Level 0 Master

It would be nice if the princess declared war first.

Because the ruler said that it was ok to do whatever we pleased.

And…

Half a day later, a messenger brought a message.

"It is confirmed that the princess has declared war through the temple! We will have a battle this month!"

"Oh, ho."

"Hahahahahahaha."

"She is trying to make a desperate move while the ruler is absent, which is a great opportunity for us."

"This is great. The princess has taken her last steps."

"If we win, she will be our prisoner."

"And we were told to do whatever we pleased."

If the Blood Ruler were a king, the princess would have been offered to the king, but the Blood Ruler is a queen.

So among the treasure, we can share the beauty just among them.

They made eye contact with each other.

Classy yet glamorous, chic but gentle—the knight princess's body was an appetizing one. None of them had any intention of holding back.

"Haha. Great. After our victory, we will take the princess as the highest achievement. Do I have your agreement?"

"That sounds fair."

"Good. I agree."

Victory was a given. The only important thing was who would take the princess first. All three of them felt the burning desire to conquer that innocent body. Getting leftovers would be so boring.

"Haha, don't complain if I completely destroy her."

"Ha, who told you we would let you take her first?"

"You will both bite the dust, haha, there will be nothing left when I'm done."

Their laughter echoed loudly around the bleak castle.

At that moment, everyone at the hero level thought exactly the same thing. The princess would be defeated without a doubt. Whatever she did would be in vain.

One of them would take the virginity of her beautiful body.

Too bad.

They all gulped because they all wanted that body as well. Although they knew there would be no chance for them, they still fantasized. But well, now it would all be over.

With this absolute difference between their military strength, it was clear who would win.

"So until that day, which one should I take instead," Nart murmured while browsing the girls behind bars.

The girls knew that becoming an ingredient for the Blood Ruler's bath was painful and miserable, but becoming a plaything for the three knights was not too different from that.

"Number 37, 39, and 72. Come out."

They all had names but were instead called by numbers. To the hero class, they were just "things," and it was convenient to call things by numbers.

The three knights played with the three girls until they were finished and then threw them away.

I want to go home…

I miss my mom…

Hopeless wishes brought about more pain.

* * *

Chapter 7

The battle between the princess and the three knights was just one day away.

Until dawn, the princess tossed and turned.

Can we really win this war?

She thought of the strategy meeting she had right before the declaration of war.

"Our enemies are stronger than us. Considering their level, strength, and experience, their military power is better than ours by 50%. In general, we shouldn't attack first," Ereka explained patiently to Sungjin.

When there was a battle between, the battlefield was decided to be the territory of the defending force, and the defending force had the right to ameliorate the geographical features. Some would argue that this was fair because the battleground was symmetrical, but that argument was out of ignorance. Even a baby born yesterday knew that the one who had been studying the field by having practice fights had the upper hand compared to the one who had to understand the field for the first time on the day of battle.

"But… When the Blood Ruler comes back awakened, the difference will become extreme, and the advantage will be useless to discuss. I think this is the only chance to take over the capital."

"I get the situation. And the battlefield at the capital is a 3:3 map, so you want me to find the tactic to win under the given conditions?"

"Yes, please."

Rittier, standing next to Ereka, looked at Sungjin as if to say that an extra like him was not capable of that, but Ereka ignored this look.

"Got it. You can count on me and declare war."

Sungjin promised without even a second of hesitation.

Ereka sighed again.

Sungjin promised, but is it really possible?

Of course, his military tactic to defeat her using Jenna was revolutionary, but for an "attack," the same tactic could be tricky to execute. But there was no way to win without him anyway.

Huh, it is true that Sungjin's secret tactic is our only hope.

In the meantime, unlike the princess, Sungjin was relaxing in a chair. There was a paper with their battle tactic on it for tomorrow in front of him.

Our opponent is 1.5 stronger than us. On top of that, there's a penalty that we can't study the field before the battle.

Objectively, this was an unfavorable condition.

It will be a breeze.

That was what Sungjin thought of this battle. Well, of course without him, it was clear that the princess couldn't win, but with him, this was clearly a winning game, only if there were no other hidden things other than the given conditions.

Right at that moment, someone quietly opened Sungjin's door. But Sungjin turned around right away as if he was waiting for the person.

"Oh, welcome."

Rittier was standing there. He glared at Sungjin as if he was going to kill Sungjin.

"Oh, I knew you were coming."

Sungjin easily took the homicidal look from Rittier, and that upset Rittier even more.

How dare you, you are just an extra.

If it was just Sungjin being arrogant, that would have been bearable, but the real unbearable thing was something else. A cocky extra would command Rittier's dearest princess, and if they won, he would get the rights to half of the kingdom as a reward.

The former was a disgrace on the princess' honor, and the latter could put the kingdom in danger, again.

"You should just go to sleep!"

Without any further explanation, Rittier attacked Sungjin. His sheath hit Sungjin's head, and Sungjin fell down and passed out.

