Chapter 241
Chapter 241
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 240
Chapter Title: Mourning the Dead and Setting Off on the Trip
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* * *
"Today, brave and beautiful souls enter a peaceful slumber before the great emperor. Sons and daughters, friends to many... on the path they tread...."
A joint funeral service was underway.
I sat in a high seat visible to everyone, watching the entire proceedings from start to finish.
I didn't give any speeches or perform any roles; just my presence here offered a huge sense of reassurance to the imperial citizens.
In fact, many of them were clasping their hands in prayer as they looked my way right now.
"My daughter... sob sob! My poor daughter...."
"Break, you idiot. I told you to look after yourself...."
"Damn monster bastards! Argh!"
The imperial citizens grieved and raged.
For the Human Empire, which had been booming so brightly it hurt the eyes, this invasion had inflicted truly shocking damage.
It had only been 15 years since the [Gate Incident].
The Human Empire had changed beyond comparison to the old Ardenia in so many ways, but the proportion of its populace hadn't shifted much.
Most citizens still remembered the Gate Incident.
The horrific memory of gates ripping open out of nowhere, claiming families and hometowns.
'They already revere force a bit too much, and it'll only get worse.... Well, not a huge problem for me.'
I muttered inwardly with a wry smile.
"Logout."
Back in reality, I activated my mercenary ID right away and checked the post I'd put up on the Mage Tower Net.
[Question]: A friend got hit with radiation poisoning—what's the best spell combo for treatment?
⤷Cheeseball: ? Just go to the hospital.
⤷FlyingSquirrel: Yeah, and what spell? One shot of the public Cure spell does it. Even if you don't know Bioforce or whatever, one of your parents is probably a mage, right?
⤷PowerMage: Anyway, how bad a job screws you over to get radiation poisoning? Report it to Labor. Even with a full recovery, repeated exposure is no good.
⤷BlackflameDragon: Radiation, huh? Haven't heard that in forever....
'As expected, lukewarm response.'
Treatment difficulty for the same disease or condition varies wildly by civilization's development path.
Take cancer: even high mages or grand priests struggle or can't heal it at all, but in a medically advanced world, a single surgery fixes it easily—even in 2nd or 3rd civilizations.
'No surprise—it's a boring topic to them.'
Radiation poisoning is the exact opposite: near-impossible to fully cure with pure science and tech alone.
Radiation shreds DNA, organelles, and enzymes in cells at the cellular level.
But add supernatural powers into the mix?
'Easier than a cold.'
Any [Restore target to normal state] ability—magic, chakra, holy power—handles radiation poisoning effortlessly.
The catch? It guzzles mana despite the low difficulty.
⤷OP: Got a lot of patients ㅠㅠ Any way to cut mana costs? Air and ground are contaminated too, so need to decontaminate....
⤷PowerMage: Don't post crap like this—Google it.
⤷BlackflameDragon: Yeah, lame question.
Unlike my past magic queries, the response was icy. Not their interest, and zero fun in spellcrafting for this.
"Sigh... no help for it."
Grumbling, I scoured the internet and papers for relevant spells, then returned to Ardenia.
"You've done well, Your Majesty."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"It was an honor."
Receiving the citizens' greetings, I headed back to the guild tower. With the invasion's aftermath, players rushed in and out nonstop.
"To the office."
[Guild Master Han Jaeyeon authenticated. Ascending to penthouse.]
In the elevator, I updated the board with 'Radiation Removal' and 'Radiation Material Control' spells.
Everyone was busy—no rest for me either.
'Damn, the damage is too severe.'
Luckily, the nuke strikes weren't empire-ending. Most citizens lived inside cities with powerful defenses.
Mythic cities took zero damage even from point-blank nukes. Soldiers on the walls who watched the blasts firsthand just got temporary blindness and hot air.
Legendary cities were different.
They blocked nukes too... but unlike mythics, two or more blasts pierced defenses.
Heat, shockwaves, and radiation poured through....
Players with class-enhanced vitality took light or moderate wounds, but non-players died pointlessly.
'Especially the kids.'
Kids made up a third of casualties. No wonder the empire felt like a house in mourning.
'And the subways too.'
