Chapter 417. Organizing
The one who benefitted the most from the recent war was the Sernitas. All the other factions suffered considerable damage, while the Sernitas lost only one Sky Castle. Nevertheless, humanity and the Cassiubia League had won in the end, while the Sernitas had lost. And the fact was that humanity and the League not only survived but rose victorious in a war considered unwinnable. Thus, they were naturally beside themselves and thought they were living in a dream.
But considering that they had gone through such a miraculous victory, the atmosphere at Shalyh was surprisingly quiet and non-celebratory. It was because the damages the League and humanity had suffered were too great for them to think about rejoicing and throwing a festival. And though they didn’t lose as much as the Demon Empire, it could be said that they lost almost half their original forces.
More than half of the troops who left Shalyh to defend the last gate had died, and the number of casualties surpassed 70%. More than 50% of members of humanity were killed in this war, and thousands of heroes who saved worlds on other planets met their end on Liber. Thinking of the many valuable and precious lives lost, people couldn’t simply rejoice. Still, it wasn’t all that bad.
Those who survived held a ceremonial funeral for those who had passed away and worked eagerly to restore the city. And the biggest change that arose from the war was the relationship between humanity and the Cassiubia League. The two groups had fought back-to-back with their lives on the line, overcame a great danger together, and won. Thus, it was only inevitable that the bond between them would’ve grown deeper than before. A big factor in this change was their changed perception of their realities.
Before facing the coalition army, Chi-Woo had told them that they needed to show strength and courage; and to do so, they needed to have hope. Such words became reality now that they had overcome the worst enemy possible—the coalition of the Sernitas, the Abyss, and the Demon Empire. Now, they no longer asked, ‘Can we possibly accomplish that?’ They had already proven with results that they could. Though it was a victory they gained with great bloodshed and countless losses, it gave them a new sense of confidence they had never had before.
One could see this change in the residents of the city. People who had lived day-to-day for simple survival now looked noticeably brighter. They now hoped and expected Liber to return to how it had been before, and the previous event seemed to prove that the World hadn’t died and was instead coming alive. Of course, these were all rewards that were not yet noticeable at a glance. They would only truly come to light as these changes took firmer shape over time.
Nevertheless, most naturally thought there should be a noticeably large reward after overcoming such a great ordeal, and it was easy to guess to whom the biggest reward went.
***
A studious student was rewarded with good grades. For an employee who showed great achievements, they were rewarded with salary raise, bonuses, and promotions. Thus, for those who made splendid achievements in this war on Liber, what reward would they get? The answer was merits. Depending on how influential their action was in bringing about Liber’s salvation, they accumulated more merits. Then, they could offer the merits to the god they served and receive greater power in exchange. Thus, for those using the growth system, war was a huge growth opportunity. Considering how great and influential this war was, it was evident that those who survived this war would grow stronger. Chi-Woo was no exception.
After going outside to help with the restoration project in Shalyh, Chi-Woo had to run back to the Seven Stars headquarters after only five minutes. It was because a great commotion arose wherever he went. He was fine with people recognizing him. Though it was a bit embarrassing and awkward, that part was still endurable. But he couldn’t endure it when people raised both arms and cheered that the ‘little legend’ was here.
He didn't know who the heck gave him such an absurd nickname, but it appeared that he would have to refrain from going outside for the time being. Chi-Woo sat in his office and turned on his device. He could sense a change inside himself, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. At times like this, checking his user information was the best way to find out.
‘Let me see…first…hm?’ After carefully reading the user information in the air, Chi-Woo’s eyes stopped on one line, specifically the innate ability section.
[Ab?????? ???????ty EX]
‘A…? What?’ He had had the ability since he first entered Liber. It was his only EX rank ability, and it used to be completely censored with question marks. After using the unknown power inside him a couple of times, the last letters were revealed. Now, after his fight with Bael, the first couple of letters were also revealed. He still didn’t know what the ability could be with only these clues.
“Shit,” then Chi-Woo exclaimed, and his eyes turned wide. He saw that one of his innate abilities, ‘Blessed Luck’, had dropped to 0.
‘What, shit. What the heck?’ Now that he thought about it, he recalled hearing notifications that Deterrence was activating. Without it, there was no way he would have resisted and endured for so long. It seemed that Asha had judged that the situation was too serious and activated Deterrence on their own.
Chi-Woo was able to win the battle thanks to Asha’s quick decisive thinking, but he couldn’t help but cover his face with both hands. The World’s Milestone, Asha’s Deterrence, and the Power to Rule the World were all abilities that he could only activate through Blessed Luck. What if he could never use them again…? It was frightful to even think about it. He lost everything that had helped him overcome the previous crises. Thus, he needed to recover his Blessed Luck as fast as possible.
Fortunately, he had a method in mind, which was to use the Kobalos’ fire pit as he had done before. The problem was that to recover 1 of Blessed Luck, he needed to offer 5 million merits. Thus, in order to replenish it completely, he would need 500 million merits.
‘How many merits do I have? I remember leaving about 100 million.’ Chi-Woo called forth his fostering information while looking nervous. A total of 100 million wouldn’t be enough; he would only be able to restore 20 points of Blessed Luck with that much, and that wasn’t the only thing he had to consider. Right now, Chi-Woo needed to save as many merits as he could in order to upgrade the abilities in his fostering information or his other abilities; and the higher the ranks of the abilities, the more merits he would need.
