The next morning came.

  “How was he all night?” Ereka asked the maids. They had visited Sungjin’s room along with Rittier.

  “That’s…… he asked Jenna a few questions and saw the Video Stones’ records of past battles; then he inspected the battlefields and went straight to bed. He got up just now.”


  “They didn’t make a plan during the whole night?”


  “No, Your Highness.”


  “I don’t understand. He managed to come up with a plan that would make Jenna beat me with only that? Maybe he pretended to sleep……”


  “We can’t tell you for sure, but we think that he got a good night’s sleep.”


  “We’ll find out soon enough if he is bluffing or actually talented.”


  Fighting spirit burned all throughout Ereka’s body. She never thought of letting him go. Most of all, he was a demidevil who verbally abused her from the first meeting.

  She was curious. If the demidevil from the Other World was actually capable, how could he fall asleep under such a circumstance as being level 0.

  Everyone said that if her level was a little higher, she could beat the Blood Ruler. She also lamented on this fact. Other variables in battle only mattered when the two opposing forces were of the same level. That was the truth. But this demidevil claimed that that was only an excuse.

  One man could have so much hope?

  I’ll…… I’ll verify that.

  After the meal, Sungjin greeted Princess Ereka who was waiting for him.

  “You’re here. Then shall we go have a duel? There will not be another chance, so I hope you show all of your strength.”


  “The same to you,” Sungjin replied.

  “Miss Jenna, please follow Sungjin’s lead from now on.”


  “Yes, Princess.”


  Jenna came flittingly and stood next to Sungjin.

  Rittier looked at them with a discontented face. Even just a duel between an extra and Your Highness caused dishonor in itself.

  “Let’s go to the battlefield.”


  They set off.

  Sungjin looked around as he headed toward the battlefield. The trees were so dry as if the season in Valhalla was winter. The air was cold and dry as well.

  The battlefield was a unique space base on what he judged yesterday. It was small and reached the temple, and it was separated from the daily areas of everyday life. It was just a little world that was built only for the battles between heroes. All fights in there were real. But when the battles were over, the dead were resurrected, and the world was restored to its original form for the next battle.

  It was a game map that God made. A battleground where the real battle could be done as a game. The reality transcends the game because it was “real.”


  However, there were many similarities in the rules.

  Each battlefield had its own unique terrain. It was controlled by whoever ruled the most land, and there were neutral monsters. It was very similar to a few MOBA games in that puppet soldiers replaced the minions, and these soldiers could be created as an army of both sides. In addition, there was a turret that automatically attacked approaching enemies. It was also similar in that crystal, instead of gold, could be earned by capturing puppet soldiers or neutral monsters, and you could equip items from Valkyrie in the base camp. It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was definitely a MOBA genre.

  But there were differences too, and these differences contained many disadvantages.

  The disadvantageous difference was just in the level system. In the game on earth, players started at the same level. But in Valhalla, players started with different levels from the beginning.

  Naturally, this was in favor of the princess absolutely and very disadvantageous to him.

  Another disadvantage was “artifacts.”


  The variety of items that could be used with crystals was more diverse than any other games. It was possible to implement any ordinary-level items in this world if the adequate amount of crystals was paid. But there was an exception. There was a unique artifact. Only its owner was able to use it on the battlefield because he had his own powerful ordinary items and his own origin transmission.

  And……

  “Do you really think you can beat the princess by using me?” Jenna asked in a low voice beside him. “I’m sure she will forgive you of your mistakes if you beg her now.”


  Actually, she would not forgive him.

  “The princess’s Heroic Power is twice as much as mine. And her magic-resistance power is so high that it’s incompatible with me, a wizard. You look down on her for her having lost to the Blood Ruler. But, the opponent was just too strong.”


  “Moreover, she has the ‘Shield of all People’ artifact that was inherited from the former king. The moment she uses it, her resistance power gets stronger.”


  Princess Ereka’s artifact increased physical defense and magical resistance power. It could not be compared with ordinary items that could be bought with the same crystals.

  It only widened the gap between them more.

  “I’ll bring us victory, so you just do as you’re ordered.”


  “Wow. Okay. I will do my best because it is a match. That’s all.”


  Okay, I can decide after seeing if he’s real or fake. I’ll watch him clearly.

  Jenna stopped asking more questions.

  Doing your best because it was a match……

  “I like that,” Sungjin said with a slight smile.

  * * *

  Both sides entered the waiting room through the temple, and an unemotional, mechanical tone signaled the start of the match.

  [Both sides will be transformed into the battlefield after 10 seconds. Please prepare. 10…… 9…… 1…… 0.]

  After the countdown, the door of the waiting room was opened.

  There was a large battlefield instead of the temple, a miracle only possible by God.

  An expressionless Valkyrie wearing a winged-helmet was in charge of implementing the game items. The Valkyrie stood right in front of the entrance, while the puppet soldiers were created at a set speed in the magic square next to it.

  In front of the magic square, there was a turret, which was the last line of defense and there was a passageway reaching the opponent’s camp beyond it. There was a dry, winter forest on the side where neutral monsters existed.

  This was similar but different terrain to the game map that Sungjin used to play in on earth.

  But that was okay.

  Stepping on the ground where “real air” was, Sungjin purely admired the “real soldiers” and “real weapons.”


  The battlefield here was real indeed; there were no such things as a program constraint on movement. What existed here were only the laws of physics, and the game did not have any limits where you could go. It was a real battleground where he could really do anything, a battle in which he could truly unfold all the things he had trained for.

  From text to 2D, from 2D to 3D, and from 3D to a plausible virtual reality someday—humans will continue to develop technology on earth to resemble the real thing. But here, this “reality” was present from the beginning.

  There were special talents, miracles, magic, arms of legend, and even monsters from myths that were not on earth.

  Hu-hoo. I’m excited.

  It was truly fortunate that he was summoned to this world, despite the promise he couldn’t keep. This stage for his shining legend was far more majestic than the final game competition on earth.