Chapter 10

Weed wasn’t afraid of dying as he started playing Roanoke.

But there was one thing he did fear…

“Dad, are you a noob?”

Being called low-level by his daughter.

‘Not sculpting again, right?’

He had made a name for himself as a Sculptor once, but that was enough as a fond memory. Still, he was a little curious.

He wondered what other people were doing.

‘Are there any players in Roanoke who’ve mastered Sculpture Transformation or other advanced sculpting techniques?’

It would be quite entertaining if there were players walking the same path he had.

(There aren’t. Most Sculptors have gone extinct.)

‘Why?’

(Because Roanoke isn’t peaceful. Combat-related classes are preferred. Sculptor is very difficult to level up in the early stages.)

‘Yeah. I know that all too well.’

Back in Royal Road, when he became the Desert Emperor, things were easier.

Fight, grow, plunder, and leave the weak behind.

In the desert, the victor took everything. If you showed mercy to the weak, your notoriety increased and warrior loyalty dropped.

He had swept through the desert doing whatever he pleased.

By contrast, as a Sculptor, he had to scam other players just to earn some loose change.

Though admittedly, he was very good at it.

(There are even fewer Sculptors in Roanoke than there were in Royal Road.)

‘I see.’

(Most players who chose Sculptor now look like beggars.)

But there was one advantage to Sculpture in Roanoke.

Skills sold at the Legendary Library were dirt cheap.

Which, of course, meant they weren’t valued much.

He currently had 4 Legendary Points.

Sculpture Transformation required 3, so he could learn it if he wanted.

‘Having played Royal Road, I know this well.’

Sculpture Transformation and many of the sculpting secrets were trash early on.

Turning into an Orc, for example, didn’t change much.

Being bigger didn’t automatically mean stronger.

Without insanely high Art stats to back it up, the skill was useless.

And when giving life to sculptures, you had to sacrifice two hard-earned levels.

‘The more subordinates I create, the weaker I get. And if those subordinates die all at once, I’m ruined.’

You had to worry about them not dying after you made them.

It was an absurdly high-risk, low-reward skill.

‘If I gave life to one now, would it even beat a goblin?’

What intrigued him next wasn’t swordsmanship or general magic—but necromancy.

From summoning various undead to curses, chimera creation, undead enhancement, and corpse explosion—there were tons of books on these spells.

One black book tucked away in a corner caught Weed’s eye.

“The Age of Corpses: A Necromancer’s Manual.”

It described infamous necromancers and the techniques they used.

‘There it is—Dark Rule.’

Dark Rule: Proclaims the Law of Darkness. The power of undeath turns all corpses in the area into undead.

The three signature spells of the Undead Legion of Barkan were Dark Rule, Death Aura, and Absolute Magic Defense.

They were all in the Legendary Library—and there were even stronger spells.

Abyssal Mirror: The Abyss rises and reflects all nearby enemies. The living melt, rot, and are turned into undead.

• Effect Radius: 300 meters.

• After battle, the undead return to the Abyssal Swamp and can be resummoned.

• Warning! After the spell ends, the caster suffers immense pain.
  If unable to withstand it, they die and are turned into an undead themselves.

A spell that turned living beings into undead wholesale—imbued with the twisted power of a dark god.

It wasn’t on a regular shelf—it stood out in an ominous black case.

‘What is Forbidden Magic?’

(It’s significantly more powerful than normal magic. But it comes with a price.)

‘And that price is… pain?’

(It is presumed to be excruciating. If you can’t endure it, you die and become undead. In Roanoke, that means permanent death.)

Dark Rule cost 10 Legendary Points, and Abyssal Mirror required a whopping 13.

Dark Rule could raise an undead army during a large-scale battle.

Kill one, and another rises in its place.

Abyssal Mirror, on the other hand, immediately killed all enemies within range and turned them into undead.

‘Has any player learned Abyssal Mirror?’

(We monitor all Roanoke communities and videos. So far, no player has learned Abyssal Mirror or Dark Rule.)

(One mage, Pukea, is collecting points to learn Dark Rule. He’s a huge fan of Barkan Demorph and has played only Necromancer for 20 years.)

‘I didn’t need that much detail.’

Weed returned from the Legendary Library and met the three people summoned under Hell Difficulty.

Their lives were now tied to this Stage 3 Hellfire challenge.

And no one had ever cleared Stage 3 before.

