Chapter 79

I leaped forward.

Boom!

I shot off at quite a decent speed, but unfortunately, the distance was too great. My strength stat could be considered monstrous, yet I’m still just a human walking on land. If I exerted it too forcefully, my body would float into the air, thus limiting my maximum velocity.

If only I could use Inner Force alongside footwork…

Just as I lamented this fact…

[The silence debuff has been removed!]

[19:59]

Bam!

An idea suddenly popped into my head as I rolled to avoid gunfire and hid amidst piles of supplies. There, I attempted to manipulate my Inner Force. For the first time ever, I felt it surge powerfully within me.

I moved it… Damn.

My momentarily freed Inner Force hardened like stone again. It seemed the mana-nullifying effect was continuously being applied.

However, it wasn’t entirely disappointing.

‘It is released for about five seconds.’

And that was enough.

“Login.”

I returned to Ardenia and checked the dropped items, classified them, and confirmed the damage situation. There were 217 dead and over 500 injured. The initial attack caused tremendous damage, likely due to a significant amount of power being invested. It was particularly painful as many of them were elite soldiers with classes.

“Now I have to properly watch the sky. Mana turrets can also attack from the air.”

After roughly organizing the situation, I rested for 19 minutes and 50 seconds. In the first round, the skill was charged, but I almost didn’t realize that abnormal state removal could invalidate mana.

“Logout.”

I returned to Earth and immediately ran towards the green bear.

Boom!

The flamethrower spewed fire again. I didn’t avoid it.

[Moonlight Defense!]

I advanced through the explosion before landing on the ground.

Stomp!

Feeling my right foot sink into the unique black surface of the Dreamworld, I raised the great sword with monstrous strength. It was enough power to hit a home run even if a military vehicle flew like a baseball towards me!

[T-this monster…]

However, the green bear’s barrier blocked the tip of the sword.

Wooong!

As the swung sword collided with the barrier, the concentrated physical force was neutralized and my body rebounded backward.

Bump! Bump! Stomp!

“Tsk.”

My insides rang as I lifted my head. Fortunately, there was an outer wall behind me.

Crash!

I burst through the wall like a missile. As the distance significantly decreased in an instant, the green bear once again covered his entire body with a barrier.

[H-Hahaha! Stupid guy! No matter how monstrous your strength is, you can’t break through my barrier!] It was true. Physical force was a one-dimensional subordinate energy, making it difficult to destroy a barrier unless it exceeded a certain threshold.

‘Kiranks don’t use barriers but swamp masters do? Well, they also used abilities.’

Of course, this didn’t matter right now. As I listened to its blabbering, I just counted time.

‘T-h-i-r-t-y…’

[The silence status has been released!]

In an instant, I felt the constraints of mana being lifted and poured all my power into Inner Force. The energy roughly drawn from the dantian circulated around my body before bursting forth.

First Move of Momentary Skill: One Sword Momentum.

The thrust pierced through the barrier, penetrated the glove and stabbed deep into the pilot’s seat. Of course, the monster didn’t just stand there passively.

Puk! Puk!

Like scissors, two waves flew from either side and struck my body. The attack aimed for my neck was blocked by my shoulder, causing half of my right arm to be severed while the strike at my abdomen pierced through, disturbing my internal organs. There was nothing I could do since it happened simultaneously with my attack. Logging in and out were mostly unrestricted abilities but required time to speak aloud.

I whispered without moving my lips, as if using ventriloquism:

“Log in.”

Chaak!

“Eek! Sungchul!”

“Jae-yeon?”

As blood poured from my body, Flower and Haze, who were treating soldiers nearby, reacted first. Haze supported me while Flower’s Heal spell was cast over me. Despite being seriously wounded, I recovered quickly. It wasn’t due to Flower’s powerful Heal but rather because of the legendary Songpyeon’s effect, which boosted my recovery ability beyond that of a troll.

