The First Major Update of the 35th Chapter
After the skirmish, I led our party away from the city, heading straight for the Viscount's manor.
The Blood Manor was still in the thick of cleanup and the hunt for the culprits.
Inside the open yard of the Blood Manor, the knights knelt before their lord, one knee on the ground, heads bowed in deference.
And then, behind the knights, my fellow mercenaries followed suit—kneeling as well.
[Everyone fought bravely.]
[Clang!]
"For the knights who fought so hard, one gold coin each."
[Clang!]
"And... as for the mercenaries who participated in the battle, ten silver coins each."
"Thank you."
Ten silver coins.
Enough for some, not nearly enough for others.
One day's wage for a mercenary was respectable, but... it was nothing compared to the danger.
The Viscount finished his thanks and vanished.
The knights were dismissed, and only the mercenaries remained.
Time to collect our pay.
[Cain, line up.]
[Got it.]
Each of us received ten silver coins.
Five of us—fifty silver in total.
[Cain, what are you going to do now?]
[First... we get out of the manor.]
[Yeah.]
The manor felt uneasy.
There were far too many stronger beings inside it.
Weugh. Weugh.
Outside the manor, the city buzzed with commotion.
The imperial knights were grilling the villagers.
[Whimper...]
[What is that...]
Villagers who couldn't answer the questions properly were dragged off to the pyre.
Great flames devoured the night sky, scattering black ash across the land.
Swallowing countless villagers.
[Mom!!]
[No!!!]
[Stop!!! Please, save us!!!]
The villagers' pleas fell on deaf ears.
The imperial knights simply tossed them into the fire one by one.
[Damn... so this is what it was like.]
A memory surfaced—exactly from before I had regressed.
It was a video documenting the history of the Hero game.
Early versions of the Hero game had been set only in the Lion Kingdom.
Then came the massive update: the Holy Royal Empire.
From that moment on, Devil Worshippers—NPC cultists—began summoning demons in several cities.
Just like what happened in the Blood Manor.
Looking back, there hadn't been many Devil Worshippers at all, and the situation hadn't been that dire.
But at the time, no one knew.
And because the Holy Royal Empire was a nation whose very name contained the word "Holy," it treated those who worshipped devils with savage cruelty.
In the process, more than twenty percent of the empire's population was slaughtered.
They had no way to distinguish real Devil Worshippers from suspects, so they killed everyone.
[We have to get out.]
[Huh?]
[An apocalypse is coming soon...]
I hurried to move my feet.
Then a user who had been leaving the manor stopped me.
[Do you know something?]
[What do you mean?]
[You said "apocalypse," right?]
[Hmm... if you want to live, stay as far away from human settlements as possible.]
I couldn't spill everything I knew.
I could only tell him to run.
[Let's go.]
[Yeah!]
I visited the Blood Manor shops and weapon stores, buying what we needed.
I bought spares and simple repair kits.
The inventory filled with food and supplies from the shops.
Still not enough, so I bought a bag and stuffed it too.
[Everyone, one bag each.]
[Yeah...]
While we stocked up everything and prepared to leave the manor, the man who had spoken to me first followed along.
[Sigh... how long are you going to trail us?]
[My intuition says I'll survive if I stick with you. I want to come too.]
The man spoke confidently, even as he asked.
"Sorry," I replied, "I can't bring an outsider into the party."
Our movement path could become public knowledge online.
[Having you with us would help, right?]
I explained my reasons without sugarcoating them.
Raw, exactly as I thought.
[Can't trust me? Post something online? Don't worry. Want my phone number? No, I'm not giving out my personal info first.]
He told me his phone number, his ID, job, and level.
- Phone number: xxx-xxxx-xxxx
- ID: Inhyungsulsa
- Class: Necromancer
- Level: 74
[The ID... Inhyungsulsa?]
[Yeah. Do you know me? If you play alone, no one knows you, right?]
[Not exactly.]
I had heard the name before.
Not in this life—previous lives.
He was one of the top-ranked players in the Hero game.
In the future, top Hero game players would become celebrities like today's corporate CEOs.
Just as capitalists ruled capitalism, top-ranked players would rule the metaverse era.
Especially top-ranked players like Inhyungsulsa would wield influence equal to that of major CEOs.
That's why even players who never entered the game knew the names of the highest-ranked players.
Just like everyone knows the names of corporate CEOs.
Maybe because I had been thinking for a while, the Inhyungsulsa spoke up first.
[You're picky. I don't want my character deleted after raising it for over a year. Take this.]
The Inhyungsulsa tossed me three gold coins.
Enormous money.
Cashable, and huge even in-game.
Our party had been farming beginner dungeons and hoarding gold, but normal hunting grounds made it nearly impossible.
He had given me money he had saved for over a year.
Relying only on his intuition that it might be dangerous.
I handed the three gold coins back.
[Even with this it won't do?]
[No. Let's go together. Use the money to fill your inventory with repair kits and food.]
[Got it! Awesome. I'll pay you back later, Eunhye.]
The Inhyungsulsa rushed off to buy supplies.
[Cain, is this okay?]
Elena asked, worried.
Taking in a stranger as a party member wasn't the best idea.
Especially in the Hero game, where dying meant character deletion.
[Our destination is dangerous. More strong allies are better.]
[Yeah...]
Elena didn't argue further.
She still looked uneasy.
Actually, I had invited the Inhyungsulsa because he was destined to become a top-ranked player in the future.
