Rewards and the Call to Conquer Kaiyon

He ascended the platform.

"I am Duke Amur. First, I offer my respects to the outsiders who worked tirelessly to drive out the enemy forces."

Duke Amur's demeanor was uncharacteristically unaristocratic for a noble.

"Ho?"

"Whoa, a duke..."

"He's got manners."

The response was positive from the start.

"Thanks to you reclaiming our villages and small towns, our residents can now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reclaim their homes and livelihoods. However...!"

A tremendous presence emanated from him.

"We have already suffered countless losses! We cannot back down now. From this moment, we too will send our finest outsiders to the Kaiyon Continent to deliver fitting punishment upon them! But before that, for those who fought so fiercely, we have prepared primary rewards. You gave your all for the reclamation, and I, Duke Amur, will distribute those rewards right here and now!"

The players' eyes filled with interest.

"Rewards, huh...?"

"Man, I thought they'd come after the war was fully over."

"Nice."

"If it's primary rewards, there must be secondary ones too."

"Yeah. Rack up contributions on Kaiyon and they'll hand 'em out, right?"

"Damn, jackpot. I'm in for sure."

"EXP's great too. Just kill Kaiyon players and it's EXP city, hell yeah...!"

"Makes sense for a continental war."

"I know, dude."

"Ah, I don't have time though..."

"Shit. I wanna join too. Quit my job?"

"You're insane."

Duke Amur let the players' chatter continue without interruption.

He remained silent for quite a while.

In that time, Mu-hyuk and his group had a full conversation.

"You're high on the rankings now."

"Yeah."

"Rewards'll be sweet."

"Well, you, Yerin, and Jiyeon are all pretty high up too."

"Heh, true. Kinda looking forward to it."

"Hehe, me too!"

Then Sung Min-woo approached Kim Ji-yeon.

"Our Jiyeon should get something good too."

"No, oppa should get the good stuff."

Mu-hyuk smirked at the cringeworthy exchange.

Eventually, the commotion died down a bit.

"Among you all, some have shown the greatest contributions. I've heard consistent reports from the knights, allowing me to track them meticulously. The top 10 will receive special rewards handpicked by me personally, so please come up here now."

Names were called.

"Outsider Irka, Pentomino, Mumu..."

Mu-hyuk was ninth, matching his contribution ranking of 9th.

He'd once climbed to 3rd, but lingering in one spot to acquire the zombie shaman had reduced his battle count.

Still, 9th wasn't bad. It was definitely a special reward.

Thud.

Ten players ascended the platform. Spotting Mu-hyuk, Duke Amur smiled warmly before handing out black boxes etched with gold runes one by one.

"You worked hard."

"Ah, thank you."

"Looking forward to more from you."

"Yes!"

Exchanging blessings too.

Finally, Mu-hyuk's turn.

"Good work."

"No trouble at all."

"Heading to Kaiyon?"

"Of course."

"Take care."

After a brief chat, he moved aside.

Once the last player received their box, he returned to his seat.

Soldiers then appeared from all sides, distributing boxes with silver runes on black backgrounds to the remaining players. There were many players, but plenty of soldiers, so distribution wrapped up quickly.

"This is not the end. Those who cross to the Kaiyon Continent and rack up contributions will receive countless weapons from the great nobles' personal vaults as rewards! Nobiliary titles will also be bestowed, so give it your all."

This was sufficient.

The players would spread the word, amplify it, and hype it up themselves.

Duke Amur closed his eyes briefly.

"I, Duke Amur, will take overall command and depart with you tomorrow! Meet at the clearing north of the Hemil Empire at sunrise."

No need to choose right away, but.

Swipe.

Mu-hyuk hit yes without hesitation.

Participating was the smart move.

No matter how you sliced it, this was the optimal path.

Level up EXP.

Boost stats with daggers.

Grab contribution rewards.

It was the ultimate goldmine.

"I accepted."

"Me too!"

"Then we rest up today and log out at Peorn's clearing."

"Sounds good."

Duke Amur wrapped up just then.

"Let's fill our bellies first."

"Yeah. Check rewards over food."

Rewards were the real priority.

They entered a restaurant, ordered, and immediately opened their boxes.

The rewards were unexpectedly perfect.

Did I mention it? How did they prepare something so spot-on?

Either way, it was satisfying.

He shook off the thought and used the acquired items.

But the strength potions weren't all.

Agility, stamina, knowledge, and wisdom too.

Each stat rose by 10.

He'd already maxed out stat potions from achievement points.

These stage 2 potions pushed them higher.

As a class where summons inherited a portion of his stats, efficiency was key—and this reward hit perfectly.

"What're you chugging?"

"Stat potions."

"Nice. How many?"

"Ten each."

"Holy...! All stats +10? Awesome."

"Yours?"

"Stamina and defense potions, 15 each."

Sung Min-woo's rewards were potions too.

Gazes shifted to Yerin and Kim Ji-yeon.

"Yeah, potions for me too, oppa."

"M-me too..."

Of course, only 30 total—fewer than Mu-hyuk's.

"Gold boxes are the best. Fifty potions, all stats. Even better."

"Gotta have some difference."

"Ugh, so unfair. I'll hit top ranks next war!"

Sung Min-woo burned with resolve.

"Food's here."

He channeled it into eating.

"Nom nom."

"Eat slower."

"Yeah yeah. Mmph."

"Ew, gross."

"It's delicious, what."

"It's flying...!"

Bickering over their meal. Satiated, they bought necessities and headed to Peorn's clearing.

"Rest well. See you tomorrow."

"Okay."

Logging out with tomorrow in mind.

*

Lee Han-gyu, the student editing Mu-hyuk's videos.

He checked footage with hollow eyes.

Filling gaps, patching, connecting—it was tougher than expected. But the long-absent satisfaction kept him going.

About an hour later.

"Ugh, ugh."

Only when his body felt broken did he stop.

Just a short break.

Lee Han-gyu spaced out briefly.

Soon bored, he played saved Mu-hyuk videos.

This one's fresh from low levels. This one's weighty. This one's overwhelming.

Each had its flavor.

Couldn't pick one, so he merged them all. Mu-hyuk's life story.

From first battle footage.

To the latest.

Middling weak clips got edited. Front view from video one. Back from two. Side from three—stitched seamlessly.

Workload exploded, but the near-finished product awed him.

"Kuh, killer..."

Even as its creator.

Ah, exhausting.

Yet he craved more.

Just a bit longer.

Steeling himself, he dove back in.

Tap tap tap.

Five hours of total focus.

"Hoo, fu, done."

Basically finished.

Limp and drained, he crawled to bed. Comfort washed over him instantly. Exhausted, but sleep evaded. Pondering, he habitually browsed the Illusion homepage.

"Huh...?"

There—Mu-hyuk's latest video.

Crafting a +10 weapon.

"Ha, damn..."

Couldn't skip this.

He bolted up, appending it to the end.

Hmm.

But it felt off.

End with a fight, obviously.

Luckily, unused battle clips remained. He tacked one post-enhancement.

Perfect.

Finally satisfied.

"Really done now!"

Final check, then uploaded everywhere.

Back to bed.

Ten seconds passed.

"Zzz..."

He snored into sleep.

*

The homepage was hotter than usual.

War talk dominated.

Players who'd received primary rewards posted them, sparking massive buzz.

Naturally, Mu-hyuk chatter and +10 weapon hype dipped.

Mu-hyuk mentions popped up sporadically.

In that lull, an unexpected video bombshell dropped.