“What you need to do is…”
Gulp.

Barton, a man in his 40s, swallowed hard.

He had barely scraped by the character creation challenge on Hard difficulty.

He couldn’t imagine the level of someone who had cleared all the way to Stage 3 of Hellfire.

‘I won’t be of much help here.’

He knew the trial content, which made him nervous.

How much use could they be against defeated soldiers and knights?

The Hell difficulty challenger had to be truly exceptional if they were to survive.

‘Please don’t give us anything too hard. Dying might be part of the game, but at least give us something survivable. What if we’re bait to lure the enemy?’

Barton just hoped Weed had a good plan—and that it didn’t involve him doing something dangerous.

Sen and Luria felt the same.

They didn’t want to die here.

Roanoke had turned into a game of death spiraling toward doom, but they still didn’t want to die.

Their will to live burned brighter than ever.

Weed looked at the three and said:

“Don’t try to do anything.”

“…Excuse me?”

Being told not to do anything when life and death were on the line was… unexpected.

“This challenge requires three players to proceed, so I summoned you. But I don’t actually need your help.”

“……”

“Think of this as a ten-day vacation. Just relax and go back.”

They wanted to say a lot—why they were summoned for Hellfire difficulty, whether he had a real plan, how dangerous it would be, if sacrifice was necessary.

Some even thought at least one of us might die.

They just hoped it’s not me.

‘Can he really do it alone?’
‘We’re not supposed to do anything?’
‘Really? Is he just that confident?’

If he cleared Hell difficulty, the summoned would receive great rewards.

Even in normal Roanoke, each trait was incredibly valuable.

In Hell difficulty, even in Stages 1 and 2, top-tier traits dropped like rain.

If they could just survive this trial, they’d have nothing to complain about.

‘So why don’t I feel reassured?’
‘Is it really okay to just wait?’
‘What if we’re all dead in ten days?’

Weed said to relax, but anxiety filled their hearts.

Weed still had an item he’d picked up from killing goblins in Hellfire Stage 1.

His habit from Royal Road of looting everything—even junk—was alive and well.

Nameless Carving Knife

• Attack Power: 2–3

• Durability: 5

• A discarded sculpting knife with no known owner.

• The blade is dull, but it’s usable.

A carving knife.

It looked different from the ones he used in Royal Road, but the feel in his hand was familiar.

“Phew… A carving knife. So I’m holding one again.”

Beautiful memories from the Royal Road days came flooding back.

How he scammed countless players with overpriced sculptures—rose-tinted now in retrospect.

“Well… a little won’t hurt.”

Weed sat on a rock and began carving a nearby chunk of wood.

Shk shk.

As the knife moved, the wood slowly took on a human form.

‘There are so many people I won’t see for a while.’

Seoyoon, whom he couldn’t meet now.

His daughter, somewhere in this dangerous world.

He didn’t want to just miss them in his thoughts—he wanted something tangible he could look at anytime.

‘So many moments in life I want to hold on to.’

Weed thought back to his first meeting with Seoyoon.

The day they shared food at the instructor’s house.

‘Even a single piece of meat she ate felt like a waste.’

Years had passed, but that memory remained etched in his life.

‘She seemed cold and a little scary. I thought she might kill me if I did something wrong.’

He feared she’d kill him if he ate more meat than her.

He hadn’t understood her frozen heart at the time and was simply scared.

Though they’d been through countless things since, that first memory—of sharing meat—was unforgettable.

Scrape, scrape…

Weed’s knife moved, and Seoyoon’s form, with long flowing hair, took shape.

The details were intricate and precise—almost unbelievable that it was made of wood.

He hadn’t carved in ages, but his hands and mind remembered.

Suddenly, a message popped up.

Ding!

The goddess Sarasvati, patron of art, music, and wisdom, is amazed by your creation.

You’ve gained attention from the goddess. Art stat increased by 2.

He had received a message just from carving.

The goddess of Roanoke herself had commented in awe.

Weed quickly returned to carving.

He was used to getting stats from creating sculptures.

Sarasvati praises the beauty of your sculpture. Art stat +2.

Sarasvati marvels at the sculpture’s charm. Art stat +3.

Sarasvati feels a thrill from the sculpture’s proportions. Art stat +3.

Message after message.

And Weed made up his mind.

‘If I fall for it twice, I’m just a sucker.’