<457 - What a fuss over nothing>
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【Turn 1 Begins】
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[Battlefield Briefing]
The Messenger of the Northern Grand Duke has identified the most contested areas currently expected on the battlefield.
“O pilgrims who dedicate your faith to the God of Satisfaction, Apnonia! The demonic clan is advancing via three routes: the White Zone of the Blizzard, the Trap Zone of the Hidden Crevasse, and the Quake Zone of Noise Totality. Halt their advance at one of these three paths.”
(Mission deadline until Turn 10)
You are the pilgrim [Oknodie] leading the Apnonia Pilgrimage Unit.
The pilgrims are eagerly anticipating your decision.
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Choose or enter this turn’s command.
[Move][Station][Scout][Messenger][Observe][Attack][Strategy][Special]
You have chosen [Move].
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As soon as I received the directive from Northern Grand Duke Yuda, I realized it was a test he was sending me.
“Wherever I choose, it looks like I’m going to taste hell!”
He grants the freedom of choice but denies the support and results that follow.
It’s irritating but an effective control.
Since I had intended to betray from the start by choosing the Sacred Unit, the Duke’s insight could be deemed rather impressive.
“Heh heh. So, what are you going to do? You’ve given us freedom of action. If it were me, I might have locked them up instead!”
[You idiot. That wouldn’t be a test.]
Even with Alice’s senior’s scolding, I didn’t feel too whiny today.
My victory was already secured from the moment I chose the Apnonian Pilgrimage Unit.
[What wicked scheme have you concocted to make you so happy…?]
“You’ll find out when you see!”
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Choose or enter this turn’s command.
[Move][Station][Scout][Messenger][Observe][Attack][Strategy][Special]
You have chosen [Move].
The destination is [Quake Zone of Noise Totality].
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Noise Totality Zone.
A special terrain where earthquakes occur when the total noise in the area exceeds a critical point.
Any great army passing through here must deploy noise-reducing magic, greatly slowing their advance.
Therefore, it is favorable for a strong minority.
In combat, if loud noises occur, the weaker ones are washed away by earthquakes while we emerge unscathed.
[The Apnonia Pilgrimage Unit is not a force you can control. Even if you want to strategize, how are you going to manage a bunch of crazies only eager for insanity?]
“Alice-senpai, that idea is ridiculous. When you make them do boring things, they look for fun. If you give them something fun from the start, won’t that be better?”
Exactly the same phrase appeared on the Mana Board regarding Alice’s doubts.
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【Turn 2 Begins】
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[Battlefield Briefing]
The [Calm Amidst Hardship] trait of the Apnonian Pilgrimage Unit has activated.
The Unit now wishes to charge towards the enemy lines immediately, creating as much noise as possible to confront the natural earthquakes and annihilate the enemy.
If you cannot propose more hardship than their current ordeal, you will lose command over the unit.
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How are you going to stop this?
The phrase asking in a challenging manner honestly seemed only cute.
Struggles.
It’s a daunting task for NPCs.
Honestly, this is just like exercising.
I know it’s good for the body.
But it’s hard to do.
Do we have to be satisfied with this much?
Can’t we just take it easy after a while?
Must we fight to the limit every time?
The moment I loosen my grip on the reins within my heart, the intensity of the exercise drops.
The depth of hardship also shallowens.
The Apnonian Pilgrimage Unit is much like a group of crazy gym rats, completely removed of such laxness.
“But isn’t that just worse than a player downgrade?”
Looking closely, it’s not a wrong statement.
In the game, to survive, players go through insane lengths to strengthen themselves for survival, attempting all sorts of quests targeting rewards.
No matter how strong they become, they never find satisfaction and keep challenging more dangerous missions.
If you’re satisfied, growth stops, and you can’t avoid backlash.
Even within the same quests and hardships, they ponder how to obtain more rewards, even if it means increasing the difficulty level.
To be precise, players are no different from the pilgrims of the Apnonian Pilgrimage Unit; they might even be the more intense sort.
[Are you trying to control with the risk of dark mana corruption as an excuse?]
“Why would I stop? Handling divine power provides basic resistance to dark mana. Resistance is there to be used, isn’t it? So we should build it up.”
[?]
Although Alice-senpai fell into confusion, there’s no leisure to convince her during the exam.
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[Special]
You began to persuade.
“There’s nothing more thrilling than annihilating a unit led by a demon. Suppressing the might of the demons with the power of faith in one hand and the power of the demons in the other, our journey raises the name of Apnonia above all good and evil in this world.”
The pilgrims erupted in fervent applause.
“That’s our captain! Always electrifying!”
“How on earth can you pull off such an incredible feat?”
You proposed the method.
“First, we subjugate the regional forces of the quake zone. We soak the land with their blood to corrupt it, gather dark mana from the tainted earth, and then annihilate the regional forces. Afterward, we challenge the Northern Grand Duke.”
The pilgrims unanimously supported your grand undertaking.
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Corruption was proceeding smoothly.
The regional forces in the quake zone willingly provided their blood to absurd humans wanting to be corrupted with their own.
It was a cooperation stemming from a hopeful future where they weren’t aware that they could control them with dark mana.
[This is just absurd!]
