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Memorize - Episode 43
043 Preparations for Taking Flight
The cities of the Hollow Plane have a structure like a spider's web. As the locations of cities on each continent differ, each city performs similar yet distinct roles. Looking at them individually, they might seem disconnected, but from an overall perspective, it wouldn't be wrong to say they are organically linked as they perform necessary functions for each other.
The Northern Continent, where my companions and I currently exist, also has numerous cities. Centered on Barbara, the major city in the center of the Northern Continent, there are four general cities in the east (Prinsica), west (Halo), south (Khan), and north (Pamela) directions. And each general city has two small cities under its jurisdiction in diagonal directions, forming a structure where they help and rely on each other.
To explain in more detail, under the eastern general city Prinsica are the small cities of Eden in the northeast and Dana in the southeast. Under the western general city Halo are Dorothy in the northwest and Beth in the southwest. Under the southern Khan are Koran in the southeast and Monica in the southwest. And under the northern Pamela are Mule in the northeast and Montana in the northwest.
One major city. Four general cities. Eight small cities. In the case of clans managing each city, there are instances like the Southern Free Alliance in the southern general city Khan, where mid-sized clans gathered to establish it and jointly manage the city. However, generally speaking, it was correct to view one representative clan as managing each city.
As mentioned earlier, clans managing cities have an obligation to perform roles befitting their position. This is unimaginable in the Western Continent, which advocates endless freedom, but in the current Northern Continent, it was made possible by the presence of the Golden Lion Clan, the strongest single force.
To give an example of obligations, the southern general and small cities of Khan, Koran, and Monica have currently set their policy to attack the Steel Mountains, which is the gateway to the Central Continent. In other words, they could be seen as playing the role of an advance base for crossing over to the Central Continent.
Conversely, the northern cities of Pamela and its subordinate Mule and Montana bordered unexplored regions. It was already known that if one took a step further from the Northern Continent into the Central Continent, there was a major city called Atlanta. They just didn't have enough strength to conquer it yet. In contrast, the northern unexplored region was literally an unknown realm.
Pamela, along with Mule and Montana located at the northernmost point, were tasked with guarding against the unexplored region and stabilizing the surroundings. Originally, they also had roles like exploration or conquest, but I heard through an instructor that it's currently prohibited. Moreover, although it was common knowledge, from the information Han-byeol shared that night, I could be certain that what I remembered would soon happen.
Originally, I had planned to go to Montana, a small city in the Northern Continent, but I decided to change course to Mule. There were several factors for this change, but if I had to pick the biggest reason, it was undoubtedly because of Ahn Hyun.
I don't remember the details clearly, but I recalled hearing that a rare job related to spears,
"Our first destination will be Mule."
When I said we'd go to the small city of Mule, everyone's faces showed puzzled expressions. It seemed they thought it was unexpected, as all other users were active in major cities or general cities. Ahn Hyun, curious about the reason for going to Mule, asked me with an inquisitive face.
"Hyung. Isn't Mule the northernmost city? And I think I heard that since it's the most recently developed city among those discovered, its surroundings are dangerous. Because of that, vagrants frequently appear, so it's dangerous unless you've built up some skill."
There was nothing wrong with Ahn Hyun's words. That is, if you look at it generally. I wanted to cultivate their ability to judge by looking at the flow of the Hollow Plane a bit more, but that was something that took time and experience. Still, I was pleased that he had such thoughts, so I reached out and patted Ahn Hyun's head. Hyun looked up with a blank face but didn't brush off my hand.
To explain the rationale for going to Mule, I first needed to explain the current movements of the Golden Lion Clan. Ahn Hyun and Yoo-jung seemed to have some sense of the atmosphere or rumors, so it didn't take long to explain. Remembering the quiet Sol, I turned my head and saw her looking at my hand and Hyun's head with a blank face. I hastily lowered my hand.
To advance to Atlanta beyond the Steel Mountains, there were scattered problems that needed to be resolved within the Northern Continent. There were various factors, but if you bundle them all together, they could be simply defined with one word:
Stabilization was a very important term in the Hollow Plane. If you completely stabilize the continent under your jurisdiction, even if an expedition fails, you can gather strength again. In other words, it meant you should aim for advancement towards the Central Continent only after solidly building your foundation. The problem was that users' views on stabilization varied greatly.
The fall of a clan once called the strongest across all continents. The Golden Lion Clan had made too hasty a decision. There were cities like the small city of Mule that had only recently begun development, and it was difficult to say the Northern Continent was stable even in jest. Nevertheless, they were preparing for an expedition as if chased by something.
