Chapter 16

“Nothing special.”

“You bastard!”

We clashed again. The sword and axe met while the two-headed wolf tried to bite me. However, it was useless. My strength exceeded that of humans, my agility had been corrected, and my attack speed accelerated. These weren’t just stat increases for me. Until now, my physical abilities were far behind my combat senses but they finally found their rightful place. It felt like having a complete body after living with one arm and leg missing all my life!

The Sword of Beginnings cut through Hamlon’s left arm without triggering a fatal blow notification, as it wasn’t a critical area. Nonetheless, losing an arm during battle is undeniably devastating. For our fight, it signified its imminent end.

“Hu-man…”

“Yes, Oo-kya!”

Clang!

Crack!

The moment they clashed again, Hamlon’s starting sword broke in half due to the rough battle. It was originally a much stronger weapon than the axe held by the high-grade monster, which had been reinforced six times. However, the disaster occurred because the axe wielder used Inner Force protection unlike Hamlon who relied solely on strength.

At this sight, despair turned to joy in Hamlon’s eyes. I threw the remaining half of his starting sword towards him.

Klang!

Hamlon swung his axe and deflected it away.

“Kuhaa! Human! You can’t even guard your weapons properly-!”

Puck!

[Fatal Blow!]

I took out a Bone Long Sword (General) from my inventory and pierced it through his neck.

“Grrk… Y-you…!” Despite having his throat impaled, Hamlon struggled as much as he could. He tried to swing his axe and drive the two-headed wolf forward aggressively.

I could feel his intense murderous intent… but it was impossible for him to succeed now when he had failed even at full strength.

Thud!

Finally, Hamlon fell, and I killed the two-headed wolf carrying him as well. There was no level up. Although orc berserkers, being rare monsters, provided exponentially more experience points than regular orcs, the required experience for leveling up also increased dramatically once you surpassed a certain threshold.

“The leader!”

“You human scum!”

With Hamlon defeated, the remaining orc warriors charged me, but they were easier to take down. High-level monsters were no match for me now.

“We won…sir. Phew… Even just standing behind you is exhausting.” As Stonestone panted heavily, I approached him and checked on his condition.

“You’re seeing something strange in your field of view, right?”

“Yes, Lordship. There is a circular belt around my field of view…” Stonestone gestured while explaining what he saw.

‘Indeed, the interface is based on virtual reality.’

Revenge was a cross-play game that could be played via mobile or PC, as well as through access devices. Unlike me, who had different views depending on whether I accessed it with a mobile phone, PC or access device, others seemed to have a fixed virtual reality standard.

“Rather than this, we should look at the dropped items.” I moved and started farming equipment scattered everywhere.

Orc Warrior’s Sword (Advanced) Orc Power Gauntlet (Advanced) Weapon Enforcement Scroll Defensive Equipment Enforcement Scroll Orc Axe (General) Orc Clan Seal (For Sale) Iron

Healing Potion

“Wow, two high-grade items.”

I laughed as I put the items into my inventory. Normally, no high-grade items dropped from these damn orcs, so it was lucky to get two at once. Finally, there were the items dropped by the orc berserkers:

Runestone Earrings (High Grade)

“Ah, no rare item after all.”

The drop table of the rare monster ‘orc berserker’ contained many rare grade items but just because they were on the drop table didn’t mean they would always drop. As mentioned numerous times before, Revenge was a game where world messages appeared whenever a rare item was obtained.

“Well anyway.”

Immediately, I took out the Accessory Enforcement Scroll from my inventory. It was something received as feed.

[The runestone earrings (high grade) reinforcement has succeeded!]

[The runestone earrings (high grade) reinforcement has succeeded!]

[Runestone Earrings (Advanced) enforcement…]

In an instant, the runestone earrings became Runestone Earrings +6. I put them on my ears. Due to the effect of the earrings, my health increased by 2 (+3) points and mana by 2 (+3) points. The performance felt better than the initial set which had no stat bonuses at all.

“Ah, right. The starting sword.”

I picked up the half-broken sword lying on the ground. Ridiculously, the durability of Starting Sword (Advanced)+6 was 8/17.

“The sword is broken in half but why does it have so much durability left?”

Apparently, this too seemed like an error arising from the game’s integration with reality, but there was another issue.

“I can’t repair it here.”

In Revenge, I could simply entrust repairs to a blacksmith NPC, but that wasn’t possible in this place. There were immediate repair items available, but they required cash.

In the end, I threw the broken starting sword into the air. Of course, it wasn’t discarded.

[The Sword of Beginnings (Advanced)+6 has been registered to the collection.]

Both halves disappeared from this world as if they were erased,

[Beginner Adventurer’s Equipment: Maximum Carrying Weight +5 kilograms]

[1/6 Registered]

‘My main weapon is gone.’

However, there was no problem.

[Orc Warrior’s Sword (Advanced)]

Weapon Damage +12

Strength +1, Stamina +1, Critical Hit Chance +10%

Material: Iron

Weight: 2.7 kilograms

I used the Weapon Strengthening Scroll to strengthen Orc Warrior’s Sword up to Lv. 6. The Orc Warrior’s Sword had a weapon damage of +12 (+6), strength bonus +1 (+3), and stamina +1 (+3).

From level 7 onwards, the reinforcement effect increased but I didn’t attempt it due to the probability of equipment breaking (50%). The Weapon Reinforcement Scroll and Defense Reinforcement Scroll could be obtained as feed or purchased with gold (up to 10 per character), so I had plenty of them. However, this wasn’t the case for high-grade equipment.

“Ah! It succeeded!” Stonestone, who was sitting on a rock and ignoring his shattered heater shield, showed a bright smile.

“You gained stats?”

