Both of them were still completely human. From today’s check, all the villagers had already completed their Awakening and manifested into their races. Since none of them had lost “Easy,” it seemed they were lucky enough that everyone here was still just a beginner.
Elix now was a little different from the Elix of the Beta test. The presence of Daegong was the key difference.
For the current Road Players, no Daegong was given. Originally, even before establishing a village, it was normal to have a Daegong attached. But after falling here, the only one who gained a Daegong was the village head, Kim Gapjun.
Of course, for those who already had an Empire, they already had a Daegong, so it made sense none would newly appear. Sehyun’s case was the same. As for people like Kim Gapjun who had collapsed and lost their Empire—those kinds of people should have had a Daegong from the start, but right now none of them had one.
If it was a matter of Awakening, there was no way to explain Gwak Junghan. Before the village had even been built, he was already Awakened. And yet, he had never received a Daegong.
Kim Gapjun only got his Daegong once the village was established and he rose to the position of head. That meant the operation rules now were different from the Beta test.
In other words, a Daegong only attached to a Road Player, a “king,” who had built a village. Whether that happened before or after Awakening was still unclear, but it was undeniable this meant players’ spheres of activity had grown wider. That was bound to act as a double-edged sword.
Tomorrow was the magic stone expedition. Depending on whether they lived or died, the mood of the village from then on would change.
As expected, the first thing to arrive would be chaos. Village head Kim Gapjun would know this, and the just-Awakened Lee Jaeyoung would also have realized it.
Sehyun let out a long breath, slowly closing his eyes. Maybe the day had been too exhausting, because sleep found him earlier than expected.
It was the third night since he had fallen into Elix.
***
When a king built a village, all the residents born there were called vassals in Elix.
No one knew exactly where the vassals came from. The only thing remembered was that they came through something called the “Gate of Dimensions.” No one had ever questioned it, but now that he had experienced it himself, Sehyun could somewhat guess.
When first establishing a village, the number of vassals given was just five. With those five, a player had to manage the village, develop it, gather resources, and run things frugally.
As the village developed and gained capacity through resource processing or magic stone refining, the capacity for more vassals increased. When the player selected vassal recruitment, then that many new vassals would shuffle out again through the Gate of Dimensions.
The Road Player—namely, the king—could raise the rank of vassals judged to have talent. Billwill’s words, that the weakest race was human, suddenly felt convincing. Most of Elix’s countless races were innately gifted for combat.
Starting from LV.1, most residents began at rank D and then gradually rose higher. But that varied by vassal; talent, ambition, and will all differed, making raising them no easy matter.
So even if a race was innately suited for combat, results varied greatly depending on talent and character, and trust rose at different rates. If forced into things they disliked, one could even face assassination threats.
That was why the higher the rank, the more important it was to judge each vassal’s personality and tendencies. And discerning that was entirely the king’s responsibility. This was what made Elix difficult: recognizing each vassal’s tastes, character, and talent, and raising them accordingly.
The reason vassals had to be raised by leveling up was because of the “Tower,” the single most crucial element within the village.
The Tower was directly tied to the village’s livelihood. But since the Tower was filled with all sorts of monsters and dangers, it was impossible to raid without battle-ready classes. That was why the king had to select and arrange vassals with great care before deploying them.
And Kim Gapjun knew this very well. That was why he would have composed the first squad entirely of the strongest combat types. And he would have known better than anyone that sacrifices would be inevitable.
They did not know each other’s abilities, and none of them had trained together. Having never worked in sync, their situation must have been even more disastrous. Or else, perhaps fear had left them unable to act at all.
Tragically, of the squad that went to the Tower in the morning to secure magic stones, only one person came back alive.
As expected, the village fell into grief, sorrow, and confusion. Just yesterday, people had been showing eagerness, saying they would adapt and survive. But today, that was all gone.
Many skipped dinner. Some even went to the village head, weeping and begging to be spared from the magic stone squad.
“…So this is how it is?”
At Gwak Junghan’s hard voice, Sehyun nodded as he spooned up thin gruel tasting of vinegar. Perhaps realizing the severity, Lee Jaeyoung ate silently today, too. Everywhere, the sound of sobbing could be heard.
