Conquest Complete, So Why Is the Affection Dropping? - Chapter 6
‘By now, shouldn’t we be entering romance mode? What kind of feelings does an affection level of 77 represent?’
[Hexion]’s current affection: 77
An affection level where he would bring rice wrapped in seaweed and feed it to you when you oversleep and might miss breakfast.
“….”
I felt dazed at this explanation which made it unclear whether this was a romantic progression or being raised like a child.
The higher the affection rises, it feels more like becoming family rather than lovers. Am I imagining things?
***
Perhaps because I, the Divine Master, was accompanying them, more knights than expected were mobilized for the outer wall repair work.
The priests insisted I should take a carriage, but I decided to ride horseback with Hexion.
Since we were heading to the outskirts of the Holy City, the road would be rough, and given the urgency, traveling quickly by horse seemed important.
‘Actually, going through something like a warp gate would be fastest. I guess the technology here isn’t advanced enough for that yet.’
Following Hexion’s guidance through the Central Corridor, I spotted a large arch near the West Plaza.
It was a strange structure where two curved pillars met at the top. Perhaps because I never had reason to visit the West Plaza, I hadn’t known such a thing existed until now.
“Hexion. What is that?”
“It’s an ancient relic called a warp gate. Currently, we cannot use it since the operation method has been lost, but it’s being preserved due to the priests’ opposition to destroying relics.”
“…”
So it’s not that they don’t exist – they exist but can’t be used.
The ivy growing thick around the grayish stone pillars certainly suggested long disuse, though the structure itself remained fairly intact.
‘Ancient relics are rarely mentioned without purpose. There will probably be a quest later to activate or utilize that.’
Ding.
Surprise quest!
Would you like to repair the ancient warp gate by consuming 30 of [Hexion]’s affection points? A portal allowing multiple people to travel will be created in the Holy City’s sky. Success reward: Bonus roulette, 1 Save slot
“…”
It’s ridiculous enough that the quest appears right after I mentioned it, but demanding affection points instead of money, reputation, or items seems a bit too much.
The rewards were bizarre too.
‘I’ve seen games limit save slots to control difficulty, but offering them as quest rewards is a first.’
I’m not sure how to use save slots when logging out isn’t even possible, but I’ve never seen a game that messes with save slots turn out well.
I stared at the window before swiping it away.
30 affection points is too much. Though there might be ways to recover it later, it’s too risky an adventure for now.
While activating the warp gate might let us reach the barrier faster, we were already planning to travel by horse, so there was no need to change plans.
‘Besides, I can’t miss this rare experience of horseback riding with Hexion!’
The horse Hexion brought was a white steed large enough to carry both of us comfortably.
He lifted me up and placed me on the saddle, then jumped up to take his position behind me.
When I was riding alone, sitting on the animal’s back felt unstable and made me nervous, but with Hexion supporting me steadily from behind, it felt as comfortable as sitting in a familiar rocking chair despite this being my first time on horseback.
I sighed softly and leaned back against Hexion’s chest.
Though I expected to feel only hard metal since he wore armor, perhaps due to the separate pieces covering his chest, shoulders, and abdomen, I could feel the metal plates moving with his muscles as he breathed. Amazing.
“Hexion, are you angry?”
“No, I’m not.”
Liar. The pectorals I feel through my back are absolutely furious. They seem ready to burst through the armor.
Ah, this is too thrilling.
Inappropriate response detected.
This is a misunderstanding about it being inappropriate. I’m thrilling not from excitement but from fear. Really!
[Status Effect: Fear] has been applied. For 10 minutes, awareness and reaction speed to external stimuli will be reduced by half.
‘What? Hey, this is crazy…!’
The movement of angry muscles I felt through my back stopped. The horse was still running, but the pleasant rhythm I felt below my waist disappeared, and the surrounding scenery became hazy.
‘Damn status effect. Damn system!’
What’s the point of riding horseback if I can’t feel Hexion’s muscles or enjoy the scenery?
Though I glared at the system, it cruelly just displayed a timer window and left me alone.
[Status Effect: Fear] Time until release: 9:59
Instead of helping players enjoy the game, it’s actively interfering – seems business ethics went to the dogs.
If I were the developer, I’d take it apart and fix the algorithm right now!
We arrived at the barrier just as the fear status effect that blocked my life-enriching stimulation wore off. Though it wasn’t a distance that could normally be covered in 10 minutes from the Holy City’s outskirts, we seemed to have arrived quickly thanks to game allowances.
