Chapter 25

Game Difficulty Is Crazy

“No. No matter how I think about it, this isn’t right, Glen. Think about it again.”

Tris kept shaking her head.

But Glen’s gaze was calm.

“It’s fine, noona.”

“Do you even know what kind of place an abandoned village is? That place is… cursed land.”

Those words came from genuine worry.

Glen could understand why Tris reacted like that.

Abandoned villages really were that dangerous.

“I know very well, noona.”

In Gray Eden, an abandoned village meant a village that had been left behind during war.

Gray Eden was a world where wars between demons and humans had gone on for hundreds of years.

When the front lines moved, nearby villages naturally became targets for plunder.

Peaceful villages would, in an instant, fall into the hands of the demon race and become their bases.

Then, when the Papal State pushed the front lines back again and reclaimed the land, a problem would arise.

The demon race, unwilling to give the village back intact, would place a curse on the land with wicked power before leaving.

As a result, the land would rot and decay into barren ground, poisonous energy would rise from the wells, and the villagers who had been taken prisoner would become the dead, wandering the village as monsters.

A dungeon created by war.

Who in their right mind would take trainee knights who were only 1-star—at best 2-star—into a place like that?

‘Yeah. Me.’

“There are two reasons.”

“Two reasons?”

“First, I agree with Edgar hyung’s opinion.”

—If it’s a place filled with traces of the demon race, wouldn’t it be the perfect training ground for the trainee knights?

On that point, Glen agreed as well.

Even though the trainee knights were growing well, they were still greenhorns.

Their only real combat experience so far was fighting a pack of Gnolls in the northern forest.

‘This is a good chance to build more experience.’

On top of that, most monsters that appeared in abandoned villages carried demonic energy.

Considering they would soon be fighting demon race enemies who used demonic energy, it would be valuable experience.

“Noona, you know this too, but if we send the trainee knights to the battlefield as they are now, more than half of them will die within a month.”

“That’s…”

Tris turned her gaze away, as if she wanted to avoid that uncomfortable truth.

But reality was even more cruel than what Glen said.

In the coming war, the trainee knights were fated to be wiped out along with the territory.

“We need to take a little risk now to prepare for a much bigger danger later, noona.”

Glen leaned forward.

After thinking for a moment, Tris finally nodded.

“…Alright.”

“Thank you for understanding, noona.”

“But I have a condition.”

Tris looked straight at Glen, determination filling her eyes.

“Let’s teach the kids for at least two days before going. They need some basic knowledge about abandoned villages to be even a little safer.”

“Of course, noona. I was planning to suggest the same thing.”

When Glen smiled gently, Tris let out a sigh of relief.

“But you said there were two reasons. What’s the second one?”

“Oh, the second one? Honestly, that one is the most important.”

“What is it?”

Tris looked curious.

Glen smiled with his eyes and raised his index finger, pointing upward.

“Because God told me to do so.”

Tris sighed once again.

With a look that said, I knew it, she shook her head lightly.

“‘God’s Touch’ really is something else… Isn’t it making you do something way too dangerous?”

“Still, I’ve never lost anything by following His words.”

“I know.”

Though it led to strange actions at times, it was ultimately a blessed path directly chosen by the god of the Order.

That was what God’s Touch was.

“So I have nothing more to say. Trusting you, supporting you, and helping you—that’s all I can do.”

Tris smiled bitterly, having no way to argue back.

“That’s more than enough.”

In truth, there was another very important reason why Glen was going to the abandoned village, even if it worried Tris.

‘The hidden piece is there.’

As mentioned before, the world of Gray Eden, like any RPG, was filled with countless hidden pieces.

And because they were hidden, their performance was far superior to ordinary items or skills.

What mattered here was that the Saint Relic Orb, which had stagnated and rotted within Gray Eden, knew the locations of most hidden pieces by heart.

‘If I know where they are, there’s no reason not to get them.’

There were probably three hidden pieces within the Wardsworth territory.

And one of them was hidden deep inside the abandoned village the trainee knights would be sent to—at a location known only to a few veteran players.

In other words, this abandoned village mission was a perfect chance for Glen to secure a hidden piece.

‘I was wondering when an opportunity would come.’

As if on cue, the lord who constantly restricted Glen’s actions had gone off to the capital.

And not only that—Edgar, who would normally interfere, was actually pushing him toward the place where the hidden piece was.

‘Without even realizing he’s helping me.’

Glen let out a small chuckle.

Of course, there were still problems.

Because a hidden piece was there, reaching that place would not be easy.

‘It is an abandoned village, after all.’

Powerful monsters infused with demonic energy.

And Lunatic elements that could appear at any time, far beyond Glen’s expectations.

Considering those potential dangers, both Glen and the trainee knights needed thorough preparation.

With that thought, Glen looked at Tris, who was quietly sipping her black tea.

“So, noona. I was thinking of adding a slightly special course to the trainee knight training.”

“Hm? A special course?”

“Yes. Something like… ‘pre-learning.’”

Tris tilted her head.

* * * *

That afternoon.

