◈ Chapter 55. Aesthetics (1)
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─Current contribution: 11,600p
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Over 10,000 points.
How high it was because there was no comparison.
There was no way to know.
It’s like that.
How many contributions did you make?
You want to grab the player next to you and ask.
But it’s part of Grandfell’s pride not to dwell on personal accomplishments.
“I’m just taking out the trash.”
He straightens his clothes.
“Contribution, you don’t deserve it.”
That’s all he could say.
Yeah.
You’re right about that, too.
But let’s put it this way.
“No, I need a little self-praise.”
As evidenced by my rising contribution.
I had fulfilled my role as a passenger on the bus.
The players who took over the ramparts thanks to the stairs I manifested.
They were clearly supporting their allies from a distance.
“Not forgetting the defense.”
Beyond support, to first strike.
“Everything else is just familiar.”
A barrier to keep the other side from attacking.
It was as familiar to me as breathing.
And who is it that is assisting me?
“With your help, I can move more easily!”
So I could be confident without being shameless.
“I definitely paid my bus fare.”
I never, ever ate raw……!
Also.
So even now, as I enter Frost.
Not a single speck of dirt.
Not a speck of dust, not a drop of blood.
A message appeared in my vision.
[You have entered the ‘Frost’, the descent into hell].
A northern city descends into hell.
So much so that the modifier changed.
Frost was a horrific scene.
The streets were littered with the bodies of guards.
There was blood everywhere.
“…… to be slaughtered.”
The sight of the horror made Harkon and the other Lionheart knights speechless.
Some of the knights in particular.
The sound of their grinding teeth could be heard.
Harkon spoke up, his voice cold.
“Frost is one of the greatest cities in the Empire. There are many in our Order who call Frost home. It’s hard to fathom their feelings.”
Indeed, it felt like I was holding something back.
This was a truly brutal scene.
“This isn’t a virtual reality game, this is real life.
The bodies on the ground were no longer NPCs.
Frost’s residents.
Blood-soaked streets.
The smell of blood on my nose.
All of this was real, actual reality.
The old me wouldn’t have been able to hold back the vomit.
Like those players over there.
“……Wait, I don’t feel well. Ewww.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“You don’t have to do this……. F*ck!”
I was the one who was frowning at the idea of draining meat, let alone a corpse.
But I had pride.
The Grandfell pride that never fails, no matter what.
Even in the face of such devastation.
I felt nauseous.
You might frown.
I didn’t turn my head and look away.
I said.
“Let’s get the bodies.”
I will take the body.
Harkon’s eyes widened at my words.
“Collect the body……. My Lord, are you serious?”
He wasn’t the only one.
No.
Kichi and the rest of the Shadow Mercenaries were giving me the stare of a madman.
It was an understandable reaction.
I’m starting to think I’m crazy myself.
“We don’t know when or where the demon army will attack.”
Frost was full of buildings from the start.
Building after building.
Alley after alley.
There was no telling when the Demon Army might ambush them.
Collecting bodies under such circumstances?
It’s the kind of thing that makes you want to die.
But I know.
Because I’ve done it more than once.
It was all because of this fucking pride……!
『Grandfell Claudie Arpheus Romeo is noble. No matter who he faces, he never bows his head. His pride is heavy and unshakable. Even if he sinks and drowns under its weight.”
Yes, that pride spoke.
Those who died protecting Frost.
To turn away from them.
To turn away from them is to violate your pride.
Against pride?
Even if it meant sinking and drowning.
I would not go against that pride.
But.
“……Do you think I’m going to sink and drown?”
Like I said, it’s happened more than once.
Even when I stood before Count Ascura with nothing.
Even in the face of his greatness.
I had been dead and alive before.
I no longer hesitated.
I bent my knees and bowed my back.
I approached Frost’s dead soldier, leaning against the building.
As if he couldn’t close his eyes yet.
He closed his wide-open eyes.
“Your pride is mine to carry.”
Yes, if you can sink it, sink it!
I was more confident than anyone in my struggle.
Harkon nodded at my behavior.
The Lionheart knights moved in unison.
They laid the bodies still.
I closed their unclosed eyes.
Then someone approached me.
“Thank you, …….”
I couldn’t see the face behind the helmet, but I recognized the voice.
Golden Palace, Kingdom of Yusra.
It was Yessica, the woman who had escorted me from my office.
” ……And I’m sorry for everything, really.”
Yessica was sobbing under her helmet.
“……I don’t know what you mean by sorry.”
She was talking about me behind my back.
I can understand that.
Why, the feeling of not being able to leave work because of your boss.
“I know.”
At least I’m a good judge of character.
I quickly realized.
that the Yessica hometown was Frost.
Of course, I couldn’t know what it was like to lose something so precious to a demon.
There was no way I could have known.
But Grandfell would know better than anyone.
“Don’t let your emotions take over.”
I said, rising to my feet.
“You still have to move on.”
……I just need a little comfort and I’ll be fine.
The old me at times like this.
I want to scream at Grandfell.
The people of the world.
I wish they all had your superhuman mental strength.
Fortunately, Yessica nodded.
Perhaps Harkon’s training in psychology was paying off.
Just as I was thinking that silly thought.
“……!”
Suddenly, the quest window flashed.
I was stunned.
……Wait, what is this?
* https://pindangscans.com
Ten gates.
A siege in progress.
“…… is open!”
“Yeah, open them if you have a conscience, as*holes!”
“How many bottles of potions have you poured?”
The impenetrable gates finally began to crumble.
