Chapter 28

The employees at Abyss Corporation were watching Weed’s broadcast.

A lot was happening in Roanoke, but there was no way they could miss Weed being the first to challenge level 4 of Hell Difficulty.

“He’s really doing it like that.”

“Even watching it, it’s unbelievable.”

Bae Juhwan and Yoo Dahye from the service operations team sipped coffee during their lunch break while staring at the monitor.

Even other employees skipped lunch at the cafeteria and were glued to the screens.

“Hell difficulty wasn’t originally like this…”

Bae Juhwan was at a loss for words.

At the beginning of Roanoke’s service, they’d received countless complaints about the difficulty level during character creation.

Even mid-tier of the 10 difficulty levels wasn’t easy.

Newbies unfamiliar with virtual reality couldn’t clear it at all—it was simply too hard.

Over the past year, players had conquered the “Hard,” “Brutal,” and “Nightmare” levels with relentless effort.

But that was only thanks to accumulated experience and information through endless trial and error.

Yoo Dahye let out a chuckle of disbelief.

“Even clearing just the ‘Hard’ level I did was brutal.”

“Right. Most people can’t even beat that.”

“But Weed’s clearing Hell Difficulty like it’s nothing.”

Level 4 of Hell Difficulty summoned experts in various fields as instructors.

Just being acknowledged by those instructors as having talent in their field was hard enough.

Even after tens of thousands of attempts, some would never get through.

Just because you’re the same level doesn’t mean you can beat the instructor.

After all, instructors have unique traits and far superior skill levels.

“Even if you face despair, the instructor doesn’t kill you outright. You’re supposed to keep challenging them, show effort and passion, and eventually earn their recognition.”

“Weed just beats them up.”

“Even the swordsmanship lessons…”

“He just copies after seeing them once.”

Watching the instructors admiring Weed was surreal.

Abyss Corporation’s lunch break was barely over an hour.

Within that time, Weed had already defeated the first instructor and was facing the second one.

Instructor Benhur.

A knight from the Levante Kingdom known for his harshness, said:

“Looks like you know how to hold a sword.”

“……”

“Let’s see if you’re worthy of my teachings. Come at me.”

As soon as the arrogant provocation ended, the duel began.

But Weed’s sword started moving—and in just ten strikes, the instructor was down.

It only took 15 minutes for Benhur to pass on his sword techniques.

Yoo Dahye checked the time and said,

“At this rate, he’ll beat the third instructor before lunch break is even over.”

“Hmm…”

Bae Juhwan pondered for a moment.

How many people were watching Weed’s Hell Difficulty challenge right now?

The critics who promoted “Rocketron” or doubted Weed’s return had gone completely silent.

“The media and users will be all over this. Everyone’s going to realize it now.”

“Realize what?”

“That the legend has returned—and is making a new legend.”

** * * * **

“Feel honored to cross swords with me.”

“……”

“I’ll show you a noble blade that defends honor—one you won’t even see often on the battlefield.”

“……”

After defeating Instructor Benhur, Weed was now facing the third instructor, Bahart, another knight of Levante Kingdom.

In Roanoke, as long as you didn’t die, a priest’s divine power could heal you.

As long as you didn’t die.

Weed decided to hold back a little less.

“Bahart’s arm is broken.
-130 HP.
That felt like eating a single packet of instant noodles when you’re starving. Not enough.”

“Can you keep fighting?”

“Y-yes…”

“Bahart’s seven ribs are broken!
Devastating strike!
-230 HP.”

Sometimes, two packets of noodles still aren’t enough to satisfy you.

“Don’t drop your sword till the end. Back in my day, we fought as skeletons even after dying.”

“Urgh…”

Weed tried not to kill the swordsmanship instructor.

Though the skill gap was massive, he kept his focus every time he swung his sword.

‘No need to feel burdened. Like back in Royal Road—stay light. I need to concentrate to fully use my abilities.’

He tried to maintain his composure at every moment.

Still, he couldn’t help imagining the worst-case scenarios.

‘What if I can’t save my daughter…?’

‘What if Roanoke is ultimately destroyed?’

‘What if I find out she’s already dead…?’

How would he endure such a moment?

If his daughter died or Roanoke was annihilated, he wouldn’t let those responsible go free.

“Human rights” would become an obsolete term.

‘The first to go will be the ones who dare talk about human rights.’

Anyone involved with Roanoke would wish for prison—the actual price would be fingernails and toenails being ripped out. Even that would seem merciful.

All of these thoughts occupied a corner of Weed’s mind. As he swung his sword at the instructor, a bit of his stress was relieved.

‘There are plenty of bastards who deserve a good thrashing…’

Slash!

Weed’s sword sliced through the air toward Bahart’s neck.

The strike was perfect in speed, power, and feint.

At the last second, he turned the blade and struck Bahart’s shoulder with the flat.

“Bahart’s shoulder blade shatters into dozens of fragments!
Swordsmanship instructor is now incapacitated!”

Outstanding Combat Achievement!
You have rendered Instructor Bahart incapable of fighting.

All stats +4
Swordsmanship permanently strengthened by 3%

An expected victory.

But as Weed stared at the message window, he felt something odd.

