That night, after returning from subduing the rock raccoon, I sat at my desk and held a pencil.
There were fluorescent lights on the ceiling, the air conditioning was running, a modern desk and chair, an equally modern bed, and even paper and pencils. It felt like I was in my real home outside, not in a game.
I don't even know why there are these writing tools. When I asked if there was anything I could use to write, they gave me a pencil and an eraser. I was dumbfounded for a moment after receiving them.
Aurora uses a quill pen that looks like something you would use in the Middle Ages.
For now, that wasn't the important thing, so I shook off the distracting thoughts and focused on the paper again. I needed to organize the situation going forward.
'The main story I have to progress through is, of course, the Knights' side.'
I wrote the words Knights of the Silver Dawn, circled them, and tapped them with the tip of my pencil. Of all the stories in Blizzard 4, there was no story as easy and convenient as the Knights route.
The number of bosses that must be defeated to progress is clearly small, and compared to other essential bosses, the difficulty is also relatively easy. It wasn't called a newbie-friendly story for nothing.
Even in the Bella mode, where the enemies' specs and aggressiveness were at an all-time high, its status remained the same.
In an actual game, this would be a story I wouldn't even look at because it's not fun, but right now, I only have one life. I have to take the easiest and most comfortable path possible.
In addition, by clearing the main story, the player can become the First Knight Commander of the Knights of the Silver Dawn or even rise to the position of a knight directly under the Emperor.
Since the path to success was guaranteed, the future was bright.
The side quests weren't complicated, the story was decent, there weren't many essential bosses, the difficulty was easy, and the ending was great. It was a route that was completely filled with advantages.
'I think maybe if I catch the world-eater, I'll be able to return home... ... But I don't have a definite answer yet, so I need to prepare.'
There was another reason why I was worried about the future of this world.
The cliché of the Iceborne series is that you usually return home after clearing the final boss or finishing the main story, but you can't ignore the possibility that you might end up living here for the rest of your life.
So, there's nothing wrong with preparing in advance, right? Do what you can, nip off all the buds of anxiety, and only then see the ending after being fully prepared.
'… … Then, what should we do with the Emperor?'
I paused for a moment when I saw the word 'Emperor' written at the very top of the paper. He was the same in the game, but here he was a much more unpredictable human being.
If all the choices I remembered were rendered useless, I wouldn't have the confidence to choose the correct answer in the Emperor's ever-changing multiple-choice opening.
Unless you choose a story where you move your base to the Holy Land or completely cut ties with humans, if you remain in the Empire, you will inevitably get tangled with the Emperor at least once.
However, the Emperor was notorious among users for various reasons. As a boss difficulty, in terms of story, and in relation to the character's personality.
'Well, it's meaningless right now, so I'll think about it later.'
In fact, if the Emperor's personality had really changed, then my actions of struggling here alone and preparing for it were meaningless.
The conversation choices with the NPC that became the source of Lize's story are still in my head, but that knowledge was of no use at all in the conversation with Lize.
Although Iris and Claudia had personalities that strongly felt like original NPCs, it would be safe to say that Lize and Erica were completely different people.
What would be different about being an emperor?
'You don't have to come to Seongguk now.'
I turned my thoughts elsewhere. If I proceeded in a reasonably well-organized order, I would probably arrive at the Holy Land around the middle, after the story had progressed to a certain extent.
First of all, you should visit that country at some point. There is a magic that you need to obtain from the Pope there. It is much easier to buff enemies with that spell later when you want to defeat them.
But that was only for a while. There was so much work to be done right now that there was no time to turn to the Holy Land. There was too much work to be done in the Empire before that.
You will also need to ask the Knight Commanders for help with the Battle Fatigue debuff ignoring rune, and you will also need to defeat the essential bosses of the main story.
'There are a total of 3 essential bosses.'
Arachnaine, the Spider Queen.
Burning Golem.
Blind black wolf.
These are the only three bosses that you must defeat in the early stages to progress through the main story of the Knights of the Silver Dawn. The rest are all optional or added in the middle stages.
If you categorize by location alone, it is best to first catch the Spider Queen Arachnainera, then the Blind Black Wolf, and lastly the Burning Golem to minimize route waste.
On the other hand, if you think about efficiency, it was advantageous to catch the Burning Golem first. This was because the magic that could be acquired by catching the Burning Golem was Arachnaine, which was extremely effective in boss battles.
Since mana is very low, using magic once or twice will drain your mana tank, but using magic itself is not impossible.
No, if Erica does her job, we might not need the magic we get from catching the burning golem.
-Smart.
"Newbie. Are you inside?"
My thoughts were interrupted by a knock from outside. Iris's voice was heard immediately. Startled, I hurriedly hid the paper. Even if the truth were to be revealed someday, it was not now.
"Yes. Why?"
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"I have something to tell you."
I cautiously opened the door at the sound of someone saying they had something to say. In front of the door stood a silver-haired knight wearing a white sleeveless shirt and silver dolphin pants as usual.
To be blunt, it was Iris.
"What do you want to say?"
"It is a word related to Lord Aurora."
"With your lord?"
"He said that all the pending work has been taken care of. So he said that he will hold a celebration party soon."
"Ah, so that's what you decided to do in the end."
Aurora had been worried that there was no room to cut the budget until a few days ago. However, in this short period of time, it seems that she has finished all the pending work and even finished distributing the budget.
"He said he overworked himself a bit, even reducing his sleeping hours. He said he had to hold a celebration like this before his joy completely faded away."
There were three reasons for this banquet. The lord had been killed, Aurora had ascended to the position of new lord and head of the household, and the Knights of the Silver Dawn had regained their original position.
"So, I came to tell you to get ready."
"Are you saying that instead of asking whether I want to participate, you're ordering me to participate unconditionally?"
"Lord Aurora said that all members of the Knights of the Silver Dawn must attend. Especially you, the new recruit who contributed the most to this event. Since there are only five participants, including the Lord, he said that not a single person can be absent. Is there a problem?"
"I didn't plan on leaving anyway, so it's okay. So, what should I wear? Just wear what you wore in the Knights Templar?"
This kind of celebration was an event that had never been seen before in the game, and I had no idea what the dress code for medieval noble parties was, so I felt a little uneasy.
Men's clothes might be pretty normal, but what about women's clothes? I couldn't even imagine how outrageous the clothes they would take out as dresses would be.
"The Lord said he would prepare everything. So don't worry."
Last time we talked, it seemed like Aurora's perception changed due to the mode. Shouldn't we be more concerned rather than just giving up?
Last time, I was dumbfounded when I saw someone praising the white sleeveless top and dolphin pants as a really great outfit.
"… … Okay, I understand. When?"
"It's tomorrow."
"what?"
"He said tomorrow evening."
"I understand it well enough, so you don't have to explain it in detail. More importantly, can you prepare the banquet in one day?"
"I heard that you gave orders in advance to hold a banquet in time for the end of the work. The actual preparations had been underway for several weeks."
That's what it was. As expected, this is Aurora-like handling of things.
"That's all I have to say. Do you have any questions or anything to say?"
"No, not really."
"I get it."
Iris turned around after finishing her speech. And before the door closed, a short greeting was exchanged with a blushing face.
"Sleep well, rookie."
"… … ? Okay, I understand."
I only said a few words of greeting, but Iris' face turned bright red all the way to her ears. Then she quickly disappeared down the hallway.
'Why are you doing that?'
It was something I couldn't figure out.
And the next day.
'I knew this would happen.'
Looking at the dresses worn by the Knight Commanders, I realized once again the power of the mode.