"Ha, so this is how it is!"

Rittier looked down on Sungjin with disdain.

You can use your gimmicks, but you are still level 0, you're powerless in front of a real hero's power.

Defeating the princess with Jenna was just a gimmick. The real cause of the victory was Jenna's power, and there was time to study the battlefield and to place various installations before the battle.

Since we are attacking this time, Sungjin's gimmick won't work.

Moreover, the lack of experience of the princess made her vulnerable to his deception, whereas the three knights of the Blood Ruler were fully experienced.

And after all, Sungjin was just useless.

For all those reasons above, how could Rittier let Sungjin command the princess and even after the victory let him gain half of the kingdom?

I will hand the full victory to my princess.

So nobody needed Sungjin, and he will remain useless.

Rittier carried the unconscious Sungjin with one hand and moved in the night. He went into a warehouse far away from the castle and tied Sungjin to a pillar.

"Stay out of it. For the love of Your Highness, I won't kill you. I will let you go when the battle is over."

By then, this idiot wouldn't be able to ask for his share of the kingdom as he didn't do anything.

You fooled the princess but… I need to take care of her more in times like this. The late king asked me to be her guardian until the princess can stand on her own feet.

Rittier left the warehouse, completely satisfied by his own act. To be careful, he locked the door as well, just in case.

Whatever tactic Sungjin had in mind for the victory, if he couldn't share it with the princess and was locked in the warehouse, it was natural that the tactic would be futile. This was a truly risky situation, but Sungjin, who was supposed to be unconscious, opened his eyes as soon as Rittier left.

"Of course, this was your move. Ha ha."

He laughed calmly as if Rittier acted just as he had expected. Actually, Sungjin was not unconscious. When Rittier ambushed, he fell down slightly just before the hit to minimize the damage from the blow.

Sungjin pretended to be knocked out.

From Rittier's attitude toward him, Sungjin knew it was possible that Rittier would do such a thing on the night before the battle when the princess had no time to search for him if he went missing.

Now we are getting into an interesting level of difficulty.

All three of our enemies are level 6, while we have one level 6, one level 5 and one level 4.

However… one was a "troll." In the game on earth, this was a creature that benefited the enemy, and it was hostile to its own team or ally.

There were two types of trolls, one was a spy from the opponent whose aim was to defeat its own ally, and the other was one who wanted to win but had the worst judgment. It gave the illusion of being good and smart but made the wrong moves that benefited the enemy and never listened to others.

Rittier was the latter one.

In his tiny head, he was doing this for the princess.

So, now, let's start with the new condition; win with a troll.

The enemy was 3+1, while they were only two, and one was only a half heroic, low-level magician. But to help them, Sungjin needed to escape first. In this obviously bad situation, Sungjin kept his relaxed smile. He predicted this kind of reaction from Rittier, and he was prepared.

From now on, we should find out whose calculation was accurate. Sungjin moved his hands to untie himself. The first thing to do to achieve victory, Sungjin needed to reassure his command over the princess before their defeat was finalized.

* * *

The day broke. Ereka was on edge after realizing that Sungjin was gone.

"What was going on? Now we need to go to the temple."

"It is clear that since today is the battle day, he realized that this was impossible and ran away," said Rittier, but Ereka didn't agree.

"No way, he is not that kind of a person."

"I agree! Sungjin oppa is far from someone who would run away!" Jenna defended Sungjin.

"However, it is true that he is not here. Your Highness, we need to move to the temple to be on time."

"Ok… We should wait for him at the temple. He may come directly to the temple."

They waited at the temple, but naturally, Sungjin didn't show up.

[Both parties enter the waiting room.] The announcement came with a robotic voice.

"Why isn't Sungjin here…"

"Just the three of us can do this. Your Highness, a Level 0 player was quite useless anyway."

"How can you say that. You've seen his tactics."

"That was just a one-time gimmick. I'm sure he ran away as soon as he realized there was no way he could do it again."

"No way. But maybe there was an accident… Oh my god. What if he went back to his own world due to the incomplete summoning ritual…? What should we do? He was our last hope."

"Your Highness. We need to get in. Whatever gimmicky tactic he had, since he is not here, there's nothing that can change the situation."

"Huh, no. Sungjin oppa promised me to bring us victory."

Jenna shook her tail with uncertainty.

I never thought that Sungjin oppa was someone who would get cold feet like this.

He proved his impeccable insight to Jenna last night. That was a few minutes before midnight.

"Trouble falling asleep?"

"Sungjin Oppa, can we really win tomorrow?"

Sungjin smiled as if he had already known she was at unease.

"Of course. But there's something I need to tell you."

"About what?"

"You don't have to pretend to be innocent when there's only the two of us."

"What? Oppa. What are you talking about? Hehehe. You are getting the wrong idea."

Jenna's tail was trembling.

"To place you right, I need to know what you are."

"How… did you know??"

