Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Revenge Installation Complete
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"Pay-to-Win Knight Chapter 5"
"We set up a mountain stronghold in a place even the hills behind the village wouldn't touch. I remember the subjugation forces coming endlessly since there were no monsters."
We looked around at the dazed territory residents.
The lord's castle and all the existing settlements were no longer usable. The number of orcs pouring out from the dungeon was nearly 10,000.
'Crazy.'
Yes, 10,000.
In a territory that could barely sustain 3,000 residents, seeing 10,000 orcs—each one big enough to make even hardcore gamers weep—was utterly ridiculous. The orcs were packed so densely that even with less than three meters between them, they filled the entire territory. How could 10,000 troops appear in this remote backwater where 3,000 people struggled to eat their fill?
It was an utterly illogical scene...
But I knew the truth. It actually made sense.
'Right. This isn't reality—it's a game, so it works.'
While slaying the orc warrior, I witnessed something absurd.
After the orc warrior died, a brief moment passed, its body vanished, and a pouch of gold coins dropped in its place.
'13 gold. A decent meal at a restaurant costs about 1 gold, so that's enough for 13 meals.'
This made the situation dire.
In the worst case...
It might respawn.
'Absurd situation.'
Respawn (regen)—short for regeneration, meaning revival or rebirth. In games, it refers to monsters reappearing after a set time following death.
If respawning happened, the orc warrior I barely took down while suffering near-fatal injuries would come back to life. With regular orc warriors already matching average knights, how could injured humans—who couldn't heal easily—stand against such a monster reviving at will?
That's when the scout returned.
"Loyalty! I come before the lord!"
"What's the situation?"
"We must avoid them! Those monstrous orcs are scattering in groups of a hundred in all directions, and one path is expected to pass through the training grounds!"
"......"
My face naturally grimaced.
'No, they drop items and respawn like game mechanics, but move around however they please?'
In online games, monsters typically don't stray far from their respawn points. If they wandered freely after respawning, how could anyone hunt them?
But thinking back, the orc warrior had chased me for 3 kilometers to catch me.
'No choice. Need more intel first.'
Before issuing the move order, I spoke first.
"Log out."
Back on Earth. The Revenge installation hadn't progressed at all. In the photonic era, long installs weren't normal.
"Really, not even a second passed."
I'd confirmed it multiple times, but it was still astonishing.
When I entered the Ardania continent, time on Earth froze. Even after living 20 years there, I hadn't felt the flow, so no need to worry about ratios.
Conversely, when I returned to Earth, time in Ardania stopped. The timelines were completely separated, with me as the anchor point.
"Homepage first."
While Revenge installed, I accessed the site and devoured the game info.
World lore, full map, monster encyclopedia, Q&A board, beginner guide, key systems, NPC list, and more.
And from that, I learned.
"Continental Year 1317... I see. Game start is 15 years from now."
Peaceful (From my firsthand experience, not so much.) Ardania continent sees gates open, invading otherworldly beings.
Humanity fends them off initially but can't hold against endless waves, forcing empires and kingdoms to abandon core lands for the frontiers.
Then, 10 years later.
Humanity rises to reclaim homes and avenge against monsters.
Hence, Revenge.
Revenge is like playing Go, reclaiming the continent from monsters.
"Both empires form alliances and all kingdoms fall within 5 years? Yeah, in this mess, it'd be weirder if they didn't."
Revenge could be seen as an apocalypse story. Humanity falls once, and players fight to take it back—that's the gameplay.
I checked the full map again.
A Go board dotted with monster icons everywhere.
"As expected... Outside the board are low-level zones. But star points have special bosses needing unique strategies... In Ardania terms, southwest of our territory—the capital, Jimail."
At the board's center, the tengen (heavenly origin), sat Revenge's sole mythic monster, the wraith dragon Replie.
"A name straight out of a textbook..."
Revenge had been live over 10 years, yet Replie remained uncaptured.
Even with players claiming most of the board, the central tengen dungeon stood impregnable.
"Unique way to claim territories. Fits the Go-board world, I guess."
