CH 189

“Haha, I will make sure to tell the director when I get back. Can I ask for your name?”



“Did you not see the sign? It’s Bottleneck!”



“I-is that so?”



“I didn’t know it was your name.” The neck of a bottle is not……. Leeha swallowed his last words and nodded.



In a normal store, the customer is king, but not here. This might be the only place in the continent that could make the bullets he needed, so there was no need to play around.



“Heung, alright. Let’s not talk about it anymore. Anyway, you’re here to make bullets, so let’s talk about that.”



“Great.”



When the topic of work came, Bottleneck’s mood changed. Leeha’s eyes also sharpened.



“Can I look at it for a while?”



“If you promise to make the bullets, I’ll show it to you.”



“I don’t know what kind of bullet you need, so how could I make it?”



“The bullet is like this.”



Leeha handed him a folded piece of paper. The length of the bullet and the cartridge case, as well as the size, caliber, and the internal structure where the gunpowder or detonator would be located were all drawn.



Bottleneck’s eyes widened for a moment, but then calmed down.



“He’s similar to that Kidd who didn’t have any charm. As expected, this generation’s trio aren’t fun. Is it because Browless raised them?”



“What are you talking about?”



“It means that our interest in making the bullet will dwindle if you tell us to make it like that. It’s more fun if there’s intrigue and surprise. We are not assembly machines.”



Does this mean that there was no room for craftsmanship? Leeha was surprised by the professional spirit set for the NPC.



“Beard Brothers! Can you make this?”



“Of course, boss. It’s certainly a lot easier to make than the bullets for the [Cobalt Blue Python].”



“Hmm. It’s rather similar to [Crimson Geckos]. It’s just that the size and design are slightly different.”



The two dwarves, who had been restless, rushed over from behind and looked at the drawing.



“That’s right. He surely is one of the Three Musketeers. Kidd and Luger’s bullets were made by us. If you doubt our skills, you will lose your neck.”



Bottleneck’s voice was full of pride. There was no need to offend him when he was like this.



“I believe in you. Then, please. Please make a bullet box that can fit the bullets into it as well. One set of five shots.”



Leeha wanted to match all the conditions with the gun that existed in reality. Bottleneck nodded, carefully examining the places where the bullet was combined.



“Good. It’s more convenient for calculating the price.”



“How much?”



“5 gold per set.”



600,000 won for five shots. Around 120,000 won per shot, equivalent to 1 gold.



Leeha’s face was distorted.



“What? Why is it so expensive! Even in America- no, in any case! A normal bullet costs 20 dollars for every 50 rounds, uhm- in Middle Earth it’s worth 20 silver!”



He knew from shooting. It wasn’t cheap either. Because if it was 20,000 won for 50 rounds, it was about 400 won per shot.



But how much was this? He said it was 100,000 won per shot?



‘Don’t let these bastards eat you…. Even in the U.S, these types of military ammunition were not sold to the private sector, so I can’t compare the prices, but- isn’t it too much?’



It hadn’t been long since he escaped the expensive price of gunpowder and iron bullets, but he had to live with the high price of the ammunition again! It was only natural for Leeha to complain.



“Did you know that the casings are a bit expensive?! Brass is rare even in the Adamantine Mountains! The detonator, gunpowder, and bullets don’t cost much, but the brass-”



“Is brass expensive?”



“Of course! Fuck, the last of the Three Musketeers is the worst, you came here without even knowing and made a ruckus! The others paid without saying a word!”



As if not wanting to lose, Bottleneck responded, with veins bulging on his neck.



The reason why the Korean military recovered cartridge casings is also due to the high cost of brass. Could this be called realistic, or simply annoying?



‘Damn it, aren’t those bastards loaded with money? If Luger’s bullet is more expensive than mine and Kidd’s, it couldn’t have been cheap…’



In fact, even from a distance, it was hard to imagine that cold-blooded guy jumping up and down because of money.



“If you want us to make it, then we will make it, if not, then we won’t! If you could bring brass-”



“Ah! Wait a minute. You said it was expensive because of brass?”



“That’s right! At that price, our craftsmanship is basically free!”



“What if I can get you the brass?”



“What?”



Leeha opened his bag. If brass was expensive, why not provide it?



“Brass? Oh! Luger and Kidd were not even able to get it, where would you-”



“Where is it?”



Leeha took out a huge item and put it on the table, bang-! He raised it. A yellow-colored ingot.



“I’ll get it from my bag.”



He got a brass ingot from the Brass Golem. Bottleneck and Beard Brothers looked at the ingot with their mouths wide open.



“Now, how much is it? I got the brass, which is the most expensive, so you’ll make it cheap, right?”



[Bargaining skill has been activated.]



[The probability of persuading the target increased by 38%]



Bargaining skill Lv3. Leeha’s preemptive strike was successful.



***



“Then, I will come back in three days! There’s only one gun like that in the world, so handle it with care and don’t break it!”



“Get lost! Beard Brothers! Sprinkle salt, salt!”



“Hihi.”



A set now costs 1 gold, and they added a magazine as a freebie.



More than half of the price had been slashed off from the one that was originally presented. Bottleneck was so angry that he grabbed  his beard, saying, ‘Damn you, you’re definitely Browless’s successor, not Elizabeth’s’.



