Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Nobles (3)
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Before departing from the Ares Papacy.
Hyun-soo sent a reply to Barad.
The message was simple.
“I am departing for the Goyad Kingdom at once with Saintess Aria and the paladins. Since you have requested the Saintess’s prayer, please do not worry.”
The full story could be explained later.
*Flutter*—
Having sent the hawk, Hyun-soo looked at the prepared Aria and her paladins.
[Paladin Kokun Lv. 323]
[Paladin Jenel Lv. 331]
Their levels were so high it made his heart pound.
It was a fresh reminder of what an incredible figure Saintess Aria was.
Furthermore, concerned for Aria, who had recently been kidnapped, and for the Calamity Cult, which had lost its fifth calamity, the Church of Ares had assigned ten of its finest paladins to her.
The paladins, mounted on their horses, wore tattered-looking robes.
When Hyun-soo looked puzzled, Aria explained.
“Our every move can become the subject of gossip. That’s why the paladins and I act like wanderers when we go out.”
Hyun-soo nodded at her words.
As they began to ride, a reply arrived.
[A man named Marquis Lükburg and eight other nobles wish to meet you. In addition…]
Barad explained the entire situation.
‘They’re after Your Majesty Barad’s position?’
This was enough to anger Hyun-soo as well. But there was even more shocking news.
The fact that assassins had infiltrated the gathering.
When he explained it to Aria, she said,
“A powerful entrance would be best. That is what His Majesty Barad needs right now.”
Hyun-soo understood what she meant.
The reason Barad hadn't purged the assassins immediately.
He wondered if he could pull off such a powerful entrance.
‘Still, I’m only in the 200s...’
An idea flashed through his mind.
He took something out of his inventory.
It was the brown coat dropped by Jack, the fifth calamity.
Surprisingly, the coat looked similar to a modern one.
It might look like a mere scrap of cloth, but this coat possessed an incredible power.
(Coat of Calamity)
Grade: Unique
Durability: 9,000/9,000
Defense: 403
Requirement: Level 200 or higher
Special Abilities:
·Charisma +30.
·Active Skill: Majesty of Calamity.
·Active Skill: Command of Calamity.
·Passive Skill: Command of Calamity.
·Passive Skill: Instant Death.
·All effects increased by 5% when additional Calamity Artifacts are equipped.
Description: An artifact that symbolizes the fifth calamity, Jack. It is the closest thing to a legend.
The closest thing to a legend.
‘So the calamities each have an artifact like this?’
He could infer as much from the artifact’s description.
Hyun-soo marveled at its effects.
‘With this...’
He could make a powerful entrance. Hyun-soo immediately put on the brown coat.
As they rode, it began to rain.
*Swoosh*—
Cutting through the downpour, they finally reached the Goyad Kingdom.
Walking down the corridor and entering the hall, Hyun-soo immediately activated the skill.
[Majesty of Calamity]
[An eerie phenomenon occurs, as if a calamity is approaching, and you exude a powerful sense of pressure.]
[As a visual effect, black energy scatters from your feet with every step.]
[The Fear status effect is applied.]
Hyun-soo walked in, looking as imposing as possible.
He took in the eight nobles who threatened Barad as if they were insignificant beings.
And after standing at the entrance to warn them, he walked further inside.
In the center of the room, he began the countdown.
“One.”
Brok, the vice-captain of the Red Dragon Squad who was hiding, couldn't hide his bewilderment.
[Assassin Brok Lv. 299]
“Two.”
How could this unknown man have seen through them?
Yet, strangely, the assassin’s intuition told him the man was weak.
Brok changed his mind.
‘I can’t kill Barad.’
In that case, he would kill the nobles and the man before him.
Three. Before the word was finished, the assassins moved like flashes of light on Brok’s signal.
‘Success...!’
Brok felt a thrill of ecstasy as he plunged his dagger toward Hyun-soo’s neck.
The distance between the dagger and the neck was three centimeters.
Just then.
[Command of Calamity]
[The Command of Calamity controls everything in the vicinity with telekinesis.]
[It is too powerful; you cannot move.]
[Duration: 6 seconds.]
Brok could only move his eyes.
With them, he scanned his surroundings.
The assassins targeting the nobles and the other squad members targeting the man in front were all frozen in mid-air, as if caught in a moment of suspended time.
The man, who was now looking at him with chilling eyes, lowered his raised arm.
*SQUELCH—!*
Brok saw brilliant swords, engraved with the name ‘Ares,’ striking as one.
Having lost an arm, Brok saw his men bisected in a single blow before he finally lost consciousness.
As Hyun-soo walked past the fallen Brok, he saw Barad give a subtle nod, invisible to others.
And so it began. The stage we had set together.
“Why did you have to come?”
“He is my benefactor. How could I not come at Hyun-soo’s word?”
The nobles took a step back at the affectionate look in Saintess Aria’s eyes.
Marquis Lükburg looked at Barad, Hyun-soo, and Aria with wavering eyes.
Then, one of the nobles said something he shouldn't have.
“Th-thank you for saving us.”
Lükburg’s face crumpled in despair. The man had given them an opening.
Sword King Barad rose to his feet.
“I see. Hyun-soo, you have saved the eight greatest nobles of the kingdom. You all must feel a great debt of gratitude to my friend.”
Barad’s eyes grew as sharp as a hawk’s.
Under that scrutinizing gaze, Lükburg slowly lowered his head in acknowledgment.
“I, too, feel an immense gratitude toward this man.”
“Is that so?”
Power had returned to Sword King Barad. He spoke in an icy tone.
“Come to think of it, there have been some rather harsh happenings in the territory you govern recently…”
At last, Barad had his justification.
