WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Protagonist Doesn't Want to Leave the First Floor ◈
Chapter 51: 051
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Adding ten Workers brought a far greater change than Seo Hajin had expected.
Aside from their ears, they looked human, and they were physically stronger than ordinary people. Even in a field full of Aggressive Mobs, they could roam freely without suffering much in the way of attacks.
For the first few days, he assigned eight Workers to the hunting team as originally planned and had the remaining two assist with logging. After that, he changed his policy and formed a separate team made up only of Workers.
‘Workers have much better synergy when they’re grouped with other Workers.’
Not being attacked first was an enormous advantage.
It would become even more valuable as time passed. The Field Level would rise, and the Mobs would only grow stronger.
The ten Workers, all with similar faces and similar clothes, were put to work logging in earnest.
The rabbits, who had previously been gnawing down trees one by one, were reassigned to other work.
They began gathering the various plants and herbs sprouting from the gradually greening ground, along with resources buried underground.
“This suits them better than logging.”
Around then, Seo Hajin changed another policy.
He had thought it would be better not to tame any more monsters since he lacked Keys. But he reconsidered.
‘They don’t necessarily need to become humans.’
Wolves, especially the Reinforced Wolves in front of him, could improve his fighting force on their own.
Unlike the rabbits, they did not need to dig through the ground. If he gathered enough of them and let them loose, they could form packs and hunt other Wolves instead.
The problem was the food supply needed to feed them.
Most of the available food in Northern Forest was Wolf Meat.
There were smaller animals as well, but their populations were low and their respawn rate was slow. Unless he bought other food from the marketplace, he needed to find a solution himself.
‘It’s not like they can’t eat it.’
Wolves could eat Wolf Meat.
Still, even though he was not an expert, Seo Hajin felt that eating their own kind might be dangerous.
‘It feels like people eating people. By that standard, it could cause problems in their brains.’
Of course, tamed Wolves were more like system items, so they were probably different from ordinary animals.
Still, just in case, he prepared a workaround.
Using the Arc-Recycler Unit 09, he broke down Wolf Meat byproducts and collected only the protein.
He had already been doing that to make shake ingredients, but now he added another use for it.
He mixed the Wolf Meat protein with various other ingredients, solidified it, and made feed.
‘It’s still made from Wolf Meat, though...’
It felt a bit like fooling himself, but buying Rabbit Meat from the marketplace to feed them would require more and more supplies in the future.
‘If Wolf Meat sold well, I could just sell it and use the money to buy food, but it isn’t popular.’
Unless it was bundled with Firewood, Wolf Meat itself barely sold in the marketplace.
There were already plenty of other meats that smelled less and tasted better.
‘Fortunately, they like the feed too.’
He tried giving the feed to the additional Reinforced Wolves he had tamed.
They ate it extremely well without needing any adjustment period.
That gave him a way to consume the excess Wolf Meat that had seemed ready to rot away. After a few days, he became certain and secured more Wolves whenever he had the chance.
‘Even without evolving them right away, they can do their part.’
He had thought about it the wrong way at first.
He had only considered the lack of manpower. He had not thought of using the Wolves themselves to help hunt.
But as he added them one by one until there were more than ten, then organized them into a single pack, the results were far better than expected.
For one thing, there was no alpha, no leader of the pack.
They moved together and interacted with one another, but none of them commanded or dominated the rest.
That came with both advantages and disadvantages, but for now, it was an advantage.
Ordinary Wolf packs, even Aggressive Mob Wolves, tended to follow the decisions and commands of their alpha.
That tendency was especially noticeable when they faced enemies who were not users. Since those enemies were not their first-strike targets, their natural animal instincts seemed to come through more strongly.
Seo Hajin’s pack of Reinforced Wolves, however, moved organically without a single focal point.
As a result, smaller Wolf packs often failed to get their bearings and were swept away.
Of course, some enemy packs included Reinforced Wolves of similar strength, so his own Wolves were frequently injured in battle.
But even if a pet died, he could deploy it again after waiting a while. And if necessary, he could use Subspace as a shelter.
‘Still, it would be better to have at least one commander.’
Watching from the sky, Seo Hajin chose one of the Wolves currently hunting, one that seemed slightly smarter than the others, instead of pulling a Worker away from the logging team.
He evolved it.
Spending Keys to evolve one was not much of a burden, and he used the saved appearance settings for the Workers.
‘There’s no need to make it different.’
If he needed more hands, the new Beastkin could help with work. And if necessary, he could send a Worker to this team instead.
‘Honestly, it’s less troublesome this way.’
The Beastkin assigned to the hunting team was made its commander.
He also let it ride around on a Reinforced Wolf with a saddle.
‘A Wolf Rider. Nice.’
It did not have the same presence as Juggernaut riding Sangun, but ordinary users would probably still consider it quite an impressive sight.
