Chapter 43

The Game Difficulty Is Crazy

There is something called a maximum point in combat power.

Sometimes, a sword swung with the resolve to die together can bring down an opponent who is on a higher level.

That is because the one who swung the sword temporarily reached a peak high enough to defeat the enemy.

Until now, Glen had overcome many hardships by using that maximum point.

In the past, Glen had defeated enemies far stronger than himself, such as Robert and the Dominator.

‘But that was only by using my maximum point. It doesn’t mean that I was stronger than them at that time.’

That was because although Glen’s maximum point was high, his minimum point was low.

A skill that knocks him unconscious for five days after a single use—Tyrant King’s Wrath.

A skill with a deceptively short duration of five minutes and a long penalty afterward—the Gray Ring.

These two skills, which had strong effects and equally strong backlash, were truly last-resort methods.

In other words, they raised only his maximum point, not his minimum point.

And with techniques that only raised the maximum point, Glen could never reach the level of strength he sought.

A true strong person was not defined by a high maximum point, but by a high minimum point.

That was why, after the abandoned village of Sildur, Glen steadily trained his swordsmanship and sacred power, and sparred with Tasha the entire way to Ovenue Fortress.

To become a strong person whose minimum point was as high as his maximum point.

Only then could he challenge insane events like fighting nonstop for three days and nights.

Thankfully, the first result of that effort seemed to bloom today.

‘…I won without using any skills.’

Watching Derrick stand up and steady himself, Glen let out a hollow laugh.

Derrick Bayro was very strong.

So strong that Glen had hesitated throughout the duel over whether to use the Gray Ring.

He had the right to be proud of standing right before the fifth star.

‘But I won, didn’t I?’

A full-fledged four-star who was close to five stars.

Glen defeated a far-from-weak opponent using only his normal, everyday ability.

That meant his minimum point had risen close to the level of a five-star.

The sense of satisfaction surged up, making the corners of his mouth itch uncontrollably.

“Waaaaaah!!”

At that moment, the knights surrounding the training ground burst into cheers, and Derrick approached.

“That was a fine match, Sir Derrick.”

“It was a truly disgraceful defeat. Still, I must acknowledge it. There was no falsehood in your sword, nor in mine.”

“I am grateful that you say so.”

“I had no choice but to acknowledge your sword. I am only ashamed of my own arrogance.”

Derrick gave a bitter smile, then placed his fist near his chest and offered a knight’s salute.

Looking into his sincere eyes, Glen realized anew that all the salutes he had received in Ovenue until now had been nothing but empty gestures.

When he turned his head, Jaber was already standing beside him.

He was radiating a heated aura.

“That was a truly splendid duel. Today, I have realized that all the rumors surrounding you were nothing but lies.”

“Thank you. And since we’re on that topic.”

Glen looked up at Jaber with a public-facing smile.

“After showing you this much, I feel like you might like me now.”

“Hahahaha! Young Master, do you not see those fools cheering?”

Jaber laughed heartily and pointed down at the training ground.

Some were filled with admiration, some silently burned with competitiveness, and some shouted for a chance to duel him.

The Gray Wolf knights who had looked at him with cold eyes earlier were nowhere to be seen.

“They are all captivated by you.”

“All I did was swing my sword once in front of them, yet the treatment changed completely.”

The drastic change was almost embarrassing.

Jaber bared his teeth and laughed.

“They have always been such rough beasts.”

The hot air reeking of sweat.

Wild sword dances and warriors burning with fighting spirit within them.

The Gray Wolf Knights were more passionate about such savage and primal things than any other knight order.

“You have completely enchanted those violent brutes—and even me! Hahaha!”

“May I take that to mean the knight order has acknowledged me?”

“What do you take my eye for?”

A subtle seriousness entered Jaber’s eyes, which had been cheerful the whole time.

“One day, you will become a master worthy of the loyalty of these men, more than anyone I have ever seen.”

Saying that, Jaber turned toward the knights.

“Now! Proud Gray Wolves of Rivero! Did you see clearly with your own eyes?! The sword this man showed today had not a single lie in it! Do you share my judgment?!”

“Yes!”

“Do you acknowledge that this man is the blood heir of House Wordsworth whom we will serve?!”

“Yes!”

The voices thundered.

Goosebumps rose on Glen’s arms.

“He is not yet sufficient to lead the Gray Wolves! But one day—when his sword surpasses every wolf in this fortress! Will you offer your lives and loyalty then?!”

“Yes!!”

“Render your salute.”

With that quiet command, Jaber offered a knight’s salute to Glen.

The Gray Wolf knights surrounding the training ground also bowed their heads.

“Welcome sincerely to Ovenue Fortress, blood heir of Wordsworth.”

Jaber concluded.

To be honest, it was closer to a welcome than a pledge of loyalty.

Even so, Glen felt a shiver run through his entire body.

How many chances in life were there to receive such a welcome?

A smile naturally formed on his lips.

“For now, all they can offer is heartfelt support. But on the day you become the head of the house, they will spare neither their lives nor their loyalty.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

As Glen replied with a smile, Jaber lifted his head and grinned as well.

“So then… do you perhaps still have some strength left?”

“Strength?”

As Glen voiced his confusion, a powerful presence enveloped Jaber.

“If you are willing, how about you cross swords with me as well?”

“What?”

