Chapter 01: Entry #1

Remake.

Old movies, music, games and novels were recreated again.

Joo In-gong, who had his university admission tests right around the corner, took a deep breath. The black bag in his hand contained a game that had just been released today.

A remake of Knight Saga, Knight Saga: Re.

Knight Saga was Joo In-gong’s favourite game. Due to the fact that it was the best hit of the production company Taro Soft, there were rumours a remake wouldn’t come out unless Taro Soft was in a crisis. Yet, to everyone’s surprise, a remake was released unexpectedly.

It wasn’t just a remake. The number of playable characters increased from two to twelve and it was changed from a regular RPG to a virtual reality game.

In-gong stared at the virtual reality device, which had artificial settings, that he had been given as a gift and took a deep breath with a pious expression.

He had cleared Knight Saga more than 10 times, so there was nothing he didn’t know about the characters, special items, hidden events and so on. However, this wasn’t Knight Saga but Knight Saga: Re.

In-gong was happy to read the manual. He checked the website every day but there wasn’t much new content revealed. However, true fans enjoyed small things like this.

Knight Saga was a story about two sides, humans and demons. The protagonist on the human side was Locke, who was born and raised in a temple. The main character on the side of the demons was Zephyr Ragnaros, the son of the Demon King.

Either way, the progression of the game was similar. The main character travelled around the world levelling up, collecting items and gathering subordinates to achieve their purpose.

The purpose of Zephyr was to unify the Demon World and Human World as the Demon King, while Locke’s purpose was to slay the Demon King and save the Human World.

Yet, in Knight Saga: Re, the number of characters that could be played had increased significantly.

On the demon side, it was possible to choose other princes and princesses who were originally Zephyr’s rivals. On the human side, it was possible to choose Locke’s companies or rulers of other countries.

After reviewing the newly added characters, In-gong gazed toward the virtual reality device that was reminiscent of a white tube. Knight Saga: Re had already been installed.

‘OKay, shall I play lightly for eight hours today?”

In-gong laid his body down in the virtual reality device and was surrounded by a bright light.

&

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a roof. Even though it was dark, he was able to see due to the sunlight coming from a hole in the wall.

The boy who was lying down on a folding cot, In-gong, slowly raised his body.

And he smiled with satisfaction.

‘Indeed, an RPG hero should always start by waking up in a bed.’

After nodding his head several times, In-gong looked around. His mouth dropped open with admiration.

‘Wah, aren’t the graphics perfect?’

The various items in the tent looked real. Moreover, the textures of the cushion and blanket in his hands were vivid.

Although virtual reality games had long been commercialized, virtual reality didn’t embody real reality. There were limitations to the technology.

‘Did Taro Soft consult an alien?’

In-gong muttered as he admired it.

He started touching objects like a person who had just started playing a virtual reality game.

Then when he was looking like a fool…

“I am going inside!”

A voice was heard from outside the tent. In-gong looked up with surprise as a huge man entered the tent.

“Oh.”

In-gong was impressed.

The man had well-developed shoulders, arms that reminded him of a gorilla, green skin that couldn’t be seen in humans and lips that peeled back to expose some canines.

He belonged to the orc species that often appeared in games with a fantasy genre.

However, In-gong wasn’t impressed that the man was an orc.

Just like the items in the tent, the orc seemed real.

‘This is almost…no, isn’t it completely diligent?’

He would have believed it was real if it weren’t for the mini map and various menu buttons in the corner of his vision.

“What are you staring at?”

The orc gruffly asked and In-gong replied bluntly.

“No, the graphics are cool.”

“Graphics?”

The orc tilted his head and asked. In-gong once again felt admiration.

‘Wah, we can even exchange conversations?’

The development of virtual reality and artificial intelligence were in completely different areas. It was possible to implement realistic graphics through diligence but it was difficult for realistic artificial intelligence to be created with modern technology. Therefore, he couldn’t actively have conversations with the NPCs that appeared in virtual reality games – only pre-determined questions were asked in accordance to certain keywords

Yet the orc before In-gong had responded to the word ‘graphics’. He might have been designed to react like that to all unspecified keywords but that was still great.

‘Did Taro Soft begin torturing aliens? Why weren’t these facts advertised?’

Was the marketing aimed at surprise?

‘Hey, this doesn’t really matter.’

In-gong decided to enjoy the game. The game was as great as expected, so he would just enjoy playing it.

In-gong came to that conclusion and looked at the orc.

‘I am nervous.’

The orc in front of him seemed so real, he couldn’t open his mouth easily. In the end, In-gong coughed several times before speaking.

“Hum hum. My name is Joo In-gong. What is your name?”

He was awkward about introducing himself, thanks to his name.

The orc frowned at In-gong’s question and muttered something. He couldn’t hear it very well but it seemed like a curse.

‘This bastard, just because my name is Joo In-gong.’

Having artificial intelligence was a good thing but In-gong still didn’t like it. No, it would have been nice if a pretty girl, not an orc, had appeared in front of him. A succubus, succubus or succubus.

However, the orc wasn’t frowning because of In-gong’s name. The orc scratched his head and muttered.

“Carack. I told you that yesterday. And isn’t your name Prince Shutra?”

Shutra Ignus. He was the ninth child of the Demon King. He was one of the 12 characters that could be chosen in the game.

‘That reminds me, I didn’t get to pick my character. Does everyone have to play a demon the first time?’

In-gong recalled the story of Knight Saga: Re that was originally from Knight Saga. He was a prince who was a bit weak and had no power. He was like Yan Baihu from the Three Kingdoms series.

“I will be waiting outside.”

The male orc, Carack, clicked his tongue and turned around. In-gong stared at the back of Carack’s head.

‘I didn’t want to start with Shutra.’

He didn’t have any dissatisfaction with Shutra himself. His style was just on the other side.

‘Can I change the character?’

Knight Sage: Re was a remake but it wasn’t the same exact game as Knight Saga. There was no need to select a difficult character on the very first gameplay.

‘Would Taro Soft really make the first gameplay a fixed character? There might be a bug or it is my mistake.’

If it was a fixed character, it ought to have been either Zephyr Ragnaros or the warrior Locke who were the main characters.

‘I will save and exit the game to search up some information’

The game was just released today but there should be information about the characters.

Moreover, if it was really a bug, Taro Soft would have posted an emergency announcement.

In-gong reached out and touched the menu button located in the corner of his vision. A white light then unfolded before him.

[Name: Shutra Ignus] [Age: 14] [Species: Gandharva] [Occupation: Protagonist] [Uniqueness: Prince/ Conquest Knight] [Level: 1]

Strength: 5

Intelligence: 5

Agility: 5

Talent: 5

Persistence: 5

Durability: 5

Mental Power: 5

Magic Power: 5

Charm: 5

‘As expected from the Yan Baihu of Knight Saga. All the stats are poor.’

An ordinary village person A would have 10 stat points, so his stats were poor considering his age.

How could a prince be weaker than Villager A?

‘By the way, my occupation is a protagonist? Is this really a bug?’

In-gong frowned as he gazed at the buttons next to his status window.

“Eh?”

There was no save or load button. In-gong swallowed his saliva and gazed at the menu window again but it was useless.

‘Crazy, there is no button to end the game.’

In-gong urgently tried to call the menu of the virtual reality device itself, however, it didn’t work.

The system button for forced termination specific to the device wasn’t shown.

‘Calm down. Calm down, In-gong.’

In-gong took a deep breath and counted sheep in his head.

‘There are two possibilities.’

First of all, he was trapped in a virtual reality.

There was an incredibly deadly bug involved with Taro Soft’s software.

From a practical point of view, this was the only possible answer. That possibility wasn’t bad for In-gong. If that was the case, there was a chance he would be rescued.

However, In-gong was concerned about other possibilities.

This wasn’t a game but reality. Just like a novel or comic book, he had entered the game world or a game-like world.

It really sounded crazy. He couldn’t say it despite playing many games.

Yet, there was a reason for In-gong to believe it.

‘It is too real.’

The surrounding sights could only be described as reality.

