The Siege of Pernazie
I'd taken everything worth taking from the 51st floor.
I was about to climb to the next level when a message flashed before my eyes.
Master, could you step outside for a moment?
It was from Thomas Miller, the guild’s analyst. The message cost a thousand CP to send. Guild members could exchange them even outside the Tower, but the price was steep enough to make anyone think twice.
Curious, I logged out of the Tower. Consecutive missions didn’t deduct daily attempts anyway.
The moment I left the room, Thomas bowed deeply at the waist.
“I’m sorry for summoning you so suddenly.”
“What’s going on?”
“Players have been reaching out, Master. They want to run missions with you.”
I blinked, genuinely confused by what he meant. After a short silence, I finally forced the words out.
“Why?”
“I didn’t mention it before, but a peculiar rumor has been spreading lately.”
Thomas cleared his throat with a polite cough.
“The rumor says that while the mission difficulty rises when you participate, the rewards become outrageously good.”
“Oh. That one’s actually true.”
“I find it hard to believe. How is something like that even possible?”
“I made contracts with the constellations.”
“Good heavens. I’ve been active as a player for many years, yet I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Thomas Miller couldn’t hide his shock. Truth be told, it was new to me as well. Nothing like this had happened before or after my regression.
Still…
“It’s strange. The friends who ran missions with me didn’t seem to reap much benefit.”
I rubbed my chin as the realization hit. In every mission I’d dominated contribution with overwhelming power. People would do anything for better rewards.
“According to veterans, simply participating can yield more than five times the usual CP.”
A massive amount of CP. Item and catalyst rewards came with it too, apparently.
“They say even just surviving upgrades the quality of the rewards.”
“I wasn’t aware it extended that far.”
“There’s been talk among the guild members as well. You truly hadn’t heard?”
I shook my head. Even the usually chatty Jiyoung had kept quiet. She must have been trying to spare me the pressure.
“So these contacts are basically requests to form teams together.”
“Exactly. Prominent guilds from Europe and America have sent their love calls.”
Missions strengthened by the constellations’ interference. I hadn’t realized other players could ride the coattails of that power.
If I’d known, I would have focused on running them with guild members.
Actually… knowing my personality, I probably would have tried to monopolize the rewards anyway.
Love calls from multiple guilds. This could be turned to my advantage.
“Hold off on replying for now.”
“I’ll convey your decision.”
“Let’s think about how to use this. Analyst, share any ideas you have.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, while we’re on the subject—shall we take the kids and clear the 52nd floor?”
“An excellent idea. The guild members will be delighted.”
They say happiness grows when shared, after all.
“Nothing in this world is free.”
I smirked.
* * *
The Siege of Pernazie
The allied races, invaders from another world, have declared war to drive out the dimension’s rightful owners.
Pernazie is the last fortress of the native people.
Stop the enemy’s advance.
📍 Objective: Defend for 12 hours.
🎁 Sub Mission (1): Reinforce the turrets.
🎁 Sub Mission (2): Construct siege weapons.
🎁 Sub Mission (3): Conscript reinforcements.
🎁 Sub Mission (4): Summon a hero.
🎁 Sub Mission (5): Defeat reinforcements individually.
A massive wall rose a hundred meters from the ground—the stage of the 52nd floor, Fortress Pernazie. The battlements, reinforced by every kind of magic and blessing imaginable, wouldn’t show so much as a scratch against ordinary attacks. Tall magical turrets stood along the wall at regular intervals.
Players began to appear one by one. Some were guild members still stuck in Platinum, but most were randomly matched strangers.
“Wait, is that Yu Jinho?”
“No way. I heard the rumors, but he’s already running Platinum missions?”
“Guess the talk about our country’s rankings getting shaken up wasn’t nonsense after all.”
5-to-1 ratio. The entire world is within matching range on the 52nd floor.
Out of one hundred eighty people, thirty were randomly chosen for defense while the rest became attackers. The towering walls and magical turrets were clearly a balancing patch meant to offset the numerical disadvantage. Even so, the defenders were still at a clear disadvantage. If the mission followed the original history from another dimension, random team composition made it far from balanced.
Well then, dear constellations. What kind of dirty trick have you prepared this time?
Multiple constellations are intervening in the mission.
Attacker matching range expanded to every dimension.
A multi-dimensional hybrid player army has been selected as the attacking force.
Players belonging to the same team or guild as Player Yu Jinho are excluded and rematched to other missions.
Defense force adjusted to 6 members.
Three attacker sub-missions begin in a pre-cleared state.
Two interaction-based sub-missions have been automatically cancelled.