“Sigh…”

This time, I took ample rest. I drank potions and ate some jerky. Stonestone approached after reorganizing his forces somewhat.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes. Just consider it backlash from using a power.”

It was just an excuse, yet the mood among my minions turned somber.

‘Oh, was that a strange explanation?’

However, I couldn’t explain logging in and out to them, so there was nothing else for it. The soldiers had arranged a bedroom for me within one of the relatively intact houses nearby. Inside, items were piled up on one side of the room. Amongst these, I grabbed the item boasting the largest presence: Ice Queen’s Merit Box(Legendary).

Flash!

[Acquired Frozen Field(Hero), Frozen Blade Recipe(Hero), Cold Scarf(Rare) and 4,500 Honor Coins!]

I couldn’t help but exclaim aloud.

“Wait, this is a legendary box yet no legendary items?”

Of course, rarity depended on probability, but considering I’d soloed almost all of the raid, how could the highest rarity be only hero grade? My contribution percentage must have been over fifty percent!

Despite my disbelief, it wasn’t entirely hopeless. There were other items apart from the contribution reward chest.

Ice Queen’s Pride (Legendary)

Defense +16

Intelligence +30

Mana Recovery +30

Magic Hit Rate +5

Cold Attribute Amplification +10%

Material: Snow Mithril (Light)

“Wow. Look at those stats…”

The only legendary item was mage apparel. With its cold attribute amplification, it would be a coveted item for frost mages. However, it was useless to me. If it had been a crafting recipe instead of the finished product, I could’ve chosen something else. Obviously, there was no way I could wear this attire. Having invested everything into strength, why would I switch to light clothing now?

Not that I can give it to Smile either.

After some deliberation, I decided to store them for now. Next came the skill books like Extreme Night (Hero) and Ice Spear (Hero), which were similar cases. On the other hand, recipes such as Frozen Armor Recipe (Hero) or items like Frost Scarf (Rare) and Cold Protection Ring (Rare) seemed immediately usable.

“Well… considering it was a special raid, the rewards aren’t bad.”

Unlike dungeon bosses that could be encountered dozens of times daily through repeated dungeon runs, raid monsters represented a limited resource. This scarcity had nothing to do with their strength compared to field bosses.

‘It’s because you have to compete against other players who also want to hunt these field raid monsters.’

Naturally, the rewards had to be substantial. Otherwise, why would guilds risk massive losses and go to war with one another? Teleporting soldiers for revives or moving them to hunting grounds consumed diamonds each time.

In conclusion, Ardenia, devoid of competition…might actually be more advantageous for farming items than Revenge.

“But it’s too risky to keep killing the Ice Queen solely for loot.”

The Ice Queen here was nothing like a raid boss in a video game that repeatedly spawned just to get killed off. From her ice bombardment alone, it was clear she could adapt and devise new strategies. jae-yeon couldn’t put his soldiers at risk knowing they wouldn’t respawn if they died, unlike characters in a game.

I wonder how long it takes for special bosses to respawn…

I couldn’t be certain, but it was clear that Ardenia’s respawn time differed significantly from game systems. Unlike regular monsters with a six-hour respawn time, high-level monsters took a full day to respawn, and rare monsters required a week. Based on this pattern, I anticipated that it would take at least a month for a legendary monster like the Ice Queen to respawn.

‘Then…we’ll attack before she regenerates.’

In truth, the battle today had been relatively easy. The Ice Queen lacked proper flight capabilities, so having the sky as our battlefield worked greatly in our favor. Thanks to Kasim’s assistance and my awakening of Inner Force midway through, we achieved victory swiftly. Otherwise, it would have been quite a challenging fight.

‘I have become quite strong by using Inner Force but… Assassination is still impossible. I need to completely push back the monsters from the flower shop and enter the dungeon with an army.’

Clearing dungeons on hell difficulty was practically gone, so there would be two sieges. No matter how much I could recover my wounds and stamina while moving between Earth and Ardenia, it wasn’t possible for me to resolve the situation alone. I needed to lead a proper military force.

