Chapter 151…
[The score has been calculated considering the number of achievements, the weight of those achievements, and how much recognition they received.]
[With 6,014 points, you have renewed the S Rank.]
[The maximum rank of the 3rd Trial is S Rank, so you cannot be assigned a higher rank. However, considering the overwhelming score, you will receive enhanced rewards.]
[You have recorded Rank 1 with an unbelievable score.]
[You have achieved an unbelievable accomplishment. The title “Unbelievable Numbers” has been activated.]
[All stats +5.]
[The effect of Throne of the Time Attack has activated. All stats +5.]
[The rankings of the 3rd Trial have changed.]
[S Rank rewards have been granted.]
[As a reward, you have obtained Stone of Inheritance (Permanent), Hero’s Cloak, and 34,153G.]
[Recorded in the Adventure Log.]
A flood of messages poured down endlessly.
Just looking at the barrage of notifications was enough to make anyone dizzy. Dohyun clicked his tongue.
‘It’s insane again this time.’
He had roughly expected it, but even after experiencing it again, it was still shocking.
Especially the score—it was higher than expected.
‘6,014 points… That’s almost 1,500 points higher?’
No matter what, he had thought it would be lower than when he gained the admiration of all the NPCs in Brion. Yet the score was actually higher.
It seemed that defeating the Outlaw had been treated as a far greater achievement than he had anticipated.
‘Well… he really was a ridiculous bastard.’
Even now, thinking about him gave him chills.
And that wasn’t all. He had killed someone he was told not to kill, and he even met the Lord of the city for the first time.
Perhaps the achievements he accumulated while progressing the main quest had also affected the score.
At this point, he had done so many things that it was impossible to pinpoint the exact reason.
[Hero’s Cloak]
Grade: Hero
Description: A cloak that symbolizes a hero.
It was worn by a hero who once saved a city in the past, and it possesses the power to repel magic.
Level Requirement: 49
Equip Requirement: None
Defense: 50
Magic Resistance: 70
Durability: 60 / 60
Magic Resistance: Additional +100 magic resistance.
Magic Reflection: Can deflect magic of Rare grade or lower with the cloak. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
“Nice…”
Perhaps because of that, the rewards were excellent.
He liked that it was a rare Hero-grade auxiliary equipment, but what made it even better was that its options were extremely useful when fighting mages.
Since Dohyun still mainly fought in close combat, it was a perfect option for him.
But this was only the appetizer.
The real main reward was something else.
[Stone of Inheritance (Permanent)]
Grade: Legendary
Description: A rare stone said to have existed since ancient times.
It contains the power of inheritance, and among such stones, there are extremely rare ones capable of charging inheritance power.
Inheritance: Transfer the options of an existing item to another item.
(Discharges after 3 uses)
Special materials are required to recharge it once discharged.
‘This is the real jackpot.’
Dohyun swallowed hard after checking the main reward.
A Legendary-grade item.
It was the third legendary item he had obtained.
‘Item inheritance…’
An option truly worthy of the Legendary rank.
He had never seen a stone with such an ability before.
Back in his days as Demrock, there had been NPCs who could do something similar once if you fed them a ton of high-grade materials. But a permanent stone that could do it? That didn’t exist.
‘If something like this existed back then, I would’ve done anything to get it.’
For someone with terrible luck like him, it would have been nothing short of a miracle.
And as far as Dohyun knew, even in God of the New World, no one had ever heard of such a stone.
He was fairly certain of it.
Given the nature of inheritance, it would have been impossible for it to go unnoticed. At the very least, it hadn’t fallen into the hands of famous players.
‘This must be the enhanced reward.’
A satisfied smile spread across Dohyun’s lips.
‘Three chances… I need to use them carefully.’
It could apparently be recharged with special materials, but there was no way the conditions would be easy.
It would definitely require absurd requirements.
Deciding to save it for later, Dohyun equipped the cloak.
[You have equipped Hero’s Cloak.]
[Special options are now available.]
When he checked the customization mirror, his appearance had changed slightly.
It looked like he was wearing a hood inside his armor.
