Chapter 119: Dance with the Moonlight (1)

“...What is this?” Kai mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

From his arms, Ayana quickly answered, “It's Ayana.”

“No, I know that, but...”

Kai gave an awkward smile and then looked at the system log once more.

I understand getting the Saint of Whitehall title and the increase in Benevolence stats.

He had experienced a similar situation when he defeated Fermi and saved the residents of Glendale. But what surprised Kai was the next message that popped up.

Poetic Justice? What is this...

His Benevolence stats had increased by a whopping 25 due to the Poetic Justice effect!

After a moment of calculation, Kai's mouth dropped open.

So, then, I got a total of 40 Benevolence stats this time?

He hurriedly opened his stats window.

[Kai]

Class: Solaris Cleric

Level: 123

Title: Envoy of God

HP: 33,700

Holy Power: 40,100

Stats

Strength: 457 Stamina: 337

Intelligence: 278 Agility: 252

Holiness: 401 Dignity: 249

Benevolence: 158

Remaining Stats: 105

Poison Resistance +30

Magic Defense +70%

All Attack Power +6%

All Speed +6%

“

Whoa

...”

It was true. He really saw the increase of 40 Benevolence stats with his own eyes.

But why is Dignity at 249?

As far as he remembered, before defeating Aosa, it was 179.

The Slayer of Aosa title raised all stats by 15, and the Benevolence stats increased by 40...

So it should be 219, but why was it up by an additional 30 points?

Pondering over this, Kai let out a short exclamation and opened the title book.

[

Saint of Whitehall

]

Rank: Special

Description: A title given to those who saved the city's residents with unwavering justice.

Dignity +30

+15% effectiveness of all skills consuming Holy Power (This effect remains even when title is unequipped.)

“Of course. This was it.”

The effects of this Saint title were very similar to those of the Saint of Glendale title.

Having one Saint title is something, but having two is something that can't be ignored.

The difference between a 10% and a 25% increase in the efficiency of main skills was like night and day.

The stat increase of Supernova alone is incomparable to before.

The skill alone increased from 30 to 38.

And considering buffs, heals, and skills like Holy Chains...

It truly had a tremendous effect!

Bach approached him as Kai was looking at his stat window, surrounded by the crowd.

“Then I'll be on my way now.”

“

Huh

? You’re leaving already?”

“My assigned task is complete,” Bach said calmly with an expressionless face.

Kai glanced around the ruined streets and asked, “Then what will happen to this city now?”

“A new lord will be appointed. Soon, reconstruction of the city will begin.”

“I hope a good lord comes this time.”

“His Majesty is a prudent man, so there is no need to worry.”

His loyalty was truly remarkable.

Kai looked at Bach for a moment and then bowed his head. “Thank you for your help today. I probably couldn't have driven out the lord so easily on my own.”

That wasn’t humility but a clear fact. At Kai's current level, it would be tough to handle over thirty knights. Especially now, with his abilities crippled by exhaustion and debuffs.

“I was merely following His Majesty’s orders, so give your thanks to him.”

“Of course, but I'm grateful to you too. Oh! And about the sword technique you showed earlier. My level is too low to fully understand it, but it was a great learning experience. Thank you for that as well.”

“...That too was His Majesty’s order.”

Loyal to the core, Bach repeated the same phrase like a parrot. Even so, the residents expressed their gratitude to him.

“Thank you, handsome knight!”

“I heard you took down all of Whitehall’s knights by yourself! Thank you so much!”

“Those guys always took bread from our shop without paying!”

“Marry me!”

“Oppa!”

“W-what... I-I...”

Bach was more flustered than when facing the thirty knights. His ears were red.

Seeing him so embarrassed, Kai stepped beside him and shouted, “Sorry, but could you please clear the way? This man here is quite busy and needs to return!”

“

Hm

? I guess that would be true...”

“With such outstanding abilities, he would make a living anywhere.”

“Plus, he's a knight, right? He must be busy.”

“And since the cleric is asking so nicely...”

Murmurs filled the crowd. Then, the seemingly impenetrable crowd parted as if by miracle at Kai’s smiling request. It was like witnessing Moses parting the Red Sea!

As they passed through the crowd and entered the alley, Bach said with genuine gratitude, “Thank you for saving me.”

“...

Huh

, saving you? They were all just grateful to you.”

“I’m not really used to such things...”

Kai chuckled at seeing Bach's endearing side. “That’s a bit surprising. I thought someone as strong as you wouldn't have any weaknesses.”

“Here’s a piece of advice. There’s no one in this world without weaknesses. Keep that in mind always.”

“Yes... I don’t think I’ll ever forget now,” Kai shrugged and laughed.

Then, Bach awkwardly pulled out a teleport scroll.

Before tearing it, he glanced at Kai.

“...Once you’re confident in your skills, come find me. I’ll spar with you at least once.”

“

Huh

? Really? That would be an honor!”

“Until we meet again,” Bach said, and tore the teleport scroll as if fleeing.

“...Someone’s embarrassed.”

Bach had seemed impenetrable but he was evidently weak to praise and gratitude!

Kai clenched his fists tightly as he watched Bach's departure.

Anyway, getting a one-on-one sparring session with a sword master is awesome.

It was an opportunity that other sword-wielding players would pay a fortune for.