After that, the Reinforced Wolf hunting team continued producing steady results under the Wolf Rider’s command, even without Seo Hajin personally directing them.
‘When I have room, I should increase the number of teams.’
For now, one team was enough. But a team leader’s ability to command would probably reach its limit at around twenty Wolves.
So he decided that one team per twenty Wolves would be the standard setup.
‘More importantly, this could make money.’
A Reinforced Wolf equipped with a saddle.
Since it was already a tamed pet, anyone who bought one could probably handle it without much trouble as long as they fed it properly.
‘I’m getting taming items now and then... and I still have quite a few left.’
He considered it for a moment, then shook his head.
Someone would probably buy them if he listed them in the marketplace, but selling them felt like handing over strategic assets.
‘Not yet.’
He had not ruled it out completely.
But if he sold them, it would be later, when people had accumulated more Points. That was when he could get a proper price.
‘Everyone’s saving hard right now, but after some time passes, they’ll start opening their wallets.’
More than Wolves, what he wanted now was more Sanguns.
The problem was that higher-grade taming items that could work on Sangun still were not dropping.
‘They showed up a little early on. Why does it feel like higher-grade items are dropping less the further we go?’
The number of Mobs he killed increased every day. It felt too suspicious to dismiss as his imagination.
‘Did they adjust the drop rate?’
Still, they would eventually drop.
Unless the system had blocked them entirely.
‘For now, I’ll increase the number of Reinforced Wolf pets until I have twenty. Any I tame after that can form a reserve team.’
He belonged to neither a guild nor a Clan.
He had not formed a party with people whose true intentions he could not know.
He was alone, but he was not lonely.
If anything, it was interesting.
‘It finally feels like I’m building something.’
Someone came to visit the very next day.
It was an uninvited guest, but Seo Hajin did not underestimate him or turn hostile too quickly.
He had good reason not to.
* * *
“You want to sell that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Juggernaut is the only person who can pay its proper value.”
The man had not fought his way through the countless Wolves. He had descended from the sky.
He was smaller than Juggernaut but still above average height, with a sturdy build and a neat appearance.
His features looked mixed, somewhere between East Asian and Western.
Since Avatars could be customized however their owners wanted, it was difficult to guess what he truly looked like.
What caught Seo Hajin’s attention was the Eagle the man had ridden here.
It was one of the major Mobs in the rocky cliff field.
He had tamed a huge Eagle, something nobody had even suggested was possible.
“How did you do it?”
“It’s a long story. It’s not a trade secret or anything... Anyway, it was insanely hard.”
The man looked quite nervous as he spoke.
‘Ah.’
Seo Hajin understood another reason why the man had come to him.
If he had approached other users or another group, he might have been beaten to death and had his entire Inventory looted instead of receiving a fair price.
‘I have been looting Villains.’
At least people did not consider him a Villain.
That was Juggernaut’s current reputation.
Of course, the man’s nervous gaze showed that people also knew Juggernaut had killed users before.
“Without a market price, I suppose it’s worth whatever someone is willing to pay...”
Juggernaut spoke as if thinking aloud.
The man nodded slightly, then named the price he had in mind.
“Ten thousand Points?”
That was a little much.
When Juggernaut hesitated, the man hurriedly added more.
“There’s a reason I came here directly instead of listing it in the marketplace. Just tell people publicly that you paid ten thousand Points.”
“Ah. That kind of deal?”
“Yes.”
“Then what would I actually pay?”
“Half. I think I should at least receive around five thousand.”
“Five thousand...”
That was not a small amount either.
But Seo Hajin did not think the Eagle was worth less than that.
‘I did want one.’
And if he tried to tame one himself, it would take time, effort, and plenty of trial and error.
“How many do you have?”
“Pardon?”
“If you sell the one you rode here, you won’t be able to get back. So you must have at least two.”
“Um... That’s right.”
The man nodded.
Seeing him through Juggernaut’s eyes, Seo Hajin held up three fingers.
“I’ll buy three.”
“Three?”
“If you don’t have that many, then two.”
“Hmm.”
The man hesitated.
That alone proved he had at least two, but Seo Hajin did not consider killing him and taking them.
“How much would you pay?”
“Three thousand each.”
“Excuse me? Three thousand is too...”
“Plus two Personal Effects Bags per Eagle.”
“Huh?”
Perhaps because the offer had been so unexpected, the man stopped speaking for a moment and adjusted his expression.
“Personal Effects Bags...”
“You know I’ve looted quite a few.”
“I do, but I thought you had already used them. People on the community board say Juggernaut probably has the most Inventory slots.”
“I do have a lot. But I haven’t used them all.”
“Ah.”
A Personal Effects Bag.
Each one expanded an Inventory by five slots.
What if he included two of them per Eagle?
Were they worth a thousand Points each?
“Deal.”
They were.
There was no such thing as too much Inventory space.
“How many are you selling?”
“I’ll give you two for now.”
“For now?”
