When Chi-Woo left the palace and returned home, there was no strength in his footsteps. Even though he had settled a deal with his brother, his heart remained heavy because his brother’s words kept floating around his mind.
[User Choi Chi-Woo.]
It was at that moment he heard his assistant, Mimi.
[I don’t think you did anything wrong.]
[There’s nothing wrong with what user Chi-Hyun said. Instead, he is extremely realistic.]
[However, being realistic doesn’t necessarily mean you’re right.]
[Especially from a long-term perspective.]
Mimi continued.
[What’s clear is that you have accomplished a very difficult task, prevented a disaster doomed to happen, and reversed the situation.]
[No one knows how this event will change things in the future, so I respect and support your decision.]
Mimi’s words poured into his mind like water. It felt like she had been holding her thoughts while Chi-Woo was talking with his brother and voiced them as soon as he left.
–Yeah, that’s right, punk.
Philip, who had come back without him noticing, added a few words as well.
–Your brother is…how do I say it? I’m not saying he’s bad, but he’s a bit too much.
Philip continued with his arms folded.
–If I had a daughter, and there was only you and your brother left in this whole world, I would choose you to marry her without hesitation. You get what I'm saying?
‘What the hell is up with that far-fetched analogy all of a sudden.’
Chi-Woo’s expression turned bewildered, but he knew that Mimi and Philip were both trying to comfort him.
–I'm telling you to cheer up. The holy territory has some greater effects. It’s also way safer than an old, run-down city like this. It’s actually better this way, right?
‘What do you mean by an old, run-down city? Isn’t this your capital?’
–Hey, I'm just letting my mouth run. You know what I mean.
When Philip chuckled, Chi-Woo couldn’t help but laugh with him.
–Anyway, let’s go to that holy city or whatever. We just have to show him what you got, right?
‘Right.’ Chi-Woo nodded and took a strong step forward.
* * *
Two days later, Chi-Woo left the capital for his destination. He didn’t go alone because his former party members from the expedition heard the same news the very next day. They all decided to leave for Shalyh together with almost all the former members of the expedition—everyone except Apoline. Jin-Cheon had sent a message to Apoline just in case, but he didn’t get a reply. Chi-Woo and the others marched for eight days and finally reached their destination.
“Wow!” Ru Hiana exclaimed when she saw the city from afar. “It makes me wonder if it’s really the same run-down, battered city from last time.”
Nangnang couldn’t hide his amazement either, and Chi-Woo felt the same way. It no longer looked like the same city war had rendered into complete ruins. The magnificent gates and high walls alone were clear proof of the effort the Cassiubia League had put in to restore the city to its former glory.
‘That is…’ The holy city, Shalyh. A sacred city secured by humans and the monster alliance, and it was also the place that would become the new base for humans. Even though it was bothersome that humans were sharing it with the indigenous monsters, it couldn’t be helped since the situation was so urgent.
The closer they got to the city, the more they were impressed by the city’s reconstruction and signs of activity. Even though the city was smaller than the capital, there was a stark difference between the number of people entering and leaving the gate. Moreover, humans weren’t the only ones using the gates; there were monsters they had encountered the last time they were here as well as species they’d never seen before.
“Huh? There’s a line over there?” Ru Hiana pointed to a spot near the entrance. As she said, dozens of people, both heroes and natives, were waiting in a line—just like when heroes were waiting to take the recruitment test in the Celestial Realm.
When they got closer, a male hero approached them and asked, “Have you come from the capital?”
“Yes, sir,” Ru Amuh replied.
“You’re quite late moving here.”
“I was late to hear the news because I was on an expedition. I came here as soon as I heard.”
“Expedition? Huh, come to think of it…” The male hero, who had been asking in a fatigue tone, suddenly brightened up. “If you don’t mind, would you please stand in this line? There’s a procedure you must go through if it’s your first visit.” He seemed to have recognized Ru Amuh, as his voice and attitude completely changed.
“Yes, sir.”
“Haha. That’s great. I congratulate you in advance. I’m jealous.” The man said something incomprehensible before turning around.
Chi-Woo lined up behind Ru Amuh. ‘This feels like waiting to get our tickets checked at the airport.’ The line quickly shrank, and soon it was their turn. Eight people were sitting at their desks, and Chi-Woo walked towards the second man from the left.
“Tell me your rank and recruit number,” the man said with a slightly tired expression.
“Seventh recruitment and Iron IV, sir.”
“Can you show me your user information?”
There was no reason for Chi-Woo to refuse, so he revealed only his rank to the man. The man looked at the hologram and nodded. “I’ve checked it. Since you’ve made a contract with a god, I guess you can add bonus options even if you’re Iron IV. Do you have any companions?”
“What? Yes?”
“How many people are there in total, including yourself? Please tell me the number of people in your professional team rather than your acquaintances.”
Chi-Woo blinked. He could only think of Evelyn, who planned to live with him, and Hawa, who made it clear that she was going to follow him. “Three…?”
