Chapter 213
Chapter 213
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: The Birth of the 24th Myth
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Pay-to-Win Knight Chapter 212
Edward entered the office and asked upon seeing Harmony staring at him silently.
“Your Majesty, why is my sister acting like that?”
“...An incident occurred. Her memories were inherited.”
Edward’s expression hardened at my words. Information about classes was somewhat classified, but it was fairly well-known among my close aides. After all, Hayes and Edward had already experienced “inheritance,” so it couldn’t be kept completely secret.
Edward wore a look of disbelief.
“No way... Does that mean my sister had a future where she became a Transcendent?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see it coming. An inheritance job that wasn’t in Rare, Hero, or Legend ranks, but in Mythic...”
“Edward...”
Harmony spoke then. Not just speaking—she had approached and reached out her hand.
Tap.
But her hand didn’t reach Edward. He had lightly swatted it away.
“Oh man, so frustrating. Did you let it take over your body? You should’ve fought it off like I did.”
“I-I didn’t let it take my body! I came from the future...”
“Yeah, that future. Explain that future of yours.”
“...”
Harmony looked at me with eyes faintly glowing.
Through her eyes, I could sense the divinity dwelling within her.
‘This is bad. She seems like a pretty stable Transcendent...’
It went without saying, but Transcendents possessed mental strength and ego incomparable to lesser beings.
Harmony was an artist with an exceptional ego... but could she truly win a battle for control against a future self that had reached Transcendent status?
Unaware or perhaps aware of my anxiety, she spoke.
“The life I lived back then... was an unfinished failure where I accomplished nothing.”
She slowly unraveled her tale.
In her [Timeline], Harmony had met her end at just 15 years old.
“I was burned at the stake. After rejecting a cardinal’s advances, they branded me a witch.”
“What? That lunatic actually did it!?”
“Edward.”
“Ah, sorry, Your Majesty.”
Harmony’s story continued.
“I sang songs. They were filled with grief and sorrow... but it was all I could do.”
She burned to death before her brother’s eyes.
“But you didn’t die, right?”
“I did die. But at the same time, I was chosen by the gods.”
It was the moment Special Boss Zealot Edward and Mythic Class Grand Angel Harmony were born.
“And then?”
“The Heavenly God, moved by my song, bestowed His voice upon me and sent me to the battlefield against the Demon Gods. Amidst countless divine soldiers and divine generals... I sang for them.”
The number one spender in Revenge, the man who studied Revenge more seriously than anyone.
I, who knew Ardennia so well I might as well have lived there, immediately understood her words.
‘Tower of Myths, 5th floor.’
Revenge’s top-tier content, the Tower of Myths, was a demonic realm where even heavy spenders couldn’t accomplish much alone.
Only top guilds with one or more castles could properly operate there.
And around the 5th floor, it was the domain of the absolute top guilds that owned fortresses.
Harmony continued.
“I fought for hundreds of years. Sang endlessly.”
“...”
I groaned inwardly.
‘Ah, damn it. The chances are dwindling.’
If she had died right after receiving divine power, the original Harmony might have reclaimed control. It could’ve just been divinity without much ego.
But if she’d fought for hundreds of years?
It was natural she’d have developed a formidable ego of her own.
In fact, humanity’s greatest singer Harmony and Grand Angel Harmony had vastly different personalities. Her attitude toward me was completely different too, wasn’t it?
‘But killing her outright doesn’t feel right since she’s so compliant. Maybe I should just accept her as Harmony.’
If I tried to rationalize it, it wasn’t impossible. Think of her as the [self returned from the future], and it wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Then I encountered the Demon King and died. When I came to, I was here.”
“So you’re from the future, then?”
“Not exactly. There was no one like you, Your Majesty, in the place I came from.”
Her eyes, fixed on me, were filled with unmistakable wariness.
She was the Heavenly God’s angel.
By [Scenario], she was destined to be my enemy.
“...Hold on.”
I raised my left arm and looked at the luxurious watch gleaming with black luster.
[Zero-Sum]
Gains and losses add up to zero.
[Drop Adjustment Stage 3] When acquiring Hero+ items, nullify it and store the probability instead.
Stored probabilities can be triggered at desired times.
99,988 points needed to rise to Stage 4.
[Event Adjustment Stage 2]
When a mid-scale event occurs, nullify it and store the probability instead.
100 million points needed to rise to Stage 3.
[Variable Adjustment Stage 1]
[1 million points needed to unlock.]
I’d only used this transcendent weapon for drop rate control.
‘And even that one effect alone is a massive gain.’
But Zero-Sum’s effects weren’t just drop rates.
[Event Adjustment Stage 2]
Stored large events: 2
Stored mid-scale events: 5.
‘Event.’
Events—special occurrences distinct from everyday happenings.
I’d stored every activation with Zero-Sum. Being suddenly dragged to another dimension had heightened my anxiety about events.
‘Large event... use.’
Stored large events: 2 → 1
An event number entered.
But nothing happened.
‘What the hell? Shouldn’t I at least run into Merlin or some crushed sack?’
“Your Majesty?”
Edward voiced his doubt at my standing still.
And at that moment.
A sudden [curiosity] struck me.
“What Demon King was it?”
“What do you mean, what Demon King...?”
“Which Demon King among them.”
“What are you... A Demon King is a Demon King.”
I pressed at the dumb answer.
“A Demon King is a Demon King? What kind of stupid nonsense is that? It had to be one of the Eight Demon Kings.”
No matter how much Love liked the Unique Worldview, there was no reason to reinvent the widely known lore on Demon Kings across the greater universe.