The orc, Carack, showed intelligent behaviour.

In-gong had said it before.

No matter how much virtual reality games had developed, this level was unreasonable. Could he swallow his saliva and sweat in a game?

In-gong thought it was just a game but the graphics and artificial intelligence indicated that it might not be.

He took one step forward and looked at himself.

There was another more crucial reason.

‘I’m not a Korean.’

He had a conversation with the orc without thinking but now that In-gong thought about it, he hadn’t been speaking Korean. It was a strange language that he shouldn’t have understood.

After covering his face with both hands, In-gong sighed and took off his pants. The reason wasn’t to suddenly expose himself. In-gong took off his underwear and looked at his lower body.

‘There isn’t a mosaic.’

Knight Saga: Re was a game for people 17 years and older but the laws banned showing genitalia. However, his genitalia could clearly be seen.

‘Ah, please.’

In-gong put on his underwear and pants again with a despairing expression and sat down on the bed.

‘No, if I entered a game, then it should be another game! Eroge, eroge, eroge…damn!’

In-gong counted sheep again and tried to think positively.

‘Yes, at least I’m not a monster character like an orc or ogre. Even if he was referred to as Yan Baihu of Knight Saga, he was still a prince. Someone born with a gold spoon.’

There were many positive aspects.

The characters were introduced on the homepage and Shutra was a handsome person. He couldn’t see his face but his arms were thin and white like a girl’s, so his face must have changed as well.

‘In the worst case scenario, if I have to live here, at least I am a prince. Okay, it isn’t bad. In that sense, it is like winning the lottery. I have regressed to 14 years old!’

He had an infinite power of positivity. The endorphins were squeezed out forcefully but it was enough to bring peace to In-gong’s mind and body.

But as the excitement subsided, rational thoughts entered his mind once again.

‘What happened to Shutra in Knight Saga?’

He was the competitor of the main character, Zephyr, who defeated his opponents and became the devil.

In short, Shutra was Zephyr’s enemy. So, of course, in the game-

‘The Day of the Massacre! A forced event!’

While Locke was an orthodox warrior, Zephyr was an orthodox Demon King. Zephyr was a cold blooded person who killed all his siblings during the event, the Day of the Massacre.

‘He was a madman who killed those on his side as well as his competitors.’

Anyway, if he remembered correctly, Shutra had been hiding. Yet, Zephyr traveled around the entire Demon World and found him.

‘How old is Zephyr now? How much time is left until the Day of the Massacre?’

There was no answer. Right now, he had too little information. He didn’t even know where this place was.

“A naoshu?”

A ringing voice was heard outside the tent. In-gong tapped his cheeks lightly and stood up.

He didn’t know if this was a game or a world that was like a game but he decided not to worry about it for the moment.

Right now, he needed information.

In-gong prepared his heart and exited the tent.

“Dushu. It is a little late but here is breakfast.”

As soon as he stepped out of the tent, Carack was sitting at a foldable table with food on it.

In-gong looked around as he approached Carack’s table. There were dozens of tents lined up on a vacant lot the size of an elementary school playground.

‘Is this a garrison base in the mountains?’

The blue sky surrounded him. In-gong sat at the table and examined the food. There was a piece of bread on a plate as well as vegetables and meat stew.

‘Shutra, he is a prince right?’

He had a moment of doubt but it only lasted for a second. It would have been strange if this campsite was celebrating.

In-gong took a bite of the stew as a test. The taste was ordinary but the important thing wasn’t the taste. In-gong was convinced.

‘It is real.’

Touch, vision, smell, hearing and even taste, everything around him was shouting that it was real.

“Hoo.”

He couldn’t stop sighing. In-gong took a deep breath to calm down and asked Carack, who was staring at the distant mountains.

“Carack, what year is it now?”

Carack frowned at the somewhat awkward question. He asked In-gong a question instead of answering.

“Did you have a fever last night?”

In-gong quickly nodded at the question.

“Yes, my head was hurting when I woke up. My memories are confused.”

In-gong thought it was a ridiculous story but decided to push it confidently. He still had many questions.

‘No, why is an orc treating a prince like this?’

Even if he was a prince, Shutra was known as the Yan Baihu of Knight Saga. He had little power, weak magic power, no friends, no prospects, no subordinates and no chance of becoming the heir.

‘He was ignored. Even the country ignored him.’

Moreover, Carack was an orc. Knight Saga’s orcs were powerhouses and wouldn’t follow a weak prince.

Yet, this orc didn’t ignore him. His character itself was just a little rough.

In-gong couldn’t ignore the relationship between Carack and Shutra. Carack frowned as he searched through his memories.

“Yes, it is currently Year 512 and we are on the edge of the Jishuka Mountains. Prince, you came here for some practical experience. We just met yesterday.”

“Practical experience? Is there a war going on right now?”

Carack’s expression changed at In-gong’s question. Unlike before, he was looking at In-gong with seriously worried eyes.

“That fever, was it really serious?”

“Just answer me.”

In-gong knew that he seemed strange. He was acting like a patient with amnesia.

Luckily, orcs were simple, so Carack continued talking after a moment.

“The Red Lightning orc tribe is causing chaos in the area. They think they can get away with it because they are acting on the outskirts. Anyway, an army was sent to the centre and another prince and princess came along. I became in charge of Prince.”

“Then where is the other prince and princess?”

“They were each given command of one unit. Prince Chris is in that area while Princess Caitlin is over there.”

Chris and Caitlin.

The Demon King’s seventh and eighth children. They were the children of the 4th queen, Elaine Moonlight – queen of the lycanthropes.

‘They gave me a hard time when I was playing Zephyr.’

Their forces weren’t that strong by themselves but the lycanthropes were tricky to deal with. In particular, Chris and Caitlin were uniquely strong among the lycanthropes.

‘They are still young.’

He didn’t know their exact ages but he was younger than Caitlin and Zephyr. Chris was only a few years older than Caitlin.

“Your meal seems to be finished, so I can start the training again.”

Carack said, after looking at the plate of stew. In-gong had been eating breakfast while listening to the explanation and he reached the word ‘training.’

“Training?”

It was natural to be affected. This seemed like a realistic game but this situation wasn’t a game.

‘Surely, I don’t have to spar with an orc?’

Carack’s arm muscles were almost the size of Shutra’s waist. It was obvious he would break his bones when sparring with a monster like that.

Carack clicked his tongue as In-gong’s complexion worsened.

“Don’t worry. I know how great Prince is. It will be like yesterday. I am well aware that Prince doesn’t have much physical strength. Oh, I won’t be as hard on you due to the fever.”

He looked In-gong up and down and decided on a course. A simple training course circled the vacant lot where the tents were set up.

After hearing that, In-gong sighed with relief and stood up. It wasn’t a bad proposition since he needed time to sort out his thoughts.

In-gong started to jog lightly.

‘Caitlin and Chris. Is their situation the same as it was in Knight Saga?’

If so, they would become problems in the future. What events would happen soon in Knight Saga?

For reference, Knight Saga started in Year 513. It was currently Year 512, so there would be five years left until the ‘Day of the Massacre’ took place in Year 517.

‘Now that I am living as Shutra… What should I do next?’

Firstly, run away and hide.

Secondly, work hard to become close to Zephyr.

Thirdly, work hard to oppose Zephyr.

Needless to say, he dismissed the first two options. Zephyr killed his enemies and allies unconditionally on the Day of the Massacre. He found and killed the ones hiding and tortured the siblings who supported him.

There was only one choice remaining.

‘Pant pant. By the way, my stamina is so low.’

He had only completed a few laps but was already breathing heavily. Even if he was the Yan Baihu of Knight Saga, wasn’t this too terrible? He couldn’t face Zephyr with this body.

It was at that moment.

[Your level has risen.]

There was a ringing sound, a woman’s voice was heard and his body was surrounded by white light.

“Eh eh eh?”

In-gong blinked his eyes with bemusement. His breath calmed down and strength returned to his legs.

“Prince? What type of magic is that?”

Carack asked with a startled expression.

“Wait, wait a minute.”

