Chapter 8) Disaster Three Times

Weed arrived at the coast of the Arpen Kingdom. Amazing changes had occurred in the meantime. Morata’s cultural influence had spread and merchants often arrived at the white sandy beach by s.h.i.+ps.

Merchants could bring over more goods by sea. Other areas had shallow waters or reefs so most of the s.h.i.+ps gathered at Varna Coast. It was the place where the 3 Mad Sharks of Becky Nin landed with the orcs.

Morata’s artists and architects came to this place.

“We need to make a harbour for s.h.i.+ps to dock.”

“A breakwater needs to be constructed to stop the waves.”

There were huge social investments in the infrastructure of the Arpen Kingdom! Aside from roads, village expansions and building construction, tax money was also invested in the construction of a harbour. Architects and engineers worked on the harbour for 1 month.

Then beginners who started in Morata flocked here.

“Sea… It can be called a man’s romance.”

“I’d like to experience adventures on the sea like Weed-nim.”

“Kyaa! The scales of the marlin swimming on the surface of the water is gleaming in the sun.”

Beginners didn’t have any prejudices when adventuring on land.

The Embinyu Church was causing confusion on the Central Continent so the sea path was being actively developed.

Other famous harbours on the continent contained luxury yachts and large sailing s.h.i.+ps with 10 sails. The elegance that couldn’t be covered up with rafts was a source of great pride.

People took rafts and rowed out to a nearby sea.

“Right now I really don’t have a penny. Should I earn some money by adventuring at sea?”

“You won’t be able to go out to the open sea in a raft. What will you do if a storm occurs?”

There were no basic facilities like a s.h.i.+pyard, s.h.i.+pping exchange or stores at the harbour so the users fell into a painful situation. Sailing knowledge was something the Arpen Kingdom never had so it was impossible to set up related buildings.

The users of Morata found the answer to this difficult problem themselves. Architects and blacksmiths partic.i.p.ated in creating s.h.i.+ps. They used skills mastered in the Central Continent to create the s.h.i.+ps. In some cases, there were those who went to the Central Continent specially to learn s.h.i.+pbuilding skills.

“Selling a boat that will leak water when the waves. .h.i.t it. I even went to the Brent Kingdom with this s.h.i.+p. It is possible to feel drowsiness from the sea.”

“I’ve got this boat with broken sails. There are only a few holes in the bottom but it can be used again. Just be careful of sharks.”

The experience of the people manufacturing s.h.i.+ps increase and a s.h.i.+pyard was created. As they gained experience, their speed increased and they could build larger s.h.i.+ps.

“The problem is the money for the s.h.i.+p but that will be solved with a fis.h.i.+ng rod.”

“That’s fine.”

Beginners preparing to buy a cheap s.h.i.+p would sit down at the beach with a bamboo fis.h.i.+ng rod. More than 1,000 people fis.h.i.+ng! Some people even sat on rocks where even placing one foot wrong would be dangerous.

“A big fis.h.!.+”

“It is a horse mackerel. Yes! It is hard to buy 1 horse mackerel even if I hunt for 3 hours!”

Those who learned fis.h.i.+ng wanted to go adventuring at sea. They were the people who liked the smell of salt and listening to the sound of waves.

“This fis.h.i.+ng place is good.”

“I seem to catch a lot at dawn and in the morning. I should find a better bait.”

The biggest power in the north, the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult had large expectations for Varna Harbour.

“If there is fresh fish…..”

“It will be possible to make porridge.”

“I also need to challenge c.o.c.kle porridge, seaweed porridge and green laver porridge.”

The internet community for the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult had more than 1 million daily visitors. Someone made a list of porridges that could be made from sea ingredients and it kept on growing.

There were many beginners who would take their rafts into the emerald sea and start fis.h.i.+ng.

“Save me!”

“Please help. I’ve been drifting back for the last 6 days. I’m tired of sharks chasing me!”

Varna Harbour was a familiar landscape. Fearless beginners fished in order to gain money and become familiar with the sea.

There was a village next to the harbour where residents lived and local specialties like salted fish and whale oil were born. There was even a trading market for merchants.

It was difficult to get seafood in the northern continent so the harbour town in the Arpen Kingdom quickly grew.

The Arpen Kingdom had a solid economic power so it was soon able to build the required facilities. A Maritime Adventurers Guild was constructed to deal with sea quests.

