Chapter 167. The Land of Fantasy (2)
[Sanctuary has been declared!]
[Required duration: 59 minutes 59 seconds... 58 seconds... 57 seconds...]
The message burst forth with the radiance of the sanctuary, its chime serving almost like background music as he tightened his grip on his sword.
Woom—
He swung his sword, carving cleanly through an Eagle diving toward him.
Swoosh—
Then he spun half a turn to the right and cut down the one beside it.
Swish—
Under the dark-blue arc of Sword Force, the space between its beak and eye split open, leaving its head flapping like a maw. It was grotesque, but not enough to stop Eun-Ho.
Next up is the left side.
“Holy crap.”
He cut, and cut, and kept cutting the birds and Wolves leaping off the ground. It felt as if he was declaring only he and his people were allowed to stand on the golden ground.
“Wow.”
“It looks like he’s dancing.”
A few stunned voices rose from the survivors sprawled everywhere.
“D-do we just go into the sanctuary?” someone asked.
“Please! Please accept me too!” another cried, covered head to toe in blood as they tried to crawl into the glowing ring.
To them, that golden circle radiating from Eun-Ho might as well have been the Safe Zone. Then, a system window materialized in front of his eyes.
Fwaaash—
[A group of temporary contract employees wishes to submit to your authority as the savior.]
Oh. So that’s how this system works.
[Would you like to register employee Jung Min-Gyu as a subordinate?]
[Would you like to register employee Choi Min-Young as a subordinate?]
[Would you like to register employee Park Joon-Soo as a subordinate?]
[Would you like to register employee Han Myung-Seok as a subordinate?]
...
More and more lines appeared, growing longer as the onlookers’ awe deepened. That title Savior felt embarrassingly excessive, but he would have had to do it anyway.
[Puppet Master(Lv.1)]
- Form and command a subordinate organization.
- For each subordinate with greater than ninety percent loyalty, you will deal 1% increased damage.
To make proper use of the skill Puppet Master, he had to have highly loyal subordinates.
“Register all,” he said.
Then, a faint prompt floated beneath the list.
[Registration has been completed!]
[Marks have been assigned.]
[Check your subordinate list!]
Good. Just like that, Eun-Ho thought.
Fwoosh—
Then, small black wing symbols appeared on the survivors’ foreheads. Thin as a fingernail, they were barely visible unless one paid close attention.
So that’s the mark...
Anyone would be uneasy seeing a sudden brand appear on their face. However, no one reacted, which meant only he could see them.
[Total registered subordinates: 111.]
[Subordinates in a ‘Loyal’ state: 17.]
A “Loyal” state meant that their loyalty had already surpassed ninety percent, just as the skill described.
Wait. I have seventeen already?
He scrolled through the list, eyebrows raised. Every name was one he recognized.
Kim Ji-Eun, Choi Jae-Hyuk, Kim Han-Wool, Kim Yul, Yeon Bo-Ra...
In other words, along with the teammates he had already registered as Sub-Sales Agents, there were few other people. There was Saito, who should still be struggling back in Japan. Jung Min-Gyu—the man he’d first met on Namsan—bowed before him, trembling. There was also his girlfriend, Choi Min-Young, who had once been suspected alongside Yoo Ri-Na because of a fever. Lastly, Park Joon-Soo, the man who had been manipulated by Myung Seung-Tae, but redeemed himself during the soccer trial thanks to his guard skills.
All of them now displayed loyalty values above ninety percent.
[The Puppet Master skill has been activated!]
[Your attack power has increased by seventeen percent.]
How thoughtful.
He hadn’t lifted a finger yet, and they were already giving him buffs. He decided to study Puppet Master properly later. For now, there was something more urgent to handle.
“Shall we get moving?” he asked.
“Yes!” the survivors answered in unison.
That was because his friend didn’t have much time left, after all.
[Summon Ice Golem(Lv. 1)]
- Summons an Ice Golem for one minute.
- Cooldown: 24 hours.
- The Golem appears in perfect condition on re-summon.
