I didn’t even have the chance to catch my breath during the intense battle. The number of blades coming at me felt infinite. I shot them down with my Desert Eagle, but they kept coming with no end. It felt like playing a shooting game.

“

Argh…”

I didn’t have the luxury to think about what gift to create because of the barrage of blades. Of course, I thought of a few like Kim Suho’s Sword Saint, Aileen’s Spirit Speech, Yoo Jinwoong’s Berserker, Kwang Won’s Splitting Earth, etc.

However, those powerful gifts required an insane amount of SP. I had nowhere near enough.

[SP: 3,975]

I needed a gift that could help with my current predicament. Something that cost slightly less than four thousand SP. I could think of only one.

[Spirit Stone Master]

The power of a spirit wasn’t a bad gift. Only a handful could use this unique power in the world. It also synchronized well with a gun and bow.

I calmed my breathing and activated bullet time. Then I immediately activated

[Settings Intervention]

while defending myself as time slowed.

[Spirit Stone Master] [Unique]

? Spirit Stone

— A stone filled with a spirit’s power. The user may summon a spirit as long as they possess this stone.

? Master of the Stone

— The user will gain proficiency in handling the Spirit Stone as its master.

I added the restriction,

as long as they possess this stone

, to maximize its power. I also added the effect,

gain proficiency in handling

, so I could use it right away.

[All of your SP has been consumed to create the gift, Spirit Stone Master.]

[Your luck has accumulated for five years and has finally activated!]

[The gift has been greatly improved!]

[The Spirit Stone has grown bigger and its effect has been amplified!]

Thud!

A large rock the size of a meteorite fell from the sky.

“

Ah

, what the fuck is this?”

I cursed without even realizing it. That huge rock would be impossible to carry, so how the hell could this be considered lucky?

However, I didn’t have the luxury to feel wronged as I placed one hand on the Spirit Stone and held the Desert Eagle in the other. I naturally realized how to use the Spirit Stone thanks to the second phrase,

The user will gain proficiency in handling the Spirit Stone as its master

.

I loaded my magazine with the wind spirit and immediately pulled the trigger.

Kabooom!

The bullet infused with the wind spirit penetrated the enemy spells. A blast of air followed the bullet from above and below. This threw off their spells and scattered them throughout the area.

I used this opening to pull my bowstring.

“

Keuk!”

“Argh!”

The

[Dark Ore Arrow]

took down two of them and the bullet’s wind pressure blocked their counterattacks.

The shooting game’s difficulty drastically decreased thanks to the Spirit Stone and this ranged battle slowly tilted in my favor.

“That damned bastard!”

The assailants raged as they gathered their mana to cast another mana wave.

However, I had already prepared a countermeasure for that. I stuck close to the Spirit Stone and transformed my Desert Eagle into a machine gun. Then I pulled the trigger.

Dududududu!

The bullets fanned out and suddenly stopped in mid-air. The ones I shot first paused as more bullets lined up from behind. Then they all zoomed through the air like an inescapable net.

I called it, Land of the Wind. It functioned like the skill Rachel used last time, but I used a gun instead of a sword.

Shwaaaa…

The wind encircled the mana wave. The Spirit Stone released a hot burst of light as its energy dwindled, but managed to sustain itself through sheer size.

“

Keu… Keuk!”

“Ack!”

I shot the arrow again as the mana wave grew weaker. The assailants couldn’t even cast a barrier before I shot them down.

One, two, three, and four… Their numbers rapidly dwindled. Soon, only one of them remained. I used the wind spirit to pull back his hood.

The old man had white hair and wrinkles that roughly told his age and how much he suffered throughout those years.

“…”

I aimed my gun at him before taking out the communication crystal to speak with Rachel, but the old man began spouting nonsense.

“You won’t get anything out of me. Just kill me.”

“Is that so?”

I placed the communication crystal back into my pocket and stared at him.

Did Lancaster brainwash this old man or did he willingly become subservient? Regardless, I had to extract information from him.

“Why do you wish to kill Rachel?”

“Is that even a question? Are you in love with the princess without knowing what happened?”

“No, Rachel is already suffering so much because of it. Can’t you see? She probably remembers your face, who you are, and who you lost in that tragedy.”

The old man seemed to expect such words and lashed back.

“

Ha!

Suffering? What did you say? Remember? I don’t give a damn what she does! I don’t care if she’s going through hell! Can she be in more pain than those that didn’t even have the chance to suffer?”

This man depended on Lancaster’s promise. He probably would’ve swallowed his anger and given up or taken his own life in my original world. However, this world had incredible power. One could always appease their anger or resentment if they offered their souls to a devil. Resentment and revenge abounded in this world for such a reason. Lancaster took advantage of their hatred and became a formidable enemy.

“Still, Rachel has been atoning and suffering for the past twenty years. She’s already pitiful enough. Don’t you think it’s time to at least forgive her?”