“If we follow the ocean currents then we will arrive at the Kareatas Archipelago where we can catch a lot of saury. Let’s go!”

“I just received a quest to retrieve a stone state!”

“A quest to recover relics from a sinking s.h.i.+p! We have to sail for 3 days towards the east. I think it will fail but do you still want to go?”

It was hard to sail in the constantly changing north ocean. The beginners’ small s.h.i.+ps pioneered new routes. If they found villages on islands that weren’t on maps then they could obtain new quests and complete trades.

Merchants in the Arpen Kingdom who discovered it would bring their fleets to the island to start expanding trade. It was possible to see many users sailing on rafts at Varna Harbour.

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Weed dropped in at Morata and scattered the seeds before heading back to Rhodium with the pollen of some wild flowers.

Weed brought wildflowers from the north. In Morata, flower festivals would sometimes occur to make the people happy. If the flower festival spread to Rhodium and people became happy then it wouldn’t be a bad thing. The success of his quest would raise the positive influence in Rhodium.

Weed released Sculpture Transformation and returned to the old man.

“The hummingbird is really mysterious. Life wasn’t boring at all while I was travelling.”

.If Weed reported the natural discoveries while travelling as a hummingbird then he could gain additional compensation. He was the King of the Arpen Kingdom so he would have to report to other lords or n.o.bles in order to receive the compensation.

The old man nodded without any spirit.

“I haven’t seen a hummingbird for a long time. I want to see a hummingbird again before I die….. Then the next story involves sculpting. A story was pa.s.sed down about a sculptor who caused a great disaster. As humans, it is natural to be afraid but there was something beautiful in the terrible destruction.”

Weed gave a response.

“A big disaster is sometimes really wonderful.”

It was the best sensation when used against his enemies.

“That’s right. New life can also grow after a sweeping natural disaster. There is currently a large problem occurring on this continent….. The Embinyu Church is constantly destroying every day. If a disaster happens to them then I will tell you a bit more about radiant beauty.”

A quest requiring him to use Disaster Sculpting!

“Uhh!”

Weed thought it wasn’t easy this time. He had faced the Embinyu Church in the past and they weren’t inferior to the Hermes Guild!

In those days, the Embinyu Church was weak because they hadn’t advanced into the continent yet. The present Embinyu Church controlled a wide territory after the Hermes Guild and their military power was great due to incessant wars.

That wasn’t the only difficult part.

“The Affinity to Nature is too high.”

This had a large influence on the destructive power of the disaster. He was always raising his Perseverance and Resilience stats on a regular basis but it would still be hard for Weed to resist the disaster.

“Escape 3 disasters alive… And the opponent is the Embinyu Church.”

It seemed like an impossible request but he could select the disaster and the target inside the Embinyu Church. He could see some possibilities.

“Since I have to produce it, I should do it coolly.”

He might become famous for being a destroyer on the continent.

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Fort Odin in the Britten Alliance Kingdom!

Recently the Hermes Guild occupied a large piece of land but they didn’t pa.s.s the large military fortress. The Cloud Guild risked life and death to maintain this location but now the Embinyu Church led an army to invade it.

“Death to heretics.”

“Smas.h.i.+ng them according to the command of G.o.d Embinyu!”

The Embinyu army consisted of 60,000 Dark Knights, demons and fanatics! The fanatics kept on scaling the walls despite the strong defense. But now a High Priest was leading another 26,000 troops towards the main army.

Fort Odin was meeting its biggest enemy since it was built.

“Defend the Britten Alliance Kingdom.”

“This is the last fort protecting the free cities. We will fight!”

The Cloud Guild tried to get the support of users in the free cities but the plan didn’t go smoothly. Users avoided fighting against the military of the Embinyu Church.

Partic.i.p.ating in a large scale war could gain many achievements but there were many painful things about facing the Embinyu Church’s curses. They chose not to partic.i.p.ate in a religion’s expedition against the Embinyu Church or the siege.

However the Cloud Guild was still powerful and had many users spread out through the Britten Alliance Kingdom. There were also mercenaries partic.i.p.ating in Fort Odin’s protection for the compensation and quests.

“Drop the oil here!”

“There should also be some arrow support.”

Fort Odin was busy competing with the Embinyu Church. It was risky for the Cloud Guild to have anything else taken away so they definitely had to defend Fort Odin. They organized a defense army but the Embinyu Church’s early offensive wasn’t easy. The crazy thrust by the fanatics was different from a normal siege and couldn’t help causing fear.