Now, the people would stand on his side.
Therefore, he would do what he had been unable to for so long.
“You and the nobles present here—how about you try making the Arahan Territory prosper?”
The Arahan Territory.
Located on the farthest frontier of the Goyad Kingdom, it was a land all but abandoned due to its barren soil and the swarms of monsters in the vicinity.
A place where residents had been steadily fleeing to find new homes for twenty years.
The reason for sending them there was simple.
They were being demoted.
From the most lavish and grandest of territories to the most wretched, a place where it wouldn't be surprising if they were attacked and killed at any moment.
“I accept your command.”
Marquis Lükburg and the nobles no longer had the power to defy him.
Barad then looked at Hyun-soo with an emotional expression.
‘He was merely one of dozens I had kept in mind.’
A hope that he might become a friend, someone good to have by my side.
And now, he was making that hope a reality.
At last, the plan Barad had envisioned was about to be realized.
***
A notification appeared before Hyun-soo.
[The dream that Sword King Barad held is being realized.]
[This has come about at your hands.]
[You take one step closer to him.]
Hyun-soo wore a puzzled expression as Barad spoke.
“Announce it to all the people.”
Barad’s gaze fell on Hyun-soo, as if looking at a prized pupil.
“That on this day, one man saved the eight nobles and Sword King Barad. And that he will save Bella as well.”
[The story of a certain man spreads among the people.]
[It is the story of the one who saved Sword King Barad, the eight nobles, and Bella.]
[The people buzz with talk of his story.]
[Bards compose songs about him.]
[The people show you infinite favor for saving the king, the nobles, and Bella.]
[You have acquired 500 Fame.]
[You have acquired 100 Charisma.]
“Hyun-soo, receive this.”
Hyun-soo looked bewildered. He didn't know about the dream Barad had held.
He simply knelt as instructed.
Following his lead, Aria and the paladins went outside.
Everyone from the Goyad Kingdom present in that hall knelt, just as Hyun-soo did.
“To you, who has saved everyone here today, I wish to grant the title of Baronet.”
Hearing those words, Hyun-soo couldn't help but be surprised.
[You can ascend to the rank of Baronet, one of the titles of the Goyad Kingdom.]
[A Baronet receives 5,000 gold from the state every month.]
[You can command and lead soldiers.]
Hyun-soo could now receive about 5 million won a month, indefinitely.
‘But it’s not enough for me.’
He had received similar offers before. Should he accept the title of Baronet simply because of his friendship with Barad?
‘The right thing to do is refuse.’
Just then.
[You may one day become a king.]
That thought was turned on its head.
Barad was smiling faintly, slowly nodding his head.
He, too, must have known that Hyun-soo would not stop at being a mere Baronet.
On the Korean server, there were about 200 players with the title of Baronet.
Twenty-three barons.
Seven viscounts.
And about two counts.
But not a single one of them.
‘No one has ever heard this notification.’
Hyun-soo’s heart pounded.
He had been weak. And now, there was a chance that this weakling could become a king.
“I accept your command.”
[You have ascended to the rank of Baronet of the Goyad Kingdom.]
Barad smiled in satisfaction.
He then looked toward the far end of the corridor.
It was a sign for him to go save Bella.
Just then, a notification sounded for Hyun-soo.
*Ting!*
[Sudden Quest: A Woman Resolved to Die has been generated.]
[Sudden Quest: A Woman Resolved to Die]
Grade: A
Requirement: One who will save Bella
Reward: ???
Penalty for Failure: None.
Description: Bella may fall into an eternal slumber within a few days. Reassure her.
Before going to see Bella, Hyun-soo wore a puzzled expression.
It was because the reward was listed as ‘???’.
But he didn't dwell on it for now.
He hurried on his way to meet Bella.
***
Special User Management Team.
Team Leader Kim muttered to himself.
“Bella was originally fated to die.”
She was a pitiable woman.
She possessed a talent that could rival the Sword King’s. In time, she would have shone brightly.
“Now she has a chance to continue growing.”
Of course, with the high degree of freedom in Ares, unpredictable events like this often occurred.
And the two of them knew what the ‘???’ reward was.
“Loyalty…”
Kim Tae-seok gave a wry smile.
The loyalty of a woman with talent rivaling the Sword King. That was the reward.
The problem was this.
[Sword King Barad will bestow a great reward upon the player Hyun-soo for saving Bella.]
[As part of this, he may send Bella to him in the future.]
The Special User Management Team could predict rewards because of notifications like this.
And the Hyun-soo they had observed was a clever man.
He was confident that if he saved Bella, Barad would do something of equal value for him.
This notification was proof of that.
But Kim Tae-seok soon spoke.
“If Sword King Barad tells Bella to follow Hyun-soo, will she actually do it?”
“I doubt it. Bella’s loyalty to Barad is far greater and deeper than the Sword King or we can imagine.”
“You’re right. And faced with Bella’s firm refusal, Barad will eventually rescind the order.”
Having finished their conversation, the two men stood up.
It was 3 PM. They hadn’t even eaten, busy monitoring various players.
They talked as they went to get a meal.
“Guild Gwangmyeong will need an outstanding knight.”
“Sometimes, NPCs can accomplish things players can’t.”
Players logged into the game, but NPCs lived there.
That was why NPCs possessed a great power that could turn a player’s finiteness into infinitude.
Protecting a base of operations was also the NPCs’ role.
The two returned after their late meal.
When he came back, Kim Tae-seok was shocked by the notification on his monitor.
[The Lord’s Grace is activated.]
[…]
[…]
[…]
Tae-seok read the last notification and couldn't believe his eyes.
[The knight Bella now holds another sun in her heart.]