Cancelled: Conscript Reinforcements / Defeat Reinforcements Individually
“Is this your master’s handiwork?”
“I have no idea. I didn’t do it.”
Strictly speaking, it was the work of the constellations I’d contracted with. Ping Lei let out a long sigh.
“I thought we might have an easy run for once, but of course there was a scheme behind it.”
“Mister, so the rumor was real?”
I nodded at Enrique’s question.
“I formed contracts with the constellations.”
I briefly explained the agreements I’d made with Odin and the other god-kings, along with the S-rank constellations. When I finished, every guild member’s jaw dropped.
“Whoa. Our constellation barely says anything at all.”
“Master’s boldness is truly on another level.”
“Another chance to grow stronger. Good.”
“Mister, don’t call me next time.”
“I will follow the Guild Master’s orders.”
The reactions were varied, but everyone except Enrique seemed positive. If our schedules aligned, running the Tower together wouldn’t be a bad idea.
BOOM! BOOM!
The fortress gate shook violently.
“Has the attack already begun?”
I kicked lightly off the ground, and my vision expanded dramatically. With a single leap I landed atop the fifty-meter wall and scanned the area beyond the fortress.
“Insane.”
What stood below the walls wasn’t a mere one hundred eighty players. It was the elven invasion force that appeared in the 52nd floor’s sub-missions. These NPCs normally required several conditions to spawn, yet the constellations’ interference had apparently treated the mission as already cleared. They poured endlessly through the open dimensional gate.
The guild members who arrived a moment later gasped in horror.
“Master, is the 52nd floor mission normally like this?”
“Of course not.”
Roughly a hundred elves already stood beneath the wall, and their numbers kept swelling as more joined the assault. The core of the attacking force—the actual players—hadn’t even appeared yet.
Six against one hundred eighty. The numerical disadvantage was overwhelming, and the fact that our opponents were a multi-dimensional hybrid player army couldn’t be ignored.
“Still, I’m not about to sit on my hands.”
A sharp whistle cut through the air as something hurtled toward me—an elf’s arrow, infused with spirit power strong enough to pierce steel.
“That’s why they’re called pointy-eared bastards.”
I clicked my tongue and flicked my hand. I didn’t even need to summon the Metal Reflection Gauntlets.
Fortress Pernazie’s defensive magic has activated.
Projectile attack speed reduced by 70%.
The arrow had slowed so dramatically it was almost comical. I caught it lightly and snapped it in half.
“It’ll take a hundred years before something like this can hurt me. Then again, you elves do live a long time, so maybe it doesn’t matter.”
The elf who had fired the arrow twisted its face in rage. Quite impressive hearing, considering the distance. The elves attacking the gate noticed me as well and immediately redirected their assault.
A storm of arrows rained down. Lee Jiyoung’s Vibration Barrier rose to shield me. The multi-layered, reinforced shield easily deflected the elves’ attacks.
“Your skill at layering barriers has improved considerably.”
“Hehe. All thanks to you, Master.”
Jiyoung flashed a V-sign with her fingers.
“Master, the number of elves keeps increasing. We cannot open the gates. What should we do?”
“I know. I didn’t expect a war of attrition either.”
Sub-missions already cleared. The power I’d poured into strengthening Ark the Archlich and the Doom Knights on the 51st floor suddenly felt like child’s play. These were terrible conditions. Whichever constellation was responsible must have burned an enormous amount of divinity.
Who wanted to see me defeated this badly? Zeus, Set, Loki… there were too many possibilities to narrow it down.
The elven army quickly surpassed a thousand. Thanks to the fortress’s defensive magic, the power of their projectiles had dropped sharply, yet even a drizzle could soak clothes. Jiyoung’s barrier was slowly weakening.
“I’m fine, Master!”
“Don’t overdo it. We have to fight for a long time.”
Expending too much strength against an endlessly respawning elven army would be foolish. In a war of attrition, the smaller force was at a disadvantage.
A war of attrition, huh…
“I just had a goddamn brilliant idea.”
Nyx scolded me, but I couldn’t stop grinning. The undead predation that had been impossible before my regression had changed everything.
Which meant I could now do something like this.
Void Projection
Target: Essence of the Archlich Lord
Manifesting Legendary-grade essence. 200 Magic Power permanently consumed.
The manifested essence’s original owner is vastly stronger than the user. Level and stats will be adjusted downward.
Cooldown: 180 days.
Six months had passed since I manifested Lexy, so I could now materialize absorbed essences as living beings. I’d been wondering which essence to bring forth, and for a group battle—or a war of attrition—there was no better choice.
A skull rose from the elongated shadow, lifting its body.
“The Lord of Death pays respects to the great one.”