I Level Up With In-app Purchases

I Level Up With In-app Purchases – 65

EP.65 Let Me Stay for One Night (1)

Sweating profusely from the headmaster’s chilling warning, I promised to cooperate in ensuring that the orbs wouldn’t fall into the hands of the students recklessly.

After the headmaster left, I suddenly remembered Haeshi and Nairel.

“If I ask for them back now, they definitely won’t return them.”

Given their strong attachment to the orbs, asking them to return them didn’t seem like a good idea.

Even if I wanted to forcibly take them back, how could I touch noble children?

So, when the kids visited the general store, I didn’t ask for the orbs back but instead warned them about the dangers.

“If those orbs break due to mishandling, they could explode. Small kids like you could die instantly.”

“Eeek! Dangerous! Dangerous!”

“I’m not a small kid, okay?!”

Nairel was just startled like a child left home alone on Christmas, but Haeshi was furious, pointing out that I called him a small kid.

“So, don’t go around showing off the orbs to anyone recklessly. Keep them somewhere safe where they won’t break. Got it? If you can’t handle it, give them back.”

“Yes!”

Nairel, who didn’t have the orb at the moment, looked dejected.

“Taking back what you gave is so unfair.”

Haeshi showed his obsession with the orb.

“I’m warning you so I don’t have to take it back, you little brat.”

Kids will be kids, after all.

Even though I clearly warned them about the explosion, if they caused it, I would be extremely angry.

“I’ve made myself clear. Don’t play around with the orbs. If they explode and you get hurt, don’t even think about blaming me. I won’t forgive you.”

“Wow, that’s not something an adult should say to a kid, right?”

“You said you’re not a kid. Should I treat you like one?”

“Alright! I get it. I’ll take good care of it so it doesn’t break. We’re not that reckless, you know?”

“Look at your usual behavior. Can I trust you?”

“I, I…”

Nairel seemed to be contemplating whether to return the orb.

“At least I trust you, Nairel. You have better judgment than him.”

“!!!”

Nairel smiled bashfully at my words and then said,

“Okay. I’ll keep an eye on Haeshi and make sure he doesn’t cause any trouble.”

It’s hard not to feel good when an adult shows trust.

“What do you mean you’ll keep an eye on me?”

“Watch you.”

“Do you think I’ll just let you?”

“Yeah, I think you will. I’ll be watching every day.”

The two of them started bickering again, which didn’t inspire much confidence.

Still, Nairel was a smart and capable kid, wasn’t she?

While I pondered whether I had placed too much trust in the two kids, the headmaster kept his promise and resolved the issue of preventing the orbs from being stolen before distributing them to the students again.

I provided the orbs to the students who came to the general store at a reasonable price.

This alone turned out to be quite profitable, and sometimes they even paid with monster by-products.

Thanks to this, I was able to earn a little extra spending money.

“Money keeps piling up even when I’m just sitting here.”

I knew I should invest and grow this money rather than just holding onto it, but it wasn’t easy for a commoner to invest money in this world.

The only viable options were buying land or starting a trading company…

‘It’s difficult to start a trading company when I have to stay glued to the general store.’

There was no stock market in this world either.

So, should I just buy land?

‘Buying land when a monster wave has hit is like asking to go bankrupt.’

Currently, land prices have plummeted.

No one is buying land.

Especially not near the front lines.

‘You never know when contamination might invade the land.’

Land that has been contaminated can’t be valued.

No matter how expensive it was before, it’s now worth zero.

Can’t it be purified?

‘Land that has been contaminated can’t be farmed for years, and people don’t even want to step on it.’

Even though purification removes harmful substances, it’s hard to believe just because someone says so.

To prevent any potential issues, growing crops for human consumption on previously contaminated land is legally banned for several years, and such land becomes an avoided, unlucky place.

Of course, if land continues to shrink like this, there will come a time when people will have no choice but to step on it.

‘If I don’t properly raise an SSR character, that is.’

But at least for now, no one wants to step on contaminated land.

Even if people are begging on their knees for someone to buy their land, no one is buying.

‘Except for someone like me.’

But I know the future.

Through the main scenario, I know the order in which the land will be purified and which areas will be useful to buy in advance.

‘I especially know the location of a temporary city that hasn’t been built yet.’

In the original main scenario, students are conscripted, and after much hardship, they resolve the monster wave and begin reclaiming territory through subjugation.

Players start reclaiming territories one by one with their character parties obtained through gacha, and our party is hailed as ‘heroes,’ becoming the hope of the soldiers.