Ardania continent: 19 horizontal by 19 vertical lines, 361 intersections.
Those intersections, once ley lines, are now dungeons. Clear four adjacent ones to form a "group," turning it into a territory owned by the conquering guild.
Owning territories lets guilds collect taxes, run events, special raids for massive profits—so players wage guild wars nonstop to expand.
"My territory... Guess I have to abandon it."
I organized my plan. First, evade pursuing orcs, head to monster-free areas. Ideally, north 100 km to low-level zone.
Luckily, my territory was on the frontier, not far from low-level zones.
"Let's see, monsters... North dungeon is goblins. Rank: common."
Orcs (elite) were tough, but goblins (common) were manageable even for residents.
"Of course, going two spaces up would be safer..."
Two spaces up—near the board's edge—featured wild boars (common), bears (common), wolves (common). Much better. They even dropped meat for food and hides for uses, securing the future!
The issue was distance.
"Two spaces: 200 km..."
200 km—Seoul to Jeolla. Alone, fine; but leading residents? Stragglers inevitable, morale would plummet.
"Meow!"
Suddenly, Cheda meowed. Turning, it spoke.
"Revenge installation complete."
"Alright, time to try it."
Revenge: highly accessible, playable on mobile, PC, or connector.
I glanced at Cheda, then sat at the PC. Might as well use keyboard and mouse at home.
"[The beautiful, peaceful Ardania continent...]"
Intro video played: stunning castle, vast lake, sprawling forests. Some places I'd visited myself, familiar sights.
But not welcoming at all.
"Beautiful and peaceful, my ass..."
Ridiculous.
Nobles hunt commoners for fun, I lower taxes from 90% to 70%, and neighboring lords send envoys bitching about unconsulted cuts—what's beautiful or peaceful about this barbaric medieval land?
Video continued regardless of my grumbling.
It briefly recapped the lore I'd researched: monsters and异種 from other worlds seize human lands; awakened ones with special powers—players—embark on adventures as humanity's hope.
"Cliché story. Top-grossing #1, yet feels mass-produced..."
Set race human, gender male, default appearance, then entered the world.
Popup appeared on login.
★☆Starter Package☆★ - 6-Sword 4-Set Package on Sale!
★☆Battle Pass☆★ - Overwhelming Benefits for 55,000 won/month!
★☆Secret Supplies Event☆★ - Collect Secret Maps!
Common mobile game stuff—I dismissed with "Don't show again today" and proceeded.
Start point: [Starting].
"Dwelling Barony here... Name changed after ruin, huh."
Starting was the board's bottom-right corner. From my territory: two up, two right—400 km away.
'Straight-line shorter, but...'
Better follow lines; diagonal meant crossing massive mountains. Beasts en route? Smarter to go 500 km.
I explored Starting briefly. Dwelling Barony focused on fishing, just a lord's castle on ley line and village otherwise—but Starting was different.
"So developed..."
15-20 story buildings clashing with medieval vibe, sturdy stone-paved roads—I gawked, then grabbed a passing player.
Killians: Hey, excuse me!
Goddess Foot Sole: Yes? Me?
Killians: Yeah, sorry—what's with those buildings? Isn't this medieval?
Goddess Foot Sole: Oh, the buildings? Heard at launch 10 years ago, it felt like a rural village.
Killians: Not anymore?
Goddess Foot Sole: With players? Obviously. Those are guild buildings. Guild level 5+ unlocks guild housing—pay cash and guild points to buy buildings. Starting's one of Revenge's top five metropolises, so super developed. Lots of cities still medieval-feeling.
Killians: ...Wow. Thanks.
Goddess Foot Sole: Newbie, huh? Welcome to the mad pay-to-win world!
After the friendly player's tips, I wandered the city. Now spotting huge factory-like buildings, orchards, wheat fields.
Thousands bustling about!
I moused around, then took a quest from Saint Isabella, priestess of the Goddess of Struggle.
Deliver orders, hunt village pest wild boars (funny—empty lots amid skyscrapers looked out of place, boars there), stats up, pick up trash, light city lanterns on my own.
And the entire process was.
Automatic.