Chapter 265

The giant head, as large as a person, dropped to the ground. Its eyes bloodshot, two sharp lower teeth resembling elephant tusks, and a rough, hairless, dark brown hide—it was the head of an Ancient Ogre (A+).

“That was more troublesome than expected.”

Raul muttered as he cleaned the dark red blood off his longsword. Under the blistering sunshine, in the middle of a basin surrounded by cliffs, lay the torso of the Ancient Ogre, like a small hillock.

This was none other than the deepest part of an A-Grade dungeon. The lair of a dungeon guardian. And Raul had just defeated the A-Grade dungeon guardian, the Ancient Ogre.

He had conquered countless A-Grade gates and dungeons throughout the kingdom over the past six months, but none had been as challenging as this. The skin of the Ancient Ogre was so tough that even aura could hardly penetrate it.

Even Raul’s normally restraining psychokinesis was forcibly undone by the brute strength of the Ogre, adding to the complications.

‘And that regenerative ability was infuriating.’

The wounds he inflicted were healing almost within a minute. Despite all this, the creature was no match for Raul. Even if tough, repeatedly targeting the same spot made it possible to sever through.

If the psychokinesis unraveled, he would just bind it again. If the healing was quick, he would inflict wounds faster. Even for an A-Grade dungeon guardian likened to a superhuman, it was impossible to withstand a Master of Raul’s caliber.

‘Still, it’s beyond the players’ ability to handle for now.’

Players approaching the superhuman threshold of Level 100 were beginning to emerge. Most rankers from the Purple Guild had already reached Level 99 and were challenging the boundary of superhuman status.

Yet, even so, they were hardly a match for the Ancient Ogre.

‘Certainly, the dungeons and gates within the Forbidden Zone have to be considered a notch above the rest.’

As Raul had feared, the scenario was progressing faster than in his past life, and players’ abilities were not meeting expectations.

He couldn’t pioneer the vast Forbidden Zone alone; the players’ growth was increasingly vital.

‘Well, if it comes down to it, I’ll just have to do the hard work myself.’

Swish.

Raul invoked his aura to slice open the belly of the Ancient Ogre.

A moment later,

Poof!

In Raul’s hand was a statue of a goddess, emitting a dazzling light. Along with this find, a system message appeared before him:

-Congratulations. You have found the guardian statue of the A-Grade gateway city, Expedition.

-Please return the guardian statue to its original place in the inner fortress.

‘I was planning on doing just that anyway.’

Otherwise, there would have been no reason to invest time in such a troublesome dungeon. Raul returned to Expedition and placed the guardian statue in the empty slot on the display pedestal as the system requested.

Rumble.

Poof!

After a brief tremor shook the entire city, a brilliant multicolored magic circle emerged around the statue, enveloping the city’s sky. The immense magic circle, absorbing the surrounding mana, then descended into the ground, disappearing beneath Expedition.

“Wow. Just as Raul said, it worked. The mana around the city has been purified, and a protective barrier now surrounds the city!”

With an intrigued expression, Rabel adjusted his glasses and observed the flow of mana around them. At that moment, Raul received a new quest message.

<Pioneering Quest: Rebuild Expedition>

Grade: A

Objective: Rebuild the gateway city, Expedition.

Repair the broken walls

Restore the damaged magic circles

Defend the city from monster invasions (Time limit: 15 days)

Reward: Management rights over the city of Expedition and its surrounding areas.

Explanation: Expedition was the first gateway city built by humanity to pioneer the Forbidden Zone. Repair the ancient walls and magic circles to secure a foothold for further exploration of the Forbidden Zone. Surrounding monsters who dislike human intrusion will target the city. Rebuild and defend the city!

The countdown began as soon as the quest was confirmed. For the next 15 days, waves of monster attacks would continue, akin to those in past invasions.

But Raul wasn’t particularly worried.

“Rabel, are you ready?”

“Of course. I’ll start at the front of the inner fortress.”

Rabel drew his staff and planted it into the ground in the central plaza of the inner fortress. An all-too-familiar magic circle formed, creating a shimmering shape in the air.