"Haha. Let's just say that it was my insight."

Sungjin didn't give any details. Actually, he was just feeling her out, while Jenna thought she was busted and gave him the truth.

There was one thing to have doubts about. This morning, there was too much physical contact to call it a "mistake." Even though she was the titular head of the maids, she knew everything about the castle in and out.

Sungjin glanced at Jenna's glaring eyes. He tried to feel her out, and she was busted. She was still a child.

"Oh… please don't tell the princess. She will be shocked."

"If there's no bad intention, then I don't plan on invading your privacy."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I promise. I know you've tried your best to achieve what you have."

"Thank you, Sungjin oppa."

Jenna was thinking this was very strange.

Sungjin oppa was too confident to run away… Maybe… that old Rittier did something to him?

When Jenna started to have her doubts, the final announcement came out. Now it was too late to doubt.

"Well, now the time's up."

Ereka had no choice but to enter the temple with only two.

Sungjin, are you ok?

Rittier nodded his head with content.

Don't worry, Your Highness. Sungjin's gimmick with premade illusions would be useless since we couldn't study the field in advance, but I do have a great tactic to defeat them. Trust me.

And there's no way he was going to allow an extra to inherit half of the kingdom.

I will protect you with my life, Your Highness.

Sungjin was unconscious and hidden in the warehouse, out of mind until the end of the battle.

* * *

The three knights were discussing their strategy in the waiting room.

"So the extra brought by the princess is not participating."

"Not surprising. Even a level 4 wizard kid is slightly better than that."

"Hahaha. The inexperienced princess brought half a wizard and then a complete extra to the game. She doesn't have the eye for talent."

The ruler, Schtram, said to keep their guard up, but the three knights were full of confidence.

"Your Highness was a bit too careful. We don't need to worry about an extra."

"Well, I have no idea what he can do, but he is not on the battlefield, so it's useless to even think about him."

[You will move to the battlefield in a moment. Get ready. 10… 3… 2… 1… 0.]

In the meantime, unlike Rittier's plan, Sungjin was coming out from the broken warehouse door. Behind him, on the ground, there was the rope that had tied him up.

He was holding a tiny pocket knife that was hiding inside his sleeve. The knot was tight, but understanding the direction and the distribution of the strength, Sungjin started to slowly slice away at the knot to make some space, and he untied himself. And his trained body was the best tool to use against the locked door to take off the lock with the blow.

He didn't have Heroic Power, but he was able to solve the problem with his own body and brain.

Now, I need to be there on time.

The battle already started, and the temple was far away. Sungjin started to run.

Nobody knew if Rittier's stupidity would destroy them all or if Sungjin would be able to pick up the pieces before the disaster.

* * *

The battle was on.

The spirits from both sides were summoned and given the same body, and both sides called out who they represented.

Ereka, with a body that better suited a beautiful dress, declared at the battlefield, "The protector of humans, the name of wisdom and war. Allow me to have part of your power."

The wind blew, and the air started to vibrate due to her Heroic Power. Her wind-blown blonde hair reflected the brightness of the sun. The spear of victory with an eagle on it was held in her right hand.

"Virtus Successio! Jeanne d'Arc et Protector!"

A golden shield appeared in her left hand.

She called out the name of the young and delicate saint who fought to protect her people in the middle of a tragic war 100 years ago.

The silver circlet of laurel appeared on her heavily armed body, and simply knitted, white gold armor shone like a virgin's body. The rest of her body showed its beauty, protected by golden Heroic Power.

The nobility of her wanting to protect her people from a fearful enemy was shining brightly, showing its beauty and honor.

"Let's try our best and win this war."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Yes, my princess."

The princess' army checked the revealed battlefield.

They would clash 3:3 on the battlefield where three different lanes led to each other, and the forest between lanes had neutral mobs that could be hunted.

"Thankfully, not much changed after they took it."

They were familiar with the geographical features here; it used to be theirs, and they had to win this over.

"Your Highness, I will head to the forest. You should head to the bottom lane and send Jenna to the top lane."

What would Sungjin do?

Ereka thought briefly, but she couldn't expect a piece of advice from someone who was not there. She had to follow the experienced Rittier's direction.

"Let's do that."

"Ok, I will go first."

Rittier departed right away. On his way, he calculated what would happen. Their enemy would send Nart, the knight with the highest moving power out of the three knights.

I can defeat Nart.

There was a disadvantage in a 1:1 fight because Rittier was 1 level lower than Nart, but Rittier was sure he could win. Rittier knew Nart's swordsmanship, habits, psychology, and everything, and he was ready to counterattack Nart's skills. He was sure he had the skill to overcome a one-level difference.

I will beat him.

And then, when it became a 3:2 fight, he would use Sungjin's tactic when he defeated princess Ereka. Use the outnumbering advantage to accumulate the number of items to overcome the level difference.

Humm, I don't want to bring in an idea from an extra, but everyone could have thought of that tactic, really.