◈ 011. [Side Story] Crossroads in the fortress city
rattles. rattle.
“Whoah… … .”
I yawned profusely in the rocking wagon.
It was the third day to leave the base and head north by wagon.
Due to the slow movement due to the large number of injured people (especially since I was injured), the schedule is behind schedule.
“It’s boring… .”
He muttered and buried his back in the carriage seat. My back hurts from sitting all day.
“Lucas! Are you still far away!”
“I will arrive soon, Your Highness! Please wait a little longer!”
I shouted at Lucas, who was driving the wagon, and the answer came back as if I had heard it five times already.
You’re not the owner of a delivery restaurant, so why is the answer that comes back the same?
“Egogo… .”
I sighed and rolled over the sheets, then put my hand to the jingling sound in my throat.
there is a necklace
With my still bandaged hand, I fumbled to untie the necklace and held it in my hand.
It’s a necklace or something close to a choker. It is made of black leather with a metal ornament hanging in the middle.
‘Reward for clearing the tutorial stage.’
A reward box that came into my inventory after clearing Stage 0. stuff from there
The inventory is like a subspace pocket that appears in the air when you do something again.
I don’t know if you can insert and remove things as you like, but it’s a game world… … .
[???’s Necklace]
– The function has not been released yet.
– Available after progressing the story.
I looked at this suspicious necklace and frowned.
Originally, there is no reward in Stage 0. Because it is impossible to clear.
But I cleared it and the reward box came and opened it and this came out. I don’t know where to use it… … .
‘I’ll find out soon what it’s for.’
I put the necklace around my neck again.
In the last battle, I also received a burn on my neck, but it healed the fastest because it was the least injured part, but the scar was lost. It was worth covering it.
‘This item’s done, the others… … .’
I opened my status window.
[Ash (EX)]
– Level: 5
– Title: Wacky 3rd Prince
– Occupation: Beginner (You can choose a job!)
– Strength 2 Agility 3 Intellect 5 Stamina 2 Horsepower 3
“Hmm… .”
I groaned as I looked at the vaguely raised stats. It has risen too miscellaneously to be a specialized character, and the stats are low to have risen evenly.
The stat increase in this game is completely automatic.
The character’s main stats used in battle rise… … It’s cool, but random stats may go up unexpectedly.
‘My preference is Diltan.’
A well-balanced character capable of attacking and defending is Diltan.
Since the unit with the highest survival rate in this game is the Diltan class.
It was a car that I wanted to develop into a DLT tank myself. went up like this
If you look at the stats, it feels like a wizard, but no, it’s a mess to be called a wizard… … .
‘In the first place, the class hasn’t been decided yet.’
Because my job was so high, I hadn’t decided on the direction of my character’s growth yet. I opened the job window.
All characters are assigned a job at level 5 (in the game, all start at level 5 or higher), and additional job advancement is possible every 15 levels thereafter.
The first job at level 20, the second job at level 35, the final job at level 50, and so on.
However, I started the game at level 1, and now that I am level 5, I can choose a job.
[Selectable Jobs]
– Novice Knight
– Novice Wizard
– Novice Priest
– Novice Samurai
– Novice …
The list is endless. All jobs that exist in this game have been shown.
so what You mean I can grow as I please? Is this all wild cards?
If this was all there was to it, I would have chosen a job based on its usefulness. The problem was at the end of the list.
[Selectable Jobs]
– Beginner Commander < 'Ironman of Hell' Achievement Perks >
Throughout the game, a category of classes I’ve never seen before was written all over the place.
‘Commander?’
The Iron Man of Hell achievement bonus. So, what is the commonly referred to hidden class or something like this?
However, there is no guarantee that it is good just because it is a perk or hidden. Rather, it is more likely to be a trap.
You can get on a former tree without any information and then go to ruin.
So, if this was the only thing, I would ignore it and choose a job I knew safely. the problem is.