Maybe for obscure Heavenly Gods or Demon Gods, but Demon Kings?
“Eight... Demon... Kings? One of the Demon Kings?”
“If you don’t know the name, describe its appearance at least.”
“Appearance, appearance, appearance...”
Harmony’s state was off. Her expression twisted, and the sturdy divinity within her began to waver.
“His form was... form was...”
Seeing her confusion sparked a realization.
“...Do you know the Heavenly God’s appearance?”
“...”
Harmony, trembling violently, suddenly froze with a sharp click.
And then, at some point.
Boom!
With a heavy wave of energy, her rank plummeted.
“Wha—? What’s this?”
I heard Edward’s panicked voice. In an instant, the power emanating from her had fallen to an unbelievable degree. She was still plenty strong, but no longer worthy of being called a Transcendent.
“...No way.”
“Pha...!”
Harmony, who had been shuddering, suddenly took a deep breath.
Edward grinned widely.
“Sis! You beat it!”
“Did I beat it...? Ugh! My head...”
Watching the pained Harmony and Edward supporting her, I thought.
The situation was clear.
“She couldn’t manifest the Demon King...”
The new Creator God, [She], was performing feats beyond the greater universe’s common sense. Even if it was a monster form, she had produced a Transcendent—commonly known as a lesser god—which was exceedingly rare even in the greater universe!
However, creating mid-tier Transcendents like Emperors or Demon Kings seemed beyond her for now.
‘Maybe someday... but not yet.’
And because of that, the Grand Angel’s ego, tied to the Heavenly God’s lore, collapsed. It was a setting full of holes from the start.
‘I see. So this is a [large event].’
Events don’t always require grand causes.
A casually uttered word, an accidental arrival at a place, a slight misalignment in time—any could trigger one.
Right now, Zero-Sum had created an event from the tiny shift that sparked [doubt] in my mind.
“Luck was on our side in many ways.”
“Ugh... Your Majesty.”
“Good work. I’ll assign a maid, so go rest.”
After sending Harmony and Edward away, I organized my thoughts.
And made a decision.
“I need to test it after all.”
I executed it immediately.
[Praise all. The 24th Myth has been born here and now.]
[His name is Namgung Ilgeom.]
[For the next 24 hours, all hunting grounds will receive a 100% experience buff.]
[Repeating announcement: The 24th Myth has been born here and now.]
I handed the Sword God class card to Namgung Ilgeom, whom I had summoned separately.
The second vanished Transcendent was freshly filled.
“...Haha.”
Radiating fierce aura, Namgung Ilgeom—no, Sword God Namgung Ilgeom—let out a hearty laugh.
“Have I reached the past... no, another timeline?”
I was ready to smash him if he lunged, but the giant at the pinnacle of swordsmanship showed no such intent.
Of course. This Sword God version of him was the very proof of human triumph—having protected the continent and humanity for centuries through all trials and near-death experiences.
No matter the shared roots, this legendary hero wouldn’t share the traits of a martial alliance leader abusing power like the emperor’s dog.
“Haha... Truly unbelievable. Sweeping away monsters pouring from gates, erecting invincible walls to protect humanity...”
Following my guidance to the ramparts, Namgung Ilgeom quietly overlooked the city.
The massive city, and the people living vibrantly within it.
His eyes trembled.
“This is... the world where the Savior appeared...”
After some persuasion, he readily swore to fight for humanity under my command.
I didn’t even need the Zero-Sum I’d prepared just in case.
“By the way.”
Namgung Ilgeom suddenly spoke.
“Returning to the past has made my body so frail. My internal energy is turbid beyond belief.”
“Still better than your original self at this age, I’d wager.”
“Is that so? If the Emperor of the Human Empire, the Savior, says so, it must be true.”
Grinning brazenly, Namgung Ilgeom said,
“For now, I’d like to train. My experience remains the same as before... but not my body.”
“Do so. I’ll prepare a space.”
“Thank you. No—thank you, Your Majesty.”
Watching Namgung Ilgeom bow politely, I thought.
‘I wonder if it’ll be fine. A Truth God priest would make it simple.’
The Human Empire could block Transcendents during sieges thanks to Mythic castles, but that was it.
The Sword God was beyond the current Human Empire’s control.
And as a human, he could even build his own faction?
Even if weaker than me... as the Human Empire’s Emperor, he was someone I should eliminate.
‘But if I kill them all off, when do I conquer Cheonwon?’
I decided not to kill him. If I were that paranoid, I wouldn’t have handed over the Myth card to begin with.
‘Just in case, I’ll keep him close and watch for a while.’
I needed to see if he regained his original ego like Edward or Harmony. If an emergency arose, I’d use Zero-Sum.
‘That said, the best option is still... the Truth God. Even Transcendents can’t lie before a Truth God priest.’
“Log out.”
I returned to Earth. As always, I went about my routine while thinking.
‘Should I become a Truth God priest?’
It wasn’t a bad idea. I was already an honorary god’s priest, and knowing they couldn’t perceive Ardennia made it viable.
I’d even tried and failed to become an Absolute Master out of nowhere, and aimed for Justice God priest too.
“Well. Truth God’s apostle is way easier than Justice God. It just takes time...”
But then.
“Meow!”
Hearing that familiar sound after so long, I muttered reflexively.
“Bottom price?”
No.
[Spike App Alert!]
Nemesis.
Your stock of interest is surging (5%↑)!
“...Ah, damn. Damn it!”
Curses spilled out.
“That really was the low point back then!”
But unlike when I held trillions,
Now I had no money.