“All right, why don’t you follow her?” The man scrawled something on a piece of paper and called for a woman waiting behind him.
After checking the paper, the woman stared at Chi-Woo with indifferent eyes and said, “Bring your party members along.”
Chi-Woo brought along Evelyn and Hawa and followed the woman. The inside of the city looked as he expected. Each street was lined with buildings constructed with practicality in mind, and some places were crowded to the point that there was no room to even walk around. After ten minutes, Chi-Woo found himself gradually moving away from the center of the city to the rear. The woman stopped at a place densely packed with identical wooden buildings. She entered one of them and went up to the fifth floor.
“You can stay here from now on,” she said while opening the door with 502 written on it. Chi-Woo became speechless when he saw the size of the room. It was about 356 square feet. The interior looked extremely narrow, but what was more astonishing was that there were four beds inside—a double-decker on each side of the room. Other than the beds, there was a window, a hanger, a small round table, and two chairs. Nevertheless, the room was clean since the building was newly built.
“You can use this place for free for a month from the day you move in. Breakfast and dinner are also served for free in the morning and evening.”
Chi-Woo looked at the woman blankly.
“After a month, you’ll have to start paying for both food and accommodation.”
“Pay?”
“Yes. You have to pay 30 royal a day for this inn.”
“Royal…?”
“It’s the currency used by the Cassiubia League. For your information, we can’t use the currency we were using before.” The woman took out a coin from her pocket. Chi-Woo couldn’t see it clearly because of its size, but it looked like a small copper coin with the number 1 on it.
“I’m telling you this in advance, but there’s no use complaining to me.” When Chi-Woo was about to say something, the woman quickly spoke up first. She continued, “I’m merely following orders from above. You know about the legend, right? The legend. He announced these rules himself.” The woman put special emphasis on the word ‘legend’. “ The inn is being run by the natives, so don’t think about trying any meaningless tricks. If you want to conduct any commercial activities inside the city, you must get permission from the embassy.” With that, the woman turned and walked away.
“Heehee. This is our new house, right? This is so exciting. This is mine.” Evelyn chuckled and ran to claim one of the top bunks. Hawa glanced sideways at Chi-Woo before unpacking her luggage on the bottom bunk opposite of Evelyn.
“…” Chi-Woo just stood there blankly.
* * *
Ru Hiana went through the same procedure and came to visit Chi-Woo. For some reason, Ru Amuh was called to the embassy and could not come with her. Instead, she brought Zelit along; it turned out that Zelt had already moved to Shalyh several days ago. Ru Hiana was shocked as soon as she saw Chi-Woo’s room.
“Ah! Come on, this isn’t right!” Then she expressed her great indignation, “I got a new house! And Ru Amuh was even assigned an entire zone! But senior, this is your place? You?”
“Calm down. This is better than other rooms.” Zelit tried to calm her down, but Ru Hiana didn’t listen.
“What do you mean ‘better’? Can’t you see the state of this place? It’s one room for four people!”
“I’m living in a room for eight people.”
Ru Hiana paused and said, “…It can’t be helped for you. You haven’t even made a contract with a god yet, let alone receive a rank…”
“Hey, what’s up with the difference in treatment?” Zelit spoke with an annoyed tone and cleared his throat. “Anyway, this is the legend’s decision.”
“Yeah, and why now! It wasn’t like this when they came from the central base to the capital. We divided up the space fairly!”
“Then was then. Things have changed now.” First of all, the former Salem capital was large; it was more than enough to accommodate everyone from the central base. Shalyh was not much smaller, of course. Befitting a holy city, it boasted a considerable size. However, it was also a city co-ruled by two groups. Humans did not monopolize the place. Moreover, this was once the territory of the Demon Empire, so it had to act as a military city. With the deployment of soldiers from the Cassiubia League and the construction of various institutions and facilities, there was significantly less space for residence.
“By placing people in different residences based on their rank,” Zelit said while lifting his glasses, “We’re being told that we must work to earn our rights.” There was a saying that those who do not work should not eat. Until now, food had been distributed for free even to those who did nothing, and people were given a place to sleep with no strings attached. However, this privilege was now over, and everyone had to take responsibility for their own food, clothing, and shelter.
“Actually, I also find it a little unexpected. It was suddenly decided that everyone had to move here. It almost seems like there was a sudden change in plans,” Zelit continued. “I don’t know what’s exactly going on, but It seems the situation has changed rapidly that we’re planning to concentrate on outside activities…”
Chi-Woo felt a prick of conscience.
“Anyway, I think the legend has done enough already, and it’s not like he’s letting go of his role as a pillar that supports humanity. This is obviously something that we should have taken care of and endured in the first place.”
“But it’s all so sudden! Do other people not have any complaints?”
“I’m sure there are complaints, but it seems like most people accept the situation.”
“Why? Because it’s from the legend?”
“There’s that, but also because it’s fair.” Zelit continued, “The same standards are applied to the Celestial Realm’s twelve lights as well.”
Ru Hiana blinked, her anger draining from her.
