The Miracle of the Moonlight Sword
“It seems the preparations are more or less finished, but there’s still some time left. About twenty minutes... That’s awkward.”
The original preparation time had been forty minutes, but perhaps the system had shown mercy, because it had been extended to sixty.
“Daliha, if I bring the stage forward, do I get any kind of bonus? In Stage 1, if you start the next wave early, you can earn EP, right?”
「If you begin this stage early, you can gain EP in proportion to the time remaining. However, I would recommend that you do not do so.」
Daliha expressed her concern.
“Why not?”
「Because earlier, you informed the people that the Fog Hog would appear ‘one hour later.’ If that time is moved forward, they may grow confused. In that case, they may take it as proof that the ‘prophecy’ was inaccurate, and RP might decrease slightly.
On the other hand, if the monster appears at the time you declared, people will think the prophecy came true, and you may gain a small amount of RP.」
“I was trying to save time so I could get to the capital sooner, and that caused a problem, huh. Thanks for the warning. Then let’s start as planned.”
When he accepted it so casually, Daliha added a reminder.
「At the moment, the bonus stage takes priority over the capital quest. If you fail to clear it, even more Fog Hogs will be summoned and rush toward Rainpa.」
“Well, don’t worry about that. I’ve got a plan.”
Ho-yeong had been grinning with confidence, but then he flinched.
“System lords. Promise me one thing. There won’t be any more variable difficulty in this stage.”
He remembered how he had carelessly shown off his confidence earlier, only to get hit with a spiteful patch.
「We have received a response from the angel Soliad. He says, ‘If there is no variable difficulty, then there will also be no way for us to help you when battle turns unfavorable. Is that acceptable?’」
“It’s fine. Even if everything goes to hell, I won’t blame you for it, so don’t worry.”
「‘This is the only time. Henceforth, I will not accept any interference in adversity.’ He says.」
“Yes, yes.”
Having cut off the roots of any possible variable, Ho-yeong moved on to the final check.
“What’s going on there? Why are all those people crowding over there?!”
In the meantime, citizens were climbing up onto the wall.
“Because the rumor that the Fog Hogs would appear has spread everywhere.”
“A rumor?”
Daliha told him it was thanks to Peach’s work.
That Peach girl. I sent her to fetch some supplies, and in that short a time she spread the rumor all over the place? She’s got talent. What, is this some kind of hidden skill?
While he was impressed by Peach’s resourcefulness, he also found the Rainpa citizens irritating.
“But looking at them, they seem more like they came to watch a show.”
The people of Rainpa were being annoying.
“We’re out here fighting for our lives, and to them it’s just a good show to watch. Even if monsters haven’t shown up here before, they’ve got no sense of danger at all. They should stay home and sit still. What if they get caught in the crossfire? Tch.”
“I’m sorry to show you such an embarrassing sight.”
Owensytn bowed his head in apology.
“But please don’t be too harsh on them. There may be frivolous onlookers among them, but not everyone is like that.”
As he said, there were plenty of women and children with worried faces among the crowd.
“Those people are the guard members’ families. They gathered because they’re worried about us fighting monsters. Every one of our guard members is someone’s son or husband.”
“And also someone’s brother and father, I suppose.”
Thinking of his younger sisters from the children’s faces, Ho-yeong felt his chest turn heavy.
“We’ve never fought a proper battle before. At most, we helped drive off goblins or kobolds from the surrounding territory; that’s all. It’s frustrating, but as Sir Shrakhim said earlier, that is the truth of it.”
Owensytn tried to tighten the strap of his helmet, but it would not cooperate. White puffs of breath leaked through the rattling helm.
“So it’s only natural that my little daughter would worry. No, it would be strange if she didn’t. It’s as if I’ve been tossed into the cold sea of Salia when all I know of swimming is dog-paddling in a stream.”
The word daughter made Ho-yeong start. He had worried the man would launch into something like, “In fact, today is my daughter’s birthday,” but thankfully, that did not happen.
“But I’ll have to fight the current somehow. If I don’t, the waves of the North Sea will swallow our home.”
Owensytn’s hardened face was not filled with the sort of reckless courage that knew no fear, but some kind of resolve had taken root there. A guardian’s will that might tremble before fear, might waver, but would not let go.
“Don’t worry.”
Ho-yeong knelt and tied the strap of the man’s helmet for him.
“A thing like a Fog Hog is nothing compared to the waves of the North Sea. At best, it’s just a goblin-sized stream of piss. There, that should do it.”
The helmet, now firmly fastened, no longer rattled.
“...Thank you, Border Count. I’ll bring out my courage!”
“Good. While we’re at it, let’s bring out the monster’s Madam Stone too.”
Ho-yeong, satisfied by the captain’s salute, smiled.
“Right. If everyone brings out their courage together, how could we not stop some lousy piss stream?”
