Chapter 85

– Am I the only one who thinks this is strange?

– The marketplace has been updated, but there’s nothing.

– What’s going on?

ㄴ Is our Gallum still living in the Stone Age?

ㄴ Someone has been stockpiling since a week ago, damn it.

Stockpiling.

Finally, stockpiling has appeared in the marketplace.

Especially, they bought everything in the food and weapons categories.

I couldn’t help but be amazed.

“Wow, it’s finally showing up.”

How long has it been since the marketplace opened, and only now is stockpiling appearing?

What’s more surprising is that it’s not even a reseller, and no reports have come in.

Furthermore, the stockpiler wasn’t alone.

– How the hell can someone stockpile for days?

– They’re buying all sorts of things;;

– All the mint-chocolate bread uploaded yesterday was bought up too.

ㄴ (Elf Con with a zen-like face)

ㄴ What’s with stockpiling mint chocolate?

ㄴ Seriously

ㄴ Ridiculous

My point accumulation increased, and the quantity of items registered in the marketplace skyrocketed.

To purchase everything as fast as it comes up, there’s no way one person could do that alone.

“Even a decent noble wouldn’t manage that!”

It was the kind of stockpiling that seemed fit for a group or a nation to attempt.

Thanks to this, Gallums returned to their original mindset.

[Title: Legend LOL]

(Picture of weeding in the back mountain)

I never thought I’d be doing this again, for real.

Thank you, stockpilers, you idiots~

– LOL, what are you doing in armor?

– Wow, this picture brings back memories.

ㄴ For real; it’s making me nostalgic.

ㄴ I feel like I’m going to throw up, LOL.

The marketplace ensured at least one meal a day, but stockpiling blocked it off completely.

I was back to the days of foraging for herbs in the mountains and fields or eating monster meat.

“Ugh, this isn’t good.”

I didn’t care if luxury items were stockpiled or not.

But stockpiling food and weapons that are vital for the Gallums’ survival was definitely a problem.

Naturally, the Gallums set out one by one to catch the stockpilers…

[Title: What are the Dwarves doing here?]

(Picture of something being investigated near Elard Forest)

(Picture of Dwarf Scouts taking a break and eating marketplace food)

– Wait, why are the Dwarves in Elard?

– Just looking at the geography, isn’t it world’s end to world’s end?

Soon enough, we could narrow down the suspects.

Dwarves eating marketplace items that had been stockpiled in Elard.

And it wasn’t just one or two; dozens of dwarfs appeared, looking like a scouting party.

– Oh? Now that you mention it, I think I saw them too.

– I saw them deep in Elard Forest recently…

– The food seems to be stockpiled items too, right?

ㄴ Oh?

ㄴ Wait, could it be?

Stockpiling of food and weapons.

And the Dwarves scouting Elardrien.

– What do you call this? Looks like war!

– Hey, emergency! Elves, take cover!!!

It was clearly a sign of war.

The elves went into emergency mode collectively.

*

Dwarves hated elves with a passion.

No, they not only hated them; they downright despised them.

[Title: Brothers, come vote once]

What’s worse?

1. Monsters.

2. Elves.

Voting results: Monsters 52% Elves 48%.

[Recommended 3423] [Not Recommended 2134]

– Wow, that they’re rated the same as monsters?

– LOL, that’s absurd.

– Speaking of which, didn’t Dwarves attack elves during the Great War too? LOL.

The results of the voting that indicated they were virtually as hated as monsters spoke volumes.

Dwarves and elves were known enemies.

However, they hadn’t always disliked elves from the start.

There was a time, especially during their first interactions, when they managed to maintain a relatively friendly relationship.

Dwarves provided refined weapons and armor, while elves taught them the materials and magic knowledge from Elard.

– Haha, those tall, pointy-eared friends are quite bright.

– This could help in technological advancement.

ㄴ Ahem, it should be, of course!

ㄴ Our elves are specially sharing this with you,^^.

ㄴ Ugly little dwarfs, LOL.

ㄴ ??

ㄴ ?

Of course, the elves’ social skills had always been questionable.

However, they hadn’t deteriorated to the point of total fallout.

The problem arose about a month after their interaction began.