A hood of a color somewhere between white and ivory hung behind his neck, and beneath it the cloak of the same color fluttered.
‘The design’s pretty good.’
The somewhat plain design now felt much richer.
While admiring it, Dohyun suddenly turned his attention to an item in his inventory.
[Soul of Pain]
Grade: ??
Description: An unknown substance. It feels like something supernatural might occur.
‘I have no idea what this is used for.’
He obtained it after killing the leader of the Outlaws.
The item had no clear grade or explanation, making it impossible to guess its purpose.
The only thing he could assume was that since it came from that monster, it had to be useful somewhere.
Just then—
“Ahh…”
A strange voice echoed from somewhere.
And it wasn’t just one voice.
“My goodness…! Lord, are you really feeling better!?”
“Yes… that’s right. I actually feel even healthier than before, Chief Butler!”
“I can’t believe it, Jay! What kind of miracle is this? I’m not seeing things, am I?”
Jay Ruddell and the others were shedding tears while expressing their amazement.
“Oh.”
Only then did Dohyun remember that before leaving, the Dark King had cured Jay Ruddell’s illness.
He had called him frail and weak earlier, but apparently he had a bit of a tsundere personality.
At the same time, it was astonishing.
‘A miracle with just a snap of his fingers…’
So his claim that the Outlaws were nothing more than a handful truly hadn’t been an exaggeration.
Dohyun couldn’t even imagine how strong the ancient kings were.
And if even they struggled against the gods until Kashiyar appeared…
Just how powerful were those gods?
‘Ugh, I’ll think about that later.’
Dohyun shook his head.
He still had a long way to go; thinking about it made his head hurt.
Now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
Because Jay Ruddell and the butler were kneeling before him with moist eyes, deeply moved.
“Ah, Hero… No, hero who has received the revelation of the gods.”
Dohyun suddenly recalled the scene he had seen in Brion.
And sure enough, Jay Ruddell continued.
“We heard rumors that a hero who received the goddess’s revelation appeared in Brion. A true hero with noble character… So it was you.”
“To think that in my lifetime I would see a hero blessed with divine revelation… Ah, wait. Not in my lifetime. I’m a ghost.”
“Sir Jin, please maintain proper decorum.”
Apparently, they had misunderstood things again.
“You saved Brion, and now you’ve saved Sargis… The gods have not abandoned us. They sent a hero to save us.”
“We owe you far too much. We truly don’t know how to repay you…”
“…”
Dohyun opened and closed his mouth before finally shutting it.
At this point, explaining was just too bothersome.
After witnessing the Dark King’s will and an actual miracle, what could he possibly say?
‘Actually, I’m a descendant of ancient humans, the gods are the bad guys, that man wants to kill them, and I’m basically his subordinate!’
‘…Yeah, I can’t say that.’
If he did, wouldn’t the Great Temple of Lyre immediately turn against him?
Thinking of Sir Lebed, Dohyun shook his head.
‘Let’s just go with being a divine apostle.’
Since things had turned out this way, it would be easier to just play along as a hero chosen by the gods.
“Right. That’s correct. I am the apostle who received the gods’ revelation.”
“…Master? Did you eat something weird?”
“…My lord?”
“L-Liza?”
Jihad and Charlie stared at him in shock.
Did we just hear that right?
They looked around with confused expressions, but Dohyun gritted his teeth and ignored them.
Even though his words were cringe-worthy, the people before him seemed deeply moved.
“Ohhh… as expected!”
“There must have been a reason you saved someone like me who had given up on life. I cannot just sit here anymore.”
“Yes, Jay. Perhaps it was destiny that I met the hero. This must be the gods’ will for you to become a great lord and lead the city!”
“Uncle!”
They were already hugging each other emotionally.
Feeling like he had no place in that scene, Dohyun turned his head away.
Well, he had given them hope to live. That was good enough.
Then suddenly—
“Huh?”
“…Uncle?”
Jin Ruddell’s form began to fade.
It was the same phenomenon that happened when the Dark King disappeared.
[The yin energy remaining here is disappearing.]
