I Entered a Gacha Game That Had Been Abandoned for 10 Years chapter 66

66 – The King (1)

From a week after the day when the unidentified hero entered and left without any apparent reason.

Land of Yeritania.

Land Development Score: 922

Land Residents

[Humans: 5446 people]

Owned Buildings

[Lord’s Castle LV1 ＞＞＞ Upgrade in progress 99% [Temporarily paused]]

[City Wall LV2 ＞＞＞ Upgrade in progress 84%]

[Residential Area LV3↑]

[Blacksmith LV3 ＞＞＞ Upgrade in progress 42%]

[Barracks LV3]

[Tavern LV2]

[Market LV2]

[Lumber Mill LV1]

[Restaurant LV1 ＞＞＞ Upgrade in progress 68%]

[Leather Workshop LV1]

[Stone Workshop LV1]

[Trading Post LV1]

[Secondary City Wall LV0 [Under construction] 88%]

[Inn LV1↑]

[Administrative District LV0 [Under Construction] 92%]

Military Strength

-Regular Soldiers 200

-Trainee Soldiers 200

—-

Kim Hyunwoo nodded satisfactorily as he looked at the information window displayed by Loria.

The development of the territory was approaching 1000, and the number of territory residents had already exceeded 5,000, marking a significant difference from the time when the territory was first rebuilt.

As a result, with the timely upgrade of the residential area to level 3, the newly constructed buildings were now filling up with houses that felt more suitable for a medieval city rather than the rural village atmosphere of the past.

The inns, despite their slightly higher prices, were bustling with customers as mercenaries began to arrive in earnest.

However, what caught Kim Hyunwoo’s eye the most was the second wall being constructed beyond the main castle wall.

The second wall near the Larthania territory was visibly taking on the characteristics of a fortified wall and was nearing completion.

Not only that, but another significant change was the sudden increase in Larthania’s soldiers. The previously modest 200 soldiers had doubled to 400 in one go.

‘…Should I have recruited more?’

Kim Hyunwoo pondered momentarily while looking at the information window.

However, he soon shook his head.

In truth, even the current 400 troops were not that many considering the overall situation of the Larthania territory.

After all, the number of mercenaries currently gathered in the Larthania territory was quite substantial.

Nevertheless, apart from that, considering that recruiting more soldiers would inevitably draw real-time workers away from the territory, Kim Hyunwoo thought,

‘This should be sufficient. Trainee soldiers will prove their worth once they grow.’

In the end, he reached that conclusion.

Young Jimin may have been constantly growing, but ultimately, what Kim Hyunwoo lacked was manpower.

Kim Hyunwoo, who had been pondering this for a while, thought to himself,

‘Come to think of it, a few days ago, Mila started training the soldiers in earnest…’

Suddenly, he recalled the conversation he had with Mila, who had come to establish a mercenary guild, and gazed towards the military camp visible from Yeongjuseong.

####

Mila, also known by the alias “Subjugator,” had a basic career as a mercenary, but there were rumors that she was quite talented in teaching others.

However, the reason she had rejected Kim Hyunwoo’s proposal several times was precisely because she had only taught mercenaries.

Furthermore, one of the reasons she felt burdened was that the training was assigned to the trainees, the so-called novices.

She understood to some extent what novices meant, being aware of the natural order of this world, even though she was a mercenary.

‘The Lord’s personal guard unit excluding heroes.’

In other words, from the Lord’s perspective, training novices, who were practically one of the lifelines, posed quite a burden for her.

However, despite carrying such a burden, she accepted Kim Hyunwoo’s request because, honestly, the rewards offered to her were too good to refuse.

Moreover, if the Mercenary Guild was established in the Lartania Territory, she would find herself in a situation where she would become the local chief. Therefore, maintaining a somewhat intimate relationship with the Lord seemed like a good idea, and that’s why she accepted his proposal.

‘I still don’t know why the Lord chose me… but as long as I’m doing it, I’ll do it properly.’

Honestly, Mila still had doubts about what the Lord saw in her.

While she had heard stories that she taught some mercenaries well, her public alias was only ‘Subjugator.’

However, at this point in time, what was important to Mila was not why the Lord chose her, but rather training the novices excellently.

In the end, once she accepted the Lord’s proposal, she had no intention of training the novices carelessly. She was determined to train them rigorously.

However, Mila’s thoughts took a strange turn when she saw the novices gathered for the first time.

The appearance of the novices she saw was too different from what she was familiar with regarding novices.

The trainees Mila knew were usually selected from talented young individuals, but the trainees standing in front of her seemed distant even if she tried to view them favorably.

The faces visible to her eyes right now were not youthful but rather mature, more so than one would expect.

Furthermore, she wondered if they were chosen for their skills. In a few basic training exercises she assigned, Mila realized that her assumptions were completely wrong.

‘… They’re incredibly weak.’

The soldiers chosen by Kim Hyun-woo as trainees were weak.

