Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: A Land Without a Master (4)
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“Practice controlling mana?”
The twins asked in unison.
“That's right. To properly use unique abilities, traits, or skills, you first need to know how to handle mana well.”
“But I don't have anything like that yet. Min-ah got the power to control fire, but…”
Jo Min-woo grumbled with a sullen face.
Well, it's true that what Jo Min-woo needs right now is physical training.
Since he has to mainly utilize the Martial Frame trait.
But mana is a fundamental, essential power, no matter what weapon you wield or what type of attack you use.
That is, if you don't want to end up like Yang Gyu-hyeok, who was helplessly defeated by me because he couldn't control his high mana stat at all.
“It's good to get a head start.”
“She's right. You don't know what kind of power you'll get, so it's good to get used to it beforehand.”
With Jo Min-ah chiming in, Min-woo couldn't say anything more.
Though his eyes were still filled with dissatisfaction.
Should I take into account that he's still just a middle schooler?
…No, this world isn't lenient enough to indulge his whining.
Especially now, when the situation is presumed to be even more difficult than in the original game.
“What's this?”
“An item to help with your training.”
“Did you buy it, Oppa?”
“I did. So work hard.”
[A temporary master-disciple relationship is formed through the Testament.]
[Master–Kim Se-hyeon, Disciples–Jo Min-woo, Jo Min-ah]
When I used the Testament, a faint green line appeared between me and the twins.
As the distance increased, the line would grow transparent and then disappear.
This meant they had to train within the range where the line was maintained to receive the bonus.
“I'm going to use a little trick. It might be tough, but if you follow along well, I can guarantee the results. Min-woo, you might not be able to use any amazing abilities right away, but you'll definitely feel that moving your body has become much easier.”
After confirming the change in the twins' eyes, I smiled faintly.
They're ready to learn.
“Alright then, follow my instructions.”
***
Three hours into their training.
Min-ah and Min-woo were drenched in sweat but showed no signs of finding it difficult.
However, I, who was watching, could tell.
It had only been three hours, but their mana proficiency had increased considerably.
‘It's a trick that uses a sort of bug.’
The more you use a skill or power, the more invisible proficiency you accumulate.
The problem is the number of uses.
A person's mana pool isn't infinite.
With the twins' stats, they would normally be exhausted after about an hour of training at most, unable to use their powers any longer.
But using this trick changes things.
‘Instead of using the skill, you stop while in a state of concentration.’
For example, if there's a skill called Fireball that shoots a ball of fire.
You create the fireball in your hand, and then, without throwing it, you stop and 'maintain' it so it doesn't disappear.
The system recognizes this as continuously using the skill.
And yet, the mana consumed is far less than if you were to use it completely.
That's not all.
The interval at which maintaining a skill is recognized as a 'use' is quite short.
If it takes 3 seconds to fully use a skill twice, that counts as two uses.
On the other hand, if you use it once and then maintain it, it's recognized as one use every 0.5 seconds.
In other words, in the same 3 seconds, using the maintenance method counts as six uses.
You can gain much more proficiency in the same amount of time, and since the mana consumption is lower, you can focus on training for longer.
Using this method, the efficiency of the Testament could be pushed to its absolute limit.
“If you run out of mana, drink the potion there.”
“…Hyung. We have to do this all day, right? I feel like an animal being fed just to keep working.”
“You don't want to get stronger?”
“That's not it!”
Jo Min-woo answered immediately.
This kid.
I chuckled and gestured with my chin.
“Then do it. Those mana potions are 600 coins each. You don't have enough coins to buy them yourselves.”
“Ugh, fine.”
“By the way, Oppa, how are you so good at controlling it? It's like you knew how from the very beginning.”
“Because I've been training in my spare time.”
It's true that I trained.
It's just that my starting point was different.
I'm someone who played the game hundreds of times.
Since I remembered every single description of how to handle mana in the game, putting it into practice wasn't as hard as one might think.
And my high mana stat made it easier to feel.
I looked away from the twins, who had refocused on their training, and turned my head forward.
“…Another soldier-class.”
Shhhh.
I clicked my tongue and dismissed the soldier I had summoned with Army of Darkness.
I keep trying, but there's no sign of a knight-class, the rank above it, appearing.
I've been testing how often higher-tier entities appear when using this power in actual combat, but the result is that it's hopeless with my current mana stat.
Thanks to my considerably high mana stat, my body doesn't get tired, but I'm mentally exhausted.
I decided to stop for the day, told the twins to keep up the hard work, and moved away.
***
[Ruler]
You are currently the ruler of the North.
You possess the Silver-White Crown.
You gain a stat bonus when fighting within your territory.
You can collect taxes at a set time each day. (Currently set time: X)
Seoul is broadly divided into five regions.
With Yongsan as the center, it's divided into East, West, South, and North.
The northern part of that was right here, the Seoul City Hall area.
‘Silver-white.’
A silver crown, not a bronze one like Yang Gyu-hyeok's.
It seemed the combined scale of the survivors from Dongdaemun and those remaining at Seoul City Hall had exceeded the threshold.
‘I expected this, but it's not gold, huh.’
Gold requires a considerable scale.
That's why the only places where a gold crown is possible are the five designated 'major strongholds.'
One of which was the Seoul City Hall area, which governed the North.
The fact that it didn't turn gold meant the number of remaining people was significantly lower than in the original game.