I checked the time. Quite a lot of time had passed while I was pondering various issues.

“Well, this rest should be enough.”

I lightly checked my body condition and set up potions, bandages, etc. The healers including Flower were waiting nearby in another building, so preparations were sufficient.

“Log out.”

Kuuong!

The swamp master green bear collapsed, causing the ground to shake. The approaching gigas stopped, seemingly bewildered.

[No, these wounds… How come?]

[What is happening?! Why can he use this ability?]

[More importantly, what type of power is it? Unbelievable strength and sword energy!]

“Hey, why so noisy? Just communicate among yourselves.”

As I grumbled, readying myself to charge:

Thud!

Suddenly, one gigas fell to the ground. It was just the beginning.

“Shoot! Kill th… huh?”

“Something’s wrong with Your Majesty! Check his condition… hmm?”

“Take the hostage! No matter how strong h… he…”

The terrorists’ coordinated movements halted as they simultaneously collapsed. But it wasn’t just them.

Grrr…

Thud!

Thud!

The remaining gigas fell over. Even the terrorists who I knocked out but didn’t kill stopped groaning. I touched my hand to the neck of one of the fallen terrorists nearby.

”…Are they dead?”

Confused, I lowered my stance and sharpened my senses.

“W-What? Why did they all collapse?”

“What is going on here?”

“Try connecting with the outside first!”

Unlike the dead terrorists, the actors and staff were alive and talking loudly.

‘What? Did the game master interfere? To save his nephew?’

However, I soon realized it wasn’t that case. Bram, whose upper body had been destroyed, was now rising again.

“The thunderbolt ruined everything…” There was no trace left of any fatal or near-fatal injuries.

Looking around, I saw that the bodies of the fallen terrorists had dried up like mummies.

“A self-sacrifice spell? And automatically activated? There are really all sorts, using subordinates as sacrifices.”

“It was done with mutual consent. Do you dare to criticize it? You killed my revolutionary comrades! It is none other than you!”

Grrrumble!

The Dreamworld shook. In response to Bram’s cry, black nightmares began to gather. Finally, I realized who Bram truly was.

“The Dreamwalker Academy…”

Come to think of it, there were no mages from the academy present, those who were supposed to assist with filming. They must’ve fled after passing information to the terrorists.

‘As the headmaster of the Dreamwalker Academy, he should be class 8. If he is stronger than the Ice Queen, this won’t be an easy opponent.’

Then there was no reason to hesitate.

Clang!

Construction materials were thrown towards Bram, who blocked them with a distorted expression on his face, “Did you think I would fall for this again?”

Kugong!

Nightmares gathered together. Then Sungjae’s scream was heard from behind me. As he was also a rank 7 mage, it seemed he recognized the spell.

“It is an 8th class Great Magic! Don’t meet their eyes and concentrate…!”

“Too late!”

[Moonlight Defense!]

[09:59]

Familiar text emerged. However, the wave of nightmares penetrated through Moonlight Defense.

“A strange defense but it doesn’t work against me! Become my slave! Nightmare Festival!”

Pfft!

The wave of nightmares struck my body without any chance to avoid it!

“No!”

“W-What?!”

Screams erupted everywhere. I thought,

‘An 8th class.’

An 8th class Great Magic naturally possessed immense power.

From what I could see, this magic was throwing me into a giant nightmare and crushing my free will so it could control me. It wasn’t wide-area but single-targeted magic, so even with considerable Magic Resistance and mental strength, it would be hard to overcome.

However, as always…

A foolish ghost doesn’t recognize a talisman.

Puk!

“Ugh!” There was a dull sound as I struck him with the sword. Bram screamed out, “Wh-What?! This can’t be true! I definitely hit you!”

Pak!

I struck again. His neck still wasn’t cut.

“It didn’t work.”

“You bastard! Funny little…”

Puk!

