Chapter 62: Side Effects (4)

"...Me, as an instructor?"

"Yes, if possible, I would like you to teach our territory's apprentice soldiers as their instructor."

Mila wore a perplexed expression upon seeing Kim Hyunwoo speak with a kind smile.

She herself had worked as a mercenary, undertaking numerous missions, but this was the first time she was asked to take on the role of an instructor.

"...Are you offering me a position?"

"That's right. I would like to recruit you if possible."

She felt an odd confusion seeing Kim Hyunwoo speak without hesitation, even though she asked just in case.

Honestly, she couldn't understand why Kim Hyunwoo was making such an offer to her, a mere mercenary.

"...Excuse me, but I am not confident in teaching soldiers well. The only thing I've taught before is a small band of mercenaries, and the rest of my life didn't require teaching anyone, so honestly, a position like an instructor is a bit..."

So, she initially tried to gently refuse, but-

"It's still okay."

"Excuse me?"

"I would really like it if you, Mila, could take on the role of an instructor."

Kim Hyunwoo said that, then seemed to recall something.

"Ah, of course, if it's too burdensome to be recruited into our territory, I don't mind if you accept it just as a request. From what I know, since you, Mila came to see me, I understand that you will be the branch manager here when the Mercenary Guild is established... is that correct?"

"That's correct. It's a practice in the mercenary industry, but I didn't know that you, the Lord, would be aware of it."

"I worked briefly in the mercenary field before... Anyway, since that's the case, you'll eventually come to the Lartania territory, so I hope you can accept it even if it's just as a request."

That was the discussion.

After hearing the entire conversation, Mila wore a strangely confused expression.

The story Kim Hyunwoo told was exceptionally good news for her.

In fact, other mercenaries would have gratefully bitten the bait if they deemed there was no trap, but her nature made that impossible.

"May I ask why you want to entrust me with the position of an instructor? Although I've taught a small mercenary group, I'm ultimately just a mercenary,"

Mila asked.

"I have a bit of an eye for people. I think you, Mila, would do a very good job training my soldiers."

Upon hearing Kim Hyunwoo's follow-up, she wore a slightly dazed expression.

A little while later.

Eventually, due to Kim Hyunwoo's persistent persuasion, Mila agreed to take on the role of an instructor in Lartania, albeit in the form of a request.

"Sigh."

Kim Hyunwoo chuckled, remembering Mila's expression, puzzled to the end about why she was being hired under such favorable conditions as she wrote the contract.

Mila felt the contract was too good to be true and was burdened by it, but Kim Hyunwoo, having seen her profile, knew it was not the case.

Hero Name: Mila

Title: The Subjugator

Stars: 3 Stars ★★★

Affinity: X

-Stats-

🔸️Strength: 82

🔸️Agility: 66

🔸️Intelligence: 37

🔸️Luck: 40

🔸️Magic: 30

-Traits-

Responsibility: Acts steadfastly without abandoning any given task

Exceptional Instructor: Exhibits exceptional ability in teaching others, capable of educating beyond one's own skills. The effect of this trait is enhanced based on the 'Education' talent

Mercenary Tactics: Increases the likelihood of survival in harsh terrains

-Talents-

🔹️Possesses overwhelming talent with the 'Spear'

🔹️Has innate talent in 'Education'

-Skills-

[View]

"Wow..."

Seeing Mila's information window, Kim Hyunwoo couldn't help but exclaim in admiration once more.

That was because Mila was exactly the kind of support hero Kim Hyunwoo had been looking for, truly perfect to the point of calling her so.

Especially specialized in the role of an instructor training soldiers.

'I don't think I've ever seen a hero who fits so perfectly.'

Kim Hyunwoo looked at her excellent instructor traits and educational talents.

Of course, Kim Hyunwoo had seen heroes with either excellent instructor traits or educational talents while playing the game, and naturally, he had also seen heroes possessing both.

However, he had never seen a hero with excellent instructor traits and a 'natural' tag attached to their educational talent.

'No matter how I looked, it was always 'excellent' or 'incredible'.'

