Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Grotesque Calamity (4)
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Right after the calamity was dealt with, the resonance of the Territory Stone ceased, and Lartania Territory burst into a festive mood.
The people, who had been drowned in despair, felt a wave of relief.
The territory residents, without anyone needing to start the conversation first, all began chanting Kim Hyunwoo's name in unison, rejoicing that their homes hadn't been destroyed.
And their admiration for Kim Hyunwoo only grew even more when he returned with the soldiers.
"It was insanely huge, I tell you—the calamity lived up to its name!"
"Yeah? How huge are we talking?"
"Before it vanished, we soldiers were so curious we surrounded one of its legs, and it took fifteen of us just to encircle it...!"
"Fifteen!? Just for one leg?"
"That's right."
"So you're saying you guys took down that monstrous calamity?"
"If we hadn't, would we be standing here right now?"
The over two hundred soldiers Kim Hyunwoo had led out returned without a single casualty, and as they gathered in groups of twos and threes in the square and at taverns everywhere, sharing their tales, the excitement reached its peak.
"But of course, we could defeat the calamity thanks to the Lord. Without him, we wouldn't have stopped it—we'd have been crushed flat and died for sure."
"That serious, huh?"
To Hans, a resident who had been agonizing over survival just the day before, the soldier replied.
"Obviously! Everything went exactly as the Lord predicted. The thing falling into the pit our residents dug, and even when it tried to climb out—pulling on the ropes with just the strength of a hundred men was enough to keep it from escaping."
"The Lord is just—"
"It was uncanny. And on top of that, who could've thought to overdrive the engine in the processing plant and turn it into a bomb?"
"From what I know, even building an engine is one thing, but weaponizing it like that requires insane expertise in magitech. For real?"
"That's what I heard too."
"When you put it like that, the Lord really is incredible. There's nothing he can't do...!"
"He's absolutely worthy of respect. He even sighed in relief that none of the soldiers were hurt."
The soldier nodded with a chest-swelling expression, as if just thinking about it filled him with emotion.
And the more the soldiers unpacked their stories, the higher Kim Hyunwoo's stature soared toward the heavens.
"Lady Elena was amazing too—she completely shredded that massive calamity's jaws with just two hand axes."
"No way... that's insane!"
"Seeing that, you really have to wonder why she ever got stuck with that ridiculous nickname 'Flunk-Out Hero.'"
"Tch, tch. Probably some mercenaries jealous of her."
"Honestly, I think you're right. How could someone who pulls off feats like that be a flunk-out?"
Elena, who had shone second only to Kim Hyunwoo in this calamity, was likewise basking in the residents' praise.
"..."
Elena, walking around and overhearing the residents' voices, suddenly recalled the moment from earlier.
As she faced the oncoming calamity, right up to the very last second, questioning if this was truly the right call—she had heard the Lord's words.
'It'll work for sure, so trust me just this once.'
Thanks to Kim Hyunwoo's rock-solid confidence, utterly free of doubt or anxiety, she had charged at the calamity she thought utterly unbeatable and swung her axes. And they had felled it.
"No matter how I think about it, that 'Flunk-Out Hero' nonsense has gotta be a rumor."
"Obviously."
Elena turned her gaze to the residents chatting about her.
The vicious nickname that had dogged her for years was vanishing as if it had never mattered, and every one of them was praising the Lord and her alike.
"..."
The whole scene felt unfamiliar to Elena, yet deeply joyful.
What she had always wanted was to become a great hero, respected and revered by all.
That aspiration, buried quietly in a corner of her mind after being crushed by reality and her own talents.
But now...
'Lord.'
If it's with that man...
'If we're together, can we reach it?'
Her eyes, filled with longing, lingered briefly on the Lord's castle where Kim Hyunwoo was.
Meanwhile, back in Lartania Territory, Kim Hyunwoo flopped straight into his office chair, still feeling his heart racing as he thought.
'That was way too close.'
Of course, his life had never truly been in danger, not once.
Yet he thought that because the calamity he'd seen in real life was overwhelmingly larger than what he'd seen in the mobile game.
'I legit thought it was a moving apartment building...'
Recalling the moment, Kim Hyunwoo shook his head unwittingly, but soon a smile crept onto his lips.
In the end, no matter how it happened, he had succeeded in slaying the calamity—and reaped a massive haul of rewards.
Grinning ear to ear, Kim Hyunwoo gazed at the notification window.
Kim Hyunwoo beamed at the cascade of reward windows scrolling below.
Above all else, the 8,000 Red Stones filled his heart with abundance.
For Kim Hyunwoo, who could no longer drop cash, Red Stones—the cash currency—were crucially important.
And not just that; the materials from Magdora popping up one after another were all top-tier stuff for crafting powerful armor or weapons.
In other words, after stars, he could now kit out combat-affecting armor and weapon sets. Kim Hyunwoo wore a satisfied smile.
But what pleased him most of all was...
[View More Upgrade Troops]
-Basic Equipment-
Head: Helmet.
Body: Light Armor.
Waist: Leather Belt.
Legs: Reinforced Leather Greaves.
Armament: Iron Spear. Sub-Armament: None
※ Some soldiers' armaments are not yet complete.
The soldiers' stagnant proficiency had skyrocketed from slaying the calamity, allowing most to upgrade to advanced troop types.
※ The hero feels trust toward you.
Elena's stats had shot up steeply—so much that for a 2-star, it was practically overleveled.
'At this rate, even if I don't go down to layer 3 with her, just making her some weapons and armor should let Elena clear it solo.'
With that in mind, Kim Hyunwoo also reflected.
'Still, pity about the processing plant, but using its engine was the right call.'
He recalled the engine used to finish Magdora.
Of course, turning the engine into a bomb wasn't a tactic from the game.
Arteil was a real-time strategy game with high freedom, including terrain use, but you couldn't bring unapproved items into battle.
Yet Kim Hyunwoo had thought of the engine because he knew its destructive power well.
There was an event in Arteil where misinputting magic stone counts into an engine blew up the processing plant.
Kim Hyunwoo had shed bloody tears a few times from that mistake, so he chose the engine as the calamity's final blow.
The result? A clean kill on Magdora. Sure, the plant needed repairs, but he was satisfied.
And the day after repelling the calamity...
As news of Lartania's victory reached Norba Kingdom...
While Kim Hyunwoo pondered Magdora's materials...
★★★★ Hero 'Loriell, Kalan's Five Swords' has entered the territory.
※Caution: Hero from another territory.
"?"
A hero from Kalan had arrived in Lartania Territory.
The hero, offering a polite greeting, came straight to Kim Hyunwoo.
"...Greetings, Lord. I am Loriell, Kalan's Five Swords."
"Ah, uh... sure."
Staring at the sudden 4.5-star hero with a bewildered expression, Kim Hyunwoo listened as she continued.
"Truth be told, the reason for my visit is to express our regrets over what happened in Sertova and Harancia Territories. Though they weren't formally granted titles by Kalan Kingdom, they were under our affiliation."
Loriell bowed briefly for that reason, then pulled a pouch from her bosom and handed it over.
"This is...?"
"Even if they lacked formal status, they were still within our sphere of influence, and it was wrong for them to offend another territory. Please consider this a modest token of apology."
A brief exchange followed her words.
And at one point...
"...By the way, may I ask one thing?"
"What is it?"
"I've heard there was once someone called the Absolute Ruler of Darkness in Lartania Territory—is that true?"
Loriell had gotten to the real point of her visit.