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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 22: Uh… The Strategy Guide…? (1)
“Servant of the Goddess of War Minerva, I am Count Ohaim of the Atra Confederation. Today’s battle was an awe-inspiring spectacle, as if plucked straight from myth. Without your intervention, we would all have perished… Truly, thank you.”
The commander of the fortress garrison was human.
He was an elderly man with white hair, wrinkled skin, and a chiseled face.
His blue eyes exuded the dignified aura of experience.
The command unit consisted of humans, elves, and dwarves, all of whom paid their respects to me.
Some even knelt, shedding tears.
“Please, enough with the formalities. My descent was solely to protect this fortress.”
“Ah, glory to the care of the goddess.”
“Glory be.”
“Minerva is eternal!”
With dirt-streaked faces and tears welling in their eyes, they praised the goddess while looking at me with reverence.
Oh, come on, guys.
Don’t do this.
Ugh, it’s so cringeworthy.
Let’s get to the point quickly.
“When I descended, I heard that if this fortress falls, the path to the World Tree will be opened. But… the defensive forces here seem unusually sparse.”
No matter how difficult the mission is, this is absurd.
This is a crucial fortress, yet the defending forces are underwhelming.
Sure, the Uruks are strong monsters, but they should have been manageable for elves and dwarves dispatched to Earth.
Yet, they were overwhelmed.
Elves and dwarves can supposedly wield spirits, but all I saw on the walls were arrows and axes—indistinguishable from human soldiers.
“Well… The truth is that our main forces are no longer stationed at this fortress.”
“What? Then what about this fortress?”
“The Black Dragon Akardian, the leader of the Black Dragon Army, cast a great spell to seal the gateway to the spirit realm in this region. This fortress was originally designed to be defended in conjunction with the Four Great Spirits. When spirit energy was sealed, the elves and dwarves couldn’t summon spirits or use their powerful spirit magic.”
“Ah, so that’s why.”
Count Ohaim nodded bitterly.
“Yes. At this rate, even if we somehow stop the vanguard orc units, it’s certain we won’t be able to withstand the Black Dragon Army’s main forces. That’s why we split our elite units into four groups to reclaim the sanctuaries of the Four Great Spirits in the Trein region and reopen the gateway to the spirit realm. In the meantime, we were tasked with defending the fortress, but…”
The old general’s eyes reddened as he clenched his fists and trembled.
“Among the heads catapulted at us today were those of our soldiers who had left the fortress. It seems the mission may have failed…”
“General, that’s not certain yet!”
“As long as we continue to hold this fortress, there’s still hope.”
But the mood among the officers was somber despite their words of encouragement.
Wow!
This situation is hopeless!
The current attackers are just the vanguard…
If the main forces arrive, this won’t be easy.
The main force probably has individuals capable of going toe-to-toe with me.
At that moment, the system window appeared.
[You have learned that the gateway to the spirit realm has been sealed. Without reopening the gateway, defending the Trein Fortress will be impossible.]
[Main Quest.]
[Difficulty: Very Hard.]
[Reopen the gateway to the spirit realm.]
[Quest Rewards.]
Increased affinity with the Four Elemental Spirits.
Enhanced magic of the Four Elements.
Trein Fortress reactivated as the Trein Spirit Fortress.
No SP rewards?
So stingy.
Still, increased spirit affinity and magic enhancement…
I guess reopening the gateway is mandatory to complete the main quest and defend the fortress anyway.
[To protect Trein Fortress, the Four Sanctuaries must be reactivated, but the current fortress forces are inadequate. If you leave, the fortress will fall to the orc vanguard. To secure the fortress, you must annihilate the enemy vanguard. A solo victory will grant additional rewards. Do you accept?]
[Sub-Quest.]
[Difficulty: Moderate.]
[Disrupt the enemy vanguard.]
[Quest Rewards.]
1,000 SP.
Title: Orc Conqueror.
Unlike the main quest, the sub-quest could be accepted or declined.
The enemy vanguard must be the orc units outside the fortress.
Judging by my earlier battle experience and my near-limitless stamina, it seems doable.
Let’s accept for now.
[You have accepted the Sub-Quest.]
[The morale of the Trein Fortress forces is at rock bottom. Performing a heroic solo feat by defeating the enemy will greatly boost their morale. They will sing your praises and pass down your heroic tale for generations. The Goddess of War Minerva will be pleased and bless you even more.]
[Chain Quest.]
[Difficulty: Hard.]
[Disrupt the enemy vanguard solo.]
[Quest Rewards.]
1,000 SP.
3 Attribute Points.
Enhanced Blessing of the Goddess of War.
[Upon accepting the quest, the Goddess of War Minerva’s blessing will be enhanced for three days.]
Another quest chain popped up as soon as I accepted the first one.
This time, I have to annihilate the enemy vanguard alone.
1,000 SP, 3 attribute points, and enhanced blessings from the goddess…
Hmm.
Let’s accept this too.
[The Goddess of War Athena enhances her blessing for three days. All attributes increase by 2.5 times, and the ‘Radiant Shield’ magic is activated.]
The armor of Hephaestus gleamed white as radiant light enveloped the metal.
So this is the Radiant Shield.
Now that I’ve accepted the quests…
Time to consult the strategy guide quickly.
These people wouldn’t understand the strategy guide anyway.
"Oh! The Goddess has blessed the Apostle!"
"Yes, the Goddess has blessed me, but… this situation is not easy. In that case, let me briefly consult the sacred scripture, imbued with divine revelation, to find a way to resolve this situation."
"Ah, understood."
