Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Laying the Foundations (1)
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To sum up her rambling words, it was simple.
She'd seen the recruitment alert and gone to the temple, but I wasn't there, so she'd spent the whole day wandering around Havon Castle looking for me.
Her story, laced with what felt like resentment, left me feeling awkward.
'Is meeting me really that big a deal?'
Sure, as the first recruit, I had some rarity value...
'But not that much, right?'
I was just the only one so far, not forever.
More players would join the order over time.
I was simply a bit ahead of the curve.
So why had she gone to such lengths to find me?
I listened to Rashar's lament in a daze for a moment.
Then I decided to interrupt her.
"Our paths must've crossed. I checked out the temple and headed to the resistance base."
My calm voice made Rashar, who had been spilling words in excitement, flinch and tremble.
Even as she spoke, her ragged breaths gradually steadied.
She seemed to be calming down now. Only then did I mention our reunion after nearly a week.
"Long time no see. You doing okay?"
Had she realized she'd jumped straight into her own words without even greeting me?
Rashar's face flushed bright red in an instant.
"Ah, long... I was so out of it, have you... been well?"
"So-so."
She definitely seemed more settled now.
"Oh, sorry for making you wait so long. Dinner? If you haven't eaten, I'll have it prepared right away..."
"Chentler-nim took good care of me."
It wasn't just good care—a huge slab of beef, sliced into three thick portions.
"Ah, I... see. That's a relief."
"And you?"
"Hm?"
"Have you eaten?"
"Ah, not yet..."
I'd wondered since she'd spent the whole day looking for me.
What was the point of working your tail off to survive if you starved yourself?
"You must have some business since you came looking for me. We can talk over food. Oh, and it's late—mind staying the night?"
"You could stay forever!"
I'd casually brought up the matter I hadn't asked Chentler about, and an unexpected bombshell followed.
Stunned, I just stared at her without a word, and once more.
"No, I mean, I'd always welcome you..."
Rashar mumbled, her flushed face buried low.
"F-First, let's head up."
She spun around and bolted, like she was fleeing in embarrassment.
I let out a light chuckle and followed behind her.
* * *
"If you have a preferred taste from your usual drinks, please let me know."
It was already deep into the night. While Rashar's meal was being prepared, Chentler offered me some wine.
'Wine, huh.'
I hadn't touched alcohol much except occasionally to relieve stress from work.
But tonight, my talk with Rashar would likely drag on.
'I won't have this kind of leisure starting tomorrow.'
I rubbed the back of my neck lightly and replied.
"I'm not much of a drinker, so no real preferences."
"Then allow me to recommend something."
"Yes, please do."
Soon, light appetizers like fruit, cheese, and finger foods arrived with the wine.
"Oh."
One sip of the wine Chentler poured, and admiration escaped me naturally.
It was worlds apart from the cheap convenience store stuff—perfect acidity and depth of flavor.
Not overly sweet, a bit heavy-bodied yet clean.
'Is there nothing here that doesn't taste amazing?'
I downed the wine sip by sip, like it was tea and one cup had turned into a whole pot.
Each time I tilted my glass, more info spilled from Rashar's lips.
"A portal?"
Homepage management, order-exclusive missions, global announcements, and so on.
Features that were alien to Rashar and the Biharans but familiar to me, followed by talk of portals.
"Yes, that's how I rushed straight to Havon. Anyone affiliated with the Palao Order can use it."
"Hmm..."
A teleport gate exclusive to the order.
Naturally, having it was better than not.
But the fact that portals were divided by order raised questions.
'Why bother?'
Weren't all the temples gathered in one place anyway?
It felt wasteful, yet necessary since headquarters were split.
As I mulled over the ambiguity, Rashar's story continued.
This time, it was about buff effects supported by the Palao Order.
"That one's the priciest."
"Pricy?"
What the hell? I shot back immediately at the out-of-left-field comment, and Rashar paused, as if gathering her thoughts.
Her eventual answer felt oddly familiar.
"Basically, anything you do on that homepage uses order points. The attack power boost option cost the most points."
That's why she'd called it expensive.
"Points, huh..."
Did it mean the mana gained from hunting monsters?
If they collected that, it made sense.
But the system had said efficiency dropped with contaminated mana.
'Do we purify it and hand it over to the order?'
Or straight-up? Maybe the seven gods intervening in this server made it fine.
It wasn't something I could verify right now.
"Tch."
Another question to shelve for now.
Or wait for a chance to grill the system later.
As I sorted my thoughts, Rashar wiped her mouth and continued.
"I don't know about other orders, but points seem to accumulate based on outsiders' activities. With those, we can expand recruitment or add more portals."
