The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game-Chapter 98: Offline? (4)

The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game-Chapter 98: Offline? (4)

Translator: Dreamscribe
This offline gathering became a major topic of conversation. The Romance Heroes had gained fame, but Priest Comfortable had now become so well-known that nearly every Hero knew about him.
Videos of Priest Comfortable were turned into memes not only within Arsilan Worlds but also on SNS and other communities. His bulging muscles and the way he beat goblins to death embodied the essence of a man’s man.
At FS Games' suggestion, emoticons were made using him, and Comfortable announced his intention to donate all proceeds from them. As a result, Comfortable's meme came to symbolize a man who was perfect in both body and spirit.
There was one more event that fueled these memes.
One of the world’s top martial arts fighters saw Comfortable beating goblins to death at the offline event and left a review. He tried to imitate it himself and failed miserably.
"A man who truly possesses insane combat power."
With that conclusion, he showed respect for Comfortable. Afterward, many speculated about Comfortable’s identity, but no one spoke of him negatively.
Jinwoo subscribed to the Arsilan Worlds service using Comfortable’s identity. Although the number of Clerics had increased, the number of pure Priests who were traditional healers was extremely small. Especially those Priests who could use mid-level sacred techniques were so rare that you could count them on one hand. This was because most failed to properly master sacred techniques and tended to divert into Paladins or other classes.
[Comfortable’s Sacred Technique Classroom]
Jinwoo kindly taught sacred techniques. He explained them in a way that was accessible from the perspective of Heroes. Subscriber numbers rapidly increased, and many aspiring Priests began to emerge, but his influence was greater than expected.
[Sacred techniques consume not only divine power but also Health. Therefore, it is good to consistently increase your Health stat.]
“He said strong divine power resides in a strong body.”
“Training! Training!”
Comfortable’s subscribers began to train.
[To become accustomed to sacred techniques, it is good to use them frequently. Unlike magic, which requires mathematical calculation, sacred techniques operate through ‘faith’. The belief that you can use sacred techniques is important.]
“Faith that I can become stronger!”
“Faith that I can crush the enemy!”
“Huh? This is pretty good?”
“I feel like my skills are improving.”
Quite a few Clerics began to beat down monsters while using sacred techniques on their own bodies. Although the efficiency was lower compared to jobs like Paladins that could learn various offensive sacred techniques and skills, once they became Priests, the story changed.
By defeating monsters using pure combat power without relying on skills, and by casting sacred techniques on their own bodies, their proficiency rapidly increased. Clerics came to call this method ‘Comfortable’s Post-Apocalyptic Training Technique.’
“Wishing you a comfortable training.”
“May you use comfortable sacred techniques.”
Those who practiced Comfortable’s Post-Apocalyptic Training Technique would greet each other this way.
[Airi (Saintess): This is a disaster! The Clerics are acting strange! They’re growing muscles all over..., to be honest, I think it's a little gross!]
The bodies of Clerics aspiring to be Priests were changing.
Depending on their Strength and Health stats, they could customize their characters to have larger muscles. While this didn’t change their actual abilities, the expanded range of customization created an overwhelming presence.
In front of the Evanth Church, the area was soon filled with Clerics lifting weights to raise their Strength stat and showing off their physiques.
“Hmm...”
In reality, Priest Comfortable’s body was average. Still, the increasing number of Priests was a positive development.
Jinwoo looked around the Heroes’ Domains. The number of Domains had now grown to eight. Some had expanded inward, but most were located on the border between desert and land.
They still lacked the strength to enter the inner zones under the influence of large cities.
‘Each Domain has a different vibe.’
Some Domains focused on mining ores, while others had set up large-scale farms. There were even Domains established solely for plundering. Heroes were enjoying their freedom across this vast land in their own ways.
“It really is wide.”
The core of the Empire of Evil was not easily accessible. It was far away, and the Lord of Greed was fiercely guarding it, so even Jinwoo could not infiltrate without being discovered.
It seemed best to gradually occupy this area and turn it into the territory of the Kingdom of Sillion. To do that, new content for the Heroes would be necessary.
Jinwoo examined the Eastern Noble Union. Since the Count disappeared, the Eastern Noble Union had splintered into several factions and was waging a civil war. This was because Count Jayron’s Domain was far too tempting.
Because the Heroes were occupying the area around the Underground Labyrinth, it had become difficult to secure troops. Although reinforcements were being sourced from holes in other regions, it took a considerable amount of time and required a hefty price.
There had been several attempts to reclaim the Underground Labyrinth, but the Heroes had successfully fended them off every time, and they even enjoyed doing so.
Jinwoo infiltrated the conference hall where the Empire’s nobles were gathered.