Recalling my first run, I clicked my tongue inwardly, remembering that one of their failure factors was inadequately implementing stabilization policies. The only significant policy, if you could call it that, was their victory in the battle at Halo, the western general city (a large-scale battle between the Golden Lion and SSUN Clan (Halo's representative clan) against vagrants) before the expedition.
However, they were too complacent. Originally, users scattered in cell organizations and wandering here and there are called vagrants. Because they have cockroach-like vitality, you can't be careless with just one victory against them. Nevertheless, they popped the champagne early and marched straight to the Steel Mountains. And that complacency led to disastrous results.
If I recall the timing, the first expedition to the Steel Mountains would be about 6 months after I entered the Hollow Plane. Considering that 13 weeks have passed in the User Academy, it means there are about 3 months left until the expedition. Even including the time for the expedition force to return and various clans to observe the situation, we had about 100 days given to us. During that period, I needed to establish our position and build up strength as much as possible.
The northern small cities of Mule and Montana were perfect for my plan in that respect. In fact, as part of the preparations for the current expedition, there were signs of efforts to clean up the vagrants. Users with keen senses would be able to tell that war clouds were starting to gather over the Northern Continent.
I thought the vagrants would also be moving stealthily, hiding deeper in the shadows. Before being picked off one by one as cell organizations, they would be slinking together, waiting for the time to run rampant in the Western Continent. If all my predictions were correct, the coming storm would hit the west and south. As the direction of power was shifting that way, the east and north could be considered relatively safe from their threat.
"We have nothing to gain around the already famous cities. It's hard to say they've been perfectly conquered, but they've been developed to a considerable extent. And because of that, there are many users, so competition is fierce. There are already established clans, so there would be many difficulties in activities."
"But I've heard, and as you said, a large-scale expedition might happen soon, right?"
I immediately shook my head at Ahn Hyun's words. We currently had no qualifications whatsoever to participate in the expedition. Rather than needlessly getting involved and ending up like a shrimp whose back breaks in a fight between whales, it would be much more beneficial to start from the bottom and climb up step by step steadily, even if it meant starting from scratch.
"Who guarantees the expedition will succeed? Even the major city Barbara we're in now took 4 years of preparation and countless sacrifices to develop. But trying to cross the Steel Mountains, which is bound to be more difficult than conquering Barbara, with the same 4 years of preparation, I think it's tough."
"Hmm... Is that really so? Somehow, since you say it, I feel like it might be true."
"Oppa. Then does that mean there's still a lot to eat in Mule?"
Despite my words, the kids still seemed unable to let go of their lingering thoughts. I could understand their confidence, having just graduated from the User Academy and ranked in the upper tier, but this was absolutely unacceptable. I continued speaking, putting a bit more force in my voice.
"Don't worry about the vagrants. Right now, both existing users and vagrants are mostly focused on the upcoming expedition. And I've heard that currently, Mule's development is quite stagnant as users are suddenly leaving. As much as they've given up and left, it means there are many opportunities for us."
Of course, I couldn't tell them everything, so my words had to be mixed with "it might be like this" type of speculation. I could explain with certainty since I knew the future, but whether the kids would accept it remained to be seen. I looked at their faces with a serious expression.
Ahn Hyun was chewing over my words with a grave face. Yoo-jung also had a thoughtful expression. However, Ahn Sol, who hadn't said anything for a while... What's this? Why is she pouting at me? Does she have some complaint? I licked my lips and averted my gaze from Sol. At that moment, Yoo-jung raised her head and opened her mouth in an uncharacteristically solemn voice.
"Oppa."
"Yes?"
"I have a question. So... can I ask?"
"Sure. Go ahead."
I thought I had given a detailed explanation to the point where there wouldn't be anything to be curious about, but it seemed there was some lacking part. Anyway, it was a hundred times better for them to be curious or, like Hyun, to express their own thoughts rather than just going along with what I said, so I nodded willingly.
As soon as I gave permission, Yoo-jung moved close to my side and gently took my hand. As I just stood there watching Yoo-jung, who wasn't asking the question she was supposed to, she brought my hand she was holding to her mouth. Soon her lips parted, revealing white, even teeth. And then...
"Nom."
Yoo-jung bit my hand while casting a provocative gaze.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The expressions of Ahn Hyun, Ahn Sol, and myself instantly froze.
