Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Pyramid
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“Ice Flower Divine Sword boldly demanded of Kang Hyun-soo.
Her expression brimmed with confidence.
‘The jumping skill’s cooldown is over.’
With preparations complete to escape at any moment, the anxiety from moments ago vanished.
“Fine, I’ll show you.”
Kang Hyun-soo revealed the information on his Marionette skill.
“Such a skill exists!”
Ice Flower Divine Sword was greatly surprised upon checking the Marionette skill’s details.
She hadn’t imagined a skill like this truly existed.
The only consolation was.
‘The penalty is enormous.’
Naturally, it couldn’t be used recklessly.
‘That guy’s martial prowess surpasses mine.’
The measure of a player’s strength was their level.
But more precisely, it divided into stats and skills.
Especially stats formed a player’s foundation.
Among them, the most crucial was the mana stat.
‘A skill that consumes half the mana stat.’
This explained its power.
“You paid quite a heavy price to take the Mad Dog King under your wing.”
Mana stats mattered to mid-to-low level players too.
But they paled compared to top-tier named players.
Mid-to-low level players had room to grow.
Top-tier named players had nearly reached their limits.
“That’s how valuable he is.”
Ice Flower Divine Sword nodded readily at Kang Hyun-soo’s response.
“I lose.”
Ice Flower Divine Sword admitted defeat in their wager.
However, her mind raced with complex thoughts.
‘He overwhelmed me even after consuming half his mana stat.’
It meant his base mana far exceeded imagination.
However.
‘That’s impossible.’
Ice Flower Divine Sword was a sword-wielding player.
Yet she invested more unallocated points into mana than strength, agility, or stamina.
The reason was that her greatest power came from combining ice and fire attribute auras.
‘His mana stat is higher than mine.’
She could confirm it after clashing directly.
Ice Flower Divine Sword was among the highest-level players alive.
‘Higher than even me, and that was only half his original mana stat?’
It defied physics.
Decisively.
‘There’s no way he’d suffer such a loss just for the likes of the Mad Dog King.’
Ice Flower Divine Sword was convinced Kang Hyun-soo had a way to bypass the Marionette skill’s penalty.
At the same time, a strong sense of crisis welled up.
‘He could use the Marionette skill on me.’
Among strength, agility, stamina, mental strength, and mana, Ice Flower Divine Sword’s lowest stat was mental strength.
That meant?
‘One misstep, and I’d become his puppet.’
Ice Flower Divine Sword forced down her anxiety and spoke.
“What favor do you intend to ask?”
Ice Flower Divine Sword asked with a composed expression.
“Join Dark Knight.”
Ice Flower Divine Sword’s face stiffened at Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
“Join Dark Knight?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s a bit troublesome.”
Though defeated, Ice Flower Divine Sword bore a divine title.
Naturally, she’d received countless recruitment offers.
She rejected them all.
Among them was an offer from the Lockto Empire’s emperor.
If she’d refused the emperor, she wouldn’t accept Kang Hyun-soo’s.
“Why? Is joining Dark Knight unjust? We fight on the front lines against the Demon King’s army.”
Ice Flower Divine Sword’s expression hardened further at Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
She hadn’t expected her promise to grant any non-unjust request to twist like this.
“Do you think joining Dark Knight is unjust, Ice Flower Divine Sword?”
Ice Flower Divine Sword couldn’t answer Kang Hyun-soo’s question easily.
Then the Oath of Conviction activated.
A subtle mana rose, binding her body.
‘Damn it.’
Ice Flower Divine Sword grimaced.
The standard for “unjust” in the Oath of Conviction was her own judgment.
She’d thought it harmless since she’d judge herself.
But now it backfired.
Deep down, she didn’t consider joining Dark Knight unjust.
“What’s Dark Knight’s goal? Are you truly united purely to subjugate the Demon King’s army?”
“Subjugating the Demon King’s army and completing the Return Quest. Do you think we otherworlders jumped into this war for fun?”
“Then…”
Ice Flower Divine Sword hurled questions, trying to prove joining Dark Knight was unjust.
But Kang Hyun-soo’s unflinching answers only strengthened her view of Dark Knight as righteous.
And with each realization, the Oath of Conviction’s pressure intensified.
Setting the standard to her own judgment became the greater shackle.
She wanted to paint Dark Knight as unjust.
But she knew it wasn’t.
‘I shouldn’t have made the Oath of Conviction.’
She’d chosen it after once suffering greatly from a soul contract.
Now it chained her tighter.
She could deceive others, but not herself.
What irked her most was being forced under Kang Hyun-soo by the system’s power.
He’d promised freedom outside the Demon King’s army war.
But she couldn’t trust that blindly.
“How can I believe you?”
Ultimately, Ice Flower Divine Sword claimed she couldn’t trust Kang Hyun-soo.
Indeed, doubts lingered that he spoke falsehoods.
“Then I’ll prove what I said earlier was true.”
With that, Kang Hyun-soo pulled out the Oath of Conviction.
Ice Flower Divine Sword’s face twisted in misery.
Kang Hyun-soo activated it without hesitation, proving his words true.
