Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 211
Chapter Title: Why Harmony!?
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‘No way, why Harmony!?’
Before I could even summon the Sword God.
A second Transcendent awakened in Ardenia.
In a way no one could have anticipated.
“What’s going on? What’s happening?”
“Why isn’t she swearing her oath of loyalty?”
Amid the growing murmurs from the crowd, Harmony simply looked around.
Her calm demeanor only made the whispers swell louder.
“To waste His Majesty the Emperor’s time in this glorious ceremony.”
“Even if she’s a popular singer...”
Mutterings arose from all directions. It was only natural. How many rehearsals could there have been for an award ceremony attended by the ruler of the Human Empire?
Yet there was no time to heed the commotion.
‘This can’t be...’
Harmony was no ordinary human. She might not have been highly regarded in Ardenia, but if she’d been born on the 34th Earth, she would have become a cosmic superstar.
It was only natural that I’d looked into jobs related to her.
‘None of them mentioned anything like this...’
But the situation had already unfolded, and Harmony had received a [Legacy].
A Mythic-grade one, no less.
Unlike Edward, who overcame possession through his innate blind faith—and even then, it was just Hero-grade.
‘Her presence... it’s Transcendent-level.’
Incredibly, Harmony—who hadn’t even reached Completion—had leaped straight to Transcendent in one go.
In [Reality], this would be the kind of story that left everyone floored.
Hand someone a single card, and a regular person becomes a Transcendent?
The Allied Forces would form, and every major power in the greater universe would take notice. Transcendents were beings born only when a [Special Entity] undertook a [Special Feat], shattering the cosmic law.
It was utterly absurd.
‘But in Ardenia, it’s possible.’
The Game Master Gwandaeha had said it: the second “Creation God’s” goal was to create a Supreme God.
If the endgame was a Supreme God, producing a lesser god wouldn’t be so hard. They were already mass-producing Transcendent-level monsters, after all.
[Loyalty, loyalty, hmm.]
The Spirit Voice stammered for a moment, then faded like a speaker being turned down.
“Loyalty.”
“Hm?”
I turned toward Harmony at her quiet voice. She was down on one knee.
“I pledge my loyalty.”
I gazed at Harmony as she performed the solemn rite.
‘Should I kill her?’
It wouldn’t be difficult. Even as a Transcendent, her presence wasn’t that strong. I was already among the stronger lesser Transcendents, so a priestess like her surviving at point-blank range—just a few meters away—would be impossible.
“Uh... what’s going on?”
“Why is she doing that?”
Now it was the imperial citizens murmuring as I stood silent. I gathered my thoughts.
“Continue the ceremony.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The award ceremony, briefly halted, resumed.
The Sword God class I’d considered giving to Namgung Ilgeom was canceled, and he received a suitable Legendary melee job instead.
Since the Sword God class had been my private whim—no consultations involved—changing it caused no issues.
“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”
“Long live!”
I waved to the cheering citizens, then whispered quietly.
“Logout.”
I returned to Earth. I’d been sitting at my PC.
Ruby looked baffled.
“What...? You get 15 billion and blow it all on gacha right away?”
Truth be told, giving Harmony a Mythic-grade card wasn’t ideal. As an artist, not a warrior, her Transcendent stats wouldn’t translate to combat power.
Even so, I’d bestowed a Mythic class upon her.
Because she’d brought me over 100 billion in profit.
“...I’ll head to Nemesis for a bit.”
“What? Why? Did you fail the gacha?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“I guess blowing 15 billion would piss anyone off...”
“I said it’s not that. And who goes to Nemesis over a gacha fail? What do you take me for?”
Grumbling, I threw on my suit. Ruby stayed behind at Star Dragon, saying she had work to do.
‘Fair enough. With 15 billion worth of songs secured, she’d be swamped with album production.’
The Five Dragons hadn’t paid 15 billion for a single song called <Sword>.
The 15 billion was an advance for an album compiled from the ten songs Harmony had submitted.
‘I never saw that coming. Even with all the hype around When New Sprouts Appear, it hadn’t earned 15 billion yet...’
They’d handed over this much before the album was even made. Truly befitting a space star’s generosity. And it wouldn’t end at 15 billion—more would come if it exceeded certain sales thresholds. Shocking, really.
The only issue was that the Mythic card brought to Ardenia with that 15 billion in spending power.
‘Everything was fine... until things got this messy.’
I crossed space to arrive at the Hyperreality Research Institute.
Registered as an [Executive], I entered the facility without issue.
“Jaeyeon?”
“Hello, Carlton. Could I see Representative Bae?”
At my question, Love’s secretary Carlton narrowed his eyes.
“Why? Don’t you have those beautiful, mighty dragons already?”
Shaking my head at his oddly resentful tone.
“It’s not about that.”
“...Then what?”
“I need to discuss something about Ardenia’s lore.”
“What do you mean, no...”
He looked dumbfounded for a moment, but before he could say more, the dog trailing him barked.
