5.

The Alliance's command was not foolish. They might not be the same war heroes who brought down the Empire, but they were still commanders who had distinguished themselves in the war against it. Though panicked, they quickly regained their senses.

"Unleash the magic!"

"Fire the arrows!"

The 200,000-strong army was gathered from various nations. The kingdoms that showed such unity hadn't just put together a token force; they had gathered their strength to take the lead in defeating the imperial remnants. In particular, those gathered at Erda Gorge were from kingdoms that hadn't achieved much distinction in the war. If they didn't want to be mistaken for imperial sympathizers, they had to show their utmost effort in crushing them.

Thus, a considerable number of mages were mixed into the army. They, too, were not immune to the bizarre phenomenon of vomiting blood and dying, so their numbers had decreased, but the spells they cast still streaked across the sky and flew towards the mist. A storm of arrows followed, embroidering the heavens.

'KABOOM!'

Magic and arrows exploded with enough force to collapse the gorge itself. But the Allied Forces did not relent. The attacks were powerful and numerous enough to have already killed anyone they hit, yet the assault on the gorge was relentless. It was a fervor born of desperation, a struggle to eliminate their own fear.

The attack continued for some time. Just when the thought that this might be the end of the black magic's terror began to surface, the offensive waned. Mana was depleted. Arrows were spent. After an offensive lasting over ten minutes, the battlefield erupted in cheers at the considerably thinned smoke.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"We won!"

"We defeated the black magic user!"

Even though nothing had been confirmed, morale soared simply because the smoke had thinned. It was an extreme example of how much the soldiers had feared and trembled. The command let the cheers ring out. Whatever had happened, it was impossible for the Imperial Army to have escaped that attack unscathed.

That was the beginning of the second act.

"Kegh!"

"Ugh!"

A third wave of soldiers died suddenly. This time, that wasn't the end of it.

A beautiful harp melody echoed across the battlefield, which was once again filled with chaos. Woven into the melody was a story sung by a single, beautiful voice. The performance was quite long. Even amidst the turmoil, the Allied soldiers couldn't help but search blankly for the source of the sound, captivated by the song that tickled their ears.

Finding the gorge wasn't difficult. The sound echoing from the narrow passage grew closer and closer.

And the moment the sound emerged from the gorge…

'Thump! Thump!'

The sound of unified footsteps began to dominate the wide battlefield.

Four hundred knights, with Callis at the lead. As they emerged from the thinning black smoke, every one of their swords was cloaked in a shimmering aura.

Not a single word was spoken. Yet, each unhesitating step landed with the crushing weight of a cavalry charge.

'Thud! Thud!'

From the center of the formation, the princess emerged, playing her harp—a vision like the dazzling descent of a goddess.

The Allied Forces finally understood.

"She must have made a pact with the demons!" one soldier shrieked.

"A-aagh! Save me!" screamed another.

A mere four hundred imperial soldiers sprang an elaborate trap—a ruse to sacrifice the 200,000-strong Allied Forces just to summon demons.

The soldiers began to back away.

"Do not retreat—!"

* * *

"Fight!"

"Strike down the forces of evil!" the commanders bellowed, but it was too late. The morale of the crumbling army was beyond recovery.

"Run!"

"I don't want to die!"

It wasn't the four hundred knights advancing like an unbreakable shield that terrified them. While their presence was indeed overwhelming, the soldiers' minds were consumed by the image of their comrades vomiting blood and dying.

Soldiers, knights, mages, priests—it made no difference. They didn't even know the cause; they could only pray they wouldn't be next. How could they fight, not knowing when they might be the next to start coughing up their own lifeblood?

A battle against demons could at least be framed as a glorious death. But to die from some unknown black magic, choking on your own blood? It was a dog's death.

A path opened through their ranks as if by design. A merciless volley was unleashed on the deserters, but it was like trying to patch a shattered dam.

The Imperial Army seized the opening. Rather than engaging the Allied Forces head-on, they exploited the chaos to push forward along their intended route.

The Allied Forces couldn't pursue. They had seen with their own eyes how the few troops who dared to resist were effortlessly swept away by the might of the First Imperial Knight Division, empowered by the princess's buffs.

The battle was over. A mere 400 Imperial soldiers had utterly routed the 200,000-strong Allied Forces.

Kim Buja slipped in behind them, following at a discreet distance.

* * *

Breaking away from the allied ranks had been easy. All he had to do was shed his armor and head for the mountains. Tracking the princess was no trouble either; with his navigation active, there was no need to rush.

[You have completed 'Gold Mission Chapter 1-3'.]

More importantly, there was no real need to follow her at all. He could return to reality whenever he pleased.

And so, upon reaching a lakeside waterfall deep in the mountains where not even deserters could be found, Kim Buja dove straight into the water. The icy shock jolted his body, the chill snapping his mind awake.

"Phew."

He lay back on a massive rock beneath the falls, sighing against the wave of emptiness that washed over him.

In the end, he'd done it.

