From this chapter, the translation will be done differently. Now multiple chapters will be clubbed into one single unit. As a result we will be posting complete novel but with different serialization order. Total Chapters are 435 according to original novel. But we will club some chapters for the ease of faster translation. You won’t miss any episode, but will read it more fast. Thanks!
Unconventional Preparation (1) and A Different Preparation (2)
“What is it?”
Acceptance messages do not come to mind for soulless beings.
For example, when trying to use a fairy tale on a ‘doll’ or ‘golem’ that has an owner, ‘no permission from the owner!’ Instead, a message comes to mind.
It’s not like that, and if assimilation hasn’t been activated, that must mean that the soul exists.
“… A strange thing appeared before my eyes.”
“That is proof that there is a soul.”
“this… Is it the evidence of the soul?”
“Yes, tell me you accept.”
Anger-!
In the next moment, Hyun’s body scattered with light overlapped with Shatin’s soul.
At the same time, Hyun could feel a weak emotion from her.
‘If you have feelings like this, you can say that you have a soul, right?’
She wasn’t as emotional as Louise, but she wasn’t numb like normal NPCs.
I guess Shatin is also an artificial intelligence higher than the 1st generation. Because it is related to darkness, it must have been determined as an ‘important NPC’ in the world view.
“Are you better than most people?”
“More than human… ?”
“Even if everyone seems to have feelings, when you actually assimilate, there’s really nothing special.”
During the history quest, I assimilated several times with the NPC who was Louise’s stand-in, but I couldn’t really feel anything.
To the point where I couldn’t feel the difference between when I assimilated to Richie or when I assimilated into a doll.
“Compared to that, you have at least a little bit of real emotion.”
“this is… .”
Shatin couldn’t answer right away.
It was because the whole body could not move due to the sensation transmitted through the protection of darkness.
Having lived for darkness all her life, she was delighted with the energy of darkness that filled her whole body.
“If this is the soul… It was something I never had.”
“No, I had it, but I guess it was just that I couldn’t feel it because I was weak.”
“Is that so… ? I do not know.”
“Seeing that there are a lot of doubts, it’s really certain.”
Hyun assimilated again to Shatina, who asked for the same thing.
No matter how I explained it, the golems seemed unable to believe that they had souls.
T-ring!
It was at that moment that the quest alarm sounded for Hyun.
‘huh? quest?’
There are many hidden quests in Asrian, so it wouldn’t be strange to activate them at any time, but I didn’t expect them to suddenly appear in a place like this.
<Hidden Quest: Do twin attendants have souls?>
-The two broken sisters are just waiting for the darkness to return.
-One of them will probably run out of time allowed before the meeting.
– Before that time arrives, can you make them realize their worth?
(Reward: Increased leadership of the dark forces)
Hyun read the quest description in a bewildered mood.
My eyes lit up the moment I witnessed the list of rewards, and I looked at the quest goal again.
‘Do you want me to remind you of my values?’
Why did this hidden quest suddenly pop up?
It may not be a coincidence that he met the servant of darkness in the process of finding darkness.
Even if it wasn’t a quest, Hyun wanted to help the guys who protected Louise, so there was no reason to refuse the quest that came just in time.
‘I guess that’s how you say it too?’
How to awaken values.
The first thing that came to mind was the ordering ceremony.
Even if Tyler speaks or shows fairy tales directly, since they believe that they do not have a soul, can’t they prove their worth at the ranking ceremony?
With that thought in mind, I slowly scanned the status windows of the twins.
It wasn’t long before Hyeon made his decision.
***
“Is that the one that was chosen over me?”
“Keruk, a block of stone is stronger than me? I can not admit it! Kreur… !”
“Without a soul… existence… To be able to receive Lord Bahimir’s blessing!”
When Hyun chose Shatin, a commotion broke out among the named monsters.
Rublen was also in a panic because he hadn’t thought that Hyun would fix the junk and invite him to participate in the ranking ceremony.
“Lublen-sama! I can be a greater force than that! Please choose a house… !”
“Guo oh oh, that old golem will be reduced to powder with one blow of this club!”
“Please, be quiet!”
However, Rublen is a faithful servant of Vahimir.
Hyun’s eyes were a bit fierce because he hadn’t chosen a vampire, but he still couldn’t disobey the Duke’s will.
“Looks like you’ve made your choice, don’t bother and go home.”
“that… !”
“Are you saying that a golem with no emotions can understand and obey the highest will of the duke during the ranking ceremony?”
