Chapter 82
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Conquest Rewards (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘But nothing’s changed at all.’
I had drawn in every monster from the eastern forest and wiped them out without leaving a single one behind, yet the gate showed no signs of change whatsoever.
‘At this point, there shouldn’t be anything left that could threaten Rock Fortress, right?’
Lee Seojun confirmed there were no changes around us and spoke to me.
-Shouldn’t we go to Petra?
‘Petra?’
Mindful of Kang Ju-young and the Hero Association member nearby, I silently looked at Lee Seojun.
Realizing I couldn’t speak freely, Lee Seojun explained his thinking.
-I figure the gate won’t clear until Petra acknowledges that peace has come to Rock Fortress.
It made sense when I heard it.
I nodded and turned to Kang Ju-young.
“Looks like everything’s wrapped up here, so I’ll be on my way.”
At my words, Kang Ju-young understood the implication and spoke up.
“You can come and go through the gate freely, I see.”
“You should be able to get out of here too.”
I was referring to the [Guild Member Summon] she’d declared as a healer.
Kang Ju-young looked like she knew what I meant but shook her head.
“I can’t leave my cadets behind.”
“Fair enough. Anyway, we’ve done what needed doing, so whatever’s left shouldn’t be too tough.”
In truth, even if there were unexpected tasks remaining, they wouldn’t be that difficult now.
I’d already solved the biggest headaches: food shortages and monsters.
“Understood. And... thank you for your help.”
“Save the thanks for the healer.”
By the lore, the grand magus had crossed over at the healer’s request.
When I told her to thank the healer instead, Kang Ju-young nodded.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Take care, then.”
With that, I moved with Lee Seojun to another body.
Pop—
-For an S-rank history recreation gate, we cleared it in no time flat.
“It was too dangerous to stick around for long.”
If I hadn’t brought out the grand magus and had tried clearing it just with the student body, things would’ve gotten messy in all sorts of ways.
-Dangerous, yeah. The mood would tank the moment a few students died.
“If it was just the mood dropping, we’d be lucky.”
Terror from monsters attacking every two or three days would pretty much break them.
Future heroes who were supposed to hunt monsters cowering in fear from them? It might not matter right away, but their futures would be rough.
“Anyway, let’s head to wherever Petra is.”
-You’re planning to go with a different body than the grand magus, right?
For reference, after summoning some cuisine, Lee Seojun and I had moved to where a clone was resting in a room.
We’d spoken to Petra with this clone just yesterday, so we planned to use it again.
“Yeah. Showing up as the grand magus means explaining everything first.”
I answered and shifted control to the clone in helmet and armor, leaving the grand magus body behind.
‘Without Absolute Clone, how would I have handled this?’
Right now, I could juggle multiple roles and navigate everything smoothly.
That made me wonder how I’d manage without it.
‘Probably summon companions if push came to shove.’
I figured that was likely and left it at that as I searched for Petra.
Spreading out spatial power, I pinpointed her location along the road to the walls.
“Let’s move.”
-Yes.
Pop—
Of course, I couldn’t appear right in front of Petra, so we teleported behind a nearby building.
Once we reached the deserted spot, we walked toward her. She was listening to a soldier’s report.
“It’s a miracle! From the massive new fields in the west to the granaries—they’re overflowing with food! And the armory’s stocked with brand-new weapons and armor...”
“Enough. I get the picture. What happened in the east?”
“Ah. Some grand magus used magic to drag every monster from the eastern forest and slaughtered them all in one go. One of them was that monster that showed up once before.”
“Slaughtered? You mean every last one?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I approached Petra openly while listening.
Sensing me, she turned, confirmed my presence, and ordered the soldier away.
“I’ll look into the rest myself. Return to your post.”
“Understood.”
Once the soldier left, Petra turned back to me.
“Let’s move first.”
She led us into a nearby empty house.
It was thick with dust—clearly abandoned.
‘Makes sense. Things were rough until recently.’
Empty houses weren’t surprising.
“Still, everything changed overnight. Too much to adjust to.”
“Wasn’t this what you wanted?”
“I didn’t expect it all at once.”
Petra spoke of her surprise calmly.
“But from what I hear, it wasn’t you—it was the grand magus. True?”
“Grand magus...”
Instead of answering, I had the grand magus teleport here.
Pop—
Petra flinched at the sudden arrival but didn’t draw her sword like yesterday.
“Does it matter if it was me or the grand magus?”
I released the [Transformation] card power on the grand magus.