All the nobles present here were high-ranking, and they harbored even greater greed than Count Jayron. As a result, their bodies had become so deformed that they could no longer be called human.
Though their physiques weren’t as bloated as the Count’s, there were nobles with numerous arms. They had mutated in such a way to seize and adorn themselves with more treasures.
One noble had a massive mouth to consume more food, while another had eyeballs covering their entire body in order to see more treasure.
“Obviously, Count Jayron’s Domain should be managed by us!”
“That’s right. Wasn’t it the one who sided with the Duke that clashed with Count Jayron in the first place? And now you’re telling me that same bastard gets the whole Domain....”
“This is not the time for us to be fighting among ourselves!”
The atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense.
“Even if we join forces, they have far too many on their side. Normally, we who are near the Sanctuary should have the advantage, but....”
“Hmm, what if we try negotiating with that barbarian instead?”
“He’s unbelievably good at fighting. Maybe we could bribe him with some land or treasure....”
Since the nobles were being pushed into a corner, even such remarks began to surface.
Listening quietly, Jinwoo nodded.
‘Not bad.’
A faction war!
It seemed like great content where Heroes could gain treasures and grow stronger.
No matter how much content there was, it was never enough.
‘If I want to manage content, I’ll definitely need to plant some spies.’
Jinwoo had previously tried to relay his will to the Count’s son but had failed. Since then, he had continued his research and finally discovered the cause.
Thanks to the expansion of Jinwoo’s Authority, the corrupted soul couldn’t endure it. The corruption planted by the Lord of Greed had violently resisted Jinwoo. Nobles were hard to brainwash or control, but their aides were a different story.
Jinwoo looked toward the aides standing stiffly behind the nobles. The aides, too, seemed warped by desire and greed, looking more like insects or distorted beasts.
In the distant past, before Ella’s arrival, the people of Arsilan had once described the beings they called demons, and these looked quite similar to those descriptions.
Swoosh!
He engraved a brand onto their souls.
The magic circle that burst forth from the brand extended toward the core of their souls and the heads of their bodies.
“Ahem! Excuse me.”
Cough.
The nobles’ aides coughed or had runny noses. The installation proceeded as Jinwoo intended, without issue. Jinwoo wandered around the area, branding various individuals before moving on to the desert.
Jinwoo drew up the Magic Power that lay buried in the desert. Fragments of the moon buried beneath the sand shot upward through the grains. Jinwoo pulled out a large number of Invasion Stones brought from Arsilan and merged them with the moon fragments.
Rrrrrrrrrumble!
A massive sphere was created.
Jinwoo engraved the necessary magic circles onto its surface and connected it to the Magic Tower and the Soul Gate. The massive sphere floated up into the sky and became a star. A relay device containing a wide variety of functions had been created.
Jinwoo decided to call it the “Star of Invasion”
“Not bad.”
It rose next to the moon created by the Lord of Greed and shone even more beautifully than the moon itself.
Jinwoo entered the underground base in Evanth for the first time in a while. Tia was still using it, and other Arsilan natives also came here to rest.
The underground base was popular as a place where one could rest freely away from the Heroes’ view. Similar bases were under construction beneath Solis and Marogo. Because the number of newbie Heroes had increased rapidly, the number of Arsilan natives assigned with key missions also increased, and more resting places were needed.
Tia, who had been playing a game, smiled brightly as she greeted Jinwoo.
“It’s been a while since I saw you here!”
“Yeah, it has.”
Tia was playing a game.
“Oh, Grio Kart 12.”
“This is really fun. I’m pretty good at it, you know.”
“Shall I give it a try too?”
Jinwoo sat next to her and picked up a controller.
Several games were being serviced through Arsilan Worlds. The Heroes would enjoy Arsilan Saga and then play these kinds of games through the game screen in Arsilan during their spare time.
It was perfect for passing time while moving or waiting for results from tasks. Above all, when gifts were given to the Arsilan natives, they could enjoy the games together, so revenue was fairly good.
-Oh!
-A top-tier player just showed up ㄷㄷㄷ
-Wow... I’m already tilted.
-I’m on a passenger ship right now, and everyone’s watching. I’m gonna crush her.
The Heroes who got matched in the same room recognized Tia’s ID. Tia’s ID was “AllBelowMeAreNoobs”. According to her records, she wasn’t only ranked in Grio Kart 12 but was consistently in the top 10 across multiple games.
Tia was notorious among the Heroes.
“You’ve played... a lot.”
“I like that I can legally beat up Heroes. Especially when I beat them with Taekwon 11, the reactions are so satisfying that I feel happy.”
Tia said this with a bright smile.
“Are you good at games?”
Tia asked Jinwoo as she looked at him.
It was a provocation!
“Fine. I’ll beat you. Bring it on.”
