บท 32: Chapter 32

The Nürburg Continent was a world where magic, alchemy, and crafting were quite developed, but the developments of these technologies did not happen overnight as they were developed over thousands of years and used the wars that shaped the continent to fuel its development.

Strangely enough, these three arts started to drop their fierce competition for one another at some point in history, and they started to connect by exchanging technologies. In short, their technologies started to fuse together, and the result of those mixtures was none other than the artifacts.

Artifacts came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and the swords that breathed out fire, shields that blinded their enemies, and armors that could be equipped and unequipped in a second were all artifacts made from the combination of magic, alchemy, and crafting.

There were three giant workshops on the Nürburg Continent that professionally developed, manufactured, and sold these artifacts, and every workshop had its own distinct characteristics and motto when creating artifacts.

The three workshops were Autonika of Technology, Bavarian of Power, and Mercedes the Greatest.

These three workshops were known as the 'Big Three Workshops' since they were the three largest workshops that created the best artifacts on the entire continent. In fact, they were larger in size, greater in skill, and more expensive than any other workshops on the continent, and the artifacts they produced could not be compared to common workshops out there.

However, the best among these three was none other than the Mercedes Workshop, and the reason they were the best was that they were the first workshop to ever create and coin the term 'artifact' on the continent. The artifacts created by the Mercedes Workshop were more than enough to prove their worthiness as their design and performance were much better than those made by Autonika and Bavarian, and this was why they were able to put 'the Greatest' in their workshop's slogan. On top of that, the artifacts made by the Mercedes Workshop were considered luxury products since they were around thirty percent more expensive than the ones made by Autonika and Bavarian.

'Mercedes Workshop…? Don't tell me it's 'that' Mercedes…?' Siegfried thought while looking at the piece of paper Baron Wegmann gave to him, and he soon realized that the piece of paper was not an ordinary paper but rather a coupon issued by the Mercedes Workshop. Although, it seemed that a couple of hundred years had passed since the coupon had been issued.

'I wonder what coupon it is…?' he wondered as he quickly glanced over the words written on the coupon.

The words written on the coupon were as followed:

[Mercedes Workshop 100% +12 Enhancement Coupon (No Level Limit)]

[An enhancement coupon officially issued by the Mercedes Workshop.]

[The Mercedes Workshop will enhance any artifact requested by the coupon holder 12 times with a 100% success rate.]

[Type: Coupon (Consumable)]

[Price: 1,000 gold]

The coupon worth a thousand gold turned out to be a guaranteed +12 enhancement coupon issued by the Mercedes Workshop! Moreover, the coupon guaranteed the +12 enhancement regardless of the level of the artifact being enhanced!

"T-This is…!" Siegfried could not help but exclaim in surprise at the details of the piece of paper.

***

The +12 guaranteed enhancement coupon from the Mercedes Workshop was akin to a blank check, and the fact that any artifact regardless of its level could be enhanced meant that the holder had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to completely turn their life around as long as they possessed a decent artifact. Of course, the enhancement level of an artifact was not capped at +12, so this coupon was not going to instantly turn an artifact into the most powerful weapon on the continent, but the fact that it was a guaranteed +12 alone was more than enough to prove its value.

"It was around seven hundred years ago when the Mercedes Workshop first opened its doors. They were a new workshop at that time, and they were suffering financial difficulties. As such, they started selling these coupons for just a thousand gold." Baron Wegmann reminisced with a smile.

"I-I see…" Siegfried muttered in response.

"However, nobody bought their coupons. Of course, the entire continent will be turned upside down if they announce that they would be selling these for a mere thousand gold right now, but that was not the case back then. After all, who in their right mind would pay a sum of a thousand gold to buy a coupon from a workshop that nobody had ever heard of back then?" Baron Wegmann continued.

He was right.

These coupons were issued seven hundred years ago when the concept of artifacts was practically none existent, and that meant that the value of these coupons back then was no different from a piece of toilet tissue paper. Not to mention the fact that a thousand gold seven hundred years ago was a huge amount in today's gold.

"But my ancestor, Baron Graham was a very eccentric man. In fact, some might say that he was a bit… foolish," Baron Wegmann said.

"Your ancestor purchased this…?" Siegfried asked cautiously.

"That's right. He purchased a coupon. I have no idea if he did it speculatively or if he just bought it on a whim, but I think it's the latter since there were records of him gambling his entire fortune away a while after buying this. Anyway, buying this coupon turned out to be the best investment he ever made in his life," Baron Wegmann explained.

"Haha…" Siegfried could not help but let out an awkward laugh since the lavish spending of an eccentric man ended up being such a great investment.

Of course, it did take seven hundred years for it to prove its worth, but Baron Graham's choice turned out to be a wise one in the end.

"Anyway, it seems that this coupon has finally found its rightful owner," Baron Wegmann said.

"Are you giving this to me? But this is a very expensive item…" Siegfried muttered, taken aback.

"I am," Baron Wegmann replied.

"But this is too much—" Siegfried started.

However, Baron Wegmann interrupted him. "Nobody will be able to use it anyway."

Then, he added, "That coupon is supposed to be used for the creation of a good weapon when a promising child is born in our household."

"Then, why…" Siegfried muttered.

"Do you still not get it even after seeing me stuck in this rural place?" Baron Wegmann asked.

"N-No…?" Siegfried mumbled.

"Forget about a promising child; there was not even a single promising ant born in our territory in the last seven hundred years. It's quite ironic that not even one of our descendants was born with the potential to be a Master despite our house being a martial household. Heck, forget about a master; none of them were born with the physique to even get close to the realm of being one. The most promising descendant so far is my son, but…" Baron Wegmann grumbled before trailing off.

