ââŠActually, I have a secret weapon. Like a self-destruct button. If I die, the blessing of a god will descend upon the battlefield. If the blessing is activated, the empire can win.â
I put on a serious expression. My acting was unexpectedly pretty good. Thinking of the moment Flame Emperor burned me up, my face instantly hardened and my voice became determined.
-Ack! Itâs a lie! He doesnât have a self destruct button!
Huh.
The loser ghost who died right before the 100th floor should be quiet.
âT, That kind of blessingâŠno. But kill you? I canât!â
âGeneral Sarbast Aegim. Please think about whatâs important. Whether you use your sword or not, Iâll kill myself. Since itâs a sure way to guarantee victory for the empire.â
I spoke with a serious expression.
âIâm asking this favor of you.â
âFavorâŠ?â
âYouâre the leader of this port. You want victory for the empire more than anyone. Rather than dying by my own hand or by a monster, I want to leave my life in your hands.â
ââŠâ
âThereâs no time. Hurry!â
The general had a pitiful face.
âThe survival of our empire is at stake, but to take the life of a warrior from another worldâŠâ
-Hey. Hey! You believe this? Shit! Youâre gonna believe Kim Zombie, this guy? Seriously?
âOur world is definitely cursed. The attack of the Devil King from legend, and how the magical animals continue to strike. And to take your life, it must all be a curseâŠâ
-Your brain is a curse!
âAh, please donât forgive our sins, godâŠâ
The general spoke in a regretful voice like he was the main character of a tragedy. A sharp and elegant blade came out.
ââŠIâll send you off without any pain.â
âThank you.â
I really was thankful.
Dying didnât matter, but I didnât like pain.
âPlease tell me your name.â
âKim Gong-ja.â
âKim Gong-jaâŠI thank you on behalf of the empire. You are a true warrior!â
Kashing.
Like what he promised, it was a clean cut. The blade of Aura instantly cut my neck.
[You have died.]
[NPC Sarbastâs skills are being randomly copied.]
As I expected, copying an NPCâs skills was possible.
And when everything became dark, I heard Bae Hu-ryeong shout out.
-Stop dying you bastard! Do you like cheating like this!
I answered him in my mind.
Sit Gong-ja says. Itâs lit.
The exciting day began again.
They said this.
Above a running person, there was a flying person.
And also this.
Next to a sword-wielding hunter, thereâs a dead hunter.
Gong-ja-nim said that.
âHey, whatâs that!â
âHuh? He seems like a hunter judging by his clothesâŠ?â
The battlefield. Hunters turned back from diligently swinging their swords. It was a dangerous thing to do while battling monsters. But they had a bit slack to do that.
I made that slack for them.
âWarrior!â
The general shouted back at me.
âAre you sure this is the right way!â
His body shook. My body also shook. Thatâs because we were riding the same horse.
He was holding the saddle while I was behind him.
My butt felt horrible but I felt amazing.
âCrystal. If you head this way and turn to the right, thatâs where the demon armyâs commander is. Thereâs a bit of monsters nearby. Oh well. Itâs ok. We can get rid of them.â
âOh! Okay!â
Because behind us, there were a thousand warriors behind us.
âArmy, follow me!â
He lifted his baton.
âThe warrior of the goddess will protect us!â
âWOooooOO!â
The soldiers shouted and followed the general. The soldiers, who had always been on defense, took the offense. Goblins and orcs got in the way, but they fell to the side.
âHehe.â
It was the effect of the minimap.
I advised the general to attack where the forces of the demons were less.
âAh. Turn to the right here.â
âUnderstood! Warrior of the goddess!â
Of course, I hadnât gotten the generalâs trust with just the minimap. Should I say itâs because of the dayâs repeat?
I needed a lot of preparation.
I experienced the generalâs trauma when I got my skillsâŠbut Iâll talk about that later.
âStatus window.â
Because it was time to focus on what was on hand right now.
First, skills. The techniques I had were like so.
+
Name: Kim Gong-ja
Rank: E Class
Skill (5/5)
1. I Want to be Like You (S+)
2. Returnerâs Clockwork Watch (EX)
3. Sword Constellation(A+)
4. Goblin High Society(F)
5. Discernment of the Battlefield (B)
+
âThe new skill I got is related to war.â
Like what it was called, it was a skill that identified the battlefield. If our forces had the upper hand or not. How to attack the enemies. I could instinctively feel it.
It made me into somewhat of an expert.
âAlthough thatâs not all of the skills.â
I grinned and lifted my sword.
It wasnât an ordinary sword. It wasnât what I used to skill myself either. The shining Sword Body. There was an image of a lionâs open mouth on it. As the silver light spread everywhere, the warriors gaped.