“Everyone, stop.”
To put an end to the commotion, Mablelen was approaching before he knew it.
With narrowed eyes, Marblen scanned Hyun, Shatin, and the monsters next to them in turn, then continued.
“Anyone who complains will be considered against the wishes of the Duke.”
“Yeah, yes! Those who are dissatisfied, come out!”
When the two vampires sorted out the situation together, the messy monsters returned to their original positions.
Until then, Shatin, who was next to Hyeon, stood like a stone statue without opening his mouth once.
Mablelen muttered while glancing at Shatin’s expressionless face.
“It’s a golem… You will prove yourself at the ranking ceremony whether you are worthy or just a puppet.”
“proof… .”
“Oh, could you talk? It’s amazing that you can make a sound without moving your mouth!”
“What and how… Do I have to prove it?”
Mablelen answered Shatin’s question.
“Dear Bahimir… No, more comprehensively, we need to prove that it is helpful to the dark forces.”
“Dark help… .”
“If you really are just a ‘tool,’ you’ll be a laughing stock at the rank-and-file ceremony. It is no longer just a place to compete for strength.”
There are a total of two ranking ceremonies in which Bahimir participates.
Defense battle, and usurpation battle!
If Shatin fails to perform well in the defense match, he will be disqualified from participating in the ensuing usurpation match.
“I am looking forward to it. More precisely, you expect the eyes of the one who chooses you.”
After Mablelen left again, Rublen delivered the rest.
Her voice was slightly sarcastic because the vampire she recommended was not chosen.
“The ceremony is in three days. Should I be prepared if I forget the time?”
“Hey, Rublen, I have a favor for you.”
“What is it?”
“Can we get data to see the previous sequence formula again?”
Before parting ways, Hyun asked for a recording of the sequence ceremony.
To be precise, it was not a recorded copy, but a crystal ball enchanted with the ‘memory flow’, but Luvlen understood even if he roughly explained it.
“The dukes I’m dealing with, and Bahimir-sama’s. In two ways.”
“What do you plan to use the memory crystal for?”
“I will strategize.”
“strategy… ?”
“Yes, maximizing the advantages of the existing strategy. We have to fix what’s wrong.”
“Wrong! How dare you question Bahimir-sama’s strategy?!”
Hyun had a foreboding feeling at Louvlen’s screams.
It was because it was expected what kind of strategy would come out of such an inflexible group. In a bad way, of course.
‘I hope it’s not serious.’
There was some commotion, but Hyun was able to get his memory corrected before leaving the duke’s castle.
Then the private room.
Since Ain still had to go home from school, Hyeon went ahead with his next plan by himself.
‘First of all, understanding the competition is the first thing.’
To be honest, Hyun didn’t know the rules of the competition very well.
Even if you have won numerous wars in the previous work, tournaments and sieges are different.
It was impossible for Hyun, who only watched the highlights of the part where Practices appeared, to grasp the flow of the tournament.
Even so, I didn’t have the heart to do the ranking ceremony, so now was the point where I needed someone’s help.
‘The experts here must be pro gamers!’
Yes, Hyun was thinking of borrowing the help of Prectis.
Now that the tournament season is over, pro gamers are relatively free.
Practices was also connected to the Friends window at the same time.
‘Ah, how much I’ve helped you so far, so I’m sure you won’t refuse the request?’
Hyun, who sent a whisper with such expectation, heard an unexpected reply.
「Sorry, I am abroad right now?」
“what… ? Overseas?!”
“Haha, I came on a trip to celebrate winning the tournament! Wouldn’t it be possible to go back to Korea in about 5 days?”
“then… How are you connected now… ?」
“I linked the phone and the capsule.”
“that… they say?”
“why? Is something going on?」
“No, nothing.”
That’s how the short contact with Practice ended.
Hyun’s eyes naturally fixed on the name right under the friend’s window.
Former pro gamer Ginny.
‘Is this the only way… ?’
According to my experience, she was a very meticulous person in mutual calculations.
In the past, she received a huge sum of tens of millions of won just by giving her a few lessons.
You won’t be able to push it with friendship like practice.
Conversely, if you ask for instruction, how much money will you have to pay?
No matter how generously he spent, he could not help but be slightly hesitant as the amount amounted to 10 million units.
‘… Yeah, what a mess.’
Thoughts were brief.
‘Youtube settlement will be coming soon!”
There is nothing more foolish than weighing the irreversible and the irreversible.
Hyun tried to contact Genie first..