‘Still, the atmosphere isn’t good.’
When I received the report on paper, reading those words made me uneasy, but actually arriving here and seeing the situation with my own eyes made me solemn.
If I were playing this through a screen, I would have only thought about casting the barrier and completing the quest.
‘There are too many injured people.’
They reported 31 injured, but that apparently didn’t include minor injuries. Everywhere I looked, people were either sitting dejectedly with gloomy faces or walking weakly.
It was truly a strange feeling.
The translucent system windows. Numbers that rise and fall according to my choices. I know the suffering people before me are just game graphics made of 0s and 1s. I know this.
Yet my heart ached as though I were facing people experiencing real disaster and suffering.
A quest offering trivial rewards. Was that the only reason the system put so many people through such pain?
Even knowing they weren’t real people, they appeared no different from real ones to my eyes, making it more depressing.
‘Though these people are game characters, mere extras without even names.’
If they appear to me, the player and protagonist, as people living through difficult circumstances, perhaps it’s not strange for me to regard them as people.
“Shin Joo, come this way.”
“Shouldn’t I heal the villagers?”
“The temple will send healing priests. You cannot be away from your position for too long.”
He means we should just cast the barrier and return quickly.
Even though there weren’t any particularly important tasks I needed to return for, the priests were greatly anxious about me, the Divine Master, being away from the temple.
Well, I am the only savior who can save this doomed world. If the Divine Master, God’s representative, spent more time active outside the temple, there would be no reason for the temple to exist.
‘Even the game world has various intertwined interests.’
Even after possessing the Divine Master who is God’s representative, it’s impossible to freely control this world like a real deity.
‘If that were possible, I would have possessed the developer rather than becoming a player.’
So all I can do now is pray that once this barrier-casting quest ends, the people here will no longer suffer.
“I’ll cast the barrier.”
As I reached toward the collapsed wall, the skill activation window automatically appeared.
Barrier Lv.3 Divine Master’s unique ability. A power that separates time and space. Everything inside the barrier created with divine power is treated as the same space-time. In other words, there can be no communication with anything outside the barrier. Can be linked with the ancient relic, Valhalla Tower. Usage conditions: None.
Through the translucent window, I saw the wall’s remains crumble like sand, and then countless 0s and 1s appeared in mid-air.
Restoring damaged data……
I could see a long loading bar slowly filling up. Though the speed was frustratingly slow, since there wasn’t an urgent situation with demon beasts attacking right now, I waited patiently.
51%, 52%, 53%……
‘Come to think of it, if damaged data can be restored to its original state, that means the original values must be stored somewhere.’
The world the player actually experiences, and the world where the undamaged original data exists.
Which one is the real world?
97%, 98%, 99%……
While vaguely pondering this, I saw the loading bar that had been moving at a turtle’s pace was nearly full.
Then with a fanfare, the skill result window expanded dramatically.
Barrier Complete! The Holy City’s wall has been fully restored. Demon beast invasions from the outside are now impossible. The divine barrier formed along the wall will remain solid until the world’s end.
“It worked!”
I had guessed from the lack of a success rate display, but fortunately, the barrier was completed as expected.
“It’s done. Now demon beasts won’t be able to invade from outside anymore.”
“R-really?”
People’s expressions brightened at the news that they would no longer have to fear the great wall collapsing or their loved ones being injured or killed by demon beasts. Even though I hadn’t healed their wounds, their eyes sparkled with hope as they looked at me.
“Thank you, Divine Master, for coming all this way…”
“You’re our savior!”
People cheered for me. It made my heart flutter strangely.
Being early in the game, the quest wasn’t particularly difficult. It was probably just a beginner’s quest meant to explain the world setting and let players experience Shin Joo’s abilities.
I know their reactions toward me are just programmed responses, not genuine gratitude born from their own will.
And yet…
Somehow, my heart felt warm just seeing their faces brighten up from their previous gloom as they looked at me.
It felt as though I had truly helped someone.
The real me couldn’t help this many people, but in the game, it’s different. It felt like I had become someone truly useful to the world.
Quest Complete! Congratulations! You have successfully completed the surprise quest [Fixing the Barn After the Horse Has Bolted]! A bonus roulette has been awarded as a success reward. Your reputation has increased by 500 as a success reward. Current reputation: 719