The binding mana around Ice Flower Divine Sword grew even stronger.
‘To think things would tangle like this.’
Ice Flower Divine Sword scowled.
Fleeing meant nothing under the Oath of Conviction.
Her only remaining choice was.
“I’ll join Dark Knight.”
As Ice Flower Divine Sword spoke, the Oath of Conviction gradually weakened.
“Then accept this.”
Kang Hyun-soo used the Commander Appointment skill.
[Player Kang Hyun-soo has used the Commander Appointment skill. Do you accept?]
[Yes] [No]
The system message appeared, and Ice Flower Divine Sword selected Yes with no choice.
That instant.
[You have been appointed Battalion Commander.]
[All stats increase by 15%.]
“Gasp!”
Ice Flower Divine Sword jolted in shock.
Her stats had suddenly risen by 15%; she couldn’t not be surprised.
“This is?”
“The buff I mentioned earlier.”
“Impressive.”
“That’s not all.”
Kang Hyun-soo cast Commander’s Blessing, boosting her stats by another 30%.
“Ugh!”
With all stats surging 45% at once, Ice Flower Divine Sword staggered.
The massive stat increase made controlling her body difficult.
But it didn’t last long.
True to her divine title, Ice Flower Divine Sword adapted to the boosted stats in an instant.
“Whew! Truly impressive.”
Admiration spilled from Ice Flower Divine Sword’s lips.
The lingering unease from before vanished cleanly.
‘I have to fight the Demon King’s army anyway.’
Receiving such a massive buff for battling an inevitable foe was no loss.
‘Becoming the Blood God Demon Slayer’s subordinate turned into a gain.’
She hadn’t fully adapted to the heightened stats yet; awkwardness remained.
But once adapted?
‘I’ll become overwhelmingly stronger.’
Ice Flower Divine Sword was one of the strongest players with a divine title.
Her level and base stats were top-tier.
A 45% boost made her surpass other divine title holders by far—the strongest player without exaggeration.
“Satisfied, I see?”
Ice Flower Divine Sword nodded at Kang Hyun-soo’s question.
“Who wouldn’t be with buffs like these?”
Her tone shifted.
She now acknowledged Kang Hyun-soo as her superior.
“You’ll keep your promise, right?”
Kang Hyun-soo nodded at Ice Flower Divine Sword’s question.
“Of course. Live freely. Just lend your strength when I call.”
“Thank you. But how do I use these new skills?”
Ice Flower Divine Sword asked with a puzzled look.
“Well, you see.”
Kang Hyun-soo explained kindly.
As she listened, Ice Flower Divine Sword’s expression soured.
“You fraud!”
Ice Flower Divine Sword glared and shouted at Kang Hyun-soo.
She’d realized he held the power of life and death over his subordinate commanders.
“Fraud? I just didn’t mention it. You didn’t ask either.”
“T-That’s true, but…”
Her questions had mostly been about restrictions on her freedom.
Whether forced to obey orders, penalized for defiance, and so on.
“This is basically a restriction!”
Though Kang Hyun-soo had said no coercive restrictions beforehand.
He held the power to erase her anytime, anywhere at will.
Using that as leverage?
She’d have no choice but to obey.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep my promise.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
Loyalty would rise gradually over time anyway.
Forcing it with her life as hostage would only breed resentment.
He couldn’t afford to waste massive stats on appointing and blessing Atlantis’s top player, Ice Flower Divine Sword, in a pointless power struggle.
She was essential for the Demon King’s army war.
“You must keep that promise.”
“I don’t need your help outside the Demon King’s army war.”
Ice Flower Divine Sword nodded at Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
‘He bested me one-on-one.’
Outside the Demon King’s army war?
‘He wouldn’t need my power at all.’
Moreover.
‘I’m not the only one under him.’
Likely many other powerhouses served Kang Hyun-soo.
So outside the war, he wouldn’t need her help.
“May I go then?”
“Anytime.”
Ice Flower Divine Sword smiled brightly at Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
She recognized his promise of freedom as sincere.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
“Oh, one thing I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“Why did you smash Mantis Guild?”
Before regression, Mantis Guild roamed freely around this time.
Meaning Ice Flower Divine Sword hadn’t subjugated them pre-regression.
‘She’s righteous, sure.’
But also free-spirited.
She’d uproot visible crimes.
‘But not sacrifice her own hunting time over years to dismantle a shadowy group like Mantis Guild.’
“Why need a reason to smash murderers?”
“Then why not earlier? You ignored them till now.”
“Ahem, well…”
Ice Flower Divine Sword blushed.
“Be honest. Just curious.”
“It was for achievements, actually.”
“Achievements?”
“Yes, smashing these guys grants achievements.”
Kang Hyun-soo understood why Mantis Guild’s fate diverged post-regression from Ice Flower Divine Sword’s words.
‘It’s because of me.’
She’d targeted Mantis Guild due to the rumors he spread.
‘Maybe other top named players attacked Mantis Guild or murderer players too.’
For achievements.
‘Good.’
The intel he leaked was working.
“Then, until next time.”
With her face flushed, Ice Flower Divine Sword vanished.