As you clear each stage, you eventually encounter a ‘boss.’ If you succeed in defeating the boss and purifying the land, a forward base is established where the boss stage was.

This place, known as a ‘temporary city’ or ‘forward base,’ allowed players to purchase various potions and scrolls with in-game currency.

Additionally, players could undertake various side quests there.

And what I was aiming for was precisely that forward base and temporary city.

Since I knew the location of that land, if I could get my name on the deed in advance, I would reap significant rewards once it was purified.

‘It’s like being a landowner in a redevelopment area.’

Moreover, I planned to sell some plots and build structures on others to create rental properties.

Once the main story was fully cleared, this world would stabilize, and I would benefit from owning a lot of land.

It was fortunate that the state recognized and compensated the original landowners for their properties.

…Otherwise, there would be many people foaming at the mouth and lying on the ground in protest.

Since this wasn’t something I could do immediately, I hired people to communicate with the landowners.

I hadn’t expected to make such a tidy profit from the general store, but the steady influx of money allowed me to acquire much more land than I had anticipated.

Most people were puzzled by the idea of buying land in contaminated areas.

‘There are others like me who are holding onto land, waiting for it to be purified.’

While I was contentedly looking at the thick stack of land deeds in my hand, the scenario involving Ariane was progressing steadily.

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“Sister!!!!”

A servant from the ducal family had come to deliver news.

Unaware of this, she had been attending her classes peacefully and only heard the news after returning to the dormitory.

The news was that her second sister had been seriously injured and had returned home!

Although she had classes the next day, she abandoned everything and rushed to the family estate.

She had heard that many people were getting injured due to the recent monster wave, but she never thought it would happen to her own family.

However, the indifferent sky did not selectively spare those around her from misfortune.

“Ariane! Don’t run!”

Her mother, seeing her dash off, shouted urgently.

But her mother’s voice didn’t reach her ears.

I ran straight to my sister’s room and grabbed the doorknob.

‘…Should I open it?’

Knowing my second sister, she probably wouldn’t want to show herself to the family after being discharged from the military due to injury.

‘But I need to see how badly she’s hurt! I even sent letters telling her to be careful…’

Unable to turn the doorknob, I hesitated for a long time.

What was my sister doing now?

How badly was she hurt?

Even though my relationship with my second sister wasn’t particularly close, hearing that she was injured made me worry so much.

“Ariane! What are you doing here when you should be at the academy!”

My mother finally caught up and scolded me.

“How badly is she hurt?”

I knew that to be discharged from the military due to injury, one had to be injured to the point of being unable to fight.

“Did she… did she lose a leg or something?”

I had seen soldiers who were discharged due to injuries.

They had tear-streaked faces, looking as if they had lost all hope in life.

‘Some had lost arms or legs… some had burns all over their bodies…’

Thinking that my second sister might be in such a terrible state made my heart sink.

“Oh my, were you that worried about your sister?”

“How could I not be… sniff… worried? They said being discharged due to injury is really scary… sniff!”

“Don’t worry. She didn’t come back with any limbs missing. If that were the case, do you think I could be this calm?”

“Really?!”

“And your sister hasn’t been discharged yet. She was able to come home because your father pulled some strings.”

When soldiers are injured, they are usually transported to the military hospital, not home. Only if it’s determined that they are unfit for combat are they discharged and sent home.

However, it seemed that my second sister was allowed to come home to recuperate thanks to my father’s influence, even though she hadn’t been officially discharged.

“Wow~ So, my sister isn’t that badly hurt, right?”

“That’s right. She’ll recover soon and go back.”

“Our dad is amazing. Not just anyone can do that, right?”

“He really went above and beyond this time. He pushed through even though they said it was impossible.”

Why did he go to such lengths to bring my second sister home?

My mother soon explained.

“He thought leaving her at the military hospital would be the end of her. They’re sending soldiers back to the battlefield to deal with that monster wave, even those who haven’t fully recovered. Knowing the situation, how could he just leave her there? He had to bring her home, no matter what.”

When your child’s life is at stake, military regulations mean nothing.

Even knowing there might be repercussions later, he used his power to bring her home, prioritizing her safety.

Realizing that my second sister had narrowly escaped a dire situation, I couldn’t bring myself to say that my father had done anything wrong.

“Can I go in?”

“She took her medicine a few hours ago, so she’s probably fast asleep. Go in quietly.”

With my mother’s permission, I finally turned the doorknob with determination.

Knowing that my sister was safe was reassuring, but I wanted to see her with my own eyes to be sure.