‘Please, please…’ Chi-Woo prayed inside his mind and checked his remaining merits while chewing his lower lip. Soon, his jaw dropped.
[User Choi Chi-Woo’s merits: 1,079,231,262]
He clenched his eyes shut and opened them again to confirm that the numbers didn’t change. A billion? It was such an astonishingly great amount. The number of merits he gained was several times more than the amount he had received from going back to the past and saving the World. In terms of tiers alone, this was enough for him to rise from Grand Master to Challenger and have more left.
‘With this much…I’ll have 500 million merits left even after restoring Blessed Luck to 100.’ Chi-Woo sighed in relief. Then, he tilted his head curiously. Of course, Chi-Woo believed he had been a key player in this battle, but even considering that, the amount of merits he had gained was almost excessive. After some contemplation, he realized the reason.
‘El Dorado’s Treasure.’
It was one of the special abilities Chi-Woo had gained from the Core of Balance. It added an additional amount of merits on top of the merits he already accumulated as long as he didn’t violate the vow he made to La Bella or acted with immoral intentions. In this war, Chi-Woo had reinstated the balance of powers that existed on Liber, and since this result was exactly in alignment with the vow he had made to La Bella, it appeared that the merits he accumulated had ballooned and multiplied.
‘I should set aside 500 million merits for now, and with the remaining 500 million…’ Chi-Woo did the calculations in his head. Though he had won, he had experienced his powerlessness more times than in any other situation and almost died more than once. The end was merely a new beginning, and likewise, the fact that he had overcome the recent crisis didn’t mean Liber was saved. In the future, there could be a crisis just like this one, or perhaps even greater. When that happened, Chi-Woo didn’t want to struggle as he did this time. He wanted to have the upper hand from the beginning and secure a victory he could expect. And in order to do that, he needed to become much stronger than he was now—for the brother who would surely come back to Shalyh if not anything else.
***
Right after the holy territory was established again and the Sernitas’ Sky Castle crumbled, the Abyss retreated without hesitation. Needless to say, the Demon Empire had no say in this entire process. The Demon Empire was basically used as bait, and unlike the Abyss’ Seven Chasms, who quickly and orderly escaped from the battlefield, the Demon Empire failed to regain order. When they finally realized what was going on, they found themselves in a hopeless situation where they were surrounded by enemies. Unlike the orderly Abyss, the frantic Demon Empire troops became easy targets for humanity and the Cassubia League.
From then on, the Demon Empire couldn’t even hope to escape or forge a path out. Enemies circled them all around and chased them down with the intention of annihilating every last one of them. Even the great demon, Agares, had to abandon his legions to save his life, and he couldn’t sigh in relief even after escaping the holy territory. Humanity and the League chased after him for many days and nights with great bloodthirst. Thus, Agares had to keep running without rest and focused solely on fleeing. In the meantime, the already crumbling Demon Empire’s troops were squashed completely. Only on the fifth day did Agares realize that his enemies had stopped pursuing him.
It was then Agares noticed that he was alone. There was no one around him; no legions nor other great demons or Bael. He felt miserable. They had begun this war with twenty great demons and a great and powerful army. Who would’ve guessed the utter devastation would happen to them because of one battle? Everything was over.
“Urgh…sob, sob….” In the end, Agares couldn’t bear it any longer and burst into tears. The second-ranking great demon in the Demon Empire was crying. Even Agares thought his situation was laughable and pathetic, but he couldn’t hold back his emotions. How could the Demon Empire, which had once established itself as one of the four main factions on Liber, meet such an end? It was as if they had played right into the hands of their enemies. It was then Agares felt a belated sense of regret. He regretted not having listened to Shersha and blamed his past foolishness. But there was no point crying over something that had already happened.
After crying for a long time, Agares finally settled his heart. Still, he didn’t stop feeling miserable. His legs felt weak, and he almost wanted to just collapse to the ground, but he endured. Agares pushed himself to move his legs. The Demon Empire hadn’t fallen yet. They had left the minimum troops to defend their territories, and he thought there would surely be other great demons like him who had survived this war somehow. No, even if there weren’t any, if Bael had realized the situation at the last gate and managed to escape somehow…and if she returned alive, they could form a new faction with her as the center. Of course, they might not be able to recover their full strength, but they would at least be able to survive. And if they continued like that, perhaps an opportunity for them to rebound would find them.
‘Yes, as long as there’s Bael, things could change,’ Agares thought. With this one hope, he forcefully dragged forward the feet that felt more like lead. After staggering forward for a long time, Agares finally reached his destination, and he stopped moving with difficulty. He had reached the Demon Empire’s main base alive. He had come all this way with the determination to revive the Demon Empire. It soon became a certainty and fuel for Agares to keep on going. And now, it was the time for him to confirm what he had been hoping for.
Agares looked toward the Demon Empire’s main base with eyes full of hope that surely more great demons than he expected would’ve survived. “What…” But soon, his face lost all color.
“What… What….”
He looked at a loss for words as he stared blankly at the terrible scene before him. After standing like that for a while, he collapsed to the ground. What hope he had been holding onto crumbled, and it looked like he had instantly lost all meaning in life.
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