Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Chapter 23: Survivors (2)
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‘No way, are they planning to advance just like this?’
The 4th Battalion had finished resupplying through us today.
Which meant they now had to join the battle for Colom Castle as per headquarters’ orders.
The problem was how fierce the fighting had been near Lakriol Valley, where they’d set up their barracks.
‘I heard the knight order took heavy losses.’
News of the 4th Battalion’s struggles had reached even the rear lines, where I’d been.
When I heard it, I thought of Jerome, whom I’d learned about through Alio.
I vaguely remembered which unit he’d been assigned to in the reorganized church army.
With Palao priests or holy knights in the 4th Battalion, real-time communication wasn’t hard.
I contacted Jerome through a Palao priest traveling with the 4th Battalion to hear soldiers’ confessions.
And through him, I subtly probed Baron Volvita, the one in charge.
‘How about bringing players along for the next battle?’
Scheming it wasn’t difficult.
The outcome wasn’t great, though.
“Whew.”
I couldn’t swallow the sigh that escaped me.
I’d taken the escort mission to rack up contribution points.
But out of all the supply escort missions, I’d chosen the one heading to the 4th Battalion for another reason.
‘I thought it was an opportunity.’
From what Jerome told me, the 4th Battalion had lost nearly 20% of its knights.
That meant they needed reinforcements.
‘But it’s impossible.’
Player training in Bihar wasn’t going smoothly to begin with.
‘With the population in such dire straits, what recruits?’
New knights were ordained each year, but more died than were replaced.
The number of volunteers for regular soldiers kept dropping too.
In that situation, reinforcements? No chance.
I knew Bihar’s state of affairs well, so I’d floated the player idea.
It must have tempted Baron Volvita, who’d lost nearly 20% of his knights.
From overhearing Jerome’s conversation with him, I could tell the baron was leaning toward it.
He seemed desperate for any reinforcements.
That’s why I’d spent four days getting here.
‘Why hasn’t he decided yet?’
What had he heard in those four days? Pressure from the church?
I couldn’t know the exact reason without asking the baron directly.
But I didn’t need to know it to understand the situation.
With time running out, if the baron kept delaying, the result was obvious.
‘A waste of time.’
If Baron Volvita marched without players, those four days were gone.
Even hunting hard on the way back wouldn’t recover lost time.
“Tsk.”
I couldn’t hold back and clicked my tongue.
“I’m sorry. I wanted to help, but…”
Jerome glanced at me and apologized.
“It’s not your fault, Sir Jerome.”
I’d suggested it first.
Jerome had stepped up for something potentially awkward; he had nothing to apologize for.
“If it works out, great. If not, we find another way.”
“Still… I’ll push harder one more time.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
I was an outsider, but Jerome had to keep dealing with Baron Volvita.
Pushing too hard could put him in a tough spot and ruin the connection.
To make contacts useful for favors when I needed them, I had to consider their convenience too.
So I changed the subject to keep Jerome from bringing it up again.
“By the way, how’s Colom Castle holding up?”
The Palao Church shared some info, but gathering details from all angles when I could was a habit.
“It’s too early to say we have the upper hand.”
For some reason, despite the church army’s pressure, the enemy’s main forces hadn’t budged.
There were clashes between evolution types and our main body outside the walls.
But they were just meaningless attrition battles that didn’t shift the tide.
‘They’ve got an insane number of meat shields.’
My talk with Jerome went on for a good while after that.
But all things end.
“If you see me at the camp, let’s grab a meal.”
“Sounds good to me. Contact me through Sir Alio when you’re back.”
“Will do. I’ll head out.”
After setting a next time with Jerome, thoughts flooded me on the way back to the party.
I was pulling strings like this to create openings because ways for players to earn contribution points were too limited.
‘Whether they think we’re not ready yet or just don’t trust us, who knows.’
There’d been no moves to throw players into full-scale battles.
Player deaths stayed low, but so did our roles—limited at best.
Wherever you looked, players could only handle support tasks.
‘Not a good picture.’
We couldn’t expect big rewards like this.
Main scenario rounds, divided into chapters and acts, were finite.
‘Colom Castle’s recapture isn’t a repeating mission.’
We had to grab the maximum reward from each chance.
Sitting back quietly meant players lost out.
But Palao, who could push my views, had weak influence.
‘Their recent exploits are bringing believers back, but they haven’t reclaimed past glory.’
So what could I do? Force my way in somehow.
When I heard about the 4th Battalion, I thought it was perfect.
‘If it falls through, I’ll have to open another route.’
I racked my brain for more ways to earn contribution.
“Hyung! Hurry, the soup’s getting cold!”
Then Kim Yul’s urging hit me, along with a weird, nerve-grating gaze.
I narrowed my eyes and strode to the rock right beside me.
But around the corner—nothing.