“Woof!”
“Ah... alright. Come with me. The representative’s inside.”
Following him to the office, I saw Love at a massive desk, deep in work.
Gone were her usual crisp suit and styled hair. She was a total slob now—baggy tracksuit barely covering her voluptuous figure, wild hair tied up haphazardly with a string.
“You’re here?”
Even though we’d grown close, this was a first for me, so I spoke casually too.
“You look busy.”
“I am. This is the make-or-break moment for Nemesis—sink or soar.”
A time when the whole universe groaned under the Monster Crisis.
Like how even distant countries suffer economic hits from foreign wars, peaceful 34th Earth was reeling from the cosmic disaster.
Even under the Game God’s rule, a game was still a game.
Especially pay-to-win titles like the great war or Blade & Magic with no training purpose—Revenge needed bone-deep innovation and change to survive.
“Sorry to bother you while you’re busy, but... do you remember Grand Angel?”
“Grand Angel? Oh, the singing angel?”
“Yeah, that one. Remember the backstory?”
I nodded at the info spilling out so readily, and Love laughed in disbelief.
“You came here out of the blue just to ask about that?”
Her words jolted me awake.
No matter how close we were, showing up unannounced at a company head’s door was rude.
I should’ve at least called first.
“Ah... sorry. I’ve been out of it lately. Something just came up suddenly.”
“Why the sudden curiosity?”
“Hm?”
Puzzled by the unexpected question, Love pressed on.
“Why now? What made Grand Angel’s backstory pop into your head out of nowhere?”
Her sharp gaze cut through her messy clothes. I sorted my thoughts.
[I gave Harmony the Grand Angel card, and she suddenly became a Transcendent! Is this right? Any issues?]
Obviously, I couldn’t say that.
So, I pulled out a secret she could accept.
“As you probably guessed... I’m writing a novel.”
“What kind?”
“When New Sprouts Appear.”
“...It really was you?”
Love’s eyes widened in shock, staring at me in disbelief.
‘Oof, guilty conscience.’
Stealing a masterpiece and claiming the glory—even more so with Revenge’s planner, Bae Love.
I’d already consulted her on Revenge’s copyright, telling everyone inquiring about plagiarism or rights that I had the original creator’s permission.
She couldn’t avoid hearing the rumors without investigating.
Case in point: she recognized When New Sprouts Appear instantly.
“And a few more works too.”
“Ha... yeah. Familiar place names kept popping up. Familiar characters. Though a pure literary piece suddenly opening gates was a dead giveaway...”
Seems she’d read When New Sprouts Appear too.
She let out a hollow laugh.
“You’re really... no ordinary guy. Writing novels—even borrowing my settings—and the quality’s on another level. No wonder a kid like you reached the transcendent realm your dad never did.”
Her oddly deflated demeanor raised questions, but now wasn’t the time.
“Anyway, Grand Angel.”
“...Wow, you really.”
Love looked exasperated, but I just stared steadily. She and her secretary Carlton shifted uncomfortably, but I’d done nothing to deserve blame.
No promises of a future, no flirty remarks.
No physical relations or skinship either—that was a given.
‘Sure, I find Love attractive... but we’re not at a level where I feel responsible. If anything, we’re like guy friends, girl friends.’
Did she read my mind?
Love gave a wry smile and explained.
“Grand Angel. One of the earlier Mythic classes I made—16th or 17th. The soul of a flowerless girl chosen by a heavenly deity. Something like that.”
“Any related characters?”
She tilted her head at my question.
“Characters? Not super detailed. If I had to pin it, from the Holy Empire, with singing skills to move the heavens?”
So familiar. I asked.
“A name...?”
“I didn’t make one, okay? But if I had to slap one on, Sing or Song? Singsong’s cute.”
“...”
Looks like even Love’s vagueness got applied. Makes sense—she’s a lore nut, but not every Ardenia detail is fleshed out.
“Thanks.”
“No biggie. This much service for a VVIP whale like you. One guy like you smooths out our cash flow.”
“Yeah. Keep up the good updates.”
I stood to leave. Time to decide: kill Ardenia’s new Transcendent or recruit her.
* * *
Love laughed in disbelief.
“Wow, he really just asks that one thing and bounces.”
Thinking back, he was always like that. Never swayed by her beauty or wealth.
Eyes always fixed dead ahead.
Sure, his forward-gaze was a bit insane, but for a mid-20s Transcendent, that madness was no flaw.
‘...Cool.’
He shone like a star. How captivating must he be for dragons—who see humans as pets—to have not one, but five hanging off him?
Brushing off a chaebol heiress who’d make anyone else balk—just calling it friendship took iron walls not everyone had.
“Ha, me—who’s dated over a hundred guys—having such lame thoughts.”
Grumbling as she reviewed proposals, she paused while adding a lore note that came to mind.
“Ah, Singsong’s kinda meh, right? Harmony from harmony fits better.”
Muttering to herself.
Love prepared the update.
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