“No, only death can be her forgiveness. The princess has to die just like my daughter. No, she has to suffer even more than my daughter when I imagine how… how scared she must’ve been at that place!”

The old man couldn’t finish and began to uncontrollably weep. He looked completely different from a while ago when he continually shot mana at me.

“Is that so?”

I walked towards the weeping old man.

“That’s too bad,” I said.

Everyone in this world lived as if this wasn’t a novel. They thought as if this wasn’t a novel and died as if this wasn’t a novel. Only I looked at this world as just another novel.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

“You see, I wish for the princess to be happy for a long time.”

Despite everything, I wished for my story to have a happy ending like those old fairytales.

“So I can’t let any of you go.”

I pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The gunshot echoed out and signaled the battle’s end.

Fog descended on the area.

“…”

I sighed before taking out the communication crystal, but it broke after being exposed to the huge amount of mana. I threw it away and its fragments scattered all over.

Then I looked at the sky. Countless stars stared down as if they had something to tell me, but I couldn’t hear what they wanted to say.

My hometown was probably further than those stars.

***

Bang!

“…!”

A loud gunshot echoed in the dead of night. Rachel woke up and jumped in fright.

“What the…

ha…

”

Her body trembled, but she still felt groggy. It seemed she managed to fall asleep after tossing and turning last night.

She sat on her bed and recalled the conversation she overheard through the communication crystal yesterday.

— Is that even a question? Are you in love with the princess without knowing what happened?

— No, Rachel is already suffering so much because of it. Can’t you see? She probably remembers your face, who you are, and who you lost in that tragedy.

— You see, I wish for the princess to be happy for a long time. So I can’t let any of you go.

Perhaps the communication crystal malfunctioned, but it relayed their voices for around three minutes before it broke.

Fermin had explained it to her.

“Well-made communication crystals tend to continue relaying messages for a few minutes before they’re destroyed so the user can send an emergency message.”

Xtra’s words seemed quite strange. It sounded as if he wanted to protect her.

“…”

Rachel’s cheeks blushed after she recalled the event from last night. She immediately got up from bed and almost tripped on something. Fermin had been sleeping on the floor.

Rachel moved her to a bed and covered her with a blanket before leaving the room. The crystals brightly lit up the corridors even in the early morning.

She turned on the general assembly’s map that they received on their smartwatches last night.

“Shop?”

Rachel spotted a shop not too far away. She had no idea what kind of shop, but wanted to take a look and distract herself.

[General Assembly Shop]

It had a signboard out front.

Creak…

An amazing sight greeted her when she opened the door. Countless shelves lined the walls and a hologram cashier managed the counter at the vast room’s center.

— You may purchase magic items and books on swordsmanship.

The male merchant hologram said to the customer in front of him.

Rachel tiptoed and tried to steal a glance at the customer, but couldn’t see their face because the counter obstructed her view.

“Then what’s the most expensive thing here?” the customer asked.

Rachel’s eyes widened when she heard the customer speak. It sounded too familiar and she heard this voice countless times at Cube.

— Beats me. I don’t know what the most expensive item is because the General Assembly sells more than just my wares.

“Then what’s the most expensive thing that you sell?”

— It’s the Swordsmanship of Mythology.

“What? I don’t need that. Don’t you have anything else? You know, something like a stone fragment or something?”

— I apologize, but I don’t have anything like a stone fragment. I suggest you try outside and pick it up from the streets.

“What did you just say, you bastard! Are you picking a fight with me? What do you mean you don’t have it? I’ll beat the living daylights out of you if I find it!”

The woman picking a fight with the hologram was none other than Chae Nayun.

Chae Nayun pushed her hand through the hologram a few times before clicking her tongue in frustration. Then she turned around while grumbling and came face to face with Rachel.

“

Huh?

”

The two awkwardly reunited like that. Both of them became speechless after seeing each other. It had been a long time since they were rivals at Cube.

No, more like they didn’t have anything to say to each other. However, Chae Nayun broke the silence first.

“It’s been a long time.”

“Yes, indeed it has.”

“What? Hey, are you still speaking with honorifics? Why can’t you just speak normally? You’re getting on my nerves again.”

Chae Nayun grumbled before looking behind Rachel.

Of course, Rachel came by herself.

Chae Nayun furrowed her brows and asked, “Hey, where’s your mercenary?”

“Our mercenary is… How do you know about that?” Rachel asked with a hint of suspicion.

Chae Nayun briefly flinched with an expression that seemed to say,

Darn it!

She tried her best to explain in a sketchy manner.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s Xtra, right? Rumors have already spread far and wide, you know?”

Rachel squinted at her. “Is that so? Well, he hasn’t caught up with us yet.”

“Oh, really?”

“Truth be told, he already accomplished his mission since we only hired him as a pathfinder.”

Rachel moved away from Chae Nayun and looked at the items on the shelves.

— Are you looking for anything specific? What do you think about these flowers since you look so beautiful?

“No thanks,” Rachel replied.