I fiddled with my half-full wine glass, piecing it together.
I didn't grasp the exact logic, but players' earnings could bolster the order.
'Strategy sim? Like one of those games?'
It fit the genre at least.
Players helped, sure, but it was about growing the order...
"Ah!"
A flash of insight hit me, and an exclamation burst out.
"K?"
Instead of answering Rashar's call, I fired a question back.
I had to confirm if this hunch pieced together the scattered bits.
"The resistance."
"Hm?"
"What happens to the resistance going forward?"
"...Local resistance groups will dissolve sequentially."
"Not fully disbanding, but reorganizing under different orders, right?"
Rashar's eyes widened slightly.
"...Yes, the official notice will go out soon. Affiliation choice is left to the followers' discretion—it's already agreed."
The national-based resistance folding under order influence.
In that setup, players had three bases.
No way all orders crammed into one base from the start.
"Any other apostles in Havon besides you and the division commander?"
"...No."
"No plans for more?"
Rashar nodded in lieu of words.
"So, it's just Palao and Temoria stationed in Havon?"
As I'd vaguely guessed, the apostles' status—confirmed via org chart—was high within orders.
Above them: high priest equivalents and the gods themselves, practically.
A city hosting such an apostle—what did that imply?
'The orders picked bases like players did.'
Sure enough, Rashar confirmed it.
"...Correct."
"That's why the portals are split..."
I muttered softly and drained the rest of my wine.
The stuffy haze of uncertainty lifted, leaving clarity.
Why split portals at clustered temples?
Because each order's activity zones would divide up.
Previously, resistance handled monsters swarming contamination zones near forward bases.
'They called it purification work.'
Now, orders would do it instead.
Biharan troops and players under order banners, purifying zones together.
Destroying vectors strewn about, steadily reclaiming ain-kind lands.
'Then they'll reach abandoned temples in reclaimed territory.'
Link a new portal there, and boom—a forward outpost.
Clean up around it, and it becomes the new frontline base.
Expand activity zones like that to make the main scenario real.
Unclaimed treasures and temples went to whoever grabbed them first.
'In short, territory control.'
A ridiculous laugh bubbled up.
Character growth via combat was standard, but now nurture your joined order too, and conquer land like war?
This godforsaken game couldn't even settle on an identity.
Part of me wanted to unload a torrent of curses on this mishmash mess.
But I held back. Rashar was right there, and venting wouldn't let me quit anyway.
Another thing to bury.
'I'm gonna pop a vein at this rate.'
Maybe hit a bamboo grove sometime and vent it all out.
"By any chance..."
As I reined in my boiling frustration, Rashar ventured cautiously.
"Did you hear everything from the temple?"
"What're you on about?"
"Well... you know our situation too well."
"I didn't get the full rundown... but I've picked up plenty here and there."
I refilled my glass and replied flatly.
With the intel I had, failing to see the picture meant I was dense.
After clearing Rashar's doubt, it was my turn.
"Anyway, those points—do we have to pay them?"
"Wait, hold on... so..."
How long had Rashar trailed off, fumbling with her hands?
"Huh."
A translucent window popped up before the previously empty space in front of Rashar.
"Did it... work? Can you see it?"
"Crystal clear."
[Order Homepage (Admin)]
The text was mirrored, but plain as day—perfectly visible.
Sharing vision tied to the system? Who knew.
I should've guessed from the message about sharing status windows.
"Those registered as head overseers or base managers can share homepage vision. Made coordinating with high priests a breeze."
"Not homepage—'homepage.'"
I snapped out of my daze at the surprise quickly enough.
I corrected her and stood.
"Oh, right, homepage. Not used to it... anyway, so... accumulation history? Here...?"
Standing beside her muttering to herself made the admin homepage even clearer.
A few click misses followed, and fed up, I pointed.
[Order Points]
- Points Usage/Accumulation History
- Points Settings/Management
"Under history."
It was right there for me, but Rashar struggled.
"Ah! Yeah, here it is."
Rashar beamed and clicked the tab at my fingertip.
The points settings and management tab opened.
Scanning it revealed the accumulation rate she'd mentioned earlier.
Checking Palao's set rate, I furrowed my brow.
"...0.1%?"
"A portion of the mana outsiders generate gets banked as points... Didn't you say last time? People like you absorb mana to grow stronger."
"Ah."
"So we set the lowest rate. Can't burden you all."
She added proudly that she'd pushed hard for it.
"Truthfully, I wanted to scrap it entirely, but that's impossible."
I was speechless. Or maybe my vision darkened.
Staring silently at Rashar's profile for a while, a realization flashed through my mind.
Damn system