In-gong raised his hand to stop Carack and looked at himself.

‘I will check it once.’

It was absurd that he had levelled up through running but that wasn’t the important part.

In other words, it was possible for him to level up. If so, what had changed?

In-gong hurriedly activated his status window.

[Name: Shutra Ignus] [Age: 14] [Species: Gandharva] [Occupation: Protagonist] [Uniqueness: Prince/ Conquest Knight] [Level: 2]

Strength: 7

Intelligence: 7

Agility: 7

Talent: 7

Persistence: 7

Durability: 7

Mental Power: 7

Magic Power: 7

Charm: 7

Extra points: 2

‘Heok! All my stats were raised by two?’

His stats were still shabby but that didn’t matter.

‘How much will my stats rise with the next level up? Isn’t this a scam?’

It was like a fraudulent job in Knight Saga.

‘Skills, let’s look at the skill window.’

In-gong’s hands trembled as he opened the skills window.

[Conquest Lv -] [Protagonist Correction Lv 1]

They were skills that he didn’t know. Moreover, the skill Conquest was deactivated for some reason.

‘If Protagonist Correction is what I think it is… Is this right?’

It seemed like a passive skill but unfortunately, there wasn’t any explanation.

‘And what is Conquest? Ah, that reminds me…’

The uniqueness stated that he was a prince and Conquest Knight. Conquest was obviously a skill related with Conquest Knight.

‘My level rose. It also seems like I can use skills.’

It wasn’t just that. He hadn’t thought about it but features like the mini-map were still active. The finishing strike was the inventory feature.

In-gong instantly picked something up.

‘Store.’

He mumbled in reaction. The item in his hand disappeared and appeared in the inventory.

[Stone]

“A success! It worked!”

In-gong formed a fist and cheered.

“Prince?”

Carack called out but In-gong didn’t pay attention to him.

He wasn’t just excited about the inventory feature.

Shutra was definitely the worst prince but what would happen if he kept levelling up?

The mini-map and inventory features were also amazing. Depending on the way they were used, truly magical things could happen.

There was one more important fact.

‘My knowledge.’

There was no guarantee that all the events that occurred in Knight Saga would happen. Even if they didn’t, there was something that wouldn’t disappear.

Information.

Who and where. The locations of items. The secrets of his competitors. He knew the Human World as well as the Demon World.

‘I can, I can do it!’

He could oppose Zephyr. No, it was possible to become the Demon King!

‘Yes, it is better to go back. But if I can’t, then isn’t it better to move forward?’

His thoughts were running wild but they weren’t wrong.

He had no idea how he came to this world or how to return. Therefore, he needed to find a way to survive.

“Uh…Prince? Are you okay?”

Carack asked with a confused expression once again. In-gong nodded absentmindedly and Carack narrowed his eyes.

“You- there is something different. All of a sudden, you have eyes filled with burning ambition. ”

Maybe he had become too excited.

Thanks to Carack, In-gong regained his spirit.

‘It is still too early. I need more information.

In-gong looked at Carack and asked something that could solve a number of questions instantly.

“Carack, what level are you?”

In-gong had a level.

Did the other people in this world have levels?

If levels existed, did they have a way to raise their stats like In-gong did?

After hearing In-gong’s question, Carack scratched his chin and replied.

“Uh…I was level 21 the last time I checked. No, level 22? Why do you ask?”

This was a summary of what he learnt.

Levels existed in this world.

However, it was impossible for people to directly check their status window like In-gong.

They didn’t know their detailed stats and it was also impossible to distribute additional points.

They could only see their level through a level measurement spell.

The concept of raising their level to become stronger was non-existent. They just trained hard and fought, making their levels increase.

‘Then don’t I have a great advantage?’

Once In-gong levelled up, not only was his stamina and magic restored but all his stats also rose. Considering that he could allocate additional points, he had tremendous growth potential.

‘If he doesn’t know about the mini-map or inventory… Can’t this be considered my unique ability?’

Of course, there might be someone else in this world who had been transported after playing Knight Saga: Re. But when comparing In-gong to the people of this world, he had a unique ability.

A smile formed on In-gong’s face.

Although he was now weaker than Villager A, it was only for the moment. If he gained two more levels, each stat would have 11 points! That was stronger than Villager A who had an average of 10 stat points.

‘Considering the extra points, I would be much stronger.’

He couldn’t help feeling pained when thinking about being compared to Villager A. The starting point was so low.

‘Anyway.’

The next important thing was the presence or absence of skills. Magic spells and skills did exist in this world and the process of learning it wasn’t much different from In-gong’s. It was possible to acquire skills by training hard.

‘But I have something different.’

After reaching level two, the extra stat points weren’t the only things he obtained. He also received skill points. Naturally, investing skill points would allow the level of his skills to grow.

“Ohuhu.”

In-gong couldn’t hold back his laughter. Carack was still paying attention but he couldn’t suppress his happiness.

‘Yes, I should have at least this much compensation when arriving in a different world!’

If he didn’t have such compensation, he would just die as Shutra.

Carack frowned as In-gong kept laughing.

“Prince, are you really okay? This state…”

“I’m okay, I’m okay. Rather, I’m very good. Should I continue to run?”

He wondered how many levels he could gain just be running. However, Carack glanced at In-gong and shook his head.

“Um…no. You seem a little strange but you are more energetic than before.”

Carack turned and guided In-gong to an open space.

“I heard that Prince can use a sword. Can you show me?”

He was given a wooden sword. It seemed like a toothpick in Carack’s hands, but it was heavy to In-gong.

“Uh…you want to see my swordsmanship?”

“Just swing it a few times. I need to know what level you are at.”

It was quite a rude demand but Carack didn’t seem to be insulting him. The running made it clear that Carack was training him.

‘I’m going crazy.’

In reality, In-gong had never learnt kendo. At best, he would playfully spar with friends using a broom when it was cleaning time.

In-gong grasped the wooden sword in a neutral position and took a deep breath. Then he swung the sword like a baseball bat.

[You have learnt Basic Swordsmanship Lv1.]

“Huh?”

In-gong stood there looking at himself instead of swinging the wooden sword. He opened the skills window reflexively and invested his skill points without any hesitation.

[Basic Swordsmanship Lv2]

There were no physical changes. However, In-gong recognized it instinctively.

‘I have changed. No, I’ve learnt.’

He changed the way he held the sword. He increased the gap between his legs and for the first time, made a clear trajectory with the sword.

“Hmm?”

Carack made a sound. In-gong was enjoying it a little bit and asked,

“What is it?”

“No, your movements are suddenly good.”

So, he tilted his head to the side. His face seemed like he had witnessed something incomprehensible.

In-gong couldn’t help grinning happily at Carack’s reaction.

‘Okay, I really can do it.’

He could become stronger. He would move forward faster than anyone else.

This fact was very important. In-gong couldn’t do anything unless he was strong.

Let’s assume that modern people entered the game world of the Three Kingdoms. How would he become the ruler of one of the three kingdoms?

Of course, he would collect talents. No matter what, he would try to secure Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei.

If he had Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi under his command? Or a team consisting of Guan Yu and Zhang Liao? Zhang Fei and Xu Chu would also be amazing.

But there was one problem. It was meaningless if he didn’t know where to find them.

Didn’t Liu Bei meet Zhuge Liang in a remote village? Didn’t Yan Baihu find Sun Ce in a brothel?

In-gong couldn’t say anything. If he had Liu Bei or Zhuge Liang, he would be able to deal with his brother easily.

The Yan Baihu of Knight Saga, Shutra, had to find some good people. Otherwise, he might suffer.

‘Therefore, I have to be strong. I must also determine their locations.’

He was the youngest prince who didn’t have strength or power. In-gong needed to utilize the information he had to create a position of strength.

[Your level has risen.]

He had kept swinging his sword while thinking. It seemed like he was growing rapidly.

In-gong was one step closer to the stats of Villager A, so he wielded the sword again. His stamina was restored thanks to the level up and he kept wielding the sword for a while.

‘Can I reach level 5 if I keep swinging for today and tomorrow?’