The 100-meter depth saved them from total wipeout, but many sections collapsed anyway.
'Casualties uncountable... and inter-city traffic's tanked hard. No one wants to leave their walls.'
Luckily, Steelstone—my mythic pet Landworm—dug new tunnels to rescue people, so recovery was coming. But it'd take time before civilians used them en masse again.
Boom boom boom!
Kaboom!
"Monsters again! Hold the line!"
"Filthy alien scum!"
From the guild tower roof, I eyed tanks shelling the city.
No need to fight—I stayed put. Too few to breach defenses.
Merlin's words crossed my mind.
"So that's why you said not to log out too long...."
"You'll need to log in at least once a day, barring emergencies. You're safe, but civilians aren't."
Just like he said—can't afford long logouts.
Monsters from other games open gates when I log in... scaled to my 'real-world absence time.'
A week-plus logout without thought? Empire gone before I react.
'Even with real-life stuff, log in every six hours safe—or max a day.'
I'd love to hole up in Ardenia for years, heal the empire. No invasions if I stay.
Can't.
Pay-to-win funds are drying up.
'Damn, and I had so much....'
Damage wasn't just lives.
Property too.
Destroyed legendary walls? Irreparable by any tech—beyond empire know-how. Only Diamond's blessing restores them.
And that's not all.
'Smashed facilities? Buy new ones....!'
Horrific costs. Not just legendaries—mythics had defense towers and siege objects wrecked too.
You might say "just game buildings," but replacing mythic city defenses alone tops 300 million per city. And I own nine mythics?
Glanced at my balance.
(166,900 won)
My overflowing pay-to-win kitty, once cheat-level, down to 100k units. Emergencies covered, but this? Useless.
I racked my brain.
'What's incoming cash?'
Web novel royalties first. Steady monthly rice bowl, no matter what.
Serialized during merc work too. Stockpiled drafts queued—half-year profits worry-free.
'Guarantees left... and installment merc pay.'
Not huge sums. I hate installments.
Why take payments over time when you need cash now?
"Sigh."
Can't help it. Want to log out and merc, but....
O-Ryong schedule locked in.
'14 nights, 15 days no less.'
Fine before, but logout limits screwed it.
15 days off-game? No earning, huge issue for me and empire.
'And I'm not in a vacation mood.'
Near 500k casualties. Empire pop just 10 million—catastrophic.
'Postpone the trip...?'
Tempting thought.
"...."
I sat still, then shook my head.
No.
O-Ryong helped endlessly, no strings. This trip? Their rare ask after all giving.
They booked lodging, food—even reserved the World Tree's sole day off.
Their hype for this? Massive.
'Even sweet O-Ryong has limits.'
They planned, booked, paid everything. I'm going empty-handed.
Cancel last-minute over "need money"? No epic reason? Insulting—they'd be crushed.
Justified if they merged and tore me apart.
'No choice... log in every three hours, handle waves piecemeal.'
Decision made, I sat.
"Logout."
Back to Dragon Star. Auto-hunt running, I browsed Mage Tower Net spells when Ruby crossed over.
"Three hours till takeoff!"
Her cheer drew a bitter smile. Canceling? Impossible.
"Yeah. Almost time."
"Yup yup! So excited! Packed forty outfits!"
"Whoa, even for 14 nights 15 days, that's a lot...."
Hugged the bounding Ruby, chatted idly.
"Login."
"Logout."
Slipped to Ardenia unheard. Minor monster waves on login? Dealt with easy. Nuke units? Handled personally.
"But Jaeyeon, you haven't checked stocks lately."
"Oh, that... you knew?"
"'Knew'? How could I not? You'd flip the app at any cat meow."
"Oof...."
Even I blushed here. Scratching head, Ruby asked.
"Good you're off it. Quitting stocks?"
"Not quitting—can't. Short on cash... later maybe."
That's when—
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
Flower, Sapphire, Black Jade, Snow appeared through space.
"Time to go!"
"Yes! Not late—let's roll!"
"Hee hee. Can't wait."
"Get up already."
Watching their beaming faces urging me, I thought.
'Yeah, relax....'
No prep needed—departure instant.
For the 14-night, 15-day trip.