The Sovereign's Gratitude
Fafnir descended from the mountain and explained the events that had taken place to the nobles.
“Then everything seems to have gone well! How fortunate. Truly, how fortunate, Your Highness the Princess.”
An old knight’s heavy tears fell from the corners of his wrinkled eyes.
“Thank you, Fafnir. I am truly grateful. It is because of you.”
“No need. I simply did what needed to be done.”
Fafnir lowered his head.
At that moment, Count Sharphair approached.
“What nonsense! From what I heard, only you knew there were unicorns here, and it is also thanks to you and your subordinates that they passed the trials!”
Unicorns were the incarnation of justice itself—extremely powerful divine beings.
They would scoff at anything ordinary, yet they had somehow passed the trials. It was an extraordinary feat.
Fafnir had even secured a base thanks to the Pegasus’s permission!
“No matter what anyone else says, your merits are the ones that matter. Take heart, just like me! Hahaha!”
Laughter from Count Sharphair echoed as a message appeared.
【Unique Quest: ‘Rescue Princess’s Hideout’ Completed】
【Remaining incomplete quest conditions】
【Experience gained】
【20 gold obtained】
【Base Defense Contribution: +30,000】
“The base defense contribution is 30,000?”
Rescue missions or human-saving contributions were far harder to obtain than pure combat.
Even spending an entire day saving people yielded only 200 to 300 at best.
Receiving 30,000 meant he had truly accomplished something immense.
“Princess, now please give the order to the soldiers……”
“Understood. Stay still.”
Princess Elizabeth nodded at Blackheart Count’s words as she watched.
“Count old man, protect the princess, and Sharphair, prepare the formal documents.”
“Yes.”
A swift command descended.
‘I need to move as well.’
Fafnir stood up.
At that moment, Princess Elizabeth spoke to him.
“Wait a moment. Fafnir, come here.”
“Eh?”
‘Is there another quest?’
As Fafnir approached, Elizabeth revealed her real intent.
“First, I must thank you. Since the betrayal of Duke Hochwin, you have accomplished countless merits in the princess’s camp.”
The merits of saving the princess, charting the revival army’s route, and securing the base!
“You rescued several nobles including me, gathered soldiers from the rear, and led a swift escape from the battlefield. You found an unsuspected safe haven and guided us there. You charged ahead and passed the unicorns’ trials, creating a sanctuary for the royal army.”
Elizabeth’s words flowed smoothly as she coughed.
“So I cannot simply brush it off with words. Had the royal family still been intact, a greater reward would have been given. But since that is no longer possible, this is all I can offer.”
After finishing her speech, Elizabeth issued her order.
“Kneel, Fafnir.”
“……!”
Fafnir knelt as Princess Elizabeth pressed her sword to his shoulder.
“I, Elizabeth, rightful heir to the Leo-Deok royal family of Baran Kingdom, hereby grant you the title of Baron.”
【Baron title of Baran Kingdom awarded】
【New achievement ‘Noble Status’ unlocked】
【Reputation +5,000】
【New title ‘Noble’ acquired】
【Position: Baron】
“Baron……!”
“Ooh……”
The old knight and Count Sharphair were stunned.
So was Fafnir.
‘I obtained a title so quickly. Lucky me.’
Being a baron was a legitimate noble title.
Though it was still a hollow position, if the revival army won in the future, it would become a real title with lands.
“But Princess, this man is a necromancer…… a title?”
Blackheart Count protested.
“What difference does that make?”
“Necromancers boast over the dead and are despised by the gods. How can you grant a noble title to someone like that……”
“Then why didn’t you convince the unicorns?”
“……!”
Blackheart Count’s face drained of color at the princess’s threat.
“From now on, I expect your loyalty to the princess. Baron Fafnir.”
“……Thank you.”
“Long live Baron Fafnir!”
“Long live!”
The knights shouted in unison under Count Sharphair’s lead.
In the center of it all, Fafnir’s expression grew subtle.
‘This doesn’t seem right at all.’
In the novel, he had casually analyzed and moved on, but experiencing it firsthand made his face burn hotter than expected.
The same feeling he had never experienced despite multiple runner-up finishes during his pro-gamer days!
Fafnir clicked his tongue while receiving the cheer.
Meanwhile, outside, Blackheart Baron gritted his teeth.
“……A necromancer…… daring to receive a title……”
Blackheart Count was from a prominent family recognized for generations.
As the legitimate heir of such a lineage, he held an extraordinary pride in noble titles.
“……Even Princess Elizabeth is hopeless…… She offered a baron title to a word-smith and ignored my advice?”
This was unbearable. Blackheart Count secretly summoned a few subordinates.
“Everyone, push harder!”
“The fence goes this way! Kitchen and walls, follow this line!”
The revival army immediately began work to establish the base.
Buildings and wooden fences began to appear over the ground cleared by the unicorns.
“Timber and cloth are lacking!”
“Use the trees and rocks from the surrounding forests! The unicorns said they approved it!”
When resources ran short, they cut down trees and rocks from the nearby forest.
The players in the revival army were also forced to take on these quests.
“One, two, one, two.”
Users who could lift heavy stones—mages, warriors, martial artists—carried them.
Sometimes they dropped the stones. They bounced down the mountain and shattered or crushed others.
“Aaaah!”
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
Arguments erupted everywhere.
“Puhihi, building houses and fences is nice, but it’s quite noisy.”
“Dirty humans, it would take a million years for you to be recognized.”
Unicorns that followed without being called kept picking fights.
Since they could never win anyway, they simply endured.