“Heh, it won’t be so easy, you know?”
How laughable.
As a game developer, Jinwoo had played an enormous number of games. The idea of him losing was almost unimaginable.
“I will join as well.”
“I can’t be left out.”
Hallon and Hasman naturally picked up controllers and sat beside Tia and Jinwoo.
They looked very familiar with it, almost like a club gathering. In fact, the “Evanth Game Club” had been formed with Tia at the center. Most of the Arsilan natives who had carried out major missions in Episode 1 had joined.
“Ugh!”
“Haha! I’m going first.”
Hasman and Hallon were neck and neck, while Tia was in the lead.
Jinwoo struggled just to keep up with them.
The distance didn’t close!
“Hey, isn’t that cheating?”
“Cheating? This is a legitimate feature in the game.”
Tia grinned as she replied to Jinwoo. The three of them used even glitches to gain the lead. Heroes who were also playing began to keep up using the same methods.
“Hm....”
In the end, Jinwoo came in dead last. Consumed by a sense of defeat, he quietly placed the controller on the floor.
[AllBelowMeAreNoobs: (Emoticon: an Elf looking down with disdain) Noobs.]
-Aaargh!
-Ugh...
-Lost again!
-One more round!
Tia even made her kart wiggle in-game as she did teabagging. The Heroes raged, but it only made things more miserable for them.
Jinwoo was thinking of distributing hologram development kits to other game companies. If he did that, wouldn't a variety of games appear where players could directly participate within Arsilan Saga?
Of course, that was still a story for later. It would proceed once the number of Heroes had grown overwhelmingly large.
“It’s even more fun playing together.”
“Haha! This brings back memories. When Evanth was first created, I had a lot of worries, but now peace has found us.”
Hasman and Hallon had content expressions.
The three of them looked incredibly relaxed. Hallon only had to appear at the Grand Temple during events, and Hasman was handling the royal palace’s administration, which wasn’t particularly demanding.
Tia was the same.
Although she was working on writing a novel, she felt something was missing. Tia let out a small sigh as she placed the controller down.
“I probably shouldn’t say this, but... I do feel a bit disappointed that my role has decreased.”
Tia had commanded Episode 1 and was involved in Episode 2. But in Episode 3, she had nothing to do.
“It’s an era of peace, after all.”
“The fact that our roles have diminished is a good thing. It means that things are peaceful.”
Though Hasman and Hallon said that, they looked somewhat regretful. They were beginning to grow bored of passing the time playing games.
“Then, do you want to work on something with me?”
Whoosh!
At Jinwoo’s words, the three of them instantly turned their heads. Tia’s eyes sparkled, and Hasman and Hallon regained their energy. Jinwoo smiled at the sight.
“What kind of work is it?”
Tia’s voice was filled with excitement. Jinwoo took out a Soul Link from his subspace. He disassembled the Soul Link on the spot and connected it to the Star of Invasion.
An Arsilan version of the Soul Link was born.
Jinwoo briefly explained what it was and what kind of work they would be doing.
Tia was amazed by Jinwoo’s plan.
“So, you mean we take over the bad guys’ bodies and control them ourselves?”
“That’s right. You understood perfectly.”
The Arsilan natives couldn’t withstand Erosion.
But if they inhabited a body and soul with resistance, the story would be different.
Jinwoo had completely taken control of the souls and wills of the aides. Their wills had been sucked into the Star of Invasion and were experiencing pain proportional to the magnitude of their greed.
All that remained was to connect a new will to those empty vessels.
While a connection with Jinwoo, who possessed immense Authority, was difficult, it was possible for Arsilan natives.
Entities with relatively low levels of greed, like slaves or maids, had their wills sealed and were able to enter a dormant state. Currently, only small-scale control was possible, so more research was needed.
“Even if the connection is severed, they’ll move according to the settings you established.”
Their souls were perfectly analyzed and would serve as valuable data, supporting the Arsilan natives based on the information extracted. Since they passed through the Soul Gate and Invasion Stones, there was no need to worry about corruption from Erosion.
This was an advanced technology Jinwoo had carefully created.
“Wow! Then we’ll be able to explore multiple storylines! I actually wrote down all kinds of ideas after hearing about the Empire of Evil!”
Tia’s enthusiasm and passion began to blaze.
“First, I’ll earn merit and gain their trust, then climb the ranks rapidly... Ehehe! I’ll get to witness their descent into ruin!”
Tia’s Ruin.
It had come to the Empire of Evil!
With a snap of Jinwoo’s fingers, the forms of the aides appeared. Not just the aides, other physical vessels were also listed as candidates. It looked just like a character selection screen.
“Pick one.”
The three began carefully choosing their characters(?).