I heard that I have been busy since I recently changed my job, so it might be difficult to find time for myself, but I was thinking of calling Ginny even if it was as high as possible.
“hyeon? What’s going on?」
“Aren’t you busy?”
“yes… ?」
“There is something I want to learn from Ginny… I asked if it was time.”
In an instant, the tone of Ginny’s voice rose.
“You’re learning from me?”
“Yes, there is a ranking ceremony in three days, and I really need Genie’s help to prepare perfectly.”
The same format as the competition, the strategies needed for it.
Genie understood Hyun’s intention for calling her with only a rough explanation.
He paused for a moment, then a voice suddenly rose to answer.
“Me, me? I’m not busy at all… ! I’m completely unemployed these days!”
“is it so? Jaehun said he was so busy he couldn’t even sleep… .」
“Ah, that’s right! Sometimes… It’s like that sometimes, but it’s okay now!”
“I’m fine now… ? Then can you come to the private room now?”
“Wait, once this is over… No, yes, let’s go right now!”
For some reason, Ginny was talking gibberish uncharacteristically.
It felt a little strange, but it seemed like there was no need to worry too much about coming right away.
While waiting for Genie, Hyeon pondered over personal issues.
‘How much should I pay for tuition?’
There are two days left before the ceremony.
However, Ginny paid a lot of money for only 20 minutes of class… Can I keep learning for two days?
Even if I had them, the huge tuition would be broken.
Those worries disappeared as soon as Ginny arrived at the private room.
“yes? It’s okay if you don’t pay tuition! Because he’s a white swan. I just came to play because I had nothing to do! Besides, I can’t guarantee that I will be of any help.”
“Being white is… Does that mean you have free time for two full days?”
“yes… ? Two days… ? uh… ? maybe… It won’t be tight… Shall we? Yes, I guess… !”
Hyun felt as if Ginny’s complexion had turned white in an instant.
After all, no matter how nice a person is, asking for free tutoring for two days is bound to be embarrassing.
Hyun vowed to pay a reasonable tuition fee after seeing it.
‘Okay, the preparations are finished.’
After roughly tidying up, Hyun sat in the lobby with Genie.
Whoops. The moment he touched the marble he received from Rublen, the scene of the ranking ceremony was reproduced on the empty screen.
“Let’s see. I haven’t seen it yet either.”
“Recording magic… Awesome… ! You mean Hyun will compete as a player here?”
“Yes, this is the formation I will be participating in.”
The images contained in the beads were largely separated into two types.
allies and enemies.
In the midst of silence, the images on the screen flowed slowly.
And the eyes of Genie, who started analyzing the video, were cold and sharp.
Ginny nodded from time to time, or pretended to write something on the record interface on the other side.
It’s been a while since the video ended.
The genie pointed to the orb containing the records of Bahimir and murmured.
“In terms of power alone, this side is stronger.”
“Is that so? Because the ranks of Bahimir are higher.”
Hyun was relieved by Genie’s answer.
Even when he saw it, the defensive battle was expected to be an overwhelming victory.
But at that moment of relief, Ginny murmured again.
“But, according to the tournament rules, we might lose.”
“yes… ?”
The story that followed was about a field that Hyun did not know about or was not interested in.
It was also a strategy developed by thousands of pro gamers through countless successes and failures.
“In competitions, the instantaneous variables created by players are the greatest, but the variables of soldiers cannot be ignored. If you set the offensive timing and continuously snow bowl the number of troops, it is possible to create an effect of more than one player with just that.”
“Snowball… I beg your pardon… ?”
“It’s a term that, like a snowball, once you gain the upper hand, the gap continues to widen.”
Ginny even explained how the strategy of the competition changed.
“It is not long after the league starts that players gain the upper hand. As the research began, the ‘management’ of the competition became as important as the individual’s military power.”
“Operation… ?”
“Didn’t you say you watched the prefectural sword competition a few times?”
“that is… I’ve been a bit busy lately… .”
Unknown stories kept popping up, so Hyun decided to just keep his mouth shut and listen.
As I listened to Jini’s explanation, I gradually understood the difference between the prefectural sword competition and the war.
‘It seems completely different from the actual war.’
It is Assrian’s war that a small number of elites stir up the opponent’s troops and inflict fatal damage, but that combat method did not work in the tournament.
The reason is the existence of the resurrection system!
It is not much different from a resurrection because it recovers a player who has suffered fatal damage and re-enters the field after 60 seconds.
Genie explained that the difference could even change the outcome of a battle.
