I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

375 - Searching for the Power Measurer 5

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: Posted in discord

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The emergence of an empire above the kingdom wasn't as straightforward as one might think.

"Ogres! Red-changing ogres! Size-changing ogres!"

"Mana stones! Bring me mana stones and I'll pay in gold, no, I'll craft any magic item you want!"

"Any mercenary groups that have captured ogres alive? I want a long-term contract! 40%, no, 60% upfront payment!"

"Then I'll offer 80% as an advance!"

With an empire several times larger than the kingdom appearing above it, the population of this fantasy world exploded. This meant more F-rank idiots and skilled individuals, but also more crazy mages.

The one silver lining was that the game company didn't seem intent on emptying players' wallets, as the economy remained unchanged. Thankfully, we didn't see Marianne suddenly selling soup and sandwiches for gold coins or mana stones becoming as cheap as pebbles.

However, while the number of named monsters hadn't increased, the number of lunatic mages hungry for research material had roughly quintupled. This ripple effect wasn't confined to magic towers; it spread beyond the lobbies of adventurer and mercenary guilds, reaching even the city streets.

"Are those mages or merchants about to go bankrupt?"

"Even northerners frantically buying firewood before winter weren't this desperate."

Grace and Katie clicked their tongues, spotting mages during our awkward trek with the squirming Han Se-ah to the guild, and even as we moved for dinner.

Even Irene found it distasteful, managing only an awkward "hoho..." laugh as she looked away from the mages' disgraceful behavior and quickened her pace.

Well, ogres outside the tower typically stood 5-6m tall, depending on their growth. But the named ogres appearing inside the tower started at 7-8m and reached 9-10m when enraged. Perhaps monsters generated inside the tower didn't suffer from growth deficiencies due to malnutrition or the like.

Born in peak condition due to the tower's mana, these rare specimens were irresistible to those viewing them as experimental subjects. There'd be no individual differences, and they'd be brimming with mana.

Shuddering as we passed the frenzied mob of mages, we arrived at the restaurant.

"Is it because of the harpy exchange? The city seems to be getting more crowded."

"With the tower's interior being explored, the number of people passing through the city has skyrocketed."

While mages were causing havoc near the adventurer and mercenary guilds, the restaurant we entered without thinking was packed with guild laborers.

This was likely due to the Harpy Kingdom and Empire rather than the empire's appearance. Speaking of which, with so many people here, we might need to spend more on expensive restaurants next time. Since we're not ones to splurge on food, we came to this popular adventurer spot, and look how that turned out.

How should I put it? It's like when your reliable neighborhood restaurant that always serves a hearty meal suddenly appears on TV and now has a two-hour waiting line.

"Ugh, the city's as bustling as a rush hour intersection. Wonder if they'll expand the city at this rate? Or maybe everyone will just move into the tower so they won't need to expand."

-I still can't get used to seeing this sh*t lol. Are we really in the same city?

-I'm living in some rural town, but this guy's pitching a tent in the middle of Gangnam lol

-But I'm curious, if we break through the north without clearing the 50th floor, will we just reach the world's end and get a sh*t ending?

-Wouldn't it be impossible to level up enough to break through the north without reaching the 50th floor? Stop talking nonsense.

-What the hell, the romantic medieval fantasy inn has turned into a gathering spot for day laborers. sh*t.

The one saving grace was that a group of workers had just left, conveniently freeing up a large table. As we sat down, a waiter rushed over to clear the dirty dishes from the table and asked me:

"Ah, welcome! What would you like to order?"

"Today's stew for everyone. And if you have grilled bread and meat dishes, those too, enough for all of us."

The waitress, possibly the owner's daughter, beamed despite being busy. Since this wasn't a modern restaurant catering to players, I ordered some standard fare.

The stew and soup were obviously cooked in large pots, ready to be served on order, like soup kitchens or tteokbokki from food stalls. The bread was probably contracted from a nearby bakery, so both had familiar tastes.

It truly felt like a medieval fantasy version of a local eatery, popular among adventurers. But with so many customers now, well...

