Chapter 56

Weed was sculpting like a madman.

After creating the wyverns, he worked on the King Hydra.

This massive sculpture with nine heads had already been placed as a foundation in the central plaza.

“Sculptural Life Creation!”

The masterpiece sculpture, King Hydra with nine heads, pushed past the densely packed undead and advanced toward the Lessers.

All nine heads took turns devouring the Lessers.

Even the grotesque Death Worm, a massive, writhing worm hard to look at directly, was brought to life.

“Sculptural Life Creation!”

The Death Worm, now alive, dug into the ground.

Unlike the Lessers, who merely clawed tunnels with their front paws, the Death Worm had a fundamentally superior burrowing ability.

Your level has increased.

As the undead held back the Lessers, Weed’s experience gain outpaced the penalty of losing 2 levels for every sculpture he brought to life.

An ice breath from the Ice Dragon rained down from the sky, covering the central plaza and the attacking Lessers.

Buildings and roads froze and shattered into pieces.

The freezing cold instantly killed the Lessers, turning their bodies to skeletons as their flesh froze and fell away.

“Squeak!”

“Eat them all!”

“For the glory of the Lessers!”

The Lessers advanced relentlessly, devouring the undead as they went.

Some managed to break through and cause a massacre among the townspeople.

Chaos erupted not only on the battlefield between the undead and the Lessers, but also across the plaza, where residents were dying in droves.

“So much to do.”

Weed remained focused on his sculptures.

Even if he postponed bringing to life the golden statue that required many high-grade gems, he needed to animate others: Noorung, Nile the Crocodile, Black Imoogi, Guernica, Seville Prexton, Yeltin the Elf, and so on.

In Royal Road, using Sculptural Life Creation at a high level brought tears of blood.

“But using it as a low-level player feels great.”

Your level has increased.

Weed began bringing to life sculptures he had made when he couldn’t even see—models of cats, just like the one Da-ye loved in real life.

—Nyaa~

“Let’s call you Bean.”

As his level rose, he kept animating more.

Since the Lessers emerged through the city’s sewers and fought the undead, experience piled up.

“Sculptural Life Creation! Sculptural Life Creation! Sculptural Life Creation!”

Stray cat, chubby cat, butterfly, cheese, tofu, kitty…

By the time he had brought seven cats to life—

Sculptural Life Creation has created several lifeforms with similar traits.

A new race, the Catkin, has been born in Roanoke.

You have created a new race. Gained 5 Hero Points.

Fame increased by 300.

The joy of creating all kinds of life through Sculptural Life Creation was immense.

(You didn’t seem to enjoy this skill before. But you look happy.)

“I journeyed with these sculptural lifeforms in Royal Road. And now, raising a child… I’ve come to a new philosophy.”

(What philosophy is that?)

“If enough time passes, anything is possible.”

Gaining 10 levels now was far easier and less painful than gaining 1 at a high level.

The sculptural lifeforms Weed created were now dominating the battle against the Lessers.

Beyond massive pieces like the King Hydra and Death Worm, even the wyverns were fighting well.

And due to their racial traits, the Catkin instilled terror in the Lessers just by being seen.

—Death…

—Fight for the Lord of Corpses.

The Skeleton army forming the core of the undead was incredibly reliable.

Weed displayed exceptional leadership and tactical control—just like in Royal Road.

Utilizing each race’s strengths while minimizing friendly losses.

But now? None of that mattered.

There were simply so many undead that even losing a few wouldn’t matter.

* * *

Over 8 million viewers were watching Weed’s adventure live, including broadcasts by KMC Media and CTS Media.

—Undead!!!

—This is what I was waiting for!

—Lessers are strong, but they don’t use small weapons, divine power, or effective poison. Undead are their natural enemies.

—Skeletons! Only skeletons!

Many viewers had anticipated the undead’s arrival.

A massive number of corpses.

A powerful undead army suddenly summoned to fight the Lessers—it was a spectacle.

Though the undead weren’t invincible, the Lessers overwhelmed them by sheer numbers and devoured skeletons as they advanced.

But what came next stunned the audience.

—He’s creating sculptural lifeforms now.

—Weed is a sculptor to his very bones. The definition of a sculptor.

—Everyone said Sculptor was trash in Roanoke. Is he showing us what it’s really about, just like in Royal Road?

—King Hydra is absolute! The Lessers froze in fear just seeing it.

—Woah… whoa… whoaaa!

—There are so many sculptural lifeforms—like, A LOT.

Sculptural lifeforms soared through the sky, battling the Lessers.

At first, viewers were excited. But as more and more lifeforms appeared, they were shocked.

—Was Sculptural Life Creation always this kind of skill?

—The ultimate inefficiency, with a 2-level penalty… now being offset by fast low-level grinding.

—He’s overcome the skill’s major weakness.

—A massive sculptural lifeform army… He’s outclassed summoners!

—Was Sculptor always this kind of job? He’s exploding with potential in battle!

