Yoo Byung Jun muttered to himself.
“People in this world delude themselves too easily.”
On the screen he was watching, he could see the activities of the adventurers on the Versailles Continent.
A user who raised strength while hunting in a jungle no one else would seek out.
A user who trained their basic Stamina while climbing the most perilous mountain in the continent.
A user who was growing stronger as they tested their own limitations on a deserted island filled with monsters.
Yoo Byung Jun felt happy whenever he saw these users.
With endless tests on their limitations, they were experiencing extreme situations that could not be undergone on earth.
“To say that Royal Road is a game…”
After the creation of Royal Road and its release, the public media had gone wild over the technology.
The cutting-edge technology that realized the most realistic virtual reality!
Royal Road’s rapidly burgeoning user-base marked the ruin of existing games.
A new world had opened up for the users.
This caused even people in the general populace who were unfamiliar with games to become fascinated, and articles claiming that Royal Road had calmed the entertainment industry came out one after another.
Corporate managers and directors in the real world found great joy in selling fruit within the medieval castle walls, or even setting off on adventures, armed with a sword strapped to their waists.
As they scraped up enormous funds, they received praise as the stars of the game industry’s next generation.
Yoo Byung Jun smirked every time he saw those articles.
“Soft and lazy humans. They don’t even know their future is hanging here.”
It was something so pathetic that Yoo Byung Jun couldn’t stand it.
He had dedicated his life to Royal Road. It was a monumental work of art that he had devoted his energy and life to, created as if it were his own child.
If it was just for the sake of making one game, he would have already given up long ago.
After chasing the Glowing Skeletons for a long seven days, they discovered the grand prize near the cemetery at last, and they were able to purify and defeat it with the Cleric’s holy magic.
“It’s a success!”
“Great job, everyone”.
The Cleric and the Pikeman were especially happy.
“Dain-nim was especially helpful. Thank you.”
Chasing a Glowing Skeleton was difficult even with a skilled hunter. That was because it would go into a mountain with a lot of monsters, or find dungeons and hide inside. As they stopped to fight while chasing after the Glowing Skeleton, it would escape somewhere else before they even realized it.
If they didn’t have a Shaman’s magic to increase movement speed, catching the Glowing Skeleton would have been much harder.
Dain’s teeth slightly showed as she smiled.
“It was nothing. I wasn’t even very helpful in the fights.”
“That’s not true. Even though you’re a Shaman, the power of your treatment and all sorts of beneficial skills… If Dain-nim hadn’t been here, it would have truly difficult to successfully accomplish this request.”
“Dain-unni is a true shaman.”
Dain had firmly won the trust of her party members.
“Unni, stay with us.”
“Will you do the next request with us?”
“Yes, I will.”
For a few months, Dain freely enjoyed adventures together with the party members.
Her fame improved day by day as well. When there weren’t many users in Morata who did not know who Shaman Dain was, she left for an adventure in the Land of the Black Curse.
It was an expedition that over twenty of Morata’s most seasoned adventurers participated in!
After experiencing new monsters and a new dungeon, she returned to Morata.
“Whew! I’m back in Morata again.”
Dain grinned broadly.
The Morata she had returned to after a long time… She hadn’t known how much she would miss it.
It was because having savored enough solitude in the sky city of Lavias, she had secured a new position in the North and had made friends in Morata.
“But I have to get the curse resolved…”
Dain made a worried face.
The entire expedition had received a curse in the Land of the Black Curse.
Their skin turned dark like a Dark Elves’, and primitive tribe-like patterns had appeared.
A curse that reduced the effects of magic and skills by half!
It was a curse that could not be removed even by the holy magic of a Shaman or Cleric.
‘I’ll go meet with the Priest first.’
Although the Priests in the expedition were also helpless, they could only believe in their Priests.
Dain went into the Church of Freya.
Similarly to the expedition that just came, there was a crowd waiting for a blessing.
After waiting for a long time for her turn, she met a Priest of the Freya Church.
“I would like to have the curse on me cured.”
“You have received a curse of an ancient evil.”
“Yes.”
“This is because you went into a place where you should not have gone. It’s a curse that formed as you explored a land that does not welcome intruders. To lift the curse, you’ll need Kelpie Wood, Platinum Powder, Carrot, and a White Rabbit’s Blood. If you daub these ingredients on your body, then blend them and drink, you can be freed from the curse.”
Beside the Kelpie Wood, though it might take a little time, they weren’t hard goods to gather.
Dain smiled as she did not expect the cure to be so simple.
“Thank you very much.”
“It was my pleasure. All harmony is in accordance to the Goddess’ will.”
“Buying and selling loot!”
“Tell me if there is anything you need.”
The raised voices came from merchants lined up in the square outside the church of Freya. The competition of merchants is a sight to be seen anywhere in the Versailles Continent.
After selling off all the loot she had gathered, Dain calmly milled about the square.
‘This time I’ll relax and wait.’
Meeting Weed was the whole reason for coming to Morata.
However, Weed did not return to Morata, and she got tired of waiting and left for an adventure.
When she left, the Statue of the Goddess Freya was built, as well as other numerous sculptures and the castle had evolved as well.
A rumor that Weed, the Count of Morata, had returned circulated. However, he seemed to be away on another adventure, so it was said that meeting him would be difficult.
‘What were the chances of him coming back while she was away anyway?’
As Dain looked at a building that hadn’t been there before on Morata’s newly developed street, she walked around lonesomely.
‘The Statue of the Goddess Freya, huh…’
As she looked at the glamorous Statue of the Goddess Freya, she felt slightly jealous. For her, who was only slightly prettier than an average girl even when she viewed herself positively, she really did feel a little irritated.
She wanted to return to the location of the Lavias cave sculptures in her memories, but if she did that it would be even harder to meet Weed.
It was when Dain was looking around the square.
“Excuse me.”
She looked back at the voice that had called out to her.
Short and slim, it was a lady with eyes that looked extremely virtuous. From the white robe she was dressed in, she must have the profession of a Cleric or a Priest.
“Did you call me?”
“Yes
“What can I help you with?”
“Oh, I’m sorry for asking this after just meeting you… You’re the Shaman known as Dain, right?”