“Gahk! How dare you…!”

Puk!

I continued swinging the sword despite the invisible energy interfering with me. Firstly, something would happen if I cut off his neck.

“Log in.”

I moved to Ardenia.

“Log out.”

I took a break.

[Silence status has been released!]

[19:59]

The first form of Chwajueol (Instantaneous Art), One Sword Force.

Ching!

Despite my fatal strike that poured everything into one sword force, Bram survived. However, it wasn’t completely safe for him.

“Cough! Ugh!”

He spat blood.

‘He is tough.’

I raised the sword again.

“Wait! Wait just a moment! Stop. Listen to me!”

“Listen?” I lifted the sword once more. “No.”

Puk!

Focusing all my inner strength and monstrous strength at one point, each strike made the protective barrier seem like it would be torn apart immediately. Bram desperately maintained his shield while speaking.

“Earth-34 is rotting away! The ladder for social advancement has vanished, and only families serving the Elder hold everything tightly!”

His words were not incorrect.

[Frozen Paradise]

This phrase best described Earth-34. With its transparent societal system and nearly perfect institutions, this world had suddenly come to a complete standstill. It was overly stable, resembling a fixed photograph. There were no significant scientific discoveries or advancements.

Naturally, upward mobility between social classes became rare. Families associated with the Elder dominated the upper echelons, making it extremely difficult for immigrants to break through that barrier and advance.

With the God of Justice and the God of Truth present, how could such inequality exist? The answer is: It’s possible.

Can one truly label it ‘evil’ when parents pass on their wealth to their children? Is giving elixirs to offspring, imparting power or providing elite education from childhood genuinely evil acts? While the God of Justice does not endorse these actions as just, neither does he deem them inherently wicked.

As a result…society becomes rigidly stratified.

Advancements in science hit a wall due to the three civilizations, making breakthroughs highly unlikely. Business ventures also face limitations. Consequently, for individuals, cultivating psychic energy remains the only viable path.

Of course, there is the option to become a high-level ability user through psychic energy cultivation… however, achieving this feat is exceedingly rare. In a world with robust social safety nets ensuring basic needs are met, what urgent circumstances would compel someone to seek enlightenment?

Honestly, it was rare. In a world where the social safety net had developed to the point that people could eat and live without any problems, what urgency would there be for enlightenment? It wasn’t for no reason that numerous elders left Earth-34 for the macrocosm. An extremely stable world might seem like utopia to some but suffocatingly restrictive to those with ambition.

“Earth-34 is full of us immigrants, not just the handful of families! But what is reality? We are clearly being discriminated against!” As he shouted passionately, I raised my sword.

Puck!

“Gak! You, traitor! Even though you are also an immigrant…”

At his genuinely angry appearance, I laughed incredulously, “If you have such high ideals, why didn’t you run for election?”

“It’s because those dirty nobles…!”

“Weren’t you cut down by the God of Justice and Truth?”

”…”

Bram was momentarily speechless, his face turning red.

“You can’t integrate into society, yet your pride is hurt if you aren’t given special treatment. You don’t value the lives of those following you, but you still can’t leave this safe and prosperous planet.”

If he didn’t like District 34, he could’ve left. As an 8th class mage, not just an ordinary person, it would’ve been possible for him. Yet, this bastard chose not to.

“Emperor… The world ruled by someone like you is obvious.” With a cold smile, I raised my sword. “It would be akin to the Land of Midgard, medieval times.”

“N-No! Stop…” Bram cried out desperately.

Crack!

There was a dull noise as Bram’s body slumped limply.

[The God of Justice is watching you.]

I chuckled at the message that appeared. In the past, it might have mattered, but now, it held no interest for me.

Just then…

“Cut! Perfect!”

I turned around. Film director Alan Gray was filming me with a large camera.

”…”

I felt utterly bewildered, unable even to force a laugh.

‘What cut? Are you crazy?’

Perhaps he meant cutting off heads instead.