I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 93

After snack time ended, while the main party members chatted amongst themselves, I lay on the floor, lost in thought.

‘There’s about a month until the next stage.’

[STAGE 5]

– Until start: 28 days

Stages that are multiples of 5, like 5, 10, 15, 20… are a kind of boss stage.

They boast a difficulty that is incomparable to the previous normal stages.

Perhaps because of that, a generous amount of preparation time was given. This time, too, we were given more than four weeks.

‘I need to prepare thoroughly.’

Stage 5 is the biggest hurdle in the early game.

In other words, once we get past this, there shouldn’t be any major problems progressing through the game for a while.

‘If I just hold on a little longer, everything will get on track.’

Money, items, soldiers… a virtuous cycle where each creates the other will soon be established.

When things don’t go well, you fall into the so-called ‘failure zone’ where all resources and elements are lacking.

But once the flow starts, all resources become organically linked, and the game starts to flow smoothly.

‘Of course, the difficulty of this game is a bit strange, though…’

I stroked the necklace around my neck.

The necklace of a traitor.

And the dark event.

The intervention of an unknown enemy trying to ruin this game.

‘……I can’t deal with that right now.’

I took my hand off the necklace.

It’s a problem I can’t solve yet.

The only good thing is that I can detect the dark event in advance and prepare for it.

‘Step by step, if I steadily move forward… I’ll eventually reach it.’

In the end, there’s always only one answer.

Do what you can.

‘Let’s organize what I need to do until the next stage.’

There are three main things.

First. City administration.

Second. Free exploration.

Third. Military buildup.

First, city administration.

Since we have four weeks of leeway, I can focus more on administration rather than combat.

In addition to advancing the ongoing tourist city tech, I need to fix the main flow of funds.

‘The cash flow is getting tight.’

The money to invest in tourist city tech is quite large, but in fact, just running the city itself was a huge drain on money.

I also spent a bit lavishly. Ahem!

Even the large sum of money I earned during the tutorial is starting to run out.

There’s also the money I earned in later stages, but the outflow is greater than the inflow, so the balance is decreasing.

‘There’s still some leeway, but at this rate, it’s only a matter of time.’

There are two main directions we can take here.

Start a new business to increase the source of funds.

Or improve the existing sources of funds to increase the amount of income.

I chose the second direction.

‘What new business could I do in this remote city? Tourism?’

Of course, I’ll pour money into the tourism industry, but that’s for attracting high-level heroes. It’s definitely not an approach from a business perspective.

In the end, there’s only one direction I’m thinking of for improving the cash flow.

‘Improve the way magic stones are sold.’

Magic stones are put on the market through three main processes: production, processing, and sales distribution.

Production is practically done by our army. I’ve also become quite close with the artisans who do the processing.

If I offer good conditions, they’ll come under my command.

Then it’s time to slowly take over the sales distribution line.

‘If I take over distribution as well, I can sell magic stones at a much higher rate.’

Of course, to handle distribution, I need to build a logistics system.

Crossroads is a remote, rural area located in the southern part of the continent.

It’s not an easy task to take the magic stones produced here and sell them all over the continent.

That’s why I entrust the distribution to existing merchants.

So, if I’m going to get involved in distribution, do I have to create a new distribution line from scratch?

‘No, there’s no need for that.’

I just need to find a promising new merchant group and persuade them to jump into this market.

I’ll give them a monopoly, and in return, I’ll drastically cut the commission rate.

For the new merchant group, it’s an opportunity to quickly gain a foothold for growth, and for me, the profit margin from magic stone sales will skyrocket. It’s a win-win situation.

And I’m a person who has played this game hundreds of times.

I know where that ‘promising new merchant group’ is, who their leader is, and how to win them over.

‘I should start contacting them soon.’

I’ll leave the city management side for now.

Next is free exploration.

This is quite a problem.

‘Free exploration… I should go after the injured have recovered.’

Currently, the next base, ‘Base Camp,’ is occupied by hostile NPC forces.

‘They have high levels and a lot of numbers.’

The hostile forces. The Nightcrawler unit.

There are at least a dozen of them. Two full parties.

Moreover, their average level is clearly higher than ours. And we don’t know how many more there might be.

We need to attack with the maximum available force.

It would be safer to set out after Jupiter and God Hand have recovered.

‘Will they both be able to return…?’

Jupiter had a magical power surge. God Hand suffered a major injury, losing both arms.

The SR-grade heroes, who are our core forces, are all injured. It’s a relief that they didn’t die.

‘I hope they’ll be back on the front lines within four weeks, but if not, I need to have a Plan B.’

This leads directly to the third thing to do. Military buildup.

Well, military buildup is something we always do, but this time it’s a bit different.

‘There’s plenty of time.’

Four weeks is enough time for the mercenary guild to refresh twice.

We’ll be able to build up our forces sufficiently. We’ll also be able to completely repair the walls and various defensive facilities.

But if we’re just going to do maintenance, then four weeks is a waste of time.

‘We need to do more.’

It’s not just about recruiting soldiers, but also about training them sufficiently.

If we recruit new heroes and form new parties, we need to put them through practical training to integrate them into a single party.