Whether he liked it or not, Leeha just smiled.



Even if the price was reduced, 20 silver per shot was not cheap, but it was still satisfactory.



‘For 20 silver per bullet, I could have made 5 [Improved Improvised Explosives].’



One bullet is worth five explosives. A person with no knowledge about the power of guns and bullets would think that it was a ridiculous price, at first glance.



Most importantly, Leeha had enough financial resources to cover this much, so he was able to leave with a peaceful mind.



‘Material items such as brass ingots are often sold at auctions at low prices.’



People did not know where to use it, so there were a lot of cases where they were disposed of like that.



The supply was low, but the demand was also low. Although it was rare, the price was surprisingly low.



‘He said that they could make a hundred bullets with one brass ingot.’



5 bullets per set, a total of 20 sets meant 20 gold.



If he ordered without the brass ingot, it would be 5 gold per set, for a total of 100 gold.



Then, what if the price of brass ingots on the auction house was less than 80 gold?



‘It would be a jackpot! I should sweep it away.’



Anyway, the [Black Bass: SASR] was left with Bottleneck. It was because it was necessary to continuously check if there were any issues when firing while they made the ammunition.



“Then before I go and sweep the brass……. Should I leave the Hummingbird as well?”



Leeha planned to turn the Hummingbird into a pistol using steel wires. If that was the case, it would be difficult to use irregular bullets like the grapeshot.



‘In other words, the Hummingbird would be used for ordinary bullets, and the Needle Gun pistol would be used for grapeshots! Hahaha.’



Leeha couldn’t but open his mouth wide.



He was able to log out only after all the preparations were made, stopping by the smithies and leaving the Hummingbird to the blacksmith who seemed to have the skills.



“It’s been a while since I got to bed. It’s hard to make a living.”



Still, Leeha’s expression was bright.



****



Riiing-, riiing-.



Even before dawn, Leeha’s phone rang.



“Yaaaawn. Hello.”



-Eong-ah? Were you sleeping?



“Ah, Kijeong. What’s up.”



Leeha peaked at the clock. 5 o’clock in the morning. Doesn’t this guy sleep?



-It’s getting crazy now! If you’re not busy, turn on your computer immediately!



“Crazy? What’s going crazy? Is there a war?” His hazy mind woke.



-What are you talking about! Of course, it’s Middle Earth!



There’s no war. After hearing Kijeong’s words, Leeha lost all the strength in his body. He got woken up by a Middle Earth addict.



“Kijeong……. I haven’t slept at all in the past few days. Can’t I check it out after I wake up?”



-Isn’t it better to watch it in advance? It was posted on Middle Earth’s homepage.



“Post? What post? Did they say my name?”



Leeha thought that he was saying something meaningless. However, Kijeong’s voice was serious.



-No, it’s not like that. We’re going to enter Middle Earth’s phase 2.



“Phase 2?”



-Don’t you know updates and patches? I assume it’s probably like that. It means that they are moving on to step 2. 



Considering that there had never been anything like this since Middle Earth was opened…. He couldn’t figure out what was going to change.



It has been nearly two months since Leeha had started playing Middle Earth. His time in Middle Earth was almost a year.



‘Middle Earth has been open for 6 months in real-time. Considering the 5 times time difference…’



More than 2 years have already passed. Doing the update now would not be considered fast.



“Do you have any information?”



-There are no details yet, but there’s a small hint.



“What was that?”



– It’s [The successors of all heroes have been decided. Hurry up, attack is the best defense.].



“Huh? Is that all?”



-Yes. And in the back, it says phase 2. I can’t guess because there were too few clues, but people think it’s a patch because it says “Hurry up and attack”.



Kijeong’s words were true, but Leeha’s focus was elsewhere. It was on the phrase ‘the successor has been decided’.



“Maybe I was the last……?”



-Hmm? What are you talking about?



“Wait. Let me think about it for a moment.” Leeha was a musketeer, the third of the Three Musketeers.



What was the achievement and weapon he got? Besides, he remembered the line written on the achievement



‘It will be known all over the continent….. Is that what it meant?’



Heroes who were active during the second Human-Demon war.



It is not known what occupation, who, and how many there were, but there should be at least one who had acquired a ‘heroic’ weapon like Leeha.



Did phase 1 end when the last of the Three Musketeers, a job that very few users had selected, appeared as the heroes’ successor?



Although it was not possible to make a hasty conclusion, Leeha was confident that his guess was right.



-What, eong-ah? What do you know?



“Kijeong-ah, please connect. I will talk to you in-game.”



-Ok. I’ll log in right now. See you in the capital.



Leeha logged into Middle Earth.



(To be continued…)



TL’s Corner:



Eong-ah – it’s a cuter/closer way of saying hyung,

This shows how close Kijeong and Leeha really are.

Throwing salt to someone or somewhere is believed to drive demons and evil spirits away.

Bottleneck was so angry that he wanted to throw salt to Leeha. Hahaha



“Last of the Heroes’ successors.” Does it mean that there were other successors other than the Three Musketeers? Also, is Dragon Knight one of the successors? I assume that most of the [Outsiders] are Heroes’ Successors. What do you think?