It was a portal.

The penalty that prohibited teleportation within the Forbidden Zone was removed once the guardian statue was placed.

“Master, you’ve done well!”

Pierce was the first to step through the portal, bowing to Raul. Following him, members of the First Knight Order and carts loaded with various construction materials passed through the portal.

“Whoa, is this the place?”

Among them were master builders and production-class players who had gained ample experience developing free cities. Additionally, scattered rankers and guild members from the Purple Guild, along with Kim Ilwoo, appeared.

Over a thousand individuals arrived before the portal entrance finally closed.

“Let’s get to work right away!”

A development plan for Expedition, based on past data, was already in place. The construction master took charge, directing artisans and even knights to start the rebuilding efforts.

“Alright, let’s start with rebuilding the walls! Move the foundational materials to each section as planned. Players, please take out the stones from your inventories! Knights, stack the stones according to the construction order.”

The First Knight Order, already trained in setting up temporary fortresses, were excellent laborers. Building the walls of a massive city, far beyond the scope of a temporary fortress, they faithfully acted as human cranes.

Meanwhile, the mages from the First Magic Tower, led by Vice Tower Master Perido, were busy restoring the magic circles.

“Vice Tower Master! The mana line of the wall reinforcement magic circle is broken here.”

“The barrier protection magic circle on the walls seems almost erased!”

“The voice amplification magic circle for city-wide announcements is….”

“The alarm magic for detecting intruders….”

Dozens of mages were running around frantically. Rabel watched them with a prim expression, sitting atop the skill compendium.

“Hmm. It finally feels like they’re acting like proper mages.”

The growth of Connect’s mages had been somewhat unorthodox. With power armor production being highly profitable and the mainstream magic, basic magic circles and foundational spells were often neglected.

The Perido Tower was slightly better off, but to Rabel, they were still half-baked mages at best. Thus, since the establishment of the magic tower, Rabel, together with Nakia and Vice Tower Master Perido, had been guiding the mages diligently.

And the result?

They were now capable of restoring various magic circles and repairing walls on their own, even without Rabel’s direct supervision.

“Looks like you won’t need Rabel’s help for anything but the core magic circles now?”

“We have a long way to go. If they’re under my tutelage, they should aim to be the best magic tower on the continent, not just the kingdom’s!”

Despite her words, the pride Rabel couldn’t hide made her chin lift at an impressive angle.

‘Well, given her caliber, Rabel could probably rival the Great Sages.’

Raul wasn’t particularly well-versed in magic, but Rabel, who had spent thousands of years researching magic and various knowledge in the library, seemed unlikely to fall short compared to them.

‘If the skill compendium supports her, that is.’

Rabel’s abilities, still in her spectral form, were tied to the skill compendium. Raul needed to break the remaining seals and boost its rank for her sake.

And he had a pretty good idea of how to do so.

‘It’s not far off. And perhaps….’

He might even be able to grant her wish.

“Master, we’re ready to start reconnaissance.”

Ilwoo and other Purple Guild executives reported to Raul.

“As stated in the shared quest, monsters will target and attack the city. The First Knight Order members will handle the defense, so be careful not to get caught in the wave.”

“Leave it to us!”

With Ilwoo’s confident reply, they left the city of Expedition. They planned to explore the surrounding settlements based on the information Raul had provided.

Other than Expedition, most of the initial areas were B-Grade or lower settlements. Raul intended to use the Purple Guild members to claim any settlements that were C-Grade (large villages) or higher.

‘No need to do all the work for others to benefit.’

By securing key outposts stretching from this point into the Forbidden Zone, ‘It will be difficult for later guilds or players entering the Forbidden Zone to act against us.’

Securing key outposts was essential for the upcoming activities in the Forbidden Zone. While the others were clearing the initial paths, Raul intended to go deeper to target A-Grade or higher settlements.

Ideally, Raul would have preferred to mobilize the First Knight Order to quickly pioneer the Forbidden Zone. However, the Forbidden Zone Pioneering Scenario had strict limitations.