Except for the one that Ho Yeol had managed to break through, the speeds were all about the same.
“Crazy, those bastards are using the Force!”
It was the same when the demon army appeared from behind the collapsed gate.
But there was one thing different.
The presence of players on the walls.
“……Wait, aren’t those players?”
“I think so, but how did they get up there?”
“No way, did they come over from the other side already?!”
Yes, they did.
Thermophilic stone stairs.
They were the players who climbed those stairs and took over the city walls.
They ran over the wall and reached the gate of another district.
They began to help defeat the demon army.
“That was a good move, wasn’t it?”
A cold society.
Naturally, there was no heart to help others.
It was all about experience and contribution.
“I was a fool to think I’d run out of food.”
“Seriously. It’s different up there, you see?”
“I just can’t keep up with the pace of the hunt.”
Ho Yeol and the Lionheart Knights.
And the Shadow Mercenaries.
Wherever they were going, there wasn’t even a place to put a spoon.
So I made a quick judgment call.
Let’s just go to the other gate.
Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle!
Supporting fire from the players.
It was enough to shake the formation of the demon army.
It wasn’t enough.
“……It’s less than you thought, isn’t it?”
More than I expected.
There weren’t as many heads of the Demon Army that ran out.
The reason wasn’t hard to find.
” Lee Ho-yeol. He concentrated his forces there.”
The story was simple then.
This was an opportunity.
And they seized it.
The Shining had always been on top.
Rox mulled it over, then made a decision.
“Let’s move quickly to the center of the frost.”
“Okay~ I feel a little sorry for them.”
“Don’t feel sorry for them. We’ve got enough on our plate.”
“……By the way, where’s our princess again?”
Camilla looked around as she drew her bowstring.
There was no sign of Jesse, who had just been firing off skills.
Rox and Dmitri thought nothing of it.
It’s only a day or two before Jesse disappears.
Lee Ho-yeol, she disappeared as soon as his name came up.
“Hmmm……. I think I know something about that~?”
But Camilla was silent.
She was crazy.
What good could come of earning Jesse’s hatred?
.
.
.
The demon army has concentrated its forces toward Ho Yeol.
For some people, the news was an opportunity.
To others, it was a crushing blow.
“……?!”
Gaon and Berserker.
The Yusra Kingdom could not be left completely empty.
The two guilds had unwittingly united in a common front due to their scattered power.
“……What?”
“Holy sh*t.”
Nam Tae-min and Leonie stopped at the same time.
It was all thanks to Ho-yeol that they were able to enter the Frost more easily than expected…….
Leonie gritted her teeth.
“I’m sorry I left, but I’m not the kind of person who can’t live in debt.”
Leonie was going to join Ho-Yeol right away.
…… Should I call it concern, this?
“No, definitely not.”
Who was Ho-yeol to be worried about anyone or to need help?
It was simple stubbornness.
The pride that says I can’t just take it anymore.
“I’m all for it, sis.”
“I support that decision, that determination.”
“Just shut up.”
Nam Tae-min also spoke to the guild members.
“We’re joining Ho-yeol’s side.”
Ho-yeol and the Lionheart Knights.
And the Shadow Mercenaries.
I was well aware of their level, but…….
There is no business in quantity.
Even if he couldn’t be of much help, he needed to get their heads together.
The moment the two guilds agreed.
There should have been no hesitation.
But somehow.
He kept stepping in the snow.
Finally, Nam Tae-min stopped walking.
“You go ahead, I’ll catch up.”
Frost collapsed.
I couldn’t just pass by.
I couldn’t look away.
“…….”
Nam Tae-min wordlessly picked up the body.
Wondering if he recognized any of the faces.
He thought about his boiling anger.
His quest window also flashed.
[You have met the requirements].
[Quest begins].
[Class Quest: Proof of Wildness]
“……!”
On two occasions.
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─Current contribution: 3,300p
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* https://pindangscans.com
Just picked up a dead body.
Your contribution has increased.
This is a significant increase in contribution.
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─Current contribution: 19,600p
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I thought.
I guess being a good person pays off……!
Of course, I didn’t do it for the contribution.
In short, I cried and ate a lot of mustard.
It was a crazy thing to do, driven by the pride that controls the body.
“Maybe it’s because I didn’t expect it.”
I didn’t feel bad about it.
But I didn’t say anything.
This was not the time for that.
The Shadow Mercenaries.
One of the members spoke from the roof.
“They’re just coming right at us. Damn, they’re getting annoying.”
They just closed the corpse’s eyes.
And laid him on the ground.
Still, the delay was unavoidable.
The demon army’s reinforcements must be gathering.
Soon, the Demon Army came into view.
Their appearance was different from the [Demon Army Infantry], which had no personality.
But it didn’t matter.
I knew it.
Their levels were confirmed by further updates.
[Demon Army Demon Cavalry: Lv.400]
[Demon Army White Captain: Lv.420]
[Demon Warrior: Lv.420]…….
I didn’t have to go that far.
They were the same Baek Yi-Seol I hunted not long ago.
No, a demon weaker than a succubus.
“So what’s their head count?”
It didn’t matter, either.
The most efficient means to deal with multiple enemies.
I had magic.
So keep it.
My experience points, my contributions.
Of course, the building-filled battlefield was cramped and crowded.
Buildings could collapse on you, let alone your allies.
But none of that bothered me in the slightest.
I straightened my outfit.
Even my disheveled [Hankerchief].
“There’s no time to waste. Let’s do this once and for all.”
Yes, now.
It was time to see the effects of the new stat, [Aesthetics].