[Elf-Dwarf Trade Agreement]

1. Dwarves must visit Elardrien every month for exchanges.

2. If you wish to engage in trade with elves, you must prepare 100 kg of gold and 100 kg of silver each time.

3. The Dwarf King must perform rites to the Elf Queen for the contract to be established.

After several trades, the elf delegation came to visit the Dwarf King with this document.

“What’s this?”

“From now on, Dwarves must adhere to the above conditions and visit Elardrien.”

This was truly an unfair contract.

The Dwarves were left dumbfounded at the sight of the delegation, who stood with their heads held high while making such demands.

Of course, the old Dwarf King had only one judgment to make.

“Do elves have necks made of steel or something?”

Thus began the elf delegation’s guillotine show.

“Chop off the necks of those pointy-ears.”

“Hey!”

“Save the beautiful and cute elves!”

The Dwarves turned the elf delegation into an elf chop, and this became the source of their war.

The elf-dwarf war had already existed even before the Great War began.

When the Great War broke out, their lives became too tough to continue fighting…

Yet here, with the marketplace established, it wouldn’t be strange at all if they were to go to war again.

“Damn it.”

And upon learning of this history, my mind naturally felt cold.

There were still monsters running around, and now a war?

That was clearly a call for everyone to die.

Fortunately, knowing a Dwarf named Gallum, I immediately contacted the current Dwarf King, Taldain.

Head of the Gallery*: Stop it right now!!!

Taldru: Well, stopping isn’t really up to me.

Taldru: But what do you want me to stop?

You already know everything and are pretending not to?

It was obvious that the stockpiling was intended for war material procurement, and that they had dispatched an armed Dwarf scouting party.

I knew most races dislike elves and that they’d probably call for an elf skirmish if trouble arose.

However, now was not the time for war.

Head of the Gallery*: Stop the war with the elves!

I was trying to talk some sense into him, but…

Taldru: Brother, what do you mean?

Head of the Gallery*: ?

Taldru: While it’s true that elves are the ones who want to slaughter the pointy-ears, we have no plans for war.

The dwarves didn’t even realize what they were saying.

In other words, this was just more clickbait from the Gallery.

*

The Dwarves had recently reduced their Gallery activities.

Naturally, there were no Dwarves to cool down the war rumors, and the Gallery was in flames with excitement.

– War? What’s that all about?

– Don’t drink unless you’re a Dwarf.

The Dwarves who came to find out the news were left bewildered.

– Don’t lie, LOL.

ㄴ For real; do you think we wouldn’t know you’re loading up on war supplies?

But war is originally about bluffing.

Especially the masters of bluffing, humans, didn’t believe the Dwarves’ words at first.

Dwarves were typically associated with aggressive behavior.

However, there was clear evidence that the Dwarves were not preparing for war.

– If a war breaks out, won’t the Head of the Gallery close down the marketplace?

– How can one go to war without alcohol?

ㄴ Oh? That’s true!

Dwarves were made up of 70% alcohol.

Although their temperament leaned towards battle, if they were to wage war, I’d shut down the marketplace.

In other words, going to war would require them to swear off drinking.

– I’d rather die than not drink.

– Don’t drink.

ㄴ What does that mean?

ㄴ Don’t drink, I said.

ㄴ How do you even do that?

Clearly, those thoughts of war were nowhere to be found in their minds.

“So, what’s with the stockpiling?”

But the questions still lingered.

So then, why were they stockpiling?

– Do you think only you guys have eaten from the marketplace’s food?

– LOL, how brazen to stockpile!

– If you think Dwarves are selfish, I’ll upvote you, LOL.

No matter how you looked at it, this was drawn up as preparation for war supplies.

Yet, the solution was quite simple.

“I could increase the quantity in the marketplace.”

But that was the problem.

As much as mana pills were a source of experience, there still needed to be a certain proportion of points.

But if I released too much supply beyond that, the outflow would exceed the point income ratio.

Whenever such problems arose, it was impossible to solve them solely through quantity.

“Hmmm… war supplies.”

I needed something that could easily satisfy hunger during war while also being portable, with a long shelf life.

Additionally, it should taste decent and, most importantly, be cheap combat food that can be supplied in bulk.

“Is there such a thing?”

Of course, there was.

The military-grade rations I was tired of buying due to their cheap taste.

[Hardtack 10kg] – 25 points.

Considering that one bag is roughly 30g, the amount and price are absurd.

Essentially, it was a crazy-efficient hardtack at just 72 won per bag.