“Watching your duel made my body itch so badly I couldn’t stand it.”

‘What is this now?’

Was that something to say to someone who had just fought nine knights in a row?

“It will be brief. I’ll take it easy, so just think of it as a cool-down exercise.”

“No, that’s a bit—”

“Oh come now. You think I don’t know? To be honest, you still have room to spare, don’t you?”

Jaber’s single eye gleamed.

Looking at his face, twisted with the desire to fight, irritation welled up.

Glen refused the duel.

There was nothing to gain from fighting a battle maniac like that. No reason either.

The original purpose of the sparring was to gain the acknowledgment of the Gray Wolf Knights and build friendly relations with them.

Now that the goal had been achieved, there was no need to waste strength crossing swords with Jaber.

The experience gained from sparring was tempting, but Glen still had many things to do in Ovenue.

—Since I’ll be staying here for about five days anyway, how about we take our time and schedule a duel later?

When he said that, Jaber agreed with a bitter expression.

Still, he went and called over a single-digit-ranked knight, so his blood must have been boiling quite a bit.

In any case, the first step in building relations with the Gray Wolf Knights was a success.

Honestly, Glen hadn’t expected to achieve his goal on the very first day after arriving in Ovenue.

But the knight order was far simpler than he had anticipated, so things went smoothly.

At this pace, strengthening Ovenue’s defenses would soon be possible as well.

‘It’s going too well, which makes me uneasy… but well, good is good.’

His plans had often been derailed because of that lunatic named Lunatic, so wasn’t he allowed to have days like this sometimes?

‘The Gray Wolf side is going smoothly. Then is it my turn now?’

Defending the territory was important, but he himself still had a long way to go.

Bringing this trash-like body up to this level in just two months was close to a miracle.

‘But that doesn’t mean the demons will say, “Oh, you worked hard. We’ll attack gently.”’

And this logic did not apply only to demons.

Countless overpowered strong beings that appeared in the original story of Gray Eden.

To catch up to them as quickly as possible, Glen could not afford to waste even a single hour.

That was why, instead of going to bed, Glen sat at his desk, staring at a map.

There was no way he would come all the way to a good growth area like Mount Rivero just to admire the scenery and leave.

His body was exhausted from consecutive duels, but what had to be done still had to be done.

“It should be around here, I think…”

His gaze stopped midway between the peak of Mount Rivero and Ovenue Fortress.

On a small building drawn on the mountainside were the words:

Ronian Monastery

Monasteries and growth had already been proven to be closely related.

As befitting a papal state, monasteries were diligently built wherever one went.

And beneath almost every regional monastery, a wraith was imprisoned.

The wraith of a monastery.

To local priests, it was nothing but a headache—but to Glen, it was nothing but nourishment.

With the shortcut known as exorcism, he could eliminate the wraith and raise his sacred power in one go.

‘The problem is that the amount of Girmo Grass I have is awkward.’

In the past, when performing an exorcism at the monastery in his territory, he had burned Girmo Grass to weaken the wraith.

But now, with no additional supply, he would have to rely on the small amount left over from before.

“Girmo Grass doesn’t grow on Mount Rivero. What should I do…”

At his current level, Glen could probably handle a wraith to some extent even without Girmo Grass.

But remembering that the wraith of Ronian Monastery had been quite strong in the original story, charging in blindly felt risky.

‘It’s a bit much to gamble recklessly.’

But giving up a chance to raise his sacred power after coming all this way was also nonsense.

‘There was a way to defeat a wraith while using less Girmo Grass…’

Touching his lips, Glen recalled his memories from when he was a Holy Knight.

He repeatedly went over the order of exorcism and the required preparations, but no clear solution came to mind.

‘At best, I’d need a party of two or more… but who would help me here?’

As for keeping secrets, Tris was trustworthy, but sadly his sister was far too far away.

His mouth tasted bitter.

“Ah… what a shame.”

As he bit his nail with a disappointed expression, his gaze suddenly drifted out the window.

There, beneath the torchlight, a trainee knight was practicing swordsmanship.

He immediately knew who it was.

‘…Tasha?’

As expected, she did not neglect her training even late at night.

At that moment, a flash of inspiration struck Glen’s mind.

His thoughts began racing.

Slowly, the corners of his mouth lifted.

“There we go. A party member with a tight mouth.”

Glen put on his coat and headed outside at once.

Sensing his presence, Tasha stopped her sword dance and turned her head.

“Young Master?”

Even with sweat pouring down like rain, her eyes and expression were dry.

If she hadn’t tilted her head slightly in surprise, one might have mistaken her for a doll rather than a person.

“How is it? Any progress?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, Young Master.”

Perhaps because they had sparred nonstop on the way to Ovenue, the swordsmanship Glen glimpsed briefly had already surpassed the level of an ordinary person.

“You are not sleeping at this hour. What brings you here?”

“I have something to ask of you.”

“You mean me?”

“Yes. Do you have time right now?”

“Time… yes. I just finished my training.”

“Then let’s go somewhere together.”

Tasha blinked.

It meant she didn’t know how to react.

“No, it’s nothing strange. It’s kind of like a second carry.”

“A carry… you mean assistance?”

Only after he added that did Tasha tilt her head with interest.

Honestly, it would be closer to Glen exploiting her one-sidedly than a carry.

“Yes. It will definitely help your growth.”

‘Of course, mine too.’