The one minute duration made the skill practically useless. Hence why he had poured all his accumulated skill points into it, leveling it all the way up to level twenty.
[92.1%]
The number floating above the Golem’s head showed its remaining health. Beneath it, another set of numbers ticked away.
[16:20]
[16:19]
[16:18]
Sixteen minutes left before the Golem vanished.
Thud—!
The Ice Golem smashed its heavy fist into the carousel, probably trying to finish off the Eagle whose head was lodged inside the carriage door. That once-majestic bird was only stuck there because the tail was its weak spot.
“Attack the tail!” Eun-Ho shouted.
“The tail?”
“It lost balance the second its tail was cut! If the wings are too hard to reach, go for the tail!”
“Okay! I got it!”
Shrrng—
Those still able to fight raised whatever weapons they had.
“Hyung! Let’s take this one down first!”
“Got it!”
“Be careful though!”
They swarmed the Eagle that had descended for prey, stabbing and hacking at its wings and tail.
They’ve grown, Eun-Ho thought.
They were noticeably more skilled than when they had fought at Silvery Blade. Back then, the Ghost’s aura was enough to immobilize everyone. Seeing so many injured members had worried Eun-Ho, but perhaps they’d simply been caught off guard by the sudden flood of monsters.
Good. At least everyone is holding their own now.
“Kieeeeek!”
However, while their improvement reassured him, it only made the monsters more frantic.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
Bombarded from all directions by metal weapons, the Black-Tailed Venom Eagle flapped its wings wildly.
Is it trying to generate wind? That would be pointless...
Eun-Ho kept his eyes fixed on the massive wings, watching the feathers ruffle.
Ssssssss—
Then, a murky green smoke bubbled out from underneath the wing membrane.
“What is that?!”
“That looks bad!”
“No way! That must be—”
With a name like Venom Eagle, he’d wondered why it hadn’t used its poison yet.
But we came prepared too.
“Ice Golem!” Eun-Ho called.
The Ice Golem turned its massive head. “Gwooooor...”
It had no eyes, nose, or mouth, so he couldn’t tell which direction counted as the Golem’s front. However, one thing was certain. The Ice Golem understood him and moved exactly as he willed it.
“Use Frost Spikes and block the sky!”
Srrrrrrr—
A freezing haze spread across its surface, like dry ice evaporating into the air. The temperature around them plunged, as though the Golem had stolen all the heat nearby.
Crackle— Crack—
Invisible blades scraped against its frozen exterior. Ice dust lifted into the air like drifting powder, then condensed into sharp crystalline spikes.
[Frost Spike has been activated!]
[Toxic Mist has been activated!]
Ice and poison burst forth at the same time.
Fwaaaaash—!
The frost spikes cut through the air with enough force to tear the wind itself. They shot forward, piercing sky, turbulence, and the venomous haze the bird had unleashed, radiating cold intense enough to freeze the world around them.
Then, the toxic mist that was meant to paralyze their lungs froze solid midair, turning into hail. The hail shattered into fine fragments.
“Watch your heads!”
Getting hit would hurt, sure, but at least the poison would not be entering anyone’s lungs now. Even as that thought passed through his mind, the frost spikes continued their flight.
Then, the Eagle’s wings, belly, and nape were pierced thousands of times over. “Kieeeeeek!”
[You have defeated the Black-Tailed Venom Eagle!]
[You have earned 500 Welfare Points.]
[You have defeated the Black-Tailed Venom Eagle!]
[You have earned 500 Welfare Points.]
...
All that remained were the cheerful notifications and a pile of bonus points.
Seriously?
This was almost too easy.
Thoom—!
The Ice Golem crushed a Wolf’s skull under its heavy foot.
Crackle—!
Then a barrage of icicle-like spikes erupted from it, shredding another bird’s wings.
This Ice Golem is insane.
Eun-Ho felt like bowing to the corrupt researcher and Cheong Ryeon-Hwa for indirectly giving him this skill.
[14:07]
Noticing only fourteen minutes remaining, he clicked his tongue.
It’s going to disappear soon. What a waste.
The Ice Golem was so efficient that the idea of going back to fighting alone suddenly felt underwhelming.
