Big Things Are Always the Truth

The massive explosion tore through one side of the wooden barricade in an instant, rendering all our hard work meaningless. Thankfully, I wasn't caught in the blast, but Jax was already leaping forward, charging toward the collapsed section.

"Kuaaaaaaaaagh!"

The orcs came swarming in with bloodshot eyes. I reflexively gripped my spear and started to head that way, but Jax shouted at me.

"Go raise the signal fire!!"

She wasn't telling me to head to the barricade—she wanted me to run to the signal tower in the center of the village. The moment I heard her, I spun on my heel and sprinted toward it.

'Blowing up the barricade is straight-up cheating.'

Even if I joined the fight, it wouldn't make any meaningful difference to the front line. Besides, I'd already more or less figured out what the signal fire was really for. That itchy, tingling sensation I got whenever I got close to it. The strangely oversized barricade for a village this small. And Jax herself—an absolute overkill spec against orcs, no matter how you looked at it.

This was that kind of stage.

'A stage that can't be cleared no matter what you do.'

The kind that had become so common that players just shrugged and went, 'Oh, that's just how it is.' Once I reached the signal fire and launched it, I'd probably get slapped with a clear stamp and get sent back to reality. I was certain of it. My gut was telling me so.

I'd done my absolute best hoping it wouldn't come to this, but... there was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no avoiding it now.

As I glanced back at the barricade, goosebumps prickled across my skin. And the closer I got to the signal tower, the hotter the burning sensation in my chest grew.

Crack—

I snatched the Mana Stone installed at the tower entrance and dashed up to the roof like my life depended on it.

"Huff... huff..."

There it was. The signal fire.

'Just need to set this thing up...'

Right next to the fire was some device that obviously supplied energy. The moment I placed the Mana Stone on it, these five days of absolute hell would finally be over.

I still couldn't check my status window since I hadn't entered the Tower yet, but I'd gained quite a few stats, picked up some useful skills, and even scored a Mana Stone. On top of that, I'd gained real combat experience and learned the basics of handling weapons. If I went in like this, clearing the first floor of the Tower should be easy.

At least 1.1 billion won. If I stayed a little more focused, I could probably earn tens of billions more going forward.

But... was that really the right call?

When I looked back toward the barricade, the scene was horrific. The NPC soldiers were already sprawled everywhere. Through the broken barricade, I could see the orc shaman waving a staff topped with a small skull, endlessly chanting some spell. And Jax, single-handedly holding the line at the shattered barricade, was moving slower than I'd ever seen—struggling hard just to keep the orcs at bay.

Was it really right to just end it here?

If not, what other options did I have? Run back and die together? Sure, it felt like a game, but what if death here was real death?

Countless thoughts swirled through my head. Right at that moment—

"Wait a second... this..."

As I kept glancing back and forth between the signal fire and the barricade, a single ray of light hit me. A single streak of possibility.

Whoosh—

More blood rushed to my head than at any other moment so far.

#

Jace Silia. Her mercenary comrades, seeing her strength and courage that didn't seem to belong to a woman at all, had given her the nickname Jax.

Now, not a single one of those comrades remained. But that was fine. She was no longer a mercenary—she was the captain of this village's guard.

She couldn't remember exactly when it started. She'd even forgotten why she was risking her life to protect a place that wasn't even her hometown. All she knew was that long before she could even put it into words, this village had become something she had to protect. No matter the sacrifice.

Crunch—

"That all you got? This it? I'm still perfectly fine!"

That's why the red-haired woman thought this as she smashed the skull of yet another orc climbing over the barricade.

'He should be there by now.'

The face of that mysterious black-eyed man who'd appeared in the village at some point. Just as she was special, so was he. She could feel it. That's why it was so fun watching him shudder and look disgusted whenever she acted overly dramatic.

And that's exactly why she hadn't wanted today to come. She didn't know why. She just... didn't.

Crunch—

Everything was flowing exactly as it always had, but she grew more and more depressed.

"Kurrick, kuk, krrkak."

Maybe it was because of that orc shaman over there chanting nonstop.

'Doesn't that guy ever get tired?'

After this much, even he should be getting sick of it by now. Sick of... sick... Huh?

'Oh no. Losing focus in the middle of battle.'

Scolding herself for a rookie mistake, Jax swung her hammer at the next orc climbing over the barricade.

She shouted with exaggerated flair, just as her duty required.

The tide of battle had never been good. The orcs kept pouring in endlessly. The shaman in the distance tormenting her with endless spells. The soldiers who were either dead or too injured to be of much help. Soon she would be overwhelmed too, and once the lord saw the signal fire, he'd send knights and mages to massacre the orcs.

But right then—

From the distant signal tower, something other than magical flames erupted.

A familiar voice. Then came the mechanical hum.

The signal fire had activated.

"That crazy bastard..."