[Possessed Skills]
– Passive: Indomitable Commander
– 1st Skill: ??? (Choose after 1st job change)
– 2nd skill: ??? (Select after the 2nd job change)
-Ultimate: ??? (Selected after the 3rd job change)
Possessed skills are the problem!
The passive skill he got after awakening from the last battle is [Indomitable Commander]. Isn’t this openly saying Commander Treeta?
So, what kind of person is the awakened skill?
[Indomitable Commander Lv.1]
– A skill created by a noble spirit that never gives up under any circumstances.
– Provides mental abnormality immunity to all allies within a 10m radius.
it’s a good skill
No, it’s an incredibly good skill.
In this game, wizard-type enemies from the middle of the game cast insane magic when they are bored.
Confusion and fear are basic, and when it is severe, it even shoots at mental control.
If the magic stat is high, it will be chewed up, but characters with low magic stats have to see them flounder every turn.
One day, Lucas was mentally controlled and cut all his allies, so he gave up and reset the game.
So it’s almost a fraudulent skill from the middle. yes it is very good
‘In the beginning… … It’s of no use… … .’
In the beginning, most of them are single-celled monsters that only run head-on. There are very few enemies who use insanity magic.
Of course, it’s good to keep the mental health of allies fresh.
Still, compared to Lucas’s [Man of Steel] passive skill, it’s a bit disappointing… … . What I need right now is a skill that can withstand the moment.
“Ah, that hurts.”
I’m tearing my hair out because my head hurts while thinking about which route I should take to survive in the future.
“I see the crossroads of charge!”
I heard Lucas’ voice.
“at las!”
I stuck my head out the carriage window. Let’s see.
On the other side of the not-so-distant horizon – stood a city surrounded by iron walls.
***
Crossroads.
It is the name of a fortress built at the southern end of the world.
This fortress was built to stop the monsters pouring endlessly from the ‘Black Lake’ in the south.
At one time, the iron-reinforced walls were filled with moat cannons and ballistas flowing with holy water. It was the largest fortress in the empire where tens of thousands of soldiers were stationed.
However, as the invasion of monsters has gradually decreased in recent decades, the Empire has withdrawn its troops and redirected them to other fronts.
Because the world is always at war, and the front line the Empire maintains isn’t just here.
Instead, vacancies were filled by mercenaries.
Mercenaries were hired regardless of nationality or skill. To put it bluntly, what the Empire needed was a meat shield to sustain this line.
Old soldiers who were pushed out of the human-to-human war and who were about to retire or low-skilled kids flocked to it.
As cheap lives flocked to the fort, restaurants, inns, and banks sprung up.
Ten years passed and the fortress took the form of a deformedly overgrown city.
At some point, people stopped calling Crossroads a fortress. Instead, it was called
monster front. fortress.
Or, as if mocking the fire moth mercenaries who jumped to their deaths blinded by money, they called them like this.
Street of Suicide. It’s called the city on the grave.
‘This is Cross Road.’
I opened my mouth small as I entered the south gate of the city in a carriage.
‘I didn’t know it when I saw it on the game screen… … It’s bigger than I thought.’
In the game’s administration mode, you just look down on the city from above, and in the tower defense mode, you only run scared over the walls. I didn’t get a good sense of the scale.
However, seeing it through the eyes of a real human being, the force was different.
‘And it’s older than I thought!’
I looked at the aging facility and frowned.
The castle walls, which had been attacked by monsters for a long time, were in tatters because they had not been properly repaired.
The moat was dry, and the interior of the city, which had been repeatedly rebuilt and renovated, was in a mess because the zoning was not properly organized.
‘There are not just one or two places to fix.’
This is the Maginot Line of mankind.
and… where my city will be
‘Anyway, I’m going to be the lord of this city, right?’
There wasn’t a house in my name on Earth. I never thought my dream of owning a house would come true.
Even though it was a bad situation to fall into another world and risk your life to roll. To be honest, though, I didn’t feel bad.
The carriage procession entered the city along the main road.
Citizens rushed out to the main street to watch the procession. The faces of the citizens watching were never bright.