As Eun-Ho watched more monsters closing in, a thought sparked. “Ah. I have an idea. Golem!”
“Gwooooor!”
“Let’s make this efficient.”
With a grinding rumble, the Golem turned toward him. “Gwooor?”
Eun-Ho grinned and shouted, “Blizzard of Eternal Frost!”
It was the same attack he had been hit with at the Future Research Center, except the role had been reversed entirely.
[Blizzard of Eternal Frost has been activated!]
A blizzard exploded outward.
The wind was stronger than he expected, and he nearly lost his footing.
Crack—
The warmth of the morning sun collided with the Golem’s freezing aura, and the two forces twisted into a roaring storm.
“Kwoaaaaaah!”
“Kieeeeeek!”
Crackle— Crackle—
The monsters froze in place like shards of ice.
“D-did he really freeze them all?!”
“This is insane!”
Good. I have everything set up nicely. Now it’s time to paint on top of it.
Vwooom—
The Flame Sky-Shattering Blade, drunk on blood and thrumming so hard it made his wrist sting, vibrated eagerly.
“Sword Force.”
The picture he was about to paint would be blue.
Fwaaaash—
A deep indigo energy surged upward. Blue radiance poured out of the pitch-black blade, spiraling skyward as the two colors intertwined.
Good. Now to gather that power into one stroke...
“Blade Wind!”
A crescent-shaped swept three times, akin to a stroke of brush on a canvas.
Swoosh—!
His shoulders burned as if on fire. However, the frozen monsters remained completely still, like silent statues.
Was it not enough?
The moment the doubt crossed his mind, a single line split across the center of the frozen mass.
Crack!
Radiating outward from that line, black fractures devoured the predators of sky and land.
Crack! Crack!
Finally, the entire canvas tore apart.
[You have defeated the Silver-Needle Wolf!]
[You have earned 500 Welfare Points.]
[You have defeated the Black-Tailed Venom Eagle!]
[You have earned 500 Welfare Points.]
[You have defeated the Silver-Needle Wolf!]
[You have earned 500 Welfare Points.]
...
[Congratulations!]
[All enemies within the Sanctuary have been defeated!]
[Maintain your declared Sanctuary until the trial ends!]
***
[The Crow from the Bureau of Management is speechless at your explosive growth!]
[The Brain from the Bureau of Investigation is in shock, demanding to know when you learned to summon Golems!]
[The Night-Shift Fairy from the Bureau of Audit shakes their head, calling you an unprecedented rookie!]
Countless messages flooded in like rapid fire, likely because it had been a while since he opened the channel. Eun-Ho could not even read them all and simply scrolled past.
The messages included things like “What happened just now?," "When did you get a Golem?” “How strong are you planning to get?” There were all variations of the same chaos.
[An overwhelming number of observers are cheering for you and your unbelievable growth!]
[A donation of 5,000 Welfare Points has been made!]
Well, thank goodness they are happy about it.
- From: Kim Ji-Eun
- Message: Your public channel is getting a flood of donations too! They’re calling it record-breaking management performance!
Ah, right.
Ji-Eun was running the public channel, which used to be Harona’s channel. It sounded like things were going smoothly.
- From: Lee Eun-Ho
- Message: Well, that’s a relief. A lot of them must’ve left for mine.
Since he had opened his own channel, the observers had likely migrated. Yet the public channel was still thriving, probably because Ji-Eun’s editing prowess did the heavy lifting.
- From: Lee Eun-Ho
- Message: Your editing must be really good.
- From: Kim Ji-Eun
- Message: I’m working really hard on it! And the footage is amazing, so it’s actually fun!
Given how talented she already was, and that she was working hard on top of it, he couldn’t help but wonder what the final result would be. Therefore, he sent a joke.
- From: Lee Eun-Ho
- Message: Then can I see it later?
- From: Kim Ji-Eun
- Message: Uh... Then, I’ll pour my soul into it!!
He could already picture Ji-Eun’s serious expression, with lips pressed together. An involuntary smile creeped up his face.
