I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

320 - The Carriage of Madness 5

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: Posted in discord

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Mercenaries were the type to risk their lives for a single gold coin.

Adventurers and mercenaries might seem similar at first glance, but there were significant differences. Adventurers meticulously prepared and gathered information to explore the unknown and confront monsters. Mercenaries, on the other hand, would charge headlong at anything—human or monster—as long as they were paid.

To use a metaphor, adventurers were like private detectives, while mercenaries resembled back-alley labor agencies.

They seemed to do similar work but operated in different realms. It wasn’t just because I was an adventurer that I viewed it this way.

"No wonder it's been quiet."

The main job of adventurers, as the name suggests, is adventure. They explore the unknown inside the tower or pioneer the remote areas of the kingdom. Therefore, adventurers are graded not by their personal achievements but by the floors of the tower they have conquered.

Mercenaries, however, focus solely on money and results. If one mercenary earned 100 gold on the 10th floor and another earned 40 gold on the 30th floor, the one with 100 gold would be considered superior.

Rebecca was not only a top-tier adventurer but also a top-tier mercenary and the leader of a large mercenary group. She didn’t stay in one place but traveled across the kingdom, transporting goods and engaging in light trading with her mercenary band. This clearly demonstrated one thing.

Rebecca was mad about money in various ways.

You could tell just by the fact that she excelled in both adventuring and mercenary work. Low-tier members carried supplies, mid-tier members captured wandering monsters and engaged in trade, high-tier members took on intermediate-level tower quests, and she, as a top-tier member, pioneered the front lines of the tower. It was as if she were running a gold macro, obsessed with money.

So, what kind of reaction would you expect when a wealthy city with unlimited plunder appeared before such a woman?

"If they set out in large numbers at dawn, it must be chaos by now."

"Is Rebecca’s mercenary group that significant?"

"She’s a top-tier mercenary and adventurer, and her mercenary group is one of the largest in the kingdom."

"The whole group moved, not just a part of it?"

Han Se-ah and the viewers seemed to remember Rebecca rampaging alone in the orc forest and didn’t think much of it. But once they saw the situation on the 46th floor, their minds would change immediately.

Han Se-ah brought what was practically bad news. The knight order was probably eager to use old Bobo’s Vacuum Stone to open the passage and start their expedition, while the mercenary group had somehow already reached the 46th floor through the narrow path and mountain trails.

That meant our next course of action was clear.

"So, what do we do now?"

"What do you think? We go and take advantage of the meal Rebecca has prepared."

"Eh?"

When the stage is set, it's time to join the feast.

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Raei Translations

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The word "plunder" was inseparable from the lives of mercenaries.

They plundered the villages of enemies defeated in territorial wars. When mercenary groups clashed, the losing group got plundered. If a place looked promising, they temporarily turned to banditry to rob merchants. Unless they were among the few mercenary groups known for their reliability, most lived this way.

Even adventurers swindled other adventurers and sold off their equipment, so why wouldn’t mercenaries do the same? For mercenaries, plundering was as close to their main job as fighting.

And the primary job of one of the kingdom’s top mercenary groups was even more impressive than I had imagined.

"Wow, what’s all this?"

The narrow passage, which the royal knight order hadn’t yet cleared, needed time to revert to its original state after being modified with the portable Vacuum Stone.

Thinking this over, we headed toward the underground city on the 46th floor. The dark cavern was brightly lit by magical lights.

Streetlamp-like magical devices illuminated the underground area, and beneath them, mercenaries were running around frantically, being yelled at with all sorts of curses. The sight of them working systematically and efficiently left our mouths agape.

The first to notice us was Rebecca, who wasn’t rampaging but rummaging through loot with eyes gleaming with greed and madness.

"What the hell, can’t you tell the difference between stones and ores? How do you even shoot… Roland?"

"You’ve set up quite nicely, haven’t you?"

"If you can’t take what’s given, you’re disqualified as a mercenary."

It seemed one of the mercenaries had brought back a chunk of wall and was scolded before scurrying off.

Apparently, they had a separate team for collection.