Carack said that Shutra came here for practical experience. So he had to raise his level as high as possible before leaving.

‘Come to think of it.’

The first encounter. Chris and Caitlin were in charge of different unit. Then was this something like a joint operation?

“Carack, I was wondering something.”

“What?”

“Are there any plans to fight? I should have plans for a meeting with Chris and Caitlin.”

He thought that a meeting might be a little difficult.

He wasn’t In-gong but Shutra in this place.

What if the two people hated him?

‘Would it be surprising?’

No, could he change anything in the first place? Wasn’t it only his outward appearance that was the same as Shutra?

Something bad could happen. He could use the excuse of a fever with Carack because he was an orc, but Chris and Caitlin were different. He needed to prepare before he met them.

Carack replied to In-gong’s question.

“Of course there is a meeting. Don’t you remember?”

“No. Anyway, when is it?”

Surely, there wasn’t a meeting every day, right?

In-gong stared at Carack who replied bluntly.

“Today.”

“No, if it so important, why didn’t you tell me until now?”

“You didn’t ask and I thought you remembered.”

He didn’t ask.

Yes, he certainly didn’t ask. Carack’s reaction was natural. His actions were normal if In-gong had actually remembered!

In-gong sighed and acted rationally instead of bothering Carack about it.

“When is it happening today?”

It was still morning, so it was okay if it was a little ‘late’. There was still time if the meeting occurred late in the afternoon or evening.

Carack scratched his chin again and replied.

“Eh… It was decided to do it before lunch, so the meeting is at 11 o’clock.”

Rather than thinking about the unit of time in Knight Saga, he zoomed in on the mini-map that had a clock function next to it. It was 9:52 a.m.

‘It is one hour away!’

Dammit! Why was he only told just before the meeting?

“Where?”

In-gong asked reflexively and Carack pointed beyond the mountains.

“We decided to do it at Princess Caitlin’s location. It is time to go so you should be prepared.”

It was already like this, so it was impossible to prepare properly.

In-gong calmed his heart and started thinking rationally. What he needed now wasn’t swearing or lamentation.

Information. He had to have information.

“Hey, Carack. Do you remember that I’m a little confused because of the fever?”

“Is Prince really okay?”

Carack looked worried again. Despite being a bit clumsy, he didn’t seem like a bad guy.

“I’m okay. Anyway, can you tell me about Chris and Caitlin? For example, what I call them.”

The honorifics.

When just looking at age, it was natural to call Caitlin by noona and Chris by hyung (Noona= what males use for older females. Hyung= what males use for men older than them). But Shutra, Caitlin and Chris were all part of the royal family.

‘I don’t think I would call them by Hyung or Noona.’

Carack stared at In-gong before saying in a decisive voice.

“I don’t know.”

“You should have seen it at the meeting!”

“Today is the first meeting. I told you, I only met Prince yesterday.”

It was perfect logic. In the end, In-gong lost to the orc’s logic and sprang up.

“Okay, let’s prepare to depart.”

&

In fact, nothing special was needed to be prepared for the departure. He just needed to wear different clothes.

‘This is due to the fever.’

They might think it was strange but he would continue to push the idea.

‘I just need to seem okay.’

Of course, there would be some doubts but what could they do? He had Shutra’s body!

Carack hadn’t moved past In-gong’s actions simply because he was an orc.

‘Yes, maybe they will just be worried like Carack.’

The crucial part was that Shutra, Chris and Caitlin weren’t close friends. They might be worried but not suspicious.

‘Or they might not be worried at all.’

In-gong nodded and looked around for a while. Carack was at the front with orcs walking on either side of him.

‘Let me think. I will try to reason it out.’

He had cleared Knight Saga from Zephyr’s point of view. Therefore, he didn’t know the nuances of the relationship between Shutra, Chris and Caitlin.

However, it was possible to reason things out to a certain degree.

Zephyr had little contact with Shutra, Chris and Caitlin as a child. The reasons were different but in Shutra’s case, he had always stayed in a corner while Chris and Caitlin barely spent any time at the palace.

Unlike the other queens, Elaine Moonlight, queen of the lycanthropes and mother of Chris and Caitlin, didn’t have any ambitions to make her children the Demon King. Chris and Caitlin were educated at the royal palace of the lycanthropes.

Therefore, the two of them spend most of their childhood in the land of the lycanthropes rather than the Demon King’s Palace.

‘In other words, Shutra should have had almost no contact with Chris and Caitlin.’

This was probably not the first meeting but there was a high possibility that they hadn’t had a conversation before.

‘Okay, I will just push forward. I won’t care about acting different.’

He had a severe fever and couldn’t remember anything. He seemed to have acquired a partial memory loss.

In-gong nodded with a determined expression but he soon found it tough to breathe.

‘Pant pant, my body has levelled up but my stamina is still low.’

He was currently level 3. He had nine points in each state but he was still weaker than Villager A. It was hard to climb up the rough mountain trail.

“Almost there. Just have a little more strength.”

Carack said with a smile. It seemed that In-gong looked exhausted.

“Yes.”

In-gong laughed and stepped forward with difficulty. How far did they walk? The uphill slope gradually calmed to reveal a wide vacant lot.

“We are here.”

In-gong stretched and looked around at Carack’s words. The vacant lot wasn’t empty. It was an army base. It couldn’t be compared to In-gong’s base and seemed more like a village.

There were dozens of tents lined up in an orderly manner with cheap and permanent grazing grounds.

The soldiers were also different. Dozens of soldiers with the symbol of the lycanthropes seemed to be Caitlin’s troops. Everyone was wearing black leather armour and they all looked big and wild.

They were obviously elite soldiers.

The orcs among the elite soldiers also looked different. The orcs were obviously local soldiers and didn’t seem much different from In-gong’s but they looked stronger and more resilient.

Carack laughed as he saw the tension on In-gong’s face.

“It’s okay, they are on our side. Isn’t it reassuring?”

It seemed like he thought In-gong was frightened by the atmosphere.

“Yes, they are on our side.”

In-gong replied lightly but he spoke in a low voice.

Carack knocked his shoulders against In-gong’s.

“Let’s go inside. That is the meeting place.”

Located in the heart of the base was a large tent surrounded by lycanthrope warriors.

‘Chris and Caitlin.’

The 7th prince and 8th princess.

Shutra’s half siblings.

They were like two wild beasts in front of Zephyr; the lycanthrope monsters.

In-gong swallowed his saliva and entered the tent with Carack.

&

In-gong was startled by the insides of the tent. The inside and outside of the tent were completely different.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the inside of the tent was like a luxurious palace. The floor had fluffy carpets and the walls were decorated with beautiful silks. Despite being inside a tent, it was completely bright.

A gentle light poured from the ceiling and it was reminiscent of stained glass in a cathedral.

There was a circular table located in the middle of the tent. In-gong was an outsider to this world but it still seemed luxurious.

A large map of a battlefield with elaborate models was laid out on the table.

“Please sit here.”

A young man wearing the emblem of the lycanthropes guided In-gong toward a seat. It seemed like there were only three seats for In-gong, Chris and Caitlin.

Once In-gong was seated, the young man said with a smile.

“Prince Chris and Princess Caitlin will be coming soon. Please wait a moment.”

He had nothing to do but wait. In-gong watched the clock attached to the mini-map. There were 10 minutes left until the scheduled meeting time.

‘This is great.’

As expected from Chris and Caitlin.

Shutra was the child of the Demon King but he was different in many ways.

In fact, In-gong didn’t have good impressions of Chris and Caitlin. It was because they worked hard to block him whenever he played Zephyr.

It had been a nightmare fighting Chris and Caitlin. He’d been able to save and load the game but he had died many times. That’s not even mentioning their soldiers.

As the fight over the succession to the throne deepened, the fighting became more bloody. Sometimes, he barely managed to face them during an event.

Chris had growled at his enemies while Caitlin had watched silently with a frozen face.

‘I could call them middle-ranked bosses.’

He now had to meet those two people. If possible, he needed to maintain a friendly relationship with them. In-gong needed allies to face Zephyr.