âItâs the light sent from the goddess!â
The Holy Sword from the beginningâŠ.ah, the empire hasnât been abandoned!â
âHurrah for Aegim Empire!â
Yes.
This sword was the last puzzle piece for me to lead the army.
It was what I picked with the Blessing of the Merchant God.
+
[Lefanta Aegimâs Holy Protection Sword]
Rarity: Legend
Summary: âOne who holds the Holy Sword will hold the empire.â The Holy Sword from ancestors. There is a legend that the ancestor who founded the Aegim Empire received it from the goddess. âOne who holds the Holy Sword will be held by fate.â
The ancestor chose his successor and left. Did he kill himself? Was he killed by the rebelling forces? When legends and history werenât different, his whereabouts were unknown, and so was the Holy Swordâs. Only leaving a line in history.
âThe day fate arrives, so will the one with the Holy Sword.â
The one who had the Holy Protection Sword will be absolutely trusted and supported by the people of the Aegim Empire.
+
The effects of the legendary item were outstanding.
âHurrah for the empire! Hurrah for the warrior!â
âGoddess, protect us!â
âAttack! Kill those dirty creatures!â
The soldiers ran forward
âKya.â
From what the soldiers saw, I was a legendary warrior. The real person leading them was the NPC general butâŠit felt like I was leading them.
I felt like I was flying.
âGood. Ah, good. I feel like I cleared the hidden stage just with this?â
-Itâs a fucking useless item!
Bae Hu-ryeong flew up when I was about to fly up.
-âItâs just a shiny sword thatâs slightly strong!
âTsk tsk. Youâre sentimentality must be weak since youâre a ghost. This is a shiny sword that all the NPCs from the 11th floor to the 20th will go ballistic for. Got it? NPCs arenât just tools to get quests.
It was a theory of coincidence.
âTheir beings to help break through them!â
And the development actually worked.
While the hunter players were sweating like dogs, I was breezing through the battlefield with the general.
âW, Whatâs thatâŠ?â
Everytime I passed a hunter, they were surprised. There were even some who were stunned.
âWhyâs he going around with the general?â
âIsnât he an NPC?â
âWow. Wait. It looks like heâs giving orders to the generalâŠâ
They were reactions for when people looked up at someone who was above them.
âAh.â
I was drunk.
âThis is it. This. Dang, itâs to die for.â
-âŠthis psycho isnât training his Aura like I taught him to but using it to eavesdrop on gossip. Zombie. Youâre amazing. Youâre really like a ZombieâŠ
âWhat can I do!â
The attack was working. The monsters continued to fall.
They were even trying to block us frantically butâŠ
âHup!â
Skilled hunters like Sword Saint massacred the orcs at the front, and-
âHahaht! Ah, what a touching day! A new battle! A new era! How-.â
âShut up! If you have time to blabber on, get another goblin!â
Members from large guilds like Heretic Questioner and Venomous Snake were at the sides.
The wings of the enemies were falling off. There werenât any extra forces to stop up. Clip! Clop! The heads of goblins were crushed under the horses of the soldiers, and spears pierced the orcs.
âWe can win!â
âFollow the general! Follow the warrior!â
Attack. And attack some more!
From some point, there was a hole in the enemy forces. We were almost to the commander. The minimap marked him as a red spot.
-Go, Gorrr.
Past the generalâs shoulder, I could see a high king goblin.
âHuh.â
I scoffed.
âI was wondering what the leader of the enemy forces was but it was a high king goblin?â
Of course, it was probably stronger than the high king goblin from the 5th floor that I cleared. Since he was leading forces of thousands. But it was only a goblin. If his subordinates were swept aside, I wouldnât be hurt.
More than anything.
[Your skill is activating.]
I had a skill specialized for goblins.
-Gorrk! Gor!
As the goblin lifted his cane, the monsters around him came at us. If it was human language, he was probably saying something like âStop those humans, fools!â
And to that high king goblin, I shouted.
âGorrrk!â
In fluent goblin language!
-Go, Gork?
âGorrrr!â
-Gorrk?
He was clearly flustered. As the leader was flustered, so were his underlings. And during that time, our forces were fighting. The last hope for the enemies flew away.
-Gorrrk?!
The high king goblin fumbled. Then, he realized that he was tricked.
But it was too late.
I put Aura into the Holy Protection Sword and powerfully swung it.
âIt was a nice gorrk!â
I cut the goblin like tofu. His head flew off without even a scream.
âWhoa!â
The general shouted, slowing down the horse.
âThe warrior has gotten rid of the demon creature!â
He wasnât saying it to me. It was to let his soldiers know. The general put Aura in his voice so his voice could be heard in the noisy battlefield.
The people around him understood what he was saying.