As I opened my inventory to take out the book,
something suddenly caught my eye—a bead and a black metal rod tucked away in the corner of my inventory.
These were gifts from the future Kim Jiho, items I couldn't take out due to their level restrictions and had just left in the corner.
Now that I think about it, I could probably use them since I reached D rank.
For now, the guidebook comes first.
I'll check these items out later.
[Complete Guide to the Planet Kevrian]
[You’ve finally made it this far. The first battle must have been easy. The Trein Fortress is already nearly conquered.]
Huh?
What is this nonsense?
[Elves and Dwarves can’t use their spirit powers, you know. Just cross the walls with the Orcs and you can easily massacre them. Collect SP 1,000 here as quickly as possible. It’s rare to get SP this easily. These guys drop SP like crazy! Ah, I wish I’d been a Soul Reaper back then.]
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Wait.
Hold on...
[But the problem comes after that. Even if you take control of the fortress, the elite forces have split off and are scattered across the forests, mountains, and lakes of the Trein region. Why did they go there? It took us a long time to figure it out, but my brother tortured them and found out. They went to awaken the Sanctuary of the Spirits. Well, the Dragon’s direct pursuit squad is already hunting them down, though.]
Wait.
What is this?
Elves are enemies?
Ah… ah…!?
Oh, crap.
Could it be...?
Suddenly, an unease I had felt before resurfaced in my mind.
A chill ran down my spine.
I flipped through the pages with trembling hands.
[Guide for Kim Jiho Post-Regression.]
[November Xth: You will awaken. When summoned into the tutorial, don’t listen to the explanation. Instead, ask the Goblin Blacksmith for a shield. Once you receive the shield, run to the dungeon’s open door and grab the dungeon core. Even if the Imps attack you, don’t fight back—just take the hits. Within five minutes. Definitely!]
I thought something was off from the very first page.
I awakened on June 1st, and the blacksmith wasn’t a Goblin; he was a Dwarf.
Being a Neutral Faction Awakener, I figured the dates might be a bit off.
I hadn’t even paid attention to Goblins…
Wait, damn it.
Could the Orc faction have been the Neutral Faction?
No way.
Aurelia, did you know about this?
You’re the guardian deity of the Neutral Faction!
[Aurelia asks back if you really thought she didn’t know this.]
What do you mean "of course she knew"?
Who would think Orcs are the Neutral Faction?
They’re monsters!
They were even in the dungeon!
[Aurelia says the Orcs in the dungeon were tainted by Chaos. Didn’t their skin look black?]
Just because their skin is black, they’re all chaotic?
What is this?
Racial and color discrimination?
This is ridiculous.
I trusted the guidebook, but it turned out to be from the other faction.
Oh, and their side is on easy mode.
The Dragon seals the spirit powers, and they take over the fortress effortlessly.
The elite units?
Just wipe them out, no problem.
So, that’s why they wanted me to come to Kevrian—it’s easy.
Since it’s impossible for the Order Faction, their side must be easy.
Ugh, this is driving me crazy.
Do I have to die twice?
But my stats are maxed out, so dying won’t be easy.
I don’t want to commit suicide either…
Should I just die?
Close my eyes and go for it?
Ugh, no.
Suicide is too much…
Argh! What is this mess?!
Taking a deep breath, I continued flipping through the pages.
The book was remarkably detailed.
The locations of the Four Great Sanctuaries.
The expected movement routes of the Trein Fortress elite detachments.
Their commanders.
High Elf Diana is heading to the Fire Sanctuary.
Dwarf Lord Ambrosian is heading to the Earth Sanctuary.
Trein Knight Commander Lannister is heading to the Wind Sanctuary.
Elf Ranger Commander Reblo is heading to the Water Sanctuary.
It stated that Lannister had already encountered and been killed by the Black Dragon Legion’s pursuit squad, so there was no need to worry about him.
The Earth Sanctuary that Dwarf Lord Ambrosian went to was already activated and fortified, so it should be tackled last.
High Elf Diana and Ranger Commander Reblo were being pursued by the Black Dragon Legion, and the guide suggested capturing them.
It emphasized that Diana should be captured first and corrupted into a Fallen Elf.
It then described the method to corrupt her in explicit detail.
...It was like reading an R-rated hardcore novel.
It filled several pages.
Kim Jiho, you sick bastard.
What a disgusting pervert.
[Corrupting her is the key to clearing this planet. Conquering the Order Faction and destroying the World Tree is easy. The real difficulty starts when the Black Dragon goes berserk and opens the Gate of Chaos. At that point, the Orc Generals all fall under the Dragon’s Dragon Fear and won’t listen to us—except for one, the Great Orc Hero Grosh.]
For the Neutral Faction, the first phase involves invading and destroying the World Tree.
The second phase involves fighting the monsters that emerge after the Gate of Chaos opens.
So, that’s the main game.
But this damn Order Faction is already in hardcore mode just trying to fend off the monster invasion led by the Black Dragon.
When I changed jobs, there were angels and dragons.
Where the hell is the leader of the Order Faction angels?
[Pollux explains that the angels are keeping the dragons in check, which is why you haven’t encountered one yet.]
Ah… I see…
Sigh.
What should I do?
Even though this guidebook is for the Neutral Faction, it’s not entirely useless.
It contains the locations of the sanctuaries, the movement routes of the elite units, and strategies for dealing with monsters that emerge after the Gate of Chaos opens.
Haaah.
Alright.
Let’s do this.
My stats are overwhelming, and my buffs are incredible.
I can clear this.
It’s a half-baked—no, a 20%-complete guidebook, but I’ll just use it for the information.
I’ll clear this damn planet out of sheer spite.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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