I scowled and scanned the surroundings.
I used mana detection, focused mana in my eyes—nothing forgotten.
It didn’t make nonexistent things appear, though.
After staring at the empty spot for a bit, I turned away with a nagging feeling.
‘This is weird.’
Since coming to Robole for the main scenario, I’d felt skulking gazes now and then.
It was part of why I couldn’t sleep deeply during the supply escort.
But every time I checked, it was a bust, just like now.
‘Am I just on edge…?’
It felt too off to dismiss, but I couldn’t obsess over it.
‘Let’s just eat.’
Back at our spot, Yang Tae-ho and Kim Yul perked up.
“What’d he say?”
They already knew the basics from shared info.
I slurped down the half-cold soup as I answered.
“So it’s a bust?”
Yang Tae-ho smacked his lips in disappointment.
Kim Yul shot back right away.
“Too early to call it a bust. It could still happen.”
Right. Nothing decided yet.
“The baron has to decide by morning. We wait till then.”
Keep tension up, stay ready to join the march anytime—manage condition.
“What if it goes through? We in?”
Kim Yul checked, and I nodded without hesitation.
“Of course.”
That’s why I’d called in every favor I had.
“Roger.”
“Got it.”
No pushback. By the time we wrapped up, I’d finished my soup too.
Party members who’d eaten first headed to the tent.
Time to divvy up spoils from the last four days.
We sat in the tent, pulling out items from storage crates. Kim Yul spoke first.
“Two relics this time, right?”
Spoils from Bihar weren’t just battlefield gold, jewels, or rusted weapons.
Rarely, items gained special powers.
‘Classified as “relics” in the item window.’
Usually with stories, histories, or traces attached.
The Kerax series Yang Tae-ho and I got last time were relic items.
‘And these shoes this time.’
[Cowardly Yorril’s Shoes]
• Type: Relic
• Acquisition Difficulty: Unique
• Grade: ★★★
• Description: The shoes of Yorril, who fled abandoning his comrades without noticing his own had come off. Blessed by the gaze of the Seven Gods who watched his history, they hold special power. Once, escape the crisis by following the footsteps of Yorril, who ultimately succeeded in fleeing.
• Uses Remaining: 0/1
A lone leather shoe sat intact in a rocky crevice—I picked it up, and it was a relic.
Field-acquired relics without missions usually had limited uses.
Similar to magic stones in that trait, but effects differed.
‘Magic stones mostly tie to natural elements or phenomena.’
Relics focused more on events.
So some were baffling, hard to know what to use them for.
Like the other relic we’d snagged this time.
[Pomir’s Handkerchief, Bearer of Intellectual Disability]
• Type: Relic
• Acquisition Difficulty: Unique
• Grade: ★
• Description: The handkerchief his mother gave Pomir on the day he was conscripted. Pomir wiped his tears with it until his death. Blessed by the gaze of the Seven Gods who watched his history, it holds special power. At any moment, draw forth the tears of Pomir contained within.
• Uses Remaining: 0/3
“One’s a dud.”
No one argued with Kim Yul.
Relics were rare among spoils.
‘Finding two during supply escort is the miracle.’
Besides today’s two, I had two relics already.
One was Kerax’s Spear; the other, like Pomir’s handkerchief, was iffy.
‘Put it up for auction—didn’t sell.’
Made divvying relics tricky.
After staring at the spoils a moment, I decided.
“Escape tool goes to Yul.”
With stealth magic, he might scout solo sometimes.
Proposing it for emergencies, Yang Tae-ho didn’t object.
“But if someone else needs to go solo before you use it, pass it over.”
“Deal.”
Kim Yul nodded and took the shoes.
The problematic handkerchief…
“We’ll make a safe in the party base for this.”
Same for other unsold relics.
“Fine by me.”
“Same.”
We split the rest smoothly.
Rusted armor or dented shields seemed useless but served as repair materials via shop crafting.
Cheaper on mana than buying new.
‘Mana from start to finish.’
No big disagreements. Next, personal maintenance.
First, gear check.
Blades have grooves for blood flow; post-battle, black blood crusts in them.
Clean the grooves to reopen paths.
Plenty else too.
Wipe leather or metal armor, check magic stone count and types.
Routine after just months.
Maintenance done, straight to mana training.
Lately, I focused on shortening time to mana concentration.
Waiting for Baron Volvita’s decision with maintenance and training.
Next dawn, we met him in the players’ area.
Then, same system window popped for all players in the 4th Battalion camp.
MISSION
[Sub Scenario: Join the Battle]
Join the battle as support for the 4th Battalion under the 1st Army Central Command, 5th Corps, 2nd Division, 2nd Regiment.
[Rewards]
• Main Scenario Contribution: 1000~2000 (Tiered)
Felt good calling in every favor.
Damn System