“Yes, Lordship. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought. Out of my 30 free points, I invested 10 points into strength and 20 points into stamina.”

In this battle, Stonestone became level 23.

‘I gave quite a lot…but he is greatly favoured.’

I sighed with disappointment, but there was nothing I could do about it. Without Diva’s Favor, he couldn’t receive the 700% experience bonus, making his progression inherently slower.

“By the way, what are all these things? Skills, stats, levels… It seems like you already have some knowledge about them, Lordship.”

His questions were natural and expected. However, explaining everything to him truthfully would be challenging.

‘It will be difficult for him to grasp the concept of a game.’

Despite the complexity, I quickly made my decision. After all, numerous game-like elements had become part of our reality now. Most importantly, the deity of District 34 is the magnificent Game Master himself. Living within the realm governed by the Game Master, crafting an explanation wouldn’t be too arduous for me.

“This is quid pro quo.”

”…Pardon?”

Seeing Stonestone’s confusion at my unexpected response, I proceeded to explain.

“A dungeon appeared within our territory, and these orcs started emerging from it. However, this isn’t unique to our land alone. Similar occurrences have likely happened near every dragon’s vein across the continent.”

Despite being forced to abandon their territories due to the overwhelming orc threat…in reality, orcs aren’t exceptionally strong monsters.

Monsters are categorized as: Common, Advanced, Rare, Hero, Legendary, Mythical. Even advanced orcs fall under the mid-to-low tier, making them formidable only on the fringes of civilization. According to information obtained from the Revenge game website, as one moves towards the center of the checkerboard-like continent, the monster rankings significantly increase.

‘As human power also increases and prospers towards the center of the continent…’

However, it wasn’t enough to cope with high-level monsters. Perhaps all the great powers located at the center of the continent had faced extinction or been torn apart.

“We will lose the dragon’s vein, humanity’s last stronghold… The chaotic era will begin. Maybe all of humanity will stand on the brink of destruction.”

“Yes. But there isn’t only despair.” I gave a common cliché story.

Why don’t such stories exist? One day, gates suddenly opened and monsters poured out. When humanity was facing extinction, individuals with special powers appeared.

It was a cliché trope to the point of being tiresome, but there’s usually a reason why certain tropes become clichés.

“I don’t fully understand this power myself. I’ve just figured out how to harness it. But I believe it is humanity’s compensation for dungeons and magic beasts.”

“Compensation…” Stonestone solemnly gazed at the fallen wolf-type magic beasts.

Just then…

[Altein has acquired Heavy Bow EX (Rare) from Gorgor Plains!]

“Gorgor Plains… That’s within the Holy Empire, isn’t it?”

“Yes. And Altein is also a familiar name.”

“That’s right. He’s the commander of the Golden Lion Order.”

“The imperial knights.”

“Yes, that’s one of my job titles as well.”

While there were jobs unique to this world like musketeer and cannoneer, some traditional professions also existed here. Imperial knights fell under that category.

Speaking of luck, I can’t believe I’m already getting rare items.

How was it possible when others without Diva’s Favor had such low drop rates? Were there more cases like mine scattered throughout Ardenia?

Upon further thought, though, I realized that wasn’t necessarily true.

I just need to kill enough monsters.

It wasn’t mandatory for hunters to have specific levels or classes to defeat dungeon-born creatures. For example, even before acquiring my class, I managed to slay an orc berserker.

Unlike the borderlands, where it was difficult to increase their population due to proximity issues with dragon and spirit veins, empires located at the center of the continent had successfully exterminated magic beasts and claimed all lands as human territory.

The Ming Empire boasted a million-strong army. The Holy Empire fielded its White Knights. And the Crystal Alliance had its elite Rangers. Although Ardenia was considered low-power fantasy, humans here still managed to amass power and influence. It would be unwise to underestimate them just because there were no true superpowers. Unlike my territory, these nations possessed formidable armies actively engaged in war against monsters.

In such large-scale battles resulting in tens or even hundreds of thousands of casualties, it wouldn’t be surprising for rare items to drop amidst the chaos.

“Kreeeee!” The thunderous roar caused Stonestone to jump up abruptly.

“That sound…!”

“It’s insane! Why is the Great Wolf near the dragon’s vein?”

Everyone living in Bronze Sword Territory knew this entity well—the ruler of the Killian Mountains and master of the Triangles, the Great Wolf Akalan, named after the heavenly demon that required an entire army just to confront one.

“But…doesn’t its howl sound somewhat strange?” As if responding to my words, we heard Akalan’s cry again.

“Woof!”

The barking-like howl came from beyond the hill. We exchanged glances before hastily climbing it.

And then I saw it.

“Stop!”

Shhhk!

With one swing of my sword, several trees were sliced like twigs. The Great Wolf survived due to its sturdy hide, but not without sustaining damage.

“Gyaaah!” Its skin was torn, and clumps of fur flew away in the wind. After tumbling several times from the impact, the Great Wolf struggled to get up before fleeing without looking back.

“You stubborn fool! I tried! To be friends! With you!”

An orc chased after it relentlessly.

“This can’t be happening. A Great Wolf…”

Next to the bewildered Stonestone, I gritted my teeth.

Vulcan Orc Grand Marshal (Hero)

Khan Slash

“Well, damn.” The curse slipped out involuntarily.

“A Sword Master, you say?”

A fully accomplished Inner Force user, rare even on Earth, someone who could enter the military as a lieutenant colonel right away, stood before me.

“What? A Sword Master? Lordship, that term is only found in legends,” Stonestone agreed with a nod.

“Yes, but Stonestone, we must adapt quickly, no matter how challenging it may be.”

I turned away from watching the Great Wolf fleeing and the Sword Master pursuing him.

“For now, these legends and myths define our world where we must survive.”