âThe demon creature has been cleared!â
âThe warrior of the goddess had gotten rid of the enemy leader!â
From the general to his deputies. From the deputies to the commanders. From the commanders to the soldiers. Voice rang out again and again like an echo.
âWhoohooo!â
Flags were waved in the air. Cheers. It was the cheers of the soldiers.
ââŠâ
I got off the horse and looked around.
I met the eyes of a flag bearer. He had lost his left arm in the battle. He was waving the flag with his right arm. When our gazes met, he smiled happily. And waved the flag even more.
Sunlight poured onto the flag.
âHurrah for the Aegim Empire!â
We had won.
âGet rid of the enemies!â
âAttack! Attack! Donât let even one escape!â
The tables were completely turned.
-Kerk, kerrrâŠ
-Grrr!
The beastly monsters started to run away.
âHuh?â
âLook at them.â
The gazes of the hunters changed. A fight between armies wasnât familiar, but chasing after individual monsters was a hunterâs specialty. The hunters smiled, baring their teeth, and ran at the goblins and orcs.
âKill them all!â
It was time to hunt.
The massacre didnât last long.
Some time later, a clear voice rang out over the battlefield.
[Stage clear!]
[Today, the 11th floor stage has been cleared.]
It was the voice of victory.
[Letting everyone know again.]
[Today, the 11th floor stage has been cleared.]
Cheers exploded.
âWoohoo! Is this real?â
âArenât we too strong?â
âHurray for Black Dragon Guild!â
Hunters exploded in cheers this time. Some threw their caps like in the square, and others hugged each other.
The clearing of the 11th floor in less than a day!
It was an amazing attack.
[Calculating subjugatorsâŠcalculation complete.]
[It has exceeded the limit.]
[The top 10 clearers are being announced.]
The hunters looked up.
Something was being engraved into the sky with light.
But as the list became complete, the hunters started murmuring to themselves.
âHuh? Rank 1 doesnât have a nickname?â
âSword Saint is Rank 2?â
âKim Gong-jaâŠâ
It hadnât been long since my name was released in the media. People looked confused. But someone shouted.
âAh, the 10th floor clearer!â
âOh right! They said his name was Gong-ja!â
âSomeone who hasnât received a nickname from the hunter is Rank 1 again?â
âAre they like a secluded master or something?â
Bae Hu-ryeong looked sour.
-Ha. Secluded master, my ass. Just a weak ass who plays tricksâŠâ
âDo you acknowledge itâs a game of skills now?â
-No! Never!
He whipped around. He seemed to be mad because I didnât train with my sword. This ghostâŠprioritized basic skills over everything else.
I bitterly smiled.
âIâll train my sword technique before the 20th floor is over, so donât be mad.â
-Really?
His ears twitched.
âYes. Of course. I canât not do anything when I hang out with the Sword Emperor, right? Youâre someone who passed the 99th floor. I should beg to be taught.â
-Right!
He spun around the air like he was never in a bad mood.
-Kya. Zombie finally sees my worth. Even though the tower is a bit different, I really climbed the tower in my world like there was not yesterday. The 11th floor was a piece of cakeâŠ!
Ah. Itâs easy.
So easy to ease this ghost.
How could it be this easy?
âWarrior of the goddess.â
While Bae Hu-reyong was flying above, the general approached me. His body was dirty with the blood of the monster. Only his face was clean, like he wiped it just now.
âWe were able to be victorious thanks to you. Really, thank you.â
âItâs nothing. We all won together.â
âAhaha.â
He scratched his palm like he was embarrassed.
âI worried for nothing.â
âSorry?â
âA long time ago, we received a prophecy. That when the Devil King came, warriors from another world would come, so we didnât have to worryâŠbut I didnât believe it. Why would warriors fight for their lives in a world that wasnât even theirs?
He smiled.
âBut it was just useless concern. Thank you again.â
He held out his hand.
Even though it was a different world, it meant the same thing. Was it because people had hands in both worlds?
âI look forward to your accomplishments in the future.â
âIâll work hard.â
We shook hands.
[Calculating rewardsâŠcalculation complete.]
[Rewards are being given to the highest ranks.]
Then, a light surrounded me from the sky, along with a voice.
It wasnât just me. Light came from the sky onto the battlefield here and there. One, two, three, four. A total of 10 rays of light poured from the sky.
[The highest ranking challengers enter the 12th floor first.]
[Until the highest ranking challengers receive their rewards, the remaining challengers cannot enter the 12th floor.]
[Letting everyone know again. The highestâŠ]
The people who contributed the most would get the rewards first. I felt sorry for the 11th or 12th hunters, but this was a reasonable system.
Before the light completely covered me, the general spoke.