Chapter 274
South of Pangaea lay a vast region habitable to humans.
Thus, the southern part of the continent was the only place where a nation-state had been established.
In the other lands of the continent, human societies existed, but they never rose above the level of city-states.
Daran and Asireus.
Two enemy nations in the south of the continent.
It is nearly impossible for neighboring countries to maintain good relations.
With other human factions only able to trade after crossing harsh natural environments, the only way to expand their borders was to take territory from the opposing nation.
Asireus is a holy nation that believes in the God of Light.
Due to the doctrine that all followers of the God of Light are equal, there are no slaves, and all state affairs operate under the church.
Daran is a nation with slaves and a class system.
There is no king; a council of the great nobles of Daran, who are qualified from birth and have proven themselves in the fight against Asireus, rules the country.
And these two nations are in constant conflict, and can be said to be in the midst of a dispute even now.
"Kael. Is something displeasing you?"
Ian, one of only twenty cardinals in Asireus, could be seen as wielding absolute power, at least within this nation.
But even an NPC like that had to mind the attitude of Kael, the proxy of light.
"Could it be that you truly simply wish to know the prophecy? But that is a truly difficult matter. According to the law..."
"Enough. Speak quickly. What do you want?"
Seojun cut Ian off.
Ian was an NPC who had been mentioned several times in world-building descriptions and had even appeared in previous history books.
His most defining trait was being a devout believer. In other words, he was a good-aligned NPC.
This meant that even if Seojun acted rude, no pointless trouble or incidents would occur.
"Ha... Could it be that the incident back then has planted doubt in you about the church..."
"Shut it and hurry up."
The previous incident Ian mentioned referred to when Kael caught the cardinal who had been secretly selling Asireus citizens as slaves to Daran.
That was part of Kael's backstory.
Doubt because of that, was it?
In real time, Seojun could see the AI trying to adapt to his reactions.
So now, the setting was that he was speaking informally because he felt disillusioned with the church.
"I understand. It seems several issues have arisen here. If you would step forward and resolve them, the church would, as a token of gratitude..."
Seojun snatched the documents Ian was handing over.
There was no need to rush things from the start, but since the concept had somehow become acting rude, he figured he might as well go with it.
The most important attitude for a participant in the history book is consistency.
Whether from the AI's perspective, which adjusts the story in real-time, or from the spectators' perspective, consistency makes things entertaining.
If you go back and forth, nothing will be created.
"..."
While Ian looked up at Seojun with a disgruntled expression for snatching the documents, Seojun examined them.
"Let's have a look, shall we?"
[Demon Extermination]
--
A lesser demon has appeared in the small village of Torion in eastern Asireus.
Requesting dispatches of priest rank or higher.
Objective: Eliminate the demon
Reward: Achievement Points +5
--
As Seojun lifted the first page, a system window appeared before the document in his vision.
Five achievement points.
It was clearly not a large amount.
Priest rank was about the level of a somewhat trained ordinary soldier.
Elites were the Inquisitors.
And those who had transcended humanity were Heroes.
'And the participants are those Heroes.'
He then turned to the next page.
[Investigation of the Brion Serial Killer]
--
Serial murders occurring in the metropolis of Brion.
Seems connected to a demon worshipper.
Requesting dispatch of an Inquisitor.
Objective: Identify and apprehend the killer
Reward: Achievement Points +20
--
Look at that.
Just requiring an Inquisitor made the achievement points jump fourfold.
Then what about missions that require a Hero?
More precisely...
'What if it's a quest where I might clash with another participant?'
He turned to the next page.
It was the last page.
[Support the Conflict Zone]
--
Supporting the conflict zone of Atura against Daran.
Requesting as much support as possible.
Objective: Push the frontline by at least 50 meters
Reward: Achievement Points +50
--
'With these achievement points, participants belonging to the Church of Light can likely exchange them for contribution points with the Church.'
If he were an independent Hero, he could probably withdraw items from that hero's personal storage, and if he were affiliated with a city, he could exchange the city's currency.
"I'll go with this one."
Seojun pressed the accept button on the third quest and handed the documents back.
"O-okay. Understood. But... Just a moment!"
"What is it?"
"Is your faith still firm?"
Ian looked at Seojun.
Precisely, at Kael.
Seojun smirked, left without answering, and muttered to himself as if for someone to hear.
"If I don't like it, then I'll just become a thug myself."
It was fan service.
Ian's worried gaze came to mind, but Seojun could only give a dumbfounded laugh.
'Like I'd actually betray them.'
Getting to Atura was an easy task.
That was because teleportation magic circles were installed at every major location.
Participants starting in a nation would all use these teleporters.
'Other Heroes might need achievement points for it, but...'
Kael rides for free.
A good start, at least within this country.
Having already memorized the layout of Asireus's capital, Seojun arrived at the transportation hub without delay. While waiting briefly, he looked at a mirror and checked his condition.
Full-body armor and a sword at his waist.
Along with the interface window visible in League games, Seojun looked out at the world.
There was no level. His growth was already complete.
Here, he could buy runes with achievement points or enhance himself with items.
'They said the difference in growth is larger than you'd think.'
Then, Seojun opened the achievement shop in the interface and checked how many contribution points the prophecy book required.
Achievement points and contribution points were automatically exchanged at a 1-to-1 ratio when purchasing, he was told.
The cost of the prophecy book was 200.
'That's quite hefty.'
It wasn't an amount impossible to gather early on, but even though starting from an advantageous position allowed you to see the prophecy...