Not just weak in a general sense, but lacking in every aspect compared to the trainees Mila commonly encountered.

They might have learned how to use a spear to some extent, but beyond that, everything was close to zero by Mila’s standards.

They couldn’t wield a sword properly despite becoming trainees, and their basic physical fitness was woefully inadequate by Mila’s standards.

Moreover, those who used magic were naturally expected to be absent, but the majority of them showed no talent in feeling magical power even after basic training.

In other words, Mila, looking at them who were catastrophically weak compared to any trainees she had seen so far, couldn’t help but wonder if she had fallen into a trap.

At least, in her opinion, the trainees of Lartania were so lacking that she doubted whether they would properly grow even if she trained them extensively, considering they were mostly distinguished only by their loyalty to the lord.

However, she wasn’t the type to let go of a task once she had taken it, so she began training the soldiers in any way possible.

She focused on training their basic physical fitness, teaching the fundamentals of swordsmanship, and making them realize the magic they must inevitably grasp to advance to the next stage as trainees.

And, by the time a week had passed with such efforts, Mila unconsciously opened her mouth.

In front of her were soldiers forming teams and engaging in mock battles.

“For the Lord!!!!”

Trainees swinging their swords at each other as if possessed, like berserk warriors from the northern tribes, stripped of their upper garments.

…

However, the reason Mila was surprised was not because of the fanatic appearance of those soldiers.

After all, she had witnessed them shouting, “For our lord who believes in us!!!” every time they practiced during the past week.

The reason she was surprised was because of the level of the soldiers.

Mila remembered the soldiers from a week ago.

They were a group of novices who had no physical strength, couldn’t wield a sword, and couldn’t even use magic. It could be said that they were nothing but dullards gathered as trainees in Lartania.

But now?

Even though the soldiers had been engaged in intense combat for over 10 minutes, there was no sign of exhaustion as they fought like berserkers.

Clang! Clang!

Moreover, the swords that they couldn’t properly wield just a week ago were now handled with some proficiency, if not skill.

“…Huh.”

At least a few of those fighting in the current battle were utilizing magic ever so slightly, even without realizing it.

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‘How… is this possible?’

Watching this, Mila couldn’t help but wear a puzzled expression and wonder.

She had personally trained them, but the soldiers’ training progress was not just incredibly strange, but also unbelievably exceptional.

Frankly, if she were to speak ill of them, the trainees from a week ago could be called hopeless cases.

That’s why Mila, with a dumbfounded expression as if this situation was utterly absurd, looked at the soldiers she had trained.

While she was pondering how this could be possible, Mila soon recalled what the soldiers had said.

The soldiers who had always shown such loyalty to their lord, to the point of being remarkable, when Mila conducted rigorous training.

‘…Is it really possible to reach this level with just loyalty to the lord?’

In fact, strictly speaking, it was all due to Mila’s own traits and talents, but she, who was unaware that her abilities were specialized in training, couldn’t help but wonder.

‘How did the lord of Lartania manage to cultivate such loyalty among the soldiers?’

Unknowingly amazed, she couldn’t help but think of Kim Hyun-woo.

And at that moment.

“I think we should start conquering the 4th floor little by little, and we also need to look into the commander of the Blue Forest.”

Lost in thought, Kim Hyun-woo…

—-

In the territory of ★★★★★, the hero “Guardian of Kalan” has arrived.

—-

[The king of “Kalan Kingdom” has visited the territory.]

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, an alert window popped up, and I found myself staring at it with a blank expression.

[The king of “Kalan Kingdom” has visited the territory.]

The alert window remained unchanged upon a second look.

“…The king has come?”

Looking at it, Kim Hyun-woo unconsciously wore a bewildered expression.

It was no wonder, as it was truly, truly unusual for the king of Kalan Kingdom to visit this foreign territory.

No, it wasn’t just unusual; Kim Hyun-woo knew that the king visiting another country’s territory in the first place was very strange.

Therefore, feeling perplexed, Kim Hyun-woo quickly took action.

If the alert window was not lying, he had to meet the king of Kalan Kingdom, with whom he needed to establish good diplomatic relations as soon as possible.

Thus, hastily preparing, Kim Hyun-woo welcomed the king of Kalan Kingdom in his office.

“Ah, you must be the lord of Lartania. It’s truly a pleasure to meet you.”

Looking at the woman who greeted him with a bright smile and even shook his hand as if genuinely pleased to meet him, Kim Hyun-woo wore a bewildered expression, but soon spoke up.

“Ah, yes. Hello, first of all…”

“No need for that. You’re not even part of the Kalan Kingdom.”

“Huh? Well, you are still a king of a nation, so I feel it’s only proper to show respect—”

As Kim Hyunwoo tried to kneel down right after saying that.

“Really, it’s really okay, isn’t it? Yes? Since it’s okay, please get up.”

Looking at the king of the Kalan Kingdom, who seemed somewhat uneasy about laughing.

“…Ah, yes…”

He had no choice but to stand up again with a perplexed expression.