‘I need to oppose Zephyr while stopping others from joining him.’

He sighed as he thought about it. It was like Yan Baihu standing up to his enemies in an isolated area.

“Prince.”

Carack’s low voice snapped him out of it. He jumped with surprise and heard voices outside the tent.

Chris and Caitlin, the two of them had appeared.

In-gong knew almost all the characters of Knight Saga. So, he knew how Chris and Caitlin looked like.

Nevertheless, he still lost his spirit for a moment.

‘Really pretty.’

Caitlin was the first to come in. She was older than Shutra at 15 years old.

Her small face between dark blue hair was very white and her two golden eyes were like moonlight in the night sky. She wore leather armour that clung to her body as well as a blue cloak.

She stared at In-gong with a cold smile on her face.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

In-gong was trying to think of something to say when he heard the voice of salvation.

“Go in quickly. Don’t block the way.”

Chris appeared behind Caitlin and carefully pushed her aside.

Caitlin looked at Chris before sitting down and he just laughed.

Just like Caitlin was pretty, Chris was handsome.

He had golden hair that looked like a lion’s mane, while his blue eyes were both playful and wild.

‘Incredibly unbalanced.’

The body below the handsome face was really huge. Looking at the body, he would guess that Chris was 30 years old not 17. The tiger leather that wrapped like a cloak around him made him seem like a bandit.

Once Chris was sitting down, a few people came in and stood behind Chris and Caitlin. The two people seemed to be their escort knights.

‘I already knew but the gap is too big.’

Shutra didn’t have a proper escort knight. Carack was behind him but he was a local warrior, not sworn to Shutra.

‘I used to have lots of subordinates.’

Beautiful succubi escort knights, ogre warriors, the strongest evil necromancer Sektum and so on.

In-gong gritted his teeth as he visualized it. He would think of them all as enemies now.

‘No, I will somehow take them away. I will make those kids listen to me!’

Of course, the trivial fact that he raised them in a game was ignored.

‘Where are those kids now?’

“Prince.”

Carack’s low voice interrupted his thoughts. In-gong recovered his spirit and immediately sat straight.

“It has been a while.”

Caitlin spoke first. Her voice was a little hard and distant.

Chris laughed again.

“It has been a long time but isn’t this the first time we are talking face to face? We have never spoken separately to him.”

Was this actually the first time? He hadn’t talked to them?

‘Oh, nice!’

As expected, Shutra didn’t have a lot of interactions with Chris and Caitlin. It was as In-gong thought.

Maybe he didn’t need to use a fever as an excuse.

“Please feel comfortable. I am your hyung, your hyung. This is not the Demon King’s Palace. Speak comfortably, call me hyung.”

Chris winked slightly. In-gong was grateful but slightly distracted by the attractive face.

‘That Chris, he is a good person.’

The problem of honorifics was solved instantly.

“I understand, Hyung.”

Chris laughed at In-gong’s words and then pointed to Caitlin.

Chris was hyung. Then what should he called Caitlin?

“Uh…Noona?”

At In-gong’s shy (?) words, Caitlin lowered her eyes and pouted slightly. On closer inspection, the corners of her lips were twitching.

‘Wait a minute, what is this reaction?’

Surely it was a good thing? Why were her ears turning a little bit red?

Chris laughed again.

“Ya, who is a noona? There is only a few months difference between the both of you.”

Caitlin was embarrassed while In-gong was taken aback.

‘Are they really Chris and Caitlin? Aren’t they mad beasts?’

“I will talk about the operation.”

Caitlin interrupted In-gong’s thoughts. She stood up and pointed to the map of the battlefield spread out the table with her long fingers.

“Currently, I have identified the location of the Red Lightning tribe. I will be here while Chris oppa will hit here.”

The blue models were allies while the red models were enemies.

As he listened to Caitlin’s explanations and watched the map, he heard the clear voice of a woman in his head.

[Map Reading Lv1 has been learnt.]

It was like with swordsmanship. It was the same map as before but In-gong could read more things.

‘Can I learn other skills this way?’

He had swung the sword and learnt swordsmanship, and he learnt how to read the map after seeing it.

Even though it was only Lv1, he still learnt it. Anyway, the level could be increased by investing skill points.

‘Can this be done with magic? If I can use both physical and magical skills at the same time…’

The ultimate multi-class. Indeed, it was the birth of a fraudulent character.

Of course, skill points were limited so he could end up with a mediocre character if he misjudged his choices. However, the possibility of that was low. It was because In-gong was a master of Knight Saga. There were a few synergistic combinations in his head.

“Shutra, you will scout this place.”

Caitlin’s words interrupted his thoughts. In-gong quickly looked in the direction Caitlin pointed to. It was an area without any red models representing the Red Lightning tribe.

“Scout?”

“Yes, a reconnaissance mission. This is the area where the Red Lightning tribe lived before. When looking at their recent movements, it is unlikely that they would have many troops here. You don’t have to be worried.”

Caitlin licked her lips and looked at In-gong again.

“I’m sorry for the one-sided notice. Do you have another opinion?”

‘Eh?’

Sorry? Another opinion?

What was she saying now?

“It is difficult to say. Hey, Shutra.”

Chris called out to In-gong from where he was relaxing in his seat.

“I’m sorry but aren’t your troops a little bit weaker than ours? It could be dangerous if you go to the wrong area.”

It made a lot of sense. He was the weak Shutra.

“But if you don’t do anything, won’t it be difficult when we return? Our actions need to be reported. You weren’t able to do anything – I don’t want to report that.”

This also made a lot of sense.

‘Wait a minute, perhaps?’

“I wish we could split the troops but then it would be our merit, not yours.”

Shutra came here for practical experience. Still, he was a prince, so he was given some troops.

Yet, what would happen if he didn’t get any results?

All external activities of the children of the Demon King were scored. Their treatments would differ depending on the results, so it was important to work hard when going somewhere. Shutra’s status wasn’t that good.

Whether looking at it objectively or subjectively, Shutra was weak. He didn’t have any of his own soldiers and was supported by the local orc troop.

Putting him on the front lines would naturally be dangerous.

But he couldn’t borrow any troops from Chris and Caitlin. The two of them can let him borrow the lycan troops but the merits were likely to go back to Chris and Caitlin.

It wasn’t impossible for him to fight in the front lines. Yet, he would need to pay the cost. He would just have to use his own troops.

“Caitlin has thought hard about this.”

Chris grinned happily at Caitlin who was once again tight-lipped.

In-gong alternated looking between them.

‘Perhaps…aren’t they pretty nice?’

In-gong knew that Chris and Caitlin were monsters. They were blood-crazed monsters.

But was that due to Zephyr?

Moreover, the place where Zephyr mainly encountered Chris and Caitlin was the battlefield. They weren’t allies but enemies.

“Then Shutra, what will you do? I’m sure you will do some good work once you start. This isn’t a battle that will end with one fight anyway.”

In-gong looked at Caitlin after Chris’s question. She looked like a shy 15 year old girl rather than a commander. However, she wasn’t just cute.

“I understand, I will do as Noona said. Thank you for your consideration.”

After In-gong finished talking, Caitlin didn’t show any obvious expression but her eyes were half smiling. Even the corners of her mouth went up slightly.

“Tsutsu, I’m sorry I was so honest towards you.”

Caitlin ignored Chris’ laughs and pointed to the map of the battlefield.

“Since it is like this, I will now explain the details.”

Chris and Caitlin explained what would happen in the battle tomorrow. In-gong’s expression was a little complicated after hearing the two of the speak.

Assuming that they went against Zephyr, Chris and Caitlin could be good companions. However, it was difficult to say that they would be unconditionally good companions.

Chris and Caitlin died a year before the Day of Massacre, due to a surprise attack led by Zephyr along with other children of the Demon King.

The reason was simple as to why the children of the Demon King, who were busy fighting each other, united to remove both of them.

The 8th princess, Caitlin Moonlight.

She wasn’t the child of the Demon King.

