Chapter 68

Bam!

Dalton was sent flying through the air by Haze’s kick with enough force to make anyone watching choke on their own breath. Despite the brutal impact, Dalton didn’t seem fazed and struggled to get up as he stared at her, dazed.

“Director… What happened to you…?”

Haze had always looked younger than her age. She’d been training her body for most of her life, and as an aura ability user, she aged slowly. It wasn’t surprising that countless knights were smitten with her despite being well over forty years old.

However, even then…

This transformation was beyond anything they could have imagined.

She looks much younger.

It was almost unbelievable. It was said that only the Holy Empire’s priestess could perform similar miracles through her blessings, but even she required more than just three days to achieve such results.

“What…happened?” Count Silver Sword asked, his eyes ablaze with curiosity.

Haze responded, “I learned a new aura cultivation technique from Han. And then…I had an epiphany.”

“Ha! An epiphany? Are you joking with me right now? That kind of—”

Vwoooom!

In the blink of an eye, Haze drew his sword, emitting a red glow. The startled Count Silver Sword’s menacing scowl turned blank as he watched, shocking all the envoys present.

However, no one was more surprised than Hundred and his soldiers behind him.

“No way! A s-sword master after only three days of training?! Only Sungchul has ever reached Starting level before!”

Hearing Kougar mutter almost to himself, Haze smiled brightly and replied,

“This isn’t my first time learning swordsmanship. Haven’t you heard? When I was younger, I traveled across the continent for two years honing my skills.”

The soldiers stirred at his intimate nickname for Han Jae-yeon and his explanation. To those living in Starting, Han Jae-yeon’s status was akin to that of a deity. She was revered as the embodiment of divine energy, destined to bring order amidst chaos in the world. Naturally, Haze’s revelation came as a significant shock to the soldiers.

“Wh-what does he mean by that? Is this knight possibly one of the candidates for guild mistress?”

“He said ‘sword master’!”

“Haze…Haze Starlight. Yes, I’ve heard of her. There was much talk among nobles due to some issue involving Castle Lord Sungchul…”

“What? When did this happen?”

As Hundred observed the murmuring soldiers, he quietly reassessed the situation.

‘A sword master? And so suddenly?’

It was hard for him to believe. Even though Haze Starlight, known as the premier swordsman and the Knight of Resolution, was considered Chrome’s greatest swordsman, becoming a sword master seemed beyond her reach.

What was a sword master? For over a thousand years across the entire continent, not a single one had emerged. This meant that Haze Starlight, formerly known as Chrome’s greatest swordsman, could now be considered the best swordsman on the continent. In this era, even the warriors from the prestigious Martial Arts Alliance of the Ming Empire deemed sword energy as legendary lore.

I thought it strange that such a renowned swordsman didn’t display any sword energy… Could it be due to our difference in skill levels? Instead of a Starting Guild Master, we now have the second sword master from Chrome Kingdom.

Silver Sword was not alone in his confusion; Count Illyn, the representative of the Chrome Kingdom, seemed more wary than elated at Haze’s transformation.

“Did she become younger because her level increased?”

“What other reason could there be? It’s probably for the same reason why one of them never aged. Perhaps they were concealing their true abilities all along?”

“That doesn’t make sense! I’ve seen him multiple times! Common sense dictates—“

“My Lord.” Haze chuckled. “Still don’t get it? The world has already surpassed your narrow understanding of common sense.”

“…”

Count Silver Sword stared at Haze with bewilderment.

What’s going on here? Something has changed about her, but after only three days?

Haze was known among nobles as quite eccentric. Born to a noble family, she had defied their objections and taken up swordsmanship. When forced into a politically motivated marriage, she fled her clan for two years, wielding nothing but her blade. Each of these actions shook high society to its core, driven by her talent and willpower.

Despite all this, however, she remained a noble at heart. She fought for her house, the Marquis Starlight Family, and merely postponed fulfilling her duties rather than avoiding them altogether. Her appointment as captain of the royal knights despite being a woman demonstrated not only her exceptional skills with a sword but also her keen political acumen.

Despite not being particularly close to Countess Silver Sword, Haze had always treated her with utmost respect and courtesy, so it was shocking for him to embarrass her publicly like this.

What could have possibly happened between them?

But Haze paid no mind to Thane’s confusion as he strode past her toward the Chrome Kingdom envoys. These were the aides who assisted Countess Silver Sword, the head of the envoy.

“I’ve decided to stay with one guild for a while. Instead of joining just me, I’ve secured provisions including food supplies from the kingdom. They promised they’ll provide more than enough, so negotiate well.”

“…The marquis will be disappointed.”

“Do as I said.” With that, she headed back up to the castle.

Unlike when blocking their path earlier, soldiers now cleared the way for her.

“H-hail!”

“Oh my. No need to be so formal; I’m merely a guest here. By the way, your name is Kougar, right? Your energy felt quite impressive earlier.”

“My-my lady, I—”

The reaper army could only watch dumbfounded as Haze walked farther away from them.

A military force of thirty thousand soldiers began their march southward, consisting of ten thousand Players and twenty thousand regular troops.

The ratio is quite good.

After reaching Guild Level 7, the number of Players steadily increased. This was possible because I no longer needed to purchase class cards daily; every guild member could now buy one card per day.

One guild had already achieved level nine, unlocking access to Low-Rank Class Summon Cards (released at level 7), Low-Rank Pet Summon Cards (released at level 8), and Low-Rank Gatekeeper Summon Cards (released at level 9). Consequently, all 150 guild members were purchasing these summoning cards daily.

Initially, we amassed a mountain of Honor Coins from taxes and contributions levied on players. However, this reserve has dwindled significantly due to the continuous purchase of summoning cards and the nine Skill Books available after reaching level 6.