I brought up the topic with the man acting as my secretary beside me.
“There aren't as many survivors here as I thought.”
“That's because the previous ruler, Yoo Seong-hoon, took his followers with him when he left. The people who remain are those who couldn't bring themselves to follow a man who had already abandoned us once.”
So that's how it is. He didn't just leave empty-handed.
He must have taken quite a few people with him by subtly suggesting that following him meant safety, while staying here meant danger.
If he led a large group to Yongsan, the 'center,' it would naturally be gold.
The center was a place where frequent battles broke out as everyone tried to become the ruler, so if Yoo Seong-hoon went there under those circumstances, he would have easily devoured the center and become its ruler.
‘For now, it would be best for me to make my crown gold as well.’
The difference between silver and gold is huge.
A difference in the group's size means a difference in the taxes collected.
The other rulers of the five major strongholds have probably already maxed out their stats and still have enough coins left over to have significantly raised their skill ranks.
On top of that, the 'stat increase within one's territory' effect, one of the ruler's traits, varies quite a bit depending on the color.
A laugh suddenly escaped me.
Unlike in the game where I struggled with stat caps, aren't I overwhelmingly stronger than the other rulers now, even without any of the bonuses from the ruler trait?
It seems like I could just raid and clean up each region by myself without waiting for the situation to develop.
‘No.’
I calmed the excitement that had momentarily surged within me.
I have to follow the path I know.
There's no need to create variables for myself by trying something different when all I have to do is drive a luxury car down a well-paved road.
Why would I drive a luxury car through a rugged mountain after going through the trouble of getting one?
The time will come on its own.
All I had to do was prepare properly, and that would be enough.
Minor details can change, but I won't change the grand scheme.
Reminding myself of that point, I examined the effects of 'Playable Character.'
[1. Lee Seon-yul]
[2. Kim Ji-hyeon]
[3. Han Hyeok-jun]
[4. Jeon Do-jin](Cannot be selected)
Jeon Do-jin's name was grayed out, making it completely unselectable.
The skill itself has a 7-day cooldown. Selecting the same character has a 30-day cooldown.
Since I can't select anyone during the skill's cooldown anyway, the actual cooldown for each character was effectively 23 days.
‘It said it would analyze my past play data.’
This list of options could be seen as a result of analyzing my tracks after reality changed.
In other words, I can't use it on a character I know of but have never met.
Hwang Chan-jin not appearing is for one of two reasons.
Either characters who didn't appear in the original game aren't listed, or it's because I don't properly know how the target uses their power and what methods they employ.
I can't be sure which it is.
“So.”
After closing all the system windows, I looked around the room and spoke.
“Why is everyone gathered here?”
“What's the big deal? Nothing else to do, so why not be here?”
“Hmm. That's true. There's not much to do.”
Cha Eun-ha and Jeon Do-jin said, each sprawled out on a sofa.
The master and disciple are two of a kind.
I turned my gaze elsewhere.
A little ways off, Jeong Ha-yeon was standing quietly.
“We… what's going to happen to this world?”
Jeong Ha-yeon suddenly murmured.
At her words, the smile slowly faded from Cha Eun-ha's face as well.
“After all this happened, I realized just how precious a normal life was.”
“You never know how precious something is when you take it for granted.”
“I've heard that a lot.”
A sad smile appeared on Jeong Ha-yeon's face.
“Will we… be able to return to our daily lives?”
No one could speak.
The 100 existing endings. No, 101.
Among them, excluding the 00th ending I reached and the 100th ending I now presume I must reach, all of them result in either my own death or the world's destruction.
Even the 00th ending, as I'm experiencing now, doesn't feel like anything was resolved.
If. By any chance.
If I were to reach the 00th ending again.
‘There's a chance I'll return to the very beginning again.’
A throbbing pain started in my head.
What's certain is that the 00th ending isn't a happy ending either.
The 100th ending may be the true ending, but I can't say for sure that it's a happy one.
Because it was never called a happy ending.
‘Was it Chapter 49 when I reached the 00th ending?’
If so, that means I have to get to at least Chapter 49 to reach the true ending.
In reality, Chapter 5 is just about to begin.
It was a long, long way off.
I shifted my gaze out the window.
In the nearby courtyard, I could see the twins still engrossed in their training.
Vwooom.
Suddenly, the crystal sphere on the desk vibrated, breaking the silence.
It was the communication item Kim Ji-hyeon had given me before she left.
With the communication network down, this was practically the only means of contact.
-Reception is good. Kim Se-hyeon-nim. Can you hear me?
“Yes. No static either. It's been a while.”
-I know. It's only been a few days, but it feels like it's been ages.
Lee Seon-yul's voice flowed from the crystal sphere.
Perhaps because it was the voice of an acquaintance she hadn't heard in a while, Jeong Ha-yeon's face brightened considerably.
Lee Seon-yul had moved east with Go Yeong-jun and Jeong Su-ji, following Nam Sang-jin.
This was likely a report on the situation there.
“So, what's this about?”
-I'm contacting you to share some information I've found. I also confirmed what you asked for, Se-hyeon-nim. I couldn't believe it, but your guess was correct.
“…Then.”
-Yes.
Lee Seon-yul cleared his throat and then lowered his voice.
-I've confirmed that the person leading the East is someone called the 'Strategy King.'