Chapter 315

In the world, cleaning up is often more troublesome than making a mess.

"When are we going to finish cleaning up all this and go home?"

Evangeline heaved a sigh as she surveyed the field of troll corpses strewn across the southern outskirts of the forward base.

Monster carcasses are valuable.

They're also a major source of income for Crossroad.

First, the crucial resource, magic stones, are collected. If there are more usable materials, those are also separated and gathered.

In the case of trolls, it's their bodily fluids.

They're handy as potion ingredients, and they fetch a good price.

So, all the soldiers were occupied with post-battle cleanup—collecting and separating monster parts.

As for me? I was just standing back and watching.

Evangeline was in the process of shoving the body of the Troll King to one side, making a noise like 'Ewww.'

The Troll King's body was enormous, and its regeneration had been devastated. Even the task of gathering it up for incineration was an ordeal.

"There's no end to this cleanup, hah hah."

Evangeline panted like a puppy as she stuck out her tongue.

Watching her, I chuckled.

"Work hard, and it'll be over soon."

"If you help, Senior, it'll be over even sooner, don't you think?"

"Aha. Why would a commander like me get involved in this kind of work?"

"Aye! You always show up on the front lines during battles!"

Hahaha. Taking unfair advantage is one of the privileges of being a commander.

I was actually considering helping out, but the soldiers vehemently discouraged me. They said they'd feel more uncomfortable if I did this sort of work.

Sometimes it's better to not interfere where you're not needed. I figured it'd be tactless for a commander, so I stepped back.

"What about the Troll King? What if we had captured it alive?"

Evangeline asked, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"We could have had an infinite supply of potion ingredients."

"There's no need to take on additional risk just to get some potions."

Even if we did capture it, where would we keep it? And there's no guarantee that we could restrain it safely.

It's better to kill it if you can.

Fortunately, things went according to plan and we could eliminate it.

'I did prepare [Become Mine!] just in case we couldn't kill it.'

Just like when we defeated the Vampire Lord Celendion at Stage 5.

Junior would use [Elemental Disassembly] to turn the enemy's magic stats into negative, and then I would consecutively use my 1st skill [Gaze of Command] and 2nd skill [Become Mine!].

I could then definitively turn the enemy's boss monster into my captured monster.

But I didn't want to use it.

The reason is the same as it was with Celendion,

'I can't control them.'

When you use various mind-control methods to recruit enemies as allies,

The higher the rank of the monster, the harder it is to control. If it's a boss-level creature, you can consider it completely uncontrollable.

In this world, even human mercenaries occasionally rebel and cause trouble.

Expecting these monsters, designed to hate humans, to peacefully become my subordinates is absurd.

'Having a boss-level monster in the allied camp would also cause a lot of negative impact.'

These bastards emit malicious energy passively.

My soldiers' morale would be constantly cut down during battles due to that malicious energy. Imagine bringing such creatures into a city; who knows what could happen.

For these reasons, I'm not capturing boss-level monsters.

It's better to capture lower-level random mobs. Surprisingly, their loyalty increases quickly.

Although I haven't mentioned it, I did capture one random mob each from STAGE 11, 12, and 13.

All of them are safely stored in a specialized space. It kind of feels like playing Pokémon.

"It's a waste, you know. We could've tied up the Troll King and extracted its blood for infinite potion production."

"Don't say something that terrifying with such a calm face..."

It was a tantalizing thought. If we could safely operate the factory, we could have produced potions almost indefinitely.

But in the end, they were just potions.

We already had a variety of healing methods available.

It wasn't like we were short on funds. Keeping boss monsters alive just for the sake of extra items was, in my judgment, a low-return high-risk move.

"By the way, that incredible regenerative power was really fascinating..."

Evangeline rested her chin on her hand and hummed.

"Do you think we could harness that tremendous regenerative power if we make equipment from the Troll King's magic core?"

"Hmm. That's not a bad idea. How about troll hide armor?"

"Whaaaaa! No way! Absolutely not! Stop making me wear monster armor!"

