Episode 40

Right after the disaster was handled, with the resonance of the Territory Stone ceasing, Lartania turned into a festive mood.

People who had been in despair felt relieved.

The territory’s residents, without caring who spoke first, unanimously chanted Kim Hyunwoo’s name, joyful that their home had not disappeared.

And such admiration for Kim Hyunwoo only grew further when he arrived with the soldiers.

“It was unbelievably huge, the Disaster (재앙) wasn’t called a Disaster for nothing!?”

“Uh, how huge was it?”

“Just before the Disaster disappeared, out of curiosity, the soldiers surrounded its leg, and it took 15 of us to do so…!”

“Fifteen people!? Just to surround one leg?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re saying you guys took down that unbelievable Disaster?”

“If we hadn’t, would we be here?”

The 200-more soldiers Kim Hyunwoo had led returned alive without a single casualty, and the moment they gathered in groups here and there in the squares and taverns to share their stories, it reached its climax.

“But of course, we could defeat the disaster thanks to our Lord. If it weren’t for the Lord, we wouldn’t have stopped it but would have been crushed to death by it, for sure.”

“Is that so?”

To Hans, a territory resident who until just the day before had been despairing over how to live, the soldier replied.

“Of course! Everything was exactly as the Lord said. Even when that thing tried to escape, just pulling the rope with the strength of merely 100 men prevented it from getting away, as if our territory residents had fallen into a pit and couldn’t get out.”

“The Lord is really-”

“It’s truly amazing, plus how did he even think to use the power engine in the workshop to go berserk and use it as a bomb?”

“From what I know, creating a power engine is one thing, but using it in such a way to make a bomb requires immense expertise in magic engineering. Is it true?”

“I’ve heard the same.”

“Seeing this, the Lord is truly remarkable. There’s really nothing he can’t do…!”

“He’s really someone to respect, even sighed in relief that the soldiers weren’t injured.”

The soldier nodded with an overwhelmed expression, as if just thinking about it filled him with emotion.

As the soldiers unfolded their stories, Kim Hyunwoo’s reputation soared as if piercing the sky.

“Elena was also incredible, completely destroying the massive disaster’s jaws with her two hand axes.”

“How could this be, that’s incredible…!”

“Really, seeing that, why on earth was she ever called a ‘failed hero’?”

“Tsk tsk, probably mercenaries attached that out of jealousy.”

“Honestly, I think so too, how could someone who showed such prowess be called a failed hero?”

Elena, who had played the second most significant role in this disaster after Kim Hyunwoo, was also being praised by the territory’s residents.

“……”

Elena, walking around and listening to the voices of the territory’s residents, suddenly recalled a moment ago.

She remembered the Lord’s words at the moment she faced the disaster, wondering if this was seriously the end.

“Just trust me, it will definitely work.”

Thanks to Kim Hyunwoo’s confident demeanor, free of any doubt or fear, she was able to charge at the Disaster she thought she could never face and swing her axes, managing to deal with it.

“No matter how I think about it, the ‘failed hero’ must be a false rumor.”

“Of course it is.”

Elena turned her gaze towards where the territory’s residents were talking about her.

There, the severe nickname that had followed her for years was disappearing as if it was nothing, and all the residents were praising both the Lord and her.

“……”

All of this felt strange but very joyful to Elena.

After all, what she had always wanted was to become a great hero, respected and revered by others.

A wish that had been crushed by reality, shattered by talent, and quietly pushed aside at some point.

But now,

“Lord.”

With that person,

“If we are together, could we reach there?”

Her hopeful gaze lingered for a moment on the Lord’s castle, where Kim Hyunwoo would be.

Meanwhile, Kim Hyunwoo, who had returned to Lartania and immediately sprawled in his office chair, felt his heart still racing as he thought.

“That was a close call.”

Of course, Kim Hyunwoo’s life had never been in danger.

Yet, he had such thoughts because the size of the Disaster he saw in reality was overwhelmingly different from what he had seen in the mobile game.

“I thought it was practically a moving apartment…”

Kim Hyunwoo inadvertently shook his head as he recalled that moment, but soon smiled.

In the end, regardless of the details, Kim Hyunwoo had succeeded in capturing the Disaster, resulting in a tremendous amount of rewards.

Kim Hyunwoo grinned and looked at the notification window.

Kim Hyunwoo smiled brightly as he looked at the rewards window that continued to list more items below.

Above all, the 8,000 Red Stones filled Kim Hyunwoo’s heart with abundance.

For Kim Hyunwoo, who could no longer spend cash, the cash currency, Red Stones, were a very important resource.

Moreover, each of the materials from Magdaora listed below could be used to create very powerful armor or weapons.

Thus, being able to create armor and weapon sets that could influence battle second only to stars made Kim Hyunwoo very satisfied.

Above all, what pleased him the most was.

The proficiency of the sluggish soldiers increased instantly with the capture of the disaster, allowing most of them to be upgraded to a higher soldier type.

Elena’s stats also rose steeply enough to be considered virtually over-leveled for a 2-star hero.

“At this rate, if I just make some weapons and armor, wouldn’t Elena be able to clear the third tier by herself without me?”

Thus, Kim Hyunwoo had such thoughts.

“Using the power engine in the workshop was the right choice, even though it was a pity.”

He recalled the power engine used to capture Magdaora.

Of course, using the power engine for a bomb attack was not a method Kim Hyunwoo had utilized in the game.

Arteil, being a real-time strategy battle game that allowed for terrain utilization and had a high degree of freedom, did not permit the use of materials not allowed in combat.

Yet, Kim Hyunwoo thought to use the power engine because he was well aware of its destructive power.

In Arteil, there was an event where the workshop would be destroyed if the wrong number of Magic Stones was accidentally input into the power engine.

Kim Hyunwoo had experienced the workshop exploding due to incorrectly inputting Magic Stones a few times, which is why he chose the power engine as the final blow against the disaster.

As a result, Kim Hyunwoo was able to deal with Magdaora so cleanly that, even though he had to repair the workshop, he could wear a satisfied expression.

And so, the day after defeating the Disaster,

around the time the fact that the disaster had been defeated in Lartania was being reported to the Norba Kingdom,

while Kim Hyunwoo was pondering how to use Magdaora’s materials,

“…?”

A hero of Calan came to Lartania.

Soon, the hero who came to see Kim Hyunwoo, with a polite greeting, said,

“…Greetings, My Lord. I am Loriel of the Five Swords of Calan.”

“Ah, yes…”

To Kim Hyunwoo, who looked perplexed at the suddenly arrived 4.5-star hero,

“The reason I came this time is to express my regret for what happened in the Sertoa and Harlancia territories. Although neither territory held our Calan Kingdom’s title, they were associated with us.”

Loriel, stating such a reason, briefly bowed her head and then pulled out a pouch from her bosom and handed it over.

“This is…?”

“While it’s a territory that hasn’t received a title and is merely associated with us, it’s true that a territory under our influence has been rude to another territory. Please consider this a small token of compensation.”

A brief conversation began following her words.

And at some point,

“…May I ask just one thing?”

“What is it?”

“I’ve heard that there was someone called the Absolute Ruler of Darkness in Lartania before, is that correct?”

Loriel, thus, brought up the main reason for her visit to the territory.