Only, it was pointing in a completely different direction. Not at the sky—straight at them.

Which meant it was no longer a signal fire. It had become a magitech cannon.

Boooom—!

"Kyaaaaaaaaaah!"

A massive flame, concentrated with enough power to reach 'very far' distances, shot out in a straight line.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaa—

The orc shaman and every orc around it were deleted before they even had time to react.

"The... the barricade..."

Naturally, the sturdy barricade that had protected the village all this time went with them. Along with a chunk of the forest beyond it.

If you wanted to put a positive spin on it, you could say the village had just gotten a lot bigger thanks to this new slash-and-burn farmland.

Especially with the forest already reduced to ashes and the flames starting to spread.

"..."

Silia stared at the scene in a daze for a moment, then tossed aside even her war hammer and started running somewhere.

Straight toward the man who had created this entire landscape.

When she finally reached the roof of the signal tower... there was no one there.

#

The power of the Signal Cannon—Made by Park Hyunsung—was incredible!

"Holy shit, that's insane."

So this is where the whole 'bigger is always better' philosophy comes from. Wow. This shit is way too addictive.

From the center of the village all the way past the barricade—no, past the forest beyond it. Everything had been wiped clean in one glorious sweep.

The orcs? You think they'd survive a hit like that? Then I'd rather just die.

"But damn, it actually worked..."

A perfectly straight path carved from the signal tower all the way into the forest. The signal fire—if you squinted with one eye—looked exactly like a medieval cannon. And whoever the nameless genius was who had even added an adjustable aiming mechanism for fine-tuning the firing angle... if even one of these details had been off, we never would've gotten a scene this badass.

"Cough."

That said, my ears had been ringing nonstop since earlier and I couldn't hear a thing, and I'd just experienced coughing up blood for the first time in my life.

"Hehehe."

But who cares?

My whole body ached a bit, but I didn't feel like I was going to die. And in the end, I'd earned the 'Unbelievable' stamp on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that status window or menu ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or whatever it was.

I'd just cleared a stage specifically designed to be impossible. I deserved at least that much praise. Hell yeah.

As I waited for the results, I forced my stiff neck to turn and look toward the distant barricade. That's when I saw our dear Jax running this way. Her leather armor was half torn off, and her massive 'vocal pocket' was bouncing wildly with every step. Whew.

I realized it once again today. Big things really do align with the truth. Whether it's cannons or... well, those.

'But why is she running like that?'

Uh... is she mad? She did seem pretty attached to the signal tower. But still. We won in the end. I saved her from certain death. If that lord guy has half a brain, he'll see the smoke rising from the forest and send someone, right?

...That probably won't work on her, will it? Yeah. No way.

The moment that thought crossed my mind—

"Wait, just let me watch a little more... ugh."

And with that, I blacked out.

...Oh right. They said they'd give me a present if I managed to stop it.

#

"What the...?"

The moment I opened my eyes, feeling like I'd left my most precious treasure somewhere, I found myself in an extremely white space. Not a single speck of darkness. A place filled only with light, yet paradoxically not blinding.

And the one who had summoned me here was apparently Free Earth.

Looked like the purpose was exactly what it said—calculation.

"58 points out of 40...?"

Looking at it like this, I really did a lot. Honestly, from the second day onward I'd been so busy having fun touring the village with Jax that I hadn't even realized how hard I was working.

'The massages she gave me probably helped too.'

Anyway, stopping the orc army seemed to carry huge significance. The system gave ten points for what was normally a five-point maximum.

But... what about the rewards?

Wait, they're giving me a stage genre selection ticket and a trait selection ticket?!

I didn't react like Free Earth was running some shady business. I had no idea what those even were, so how was I supposed to react?

'Affinity Stone? What the hell is that? And who is Jace Silia?'

Why would they put someone I don't even know in there? Whatever. One thing was crystal clear, regardless of anything else.

"Twenty billion..."

The value of twenty Mana Stones.

Mom. Dad. You don't have to worry about me getting married and needing a house anymore. I did it.

Maybe because the beginner benefits from the stage were still active, I didn't burst into tears or feel overwhelmingly happy. I just felt... like I'd done it.

But Free Earth didn't seem content to end things there.

"So you're saying if I give back 1 billion, you'll give me some kind of benefit?"

"Why would I?"

Free Earth was offering benefits in exchange for the excess reward. I was about to refuse immediately. After all, it was a trade involving 1 billion won plus selection tickets whose value I didn't even know yet—but which were clearly not common.

But right then, my usually quiet 'gut' started reacting like crazy. It was screaming ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at me to accept the proposal right now.

"Ahem. Can I hear the details first?"

"What?"

I immediately understood why my gut was going so crazy.

#

A little while later, when I returned to reality, I was holding a small pouch in my hand.

A small pouch worth a billion won. Along with the newly acquired 'Trait.'