Chapter 63
At the sound of someone calling us, those of us waiting in the lounge slowly stood up and made our way toward the main auditorium.
The awards ceremony was about to begin.
The moment we opened the grand doors and stepped inside, hundreds of cadets filling the vast hall greeted us with thunderous applause.
Cheers and claps rained down upon us like a wave.
“Everyone, please welcome the greatest contributors to the recent Beast Rampage incident!”
Standing on the highest podium of the hall was Berid.
As expected, she wasn’t here again.
The one who should have been presiding over this ceremony was the Student Council President—but instead, the Vice President, Berid, was doing it.
Which could only mean one thing: Yoo Iseo still hadn’t shown up.
Her absence was dragging on far longer than expected.
Of course, given her unstable mental state, her return would be a risk.
But she was the only one who could stand against Berid’s ambitions head-on.
The longer she stayed gone, the more Berid’s influence grew within the Academy.
It seemed that once this ceremony was over, I’d have to drag her out by force if necessary.
[Over here.]
Then, a peculiar voice echoed in my head.
I turned my gaze toward the direction the voice had come from as I slowly walked through the hall.
That’s—?
Among the crowd of cadets, I spotted someone.
A short-haired girl, her face hidden beneath a pulled-down hood.
I couldn’t make out her features clearly, but I knew immediately who she was.
Because from under that hood, a faint pair of blue eyes were glowing.
It seemed that the Student Council President, after her long seclusion, had become a bit shy in the time she’d been away.
But I understood how she must have felt, so I murmured softly toward her.
“Welcome back.”
The red lips visible beneath the hood curved faintly upward.
My worries about Yoo Iseo had been needless.
In the end, she had overcome her sorrow and stepped outside—
And at just the right moment, too.
For now, that was enough.
Once the ceremony was over, I’d go see her right away.
Feeling lighter than I had in a long time, I followed the long path made by the cadets and climbed up to the podium.
From above, I could see the hundreds of cadets gathered below.
And among them, Yoo Iseo as well.
It seemed Berid had also noticed her, because she suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
She must’ve been overwhelmed.
It would already burn her up inside just having to give us—the ones who ruined her plans—an award.
But now that Yoo Iseo had appeared, her mind must’ve been in chaos.
To continue scheming from a foundation that had already failed must’ve felt like hell.
Watching her flustered expression, I couldn’t help but feel a spark of amusement.
“Ahem.”
“Ah, my apologies. Let’s continue, then…”
Snapping out of it after someone’s cough, Berid apologized and resumed the ceremony.
A flashy congratulatory performance, followed by the principal’s endlessly dull speech.
For something that amounted to just a plaque and a small reward, the whole procedure felt unnecessarily long and complicated.
Standing there for nearly an hour listening to all of it, I was starting to get drowsy.
Once again, I desperately wished this world had a skip function like in a game.
“That was the principal’s address. Next, we’ll proceed with the award presentation.”
At the word “award presentation,” the cadets—who had looked half-dead throughout the speech—suddenly regained their energy.
Soon, whispers filled the hall.
The real reason the entire student body had endured this tedious ceremony—
Was to see, with their own eyes, the high-ranked hero and role model for all hero cadets: the Sword Empress.
At that moment, all the lights in the hall went out, and silence descended.
But instead of panic, the cadets’ eyes gleamed with excitement.
Then—
Dozens of swords appeared in midair, floating and gliding gracefully through the darkness.
The luminous blades illuminated the dim auditorium like a gentle starlight.
And at their center stood a figure, poised upon a single sword.
Her dark blue hair shimmered like the night sky, and her sharp features resembled Dan Chun-woo’s.
The Sword Empress had arrived.
As she landed elegantly upon the stage, the lights flared back to life all at once.
A brief, breathless silence.
And then, the hall erupted in thunderous cheers.
“Waaaaaahhh!!”
“Sword Empress! Sword Empress! Sword Empress!”
“Marry me, please!!”
The cadets shouted her name as if they were at an idol concert.
At their enthusiasm, she smiled softly and waved to them.
Then Ha Yoon took over the microphone.
“As a special guest for today’s ceremony, the high-ranked hero, the Sword Empress herself, will personally present the awards!”
When the Sword Empress took the mic and waved her hand, the noisy cadets fell silent at once.
She looked over the gathered students, then at those of us standing on the stage, before she spoke.
“Seeing all of you like this brings back so many memories of not-so-distant days. Thank you for inviting me. I’m sure you all know why I’m here today—to honor the heroes.”
At the word heroes, every gaze turned toward us.
But the Sword Empress shook her head.
“These individuals have certainly achieved great things as heroes. But every one of you here—who fought desperately to save lives—is also a hero. I wish to say this here and now: countless lives were saved by your blood and sweat.”
Her words were brief but powerful.
Rather than only praising us who received awards, she used the moment to honor those who hadn’t.
The cadets, clearly moved, began chanting her name again.
After her short yet stirring speech, the awards presentation began.
“It’s an honor to meet the heroes who saved the Beast Ranch.”
The Sword Empress approached us and extended her hand in greeting.
Park Siwoo’s eyes sparkled with admiration, while Helena greeted her with the joy of a long-lost sibling.
Anyone watching might have thought Helena was her real younger sister, not Dan Chun-woo.
Then, the Sword Empress stopped before Dan Chun-woo.
A brief silence passed between them.
“It’s been a while, little brother.”