“In terms of the total score. Fortress destruction score is higher than kill count.”
“Soldiers do not resurrect. If you operate it in a way that saves the lives of your soldiers, you can continue to do continuous damage to the fort. Look, like this… Just like the opposing formations do.”
“A player-oriented strategy can be easily countered by guerrillas like this. It is because the damage is much greater in the place where the players are deployed in 1-0 rather than 2-1.”
“To fill that empty space with troops, a position called ‘leader’ was created, and at least one person must exist. Nowadays, most competitions use up to two players. But looking at it, the duke’s subordinates don’t have that kind of role, right?”
Genie’s continued explanation was nothing short of a new territory for Hyun.
The more he listened to the explanation, the more Hyun realized that he had never known that it was a tournament.
I only saw the battle scenes and thought, ‘He’s a pro gamer, so why is he dying alone over there…’ When I think about it again, there was a reason of its own.
Also, Vahmir and the group of vampires who seemed so strong suddenly looked like ragtags after hearing the explanation.
‘As expected, it was good to call a pro gamer! If I’m not careful, I could have lost without knowing anything.’
Hyun thought he was very lucky that he had decided to enlist Genie’s help.
***
Ain only connected in the afternoon.
After hearing that he was going to the arena, he was still excited.
Maybe we can match the rest of the rings today?
Ain, who entered the private room with such anticipation, saw Genie with Hyun and approached them with a strange expression.
“hyeon… ?”
“Oh, Ain, you’re here.”
“What is this person… ?”
“It’s not this person, it’s Ginny’s sister! I called because I needed help.”
“Okay… ?”
Ain didn’t like that Genie intervened in the schedule of just the two of them, but the quick-witted Genie quickly opened his mouth.
“Don’t worry, I’m not following along.”
“then?”
“I will just look.”
Genie decided to share her view through Hyun’s private broadcast, while giving necessary advice at every moment.
After hearing that fact, Ain was able to let go of his own guard.
‘I’ll have to prepare perfectly for two days.’
Now she assimilates into Ain’s body, but on the day of the ranking ceremony, she planned to assimilate into Shatin, a golem who serves the darkness.
The reason she borrowed Ain’s body was because the reach of her great sword was similar to ‘Ifrit’s claw’.
A duel in a quiet village.
Hyun and Ain faced the portal in the middle of the lobby together.
[2-player party league matching begins!]
[A provisional league rank is being assigned from the 1v1 duel rank of player ‘Hyun’… .]
[Assigned to ‘Gold 3’!]
[A temporary league rating is being assigned from the 1v1 duel rating of player ‘Ain’… .]
[Assigned to ‘Master’!]
[The difference in rank between parties is large, so we search for matching based on the higher one!]
I’ve tried it before, but Dongwha couldn’t fool the matching system.
In other words, if you are with Ain, it is an unconditional two-person party.
Ain seemed very excited, but Hyun couldn’t be that relaxed.
‘I think there are more things I didn’t know than I thought.’
It was the time spent giving up the opportunity to level 200.
Hyun acknowledged his ignorance about the tournament and intended to learn as a beginner.
Not just for the immediate ranking ceremony, but for the distant future.
‘If there are NPCs other than dukes influenced by users, something similar to the tournament might arise again. Or, I can apply the methodology that pros and coaches have developed over the months to my strategy!’
Of course, it would be impossible to absorb all of Genie’s know-how in two days.
However, he was confident enough to make up for that shortfall with the experience gained during his eight years as Asura.
The ultimate goal is to have competition skills comparable to those of the pros before the ranking ceremony.
Of course, ‘League Matching’, where stats are set fairly, is the standard.
Hyun thought it was possible enough.
Fortunately, Ain and Genie fully helped.
Two days that brought up motivation for the first time in a long time.
Time flew by.
***
“Whoa… How is it, is it better than the first time? Or is it still a bit lacking… ?”
Dawn right before the sequence ceremony.
Hyun, who finished all preparations, lay down with a proud smile.
The reason why the string’s fatigue level went over 95 was because he really squeezed his concentration up.
“no… It should be enough for now.”
Watching Hyeon’s growth from the sidelines, Ginny couldn’t help but stick out her tongue.
It made me think that if I had gone through today’s work beforehand, I probably would have quit pro gamer sooner.
Ain’s control was certainly brilliant, but even that was not noticeable this time.
The growth of the prefecture was dazzling beyond rapid.
“I will tell you honestly. Hyun will be better than a pro gamer in the second group.”