‘Ha. It is really frustrating.’

It was truly horrible. Millions of players were spending their honor coins like it was nothing? Whether it be real money or game currency, it took time to accumulate them, yet they could disappear in an instant.

The price for skill books showed no mercy, so one needed more Honor Coins. The daily attendance rewards and achievement rewards weren’t enough anymore.

‘We need to do guild content.’

Once he reached level 6, general grade guild raids became available, but he hadn’t tried any yet. Like all other content within Revenge, these guild raids couldn’t just be cleared easily.

[Summoning Key]

This item could be obtained through crafting. By consuming top-grade wood, iron, gemstone, cloth, leather (one each) along with 1 million gold, you had a chance at obtaining a Summoning Key ranging from Common to Legendary grade.

‘I already have mountains of high quality leather from previous synthesis attempts. I can get wood from Dryad’s Forest if I keep going down this path. The orcs drop iron, so that isn’t a problem… Ah, what about high quality cloth and gems? High quality gems spawn far away from here, and the arachnes, which dropped high quality cloth, were exterminated…’

As he was pondering these issues…

“It is quite a spectacle.” Haze wore a silk robe as she watched soldiers march out through the southern gate. She turned towards him with a complicated expression on her face, wondering what thoughts were running through his mind.

“To be honest, I wanted to train them more before sending them off. However, there is no reason to delay things any further.”

According to the scout’s report, the situation at the Balkan Orc Fortress was dire. The number of incoming ice elementals continued to increase, and the orc warriors were barely hanging on by a thread.

Suddenly, Haze spoke some peculiar words:

“…Ice golems are made entirely of ice, so blades have no effect on them. You need to chip away their bodies with blunt weapons and destroy the core located within their torsoes. They don’t tire easily despite sustaining damage, making it impossible for even a hundred ordinary soldiers to handle one.”

“…?” She maintained her wistful expression as she gazed down at the departing soldiers.

“As it sustains more injuries, its strength and speed increase. As a result, even the bravest knights often died in vain. The arrogant Marquis Schopf had his spine ripped out by a yeti.”

“Haze.” Despite my call, she continued to gaze blankly at the soldiers below. To be precise, it seemed like she was looking beyond them at something else.

“Whether they were greedy nobles with no competence, skilled and loyal knights or bureaucrats, or even the royal family ruling above them, everyone met their equal demise…”

“Haze!” I firmly called her name while grabbing her shoulder, bringing life back to her vacant eyes.

“Han.”

“Call me Jae-yeon. That’s actually my surname.”

“Yes, Jae-yeon.”

Haze pushed me onto the bed and climbed on top of me. It seemed more like she was seeking comfort rather than seduction.

“When I didn’t meet you, my runaway period wasn’t that long.”

Haze’s breath tickled my ear as her body pressed against mine. In this position…she began to tell a long story. The tale of how she ran away due to an unexpected arranged marriage. However, after being disappointed by the outside world, she returned home after one year. She spoke about the space splitting apart and monsters pouring out, the fierce battles fought, and how only Haze survived, reaching the realm of Completed Being amidst the crisis while everyone else from the Chrome Kingdom perished.

The prophecy of the priestess about the Savior, but the Savior didn’t appear. Then there was the story of sacrifices made to create an opportunity for people to go to ‘Woodland Paradise’.

‘This is…the story of Revenge.’

It wasn’t difficult to grasp the core of this story.

‘There is no Player.’

In MMORPG games, players weren’t special at all. In just one city, there were tens or even hundreds of NPCs, while thousands upon thousands of players swarmed hunting grounds. They were truly commonplace entities.

However, it was different with Players within scenarios.

‘It’s always been like this in games.’

The Player was the protagonist and naturally had to be special. The Player successfully completed numerous quests within the game, changing the landscape of the continent as a result.

‘Savior.’

That’s the term NPCs used for Players when progressing through main quests.

‘In essence, it is regression. Or more precisely, obtaining memories from another timeline. Indeed, no matter how well-suited my class might be, becoming a sword master overnight just by acquiring a Class Card seemed quite peculiar.’

“You’ve endured so much.”

”…”

As Haze hugged me tighter, I gently patted her back, lost in thought.

‘What exactly…is this world?’

Ardenia—the vast continent existing within my inner world—remained shrouded in mystery.

Why did such a thing exist within an ordinary person like me? Why was it based on Revenge, a pay-to-win game?

However, as I used this ability more and became more familiar with it, one thought dominated my mind:

‘It is full of holes.’

The stats for hit rate, critical chance, etc., were difficult to implement so they just didn’t exist. Millions of monsters and huge castles existed but not NPCs. Once you obtained a class, your name could be recognized, yet there was no player ID system for chatting due to its sloppiness. There were no new updates or events, leaving behind abandoned update boards and mailboxes. Monsters went beyond simply wandering around—they even engaged in siege warfare against each other. Legendary pets could be endlessly duplicated through recovery requests. And then there was Haze’s existence, possessing memories from another timeline.

‘It doesn’t make sense.’

At first, I thought this might be some kind of test or intermediate process. It seemed like something being carried out by a great game master or a transcendent entity. However, no matter how much I thought about it, it was strange.

‘Sun Thunderbird, Ice Queen… Even Kasim exists but not NPCs? If field monsters can be driven into dungeons, why isn’t Hit stat implemented?’

There was an unimaginable power coexisting with childish sloppiness. It had always been questionable, but now Haze’s words made me think differently. Hearing about these ‘Traces of Failure’, a sudden thought occurred to me.

‘This-this is just like…’

I patted Haze on the back while contemplating. Perhaps this world…

was an abandoned ‘failed project’. Or maybe it was a hastily crafted ‘imitation’ for practice purposes…