Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: One Day
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One day.
The ley lines collapsed, and monsters poured out in droves.
The monsters were horrifyingly powerful.
Even the nations that had always growled at each other, even the mortal enemies who had sworn they could never live under the same sky, banded together, but it was still no match.
Humanity, the rulers of the continent, lost everything in an instant and were driven to the fringes.
And even that.
Was merely the beginning.
Just one year after the day the beasts appeared—what was dubbed the [Great Migration]—nine out of every ten humans on the continent were dead.
It was apocalyptic devastation, but those who survived somehow gathered their forces to resist the monsters.
The Chrome Kingdom, which had lost its capital to monsters of cursed frost, was one such case. They set up base in the Blue Whale Earldom and began building their strength.
Someday, we’ll reclaim our homeland!
Every knight, mage, and soldier held their resolve high… but reality was cruel.
A year passed, then five, then ten…
The Empire fell. Countless kingdoms were destroyed, and innumerable resistance groups were wiped out. The Chrome Kingdom forces gathered at the Blue Whale household eventually scattered to the winds without a trace.
She, Hayes Starlight, wandered the continent after losing her homeland, fighting for humanity.
The monsters were strong.
Not just brute strength and massive size… they harbored mysteries beyond the imagination of Ardania’s humans.
She fought, fought, and fought again.
Killed, killed, and killed some more.
Fled in defeat, hid her body.
Fifteen years had passed since the [Great Migration].
Only one proper human force remained. Not the Ming Empire or the Holy Empire, not the Crystal Alliance or the Eight Kingdoms—a coalition born from them all.
[Revenge]
Humanity had dwindled so much that their traces were hard to find. Ninety-nine out of a hundred. No, perhaps 999 out of a thousand humans had perished.
Proof of that: she was the only survivor from the Chrome Kingdom among Revenge’s ranks.
Yet there was hope. A revelation from the goddess.
—The Savior will descend and reclaim the continent from the monsters!
Everyone cheered and waited in anticipation. It was like rain in a drought, the revelation they’d all been hoping for.
But for some reason, the Savior never came.
Revenge held out another five years waiting for the Savior… but ultimately crumbled under the monsters’ onslaught.
Afterward, the avengers scattered, agreeing to preserve their bloodlines separately, and the saintess sacrificed her life with a holy spell to open a path to a hidden island paradise, the Peach Blossom Land.
There were four such islands in total. Secret realms accessible from each corner of the continent.
Beastkin could go to Paradise from the continent’s upper-left.
Dwarves to Shangri-La from the lower-left.
Elves to Eldorado from the lower-right.
But even that.
Wasn’t for everyone.
“Haah… haah…”
Even having reached superhuman heights, she could barely control her breathing.
Her rapier-wielding arm trembled, and her knees threatened to buckle if she let her guard down even slightly.
“It’s finally in my hands. Chrome’s Duelist. The Holy Sword’s Duel Knight! Do you know how long I’ve waited for this day?”
“You… you traitor to humanity! You filthy heretic…!”
Unlike the others who fought the monsters to the end, the Holy Empire’s core had joined hands with them.
In the worst possible way.
Slash!
Blood sprayed. The man wielding a massive blood sword, the Vampire Demonic Count, laughed.
“To dare speak of heresy, you little thing. I suppose I’ll have to cut off your arms and legs first, then teach you the scriptures’ teachings for three days and nights.”
“I’ll rip out that foul tongue and stake your heart!”
And so.
The Duelist clashed with the Vampire Count.
“Ah…”
Hayes opened her eyes. She blankly scanned her surroundings for a moment. A clean, luxurious room with high-end bedding. Looking out the window, the castle city sprawled below.
“The lord’s castle… ugh!”
She sorted through the whirlwind of memories in her head. Her skull felt like it might split, but she was an indomitable knight—not enough to break her.
“Am I… have I returned to twenty years in the past?”
But as she recalled her memories, she realized something was off.
Her memories up to her twenties were the same. Born to the Starlight family, she became a knight with exceptional talent. To cool her head from the political marriage arranged by her family, she ran away… and then…
“Han.”
It diverged there. Her memories split.
In her dream, she wandered the world, grew fed up with vile bandits and scheming knights, and returned to her family.
In this life, she wandered the world, and then…
She met Han.
“What is this?”
The Chrome Kingdom should have lost the war against the Voxy Kingdom, but it won, and Han—a bandit-born outsider—became a baron of Chrome.
And he… had now pacified the north, where greenskins should have been rampant, and built a force larger than most kingdoms.
Was it because of him?
The Blue Whale Earldom, which should have been devastated by the orc legions, was relatively intact, and the Chrome Kingdom forces had managed to regroup.
“Han, what are you? Who are you?”
History, which should have raced toward destruction, was changing. Because of one person who shouldn’t have existed in the original timeline.
Of course, this much was nothing.
She knew how strong and terrifying the inland monsters were. Even after reaching Sword Master, escaping them had been a struggle.
“But…”
She recalled the drake Han rode. A majestic castle she’d never seen even as Revenge’s hero traversing the continent, people training their strength inside it, and an inexplicable abundance of supplies to feed them all.
“You, don’t tell me.”
Because of that, she couldn’t help but think.
Perhaps.
Just perhaps, he was.
“You… the Savior…?”
* * *
Even when entering a haunted ruin swarming with vengeful spirits, some see ghosts while others see nothing.
Even hugging the same cursed doll to sleep, some have nightmares while others don’t.
Spiritual attacks depend on the target’s intuition. Those with dull intuition just feel under the weather even if a curse shaman blasts them with malice, while those overly sensitive can be affected just by someone trash-talking them all night.