"Hmm, I liked the food here, but should we look for another place?"

"Or maybe we should prepare dinner at our lodgings. Just buy some meat and cook it ourselves."

"How about dining at the temple? The children would be delighted just to see your faces."

The food was served promptly, either because they were constantly cooking due to the crowd, or because the restaurant staff recognized our faces as the famous hero party.

While not exceptionally delicious, the stew was of excellent quality considering the price. As we scooped up potato chunks, the group chatted amicably. The crowded interior wasn't ideal, but the food wasn't bad.

Everyone enjoyed the meal, dipping bread in the stew broth, stabbing the late-arriving seasoned grill with forks, or Han Se-ah getting caught by Irene as she tried to fish out a boiled carrot from the stew.

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Raei Translations

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The start of the 51st floor exploration and the empire's appearance brought significant changes both in the city and the tower. This time, the events unfolding were quite positive for players.

"A passage to the 52nd floor has been discovered?"

"Yes. A ranger party from the empire found it and reported to the magic tower."

The increased number of capable individuals, matching the growth in F-ranks, had begun to make their mark in their respective positions.

Rangers who monitored, disrupted, and dispersed monster waves in the empire's northern mountain ranges started meticulously exploring the plains. Monster-hunting specialist mercenary groups, veterans of countless large monster hunts, arrived with their carriages to begin the hunt.

Mages poured out of the magic towers, which had expanded to match the empire's vast territory. They showed up with gold coins and magic items in hand, demonstrating their pay-to-win warrior spirit by pushing progress with money. As a result, the conquest of the 51st floor was much faster than expected.

It was balanced at a level where progress was impossible without high-grade, 5★ characters, but the empire's appearance ensured that player progression wouldn't slow down.

"Damn, I thought I wouldn't have to worry about kill-stealing like with the orcs since all the mid-rank adventurers disappeared... But now we might have our boss monsters snatched by imperial forces instead of the kingdom's knights or temples!"

-Lol, they just can't let players have it easy, can they?

-Gotta run like hell to keep that First scout title lololololololol

-True, now that I look, there seem to be quite a few mercenary groups to cover with manpower

-Compared to Rebecca's one-trick pony kingdom mercenaries, the empire has quite a few mercenaries? Maybe because their territory is larger?

-Looks like they all migrated south to the kingdom to make money now that the monster waves have somewhat subsided?

Mages were frantically pouring out gold coins in competition, and seeing this, mercenaries grinned as they hunted monsters, seemingly ready to set up camp on the 51st floor.

While this was good news for humanity and helpful for average players, for Han Se-ah, the world's #1 exploration streamer "The First scout," it meant tougher competition.

Ignoring Han Se-ah's grumbling, we quietly entered the 52nd floor.

As expected, being grasslands, there was no difference from the 51st floor. Whether they were well-informed or had paid for information from the Adventurers' Guild clerks, there was already one large mercenary group moving to set up camp.

"So, we have no information about the 52nd floor yet?"

"Not yet. There are no villages with other races like on other floors, so it's just about defeating monster armies by relying on safe zones."

"Wonder if their stronghold will appear around the 55th floor then?"

"Let's go in the opposite direction of those mercenaries."

The mercenaries drove off with their horses and carriages without any reaction, probably judging that the plains were vast enough that we wouldn't interfere with each other.

Since we had no information either, we glanced at the mercenary group before setting off in the opposite direction.

By the way, as Grace muttered, would the named monster on the 55th floor appear as a large military unit? Personally, I thought that kind of quantity-based opponent would be much easier to deal with than a giant monster.

Han Se-ah had learned area-of-effect skills, and Katie could go wild in chaotic melees like a fish in water. Grace was a reconnaissance-focused character with a wide field of vision and various alchemical arrowheads, while Irene's protective holy magic was optimized for fending off large numbers.

Having nearly been knocked off a cliff by a weird tentacle monster and almost taking a free dive while holding my breath, I harbored a small hope for some more manageable opponents.

But BB Games probably wouldn't be that kind.

I wondered what cruel gimmick awaited us this time.