Chapter 3

The Game Difficulty
Went Crazy

If Glen were to fuse holy power and demonic energy and create holy–demonic power , he would become someone who possessed the rarest and strongest power in this world.

‘If that happens, clearing Gray Eden will be nothing.’

Because Seong Yohan had fought the final boss, Mors, hundreds of times, he knew very well just how powerful the holy–demonic power that Mors used was.

A power that stood above every other power in Gray Eden.

The more he thought about the fact that Glen Wordsworth had the potential to use that power, the more his mind was filled with excitement.

But there was a problem.

‘I don’t know how to fuse holy power and demonic energy to draw out holy–demonic power.’

This was something even Seong Yohan, a veteran Gray Eden player, did not know.

That was only natural. Holy–demonic power was a power never allowed to players, a power possessed only by the final boss, Mors.

No matter how deeply rotten and experienced Seong Yohan was, he could not obtain a power that the game system itself did not allow.

But now, that game had become reality.

If the concept of holy–demonic power existed, then there had to be a way to obtain it.

‘Right. Let’s not rush things.’

Smack—

Glen slapped both of his cheeks with his hands.

Changing his way of thinking, he decided to proceed step by step.

First, he would do what he could do right now.

‘There are still many problems around me that need to be solved.’

At present, Glen had two major risk factors.

One was that his demonic energy could be discovered at any moment, and the other was the demon race that would invade this place four months later.

But the solution to both problems was the same.

‘Become stronger than I am now.’

In any situation, if you have sufficient strength, you can survive.

That was a simple but certain truth.

And if he focused on the present, he would gain a wider range of activity, and in that process, he would also be able to obtain clues about holy–demonic power.

‘If worst comes to worst, I can even go look for Mors’s temple.’

“Before that… first, I need to do something about this paper-doll-like body.”

Standing in front of the mirror, Glen lifted his shirt.

A body so skinny that it was hard to tell whether it belonged to a boy or a girl.

It was a frail body that made him wonder if it had ever properly exercised even once before reaching the age of seventeen.

But the real problem lay elsewhere.

‘My heart is too weak.’

The strength of the heart had a huge impact on using holy power and demonic energy.

With Glen’s current condition, if he used holy power or demonic energy, it was obvious he would collapse after using it only once or twice.

In the end, what Glen needed most was overall training, including muscle strength and cardiopulmonary endurance.

That said, Glen had no intention of immediately running to the training grounds and doing strength training.

That was because there was groundwork that needed to be done first.

‘In this world, there exists a cheat item called the “Potion of Growth.”’

The Potion of Growth.

An elixir that accelerated the growth of the person who drank it, and one of the items Seong Yohan used most often when playing Gray Eden.

‘If I drink a Potion of Growth and then start training, I’ll soon be able to say goodbye to this skinny body.’

Of course, that was only if he actually had a Potion of Growth.

The Potion of Growth was a rare item that even most nobles found difficult to obtain.

The Wordsworth family had one, but there was no way the family head would willingly hand such a precious item to Glen, the family’s hooligan.

But Glen’s eyes were still filled with confidence.

‘If there isn’t one, I’ll just make it.’

What was there to worry about?

Thousands of recipes for making Potions of Growth were all stored in his head.

One of the advantages of the Potion of Growth was that because there were thousands of different combinations, it could be made in any region and in any season.

The problem was obtaining the materials.

Glen’s current combat power was practically nonexistent.

He could somehow obtain materials like herbs or tree bark, but materials obtained by hunting monsters were out of reach.

But there was a solution to this as well.

‘If I have a helper who can gather materials for me, I won’t have to struggle to collect them myself.’

If someone heard Glen’s thoughts, they might ask this:

‘What kind of screw-loose lunatic would help a hooligan kid who’s practically been disowned?’

If someone asked that, Glen would snort, lift one corner of his mouth, and give them a rotten smile.

‘There’s exactly one. That screw-loose person who’ll help me.’

“Miss, I tried making butterscotch pie. It should taste good with black tea.”

With a clattering sound, a plate with dessert was placed on the table.

But Tris was only gazing out the window with distant eyes.

“Miss?”

“Huh? Ah, sorry. Wow… it looks delicious. You made it, Lucy? Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

Watching Tris cut the pie with her knife, the maid wore a sympathetic expression.

“Is it because of what happened during lunch?”

“…Was it that obvious?”

Tris’s knife stopped.

The maid lowered herself and met Tris’s eyes.

“I’ve served you by your side for fifteen years, since you were eight years old. Now I can tell just by looking at your eyes.”

“I guess so. To me, Lucy is like a real older sister… Yes. I was thinking about Glen.”

Seeing Tris smile bitterly, the maid let out a deep sigh.

“Miss… I know you’ve tried very hard to change the second young master. But isn’t it time to give up now?”

“But Lucy, Glen has been changing lately. He’s been quiet these past five days.”

Indeed, considering the Glen who used to do insane things every single day, his behavior over the past five days was strange.

Suddenly asking where this place was, talking about Seoul and the Republic of Korea, spouting strange words no one had ever heard before.

He still looked crazy, but maybe it was a gentler kind of crazy.

At the very least, since that day, Glen had not set fire to any part of the mansion or wandered the halls reciting Bible verses.

“He was definitely quieter. He didn’t cause any trouble… until he showed up to lunch today wearing handcuffs.”