Petra watched as the elderly magus shifted to match my appearance exactly.
“...”
Petra couldn’t hide her shock this time, staring wide-eyed at me and the magus.
“Don’t tell me... you were disguised as the grand magus?”
“Need more explanation?”
She shook her head.
“Guess not. Considering you snuck in yesterday with that proposal, you’re hiding your identity.”
I didn’t deny it and dismissed the Absolute Clone that had been the grand magus.
“Seeing this, you really do feel like a god.”
“To you, I might as well be.”
In a day... no, just hours, I’d accomplished so much.
Vast western fields, stocked granaries, armory, walls, monsters—all gone.
No one in the world could match that, and Petra nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. You’re a god.”
She muttered to herself, then knelt on one knee with resolute eyes, bowing her head.
“Petra Yureid, 24th Guardian of the Continent and Fourth Sword, pledges my loyalty to you.”
I’d kept my promise, so she kept hers.
It cost me nothing real, so I told her,
“I accept your loyalty.”
Flash!—
‘Hm?’
The moment I finished speaking, light burst from Petra’s body.
It spread like a rising sun, feeling like it enveloped all of Rock Fortress.
“Ah...”
Petra murmured softly, realization dawning.
“I see. This place was my lingering attachment.”
“Lingering attachment?”
“Yes. Thank you, my lord.”
I didn’t get it, but Lee Seojun seemed to and spoke up right away.
-Petra must’ve realized this is an artificial space.
An artificial space?
Lee Seojun’s words helped it click.
In simple terms, the moment the gate was cleared, Petra saw the truth.
The sudden light melted the illusion away, slowly dissolving Petra and the surrounding buildings.
‘Looks like it’s really over now.’
You have cleared the History Recreation Gate.
Calculating contribution...
“...?”
Sure enough, a clearance message popped up out of nowhere.
“What’s this? Contribution calculation?”
-Regular gates end with the boss kill, but history recreation gates need specific conditions met. Then they calculate contribution separately.
Objective exceeded.
Excess achievement: 324%.
Your contribution: 321.7% total.
You contributed 99.29% to the History Recreation Gate.
-Whoa. Excess over 300%? First time I’ve seen that.
“You can see it too?”
-Since I’m bound to you, yeah. I can see your Status Window too.
I nodded and noted the 99.29% contribution.
“99.29%. Is that high?”
-High enough. Solo clears hit 100%, though.
Exactly as Lee Seojun said—solo history recreation gate clears maxed at 100%.
“So 99.29% isn’t that impressive, then.”
-No way. For an S-rank with excess achievement, nailing 99% is huge. Expect good rewards.
Issuing rewards corresponding to contribution.
All stats +100.
-Oh! Stat boosts as rewards are super rare, and you got one.
Acquired Innate Ability ‘Hero Summon (S)’.
Due to excess achievement, ‘Hero Summon (S)’ rank increased by two steps.
Acquired Hero Summon (SSS).
-An Innate Ability! SSS-rank at that.
“Not EX-rank.”
-That’s my 15-year gamer perk from crossing over. SSS is near impossible normally.
True, my EX-rank Absolute Clone was Lee Seojun’s perk, not mine.
I figured SSS was rare as he said and opened my Status Window.
【Name: Lee Seongmin】
【Innate Abilities】
└ ① Absolute Clone (EX+) (Proficiency: 0.649%)
└ ② Hero Summon (SSS) (Proficiency: 0.001%)
【Acquired Abilities】
└ --
【Stats】
└ [Strength: D] [Stamina: D] [Endurance: D]
└ [Agility: D] [Senses: D] [Will: D]
└ [Magic Power: C] [Calculation: C+] [Resistance: D]
└ [Luck: D]
【Acquired Skills】
└ ① Brain Enhancement (C) (Proficiency: 8.624%)
└ ② Calculation Assist (C) (Proficiency: 8.999%)
└ ③ Thought Acceleration (C) (Proficiency: 7.452%)
└ ④ Dual Thought (B) (Proficiency: 3.018%)
└ ⑤ Thought Expansion (C) (Proficiency: 0.917%)
The Status Window showed the new Innate Ability, Hero Summon, and most stats up to D-rank.
“No need to train hard anymore.”
-Told you, stat boosts as rewards are rare. Though with you, gate clears might do it anyway.
“Anyway, all stats hit D-rank. How’s that stack up?”
-Purely stats-wise, top 50 range.
Top 50 felt solid.
I nodded and decided to check out the new Innate Ability, Hero Summon.