“I’ll go with this spider-like woman. She looks so evil, I love it.”
The aide Tia picked resembled a spider. It was an appearance one could reasonably tolerate. While Hallon and Hasman enthusiastically selected their aides, Airi entered the room.
“Hello?”
Airi was also a member of the Evanth Game Club. Aside from sermon time, she had plenty of free time.
Airi was so popular among the Heroes that any appearance she made caused a stir. Because of that, she often holed up here at the underground base or inside the Church.
Jinwoo always felt a little sorry toward Airi.
“Airi, do you want to try it too?”
“May I?”
“It should be fine if you’re just looking around.”
“Thank you!”
The list of branded characters also included lower-class officials and head maids. They couldn’t be given major roles, but they could be used to look around the scenery.
Jinwoo handed Airi a Soul Link.
All four of them sat down on the sofa, holding Soul Links. The sight gave Jinwoo a strange feeling. He had seen many Heroes wear Soul Links, but this was the first time seeing Arsilan natives do so.
“I’ll connect first!”
Tia was the first to put on the Soul Link and pressed the power button. With that, everyone else put theirs on as well. Jinwoo moved to the Star to check if everything was functioning properly.
[Oh! I’m connected!]
“How’s the movement?”
[I can move just as naturally as in my original body. I can use all the functions I originally had, and although it’s weaker, I can even use my magic.]
“I paid close attention to that.”
Following Tia, messages came in from the others as well.
Jinwoo checked the information displayed on the Star and applied multiple safety layers. Even if the Lord of Greed noticed, it would pose no issue at all.
[Empire of Evil Connectors: 4 (Arsilan Natives)]
*Tia (Aide) has awakened in her room and is looking around.
*Hallon (Prophet) attempted to use a sacred technique and broke his hand.
*Hasman (Strategist) is inspecting the study.
*Airi (Maid) is exploring the corridor.
└ Airi’s Charm has been activated! However, Airi seems unaware!
└ Airi’s Charm has been activated! It lands a critical hit on a lower-class official’s heart!
└ Airi’s Charm has been activated! A gardener, distracted by Airi, accidentally cut off his own finger! Gardener 2 fell off a ladder!
└ But Airi has not noticed!
Airi’s suppressed Authority was beginning to leak out.
“Hmm....”
Well, it wasn’t Arsilan, it was the Empire of Evil, so it should be fine, right?
In any case, the more Episode 3 became enriched, the more the Lord of Greed and the Empire of Evil would suffer. So, let’s make it even more entertaining!
* * *
Airi connected to the maid’s body.
The land where Erosion had devoured everything.
The Empire of Evil, filled only with corrupted souls.
When Jinwoo told her about it, Airi had become very nervous. She imagined it would be teeming with terrible demons who devoured each other to grow fat. Even when she first opened her eyes in a luxurious corridor, that was what she thought.
‘I want to help too!’
For Arsilan, for Jinwoo, Airi had mustered her courage. Tense and nervous, she began to walk down the corridor.
The nobles' meeting had paused for a short recess. The nobles stepped out from the meeting room into the corridor, where their eyes happened to meet Airi’s.
The nobles’ gazes grew unfocused and then completely glazed over.
“A gift. There are even more splendid things in my Domain.”
A giant noble presented her with a bouquet made of jewels.
“I can’t believe it! Such a beautiful gem was here all along!”
“I just remembered my request.”
“Hey! I'll make my request first.”
The grotesque-looking nobles, unexpectedly, were very kind.
“U-um... may I take a look at the garden?”
When Airi nervously asked that, everyone around her nodded.
“Hahaha! If you come to my Domain, I shall build you a vast garden!”
“Tsk tsk, to treat someone like this as a mere maid! That Marquis from the East, the so-called power player, must’ve really lost it.”
“I’ll guide you! Please, come with me!”
Airi was of the Succubus Queen’s bloodline and possessed immense power. She had suppressed it from birth until now, but once she inhabited another body, it was as if the seal had been broken, the scent of enchantment naturally flowed out.
Airi didn’t realize it. Due to her personality, she had never consciously used her charm even once.
‘They’re bad people, but they’re kind.’
Prejudice really is a scary thing.
‘I’ve learned something new!’
Thinking that, Airi nodded to herself.
When Airi appeared in the garden, a gardener who had been trimming the trees fell from a ladder, and the nobles’ aides, unable to take their eyes off her, stumbled while walking.
Unaware of all this, the Marquis re-entered the meeting room.
“Ahem! Now then, let us resume the meeting... Hm?”
What is this?
Seeing the conference room completely empty, the Marquis tilted his head in confusion.
A massive rift had begun to form among the nobles who had gathered to unite their forces!
*****
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Chapter 98: Offline? (4)