As always, the trainee knights and instructors were gathered in the large training hall of the Wardsworth estate.

However, today’s training was quite different from usual.

On one side of the training hall, three trainee knights stood holding bows and arrows.

“Arrow ready!”

“Draw!”

“Fire!”

The instructor’s booming commands echoed.

At the same time, three arrows flew from their bows.

Thud—!

They struck a massive shield set up on the opposite side of the hall with perfect accuracy.

“Hold it higher, Boli! At that rate, you’ll turn your ally into a target!”

“Ghk, yes!”

Boli, who had a rough-looking face that didn’t match his age, raised the shield higher.

A little distance away, Aust and Cheryl were holding maces, smashing training dummies without mercy.

Clang—clang!

With heavy sounds, the helmet placed on the dummy’s head caved in.

“Good attack. Keep that feeling.”

“Yes!”

Aust and Cheryl answered in unison.

Once the instructor moved away, they let out deep sighs.

“Ah, my arms are killing me.”

“Hey, Cheryl. Why are we even doing this?”

“Didn’t you hear earlier? We’re going to the abandoned village in two days. This is training for that, right?”

“But what does that have to do with this?”

Cheryl, unsure how to answer, awkwardly looked around the training hall.

Swords and maces, shields and bows, even battle axes.

The trainee knights, who had only learned swordsmanship since coming to the Wardsworth estate, were now learning different weapons.

Still, since they had solid basics, their skills improved quickly.

“Well… isn’t this training more useful for real combat?”

“Isn’t a sword enough?”

At that moment, the instructor approached them.

“A holy knight of the Papal State must be able to handle various weapons depending on the situation. This will be especially helpful for the abandoned village mission.”

Aust and Cheryl looked at each other.

Then, with the same expression, they tilted their heads.

‘Do we really need to drop the sword we’ve been learning and pick up a mace?’

“You’ll learn all of this once you become full knights anyway, so train hard now.”

“…Yes.”

“For reference, when I was your age, I had already mastered the sword, mace, bow, and even the war hammer.”

The instructor puffed out his chest, hands on his waist.

Aust and Cheryl narrowed their eyes at the same time.

‘…Who asked?’

“Alright! Enough chatting! Three hundred swings again! Begin!”

“B-Begin!”

At the instructor’s command, the two grabbed their maces again and charged at the training dummies.

Clang—!

The sound of blunt weapons striking metal echoed through the hall.

Meanwhile, Glen watched the scene from above, nodding repeatedly.

“Good, good. You’re all doing great.”

The trainee knights diligently following the training impressed him.

They might feel confused now, but once they reached the abandoned village in two days, they would understand the meaning of this training.

“Still, noona Tris really is amazing.”

From Boli learning shield techniques, to Claire and Hurst learning archery, and Aust and Cheryl learning the mace—

Assigning weapons based on each person’s body type and style was something that required real care.

“Work hard and repay her later.”

Looking over the trainee knights, Glen smiled in satisfaction.

The short-term intensive training in preparation for the abandoned village was progressing smoothly.

At this rate, not only would he obtain the hidden piece, but the trainee knights would also become far more useful than before.

‘That is, if everything goes according to plan.’

Of course, that was only if things went exactly as Glen planned.

Variables could always appear.

From the wolf that devoured a spirit in the past, to Robert’s recent assassination attempt.

With Lunatic elements and Edgar as potential threats, Glen needed more preparation than usual.

Glen headed straight back into the estate and went to his room.

He spread out three medium-sized sheets of parchment on his desk.

The musty smell of parchment tickled his nose.

“Nice.”

A smile formed on Glen’s lips.

Soon, magic potions and a quill were placed on the desk.

Glen began drawing magic circles onto the parchment.

Scratch, scratch—

The pen tip scraped across the surface, leaving behind magical symbols.

Magic circles recorded on parchment, rather than paper, could be used as consumable items when needed.

‘The true essence of an RPG really is situational consumable items.’

Of course, because they had to be carried in a bag, it was impossible to prepare large-scale magic like the Inglusio magic circle he used before.

And magic circles themselves, compared to the effort put into them, didn’t have particularly outstanding effects, which was why only veteran players bothered with them in the original story.

‘But as insurance, they’re perfect.’

As the word implied, this was merely insurance—something to use if a trial beyond Glen’s predictions occurred in the abandoned village.

‘No need to stand out by carrying a huge parchment covered in large-scale magic, either.’

Imagining himself with a magic parchment as big as a person strapped to his back, Glen snorted softly.

The work that began in the late afternoon continued until evening.

“Done.”

Glen stood up and stretched.

Having sat without moving for hours, his whole body felt stiff.

‘I felt it while preparing the Inglusio circle and the exorcism spell too, but this really is exhausting. Still…’

Glen looked at the three completed magic scrolls with satisfaction.

‘The results are good, so it’s worth it.’

Now even the insurance against unexpected variables was perfectly prepared.

All that remained was to go to the abandoned village and put his flawless plan into action.

‘I’m kind of looking forward to Edgar’s reaction when I come back safely.’

A sly, fox-like smile slowly spread across Glen’s face.