Episode 45: Fortress Entrance Subjugation (3)
Click.
Hertia approached.
Choi Dong-pal, terrified, frantically radioed for help.
“Boss, backup! Backup! Hertia’s here!”
Click.
“Damn it, boss! Why no response? Sun Sung-tae, you bastard!”
Click.
“Okay, fine. Fire God, Sword Realm, anyone! Send reserves…”
A response came through the radio.
- Radiance is moving! Sword Realm needs support!
Click.
- Fire God can’t hold out long! We’re pulling out first!
A man’s voice cut off as the signal died.
Click.
The sound of heels was now right in front of him.
Cold sweat dripped down Choi Dong-pal’s spine.
“Looks like your last hope’s gone.”
“Don’t come closer! It’s not over! The boss, my team—they’ll come soon!”
“Pfft.”
Hertia burst into laughter at his desperate words.
Step.
“A guest has arrived. Is it mine, or yours?”
Hertia, arms crossed, propped her chin and eyed a man approaching the entrance.
“Yoon Hae-joon…”
Choi Dong-pal muttered.
Radiance Guild Master Yoon Hae-joon approached alone, without guild members or summons, facing Hertia directly.
“Now’s the chance! Call the main force to snipe this crazy witch from a distance! Take her out, and I’ll clear the way!”
Choi Dong-pal shouted, but Yoon Hae-joon didn’t glance his way.
His eyes locked onto Hertia’s, and he introduced himself politely.
“First time meeting you, Lady Hertia. I’m Yoon Hae-joon, master of Radiance Guild. With your permission, I’d like to speak.”
“With me? About what?”
“About the Deathside alliance you’ve subdued.”
Hertia turned from Choi Dong-pal, approached Yoon Hae-joon, placed a hand on his shoulder, and whispered softly.
“Permission granted.”
“But I haven’t said—”
“It’s obviously about dealing with this trash. Do as you please. But I have one condition.”
Yoon Hae-joon swallowed hard at the mention of a condition.
“What is it…?”
“After you deal with this filth, slaughter the elves mercilessly. Fail, and you’ll face me next.”
“…Understood.”
Hertia tapped his shoulder lightly, as if playing piano keys.
“Better than that pathetic man.”
She floated into the air and left.
Confirming her departure, Yoon Hae-joon raised his hand, summoned his forces, and radioed his guild waiting at the base camp.
“All Radiance members! Summon your forces! Subdue the remnants of Deathside, Fire God, and Sword Realm!”
***
- Master, the situation’s handled.
“Got it. Withdraw slowly from the fortress and return.”
- Yes!
I exhaled after Hertia’s message.
Good thing my impromptu plan worked.
Hertia alone could only pin them down.
Even deploying all my summons wouldn’t wipe out hundreds of legendary and mythic-grade summons.
So, I used a different tactic.
‘Killing with a borrowed knife.’
Just as the elves watched the adventurers’ infighting for their gain, I used Hertia’s appearance to unsettle them, turning Deathside’s alliance into sitting ducks.
It worked perfectly.
The elves prioritized eliminating Hertia over prolonging the infighting, and their attack caught Deathside’s main force in the crossfire, wiping them out.
Of course, if Hertia got hit, it’d ruin everything, so I loaded her with one-use buff items and defensive gear to ensure her survival.
‘Turned out well.’
Soon, the Radiance-led alliance secured the fortress entrance.
Deathside, Fire God, and Sword Realm took a massive hit.
They gained neither justification nor profit, branded as mere troublemakers.
This effectively neutralized the top guilds that were a thorn in my side.
Minimum effort, maximum results—feels like I pulled it off without lifting a finger.
Buzz!
Son Tae-ha called, likely to report the drastic change while I was “strolling.”
I answered casually.
- Hyun-woo-nim! Big trouble!
“What’s wrong?”
- The Witch of the Apocalypse, Hertia, appeared! She took out the alliance blocking the entrance—
He’s so worked up, I should act surprised, right?
Like I couldn’t imagine it.
“Is that true? How did this happen…?!”
- Just earlier…
I listened eagerly to Son Tae-ha’s explanation as I headed back to the trailer.
“So, the entrance is clear now? What about Hertia?”
- Yes! She vanished after causing the chaos. She spoke with Yoon Hae-joon, but we don’t know what about.
“I see…”
As I played along—
Rustle.
My heightened senses, sharpened since my skill awakening, caught a tail.
Sun Sung-tae. How long will this guy keep following me?
‘Your house is on fire, idiot.’
No time to stalk me when his priorities are that messed up.
He’s probably trying to dig up dirt on me, but I’m not giving him anything.
“Got it. I’ll head back to assess the situation.”