“For your information, the hero from the Eustitia family is sharing a room with me. I heard the hero from the Ho Lactea family is also in a similar situation.”
“…And those arrogant nobles are staying still?”
“They have no choice but to stay still. Even though they are of the Celestial Realm’s lights like the legend, their reputation is akin to the oort cloud circling the sun compared to the legend’s reputation.”
“What’s with that ridiculous metaphor?”
“Ismile from the Nahla family might be able to say a word or two, but his family has always been favorable towards the Choi.” Zelit shrugged. “Besides, the one thing they lack now is a contract with a god. As soon as they receive a rank, they’ll grow faster than anyone else. They might think of this as a good opportunity for them instead.”
“Aha! So in the end, it’s a system for the privileged?”
“Rather, it should be seen as a system for those who want to be part of the privileged.” Zelit corrected her. “The legend’s intentions are very clear indeed. This is the beginning of the competition, and people who want to get ahead in the race are naturally at an advantage.”
Zelit calmly continued, “The standards are probably looser right now because we’re in the early stages of immigration. However, the resources in this city are finite. As time goes by, the standards will most likely go up.” As Zelit said, a hero could receive a house with a silver rank now, but there was no guarantee that the same standard would be maintained. Moreover, there would probably be more privileges granted to those in the higher ranks later on.
“No, I get what you mean but—” Ru Hiana thumped her chest with frustration, “But still, this isn’t right! You should know! It doesn’t make any sense that senior is receiving this type of treatment!” Ru Hiana pointed at Chi-Woo, who was staring into nothing.
“Well…” Zelit couldn’t easily refute. Certainly, the merits that Chi-Woo had accumulated so far was unrivaled. However, only those who were with him and witnessed his actions knew that Chi-Woo had used most of his merits for the greater good.
Zelit smacked his lips. “If I were him, I would also think it’s unfair. While it’s fair to use rank as a standard since it’s an objective measure, it isn’t absolute. However, if they give out exemptions, complaints would arise…”
Zelit and Ru Hiana were greatly misunderstanding Chi-Woo’s situation because Chi-Woo hadn’t used most of his merits for the public. Rather, he had a ridiculous amount of merits; enough for him to easily rise to gold rank immediately.
‘He told me that I’ll know once I get there.’ While Ru Hiana and Zelit fought, Chi-Woo was lost in thought. His brother had told him to settle down and secure a place for himself here. After thinking for a while, he suddenly turned on his device and sent a message.
[Choi Chi-Woo->(sent): Sir.]
Then he received a message soon after.
[Choi Chi-Hyun<-(received): what.]
Chi-Woo was shocked that he got a reply from his brother.
[Choi Chi-Woo->(sent): What the—how did you reply? Aren’t you at the capital?]
[Choi Chi-Hyun<-(received): already at shalyh.]
[Choi Chi-Woo->(sent): ?]
[Choi Chi-Hyun<-(received): ?]
[Choi Chi-Woo->(sent): Already? How?]
[Choi Chi-Hyun<-(received): came flying.]
[Choi Chi-Woo->(sent): Wow.]
[Choi Chi-Hyun<-(received): why?]
[Choi Chi-Woo->(sent): There’s something I’m curious about. Can I ask you a question?]
[Choi Chi-Hyun<-(received): ok.]
[Choi Chi-Woo->(sent): It’s not really suitable for me to ask through a message, so I’ll tell you when we meet again.]
[Choi Chi-Hyun<-(received): you can call me then.]
[Choi Chi-Woo->(sent): There’s a call function as well?]
[Choi Chi-Hyun<-(received): u didn’t know? u can’t do it at the capital, but u can do it here. cause we’re in holy territory.]
[Choi Chi-Woo->(sent): Got it, but I’m not in a situation where I can call right now.]
[Choi Chi-Hyun<-(received): come to the embassy alone then.]
[Choi Chi-Woo->(sent): Where is that?]
[Choi Chi-Hyun<-(received): go to the center of the city and find the biggest and tallest building. I’ll tell the others in advance so u can go to the top floor.]
[Choi Chi-Woo->(sent): Can I go right now?]
[Choi Chi-Hyun<-(received): sure]
[Choi Chi-Woo->(sent): lol I’m going]
“Ah! I can’t stand this! Senior! Let’s go to the embassy together! Let’s go and meet the legend or whatever and complain!”
“Don’t do it. I’ve met him once by chance. He really is a formidable figure.”
“What do you mean don’t do it? Does he think he can do anything since he’s the legend?”
“He can, in fact. The Cassiubia League recognized us because of him, and the Celestial Realm’s lights are not staying still for no reason. More than anything, he’s not someone you can meet just because you want to meet him.”
“No, that’s not-!” While Ru Hiana went back and forth with Zelit, she saw Chi-Woo get up from his seat, and she widened her eyes. “Senior, where are you going?”
“I’m paying someone a short visit,” Chi-Woo strutted out leisurely as if he was meeting a neighborhood friend.