“Yes. Would it be possible to trade again later?”
“If I have around five, I should be able to rotate them.”
“So three more later.”
The man nodded.
Then he prepared two Eagles in item form.
“I sent a trade request.”
“Yes. I’ve confirmed it.”
It was fortunate that they could still use the system’s trade function for direct trades without the marketplace.
Otherwise, it would have been extremely inconvenient. Thanks to that, the trade went smoothly.
That was how Seo Hajin learned the man’s name.
“TrueFinal?”
“Ah. I forgot the name I had saved when setting up my Avatar and just went with it...”
“There are quite a few people like that.”
However, Personal Effects Bags could not be placed in either the marketplace or direct-trade windows. So after completing the trade, Seo Hajin took them out himself and handed over four bags separately.
TrueFinal had seemed briefly worried that he might be tricked. Only after actually receiving the four Personal Effects Bags did he finally look relieved.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you about their food.”
“Can’t I just give them meat?”
“You can, but they eat better if you cut it into suitable pieces. About this big?”
“About the size of an average person’s forearm... All right. Anything else? Foods they can’t eat, for example?”
“There’s nothing in particular. If you force-feed them something they can’t eat, they’ll spit it out.”
“That’s convenient.”
“But they eat... a lot.”
“I could tell just by looking.”
Even their basic size was comparable to Sangun.
That was compared to Sangun after he had evolved. How much larger would they seem with their wings spread?
“How long can they stay in the air?”
“The longest I’ve flown was about five hours. But I had to land because I ran out of food.”
“They eat in the sky too?”
“Ah. If you put food in their Inventory, they take it out and eat by themselves. They’re fairly intelligent.”
“That is convenient.”
After hearing a few precautions, Seo Hajin activated one of the items and summoned an Eagle.
A tamed pet recognized its owner immediately, so it did not act wary or rebellious. It showed affection toward Juggernaut right away.
[Medium Eagle]
[Name: Eagle 3]
[Level: 15]
[Health: 300 / 300]
[Hunger Status: Hungry]
[Inventory: 0 / 5]
“It already has a name.”
“You can change it if you look to the side.”
“Ah.”
He had only just learned that pets could be renamed.
It cost 100 Points.
‘A hundred Points is affordable.’
Seo Hajin renamed it Repair No. 1, then tried feeding it various things.
Just as TrueFinal had said, it ate any kind of meat well. Surprisingly, it also liked the feed he had made for Wolves.
‘It seems to like this even more?’
Was it because mana was used in the process?
Still, the amount was extremely small. It should barely make a difference.
“Oh? Do you make feed?”
“Yes. For the Wolves.”
“How much do you have, by any chance?”
TrueFinal showed great interest in the feed.
Seo Hajin told him that he had plenty, more than enough, and was still making it. TrueFinal asked whether he could buy some.
“Right now?”
“If it’s inconvenient, you can list it in the marketplace. The field I’m in doesn’t have much food.”
“I heard the Mountain Goat population is low.”
“Yes. Other ordinary animals too.”
He could fly over to other fields on Eagles to hunt, but he seemed to have become more cautious after running into danger a few times.
“Then let’s do this.”
Instead of selling Wolf feed as it was, Seo Hajin said he would process it into a finer, powder-like form that birds could eat more easily.
“If it’s close to powder, it can stack in an Inventory slot instead of taking up one slot per piece.”
“Ah, right. That would be better.”
That was how Bird Feed became a product.
It did not seem like he needed to add or remove any particular ingredients. He only needed to alter its form midway through the process of making Wolf feed.
“I’ll list it in the marketplace when it’s ready. The price won’t be burdensome. The ingredients are common.”
“Ah. That’s a huge relief. I’m looking forward to it. Oh, and if I tame more, I’ll fly over right away.”
“Yes. I’ll look forward to it too.”
It had been a pleasant meeting.
Six thousand Points had disappeared suddenly, but it had been well worth the price.
Caw.
TrueFinal climbed back onto the Eagle he had ridden here.
He seemed to have made and fitted a saddle of his own, but the workmanship did not look very good.
“A saddle for this too?”
“When I make mine, I’ll make one for you at the same time. I won’t list it in the marketplace, but I’ll give it to you next time you come.”
When Seo Hajin said he would include it as a bonus in their next trade, TrueFinal grinned and nodded enthusiastically before quickly rising into the sky.
“This is going to be damn fun.”
TrueFinal had said flying required some training, so Seo Hajin did not try it immediately.
He decided to make a usable saddle and any other equipment he might need before trying.
“If I increase the number of Eagles, I’ll be able to travel through the Areas faster and more easily than before.”
If he needed to defeat Area Bosses in other Areas again, flying on an Eagle would obviously be much faster than riding Sangun.
Using Juggernaut’s hand, Seo Hajin patted the Eagle’s body.
“I don’t quite like that it’s the color of a sparrow, but maybe I can fix that when it evolves.”
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