‘The reward is higher than for the previous ones…’

(It appears to be due to rendering the instructor incapacitated.)

‘Was I too soft on the others? I’m getting too kind lately.’

(I cannot agree, but Master is always right.)

And so, Weed defeated the third instructor and learned Mounted Swordsmanship.

He had to ride a wild stallion while swinging a sword, but having flown through the skies on ice dragons and wyverns in Royal Road, it wasn’t hard.

The first horse was a bit unruly, though.

‘Feels like my body is finally loosening up. I like that I get to duel in Roanoke.’

The fourth instructor was Axiom.

A great swordsman from the Kingdom of Albrecht who fought alone in lands overrun by demons.

He wore gleaming silver armor with superb defense.

“No one these days knows how to wield a sword properly.”

“……”

“A blade without a strong will is bound to break. Come, I’ll show you what true strength is.”

Axiom indeed wielded a powerful sword.

Strong and fast, yes—but rigid and unimaginative. No freedom in his swordplay.

“This is getting more interesting.”

Since Axiom wore thick armor, Weed didn’t have to worry much about hurting him.

Though the sword was a high-end one, the armor was a national treasure, two tiers higher.

“Don’t die.”

Weed charged Axiom directly.

Dodging the sword narrowly at close range, he counterattacked.

“You hit Axiom’s side!
The Kingdom of Albrecht’s treasured silver armor blocks the blow.
-32 HP.”

A direct attack was absorbed by the knight’s thick armor.

Axiom declared confidently,

“Is that all you’ve got?”

“Axiom suffers heavy damage!
Silver armor blocks some of the blow.
-163 HP.”

“I can endure these attacks all day.”

“You strike Axiom again!
Silver armor absorbs the hit.
-32 HP.”

Since most of the damage was mitigated, Weed felt free to hit harder.

** * * * **

Daye had grown up surrounded by her father’s love.

Whenever Lee Hyun held her or carried her on his back, she felt like there was nothing in the world to fear.

In exchange, she had to answer his questions.

“Daye, who do you love most in the world?”

“Daddy!”

“Who’s the coolest person in the world?”

“Uh… Daddy?”

“Who’s the most handsome person?”

“…Daddy.”

Some questions were hard to answer truthfully, but compared to what her dad did for her, a little white lie was nothing.

‘White lies aren’t bad. I can’t let Dad get hurt.’

Lee Hyun cooked breakfast, tended the garden, and did grocery shopping at the neighborhood market.

He looked like an ordinary person.

“Phew, ice cream prices went up again. Back in my day…”

When they went shopping, he always reminisced about the past.

He’d talk about how much things cost in certain years, how much pork he used to buy for a full meal.

“Salt prices keep rising. That 200-won salt is now 1,000 won more.”

Every shopping trip, he’d complain about prices. And whenever Daye wanted a toy, he’d always say:

“You know the manufacturing cost of this toy…”

The classic cost-price lecture!

Even in restaurants, he’d analyze the cost of ingredients—so petty.

Still, Daye sometimes found it strange.

Whenever Lee Hyun complained about prices, headlines appeared days later:

“Korean Government Prepares Policy to Stabilize Consumer Prices, Especially Salt”

“Unicorn Group Acquires U.S. and Brazilian Food Companies”

“Unicorn Mart Slashes Toy Prices”

The government and the world’s largest company, Unicorn Group, would take action.

This happened repeatedly. And the miracles didn’t stop there.

“Dad.”

“Yeah?”

“There’s a classmate in my class who can’t see well.”

“Her vision?”

“She can barely see. A helper teacher assists her, but it’s so sad… She’ll have to live like that forever.”

Daye just mentioned her classmate at home.

Lee Hyun comforted his daughter.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart. The world is kinder than you think. Something good will happen.”

“Really? But there’s no Santa Claus!”

“Right. Santa went climbing. I figured out early that Santa isn’t real.”

“How?”

“Because Santa never gave me a single present.”

“…”

“Still, miracles can happen.”

Soon, headlines followed:

“Unicorn Group Invests $20 Billion in Cornea and Optic Nerve Regeneration”

“Unicorn Welfare Foundation to Provide Support Robots for Visually Impaired in Korea”

Whenever Daye said something, the world changed.

That’s why, for a while, she wondered—

‘Am I the center of the world? Or does magic really exist in this world?’

Miraculous things were ordinary for her.

Spicy-fried and soy-garlic chickens flew around the yard, and ginseng walked on two feet—it wasn’t surprising anymore.

But eventually, she found out the truth.

After watching the news, the next morning the newly elected president would come greet her father.

Leaders from Korea, the U.S., China, Japan—even Europe—would bow before him.

‘Dad… is really someone special.’

Sometimes, he felt distant.

But through middle and high school, he continued to look after her.

“Roanoke Service Launch!”
“Save the dying world of Roanoke with your own hands.”
“Sign up now and receive cultural gift certificates!”

That’s how Daye started playing Roanoke.

In her memory, her father was…

‘Someone who sculpted, fought epic battles, and mingled with people…’

A search for “Royal Road” showed videos of Lee Hyun that were just… legendary.

Having grown up watching them, loving sculpture and art, her dream had long been decided.