“Ugh…… How do I deal with those horseheads?”
“Just endure. Last time I picked a fight somewhere and got rear-kicked into oblivion.”
“Really?”
“Those guys are 400 levels. If you’re picking fights, do it alone.”
“Hah…… I’ll just endure.”
Users sighed and hit their chests.
Behind them, two Umigan gang members carried boulders the size of adult men.
“In my prime, I could just……”
“Hey, Kim, stop talking nonsense and throw the rocks.”
Other gang members carried logs as well.
Surprisingly, the Umigan gang performed the work quests far better than expected.
They had plenty of manual labor experience, and Kindorhan’s command kept everything running smoothly.
“There, that’s it. You, draw water.”
Kindorhan wiped sweat from his forehead while giving orders.
‘Even here it’s not so bad.’
A smile appeared at the corner of Kindorhan’s mouth.
‘The scenery is nice, the air is clear…… The forest is dense, and there are probably dungeons too.’
Building a base or shops here would become the perfect money-collecting pincers.
Walking on land full of potential! He could not feel any discomfort.
‘Investing here will definitely pay off.’
Fafnir had just obtained the baron title. If he could use that position, the idea of developing Aeolos Mountain was no longer a dream!
‘I’ll have to ask him later, khe khe khe.’
Kindorhan smiled sinisterly.
Meanwhile, the work continued.
Of course, it was not all easy labor.
From the depths of the forest, various monsters surged toward the working players.
Kiiiaaak!
Kak kak!
200 to 300-level forest monsters were attempting to drive out the new intruders.
Blocking their attacks was also a quest for players and the revival army.
“Pathetic humans…… Erect the barrier and fight from inside.”
The unicorns rumbled in the distance, and a transparent protection shield appeared around the area.
“Debuff! Fight inside the barrier!”
Once inside the shielded zone, the monsters’ speed noticeably slowed.
“Attack!”
The NPC commander’s order rang out, and arrows and magic poured toward the monsters.
【Experience gained】
【Experience gained】
Experience flooded in one after another.
Although they defeated opponents of overwhelming levels, the unicorns consumed a significant portion, so the players received less.
Still, it was better than nothing.
After Baran Kingdom fell, most regions fell into chaos.
Several cities were destroyed, and far more NPCs perished.
Quests that had been dormant simply vanished.
Beginner players either joined local lords’ armies or became bandits, leveling up on their own.
Except for large guilds that had stockpiled strength, the situation was accumulating losses.
‘Where did Fafnir go?’
Kindorhan tilted his head.
‘Could he really be killing these monsters raw outside the barrier……?’
A chilling guess, but somehow it seemed possible with Fafnir.
‘No way.’
Kindorhan shook his head and returned to work.
Meanwhile, at that time.
Fafnir was meeting the Pegasus once more.
“We cannot leave the upper reaches of this mountain. Aeolos Mountain is the vein of the continent—we must protect it.”
The Pegasus said.
“That is why, even if evil things are rampant below, we can only watch. If possible, please eliminate the demons dwelling at the mountain’s foot in our place.”
【New quest ‘Exterminate Demons at the Mountain’s Edge (Magic)’ accepted】
【Accept the quest? (Y/N)】
“You thanked me for accepting your request, so of course I will.”
【Quest accepted】
Although the users had not yet heard the rumor, both the Pegasus and unicorns were granting quests.
Fafnir cleaned up those as well before heading to the mid-mountain.
‘Since I have accepted all the quests, it is time to begin the work.’
Fafnir, who had summoned all his summons, gave orders.
“You will move around this area and locate caves, valleys, and hidden gorges first.”
“Clink clink!”
“Understood, necromancer.”
“Yes, master.”
“Did I ever tell you I once rode a horse on this mountain? Khe khe khe……”
The skeleton knight Louis and the others received the orders.
‘Even if the intelligence of the skeleton soldiers is low, simple scouting and orders are understandable.’
What he sought was none other than the hidden piece.
In the novel, Flush had wandered through dungeons and lairs across Aeolos Mountain and raised his level by 25.
‘Eight locations casually mentioned, plus one cave I must find myself, and one new field area I must locate first……’
Aeolos Mountain was enormous—even compared to real mountains.
Even Jiri and Seorak mountains could be compared to it, and it rivaled the Alps.
It also connected to other surrounding ranges, making its scale even greater.
Searching through such a vast place for dungeons alone would be an impossible task for one person.
“All right, then move.”
“Clink clink!”
The skeleton soldiers scattered in all directions.
At that moment.
“Puhihi!”
A white shadow approached from afar and instantly shattered one skeleton soldier.
A unicorn!
“W-wait……”
“Here!”
“Puhihihihihing!”
Before anyone could react, more unicorns appeared from all sides and smashed the skeleton soldiers.
Elite skeleton soldiers, Bell and Louis survived, but ordinary ones were reduced to bone fragments without mercy.
“Hey.”
The Frost Unicorn, after finishing the demolition, spoke.
“You said we allowed you to reside here, yet you brought and wandered these evil creatures…… Leave!”
The upper part of Aeolos Mountain was a sacred domain.
Summoning undead monsters was outside the permitted range.
“This time we did not know, so we will overlook it. But you must prepare for such incidents.”
The unicorns snorted and departed.
Fafnir remained alone and clicked his tongue.
‘The difficulty suddenly jumped.’
If he could not use the skeleton soldiers, he would have to search personally.
Fafnir sighed and stretched his body.
‘No choice.’
In the past, as streamer Kim Ganghan, he had searched for hidden dungeons and exploits in countless VR games.