The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor

Weed collected information on Cletta with Mapan’s assistance.

- Mapan: Here are 10 suspected locations of Cletta’s servants and dragon breeding grounds. They are spread all over the continent, so it seems we have to visit them in person.

“Let’s start with the closest.”

- Mapan: Yes! I will run the information by Yurin.

Even though the Arpen Empire was falling apart, Weed maintained his grip on Mapan’s Trading Company. The merchants accumulated even more wealth in times of crisis!

Swords and magic made players charge into battles. At times like these, merchants could not stand idly by or else the continent would head toward certain destruction.

‘Come to think of it, I think I’ve developed a soft side.’

Weed’s commitment to hunting led him to believe that he was becoming a better person.

He told Seoyoon about it and she spoke back with a smile.

“You were kind from the beginning.”

“No. I was obsessed with money.”

“You needed to spend a lot on the continent. You even invested in Morata.”

“That was just a ruse. My dream was to become an exploitative dictator.”

“But those were only thoughts. Honestly I… don’t believe that at all. Every time we ran into trouble, you always tended to the others first.”

“I’m also stuck up. I was so happy when the Hermes Guild fell apart. Even when Bard Ray died.”

“That was when they were infamous for bad deeds. You must have felt that kind of fulfillment from justice.”

“One time, I didn’t pay back the dwarves. I exploited my seniors after the Garnav War.”

“Those men are now serving an honorable life as the world’s best blacksmiths. They talk with pride about their work from back then!”

Weed reminded himself again that he married the best woman. The one person who trusted him no matter how harsh the world. That being said, he did think Seoyoon’s standard in men was lower than he had initially anticipated and that she could be a bit gullible at times.

‘I need to take great care of her. Especially co-signing loans or anything like that.’

< You have discovered the great mansion of the Demon Butler Kunsarote. >

< A dangerous discovery!

This is the residence of the secretly plotting demons.

This unsafe place reeks of death and corruption.

Reputation has increased by 3,500.

Faith has increased by 4. >

The east of the continent.

In the land of demons, he dispelled the magic seal in the middle of the night and the scenery transformed.

There was a mansion built with dark walls high up in the mountains surrounded by clouds.

Demons with spears were flying around the mansion.

“There they are.”

Weed observed the mansion from behind a rock.

He had to rid the world of all the traces and connections left by the demon king Cletta.

“It will be quite the task.”

Demons were not easy opponents.

They were high-level monsters with great physical prowess and magical abilities.

At that moment, he heard footsteps over the shrivelling leaves from behind.

“I guess I’m a little late.”

Appearing before him was Bowmaster Pale with a 2 meter tall bow on his back.

“How did you get here?”

“I’ve been receiving updates from Mapan-nim. I cannot leave Weed-nim to fight alone.”

Pale kept up with hunting even when Weed was away at the island.

Becoming a Bowmaster was almost inevitable. He did not advance into another job class. He was aiming to master all bow techniques to their limit. On the other hand, he was also extremely active with his duties as a lord.

He was hardworking in developing the suburban village forcefully handed over by Weed.

When his land expanded, he cleared the area, built a city and a fort, becoming a great lord.

When Weed slowly slipped away from the public, Pale had become even more famous.

Strangely, what he was now most proud of was his nickname ‘Combat Slave’.

“Were you just going to do all this by yourself without us?”

“Whoo. Time for this flame master to light it up.”

“Yay. Time to hunt!”

Irene, Romuna and Surka.

His old companions showed up before him and so did Hwaryeong, Bellot and Zephyr.

“Weed-nim! It’s been a while.”

“Hello.”

“Mmm. Bro, I’m here.”

Hwaryeong’s beauty was untouched by her work as a singer and pianist.

Her most recent albums about dreams and adventures were hits one after the other.

She embarked on a world-wide concert tour, and working on new songs meant that her time in Royal Road was limited. Even so, she took the time off for this quest.

“Demons are weak to seduction.”

Hwaryeong smiled as she said that. Dancers had the power to hypnotize the minds of demons and other evildoers.

Bellot had improved significantly in playing his instrument!

Weed met Zephyr often in the real world, so there was no sense of awkwardness.

“Whew. I guess. Since you guys are already here.”

Weed was happy to see them but he was shy about it. But the group was followed by Python, Marinated Crab, Geomchi, Geomchi2, Geomchi3…

“I’ve come to fight to my heart’s content.”

“Demons? I will kill them without a trace. They are of no concern.”

“Hey youngster. Were you trying to hog all the fun to yourself?”

“Hmm, hmm. We’re here because the master wanted us to …”

“I will clobber them with the strength of my muscles.”

There was a line of broad figures behind Geomchi4 and Geomchi5.

“I - I’m also here.”

The small dwarf Oberon was also amid the Geomchis.

“Okay, now that everyone is here, let’s put together a strategy.”

“We are far from done. There are lots of people who want to see you. They will arrive too.”

Oberon laughed as he groomed his well-trimmed beard.

The northern players, especially those who started in Morata, leveled up at high speed with consistent hunting. It was all thanks to the lower difficulty of hunting, and of the quests given after the unification of the world by the Arpen Empire.

The players who were in the assault squad and participated in the dragon hunt were not that popular, but the ones who were diligently improving themselves had climbed to the highest ranks of Royal Road. Among them, many signed up for the Grass Porridge Cult and did not involve themselves in the political war between the lords.

“We all believed that Weed-nim would return.”

Flame, Totkung, Soontofu, Eunroo, Myer, Contendraita.

The ardent fans of Weed had grown significantly.

More than a thousand players assembled to take on Kunsarote’s mansion.

Weed scratched his head.