There are a total of six prefixes in Arteil.

'Excellent', 'Incredible', 'Overwhelming', 'Natural', 'Monstrous', 'Incomprehensible' - the closer to 'Excellent', the lower the talent, and the closer to 'Incomprehensible', the higher the talent.

But as far as educational talent was concerned, Kim Hyunwoo had never seen a hero in the community with a talent rating above 'Incredible' until he had been deeply involved in Arteil, which is why he had to recruit her.

Especially since she had the responsibility trait attached to her characteristics, the chances were high that she would train the soldiers exceptionally well.

Therefore,

'I will definitely recruit Mila.'

Although they were currently connected through a request, Kim Hyunwoo smiled, setting his goal to definitely recruit Mila.

Adria unwittingly looked at the photos pasted on one side of the wall in the Guardian's room with a shocked expression, as she was pasting a photo on the wall in front of her.

What was visible there were photos of Kim Hyunwoo, each taken with a storage artifact, now transferred onto paper and stuck there.

At a glance, there seemed to be hundreds of photos, all looking similar...

"......"

Adria, who had been staring blankly at it, turned her gaze to the Guardian.

She looked at the Guardian, who was smiling creepily at a photo; the dignity that had been present for years now nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, how is it? This came out well, didn't it?"

Soon, she saw the photo the Guardian sneakily showed her.

The photo depicted him talking to Adria, taken through Adria's consciousness.

"...Isn't this the same as the photos stuck on the wall?"

However, to Adria, the photo looked just the same as the ones on the wall, so she answered as such.

"Ha...!? No, it's not!?"

The Guardian, speaking seriously, soon went to the wall, pointed at a photo, and said,

"Look, look at this...! This one is slightly smiling, right?"

"...Oh, is it?"

"This, the head is slightly tilted, about two, two degrees...! And you can see the jawline...!"

"Uh..."

"This one, ah, this also came out well because the Lord is looking down, so the gaze is subtly from below to above. This, this is really good, good, you know... hehe."

"......"

To Adria, looking at the Guardian feeling a different charm in each of the identical photos, she fell into an indescribable emotion.

...Honestly, she felt a sense of self-loathing for having served such a person until now, but she soon shook her head.

Even if the Guardian looked like that, Adria had no intention of betraying her.

"Uh... hehe..."

No matter how much the Guardian hid such an appearance, she was ultimately the benefactor who saved Adria's life.

"Hehe... he."

No matter how she appeared right now, her true nature was that of a dragon,

"...He."

Adria, who had suddenly looked at the Guardian stuck to the wall with a strange expression, soon cleared her throat and steadied her voice.

"O Great One."

"Huh? Why?"

She asked the question she was genuinely curious about to her, who was making a creepily gleeful yet happy sound.

"May I ask, if it's not too rude, what the relationship between you, The Great One, and the Lord of Lartania is?"

"...The Lord is the Lord."

"Yes?"

"My one and only, my very own Lord."

Upon hearing this from the Guardian, Adria was able to learn in detail about the relationship between her and the Lord of Lartania.

As Adria began to hear about the relationship with the Lord of Lartania in earnest,

in the underground of the Calan Kingdom,

"......"

All Five Swords of Calan were gathered here, waiting for the Absolute Ruler of Darkness who had summoned them, but their expressions were uniformly grim.

"......"

The same was true for Loriel's expression.

That was because, including the Five Swords of Calan, they all knew what it meant for the Absolute Ruler of Darkness to have returned.

Moreover, the face of their Master, who had actually returned to the Calan Kingdom yesterday, was not very bright, so they were worried about her.

However, a little later...

All Five Swords of Calan wore slightly surprised expressions.

That was because, unlike yesterday, which had certainly not looked good, the Master's face was now full of determined will.

And then,

"I shall reveal my true identity."

The real power behind the Calan Kingdom, who had hidden herself in darkness for many years, made a sensational declaration.

...With the 'Title Change Right' that Kim Hyunwoo had given, firmly grasped in her right hand.