“……”
“Answer.”
“It’s been a while.”
Though their exchange was short, the hierarchy between them was clear.
Even in-game, Dan Chun-woo could never quite stand up to the Sword Empress.
No matter how great their family was, the strained relationship between the siblings had never changed—after all, since childhood, the Sword Empress had treated Dan Chun-woo like a disobedient child under her thumb.
As a result, Dan Chun-woo became the typical younger brother who hated his sister but never dared to talk back to her.
Given his personality, one might expect him to rebel as he got older—but the Sword Empress was simply too strong for that.
The Sword Empress frowned at Dan Chun-woo’s sullen expression.
“Not happy to see your sister after so long, are you?”
“……Why are you using my collection?”
Ah. So that sour look he’d had since her entrance—it turned out he was annoyed because she had touched his collection.
He’s not a kid, seriously.
At his words, the Sword Empress’s brows furrowed.
“Did you just talk down to your elder sister? And since when were the Swordmaster Family’s sword collections yours? You’re the disgrace who was kicked out of the family. Nothing in our house belongs to you anymore.”
Grit.
A faint grinding sound came from between his clenched teeth.
At the same time, a shadow passed through the Sword Empress’s eyes.
“You’ve become rather rude while I wasn’t around. Stay after the ceremony. If your friends don’t mind, they can stay too.”
“……”
“Answer.”
“……Got it.”
At the Sword Empress’s words, we all glanced at one another.
Dan Chun-woo staying behind was one thing—but us too?
Why?
I had my doubts, but the ceremony wasn’t over yet.
Large plaques were handed to each of us, and with the microphone in hand, the Sword Empress continued.
“Being invited to an event like this probably means the Academy forced the Swordmaster Family to show off for the sake of the new heroes.”
Her light joke drew laughter from the cadets.
“So, as a token of appreciation for those who contributed during the Beast Incident, the Swordmaster Family will be presenting a special gift.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a man in a black suit carrying a 007 briefcase walked onto the stage.
When the case opened, murmurs of excitement spread among the cadets.
“Holy… what is that?”
“Whoa…”
“As expected from the Swordmaster Family… this is on another level. Absolutely insane.”
Inside the case was a round wooden plaque engraved with a goblin’s face.
“That’s…”
“A priority commission token from the Chiwoo Workshop? There aren’t even that many of those in our family, and they’re giving out four…?”
Helena stared blankly at the plaques, wide-eyed.
Just as she said, the case contained priority commission tokens from Chiwoo Workshop.
Chiwoo Workshop—according to the game’s lore, it was not only the best forge in Korea but the greatest in the world, run by the master blacksmith Baek Hyun-joong, who had once forged the Swordmaster’s blade and the weapon of a former top-ranked hero.
It was his workshop—his domain.
As the forge run by the world’s greatest craftsman, its prices were unimaginable, and even getting a reservation was notoriously difficult.
Rumor had it that even if you placed an order, you’d have to wait years before receiving the finished weapon.
That was the lore behind Chiwoo Workshop.
And in-game, Chiwoo Workshop served as the cash-item shop.
Of course, no player would want a system where you had to wait months after ordering a weapon to actually receive it.
This kind of backstory was simply a clever excuse to justify the use of premium equipment.
Still, to think I’d actually come across a Chiwoo Workshop commission token in real life…
Since there was no “cash” system in this world, I had assumed I’d never get one in this lifetime.
Never imagined I’d see one this way.
As expected of the Academy. I knew the rewards would be generous—but this generous?
This would force me to revise a few parts of my plan.
There weren’t any pay-to-win “broken” items among the cash gear.
Most of them were simply enhanced versions of standard weapons, or appearance-modification items meant for show-offs.
Still, as paid items, their base stats were quite impressive, and some paying players even had their entire equipment sets forged by Chiwoo Workshop.
I looked down at the plaque from Chiwoo Workshop that I had received.
So, how should I use this?
My Fist King build was designed to be played with no equipment.
If I equipped any items, I wouldn’t be able to fully utilize the Fist King build’s effects.
But creating a weapon for the Devil Knight form came with its own issues too.
As I pondered this, the ceremony came to an end.
As the festive mood lingered, the cadets began pouring out of the auditorium, leaving only us behind.
While waiting for her, the excited Park Siwoo—still buzzing from getting a Chiwoo Workshop token—asked,
“So, how are you guys gonna use your tokens?”
“Do you even have to ask? Obviously, we should get custom-made weapons. Every weapon from Chiwoo Workshop is incredible. If there’s something you want, just say it. I’ll make sure to get it for you if I can.”
“Helena, have you been to Chiwoo Workshop before?”
At Park Siwoo’s question, Helena nodded.
“I went there once with my father.”
“Then, how about we all go together this weekend? I’ve never ordered a custom weapon before.”
“Not a bad idea.”
Both of them turned their eyes to me.
“You’re coming too, right?”
“Me?”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to skip out?”
“I’m not sure. I’m not really the type to use weapons.”
At that, Helena shook her head.
“Now that you mention it, when you chose your main armament at the start, you didn’t pick anything, did you? But once you see the weapons at Chiwoo Workshop, you might change your mind.”
I could only chuckle at that.
“Or, why not hand over that junk sword of yours? If you at least ask them to repair it, it might stop looking like such a piece of trash.”
In that instant, it felt like a bolt of lightning struck my head.
Helena, you’re… smarter than I thought.