He had lunch with Chris and Caitlin and it was really superb compared to Shutra’s breakfast. It seemed like they had brought their own chefs to the battlefield.

After the things were finished, In-gong returned to his base with Carack.

‘Wasn’t it Zephyr who uncovered it in the game?’

The secret of Caitlin’s birth.

She was the illegitimate child of the 4th queen, Elaine Moonlight, and Gallehed, one of the five captains of the Demon King’s Palace.

Zephyr was an orthodox member and didn’t let this fact go. He incited his other siblings to unite together and raised troops to get rid of Caitlin, Chris and Queen Elaine all at once.

Caitlin, Chris and the 4th Queen Elaine resisted and as a result, both sides received heavy casualties.

Chris, Caitlin and the 4th Queen Elaine died. The lycanthropes became virtually extinct.

The forces of the other siblings who competed with Zephyr were weakened.

Zephyr, who stirred up the conflict, watched with his hands behind his back and received mild damage.

‘After that battle, his power was firmly established.’

In other words, it would be good for In-gong if the Caitlin purge event didn’t happen.

‘Or I can use it.’

In-gong frowned at his merciless thoughts. He had talked to Chris and Caitlin for a while and ate their rice. To be honest, he was more overwhelmed by Caitlin than Chris. Her face flicked before him.

‘Ah, I don’t know. It is still far away. Let’s solve this situation first.’

It was still far away. It would happen in a few years, so he could think about it later.

‘Whether I decide to use them or not, I need to raise my own power.’

The same conclusion from this morning emerged. He could only start doing things once he raised his strength.

“Carack, please prepare a team for scouting. It will be enough if we eat and leave tomorrow morning right?”

“That is great.”

Carack nodded with a bright face. He was quite satisfied with the meal received at Caitlin’s base.

‘Indeed, I acquired the Gourmet skill.’

Gourmet Lv1. It wasn’t helpful in combat, so he wouldn’t actively raise the skil level.

‘What is good? Isn’t it just developing the mouth? Then is it bad?’

They were futile worries. In-gong cleared his thoughts and once again said to Carack, “Then I will take a break. Later on, let me fill my stomach with some cows for dinner.”

“Understood.”

In-gong left Carack and entered the tent. Now that he was alone, a sigh emerged without him knowing it.

He had truly entered the game or he had arrived at a different world that was just like the game.

There was no explanation about why this happened. In-gong wondered why he had a game-like ability.

His job was a Protagonist while his uniqueness was a Conquest Knight.

In-gong had these questions but decided to set them aside for the moment.

‘I will train with the sword.’

From the time being, the most important thing was improving Shutra. He had to do that while gathering subordinates and investigating.

In-gong took out the wooden sword.

And the next morning, In-gong reached level 5.

&

“Will you be okay today?”

Carack asked after eating breakfast and leaving the garrison. He was smiling but his eyes looked worried.

“Yes, I will be fine.”

He was a crude, oversized orc but In-gong had become accustomed to it. Carack shrugged at In-gong’s answer.

“Hrmm, it seems like someone has changed overnight, although it is a good thing.”

Carack had only known Shutra for two days. Instead of responding, In-gong looked over the soldiers.

There was a total of 31 troops under In-gong, including Carack. They were all orcs.

They were local troops, led by Carack, that were assigned to In-gong.

‘Anyway, I want to continue training.’

In fact, In-gong spend all of last night levelling up.

He had suddenly appeared in another world, so he couldn’t sleep. However, he found it enjoyable swinging the sword and didn’t look at the time.

The result was visible. Moreover, he grew faster because he was low levelled.

He couldn’t help feeling happy. It was like studying and seeing his rank rise significantly in a national high school.

‘Ah, I want a sword. I want to level up.’

Fortunately, he had levelled up this morning, so he was in the best condition. He was able to swing the sword all night despite Shutra’s low stamina because his stamina was restored when he levelled up.

‘Huhuhu, my name is Joo In-gong. I am 1.3 times stronger than Villager A.’

In-gong currently had an average of 13 stat points. He was stronger than an ordinary Villager A.

He intentionally left his additional points and skill points alone. It would be more difficult to level up at higher levels, so he didn’t want to waste the additional points just yet.

‘I will save it for later.’

The same was true for his skill points. He could learn many skills if he concentrated.

‘How do I learn magic or psychic abilities? Do I need a separate teacher?’

As he went through his troubles in his head, he arrived at the area that he was supposed to scout.

The scouting area Caitlin assigned him was originally where the Red Lightning tribe used to live. It was an area that the Red Lightning tribe abandoned due to strategic reasons.

It couldn’t just be left alone.

‘Yes, I can’t come all the way here just to write a report on scouting.’

Caitlin said there wouldn’t be a big threat but he wasn’t completely reassured. In-gong put aside his desire to level up and searched the surroundings vigilantly. While confirming the map given to Carack, he zoomed in on the mini-map as much as possible to ensure accuracy.

After approximately 20 minutes.

“Um.”

In-gong suddenly stopped. Carack quickly stopped the soldiers and asked In-gong,

“What is it? Is it too hard? Are your legs sore?”

He seemed to be seen as quite a big weakling. In-gong pointed to the map he was looking at and asked.

“This is the correct map right?”

“Is there something wrong?”

“Rather than something being wrong…”

There was another part. The map showed a straight path while the mini-map showed a small side path.

Why did it matter?

‘What is it? A hidden path!’

It wasn’t on the map. In other words, the people who made the map didn’t know about it.

Yet, it was on the mini-map. In other words, a route obviously existed.

Then it had to be a hidden path!

‘If this is a game, then it will be an event.’

At the end of the hidden path, there was always a monster, event or treasure. Moreover, this was a reconnaissance mission so finding anything was good.

‘An enemy might emerge but…there is Carack!’

He had Carack and the 30 orc warriors that were at least 10 times stronger than Villager A. He didn’t think there would be a big problem unless the enemy had superior numbers.

“Carack, I will lead from now on.”

Carack narrowed his eyes, then he burst out laughing.

“Your eyes are burning. Ambition is roaring.”

In-gong guided the orcs. The path was changed suddenly but because of Carack, the orcs followed In-gong’s instructions without saying anything.

The side path was really hidden. After walking through bushes for a while and passing an area covered in rocks from a landslide, there was a small path covered by trees.

As In-gong had expected, the path didn’t just end up as a path. At the end was an old stone door. There were letters engraved on the surface but they were difficult to recognize because they were covered in moss.

“Wah, how did you find this? Is Prince a magician?”

In-gong grinned at Carack’s admiration.

“I just did.”

He wasn’t a magician yet. Although, maybe, he would soon become one.

In-gong shrugged and ordered Carack and the orcs to clean up the stones around the door.

The stone door was big enough for Carack to walk through but it didn’t budge when they tried to open it. It seemed like they had to break the stone door to get inside.

“Prince, what do you want to do? Should I break in?”

Carack asked In-gong. In-gong stared at the stone door for a while instead of answering.

‘It is like the protagonist getting a broken leg instead of dying after falling off a cliff.’

The main character lived while others died. This was a chance to obtain money or something like an elixir.

In-gong stared at ‘Protagonist Correction Lv1’ and nodded. He ordered Carack,

“Smash.”

Carack lifted his hammer.

The stone door was large and solid but in the end, it was a stone tablet designed for opening and closing. Carack used his muscles and smashed it with the hammer.

It was obvious but the inside of the cave was dark. On top of that, it looked quite deep.

“The dwarves seem to have made this cave.”

Carack said with squinted eyes. In-gong had some questions.

“Dwarves? Are there dwarves in the Demon World?”

Just like how orcs were universally present in fantasy, Knight Saga also had dwarves.

They were a small species with thick shoulders and beards. Of course, they also had good strength, stamina and dexterity.

He’d been able to meet quite a number of dwarves when playing the human Locke. Right now, there was a dwarf among Locke’s companions.

However, it was different when playing Zephyr. Dwarves didn’t officially live in the Demon World.

Carack was dumbfounded by In-gong’s question. It seemed like he was surprised by something other than the question.

“Why?”