"You shaid to ashk (You said to ask). Sho I bit (So I bit)."
I looked down at Yoo-jung, who was mumbling with my hand in her mouth while grinning, with an incredulous gaze. Eventually, she burst into laughter and gently released my hand. Ahn Hyun had a look of exasperation, and Ahn Sol was looking around, seemingly embarrassed.
I too was maintaining a facade of calmness, but I felt a bit irritated. We were in the middle of an important conversation about our future journey, and she pulls this stunt - I thought she might be crazy. If it had been in the past, or if another user (for example, Lee Ji-young) had done this, I would have frowned immediately. But the person in question was Lee Yoo-jung.
From what I've observed so far, Yoo-jung tends to pathologically dislike people she dislikes due to her personality. Park Dong-geol could be cited as the best example. Knowing that she shows affection(?) like this to people she likes, I was barely able to swallow the anger that had risen to my throat. However, I felt the need to teach her to distinguish between time and place from now on. Sensing my mood, Ahn Hyun spoke first in a reproachful tone before I could open my mouth.
"Hey. What do you think you're doing when hyung is talking about important matters?"
"Sorry. Really sorry. Ah. Oppa, I'm truly sorry. But oppa's face was so serious that I couldn't help it."
"Of course it's serious, this is a matter of life and death."
When Ahn Hyun retorted with a sullen face, Yoo-jung glared at him prettily and continued. For some reason, she seemed to be in a good mood.
"In the training center, whenever we asked, you always just repeated that you were thinking. I didn't know you were thinking about things like this. Honestly, I couldn't even dream of thinking like this... Anyway, didn't we decide to follow you from the start? In any case, I agree, I agree."
Ahn Hyun hummed in agreement with Yoo-jung's words and nodded. Soon after, he muttered to himself, "Well, there's no way you would have thought of something like this," but he immediately got his shin kicked by Yoo-jung. Ahn Hyun glared at her with gritting teeth. However, when Yoo-jung glared back, he quickly averted his gaze with a "tch" and turned his attention to me.
"Listening to hyung's words, I think going to Mule is a good idea too. Then how are you planning to move? Since it's at the northernmost point, it seems like it would take a while to walk there."
I felt relieved. At least Ahn Hyun's normal question seemed to bring our slightly loosened atmosphere back to its original state. I inwardly sighed and then answered in a calm voice.
"It's best to go as quickly as possible. There might be other users with similar thoughts to ours. It's better to have as few competitors as possible. Users with slightly lower skills might give up on expeditions or battles and come to unexplored regions. So let's use the warp gate."
Every city has a warp gate. The usage fee is calculated based on distance, with closer destinations being cheaper. Since Mule is at the northernmost point, it would probably cost about 2 gold (1 gold = 100 silver = 10,000 bronze) per person at the normal rate.
Hearing my words, Ahn Hyun said with a burdened expression:
"I heard the warp gate costs are expensive..."
I was about to reflexively say "Didn't you get paid?" but after organizing my thoughts for a moment, I continued:
"I heard that as part of a policy to send many users to pioneering cities, they give discounts on warp gate fees. There's talk that it will end soon due to the current situation, but it should still be in effect. How much have you all saved from your wages?"
At my words, the three simultaneously looked at each other's faces. Don't tell me they've spent it all. No, there's nowhere to spend it. While I was having these trivial worries with my 1000 gold, the kids looked at each other and smiled at the same time. For a moment, I thought they had all gone crazy, but then I saw Yoo-jung's hand stretched out towards me. In her hand was a bundle of pouches.
As I took the pouches in bewilderment, Yoo-jung spoke in a lively voice:
"This is all the money Hyun, Sol, and I saved from our wages. It should be about 7 gold and 80 silver."
"...Why am I managing this? It's money you received."
"Not 'you,' but 'we.'"
Yoo-jung immediately corrected my words. Ahn Hyun, who was standing next to her, made an awkward face and added to her words.
"We thought it would be better for hyung to manage it than for us to keep it individually."
"And I tend to make impulsive purchases."
Yoo-jung chimed in like a supporting actor, sticking out her tongue slightly. For a moment, I looked at them and the kids with a blank face. As I met their gazes looking at me, a fresh emotion I had never felt before welled up inside me. An unfamiliar feeling seemed to circulate within me. I forcibly suppressed that emotion and then tossed the pouch into the air once, then caught it again. It was a meaningless action.
However, the weight of the gold coins felt in my hand seemed heavier than usual.
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