"What happened?" Siegfried asked.

"He's nowhere near enough as well. He is currently studying at the kingdom's academy, but he still hasn't managed to get past the early stages. Well, I reckon he just isn't talented enough," Baron Wegmann continued with a sigh.

People often said that parents were bound to have biased opinions of their own children, but it seemed that Baron Wegmann's son simply had no talent at all, judging by his bluntness.

"I could sell it off and develop this territory, but what use is developing a territory this rural? I doubt it's going to improve any further than this, and we aren't really lacking in funds, too. Besides, we don't really want to develop ourselves any further than this. We are satisfied, and we don't really want to bring in a huge crowd from the outside. That's why my family and my territory have no need for that coupon," Baron Wegmann explained.

"So… are you really giving this coupon to me?" Siegfried asked expectantly.

"Yes, I am," Baron Wegmann replied with a nod before adding, "But I have one condition."

"What is it?" Siegfried asked.

"I'm not simply giving this to you as a gift. I am investing in you," Baron Wegmann explained.

"Investing in me…?" Siegfried muttered in confusion.

"Let's call it an investment in a promising sprout. They say that as the twig is bent, so grows the tree, don't they? I can see that you are going to be a hero that will make his mark on the entire continent," Baron Wegmann said with a smile.

"You flatter me," Siegfried replied.

"Nonsense. I saw you with my own two eyes. My martial prowess might be disastrous, but I am confident in my eye for talent. Actually, all who witnessed how you fought today will undoubtedly think that you are bound to become a Master one day," Baron Wegmann firmly said.

"I thank you for your kind praises," Siegfried humbly replied.

"Hoho, no need to be so humble now," Baron Wegmann said with a laugh, and then he continued, "Anyway, my condition is that you will not sell this coupon off to someone else. My hope is that you will treasure this coupon until the right time comes, which is when you obtain the best suitable weapon for you, and then, I want you to use this to enhance your weapon. I'm certain that you'll be even stronger by then, and your fame would have already spread throughout the continent by then as well, am I right?"

"It would be great if that happens," Siegfried replied.

"I'm certain it will," Baron Wegmann said in a firm and confident voice, and then he looked at Siegfried and said, "I hope that one day—when you have made enough achievements—you will remember our territory and repay us for today. It doesn't matter what or how you repay us."

"I most certainly will," Siegfried confidently said while thinking, 'I will earn money anyway, and getting a guaranteed +12 enhancement is not something that you can buy with money. I should keep this safe and sound for the day that I'll use it for myself.'

He had no plans on selling the coupon for some quick cash even if the coupon he had obtained just now should net him more than ten billion won in cash when sold.

He was planning on using the coupon for himself.

Why?

It was all because money wasn't the only thing that mattered to him. His goal in life was to stand at the pinnacle of BNW rather than become a fat pig that only lazed around in comfort all day. In fact, he would have already sold off the Hyper Capsule Ogre if he were someone who valued money above everything else.

"I swear that I will never sell this coupon. I will wait until I manage to get my hands on an excellent weapon and use it to enhance it by then. And you do not have to worry about my repayment to you and this territory. I will never forget the kindness the Biermann Territory and you have shown to me," Siegfried said with firmness and confidence in his voice.

"Excellent!" Baron Wegmann exclaimed in delight before he meekly added, "By the way… can you care for my son if you ever get to the capital?"

"By 'care' you mean…?" Siegfried asked in response.

"I mean, if you can help my child if he is ever in any danger," Baron Wegmann clarified.

"I certainly will," Siegfried replied.

"Can you promise me?" Baron Wegmann asked.

"I promise," Siegfried replied.

A message popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: You have accepted the Quest: 'Promise With Baron Wegmann'.]

The quest was relatively straightforward.

[Promise With Baron Wegmann]

[Type: Normal Quest]

[1. Repay the Biermann Territory for today's kindness once Siegfried reaches the level of a Master.]

[2. Go to the capital and establish a relationship with Baron Wegmann's son.]

[Progress: 0% (0/2)]

[Rewards: Fame + ???]

[Note: More Fame will be rewarded the higher the completion level.]

Oddly enough, the reward for Baron Wegmann's quest was an unknown amount of Fame.

'Well, it's not something I have to do immediately,' Siegfried thought. He decided to brush his curiosity off to the side for now.

For now, he was planning to focus on leveling up. After all, he didn't have the time to care for the baron's son, and he also couldn't reach the level of a Master sooner or later. In fact, Siegfried cared more about his own growth right now that he had no plans to care for the baron's son any time soon! Besides, he only had to do that after reaching the level of a Master just like what Baron Wegmann had just said.

"Then, you are now the rightful owner of this coupon," Baron Wegmann declared before handing over the Mercedes Workshop coupon to Siegfried.

"Thank you very much," Siegfried said. He received the box where the coupon was being stored and placed it into his Inventory.

[Alert: You have obtained the item: 'Mercedes Workshop 100% +12 Enhancement Coupon'!]

Siegfried had just obtained a once-in-a-lifetime item as a reward.

***

The enhancement coupon was not the only thing he received as a reward.

Siegfried finally received his rewards two days later, after the destruction caused by the war had been somewhat taken care of. It was the rewards from his previous quests and the rewards from his outstanding accomplishment in the war.

However, the amount was far greater than what he had been anticipating.

"Here you go, that is five thousand gold including your rewards from the Mercenary Guild," Baron Wegmann said as he commanded his soldiers to place a sack in front of Siegfried.

"What…?" Siegfried muttered in disbelief, seemingly doubting his ears.

It was only natural that he would doubt his ears since five thousand gold was an astronomical sum equivalent to two hundred and fifty million won in real life.