Ch. 197

Chapter 197: Unusual Preparation (1)

“Look at that, it is there.”

A permission message does not appear for entities without a soul. For instance, if one tries to use «Assimilation» on a “doll” or “golem” that has an owner, a message stating ‘You do not have the owner’s permission!’ appears instead. If that wasn’t the case and the skill failed to activate, it meant a soul existed.

“…Something strange has appeared before my eyes.”

“That is proof that you have a soul.”

“This… is proof of a soul?”

“Yeah. Now, say you accept.”

Flash!

In the next moment, Hyun’s body scattered into light and overlapped with Satin’s soul. Simultaneously, Hyun could feel a faint trace of emotion from her.

‘If she has this much emotion, I can consider it a soul, right?’

She wasn’t as emotionally rich as Louise, but she wasn’t as numb as a common NPC either. Presumably, Satin was an Artificial Intelligence of a higher grade than the first generation. Because she was related to Darkness, she was likely categorized as an ‘Important NPC’ in the world-setting.

「You’re better than most humans, you know?」

“Better than… humans?”

「Even if others look like they have emotions, when you actually assimilate with them, there’s usually nothing there.」

During the History Quests, he had assimilated several times with the NPCs acting as Louise’s body doubles, but he truly couldn’t feel a thing. It was no different from assimilating with a Lich or a doll.

「Compared to them, you actually have something resembling real emotions.」

“This is….”

Satin couldn’t answer immediately. She was paralyzed by the sensations transmitted through the «Protection of Darkness» . Having lived her entire life solely for the sake of Darkness, she was experiencing euphoria from the dark energy filling her body.

“If this is indeed a soul… it is something I thought I did not possess.”

「No, you had it. It was just so weak you couldn’t feel it.」

“Is that so…? I do not know.”

「Well, seeing as you’re so skeptical, I’m even more certain.」

Hyun then performed «Assimilation» for Satina, who had asked for the same thing. Even with his explanations, the golems seemed unable to believe they possessed souls.

Tring!

At that moment, a quest alarm rang for Hyun.

‘Hm? A quest?’

There are countless hidden quests in Asrian , so it wasn’t strange for one to trigger at any time, but he hadn’t expected one to pop up in a place like this.

[Hidden Quest: Do the Twin Handmaid Sisters Have Souls?]

• The two broken sisters are merely waiting for Darkness to return.
• One of them will likely run out of her allotted time before that meeting occurs.
• Before that time comes, will you help them realize their own value?

• (Reward: Increased leadership over the forces of Darkness)

Hyun read through the quest description, feeling a bit stunned. His eyes sparkled the moment he saw the reward list, and he looked back at the quest objective.

‘Help them realize their value?’

Why did this hidden quest pop up so suddenly? Meeting the Handmaids of Darkness while searching for Louise might not have been a mere coincidence. Even without the quest, Hyun wanted to help those who had protected Louise, so there was no reason to refuse.

‘He must be talking about that method, right?’

The way to realize value. The first thing that came to mind was the Ranking Ceremony . Since these two believed they had no souls despite his words and the assimilation, wouldn’t proving their worth in the ceremony help them realize their value?

With that thought, he slowly scanned the status windows of the twins. It didn’t take long for Hyun to make his decision.

“Is that thing the one chosen over me?”

“Kerek! A lump of rock is stronger than me? I can’t accept this! Grrr…!”

“An entity… without a soul… receiving Lord Bahimir’s blessing!”

A commotion broke out among the Named-grade monsters when Hyun chose Satin. Lublen was also flustered; she never imagined Hyun would repair a piece of junk and enter it into the Ranking Ceremony.

“Lady Lublen! I can be of much greater help than that thing! Please, choose me…!”

“Guooooh! A weathered golem like that, I’ll turn it to dust with one swing of this club!”

“Quiet, all of you!”

However, Lublen was Bahimir’s faithful servant. Though her gaze was sharp because Hyun hadn’t chosen a Vampire, she could not defy the Duke’s will.

“It seems the choice has been made. Stop being a nuisance and go back.”

“How can this be…!”

“Can a golem without emotions even understand and follow the Duke’s supreme will in the Ranking Ceremony?”

“Everyone, stop.”

Marlen had approached before anyone noticed to quiet the uproar. She scanned Hyun, Satin, and the surrounding monsters with narrowed eyes before speaking.

“I will consider anyone who voices dissatisfaction as acting against the Duke’s will.”

“T-that’s right! If anyone has a problem, step forward!”

As the two Vampires settled the situation together, the unruly monsters returned to their original places. Throughout the ordeal, Satin stood beside Hyun like a statue, never opening her mouth once. Marlen glanced at Satin’s expressionless face and muttered.

“A golem… You will have to prove for yourself in the Ranking Ceremony whether you have the qualifications or if you are merely a doll.”

“Prove….”

“Ho, you can speak? It’s fascinating that you can produce a voice without moving your mouth!”

“What… and how… am I to prove?”

Marlen answered Satin’s question.

“You must prove whether you are useful to Lord Bahimir… or more broadly, to the forces of Darkness.”

“Useful to Darkness….”

“If you truly are nothing more than a ‘tool,’ you will become a laughingstock at the ceremony. That place is no longer just a venue for clashing strength.”

There are two types of matches Bahimir participates in during the Ranking Ceremony: the Defense Battle and the Usurpation Battle ! If Satin failed to perform in the Defense Battle, she would be stripped of her right to participate in the following Usurpation Battle.

“I am looking forward to it. More accurately, I am relying on the keen eye of the one who chose you.”

After Marlen left, Lublen delivered the final instructions. Her voice sounded a bit petulant since the Vampire she recommended wasn’t chosen.