But it would be best to raise my swordsmanship to at least an advanced level before going.

As the saying went, one saw as much as they knew. The rewards one could obtain from the same situation varied greatly depending on the player's level and abilities.

After pondering for a moment, Kai smiled.

Then, the first thing to do is...

***

Michael Reynold, one of the top video editors, slammed his third can of Red Bull of the day onto his desk.

“

Ugh

... Finished another one... but it never ends... The workload just doesn’t decrease at all...”

He had just finished a project and had deep dark circles under his eyes; he felt like he was going insane.

All the same concepts, same videos, same angles, same BGM... Should I start being more selective with clients?

It was a thought that had been bothering him lately. Of course, having an abundance of work as a freelancer was a good thing. However, Michael, who considered himself an artist, was mentally and physically exhausted from the repetitive work.

“

Ugh

... I just want to spend the money I’ve saved... but if I bail on the schedule, I’ll have to pay a penalty fee, so I can’t...”

He sighed deeply and logged into the

MID Online

community to browse the video category.

Phew, at least I’m still good at what I do.

Among the top ten popular videos, five had been edited by him!

As he smiled contentedly, he heard a familiar notification sound.

Ping!

[You have new mail.]

“

Ugh

... More work?”

Furrowing his brows, he clicked on the email inbox while praying.

Please be spam, please be spam, please be spam...

Unfortunately, it was a very legitimate job request email. However, his face lit up with excitement as he read the email.

“Yes, finally!”

Michael shot up from his seat, clenching his fist in celebration.

I was worried he might have gone to someone else since he hadn't sent anything for a while... But that wasn’t the case.

Michael joyfully downloaded Unknown's video.

“Let’s see, the request is...

Hahaha

!”

He burst into laughter as he read the email's request: “As fast as you can. Awesome Please.”

“

Bahaha

, I’m certain Unknown is terrible at English.”

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Michael focused on his monitor.

“Alright, let’s put my imagination to work once more.”

Excitement that he hadn’t felt while editing other videos recently made his heart race.

Then, like a top chef pondering what dish to create today, he began to carefully review the fresh material Unknown had sent.

***

Strike while the iron is hot, and strike it twice.

That was a saying that had stuck with Han Jung-Woo since his parents had drilled it into his ears.

“I’ve sent the video request...”

He had showered and eaten, so with all his tasks done, he logged onto the

MID Online

strategy site.

Naturally, the community was hot with talk about Aosa.

Oh, my name is mentioned too. Well, that’s not surprising.

By the time of the battle, Blizzard had already been equipped with the Armor of the Undead set, but screenshots of Blizzard fighting Aosa had been posted on the community.

Of course, this led to another argument within it.

Do these guys have nothing better to do than argue here all the time?

Han Jung-Woo smirked as he began to leisurely read through the comments.

-Unknown defeated Aosa? That's something even a passing dog wouldn't believe.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

└ I'm a passing dog, and I believe it. Woof woof!

-Does that even make sense? What do you think Unknown's level is right now? At best, probably around 105.

-No, guys. There's already proof screenshots, so why are you saying nonsense?

└ Where's the proof? Did Unknown take a selfie on top of Aosa's corpse?

└ There's a screenshot of Unknown fighting Aosa.

└ Yeah, next photoshopped photo please~

└ But why are you speaking so rudely? What's your level?

-But according to people at the scene, Unknown got beaten up and quickly dropped out of the fight.

└ I heard that rumor too. Apparently some player in dragon armor defeated Aosa.

“

Hmm

. The rumors are quite specific,” Han Jung-Woo unconsciously nodded.

After all, Whitehall wasn't a small village like Frica but a large city with 30,000 NPCs. That meant there were plenty of quests and many players using it as a base.

And there were quite a few players watching when I defeated Aosa.

Such rumors spreading wasn't bad for him. It was a form of noise marketing.

This turned out to be interesting, even if it wasn’t intentional.

Watching players argue while comparing him to Blizzard was so absurd it left him speechless!

Han Jung-Woo glanced at the clock.

“Now that it's morning in the game... players who logged out at the inn should be waking up.”

And they would witness the devastated cityscape, including the square, reduced to rubble overnight. He didn't need to see their reactions to know what they would think.

“

Haha

. They must be dying of curiosity.”

They would wonder how an individual could raid a boss monster alone, and how someone could fight so fiercely to turn the city into such a battlefield.

Many of Unknown's fans were already waiting for him to release a video to prove he did it.

Noise marketing really does make money.

Han Jung-Woo smirked as he looked at the list of donations on the community. Donations were pouring in, asking him to upload the video as soon as possible.

I didn’t expect so many people to throw money at this even before it's confirmed that Unknown did it.

And it wasn’t just a few people. The world was vast, there were many people, and plenty of them had money!

The longer this lasts, the better for me.

Of course, dragging it out too long could backfire. In other words, he needed to balance the push and pull very well.

“Hope you finish it soon. Hang in there, Michael.”

Stretching and making a carefree comment, Han Jung-Woo headed straight to bed. Without a break after the battle with Aosa, meeting King Beoruk, and ousting the pig lord, it had been a continuous march.

I deserve to rest. Ahh...

In an officetel in Cheongdam-dong, the player the world was starting to notice slept soundly.

Seven hours later, the video editor on the other side of the globe completed his life's masterpiece.