were scared or surprised. It was a weak monster that was fairly common.
"Isn't that a Kobbit?"
"Was that Kobbit perhaps ......?"
"You are correct. This is the monster called the ghost of the Northern Mines."
I quickly explained the detail. There were some parts I learned just now from Chief, but the majority of it was information I learned through the game.
The miners were all in disbelief.
"The monster that made everybody so scared is that thing? That tiny thing?"
"Then how come the high leveled security force members couldn't catch him?"
"It's because of the Invisible magic. If a strong enemy appeared, he completely hid himself and only attacked the weak enemies."
"That makes no sense. Even high leveled magicians came here many times but could never find the monster."
"There is no way the magicians would have found him if he hid in the mines."
Anybody who had enough skills to be called a magician had to be at least level 30. [1]
The miners finally nodded their heads.
"Now it all makes sense!"
"But why did you take a monster as a slave? Especially a unique monster with high infamy. You didn't know that the infamy transfers over when you do that?"
It was something I had to do even though I knew that would happen.
But even if I explained it to them, they wouldn't understand.
"I really had no idea. Either way, he is now my slave and a part of my family. I ask all of you to consider Chief as a part of your family as well."
"But isn't he a monster? Unlike human slaves, I heard monster slaves have no problem betraying their masters. It's like living with a ticking time bomb."
"I will take responsibility for him. Please trust me."
"Even so......"
None of them could push away their concerns.
But they will have no choice but to follow my will. I already prepared for this beforehand and got a promise from them.
"I already took him as a part of my family. Chief! What is our relationship?"
"Caw! Family. Caaaaw!"
Chief was trying to act cute as if he was asking them to take good care of him. Although it was terrible to look at.
I looked back toward Batoom, Jonnan, Goultan, and the rest. Then I spoke with sincerity.
"I do not push away anybody who I have taken as my family. No matter who it is. If you really can't accept him, then I will remove my residence to outside of the mine."
"N, no. Is there a reason to do all that?"
"We understand. We will consider him a part of our family."
I checked Chief's status one more time. Since he looked so ugly, it was hard to tell by his expression. But I could at least tell that it was much different than before.
This punk must have been touched by what I said!
I opened up the status window and checked his loyalty.
[Loyalty: 71]
Shouldn't this much be good enough to last 6 months?
But it still wasn't satisfying. Both the way the miners were treating Chief, as well as Chief's loyalty.
Still, I'm sure it'll be hard for them to open up their hearts. The miners will need to accept him in order for Chief to open up to them as well.
Then I have to help them get there. I know a method that will instantly open up the miners' hearts. The miners are people too. And as long as you are a person, you can't help but love money.
In that aspect, Chief is like God's grace to not only me, but all of the miners as well.
"Chief knows the location of a large gold deposit."
"What? Gold Deposit? Large?"
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[1] Remember, only Level 10 and below can enter the mines.
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Translator: Miraclerifle
Proofreader: Miraclerifle
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