This wasn’t just a rush-and-loot operation. The nimble high-ranking mercenaries distracted the harpy soldiers, mid-ranking mercenaries broke into luxurious buildings to gather supplies, and low-ranking mercenaries transported the goods underground in a strategic manner.

They even installed a makeshift elevator on the stairs leading up to the surface, suggesting they had purchased it from the magic tower specifically for this looting operation.

"So, did you get anything?"

"Tearing down the building walls alone is profitable. This truly is the fabled city of gold."

As a result, the low-ranking mercenaries were using the elevator to transport goods, looking as exhausted as if they were unloading delivery trucks. Although there were jewels and decorations, most of what they carried were metal scraps and building debris, making them look half-dead.

Of course, it was easier than being a high-ranking mercenary fighting for their lives or a mid-ranking mercenary demolishing metal buildings, but it was still tough.

It looked more like an exploitative operation than plundering, with items continuously being brought down like worker ants transporting food. Seeing this, Han Se-ah finally understood my words at the guild and began talking to her viewers.

"This isn’t the plundering I imagined. I thought it would be rough mercenaries demanding everything, but this is more organized than a logistics center."

-I expected a chaotic plundering, but this is more systematic than a warehouse.

-At least in deliveries, they throw packages around, but these guys can’t even do that because it’s their money on the line, lol.

-Why don’t they just drop the metal from a cliff instead of using the elevator?

-I thought she was wild only in battle, but she’s just as fierce when it comes to money.

I approached Han Se-ah and whispered after tapping her side.

"We need to go up."

"For the loot? The city is vast, shouldn’t it be fine?"

"…The mercenaries might demolish altars or other clues."

"Ah!"

With over a hundred mercenaries breaking down buildings and grabbing anything valuable, a clueless mid-ranking mercenary might smash altars or murals thinking, “This isn’t a jewel, smash!” which would create problems.

The chance of finding a crude altar in the middle of the city was slim, but gamers are the type to think, “What if?” even with less than a 1% chance.

The likelihood was extremely low, but if we stayed idle and clues for a quest were smashed, it would affect not just the game progression but also the stream.

A first-ever quest failure show from the world’s number one strategy guide would have major repercussions.

Of course, it wasn't a game over, and losing one quest clue wouldn't be a significant setback. However, it was best not to give the cyber ghosts who constantly look for opportunities to criticize streamers any ammunition.

Additionally, Han Se-ah's unique desire for victory played a role. Even before starting Heroes Chronicle, she was a streamer with a passion for sports and games. Her lack of luck and clumsy movements aside, her desire for victory and dedication to gaming were genuine.

"You heard, Rebecca?"

"Just don't mess with my guys."

"Why would I mess with them?"

Amid the viewers' excitement and fuss, I left Han Se-ah, who had decided on a second city exploration, and chatted with Rebecca.

With the cameras rolling and the situation favorable, I whispered some advice to our leader. Still, no matter how quietly I whispered from a distance where I could reach out and touch her, a superhuman of Rebecca's level would hear it as clearly as a civil defense siren.

Even though the tower was a free space, it wasn’t right to roam around where Rebecca’s mercenaries were already working. Just as there are courtesies to observe between close friends, we needed to inform her of our plans even if we were close.

"If you knock something over, there are plenty of guys who’ll get crushed to death. Actually, just getting hit by debris could be fatal. So, what’s this about an altar?"

"Maybe something related to the harpies’ appearance? Like that orc who summoned the orcs last time."

"Is it worth money?"

"Probably not."

"Then take it. Oh, Katie, aren’t you going to say hello?"

Although it seemed like we were intruding while they were making money, I was the one who initially destroyed the city. Rebecca knew this, so she wasn’t charging us a toll or acting territorial.

Katie shrank back in surprise at Rebecca's beast-like red eyes waving dismissively in annoyance, and there was a ridiculous incident where a low-ranking mercenary, distracted by our party’s beauty, tripped and got injured while carrying supplies. Nevertheless,

We headed towards the entrance of the 46th-floor city, where the plundering was in full swing.