Then, one of the men beside him asked, “Do you have good news or something?”
“Ah no. It’s nothing like that.”
The couple still holding each other’s hands stared at him, full of emotion. Their eyes sparkled with unmistakable gratitude, as if silently saying thank you.
[The temporary contract workers show reverence toward your overwhelming power.]
[Loyalty has slightly increased.]
[Average loyalty: 68%]
The rest of the survivors also expressed their gratitude.
“Thank you. I really mean it. Thank you.”
“You came all the way here just to help us?”
“Haha... Not exactly. I had business here too.”
“On ruined land like this? You don’t have to say that just so we don’t feel guilty.”
Eun-ho was telling the truth, though. Still, they earnestly lowered their heads, reminiscent of children choosing to see only the hope they wanted to see.
Eun-Ho gave a cheap consolation in place of the truth. “Once this trial ends, things will get better. You’ll have a barrier.”
“Ah, right! The barrier!”
“Then we can actually sleep at night, right?”
He got all this praise just for erecting a barrier, as if he were magnanimous. Even though he ate warm meals in a safe place, like the ones beyond the Eyes.
“You said nocturnal monsters roam at night?” Eun-Ho asked.
“Yeah. Blood-bats and giant moths... Ugh, they look horrible in person.”
“So is that why you only went for supplies in the morning?”
“Yes. We’ve barely slept, always taking turns on watch. If we can just sleep properly, everything will feel easier.”
After a short thought, Eun-Ho asked, “Isn’t this Sanctuary a bit small?”
“Huh?”
“The hostel doesn’t even fully fit inside. And there aren’t any other facilities inside the boundary, so you’ll still need to scout and gather supplies.”
The survivors tilted their heads, confused. “Well, that’s true, but...”
“I think we should expand it.”
“E-expand it? What is this, an apartme—” They almost asked, but swallowed it back. “Well, bigger would be better.”
“Right? If the whole area around the hostel is covered, you won’t need watch shifts at all.”
“Still, isn’t it too risky to—”
Murmurs rolled outward like ripples. People hesitated, torn between cramped safety and vast danger.
Therefore, Eun-Ho tossed in a small carrot. “While we’re at it, we can hunt, too.”
Harona had mentioned that temporary contract employees required trials to earn points. However, that also meant that as long as they earned points, it did not matter how. They could stockpile points by wiping out monsters en masse, making their lives easier long-term.
Perhaps they understood his intention.
[The temporary contract workers express gratitude for your consideration.]
[Loyalty has slightly increased.]
[Average loyalty: 70%]
“I’ll go.”
“Then I’ll go too!”
The couple exchanged determined looks and nodded.
“I’m in too. I need the money.”
“Uh, me as well!”
Hands went up one by one.
Then, someone watching anxiously finally asked, “But, are we okay without the Golem?”
Ah. Right.
Eun-Ho had told them the golem’s summon time had ended, so they were probably uneasy. True, that last battle ended so easily because of Blizzard of Eternal Frost, but the Golem was just one of many cards he had prepared.
“We should be fine.”
More than fine, actually.
Eun-Ho still had plenty of items he had saved. “I came prepared.”
“Alright. If it’s you, I trust it,” said the survivor.
“Yeah. There hasn’t been a single time things went wrong by following his lead,” said another.
“Well except for the times we didn’t listen,” chimed someone.
A short discussion disguised as consensus ended.
“Then I’ll take that as everyone’s agreement.”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
It was time to get to work.
“So, do you think we can take all of Magic Land?” Eun-Ho asked.
“Even just the bumper cars and Viking area would make moving around easier,” answered a survivor.
“What about seizing the Central Plaza? Then no matter where the trial pops up, we can get there quickly,” Eun-Ho asked.
“Oh, that’s true. We always had to take the long way,” replied another survivor.
It was time to hunt monsters, save people, and boost loyalty for free buffs.
“Let’s conquer all of it,” Eun-Ho declared.
“Sorry?”
Renting out an entire empty amusement park was something he always wanted to try at least once, and now was his chance.
“We’re conquering all of Neverland.”