“War! The Embinyu Church is invading Fort Odin.”

“Is it possible for them to take over the impregnable Fort Odin?”

“Right now that is just the advance party of the Embinyu Church.”

The audience ratings were so high that three stations were doing live broadcasts. While the advance party was attacking for 4 hours, the Embinyu Church’s main army filled the plains. A mammoth was also rallied to break the walls.

“d.a.m.n. This won’t be easy.”

“Fight until your sword is broken!”

The users in Fort Odin became tense as they headed out to the field. Defending the walls during a siege seemed comfortable but it wasn’t like that. The advance of a large force meant they could be stuck in the fort for days. There was also the fear of being killed.

“We have to fight until the end.”

“I’ve been prepared for death since I started defending Fort Odin.”

The Cloud Guild poured a majority of power into this but morale wasn’t high after their recent defeat.

Suddenly the ground started to shake. A natural disaster like an earthquake rarely occurred on the Versailles Continent. But a quake had never occurred at Fort Odin. There was also no mention of earthquakes in the history books. Yet the ground was shaking so violently it was hard to stand up. This earthquake was fearful from a beginner or ordinary user’s point of view.

Kugugugugung.

A mountain started emerging in the centre of the Embinyu Church’s main army. The demons and fanatics fell down, leaving the walls of Fort Odin naked. Some of them died but the crowd couldn’t cheer.

A 400 metre rocky mountain had emerged in dozens of seconds. This alone was a strange magic! A 400 metre high mountain had appeared on a flat plain so it wasn’t something small. There was even a natural lake on top of the mountain.

“What the h.e.l.l?”

“Why did a mountain like that appear in the heart of the Embinyu’s army?”

“It is really lucky.”

Kwarururururung!

The land around the rocky mountain started shaking again. This shaking was quite intense and caused the users and soldiers of Fort Odin to sit on the ground. The atmosphere seemed like something could explode at any moment.

“W-what?”

“I just don’t think it is just an earthquake.”

“Smoke is showing from the top of the mountain. Isn’t the shaking also coming from there?”

“Huck! If this is a volcano…..”

And after a while, the mountain really exploded. Smoke was emitted before a colossal pillar of fire soared in to the sky with a roar.

A volcanic eruption.

Rock debris and lava flew all over the place. A volcanic eruption common in the Jigolaths had occurred in the Britten Alliance Kingdom!

“Kyaaaak!”

“Get down!”

People instinctively screamed.

“It will unconditionally splash everywhere!”

And there were people whose judgement was ahead of the situation. Many users watching were fearful and amazed. This sight was difficult to see no matter how much money they paid.

Yet a volcanic eruption happened to occur in the middle of the Embinyu Church’s army. Lava and stones fell down and struck the army. The hot heat could be felt from Fort Odin and the sky turned black due to the volcanic ash.

It was a small mountain compared to others but there was an excessive amount of lava flowing out. The lava and hot gases. .h.i.t the ground near the volcano. Demons ran back and forth but they were burnt whole and turned into grey ash. Even the knights and cavalry troops with tremendous combat ability couldn’t avoid the disaster.

The speech of the broadcasters became faster as this situation occurred out of the blue.

“Ah, the Embinyu troops attacking Fort Odin has received large damage. What is this volcanic eruption that suddenly took place?”

“It is possible to guess a little bit. The Cloud Guild must have prepared it.”

“Then couldn’t they have done it earlier with the Hermes Guild? Maybe they recently acquired a relic with the magic… It is too enormous.”

“How astonis.h.i.+ng! That just shook the sky and the land.”

“I have well informed sources within the Cloud Guild but I never heard of such preparations. It wasn’t going to be used against other players so why would they conceal it?”

“As you can see on the broadcast, even the members from the Cloud Guild are stunned to see the eruption.”

“Then who is a person who can cause a volcano to erupt?”

The sky was dark due to volcanic ash. The lava flew up high. Wings spread open and a wyvern appeared with a person on it. This person was the one who most players wanted to meet in Royal Road, Weed the G.o.d of War.

Weed held his Daemon Sword while approaching on Wy-3.

“Weed! I knew it was Weed.”

The studios made a fuss.

Appearing between the flowing lava on a wyvern. A more attractive appearance couldn’t be made.

“Kuwaaaaah!”

“The G.o.d of War is helping us!”

A dramatic victory atmosphere appeared in Fort Odin as they cried out. Of course their situation was different from Weed because they were observing from a distant place.