At the maid’s words, Tris recalled what had happened earlier and felt dizzy.

What Glen had done today was such bizarre behavior that even she found it hard to defend.

“St-still, he didn’t harm anyone, right?”

“That’s true. Instead, he’s become someone so mentally unstable that it’s scary to let him outside. If nobles from other families were to see him someday…”

At Tris’s reproachful gaze, the maid cleared her throat and swallowed her words.

“He’s a child with many wounds. He’s actually a good kid.”

Tris lowered her eyes.

In the heavy atmosphere, someone knocked on the door.

“Sister Tris. Are you inside?”

“Glen?”

The one who came to Tris’s room was the very person they had just been talking about—Glen.

‘The only helper who will help me in this mansion.’

The helper Glen chose was his older sister, Tris.

Tris Wordsworth.

She was the eldest daughter of the Wordsworth family, a genius who, at the age of twenty-three, had woven five holy rings into her heart.

Considering that an ordinary hard worker would weave around three holy rings at about the age of twenty-five, it was an exceptional achievement.

‘There’s a reason the Wordsworth family is called a holy noble house.’

Anyway, if Tris, who was both talented and kind-hearted, became his helper, Glen would be able to carry out his future plans without much difficulty.

Moreover, since Tris already showed him extreme goodwill, she would likely go out of her way to help him.

‘Thank goodness my only ally in the family is Tris Wordsworth.’

With a satisfied expression, Glen put the butterscotch pie Tris had shared with him into his mouth.

The soft aroma of butter and the sweetness of honey filled his mouth.

“It’s delicious. Butterscotch pie.”

After wiping his mouth with a napkin, Glen put down his fork.

The maid had been glaring at him coldly for a while now, but he ignored her and focused on Tris.

Tris was looking at Glen with a worried expression.

“…You’re being so calm.”

Realizing that her thoughts had slipped out, Tris flinched.

“Ah! S-sorry, Glen. That’s not what I meant…”

“No. What happened at lunch today was enough to surprise you, Sister. I know my behavior isn’t very normal.”

“Glen?”

At his unexpectedly sane words, Tris’s eyes widened.

But the momentary hope she felt quickly collapsed.

“But even so, we can’t doubt God’s will, can we? He is never wrong.”

Clink—

As expected, Glen was still wearing a handcuff on one wrist.

He had just found out that even wearing only one handcuff like this was enough to seal his demonic energy.

Meanwhile, Tris looked dispirited, her brief hope that Glen had changed shattered.

“So, Glen. What did you come to see your sister about…?”

“I came because I have something I’d like to ask of you.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Smiling brightly, Glen took a piece of paper out of his clothes and handed it to Tris.

Dozens of words were listed on the paper.

“Twilight reindeer horn, gray wolf heart, winter owl feather, Luxor tree root… Th-this, what is all of this?”

Tris’s face was now filled with shock.

They were items that could be obtained around the Wordsworth territory, but every single one of them had an unclear use.

‘Twilight reindeer horn… Is he making medicine? No, winter owl feathers aren’t medicinal ingredients. Then is he trying to make a magical tool…? That doesn’t seem right either…’

Tris tried to piece together combinations in her head, but she still couldn’t grasp it.

That was only natural. Glen had written down materials that only someone extremely versed in alchemy would recognize.

Of course she wouldn’t know.

“What are you planning to use all of this for…?”

“God said it was necessary.”

Perhaps frustrated by the situation, Tris’s face gradually fell.

Glen laughed heartily and continued.

“But I don’t expect you to easily understand that, Sister. So, about that.”

Glen’s eyes shone sharply as he looked at Tris.

“Would you like to make a deal with me?”

“A deal?”

“Yes, a deal. If you grant my request, I’ll grant one request of yours.”

“But… there’s nothing I really want from you.”

Glen had been hoping for exactly that answer.

For the record, it wasn’t that Tris had no desires. She was just kind enough not to show them.

Which meant that once those desires were mentioned first, everything afterward would go smoothly.

“You once told me you wished I would take knight lessons, even if it was late. I refused back then.”

Sure enough, the moment the words “knight lessons” came out, a strange light passed through Tris’s eyes.

It was only for an instant, but Glen caught her wavering gaze perfectly and smiled faintly.

It was a cunning smile, like that of a tempting devil.

“If you help me, I’ll obediently take knight lessons from you. And of course, I’ll grow my holy power and weave holy rings as well.”

“R-really? If I just get everything written here, you’ll take knight lessons?”

“Yes. But this must be a secret between just you and me. You must never tell Brother Edgar or Father.”

“Okay! Got it, Glen. I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’ll make sure to get everything written here for you!”

Tris nodded with eyes full of emotion. She clearly liked the condition Glen had offered.

But in this deal, Glen hadn’t lost a single thing.

‘The Potion of Growth and knight lessons were both part of my growth plan from the start.’

Making the Potion of Growth was only to raise his weak body to a satisfactory level.

Naturally, the next step after that was knight training.

In other words, Glen had caught two birds with one stone: securing potion ingredients and knight lessons at the same time.

‘It does bother me a little to take advantage of my kind-hearted sister, but…’

“Well then, what should I teach you first?”

Seeing Tris happily making a training plan on the spot, Glen’s gaze softened.

‘She seems satisfied too, so it’s fine.’

There were about 120 days left until the demon race invaded the Wordsworth territory.

Everything was going smoothly.

‘So far, at least.’