So what about me?
“Wow, you’re the first one for whom forced awakening has been this tough. Even with this massive setup, it’s this bad… Hey, at this rate, not even a great demon’s curse would work on you. Isn’t this exactly that situation?”
“An ignorant ghost doesn’t recognize a talisman.”
“Right. Exactly that situation.”
I recalled the conversation between the sorters at city hall.
As they said, my intuition converges to zero.
Out of hundreds of billions in the database, only thirteen cases like mine.
“A curse, huh.”
It was so absurd I could only laugh.
“A medieval fantasy land pulling out all the stops, huh? Real fantasy style?”
I set down the documents I was holding and stretched. I wasn’t worried about the curse at all. No way it stuck, and even if it did, Lieutenant Thomas—the high-level healer—would’ve cured it.
He only had to enlist because he wasn’t from 34th Earth, but Lieutenant Thomas could be a VIP physician. No artifact or whatever could’ve evaded his notice.
Pushing aside useless thoughts, I thought about Hayes.
‘Duelist.’
I’d briefly used it before getting Sword King, a hero class. If Sword King specialized in critical hits, Duelist specialized in parries—strong against single powerful foes rather than weak mobs, the classic PvP specialist.
‘Definitely six purple effects triggered.’
I hadn’t known what that meant then, but checking the official site now, it was clear.
‘Duelist has five exclusive skills.’
Meaning, she’d gained the hero class and automatically acquired five hero-grade skills. Skills that could only be crafted, with insane prices, and she started with them!
But to me, her uniqueness went beyond just extra exclusive skills.
‘She underwent marrow cleansing and bone transformation.’
That’s why I had her washed by attendants. The filth pouring from her body meant we even burned her clothes.
“Lord.”
“Oh, Flower. How’s she? Awake?”
Flower nodded at my words.
“Yes. Shall I bring her?”
“No rush. Tell her to freshen up. Get her basic gear too.”
I said that and picked up the report again. But for some reason, Flower’s presence lingered.
“Flower?”
“It’s been nearly two months since you last ate or drank anything. Not even a sip of water.”
Her voice full of worry made me grimace awkwardly.
‘But Earth water tastes better… I usually stick to juice.’
Still, her concern was natural. How could she ignore her superior going nearly two months without a drop?
“I’m fine. I eat when I ride Kasim out. Look how good my condition is.”
“Sorry, but you haven’t eaten even before that drake appeared.”
“I’m fine.”
I grumbled, but I couldn’t just ignore Flower’s worried words.
“I’ll eat starting tomorrow.”
“Yes! I’ll prepare it!”
I gave a wry smile watching Flower leave the office beaming.
And then I said.
“Log out.”
I twirled pasta on my fork, coated it thickly in sweet cream, and took a bite. A deep milky flavor exploded in my mouth.
“Ah.”
So good.
Starting with pasta, I had another hearty meal. Thinking it was the last, I sampled a variety, finishing with ice cream. The premium kind not sold publicly.
I patted my full belly and stood.
“Breakfast ends here.”
Regrettable, but I’d lingered long enough. Checking the time—already 10 a.m. I’d come down at 6 a.m., so four hours of breakfast. Turning, I saw staff staring from afar with queasy looks.
‘Yeah, moderation’s key.’
Even in a 6-Star Hotel, a guest eating double their body weight is burdensome.
“D-did you enjoy your meal?”
The staff greeted me as I left the buffet.
“Yes. It was truly delicious.”
“The chefs will be thrilled.”
I smiled appropriately at the staff and exited the buffet.
“Log in.”
Back to Ardania. I breeze through three documents in seconds. I’d outlined my thoughts and policies from Earth, explained clearly.
Then.
Poof!
No sound, but that vibe—a “10” floated before my eyes.
“…What?”
So sudden I couldn’t even be surprised, just stared blankly.
And as I did.
[10]
The plain number.
[10 Shares]
Changed to that.
“10 shares? What’s that mean? Owner? Red? Or ten people live there?”
No further change despite my words. Stuck at 10 shares.
“What changed where? Ugh, if only there was chat, I could ask the subordinates.”
Irritated, it changed again.
[4 Shares]
“It decreased?”
Not all at once—9, 8, 7, down to 4.
And then.
Steelstone: Huh? What’s left? Huh? What’s this?
“…Huh?”
It popped up out of nowhere.
Chat!
“No, what? Wait. Did it activate because I mentioned chat? Then connect me to Hundred too!”
At my words, the 4 dropped to 0, then bounced back to 4.
Apparently, not enough power—failure.
“What the hell…”
Too stunned to even message Steelstone, I opened my mouth.
“Log out.”
Back to Earth. Unsure of the situation, I headed to my room to sort it out.
And the moment I arrived.
I understood what [10 Shares] meant.
[To Killians-nim.]
Nemesis’s user meet-and-greet also serves as a shareholder meeting. But our special guest Killians-nim holds no shares. Normally, you couldn’t attend.
No need to be disappointed! I’m gifting you 10 shares specially!
Now we’re not company and customer—we’re family!
Looking forward to working with you!
-Nemesis CEO. Bae Sarang.-
“…”
On the suite table sat a note with ten antique-designed stock certificates.
I stared blankly for a moment, then logged in.
“Clear all chat.”
At my words, the chat vanished from my vision’s edge, and the number changed.
[10 Shares]
“No way, it really meant 10 shares?”
Maybe good news. I’d found a way to interfere with the [System] itself.
“But wait, I’m already short on recharge funds…”
However.
“Now stocks too?”
For now, it was just bleak.