200 points was significant. Enough that it might not be purely a good thing.
Furthermore, due to the nature of information, its power would diminish the later you learned it.
'If you can't buy it quickly, it might be better not to buy it at all. Gather points for now.'
After finishing his calculations, Seojun confirmed that the timer above his head was nearing zero seconds.
It was the notification from the staff that the magic circle's charging waiting time was over.
Games never change.
"Inquisitor? Follow me."
"Understood."
Guided by the staff, Seojun entered a special space.
***
Atura was an absolutely indispensable place in the relationship between Asireus and Daran.
In fact, it was safe to say that the plains of the southern continent were split in half by a mountain range.
That was also the reason the land was divided into two nations.
Of course, the mountain range did not completely sever the two nations.
The Atura Gorge.
So wide and flat that it was hardly fitting to call it a gorge, these plains were the gateway connecting Asireus and Daran.
Where countless legends were born, and prospective heroes were hammered into shape, numerous conflicts had been waged, were being waged now, and would be waged in the future.
This time, the heroes starting in Atura numbered one per nation.
It was neither many nor few.
[Hello.]
Dennis.
A German participant who was an ordinary craftsman.
He was one of the first to witness Seojun's machine-breaking technique, and he greeted Seojun, who returned the greeting.
[Hello. We met back then, didn't we?]
"Ah, what time are you referring to?!"
Bangju spoke with a laugh.
He was curious.
After all, who knew what new eerie tales might emerge.
[Yes. Seojun-nim, you came to provide support, right?]
[A mission has popped up.]
Dennis's hero was Ryan the War Maniac.
A soldier belonging to Asireus.
For reference, most of Daran's heroes were nobles.
[I thought as much. It looks like First Blood hasn't happened yet, so let's head straight into battle.]
[What if support comes from Daran too?]
[We just need to win 2 on 2. You're Seojun-nim, after all.]
Dennis laughed and spoke as if reassured.
"Atura, into which both nations continuously pour troops and resources, is a gorge where fighting never ceases! It's likely still in conflict now!"
If Ryan's starting point was here, it was easy to anticipate that Kael might come to provide support.
[Then, Dennis-nim? Let's go. Right now.]
"Everyone, First Blood! As you all know well, achieving the first hero retirement in this history book gives achievement points! However, it's incredibly difficult to force an opposing hero into retirement. If only this wasn't Atura!"
If there were participating heroes in Atura, First Blood usually occurred here.
In other words, it meant the first dropout might appear soon.
"Ah. Wait a moment. What? Dennis and the opposing hero already met a little while ago and even talked? What kind of conversation! Ah! They talked about betraying Seojun-nim? To eliminate a threatening competitor?"
Betrayal from the very start.
This was the average for humans, no, for the history book.
"Still, since he's Ryan the War Maniac! The Demon of Atura! It's somewhat plausible, but why now!"
This history book could not be a faction war. The distribution of participants' locations was too widespread.
Thus, at the news of betrayal.
-Gasp
-Streamer, be careful
-This is dangerous
-Did Daran's side send support too? Should we check the official account? Confirm it
While fans supporting Seojun were worried.
[Nice, Dennis!]
[German technology is the world's best!]
[Yeah. Let's get rid of that guy first haha]
People around the world had no particular thoughts. There was no criticism or condemnation for the backstabbing.
It was sudden, but not entirely nonsensical.
The War Maniac lived in Atura not as a proper believer, but solely to fight strong opponents, and he reveled in chaos.
Going after Kael could be sufficiently explained later.
This was also mentioned on the official North American broadcast.
[This could become the most humiliating day for the Korean streamer.]
[No matter how well he did in the trials, if he can't make the right choice in a situation like this, he'll be the first dropout. Hahaha.]
[I can see the heroes coming from Daran, four of them now. They're heading to the location they arranged beforehand. Fortunately for them, there's no support from Daran yet, but, ah, what to do.]
They were half-certain of Seojun's death.
An event unfolding far too quickly in the very early stages.
Even if Dennis had somewhat coordinated with the opposing side beforehand, there was no major problem.
If he had predicted the starting situation and prepared, that was also a commendable feat.
Well, if the goal was to eliminate a competitor by killing Seojun.
Even if they didn't yet know what the turning point of this history would be, there was no history book where all fifty participants had to survive, so it was reasonable.
[As such, this history book has shown a standard, uneventful starting phase. Therefore, participants might move according to what they've prepared in advance, and considering this, I believe Kael should have raised his alert level. It's a shame; it's his first participation, isn't it?]
[That's correct.]
[Atura is a truly chaotic and dangerous region. If he had played by asking for a different mission, refreshing the quest... Huh?]
And then it happened.
A noticeable rift was drawn in the sky, a little distance away from the Daran hero.
A massive sword tearing through the heavens.
Right now, there was only one skill like that.
[What's going on?]
[...]
The screen switched rapidly.
The camera captured Seojun.
The heretic the heavenly sword was about to judge was Dennis.
Dennis, whose health had already taken a good amount of damage and depleted, was looking up at the sky with visible panic.
Seojun's voice came through.
[Your heart is full of demons.]
It was a voice as reverent as a heretic inquisitor's.
Watching this, Dennis, who was about to die, could only feel dumbfounded.
Just as he opened his mouth to ask how he knew...
Kwaaaaang!
Dennis blocked the falling blade of light and died.
[First Victory: Achievement Points +5]