“No, you don’t remember your name but you know about dwarves.”

In-gong glared at him and Carack laughed awkwardly.

“I heard that they used to live here a long time ago. The Jishuka Mountains are slightly close to the Human World.”

“Did they move as a group?”

“That’s what I heard. Well, it was a few hundred years ago, so no one knows why.”

It made sense. In-gong nodded and Carack continued.

“Well, I think this is a dwarf cave. After seeing the pieces on the door, does Prince think that it is impossible? Would orcs be able to punch through this cave?”

This place was the southern Jishuka Mountains. The cave required a large civil engineering work, not a simple labour force. The right skills were needed.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Looking at the state of the door, it seemed like the Red Lightning orcs were unaware of its existence. It meant they were unlikely to meet orcs inside.

‘If this is a dwarf cave, there should be dwarf weapons, right?’

Dwarf weapons were naturally expensive. They were expensive due to their good performance. In-gong had used many dwarf weapons when playing Knight Saga.

All of Knight Saga’s items were divided into five grades: common, uncommon, rare, unique and legend. It was roughly thought that every time the grade increased, the price would go higher by at least 10 times.

‘Yes, they also play a role in winning a war!’

If he was armed with a dwarf weapon, then even the weak Shutra could kill a person.

‘It would be better if higher grade weapons come out!’

In-gong felt his chest swell with wild dreams.

How long did they move?

‘Pant pant, over here.’

He found a hidden room due to the mini-map. It was a room that was like an arsenal.

However, there was one crucial problem.

[Your level is not high enough.] [Your strength is not high enough.] [Your magic power is not high enough.]

He kept on hearing similar messages when holding a weapon in his hand.

They were too heavy for Shutra’s thin arms. Some weapons also required a lot of magic power that Shutra didn’t have.

Of course, it was possible to swing them. However, it would be impossible to show the weapons’ true performance. A weapon that couldn’t be properly used would cause more harm than good.

In-gong’s fantastic dreams faded away. It was an inevitable result when he thought about it.

Would a red hare be able to defeat a white tiger? Nobody could draw Excalibur until King Arthur pulled it out. In order to use a good weapon, one had to be a good person.

‘Although I can try one thing.’

In-gong picked up a dwarf weapon and placed it into his inventory. If he held it and thought ‘bag,’ then it would enter his inventory.

In-gong placed all the weapons into his inventory one by one. Carack stared at him from behind with wide eyes.

“P-Prince?”

In-gong grinned. It was natural to be surprised.

A weapon disappeared once In-gong held it. However, In-gong wasn’t shocked and just repeated the work silently.

“Takes the spoils. Later, it would be good if Carack… no. Carack, pick one right now and I will give weapons to the ones who show some merit.”

If an enemy appeared, Carack would be the one taking the lead in a fight. Naturally, Carack needed a good weapon.

Of course, it wasn’t the same for the other orcs fighting.

‘Then should I swallow it quickly?’

It was normal for the protagonist to get more of the loot. However, In-gong was currently a prince. It didn’t matter if Shutra’s status was slightly different from Chris and Caitlin.

Carack’s eyes shone as he picked a weapon, then went back to gawking at In-gong who was making the weapons disappear.

“Prince, are you really a magician?”

“A prince should know a few magic spells.”

He was a prince of the Demon World, not a magician. He needed to make Shutra grow.

Anyway, In-gong continued to fill his inventory and managed to sweep up all the dwarf equipment in the arsenal.

‘This is just the equipment.’

He hung a dagger that Shutra, who was slightly stronger than Villager A, could use on the belt at his waist and wore a shirt made of thin chains. He tried to wear a helmet but he quickly gave up since it was too heavy.

“Prince, should we keep going?”

Carack, who was holding a big axe, asked with a face half filled with joy and anxiety. The passage was really crowded due to the 31 big orcs. No, it felt really difficult to breathe. In-gong looked at the passage that was four to five metres wide and nodded.

“From the start, our mission was reconnaissance. Let’s keep moving forward.”

Weapons and treasures could pop up again.

In-gong activated the mini-map and took the lead with Carack.

After approximately an hour, as they walked through the long passage, there were a few more empty rooms but no treasures or weapons.

In-gong scratched his chin and stared at the mini-map that seemed to go on forever.

‘Isn’t this cave too long? Aren’t we just going through the mountain?’

It didn’t matter if they were penetrating through the mountain. The important thing was the location of the exit. If it was the wrong place, they might end up in the area of the Red Lightning tribe.

‘Would that be bad?’

If they had the element of surprise, it might turn out well.

Of course, In-gong didn’t intend for the 31 orcs to jump in the middle of the enemy. He was just going to check where the exit led to.

‘By the way, I want to learn magic.’

Learning a skill didn’t seem that difficult after his experience with the Swordsmanship and Map Reading skills. The problem was who would teach him.

‘I should get a magician.’

He was a prince of the Demon World but no one around him knew how to use magic.

‘Can Chris and Caitlin use spells? They probably have many people who can use magic around them. Should I ask Caitlin to teach me?’

If he asked Zephyr to teach him magic, Zephyr would probably stab him with the sword. However, Chris and Caitlin were different. It was highly likely they would teach him.

‘I would prefer Caitlin instead of Chris.’

If they had the same value, he would prefer the one in the skirt.

In-gong was visualizing Caitlin’s pretty face when he saw something. There was still darkness in front of him that the torch couldn’t reach but the mini-map showed a stone door lying beyond that darkness.

“The exit.”

Once In-gong spoke, Carack stopped in place and raised his hand. The trained orcs stopped in place.

Just like the entrance, the exit was likely to be sealed. Should they break the exit and check the situation, or return?

In-gong folded his arms and thought for a while.

It was at that moment.

A loud sound was heard in the darkness. Light came leaking from the exit.

“Hurry! That mad witch is following us!”

“Calm down, Kaichin! I know of this passage despite never seeing it before. That witch won’t be able to come after us.”

The voices of orcs could be heard and In-gong and Carack stared at each other. There was a sound and the stone door collapsed. Their eyes had been accustomed to darkness when the light poured in.

In-gong frowned. Many things were rushing through his head.

Orcs had appeared at the exit.

Kaichin, a high ranking member of the Red Lightning tribe.

Beyond the mountains…

A crazy witch was chasing them.

‘Caitlin!’

As In-gong expected, the cave was connected to the rear of the Red Lightning tribe and today, Chris and Caitlin were attacking their camp.

In other words, Kaichin and the orcs were soldiers who ran away from the battlefield!

The orcs on both sides were surprised. Carack hesitated before he lifted his axe and his orcs also raised their weapons.

In-gong turned his attention towards the mini-map. The mini-map showed the number of enemies.

“Prince! Retreat!”

Carack shouted. In-gong heard it as something dug into his chest.

“Cough!”

“Prince!”

An orc aimed a wolfbone staff and cast something in In-gong’s direction. In-gong collapsed to the ground while Carack started attacking with a vengeance. The orcs followed him.

“Kuheok, keok!”

In-gong staggered while falling to the ground. He was in too much pain. It was fortunate he was wearing the chainmail shirt.

‘Magic?! No, psychic powers?’

There wasn’t a chant but there was a possibility it was a psychic ability.

However, now wasn’t the time to be thinking about something like this. He heard screaming and shouting as the fighting started.

‘Get up. I have to get up!’

In-gong got up. He zoomed in on the mini-map to check on the situation.

However, In-gong couldn’t concentrate. The clear voice of a woman rang in his head.

[Telekinesis Lv1 has been learnt.]

“Huh?”

Telekinesis.

In-gong looked down at his chest.

‘Telekinesis? Is it really Telekinesis? No, did I really learn it?’

Knight Saga had several powers.

There were those who, like warriors, acquired aura power to fight directly with their bodies.

Magicians used the power of nature to cast magic.

Unlike theoretical magic, mental power and psychic power were close to instinctual.

The gods gave divine powers to their believers.

People were born with the powers but it was rare for someone to have psychic powers.

‘Did I wake up a psychic power? Then can I wake up another power like aura? If I have divine power, can I awaken it?’