“Alice-senpai, can you stop advising? The telepathy is creating a headache.”
[How can I just stand by and not interject when this is happening?!]
Unlike the senior with a shockingly poor viewing attitude, Astarot was commendably captivated and understanding quietly.
“The power of dark mana is an opportunity to gain while reducing the risk of control. This is a new discovery where even faith becomes a medium for growth.”
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【Turn 20 Begins】
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[Battlefield Briefing]
The demon finally showed its true colors after helping with growth.
“Don’t these crazy fools fear bursting their bodies to death? Seeing them endlessly collect dark mana, it seems I’m about to be subordinate. I must kill them right now!”
The foolish demon was far too late.
Every night the Apnonian Pilgrimage Unit, drenched in the blood and flesh of demons while gathering dark mana far beyond calculations, ignored the demon’s orders.
At the very least, they attained parity, or rather, were able to partially exert influence over the demon.
“Captain, let’s behead the demon and feast on its blood and flesh.”
“No, let’s cut off its limbs and take care to gently squeeze out the blood needed for the corruption.”
“Could we perhaps impregnate the demon with a child having a high concentration of dark mana and raise it to eat?”
How will you control the rampaging opinions of your unit, who speak words even demons would fear?
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The oblivious demon provoked the pilgrims, causing those excited to unleash extreme expressions.
[I can understand why you’re called the Dark Princess. You should acknowledge and die for being stabbed in the back by a junior at midnight.]
“Hmph. Alice-senpai… saying I should be okay dying from being stabbed in the back by a junior is too much.”
The instructor, who had been pale while watching the Mana Board for quite some time behind us, gave a warning.
“O-Oknodie, why have you been talking to yourself repeatedly? Maintain silence during the exam.”
“It’s not talking to myself! Alice-senpai is alive, you know.”
“Where?”
“In the hat!”
“…Are you even in a state to keep taking the exam? You can’t take the exam while ingesting drugs.”
“I didn’t take any drugs! I just ate one candy before the exam!”
When I opened my candy pouch, the instructor picked one candy.
The shock and horror on the instructor’s face turned as he analyzed the candy with his Search Eyes.
“Are you taking the exam eating this?!”
“I eat at least one a day. My maid said if I eat two, all my teeth and organs will rot. So I only eat one. Isn’t that commendable?”
“Candy that rots organs isn’t candy!”
“Shh! How can you be loud during the exam? It’s distracting, so please be quiet.”
The instructor looked frustrated, patting his chest and about to reveal his anger before realizing the candy in his hand and recoiling.
“…I’ll return it.”
“How can you give back candy that’s touched your hands? You should eat it.”
“M-M-Me?! What the hell?!”
“What’s that? You’ve been noisy from earlier.”
Under the scolding of Professor Raregrills, the instructor’s frustration escalated as he clutched the candy, sweating in indecision.
In that gap, I swiftly advanced, completing the corrupt faith meta that can control dark mana after advancing to demon class with the power of faith.
‘The timing was spot on!’
At exactly Turn 40, I invaded the capital and dispatched captured hostages in all directions to spread the news of the demon army’s invasion to the Northern Grand Duke, amplifying the shock.
If I had invaded just one turn earlier, I might have fought against the Northern Grand Duke in the midst of the exam, but I would have risked overshadowing the appearance of the Northern Grand Duke’s power with the shock of the demon army’s emergence.
Thanks to avoiding such disadvantages and maximizing the shock effect, every exam taker, the instructors, the professor, and even the Northern Grand Duke seemed overwhelmingly shocked.
[Are you a demon? No, even demons can’t commit such incredible acts of corrupting all these high-level pilgrims.]
[You have gained 100,000 points.]
[Dark Corruption Experience +100]
[Boldness Experience +50]
[Oratory Experience +50]
[Psyche Prediction Experience +30]
[Mana Control Technique Experience +30]
[Frightful Child Experience +10]
[You simply led the pure-hearted pilgrims who loved nothing but hardship into the abyss of corruption by the Lord of Darkness, Anrage.]
[You have obtained the title [Guide of Corruption].]
[Guide of Corruption: Any being possessing divine mana is now exposed to the risk of their essence being distorted by you.]
[Hold Effect – Increases divine interference success rate by 10%]
[Equip Effect – Increases divine interference success rate by 30%]
The instructors, unable to fathom the absurdity of the exam content, were left speechless.
Even Professor Raregrills stuttered, unsure of how to respond amid all this, while only Northern Grand Duke Yuda glared at me with a chilling gaze.
“You… what are you doing to the Apnonian Pilgrimage Unit, who believes in the Benevolent Deity Apnonia? Are you not afraid of disdain toward the God?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The 35 demons invading the capital. Are you going to dismiss that as a coincidence aligning exactly with the number of the Apnonian Pilgrimage Unit?”
This time, Northern Grand Duke Yuda is being particularly dramatic.
He used to be somewhat more serious, but I’m a bit disappointed personally.
“What’s the big deal? Why is everyone in an uproar?”
“Do you not fear the God…?”
“On my way to visit my Papa’s house during summer vacation, I’ve already taken down the Apostle of the God of Corruption, Anrage. By comparison, this really doesn’t seem like a big deal.”
“?!”