It has to be. The newly appointed lord and commander is coming back with only his life spared after destroying his troops.
However, the faces of the people who were blunt soon changed to surprise.
It was because of a wagon loaded with supplies that followed right behind my wagon in the lead.
“Hey that… .”
“Could it be that all of them are magic stones?”
As I listened to the muttering of the citizens, I felt that things were going according to plan.
Hundreds of black spider magic stones were loaded onto the wagon in the back.
In this world of magical civilization, magic stones are, for example, oil.
Manastones that can be collected from the bodies of monsters are the biggest strategic resource produced in this city.
It was also the biggest reason for maintaining this front even at the cost of countless lives.
However, as the activities of the monsters have decreased recently, the amount of manastones naturally decreased. The city’s income was also slumping.
But I defeated the black spider army and recovered almost 400 mana stones.
They were level 55 to level 60 monsters, so they were very high-purity magic stones.
Even if you look at it roughly, it is ridiculously expensive. For the time being, there is no need to worry about the budget.
‘If you break a stage made to not break, you should get this kind of reward.’
Currently, citizens’ trust in me is below the bottom.
The situation was the same in games. At the beginning of the game, the citizens do not trust the player and the favorability is at the bottom.
However, in the third year of operation, the citizens trust and follow the player like a father.
In the end, there is only one way to turn their hearts around.
sprinkle money
reasonably clear.
As he was calculating how to spend the money from selling these magic stones, the carriage arrived at the manor house before he knew it.
“We have arrived, Your Highness.”
Lucas got out of the driver’s seat and opened the carriage door. I slowly pulled myself out of the carriage.
Manor house in Crossroads.
The mansion, built of red brick and marble, was quite old but had an orphan taste. It was also quite large.
‘It can’t be compared to the studio I used to live in.’
It was a time of small admiration.
“Oh my gosh it’s the lord!”
The mansion door was thrown open, and a man rushed this way.
“I’m so glad you’re safe, it’s Yeongjun!”
It was a young man with shaggy gray hair and thick bangles and glasses.
The man who ran all the way in front of me and jumped up! Then I changed my title.
“No, no, you can’t call me lord. Please forgive me, Your Highness the Prince!”
“You can call me Lord.”
I smiled and comforted the gray-haired young man. Then this young man held my bandaged hand and wept bitterly.
“Anyway, this lowly servant was worried that the lord’s jade body might get scratched!”
The name of this guy who exudes a lot of nuances from the superstition is Ader.
In the game, it is a city management NPC, and almost all administrative tasks in Crossroads are seen through this guy.
From building facilities, adding troops, and managing small systems… … .
Probably the same here. City management tasks will be handled with this guy.
“Come in! I got a warm bath and prepared dinner! Have a good rest today!”
In fact, I was quite sick with travel, so I thought of taking a break today.
Following Ader’s guidance and entering the mansion, I looked back at Lucas and nodded.
“All soldiers, let them rest. Lucas, don’t think about anything today and get some rest.”
“But Your Highness’s escort… … .”
“Stop today. Get some rest and start tomorrow.”
Lucas reluctantly accepted.
“I will, Your Highness.”
Lucas bowed to me and walked towards his room. Lucas’s room seems to be on the first floor.
Ader led me to my room on the second floor.
“Come this way, lord! After soaking your body in warm water, the fatigue of the trip and the bloody smell of the battle will all go away~” “
Yes, please.”
I was guided by Ader into the bathroom attached to my room.
The spacious bathtub was filled with warm water and smelled good.
How many baths is this? I wanted to clean up quickly. With his bandaged hand, he undid the button on his shirt.
But,
“By the way, you were really great. ‘Classic Deokhu’.”
I stopped trying to take off my clothes when I heard a voice behind me.
“I never imagined you would clear the tutorial in that way.”
“you… ?”
Embarrassed, I glanced back.
Click.
After closing the door to the room and then to the bathroom, Ader smiled brightly.
“What are you hiding? That’s right! I am Ader, the director of < Defend the Empire >.