If it was as he thought, then it was truly a scam. Even Zephyr and Locke couldn’t master all four powers.

In-gong impulsively opened his skill window. Then he thought again because he didn’t want to distribute his skill points too impulsively.

‘No, I have to. Right now, it will be a big help if I put points into Telekinesis. I must live!’

He was currently in battle. This wasn’t the time to save his points. He needed to leave here alive to learn other powers.

In-gong cleared his thoughts and looked up. The exit was much larger than the passage because it was located in a vacant lot. However, the dozens of big orcs made it seem narrow.

“Kuaaaak!”

“Kuhang!”

Among them, Carack and Kaichin were facing each other. The other orcs wielded their weapons and were busy dealing with the enemies in front of them.

The orc that held a wolfbone staff and had hit In-gong with a psychic attack was fighting other orcs.

‘We are being pushed.’

The mini-map showed that each side had similar numbers.

However, a fight wasn’t just about numbers. In-gong nervously swallowed his saliva and stared at Carack. He was having a tough confrontation with Kaichin, a member the Red Lightning tribe.

‘Well done! As expected of Carack! It was worth giving that weapon to him!’

“Cough!”

“Keok!”

Carack’s orcs and the Red Lightning orcs screamed as they were killed. In-gong felt a sense of horror as he brandished his knife at a passerby and blood gushed out.

“Pant pant.”

In-gong started breathing heavily. Due to the telekinesis strike, In-gong was now on the edge of the battle.

‘What should I do? Shouldn’t I strike if I want some experience?’

It was unreasonable for In-gong to confront an orc. Although he was 1.3 times stronger than Villager A, an orc was many times stronger. Moreover, he had just learnt swordsmanship, so a 1:1 melee confrontation was too much.

However, he couldn’t just watch. He was able to gain experience just by wielding a wooden sword. Therefore, taking part in an actual battle could make his level rise in a flash.

‘I need to hold them off. How can I hold them off?’

He couldn’t just lunge in and hit everything.

‘Something else, something different.’

It had to be helpful. It wasn’t in his nature to run away or hide from a fight.

‘Should I increase the level of Telekinesis?’

If he invested all his skill points, he could increase Telekinesis to level three. However, it was hard to know how much each level would cost.

‘A lot of points are required for a skill like Telekinesis. It might require more points after reaching level two.’

He would be really upset if he didn’t have enough to reach level three.

‘I can’t just throw them all away on Telekinesis.’

There was also Basic Swordsmanship. If Basic Swordsmanship reached level four, it seemed possible.

In-gong opened his skills window. However, unlike his original idea, he didn’t touch Basic Swordsmanship.

It was because he noticed something once again.

[Conquest Lv -]

An inactive skill.

Conquest Knight was listed in the uniqueness section.

He had never seen a Conquest Knight in Knight Saga before. What was a Conquest Knight? Furthermore, there was also a skill.

‘Conquest.’

His heart started throbbing. He had never felt this before. It felt like something was surging in his chest.

‘Punishment, obedience…governance.’

These words popped into his head. At that moment, everything before him became dark and in the darkness, he saw a woman dressed in white. A woman with one red eye, one blue eye, long white hair and the adornment of a golden crown stared at In-gong.

“Do something! Hit him!”

The orc holding a wolfbone staff shouted loudly and pointed at In-gong. All the orcs, regardless if they were friend or foe, stared at In-gong with surprise. A pure white light was surrounding In-gong.

“Stop!”

“Hit him!”

“Watch the prince!”

Carack was the last voice. Kaichin woke up from his amazement and aimed the hammer at Carack.

“Prince?”

This was the first time the prince didn’t listen when he was called. Carack avoided the hammer desperately and Kaichin then started running toward In-gong.

“Die! We must kill him!”

The son of the Demon King.

A prince.

Shutra wasn’t weak but Chris and Caitlin were incredibly strong. To Kaichin, who’d dealt with both of them, Shutra seemed like a terrible monster.

Carack chased after Kaichin. The orcs with opposing purposes flocked toward each other; one side to protect In-gong and the other to kill him.

In-gong didn’t notice any of the fuss. He was alone in a new world where only the woman in white could be seen.

She said something but he couldn’t hear her voice. Darkness enveloped the woman and the darkness covering In-gong’s eyes soon faded away.

“Prince!”

“Heok?”

Carack shouted and In-gong jumped back. Kaichin’s battle hammer struck the place where In-gong had just been standing.

“Ohhhh!”

Carack struck Kaichin. A struggle between the two orcs occurred in front of In-gong.

In-gong quickly grabbed the dwarf dagger. Instead of leaping forward recklessly, his instincts made him open the skill window.

[Secondary Occupation: Conquest Knight Lv1]

It was a new occupation. Additionally, it wasn’t just the occupation that was added.

‘The power of conquest is a king’s strength!’

In-gong understood it naturally. The skill Conquest had been activated.

“Below the King’s Flag!”

In-gong stabbed the dagger into the ground. At that moment, a white light scattered around the area. A white line also formed between In-gong and Carack.

It was only for a moment.

But it was enough. In-gong invoked the power of a king and Carack embraced that power as the king’s subordinate.

‘Kuooooh!’

Carack swung his axe. It was a faster and more powerful blow than before.

“Keok?”

Kaichin moaned with confusion as he was pushed back by Carack. Then Carack aimed his axe at Kaichin’s head. It was a continuous strike that normally wouldn’t have been possible.

The dwarf battle axe smashed through Kaichin’s head at once. As brains and blood splattered everywhere, a sensation was shared between In-gong and Carack.

[Your level has risen.]

[Your level has risen.]

Carack achieved some merits for his king.

In-gong stared at Carack after gaining two levels. Yet, the line between In-gong and Carack was still the same.

“Go! Carack!”

After hearing In-gong’s command, Carack took a deep breath and pulled his axe from where it was stuck in Kaichin’s head. Shaking his axe, he let out a battle cry.

“Fight, fight! That is the only way to live!”

The orc shaman, the orc with the wolfbone staff, shouted urgently. However, it was useless. The Red Lightning orcs standing near the exit were trembling as they felt like fleeing.

“Kuooh!”

Carack rushed through the orcs and swung his axe in every direction. The momentum was so intense that no orc could endure Carack’s strikes.

“Run away!”

Once one of the orcs cried out, the balance collapsed completely.

The Red Lightning orcs fled toward the exit. Meanwhile, Carack rushed toward the orc shaman who cursed and brandished his staff.

Kakang!

There was a clanging sound as the axe and staff hit each other. However, they didn’t bounce off each other. Carack’s axe split through the staff and dug into the orc shaman’s chest.

“Kuhak!”

The orc shaman gave a pained groan. However, his eyes were still alive. He pushed intensely at Carack with Telekinesis.

It was his final, desperate struggle.

The orc shaman was determined to die. In-gong reached for his dagger.

‘Just one more!’

The orc shaman’s next attack didn’t happen. A new blade had pierced the side of the orc shaman.

“Cough!”

The orc shaman felt some excruciating pain while using Telekinesis. The orc shaman stared at In-gong who was stabbing him with poisonous eyes. The dwarf dagger was firmly embedded in him.

‘I have to kill him!’

In-gong didn’t say it out loud but it was enough. The orc shaman fell down with a final cry and In-gong took a few steps back.

“Hah, ha…”

The line connected to Carack disappeared. Despite having just levelled up, his body felt heavy like he had exhausted all his stamina.

“Prince.”

Carack called out to In-gong, who then turned and looked at him. Carack seemed like a brutal beast due to the blood covering him but Carack just laughed and raised his axe.

“We won! I took Kaichin’s head. Prince’s victory!”

“Ohhh!”

“Ohhhhh!”

Carack’s orc subordinates cheered with pleasure at the victory.

Instead of cheering with them, In-gong sat down and breathed in deeply. Now that the battle was over, he didn’t have much spirit remaining.

Over the orcs cheers, a voice was heard in In-gong’s head.

[Your level has risen.]

Level eight.

In-gong laughed with delight.