The store had many items that enticed her, but Rachel didn’t stay long because Chae Nayun kept pestering her.

Chae Nayun left as well while nonchalantly whistling from behind.

[Restaurant]

Rachel entered the restaurant next door after suddenly feeling hungry. The restaurant looked quite empty early in the morning, but…

Tadak!

Something busily moved. Rachel glanced at where the sound came from and saw someone covering their face while sitting in front of a ramyeon with rice in it.

“There’s only one person. Why did you come here? Are you hungry?” Chae Nayun asked from behind.

Rachel glanced at the person eating alone before replying when the restaurant door opened again.

“

Huh?

”

Rachel recognized them too. Their eyes widened when they saw her as well.

Kim Suho and Yi Yeonghan from Creator’s Sacred Grace, Reisl?ufer from Switzerland, Shen Wuiyan from China, etc.

Quite a lot of heroes entered the restaurant. Rachel greeted them before turning towards the lone diner eating a while ago.

“

Huh?

”

The man eating a ramyeon had disappeared without a trace.

What was that? A ghost? But why would a ghost eat ramyeon?

“Hey, what are you doing? Why are you here so early?”

Chae Nayun asked Kim Suho, who snickered in response.

“I received a message that the general assembly would begin soon. Rather than that, long time no see, Rachel.”

She hadn’t heard that voice in a long time. Kim Suho looked at her and she smiled before checking her smartwatch. As he said, they had all received a message.

[The general assembly will begin in two hours. I hope all of you will fill your bellies before coming to the meeting room at the center of the general assembly hall.]

***

Rachel and her guild members went to the

[Meeting Room]

when the sun rose. They discussed various strategies while heading there and agreed to request at least one beneficial thing for placing in the top twenty.

“Wow… What is this?”

“Is this place really…?”

They steeled their resolve and entered the meeting room only to be flabbergasted. They couldn’t even close their mouths from the surprise.

The meeting room looked so unbelievable no one would dare to replicate it. The elegant and luxurious general assembly hall couldn’t compare.

“Where should we sit?”

A large round table sat at the center of the meeting room that resembled a crystal cave. It had numerous seats for others to sit. Also, white crystals floated above the chairs for lighting.

Ding!

A message arrived on their smartwatches while they dumbfoundedly stared.

[Two representatives from each guild will sit at the round table while the others sit on the stands behind.]

[The first representative will be the guild’s spokesperson while the other will be the one with the highest contribution rank.]

[The English Royal Court’s representatives will be Rachel and Xtra.]

Rachel looked troubled when she read the message because she lost contact with Xtra last night.

“Vice Leader, we can go sit at the stands, right?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The other guilds entered one by one.

Korea, China, America, Japan, Europe, etc.

The prestigious guilds from each country captivated the English Royal Court members.

“

Ah

, Yeonha! Long time no see. It’s an honor to meet you here. Is your father doing well?”

“Of course, he’s doing too good for his own sake.”

“

Haha!

I heard Essence of the Strait achieved a remarkable feat this time. I truly admire you. It was a surprise when I heard the news!”

“

Ah

, is that so? Was there really a need to be surprised though? We already expected such an outcome.”

Yoo Yeonha discussed business with those surrounding her. Every guild master or vice leader fought to meet her.

“My! Isn’t this Chae Nayun?”

“

Ah

, yes.”

“I saw the remarkable achievements you made during your last dungeon raid! You’re truly amazing!”

“

Ah

, yes. Indeed, I am a bit strong. No, I’m very strong.”

“They say a tiger begets a tiger.”

People also surrounded Chae Nayun, but she acted the total opposite of Yoo Yeonha.

Meanwhile, Rachel couldn’t help but feel jealous of them. She sat alone at the table and clawed at it with her nails. Nobody approached her in the end. Kim Suho spared her a glance, but couldn’t approach as Yun Seung-Ah dragged him around.

A text appeared in mid-air when Rachel finally mustered the courage to stand up and socialize with everyone.

[Please be seated.]

[The general assembly will soon begin.]

The bustling room instantly settled and everyone returned to their seats.

Thirty-nine people sat at the round table while two hundred sat at the stands for a total of 239 attendees.

[All of you will go through a test at this general assembly hall and the field within it.]

[The field placement and treatment towards your guild will change according to each guild’s test scores.]

[The grand winner will gain the privilege of owning me, the General Assembly.]

[However, I see we have one absentee. I guess that person got hurt or you fought amongst yourselves.]

All eyes instantly darted towards Rachel. The only empty seat was next to her.

“

Hahaha!

”

“Well, England is quite the troublemaker these days. It’s commendable they made it here in the first place.”

Some of the guilds, especially from China, spat out arrogant remarks.

Rachel tried her best to remain calm and nonchalantly ignore them, but couldn’t stop her face from turning red.

[However, it’s fine for a seat to remain empty.]

[Then, I will show you the contents of the first test.]

A small text appeared at the center of the round table.

[First General Assembly – Theory Class]

Nobody in this room expected such words.