“I was going to take this on, all by myself… But I guess since you guys are here, I will share the burden.”

***

Geomchi3 commenced the battle.

“Urah. Die! Galewind Smash!”

He erupted with a huge ground explosion as soon as the demons swarmed towards them.

Geomchi and Geomchi4 discussed while watching calmly.

“Geomchi3 is doing quite well.”

“Brother Geomchi3 has taken a real liking to Royal Road.”

Geomchi3 opened up his own dojo two years ago.

He was highly skilled with the sword and in physical training, but business was another field entirely.

“What if I go bankrupt?”

Weed offered advice to the worried Geomchi3.

“Brother, advertise that you are teaching sword techniques for high speed levelling in Royal Road.”

“High speed levelling?”

“Regardless of how high your level is, a systematic sword technique will help anyone with their hunting. You will gather lots of students in no time.”

This suggestion tempted Geomchi3 who was greatly concerned about starting his own business.

“Would they not take swordsmanship lightly? I don’t want to teach superficial techniques only.”

“It is not important how skilled they are at the beginning, but how much they can pick up. You can teach whoever is ready to learn, but the results will be the same if you sign up just about anyone and train them.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The incompetent ones will quit on their own.”

“What if I come across a bad customer? You know, the ones who get angry and bossy.”

“Look in the mirror and wait for them to feel ashamed. They will control their anger in front of you without anyone having to tell them.”

Geomchi3 named his dojo ‘Royal Road Combat Arena’.

He received criticism that he had turned swordsmanship into a leisure activity, but there was an endless stream of new students due to the firsthand reviews of the players who started to train there.

“This is the Storm Arrow that I obtained after mastering Burst and Penetration!”

When the demons targeted Geomchi3 and closed in on him, Pale rested dozens of arrows on his bowstring and released them all at once.

He raised an arrow hurricane and swept away the demons.

- Intruders.

- Are mere humans attacking this place?

- Get rid of them before Kunsarote-nim wakes up. We cannot face his wrath.

Black demons spread their wings wide and broke out from the windows and the ceiling of the mansion.

“After such a long time, we can finally spill blood in this war! Yeah. My sword was too light to take on humans!”

Python charged with his greatsword and Romuna had already begun an extensive incantation of a fire magic spell.

With trustworthy comrades and Weed accompanying her, she could focus on going all out at casting an ultimate fire magic spell, without worrying about enemies.

“Light of Purification!”

Irene created a spear of light in her hand and fired them at the demons.

The priest class not only offered support through healing and blessing, but their spells also had an offensive purpose against the demons.

Bellot played his instrument and Hwaryeong danced with a crop top that exposed her shoulders and waist.

“Heh…”

“Gulp!”

The demons were seduced, but the side effect was that even Geomchi, Geomchi2 and the other Geomchis were captivated as well.

“Kuuugh. My heart is beating so fast.”

“I can die now.”

Weed thought this would have been way easier on his own.

“Sigh…”

***

With the help of his comrades, he was able to clear the mansion of Kunsarote.

Weed chased after the traces of Cletta every time he logged into Royal Road.

His old comrades came to assist him whenever they could, but occasionally the battles would break out suddenly and they could not come to aid. Even so, Weed had his servants.

“Van Hawk! Put your back into it! It looks like you got some fat around your bones now.”

- Kuuugh.

“Torido. How many times did I tell you to rinse your mouth after drinking blood?”

- It dripped a little bit.

Van Hawk and Torido were to be tormented for all eternity.

They also grew stronger with Weed and became boss level monsters.

Van Hawk’s combat abilities exceeded that of a doom knight and was comparable to an abyss knight. Torido, too, expanded his command capabilities and could now control a large number of vampires. It was all thanks to the rapid growth from slaying demons. Weed had become that much more powerful.

It also meant that the two monsters could never break away from being Weed’s servants!

Whilst erasing the demon traces on Versailles, a message alert appeared.

Blink!

< You have removed a third of Cletta’s traces. The demon servants and followers are wary of your existence. They will strike anywhere at any time, using everything they have at their disposal.

The wheel of fate is spinning for Versailles.

The will of the savior.

Will you accept the noble mission to save the continent?

You must eradicate all imprints of Cletta, led by the path of destiny. >

“Hmm.”

Weed remembered seeing a similar message in the past.

It was when he reigned as the Great King of the Desert and attacked the Embinyu Church!

“This is, well, killing two birds with one stone.”

For a long time he had been frustrated, being forced to complete difficult quests.

This time however, he intended to eradicate Cletta anyway, so acquiring something additional in the process was satisfying.

“I accept the noble mission.”

Blink!

< The wheel of fate is on course for immense danger in the Versailles Continent.

Your job class has changed to the Savior of the World.

You have completed the advancement from the Firstborn Solar Warrior in the desert.

Traits of the Sun Warrior are enhanced by 30%.

This job class is the final advancement of the knight and warrior class and only one player may hold this title.

Only after transcending the limit of human physical capability and taking on the noble duties of the saviour of the world can you acquire this advancement.

The hand of the warrior can wield any weapon.

Combat skills are learned with ease based on countless experience in combat.

Honor has reached the maximum.

Honor loses significance. Revealing your job class will lead to fervent respect from all those who follow the righteous path.

You will be able to gather subordinates and comrades with your honor, faith and charisma, regardless of their race.

Notoriety caused by your actions will be minimised to the smallest value possible…

The gods pay great attention to the Savior of the World.

The gods with an affinity will gladly offer their power.>

< You are under direct attention by the gods.

Freya, Lu, Hestia and Batali regard you as the medium of their will.

The gods are awaiting to give their blessings. >

A pillar of light descended from the sky.

Weed’s body was enveloped in flourishing light.