And it had been easy. The Gold Shop, at a glance, looked like a simple class-exclusive shop selling miscellaneous goods, but it was actually a skill that required reaching VIP Level 3 just to activate its first level.

A skill exclusive to a Legendary Class. How could he fail when a shop that sold everything also provided services that streamlined a player's every convenience?

This Gold Mission was the first time Kim Buja truly understood the sheer, game-breaking power of the Gold Shop—and what he was capable of if he put his mind to it.

Of course, the conditions had been perfect. He had moved freely among the Allied Forces without suspicion, carried sacks of bread for food distribution, and used the Gold Shop to add a colorless, odorless poison—with the added option of adjustable digestion time—to identical sacks of bread.

It had cost a hefty 100 gold per sack, but the chaos it sowed on the battlefield was worth far more.

It was flawless. The princess had staged the performance exactly as he'd instructed, transforming a simple case of food poisoning into what looked like a terrifying display of black magic. It was so perfect that, even now, he was certain no one could find a flaw. A video of it would have easily cleared 300 million views.

The only problem was the mental toll.

'Fuck.'

It was his first time killing. And he'd experienced it as a massacre, taking at least ten thousand lives by his own rough estimate.

He knew this wasn't reality. He knew he shouldn't treat it as such. He had always told himself that if something similar happened in the real world, he wouldn't hesitate to do what was necessary if his life was on the line.

The same logic applied here. Whichever side you chose, hesitation meant death. A quest failure. He had no desire to test those consequences.

But there was an unavoidable chasm between that resolve and the emotional turmoil that followed. He wasn't about to put on some two-faced act, claiming he'd carry this burden forever or live a life of repentance. The feeling came from a simple fact: he had seen this place not as a mere game, but as another world.

"Haah."

Exhaling made him feel a little better.

This changed nothing. Whether this was reality or just a world that felt like it, the Imperial Army had survived. That was the only conclusion. Guilt wouldn't make his actions right, and he hadn't done it to be righteous in the first place.

'This is so fucked up.'

He had to accept it as the consequence of that minuscule distinction between a game and a game-like reality. He hadn't hesitated for a second when buying the poisoned bread from the Gold Shop. To agonize over it now would be the greater hypocrisy.

He would just have to carry the lingering discomfort. He would get used to it, eventually. Just like that first time in a dungeon, when he'd pierced a monster's hide, been sprayed with its blood, and mercilessly carved out its heart.

He decided to wrap up the Gold Mission and head back.

'Flash!'

His vision flickered, and the world vanished as if it had all been a dream.

6.

About two weeks later, Jeong Seora got word that Kim Buja had returned and went straight to his house. She opened the door, ready to tell him about the new hologram announcing the upcoming international competition, but was met instead by Kim Buja pulling her into an embrace with a bitter smile on his face.

She had never seen him like this. Instead of asking, she simply patted his back. He hugged her even tighter.

She had a good idea of what had happened. It was something every player went through at least once.

"For me, it was right after I awakened," she said softly. "I'd just finished the tutorial and hit 2-star before my dad did. I was so eager to try a 2-star dungeon that I joined the first party I could find. That was the first time I met humans who were no different from monsters. Two of them just... turned into beasts. Thankfully, I'd dealt with that kind of thing a lot in games, so I wasn't completely humiliated. But it left a scar I'll never forget."

More players than one might think abused the power they were given. They seemed to forget that inside a dungeon, everyone was equal. They grew stronger, but they still carried the same prejudices they'd had as ordinary people.

"I thought I'd never get over it, but it faded faster than I expected. The next day, after the dungeon disappeared, it all felt like a dream. And after I killed about thirty monsters that day, I started to wonder what the real difference was. That's just how players are."

Jeong Seora didn't offer empty comfort. That would be a luxury. The outcome wouldn't change. All that mattered was your conviction. As long as you held fast to what you believed was right, that was enough.

"Thank you," Kim Buja said with a small laugh, taking a step back. "I'm fine, but I'm also not. It's a goddamn world that feels like a game but isn't."

"But you still think of it as a game, don't you?"

"Probably," he said with a shrug. "That's why I could do it so nonchalantly." He briefly summarized the events of the chapter for her. When he finished, Jeong Seora looked momentarily stunned.

"I was wondering why you, of all people, would feel that way after everything you've been through. But now it makes sense."

"I never realized how brutal war could be from playing games, but this was different."

"There will be more wars to come, won't there?"

"I might even have to fight demons," he said.

"Wow!" The topic shifted, and the mood lightened. "That princess sounds amazing. If a bard is that capable, I'd want to recruit her for the guild."

"The signing bonus would probably be a few Legendary items, don't you think?"

"Can you get us a friends-and-family discount?" she teased.

"I'll see what I can do."

And that was that.

"By the way, did you get caught in the rain?" she asked, noticing his state. "You're not wearing anything."

"Ah! That's a condition of travelling from here and there. I forgot. My apologies. Now your clothes are all wet because of me. I had a hot bath drawn..."

"It's fine, I have spare clothes here. You go get cleaned up."

"Tsk."

The third chapter of the Gold Mission was...

* * *

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