“Haha, there’s no need to float it like that.”
float? Did he really overestimate himself because of the name of the prefecture?
Jini compared Hyun with pro gamers from her time at Stardust.
‘It’s not an overestimation.’
During his professional career, Ginny took on the main order of the team.
So, many of Stardust’s ‘standard strategies’ in the early days were created by Genie.
However, even if she taught the same standard that she had worked out over several nights, there were only two or three players in the team who fully understood the reason and process.
The majority, including the trainees and the 2nd group, were just normal, so they tried to do only certain actions at a certain time, along the planned movement.
It was because I was too lazy to understand the branches of choice derived from the standard, or I didn’t have the ability to understand.
That’s why most of them couldn’t even respond properly to the opponent’s irregularity.
‘Spring of talent is definitely different.’
It is certain that the current management method is still lacking compared to the pros.
Two days is too short to learn even the smallest twigs.
However, no matter what he was taught, Hyeon fully understood it.
It required an explanation until the first two times, but after that, it didn’t even need an explanation.
I don’t know how many times I got goosebumps watching Hyun’s play as he accurately punished all of his opponent’s irregular moves.
‘Does such a strategy come true only if you have this much talent?’
Suddenly, Ginny recalled the day they hunted Betty together.
I thought that the ridiculous strategy was just a product of past experience, but now that I think about it, that might have been an improvisation… .
While Genie was engrossed in complicated thoughts, Hyeon also admired Genie’s ability.
‘This may be an unexpected harvest… !’
It was also the first time I realized that there are so many techniques in league management.
In addition to asking questions, Ginny also gave us useful information.
“In actual competitions, more diverse strategies come out. There is a separate operation that can only be performed when the sum of the team is perfectly matched.”
When Ain wasn’t with me, I watched the actual competition and understood the pros’ fights.
Hearing Genie’s detailed explanation, Hyun felt a lot of inspiration come to him.
When Ain was connected like that, I learned league matching, and when Ain wasn’t there, I learned theoretical knowledge from Genie.
In the end, the difference between Hyun and Ain’s league matching level gradually narrowed, and together they reached the top of the Masters.
And finally, at dawn two days later. Hyun got a confirmation from Genie.
“For now, the contrast should be enough.”
A total of 23 wins and 2 losses.
Even the two defeats were the record of not knowing the operation at all, so if the game time was as short as a duel, it would have been enough to take a grandmaster rating.
‘I didn’t know they would look at me this well.’
The more I thought about it, the more I appreciated Ginny’s efforts.
No matter how leisurely you are, watching someone play for two days isn’t usually easy.
‘I think it suited me well.’
Among the strategies Genie told me, there were many cases where the level of difficulty was high enough to make me wonder if other users could follow it.
She is probably the only one who can give such a customized lecture.
‘I didn’t want anything in return… You can’t just pass on this kind of sincerity, can you?’
Genie was also the one who properly taught the value of what he gave without knowing anything in the past.
Conversely, the value of what Genie received cannot be ignored either.
Hyun made notes of things he should not forget even after the ranking ceremony was over.
‘It would be the right thing to repay.’
The moment I was about to close the connection, prepared for tomorrow’s ranking ceremony.
Suddenly Ain let out a rough breath and asked.
“Hyeon, wouldn’t it be better to take a picture of our grandmaster?”
“uh?”
“Let’s just do three more games… !”
“What are you talking about? I need to relieve the fatigue. It’s time for you to sleep too.”
“then… Sand tomorrow?!”
“At that time, I will go for the main quest.”
“… next week?”
“You must be busy because you have to hit level 200, huh… ?”
As he continued to speak, Hyeon realized that Ain’s eyes were getting narrower.
I don’t know why, but I thought I was doing something wrong, so I quickly changed my mind.
“No, I think I’ll be a bit free after meeting Louise… ?”
“Then you must be a grandmaster at that time, right?”
“Uh, yes… .”
Seeing Ain’s expression soften, Hyun was convinced that he had avoided a mistake that could have been dangerous.
***
The day of the ranking ceremony finally arrived.
The duke’s loyal subordinates, including the vampire and the two golems, were all lined up in the solemn air.
“It’s an appearance.”
Fain! At Bahimir’s beckoning, a five-meter red portal opened.
The atmosphere of the hundreds of monsters was so spleen as if they were about to go to war.
The vast canyon seen in the Crystal of Memory.
Parts Tsutsu!
Light came on one by one in the dense magic circle that covered several kilometers, and the canyon began to transform into a gigantic arena.