Even if we recruit new recruits, we need to train them to be skilled enough to be deployed immediately on the front lines. Four weeks is enough time to do that.

‘I hope we get a lot of decent soldiers this time.’

We need to recruit useful heroes. So that in case of an emergency, we can replace Jupiter and God Hand and form a party.

‘I should visit the mercenary guild soon.’

As I was thinking that, I turned over from lying down.

“?”

A young man was standing there, staring at me blankly.

‘Who is that?’

It was a young man.

His upturned eyes, tightly closed lips, and small stature made him look like a chick. Maybe in his early 20s? He still looked young.

When he made eye contact with me, the young man strode over and opened his mouth.

“It’s nice to see you here, Your Highness.”

“Uh… well.”

I frowned and tried to remember, but it didn’t come to mind. In the end, I just asked.

“Who are you again?”

“It’s Dion. Dion Egat.”

“Ah!”

I remembered. This guy is one of the N-grade heroes I recruited.

I probably included him in my party several times when I played the game, but to be honest, I don’t remember every single N-grade hero.

Unless they have a special skill or trait.

The N-grade heroes I recruited were the same. They were all ordinary, and I only used them as reserves in sub-parties.

I just thought of them as slightly stronger regular soldier units.

That’s why I didn’t remember their names properly. I felt a little sorry and smiled.

“Do you have some business with me, Dion?”

“……”

Dion, who had been staring at me for a moment, slowly opened his mouth.

“I have a complaint, Your Highness.”

“Huh?”

I widened my eyes at the sudden remark.

What did you just say? A complaint?

“Hmm?”

“What’s going on?”

The main party members, noticing the unusual atmosphere, also turned their attention this way.

Calmly accepting their gazes, Dion pointed behind him.

“It’s been almost a month since the five of us have been working together.”

Behind Dion, his four party members were lined up. It seemed they had come to bathe together.

“But you haven’t given us anything to do except plug the rear of the front lines. The monsters didn’t even come that far.”

“……”

“We are mercenaries, Your Highness. It’s a profession where we make a living by earning merits.”

Dion was asserting himself boldly, yet confidently.

Just like a mercenary.

“I don’t care if you look down on us because we are young and inexperienced. But I don’t want to rust without gaining any proper experience.”

“……”

“Please send us to the front lines. We’ll show you that we’re capable.”

The five N-grade mercenaries said that and confidently puffed out their chests.

I frowned as I faced these audacious N-grade heroes.

Look at these guys?

***

N-grade heroes.

As befitting their grade, which is marked with the letter N, an abbreviation for Normal, they have the lowest stats among all hero characters.

Of course, if there are some with unique traits or decent skill sets, I would select and use them.

But most of them don’t. They usually take on the role of maintaining the front lines with regular soldiers.

‘That’s how it was in the game, but reality is definitely different.’

I scanned the five N-grade heroes standing at attention in front of me.

Their stats are bland. Their skills are ordinary.

But their eyes are filled with venom.

Especially this guy named Dion. He seems to be the party leader.

‘He has ambition.’

He has aspirations. Even though his stats are N-grade, he has a desire to improve.

This kind of guy is useful. It’s always the people who look higher than themselves who change the world.

‘But, ambition alone doesn’t move the world.’

The world doesn’t bow down to will or effort alone.

In the end, there’s only one thing that’s needed.

Skill.

“You seem quite confident, judging by how boldly you speak.”

I curled up the corners of my mouth and gestured to Dion with my chin.

“How are you going to show it? Prove that you’re capable.”

“I request a duel.”

Dion glanced at the main party members sitting huddled behind me.

“Please let us fight against Your Highness’s personal guard party. Wouldn’t that be enough?”

“Hoh.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

I never expected them to come out like this.

“How presumptuous…”

“That sounds fun, that sounds fun! When are we doing it?”

Lukas frowned at the newcomers’ challenge, while Evangeline smiled brightly, as if she found it amusing.

“Hiiiik?!”

“Your Highness, my legs! My legs hurt, my legs!”

And Damian and Lily were actively trying to get out of it. I knew you guys would do that.

“I like your proactive attitude.”

I slowly got up from my seat and faced the challengers.

“Alright! But can I decide the location and time of the duel?”

“Of course, Your Highness. When would be good for you?”

“There’s no need to go far. Right now. In the closest place.”

The N-grade party flinched, perhaps because my answer was a bit unexpected.

“We can’t have a brawl in a peaceful bathhouse… shall we borrow the training grounds in the barracks?”

I gestured towards the barracks, which were not far away.

“And since they are my personal guard, it wouldn’t be fair to have you, who are still rookies, fight them at full strength.”

I stood behind Lukas and Evangeline, then placed my hands on their shoulders.

“I’ll send out only my two vanguard knights. Is that okay?”

“……Are you sure, Your Highness?”

Dion smiled confidently.

“You’re leaving out the mage and the sniper. That would be too advantageous for us.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Crack. Crack.

Lukas cracked his knuckles and stood up from his seat. Evangeline also loosened her shoulders with a fierce smile.

The two SSR-grade knights were emitting an immense aura.

I chuckled softly.

“You should worry about whether your bones will break, you know.”

No, it might be a relief if only your bones break, you know?!