“The Ranking Ceremony is in three days. If you forget the time, you’d better be prepared for the consequences.”

“Hey, Lublen, I have a favor.”

“What is it?”

“Can I get some materials to rewatch previous Ranking Ceremonies?”

Before leaving, Hyun asked for a recording. To be precise, it wasn’t a recording but a crystal ball imbued with a spell called ‘Flow of Memory,’ but Lublen understood his meaning even with the rough explanation.

“I need two types: those of the Dukes we will face, and those of Lord Bahimir.”

“What do you intend to do with memory crystals?”

“I’m going to formulate a strategy.”

“Strategy…?”

“Yeah. I need to maximize the strengths of the existing strategy and fix what’s wrong.”

“Wrong?! Do you dare… harbor doubts about Lord Bahimir’s strategy?!”

At Lublen’s shouting, Hyun had a bad premonition. He was curious to see what kind of strategy would come out of such an inflexible group. In a bad way, of course.

‘I just hope it’s not at a disastrous level.’

Despite the minor friction, Hyun managed to obtain the memory crystals before leaving the Duke’s castle.

Back in the Private Room.

Since there was still a long time before Ain finished school, Hyun proceeded with the next part of his plan alone.

‘First, understanding the tournament comes first.’

To be honest, Hyun didn’t know the rules of the tournament well. Even though he had led countless wars to victory in the previous game, a tournament and a siege were different. There was no way Hyun, who had only watched the highlights of Practice’s matches, could grasp the flow of the tournament. However, he had no intention of taking the Ranking Ceremony lightly, so he reached a point where he needed someone’s help.

‘An expert in this field would be a pro gamer!’

That’s right. Hyun planned to ask Practice for help. With the tournament season over, pro gamers were relatively free. Practice happened to be logged in on his friend list.

‘Hey, considering how much I’ve helped him, surely he won’t refuse a favor?’

Filled with that expectation, Hyun sent a whisper but received an unexpected reply.

「Sorry, I’m overseas right now?」

「What…? Overseas?!」

「Haha, I came on a trip to celebrate winning the tournament! I think I’ll be back in Korea in about five days?」

「Then… how are you logged in right now…?」

「I linked my phone and the capsule.」

「I… see.」

「Why? Is something going on?」

「No, nothing.」

After that short exchange with Practice ended, Hyun’s gaze naturally fixed on the name right below in the friend list.

The former pro gamer, Jini .

‘Is this the only way…?’

From what he’d experienced, she was a person who was extremely thorough with mutual calculations. In the past, she had treated him to a massive sum of tens of millions of won just for giving her a few pointers. He wouldn’t be able to push his way through with friendship like he could with Practice. This time, conversely, how much money would he have to pay if he was the one asking for instruction?

Even though his spending had become more generous, he couldn’t help but hesitate slightly since the amount would likely reach the tens of millions.

‘…Fine, whatever.’

His hesitation was brief.

‘The YouTube payout will be coming in soon anyway!’

There is nothing more foolish than weighing what can be recovered against what cannot. Hyun first tried contacting Jini. He had heard she was having busy days after recently changing jobs, so it might be difficult for her to find time, but he planned to call her even if he had to raise the conditions as much as possible.

「Hyun? What’s going on?」

「Are you busy by any chance?」

「Pardon…?」

「There’s something I want to learn from you, Jini… I was wondering if you had the time.」

Instantly, Jini’s tone of voice went up a notch.

「Learn from me?」

「Yes. There’s a Ranking Ceremony in three days, and I definitely need your help to prepare perfectly.」

The same format as the tournament, and the strategies required for it. Jini understood Hyun’s intention for calling her with just a rough explanation. She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly answered with a louder voice.

「M-me? I’m not busy at all…! I’m completely unemployed lately!」

「Really? Jae-hoon said you were so busy you couldn’t even sleep….」

「Ah, right! Sometimes… it’s like that, but I’m fine right now!」

「You’re fine now…? Then can you come to the Private Room right away?」

「Just let me finish this—no, yes, I’ll go right now!」

For some reason, Jini was rambling unlike her usual self. It felt a bit strange, but since she was coming immediately, he didn’t feel the need to worry much. While waiting for Jini, Hyun pondered over a trivial matter.

‘How much should I pay for tuition?’

There were two days left until the Ranking Ceremony. However, Jini had paid a huge sum for just twenty minutes of instruction… could he keep learning for two days? If he kept her there, he’d go broke from the tuition fees.

That worry vanished the moment Jini arrived at the Private Room.

“Huh? You don’t have to pay tuition! I told you, I’m unemployed. I just came to play because I had nothing to do! Besides, I can’t even guarantee that I’ll be of help.”

“Unemployed… does that mean you’re free for the next two days?”

“Pardon…? Two days…? Uh…? Probably… wouldn’t it be tight… wait, no, I think it’ll work…!”

Hyun got the feeling that Jini’s face momentarily turned pale as she rambled. Indeed, even the kindest person would be flustered by a request for two days of free tutoring. Hyun resolved to give her a proper tuition fee later.

‘Great, all the preparations are done.’

After settling things roughly, Hyun sat in the lobby with Jini.

Vroom. The moment he touched the bead he received from Lublen, the scene of a Ranking Ceremony was reproduced on the screen in the air.

“Let’s watch it together. I haven’t seen it yet either.”

“Recording magic… it’s incredible…! So you’re entering as a player here, Hyun?”

“Yes. This is the formation I’ll be participating in.”

The videos contained in the bead were largely divided into two types: allies and enemies. Amidst the silence, the video on the screen flowed slowly. And Jini’s eyes, as she began to analyze through the video, turned cool and sharp.

End of 197