Evangeline squealed at my teasing comment and dashed away, yelling. Seems like the armor was a deal-breaker...

As I watched Evangeline disappear into the distance, Dusk Bringar approached me, her expression weary.

"You wage war in unusual ways, Ash."

"The enemies are unusual, so I have to get creative."

Come to think of it, this was the dragon lady's first defense battle debut. Maybe I should ask for her impressions.

"How was it, fighting against these monsters? Did you find it manageable?"

"Ugh... I must admit, I underestimated those creatures."

Dusk Bringar scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

"The dungeon within that deep lake, and the horde of monsters invading here, they're not ordinary threats. Even if the entire army of my homeland were stationed here, we would have struggled."

She was right.

When facing these creatures, you need not only a large or powerful army but also the ability to adapt to the creatures' unusual abilities.

'You have to take a hit to learn!' Their bizarre gimmicks were too numerous to count.

Any army would have had a tough time dealing with them.

I'm just scraping by thanks to my experience.

Dusk Bringar extended her small hand to pat me gently on the head.

"You've held on well, Third Prince. Allow me to commend you."

"It's not me who has held on."

I didn't shake off her hand and instead looked at the soldiers in the southern fields.

"The people of this land are the ones who have held on."

All I brought was strategic experience.

Ultimately, the front line was held by the people's deaths, sacrifices, and blood, sweat, and tears.

And in the future, it will have to be built the same way.

"By the way, your subordinates are certainly not ordinary."

As I thought about the people who had died defending this place, Dusk Bringar slapped me on the back with a cheerful voice.

"The wizard's magic was exceptional, and the skills of the two knights were not ordinary either. It seems like you haven't shown all your cards yet."

Dusk Bringar glanced towards the wall.

"And that sniper's 'eye'..."

On the wall, Damien was busy rearranging his magic guns.

When our eyes met, an awkward Damien gave a small wave. I also waved back, smiling awkwardly.

"I was already impressed by his sniping skills, but you have no idea how surprised I was the moment our eyes met. I've never seen anything like it. Where did you find such a kid?"

"Rather than finding him, he rolled into my life on his own."

"Hmm, I see."

Dusk Bringar slightly narrowed her large pumpkin-colored dragon eyes and gazed at me intently.

"Most importantly, you, Ash."

"Yes?"

"You're the most impressive of all. How did you come up with such a strategy on the fly?"

"Ah, haha..."

Before coming here, it wasn't as if my 742 losses were particularly beneficial.

"Maybe it's just because I'm naturally talented."

In classic Ash fashion, I boldly bragged about myself.

Dusk Bringar, who had been looking at me as if she couldn't believe her ears, eventually broke into a mischievous smile.

"Your warriors are more impressive than I thought. Hmm, if we had proceeded with the agreed-upon 5v5 battle, it would have been quite interesting."

"Want to have a friendly match later?"

I playfully swayed my body in front of Dusk Bringar. She grinned, revealing her sharp teeth.

"A friendly match... It might be beneficial for both of us, but fighting seriously requires some stakes."

"Still aiming for control of Crossroad, are you?"

"Of course. I am a woman born of evil dragon's blood, after all. I'm just biding my time, waiting for the right moment next to you."

Well, then go stand in line. The heir to the Cross family is also eying Crossroad and trying to take it from me.

While we were having this sort of conversation, I saw Lucas and the soldiers returning from the southern plains.

It looked like the long and arduous task of cleaning up the bodies was almost done. Monster corpses were gathered in one place, and oil was being poured on them.

"Reporting, my lord. The disposal of the monster corpses is nearly complete."

Lucas handed me a report detailing the collected items and added,

"We also retrieved the long sword and Evangeline's spearhead that were stuck in the Troll King, but..."

"Are they intact?"

"No, they are beyond use now."

Lucas showed me the retrieved long sword and spearhead with a bitter smile.

They were broken, cracked, rusted; a total mess. Kellibey had poured her soul into crafting those masterpieces, and now they were ruined.