Since the key had been completed and the Fragment of Fate obtained, the yin energy had vanished.
And Jin Ruddell—who should not have existed in the first place—was disappearing with it.
“Jay.”
Perhaps realizing it was the end, Jin Ruddell spoke with a serious tone for the first time.
“…Are you disappearing too, Uncle?”
“I’m not disappearing. I’ll always be by your side, Jay. I’m just a ghost you can’t see.”
“Ah…”
Jay looked relieved for a moment before suddenly panicking.
“But then you won’t be able to pass on!”
Those who remain in the mortal world for too long cannot reincarnate.
That was an unchanging law.
Jin Ruddell had already lingered for years.
It was time to say goodbye.
But Jin simply smirked.
“Then you’d better work hard. My wish is for you to become a great lord.”
“…Ah.”
“Looks like the gods’ will happens to match mine for once. That’s rare.”
Grinning, Jin placed his hand on Jay’s head.
“Become a great lord. Even greater than your father.”
Jay wiped his tears.
“…Okay. I will. Watch me.”
“Kid’s all grown up… Oh, and if you can, say hello to Emily for me. And there was Aila too. And Shana, and Berry, and… wait…”
He couldn’t finish his sentence.
“Uncle…”
His time was up.
“…Ah, three more left… Oh well. Sorry, Rina, Gina, Jamie.”
Of course, Dohyun could still see Jin continuing to ramble uselessly.
…For a moment he had thought the man was cool.
Shaking his head, Dohyun ignored the disappointed ghost.
Just then—
“My lord… are you alright?”
The butler asked cautiously.
But Jay answered firmly.
“I’m fine. In fact, I have a lot to do from now on… if I want to send my popular uncle off properly.”
The butler’s eyes widened before he smiled warmly.
“Yes. It will be busy. This old butler will assist you with all my strength.”
“Thank you.”
“Just give the order.”
“There are too many things to choose from. You should take care of your health first.”
With that joke, Jay turned around.
There were many things to do now.
Work delayed by his illness.
Corrupt officials.
Restoring discipline.
But he already knew the very first thing he had to do.
Step.
Step.
Leaving the room and walking down the corridor, Jay reached the terrace on the second floor.
His eyes shone.
“Prepare, Butler.”
“…For what?”
“For the aftermath that’s about to happen.”
“The aftermath…?”
Jay glanced back and grinned.
“We need to tell everyone.”
He opened the terrace door.
“Who the lord of this city is.”
Outside the castle walls, hundreds of thousands of players and citizens were waiting.
Meanwhile — Outside the Castle
Just before Jay Ruddell stepped out—
Outside the castle, chaos had broken out among the players.
“Move! I can’t breathe!”
“You think you’re the only one suffering!? Stop being selfish!”
“What did you say!?”
Thousands… tens of thousands… maybe even hundreds of thousands.
An overwhelming crowd surrounded the castle.
It was the first time in over a year that something like this had happened in Sargis.
“Look at this crowd… I can’t even move.”
“Should I just log out?”
“No! What if Kaiser appears!?”
“I might log out from being crushed before that!”
“Well… that’s true.”
All of this was happening because of one person.
Kaiser.
Complaints filled the air, and the place had turned into a battlefield worse than a shopping mall sale.
“Stop the Apostles!”
“We can’t control them!”
“Call the Knights! Now!”
Even the guards were panicking and trying to summon the knight order.
Then—
Ding.
A clear notification rang in every player’s ears at the same time.
No one was doing a quest.
So the only possibility was a server-wide message.
“…Huh?”
“No way…”
For a brief moment, silence fell.
Then the message window appeared.
[The ranking of the 3rd Trial has changed.]
3rd Trial Rankings
1st: Kaiser — S Rank [6,014 points]
2nd: Empress — B+ Rank [1,021 points]
3rd: Arthur — B+ Rank [990 points]
4th: Myeolsal — B+ Rank [941 points]
5th: Barion — B+ Rank [936 points]
…
9th: Sword Saint — B Rank [871 points]
10th: Heavenly Demon — B Rank [859 points]
“…What?”
“Huh?”