Still, when he looked at the wall’s low height and thickness, he felt a little uneasy.
“But if that piss stream hits the wall, we’re in trouble. It’s a fortress wall in the nice sense, sure, but it’s not much different from a slightly tall fence.”
The wall’s main purpose was to block passage, not to stop monsters.
It was not something to rely on for defense.
“If a Fog Hog rams it, it looks like it’ll shake the whole thing apart.”
“Should we disperse the people gathered along the battlement road now? If you order it, Border Count, I’ll relay it to the mayor.”
“Hmm. Wait a moment. I need to think.”
Ding.
He had barely taken a few steps when the sound effect rang out.
“Correct! It must be a branching point. ‘If the gathered people are dispersed, safety is secured, but the citizens won’t be able to witness the display of valor directly, causing RP to fall. If they are not dispersed, there will be some risk, but the deeds will spread widely and RP will be gained in abundance.’ That kind of thing, right?”
The player, now thoroughly used to the game, figured it out before the message even appeared.
「That is correct. Please choose one of the two options.」
As if to celebrate the prediction coming true, an achievement notification also appeared.
「Achievement [Increase in Foresight] achieved!」
“That’s right! I knew it, praising the Guardian’s insight or whatever and rewarding me with 10 EP...”
But no.
Ho-yeong, delighted, tried to predict the reward in a row, but this time he missed.
「As a reward, the minimum and maximum values of the Guardian’s ‘Foresight’ will each increase by 3, and information about the ‘sub-stats’ will be revealed.」
“Foresight? There was such a stat? And what’s a sub-stat?”
Daliha explained it to the surprised Ho-yeong.
「Foresight is one of the sub-stats belonging to the intelligence stat. If Foresight is high, you can sense various crises and opportunities in advance. It is influenced by intelligence and knowledge, but is affected even more strongly by instinct.」
“So if it’s ‘one of’ the sub-stats, then there are lots of sub-stats under other stats too. I guess so. It was like that in the game, too, as though a force stat also included attack power, attack speed, and so on. And if there are minimum and maximum values, then sub-stats must also involve a dice roll every time they activate.”
Either way, a stat increase was a good thing. Ho-yeong felt, strangely enough, as though his instincts had sharpened.
If we can’t clear the stage, the Fog Hogs will go smash that wall. After that, it’ll inevitably turn into city defense. In that case, I should prepare for the worst even now...
No. That was weak-minded thinking! Why assume failure? If you succeed, that’s all that matters!
He felt certain the wall would not be in danger. Perhaps it was only because Owensytn’s resolve had lent him strength.
The Fog Hogs’ target is the watchtower to begin with. If we protect the tower, those pig bastards won’t even make it to the wall. I nearly let that talk about risk cloud my judgment.
Remembering the mission objective, his instinct turned into certainty.
“We’re not dispersing them! Let them all watch to their hearts’ content. Sell popcorn and cola too!”
After placing a great many torches around the wall and ordering the mages to brighten the light even further,
“Since Peach has gathered the audience, we might as well put on a proper show. Come on, everybody gather round.”
his desire to farm reputation and rake in a pile of RP surged up, and he began to speak.
Of course, he could not put it so bluntly; he intended to motivate the people by way of the very figures they relied on.
“Guard comrades! Your families are watching. Will you tell them it’s dangerous and send them home quietly? What good is a battle that no one sees, no matter how many war stories you spin about it!”
Ho-yeong shouted, thinking of a martial arts tournament he had watched years ago, and of the empty stands and the athletes who looked like they had no energy left because of the pandemic.
“Or will you fight proudly before your sons and daughters? Then those children will rush to boast about their father’s... huh? There are female guards too. Fine, then fathers and mothers it is. Anyway! Children who see it with their own eyes will proudly tell everyone about their parents’ deeds! Your story of defending Rainpa from those wicked monsters will spread across the entire continent!”
「Ally faction mental stat increased! The guard members, moved by the Guardian’s eloquence, are burning with fighting spirit.」
The guard members shouted as one.
“We’ll fight proudly!”
As their powerful will to protect gathered into one, a shout of such overwhelming force burst forth that it surpassed even the voice infused with Ho-yeong’s aura.
“If the brave sons of Rainpa are risking their lives out there, then I can’t just sit in here. Citizens! Let’s watch the guard’s feat with our own eyes! Everyone, give them a hand!”
Mayor Ios, watching from the wall, was doing a fine job of rallying the mood too.
「Buff activated! Through the guidance of the Pioneer Ios, the cheering citizens are sending out a Courage buff. The attack power and stamina recovery speed of the fighters who receive this buff increase by a small-to-moderate amount.」
If the citizens had been sent home, they would not have gained this effect.
Ho-yeong raised his hand, and the applause died down.