“Ya! Left, the left! Lava is going to emerge there.”

“Keeeek!”

“This time fold back your wings. Lava will be breaking out from those creva.s.ses. Be careful near there!”

They narrowly avoided the lava gus.h.i.+ng out from the volcano.

Wy-3 released urgent movements while shrieking with a pale face. What sin did it do to meet an owner like this?

“The wyvern is awesome.”

“Too cool.”

“The shrieking really sounds gruesome and terrifying.”

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Yurin always heard rumours about Weed when travelling with Picture Movement. She heard talk about Weed even when she didn’t go to any villages or cities. Whole cities were noisy about a big battle between prestigious guilds but there was an almost manic atmosphere around Weed’s adventures.

Whether they were guests inside taverns or users going hunting and adventuring. Many users had high levels worth bragging about but Weed was a hero to them.

‘I wonder what Oppa is doing today.’

Yurin went to a river flowing through a city and took out her fis.h.i.+ng rod. Every time she tried to enjoy the fis.h.i.+ng skill that Zephyr taught her but it was boring. She wore a wide, yellow hat and paint splattered clothing to go fis.h.i.+ng!

‘Oppa is doing well.’

Yurin didn’t worry about Weed. He was a person who would like being alone on a desert island because everything was free! The flora and fauna on the island would become pitiful.

She was curious about the type of women Weed would meet. Because that person might become her elder sister.

‘Hwaryeong unni is good.’

The first candidate was Hwaryeong who was often in his party. She was very attractive and didn’t hide that she had a crush on Weed. Yurin once asked Hwaryeong why she liked Weed.

“Weed-nim is domestic. He does laundry, cleans and also makes good rice. The flavour of the steam crab the other day was perfect!”

Of course, liking his domestic side wasn’t the entire reason but it was a huge portion of it for Hwaryeong.

Yurin also had a woman’s intuition about Seo-yoon. Rumours spread at university about Seo-yoon and it was confirmed after she moved next door. Yurin rarely felt like she was lacking in appearance but it was like a G.o.d made Seo-yoon’s beauty.

‘That face is really… She can meet foreign actors and even royalty with it.’

She wondered why Seo-yoon was so interested in Weed that she would even make boxed lunches.

‘I heard rumours about blackmail.’

Even his little sister doubted the relations.h.i.+p between the two of them. When Yurin met them in Morata, her brother looked very plain next to Seo-yoon. Then Seo-yoon spoke in a clear voice.

“I’m not living off a man’s looks.”

However it still didn’t make sense to Yurin. Objectively it wasn’t just his appearance but other parts as well. Seo-yoon had a higher level than him in Royal Road. Seo-yoon wasn’t inferior in any areas.

“What if you get married later but Oppa can’t get a job and just plays at home?”

“Money? I will earn it.”

“Things that require strength.”

“A woman can also do that.”

“Even giving birth to children?”

“I have to bring them up well.”

“……”

Yurin could only nod. She had so many things to say but nothing came out. She felt like Seo-yoon was too pitiful.

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“Here is the amount promised.”

“Huhu, I had no doubt.”

Weed meet a messenger from the guild to receive payment for a contract. It wasn’t worth inflicting Great Disaster Nature Sculpting on the Embinyu Church for free. He made contact with the guild suffering from the Embinyu Church and the Cloud Guild quickly accept his offer.

His task at Fort Odin had been completed successfully. The Embinyu Church’s army suffered huge damage from the eruption and their moral was shattered. The Cloud Guild didn’t miss this opportunity and left the gate to destroy the Embinyu Church’s troops.

Weed also killed 100 Dark Knights while riding Wy-3. The morale of the soldiers increased every time the wyvern appeared above the battlefield. The Embinyu Church’s army became incoherent and scattered so the Britten Alliance Kingdom didn’t have to worry about them for the moment. The great victory was broadcasted and the Cloud Guild could regain its confidence.

Weed’s cloak fluttered as he got on Wy-3.

“Huhuhu, then next…..”

“Excuse me, please wait a moment.”

“Huh?”

“There is a mountain in front of Fort Odin. I hope you get rid of it before you go.”

The former 400 metre mountain had increased to 890 metres after the explosion. Lava still simmered and smoke rose so it looked dangerous.

“The mountain is good for your health. People should live close to a mountain.”

“What are you saying now….”

“Wy-3, let’s go. Hiyah!”

“……”