“Sehyun-ssi… did you know? That those people would die?”
“I knew it would be difficult for them to come back intact.”
“Then why didn’t you stop them? You could have…”
“If I had stopped them?”
Sehyun set down his empty bowl. He could feel Baek Dohyun’s and Lee Jaeyoung’s gazes. At least, compared to others, these people were calmer.
“Even if I tried to stop them, that wouldn’t mean they wouldn’t go. If I had tried, the one who wouldn’t have returned today would have been me. You seem to forget, Gwak Junghan-ssi. I am also part of the magic stone squad.”
“……”
“And the magic stone squad, or the raiding squad, is extremely important work. You can’t stop it, and you can’t refuse it. That D-rank magic stone the survivor brought back—no matter how it looks, it’s worth more than ten of my lives.”
Gwak Junghan lowered his head. About to say more, Sehyun only sighed and looked at Kim Gapjun, who was walking into the square with a resolute expression. He must have finally decided the magic stone’s use.
“Just watch. Once you see, you’ll understand. Why we had no choice but to accept the sacrifice.”
As Sehyun stood, Lee Jaeyoung hurriedly gulped down his porridge and jumped up, too.
Annoying as it was to admit, Kim Gapjun was actually quite clever. He had some sense in operating a village, and he knew how to run things effectively. This was why experience could not be underestimated.
So this time, too, Sehyun chose to trust him. To hope he had made the right choice.
[D-rank magic stone is used to expand buildings. A sacred energy begins to flow.]
[Training Hall (LV.1), Weapon Refinery (LV.1), and Ability Development Hall (LV.1) have been expanded.]
What Kim Gapjun had chosen were the hero-training facilities essential for raiding the Tower.
The villagers, holding their breath, widened their eyes. The buildings wrapped in blue light expanded massively at one side of the village, their forms revealed at last—solid stone constructions.
“From tomorrow, everyone will go through the Ability Development Hall for three hours of training daily. Don’t come whining to me—if you want to live, then build up the power to keep your life! And anyone who grabs at my legs tomorrow will all be assigned to the magic stone squad, so keep that in mind!”
Kim Gapjun’s eyes were bloodshot as well. With a sullen face, he turned his back and headed home. The weak-hearted could never be kings.
If Gwak Junghan had become the head… Sehyun shook his head, breaking from his thoughts.
“You can probably guess what the Training Hall and Weapon Refinery are… I’ll just explain the Ability Development Hall. It’s a place where you strengthen acquired skills or simulate battles to obtain good ones.”
“…This was the head’s choice?”
Sehyun knew the anger in Gwak Junghan’s voice. To his eyes, those facilities would look like nothing more than ways to drive people to their deaths. To his eyes, all the villagers would only appear weak and fragile.
“Gwak Junghan-ssi. I don’t know about the rest, but let me just say one thing.”
“Do you really think this is the right path? Just like that village head?”
“If you had become the head instead of Kim Gapjun, we wouldn’t have survived even a week.”
“…What do you mean?”
“That it was the right choice.”
The answer came from elsewhere. Baek Dohyun, sword on his shoulder, spoke as he looked at the Training Hall, siding with Sehyun.
“Your head is full of flowers, that’s why you’re blinded by things like justice. If you’d thought even a little about why the Misty Forest leaves the village safe, why the beasts never touch it, you wouldn’t be whining about justice now.”
“Yeah, you fish bastard! Don’t yap at my brother when you don’t know shit!”
Gwak Junghan’s brow twitched. The air chilled instantly, heavy with suffocation.
“Justice… I admit there’s much I don’t know. But Baek Dohyun-ssi, have you ever once given me a hint? Tossed me anything at all before saying things like this?”
“Why would I? If you’re born with it, you should know enough to pick such things up on your own.”
It looked like a fight was about to break out. Sehyun wasn’t worried about them, but about Lee Jaeyoung staring at them wide-eyed in front.
With a sigh, Sehyun pulled Jaeyoung behind him. Then he stepped between the two men, baring their teeth at each other, and stopped them.