“And you, citizens of Rainpa! We must not forget these nine heroes.”
He raised his voice, pointing at the adventurers and mercenaries.
“It’s only natural for the guard members to defend their homeland, but these people are different! True heroes who stepped forward for a city they’ll stay in only a few days! Please lend them your strength as well, citizens! The mayor will pay the reward.”
The adventurers and mercenaries were moved that he had not forgotten the outsiders.
「The Totem of Unity effect has been amplified! The maximum values of all stats for mercenaries under the totem’s influence have increased slightly.」
An increase to All Status was an extremely powerful buff.
“And you, everyone! Let’s not forget Joren Tamer, either, who’s summoning up courage for a city he isn’t even staying in, just passing through for a moment! Please send your support to the guardian who will protect us! Long live the Border Count!”
Peach, standing beside the mayor, took up the cheer.
“Long live the Border Count!”
“Long live the Border Count! Long live, long live!”
Ho-yeong, having received a lethal dose of buffs,
“If we draw courage from everyone’s hearts, we can even draw out the heart of a dragon!”
shouted the slogan like a roar. It was a phrase Joren Tamer often cried out when charging.
“Heroes, bring out your courage!”
Just then, the moonlight that had descended over the nighttime plain was drawn by Meyril’s touch and illuminated the watchtower.
“Waaah. Mommy! The moonlight is pouring down like a waterfall!”
“It’s just like the Miracle of the Moonlight Sword that His Majesty the Founding King brought about.”
Those watching the light gather into one place gasped in awe.
Far away, looking up at the lord, Meyril thought to herself.
Would my lord also raise his sword high, just like King Kain? Would he create a pillar of moonlight with a sharp blade’s point? And had Queen Freiha, who secretly used magic, also been gathering the moonlight with clasped hands from far away, just like me now?
“Ooh...”
The knight standing atop the watchtower lifted a shield instead of a sword. Receiving the moonlight gathered there, the dandanium shield poured out a silvery-white brilliance.
* * *
After setting the watchtower a little farther away, just in case the people on the wall got dragged into the battle,
the air around the tower began to warp.
“Is that the dimensional rift? To think it would appear exactly one hour later...”
The people recoiled at the cold, eerie presence.
“Everyone, stay calm and hold position. If we follow the plan, there won’t be a problem.”
Ho-yeong was just as tense.
This is the first time I’ve seen it in person too. A monster being summoned.
The darkness tore through the uncertain dimness of the moonlit night and appeared. From the gaping splits, masses of black spheres burst out.
The spheres of darkness scattered in all directions and settled into place.
“One, two, three... twenty.”
Ho-yeong quickly counted the spheres.
“There are nearly sixty of us, so couldn’t three men handle one hole each? Then we could have killed them the instant these Fog Hog things came out...”
“Hold your tongue and obey the Border Count.”
One guard member who liked to interfere muttered, but Owensytn clamped his mouth shut.
If it were that easy, I’d have done it already.
Ho-yeong had not failed to think of a spawn kill, but there were concerns.
The first. He knew the radius in which the dimensional rift would form, but not the exact location; it was random. Splitting up their limited troops was already a burden, and any squad placed in the wrong spot would lose the first strike.
The second. If even one monster slipped through because of that, the watchtower would be in immediate danger.
The third. The dimensional rift might be under an anti-spawn-kill effect. Games had gimmicks like that.
“Th-there! Look over there!”
Suddenly, as the black sphere expanded, the vegetation around it turned pitch-black ash.
As expected, there was a prevention measure. If I’d loitered around there, I would’ve been turned into charcoal. I need to stay careful from here on out too.
Before he could even finish calming his startled heart, monsters burst out of the sphere all at once.
- Fwoooog!
The monstrous shriek that shook the plain made the guard members blanch.
That was the fourth reason not to attempt a spawn kill.
“...Good heavens. How are they this big?”
The Fog Hogs were absurdly huge.
Not figuratively, but literally house-sized. Owensytn looked at the hulking mass and murmured to a subordinate.
“Three men to one monster? Did you mean thirty men?”
Though he did not show it, Ho-yeong also swallowed hard at their size.
They’re almost elephant-sized. No wonder everyone’s scared. A human head could fit in those nostrils.
The Fog Hogs charged as one toward the watchtower.
Though they were slower than horses, their strides were so enormous that it would be difficult for a man to catch up by running.
“Listen well, all of you! Do not, under any circumstances, approach the watchtower! If you do, you’ll be crushed to death!”
Of course, nobody volunteered to rush the line. They had already positioned their troops outside the summoning point, after all.
“Not yet. Not yet.”
Ho-yeong’s muttering atop the tower sounded, for an instant, as though he were urging himself on.
Just as the ground began to tremble beneath the Fog Hogs’ charge, he shouted upward with all his strength.
“Now! Vulcher, fly!”