Just like Seolhwa beside me.
Connections with top-ranked players would be invaluable as we progressed through the game.
After the Inhyungsulsa joined, we headed south from the Blood Manor, toward the Apse Mountain Range.
The Apse Mountain Range was huge, bordering multiple territories.
Our original destination, the Earth Territory, touched the range, and so did the Blood Territory.
[Haha. Playing solo for over a year and now roaming together... this is great.]
[Really?]
Until we reached the Apse Mountain Range, the Inhyungsulsa shared many stories, and Seolhwa and Elena slowly opened up to him.
[Haha. I know from meeting a lot of people. You three are a bit unusual.]
[Unusual?]
[You seem in your thirties, Cain... and Seolhwa and Elena look like students—middle or high school age?]
[Huh?]
The Inhyungsulsa, whose intuition was sharp, guessed our ages correctly.
[Hehe. Cain is in his thirties?]
[Cain has that old-man vibe.]
While I listened seriously, Seolhwa and Elena found the comment hilarious and laughed for a long time.
[Is that right? Cain looks younger than us. Tsk tsk. It's been a while since you last met people—your instincts are rusty.]
The usually talkative Inhyungsulsa fell silent.
Then:
[Late twenties. You must be in your late twenties, Cain. Still, this combo doesn't make sense. A late-twenties man and two high-school girls...]
He muttered to himself and stepped closer.
[Cain, isn't this a crime?]
[Not a crime...]
[Hehe. You and us have the same age now. I'm in first year.]
Elena stepped up and punched my avatar.
[What?! You say I'm in first year?! This... must mean my instincts have really dropped...]
The misunderstanding brought the Inhyungsulsa even closer to Seolhwa and Elena.
They seemed to find it amusing that the thirty-something Cain was actually a student.
Of course, I wasn't amused at all.
[Everyone, be careful. We're entering the outer edge of the Apse Mountain Range now.]
[Awesome. Time to show off my skills.]
The Inhyungsulsa summoned five skeletons—three warriors and two archers.
I couldn't help but nod.
Comforting.
A top-ranked Necromancer and the Ice Dragon's Sword wielder—unimaginable even in the future.
No, by then even infinite money wouldn't move them easily.
[Let's go. First objective is to establish a base.]
[Oh ho... that explains why you bought so many supplies. You're planning to stay in the Apse Mountain Range for a while.]
[Yeah...]
Living inside the Apse Mountain Range was extremely dangerous.
The range teemed with monsters that moved constantly.
While we were online it was fine, but if we logged out, only Persein and Sarah would guard the base.
Still, I chose the Apse Mountain Range.
Monsters were far safer than the witch hunts that would claim innocent lives the moment a heretic inquisitor spotted us.
At the entrance we first encountered a goblin.
[A goblin.]
Elena said lightly.
Goblins were easy.
[Stay alert.]
[Yeah...]
Never let your guard down.
Rich in mana, the Apse Mountain Range also housed hop-goblins, monsters at the same level as skeleton warriors—recommended level 70.
Hop-goblin warriors or shamans were level 100, on par with minotaurs.
That was why the beginner guide recommended the Apse Mountain Range after the tutorial dungeons.
We hunted hordes of hop-goblins and scouted a suitable spot for our house.
[What about that area?]
The Inhyungsulsa pointed to a wide clearing.
Steep slope, no trees nearby—perfect for defense.
[Yes, let's take that spot.]
That day we spent building and scouting.
[If we log out, what about this house?]
[The NPCs will protect it.]
[The two of them?]
[Yes.]
The Inhyungsulsa kept asking about nighttime security.
[Then how about this?]
[What do you mean?]
[I'll leave my character online. As long as I'm connected, the skeletons will guard the house.]
[That...]
I instinctively checked Eunhye's reaction.
Fortunately, she was chatting with Sarah and hadn't noticed.
[If anything goes wrong, the Inhyungsulsa character could die.]
The hidden meaning was that player characters mattered more than NPCs.
[It's fine. I did it before. Turn the alert volume to max and sleep.]
[You'll be tired...]
Maxed alerts meant waking up with every combat sound.
[It's okay. There aren't much else to do lately...]
The Inhyungsulsa agreed.
That would make nighttime defense stronger.
[Please.]
[No. I'm the one getting help, so don't worry.]
...
The next day.
The day after that.
...
Each passing day we ventured farther into the mountains.
At first we focused on hop-goblins.
Then we tackled hop-goblin warriors and shamans.
Monsters at level 100, yet with the Inhyungsulsa and Seolhwa's support it was manageable.
Especially Seolhwa's Ice Dragon's Sword—level 100 monsters couldn't withstand it.
After hunting, we returned to the base.
[Inhyungsulsa-nim, thank you.]
[Haha. Don't worry.]
[Oppa, we'll be back after class tomorrow.]
[Oppa, take care.]
Seolhwa and Na-eun greeted the Inhyungsulsa and logged out.
After class the next day, we went to the club room.
"Welcome back~."
"Teacher, hello."
"Hello."
Kim Sujin smiled warmly at us.
"Did you see the news?"
[Yes?]
She led us to the monitor.
[Breaking News: Imperial Inquisition Intensifies in Apse Mountain Border Areas]
Her eyes sparkled with the gravity of the update.
We had just stepped into the first major chapter of the game—hyper-realistic permadeath, DNA traits, and the clash of secular and theocratic power.
The stage was set for our second chance.
The game was calling.