I continued the call with Son Tae-ha as I returned to the trailer.
***
Deathside Guild Master Sun Sung-tae.
The mastermind behind this infighting, he planned to block the fortress entrance and crush Radiance.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly from the command room—until the Unknown Adventurer showed up.
‘Something feels off. I need to see for myself.’
The Unknown Adventurer left Ascend Management’s trailer shortly after arriving at the base camp.
Worried he might head to the fortress entrance, Sun Sung-tae followed, hoping to catch him summoning a villain—evidence to ruin him.
But then, a variable emerged.
- Boss, Hertia’s appeared!
Hertia, appeared?
No, that’s impossible.
‘If he’s here, how could Hertia show up?’
His master, Karmar de Demeter Lavle, was certain the Unknown Adventurer controlled Hertia.
But summons can’t act independently far from their summoner—a basic rule.
The base camp was at least a few kilometers from the fortress.
‘Summoning from this distance?’
Impossible.
A skill allowing long-range summoning? Sun Sung-tae, a top adventurer leading a guild alliance in a smaller nation, had never heard of such a thing.
‘What’s going on?’
He considered returning to take command but needed to confirm with his own eyes that the Unknown Adventurer wasn’t Hertia’s master.
- The situation’s critical! Give us orders!
Sun Sung-tae issued commands via radio.
“…Leave the entrance to Dong-pal. Hand outer command to Sword Realm and Fire God. Merge both radio channels for direct communication.”
- Yes!
While tailing Oh Hyun-woo, Sun Sung-tae’s mind churned.
The adventurer was leisurely strolling, showing no signs of issuing commands.
‘Did my master get it wrong?’
His master was convinced the Unknown Adventurer controlled Hertia, yet here was a clear alibi.
‘Then the Unknown Adventurer is just a hidden expert…’
His thoughts grew tangled.
Soon, another radio transmission came.
- Entrance main force, annihilated.
- Sword Realm reserves, annihilated.
- Fire God has withdrawn. Radiance is hunting down the remnants.
Sun Sung-tae bit his lip until it bled, unaware.
‘Damn it! Lost the raid rights, failed to crush Radiance, and the Unknown Adventurer’s off the suspect list.’
It was a perfect plan—where did it go wrong?
More importantly, how would he clean up this mess?
Unnoticing the blood from his lip, Sun Sung-tae headed to Deathside’s base camp.
***
The next day, I spent the night in Ascend Management’s trailer and returned to Seoul with Son Tae-ha.
He suggested staying to gather more raid info or joining the team, but I politely declined.
Officially, I was in self-imposed withdrawal; in reality, the public wasn’t quite desperate enough for my return.
Still, I got useful info.
‘No wonder they’re called major powers.’
Even accounting for Deathside’s interference, the fourfold gap in raid progress was dizzying.
They were serious players, even by my standards.
Clearly, foreign servers had hardcore Legend Seven veterans.
Back home, I focused on raising ‘Azas’.
Spending half a day training the rare dealer-position summon, I emerged from a dungeon to find the world abuzz over Hertia’s appearance.
[The Legendary Nightmare Returns! Witch of the Apocalypse is Back!]
[Who Can Stop Her? Hertia Displays Absolute Power.]
The top three guilds were mentioned too.
[Top 3 Guilds Devastated! Hertia’s Assault.]
[Deathside, Sword Realm, Fire God: Evidence of Deliberate Raid Sabotage?]
The accusations stopped at suspicions, likely due to heavy lobbying.
But given the scale of the incident and the strength of the affected groups, recovering from this failure would be tough.
One thing caught me off guard, though.
- Hertia? That game-era boss veterans dreaded?
└ Yup. She’s just unbeatable. Not designed to be cleared.
└ Unknown Adventurer vs. Hertia, who wins?
└ Hertia by default. Unknown Adventurer’s done for lol. He’s public enemy #1 for deleting Floor 100.
└ Haters still at it? It’s settled he’s just taking a break because Deathside stirred trouble. And with a new episode out, who cares about Floor 100?
└ Lmao, it was them? Heard our raid’s tanking because those idiots caused chaos.
└ Please bring back Unknown Adventurer-nim. I’m dizzy without a Floor 50 guide, damn it.
The community was increasingly vocal about wanting me back.
I hadn’t planned for this, but it’s good news.
Still, I’m not jumping in yet—I’ve already picked my return date.
Beep! Beep!
My phone’s schedule alarm rang.
‘Alright, time to move.’
Today, Hyun-ah signs with Ascend Management.
The contract’s settled with Son Tae-ha, and I’ve asked In-soo to tutor her.
It also means my day of reckoning is near.
‘Please, little sis.’
Don’t beat me up for making you roleplay some chuunibyou nonsense.