—Weed is proving there’s no limit to sculpting.

* * *

Kallis had entered this battle with Weed in mind.

“I’ll show him how much I’ve changed since Royal Road. After this fight, he might even start calling me ‘hyung.’”

He looked forward to that moment. At the very least, he planned to make sure Weed didn’t die.

Even if things went badly, Kallis had enough skill to rescue at least one person.

He feared the penalty of failing Trinity’s quest, but dying now would be worse.

“So he had this hidden card. He prepared undead.”

Dark Rule activated.

That alone brought balance to the fight against the Lessers.

Skeletons, zombies, ghouls—mass battles ignited the thrill in any Royal Road veteran.

And then came the mass production of sculptural lifeforms…

“Is Sculptor a broken class now?”

Of course, it must require special conditions and the right timing.

Not to mention, only someone with Weed’s experience in sculpting could pull this off.

“Still… if you meet those conditions, you get ridiculous power.”

Kallis imagined the future.

For now, he could boast about his level advantage, but… fighting two or more of those lifeforms at once? No chance.

Weed would receive massive rewards for clearing Inferno difficulty, far beyond Nightmare difficulty.

His level would skyrocket with time.

“Guess I’ll have to bow my head to him again, like in Royal Road.”

He saw Weed—the former ruler of the Arpen Empire—returning to glory.

“Maybe this won’t be so bad.”

Weed, a wild card who shattered all logic, might bring change to the doomed Roanoke.

Besides, this was his first time meeting Pale here—and Weed was still creating his character.

Kallis, who had joined the first battle, could count as a close aide.

“Maybe I’ll even take Pale’s spot this time.”

* * *

The adventurer users who had narrowly avoided the Ice Dragon’s breath were observing cautiously.

There were tons of Lessers occupying the city of Sullium, but they couldn’t overcome the undead.

“The undead aren’t affected by the Lessers’ fear, so the battle is even, but… not favorable.”

“And the surviving residents are a constant supply of new undead.”

“The sculptural lifeforms are just too much. Lessers can’t keep up. The undead maintain their numbers thanks to the residents—basically, they’re fuel.”

“He’s creating boss-level monsters like it’s nothing.”

Pale, Kallis, Roam—they had feared the high-level users most.

But the real variable was Weed.

He didn’t even seem that high-level, yet completely changed the nature of the battle.

“Normally, three or four Lessers would easily take down a skeleton. But they’re too scared to fight properly now.”

“And they can’t even take down the big sculptural lifeforms.”

“Plus, the ground is frozen here. The Lessers are clearly suffering from the cold.”

Only the central plaza remained warm.

The Lessers occupying the city were now in intense pain, their lives at risk from the cold.

You could see their flesh fall away as they froze to death, turning into skeletons.

“At this rate, not a single Lesser will survive.”

“Defending the plaza like this and gaining such achievements… what a terrifying strategy.”

Battle tactics and experience gains are all determined by how you fight.

Kaladrion, Zyner, Valence, Ashram—skilled adventurers were watching, but came to the same conclusion:

“So what now? To proceed with the quest, we either kill Weed or destroy the Flame of Purification.”

“You’d have to break through all those undead?”

“It’s doable. Maybe find a weak spot and destroy the Flame of Purification. But… getting back out is impossible.”

Pale’s arrows were deadly, and the sculptural lifeforms were terrifying.

Even if Kallis or Roam managed to survive, their factions would eventually seek revenge.

King Hydra demolished buildings and crushed Lessers, while wyverns snatched unsuspecting ones and dropped them from the sky.

It made the adventurers doubt whether joining the fight was even the right call.

Ashram made the first move.

“With our current strength, this quest is impossible. Do we all agree?”

“…”

They gave up on Trinity’s quest.

There would be penalties—stat drops, divine curses, blocked quests—but dying was worse.

“I agree to retreat.”

“Better to live and come back later.”

“We’ll find another opportunity.”

The adventurers who had taken Trinity’s quest decided to give up and flee.

* * *

“Moooooo!”

The newly animated Noorung scraped his hooves on the ground valiantly.

The large, threatening horns atop his head.

Born with memories from Royal Road, he instantly recognized Weed.

“Master…”

Despite his burly, muscular physique, Noorung’s gentle eyes filled with tears.

Loyal to his core, Noorung wept the moment he reunited with Weed.

“Yeah. You’ve worked hard while I was gone, haven’t you?”

Weed gently stroked Noorung’s head with an apologetic heart.

Noorung nuzzled him in response.

But—

“Squeak! Eat until you die!”

“Kill the humans!”

—Death…

—Master’s orders. Hold the line!

Skeletons clashed with Lessers, their battle cries thundering.

Sculptural lifeforms rampaged, and the citizens huddled in the plaza were screaming in fear.

“Moooooo… Master, where are we?”

“A battle to protect the city is underway.”

“What are those rats?”

“Creatures that devour everything. They’ll try to eat you too—but it’s fine. Just win.”