"It was the first weapon you ever crafted for me..."

"Don't be too disheartened. If we give them to Kellibey, we can salvage some of the material."

It's a universal rule in RPGs that blacksmiths can reclaim some of the materials from broken equipment.

We will salvage what we can, especially since the material is valuable.

"You'll get a new weapon soon, anyway."

I was planning to restore Lucas's signature equipment, [Bestowed Sword], soon.

It's an endgame-level weapon that will be of great assistance.

Once we finish his armor, accessories, and skill set, Lucas will be fully equipped to carry us to victory in this game.

"..."

When the [Bestowed Sword] came up, Lucas's face hardened again.

My once-smiling face also slowly hardened.

What's the matter? Don't tell me you really lost it? Right?

"I, I will go clean up the battlefield then!"

"Hey! Where do you think you're going! Lucas! Hey!"

Lucas hurriedly turned and ran away. Dammit, now I'm really worried!

Where's your signature item?

***

Victory parties are another unspoken rule of warfare.

That night, another grand feast was held in the central square.

It was late autumn, so the weather was chilly. The soldiers gathered around bonfires, wrapped in blankets, drinking and eating meat.

'We'll have to hold victory celebrations indoors from the next defensive battle.'

There's no indoor facility capable of accommodating this many people. Everyone will have to get take-out food delivered to their quarters.

Well, it's still better than getting sick from drinking and eating outside in the dead of winter.

After mingling at the party until midnight, I returned alone to the lord's mansion's office.

"Ugh, blech."

The liquor I had earlier had ruined my taste buds. Ugh.

Those barbaric mercenaries had tricked me into drinking troll blood mixed with alcohol, claiming it was good for vitality.

Since it's the main ingredient for potions that help with health regeneration, it would naturally be beneficial in that regard. Or so I thought.

'What good is it for boosting stamina when I have no use for it! Who's making fun of me here?'

Anyway, I'm not the type to refuse a recommended drink, so I drank without much thought. This damn troll brew had no taste to it.

Evangeline made some ridiculous comment like 'Will drinking this make me taller?' and, despite being a minor, sneakily took a sip. She promptly got drunk and passed out.

Godhand and Lilly, both quite drunk, were crossing their arms and doing love shots, cursing like sailors. Ugh, what a distasteful couple.

Not sure about the stamina, but Saintess Margarita gulped it down like water next to me, claiming it was definitely effective for fatigue recovery. I made my escape. I had to get out of this insane scene!

"Is there anything to rinse my mouth with..."

Fortunately, a kettle was boiling on the heater in my office. I quickly poured myself some warm tea and took a sip. Ah, feels like I've been revived.

I regained my senses. I sat down at the office desk.

I had a reason for leaving the banquet early.

'Level 50!'

Finally reached it!

I opened the system window to confirm the number '50' once more and threw my arms up in the air, celebrating like a striker who just scored a goal. Hell yes!

'Finally, it's time for the third job change!'

In other words, I can finally unlock my ultimate skill!

Hero characters have four skills: passive, first skill, second skill, and ultimate.

Fighting without an ultimate is essentially like sealing away 25% of your full power.

Moreover, the ultimate completes a character. In reality, more than 30% of my full power was sealed away.

'Now, where's the symbol?'

All level 50 players, commonly known as 'Awakeners,' get a unique symbol somewhere on their body.

I looked into a small mirror placed on my office desk.

My awakening symbol appeared at the center of my neck... around the collarbone area.

I tilted the [Rebel's Necklace] I was wearing to better examine the shape of the symbol. It was an indistinguishable geometric figure.

'What is this? A clock spring?'

Old burn scars from the tutorial period were still there, making it hard to determine the exact shape.

Who cares about its shape? I covered the symbol with my necklace and chuckled to myself as I rubbed my hands.

"Alright, let's confirm this now."

Please!

Be OP!

Ultimate skill!

Give me at least one—!

I opened the character stat window in the system menu and shouted.

"Did I get an OP skill?!"