Specifically, it was a ‘player-exclusive’ scenario. The reason Josh’s initial scouting team couldn’t pass the ‘Player Line’ and got lost in the maze was due to these scenario constraints.

Residents (including quasi-players), unlike Raul or those from Earth, couldn’t enter the Forbidden Zone’s interior. Two conditions were required for them to enter: the area had to be pioneered by players first, and they needed the administrator’s permission.

In essence, Raul had to secure temporary management rights of a settlement by finding its guardian statue before NPC residents could be mobilized for reconstruction.

‘The scenario’s intention is clear.’

The Forbidden Zone was designed for players. Without these restrictions, kingdoms with Masters would undoubtedly covet the Forbidden Zone lands. The problem was that players couldn’t complete the pioneering and reconstruction without the help of residents.

So, they would eventually have to rely on the kingdoms or nobles for assistance.

‘Let’s see how well those greedy folks can cooperate. Tsk.’

The nobles in Connect.

The elites on Earth.

All equally greedy.

The pioneering process wouldn’t be smooth.

‘Not that it really matters.’

Whatever happened to them, Raul’s objectives were clear. Seize key strategic points in the Forbidden Zone and prepare for the upcoming linked scenarios.

By the time the greedy ones reached a grand compromise and joined the scramble for the Forbidden Zone, the situation would already be under control. Thus, the pioneering of the Monster Forest progressed rapidly according to Raul’s plan.

***

“… So, the conclusion of the research team is that this method is practically impossible.”

In the conference room, a holographic figure continued his briefing, using the enormous screen that covered the entire wall as a backdrop.

“How can that be possible! The combined force of government and corporate alliances can’t control a mere in-game faction? The number of players connected to Connect has surpassed one million and is now approaching two million. Do you think it’s reasonable that all these players are being swept up by one mere count household? It suggests that there is a systemic issue, don’t you think?”

Presenter Daven managed to maintain his composure, barely keeping his expression neutral as he glanced towards the speaker.

‘A high-ranking official from the Chinese Communist Party.’

Typical of those who believed that sheer numbers could solve any problem. He likely had no understanding of the influence wielded by the First county and the Purple Association within Connect.

“A mere count household…. If the Chinese analysts genuinely think so about the First county, then I must express my regrets. We’re talking about a countdom that possesses ultra-humans equivalent to a kingdom, the strongest knight order, and exerts near-total control over the player base through the Player Association—‘that’ First county. If that’s China’s stance, then cooperation will indeed be challenging. The Chinese representatives can find their own solutions as they see fit.”

“What? How dare a mere research analyst dismiss our China…”

Beep.

One of the holograms occupying a seat disappeared and another individual appeared.

“I apologize to Dr. Daven. The earlier comments reflect personal opinions, not China’s official stance.”

The figure’s holographic bow and apology were graciously accepted by Daven, who then continued the briefing.

“As I mentioned, the best option would be to halt Connect’s scenario progress itself. However, the reality is that we cannot stop the First county, even if we control the players. Therefore, we need to find alternative strategies.”

The screen displayed a map of the Connect continent.

“The Monster Forest in the western Forbidden Zone is directly adjacent to the First county’s territory. For our alliance to seize control of this area is nearly impossible. Thus, we must focus elsewhere.”

His laser pointer marked several locations.

“Our top priority should be the eastern Forbidden Zone, the Elemental Jungle. The Ice Mountain Range to the north and the Demonic Seas to the south are likely inhospitable for human habitation. Therefore, it makes sense to begin our pioneering efforts centered around guilds in the Marcus Kingdom, which is nearby…”

“Wait. In that case, since our American guilds are the most numerous, we should take the lead…”

“What nonsense! The top guild in the Marcus Kingdom is undoubtedly Russian…”

“No, no, the largest player base is in China, so we should go first!”

Thus, the intergovernmental and corporate alliance meeting soon devolved into a power struggle, with no basic agreement reached, ultimately ending inconclusively.

Representatives from each country’s guilds then plunged into the Forbidden Zone pioneering efforts. The curtain rose on the full-scale struggle for control over the Forbidden Zone.

(To be continued)

TL’s Corner:
Greed is good 9999999.