What is a Seed of Life?

It is the Saint’s trial, and a qualification check—whether you have the power to obtain what the Saint left behind.

If you fail to gather a set amount of Seeds of Life within the allotted period, Territory Atlas cannot become a growth-type territory.

In other words, your qualification is revoked, and Territory Atlas is ruined forever—remaining a failed territory for the rest of time.

However, Hyunsoo filled the weakness of having only a tiny number of guild members and territory residents through hunting the Bone Dragon and drawing the Saint’s Sword, meeting the baseline requirement.

Now what mattered was how much he could awaken what slept within Atlas.

How much he awakens—that means how many Seeds of Life he gathers within the given time.

According to Kern, the number of sleepers that awakened would change depending on how many Seeds of Life were obtained during this period.

The more territory residents awakened, the better.

They’ll reclaim this place anew with me. Sometimes they’ll become forces, and sometimes they’ll become merchants.

That was why Hyunsoo and everyone who had migrated here became obsessed with obtaining Seeds of Life.

But the first day’s result was brutal.

A mere 121.

Even that had only been possible because Bella, in Sector D, had steadily hunted with the forces she led.

Hyunsoo realized just how difficult collecting Seeds of Life was, and he recognized his own shortcomings.

And also—

I won’t be able to awaken many territory residents.

Kern had said even they didn’t know how many territory residents had once lived here.

Still, by the standards of a great territory, the usual number was over 30,000 territory residents and over 3,000 forces.

That was what an average great territory looked like.

But since Seeds of Life were coming in slower than he’d expected, Hyunsoo had started to let go a little.

At least 4,000 blacksmiths came.

The problem was that those 4,000 blacksmiths would only fill construction and crafting.

So unlike the first day, he’d expected that today they’d get around 300—maybe 400 at most.

And since it was a territory quest, everyone was obtaining seeds, and Lord Hyunsoo could hear it.

The problem was that because everyone was doing it, notifications kept coming every few minutes, so he’d turned territory notifications OFF.

But he could still hear the on-the-hour alert.

Hyunsoo stared at the number floating before his eyes, stunned.

What is this?

[You obtained 2,754 Seeds of Life in one day.]

[It is a marvelous achievement.]

[Territory Atlas once reigned as the most outstanding great territory through various things.]

[Among them, the greatest power was the Saint’s power that led them.]

[You approach one of the powers the Saint possessed.]

[This is a power that displays the lord’s strength and dignity even while leading countless territory residents and forces.]

[Or it is a power that, as the lord of a territory, can even diminish the enemy’s might.]

[This power will exert unbelievable strength as the number rises, and you will obtain it whenever you fulfill things such as charisma as a lord, the ability to lead, and the power to command.]

Hyunsoo caught on to what this hint—the power the Saint had possessed—was referring to.

Stats... yeah. Stats!

Stats didn’t just mean the four primary stats you were given by default—there were also stats that existed depending on your class.

The more you opened these stat slots, the more power they gave a user. And as one of those, Hyunsoo already possessed the Legendary stat, Willpower.

Just gaining an additional stat slot is an enormous reward.

Ares’s rewards sometimes included an “all stats increase.”

By unlocking a slot, that increase would apply one more time.

And beyond that, character growth clearly had a limit.

But the way to break past that limit was to possess stats other people didn’t have.

And if it’s a stat the Saint possessed...

GLUG—

Hyunsoo hadn’t seen it, but he knew.

That had to be a Legendary stat.

Then a question occurred to him.

Is it thanks to the 4,000 blacksmiths... and the four master blacksmiths?

Even so, it was too many.

And Hyunsoo thought it might be connected to Nell’s tea time.

What’s happening right now?

And Hyunsoo didn’t need to know.

Because—

“SO GOOOOD~?”

He was just sitting there, sucking down honey!

And Hyunsoo refocused on his work.

As time passed, he made a puzzled face.

[You obtain many Seeds of Life in a short period of time.]

[A new story of Atlas begins.]

*****

Saint Aria had already figured out who the old man and the broad, sturdy man were.

She agreed with what the two of them were saying.

The iron-framed man asked,

“Housewarming?”

As if receiving it, the old man let out a hearty laugh.

“Empty-handed?”

And the territory resident standing beside them—face drained white—kept nodding.

“......”

Aria tilted her head at this bizarre combination.

To think the two kings, who were rumored to be on terrible terms, have become this close.

Aria looked toward the place where Hyunsoo might be.

Are you walking a path better than the Saint’s...?

The Saint had interacted with the Ares Church, but couldn’t interact with other nations.

So he seized the entire continent and walked the path of the Virtuous King.

But Hyunsoo’s path looked even more righteous, and more solid than that.

Are you walking the legend of the Virtuous King in your own way?

That meant walking the right path and gathering talent.

Aria agreed with them.

“I never knew such a custom existed. I’ll join as well.”

If the two of them were bringing housewarming gifts, Aria couldn’t go empty-handed.

And Aria, too, felt her competitive spirit stir.

Before she was a Saint, she was also a legend.

Even if she didn’t attend gatherings where Continental Top Ten Legends assembled.

So this would be the first time she compared her power with other legends.

And Ben and Barad had coaxed her into it with similar thoughts.

“Keep moving forward, all of you.”

[Saint’s Blessing]

[All stats increase by 19%.]

[All attack power increases by 18%, and all defense increases by 22%.]

[All skill levels increase by 1.]

[Natural healing speed becomes 3x faster.]

The two kings were impressed.

Buffs didn’t work on every being.

Ironically, the last time the two kings had received a buff was twenty years ago.

The reason was their high level.

Because their level was too high, becoming stronger through buffs wasn’t easy.

But Aria’s buffs ignored level, and in this moment made the two of them more than 20% stronger.

And Kabel—still pale—had no choice but to be even more horrified.

What kind of combination is this supposed to be...?

Two kings, and a Saint buffing them.

Kings who were already monsters became even more monstrous.

Kabel had only wanted Hyunsoo to obtain more Seeds of Life and raise his stats.

He couldn’t stop himself from being horrified at the situation he’d created.

And the three legends began entering dungeons together.

Kabel couldn’t believe it.

The time got cut in half?

The debuffs Aria was placing on the dungeon monsters!

And on top of that, her buffing ability!

Even funnier was that the “housewarming gifts(?)” they were obtaining for Hyunsoo looked as easy as grocery shopping at a big-box store.

In a blink, three dungeons collapsed.

[There are too many Seeds of Life acquired.]

[There are too many Seeds of Life acquired.]

[Seeds of Life......]

Listening to the notifications, Kabel gaped like a goldfish, feeling shock, admiration, and awe all at once.

When another dungeon collapsed, there was one man watching Kabel.

His name was Pao.

Known as the holy knight closest to legend, Pao was a powerhouse beyond level 400.

He pitied the ordinary, weak(?) territory resident whose face had gone white.

An overwhelming force that an ordinary territory resident can’t endure.

But Pao wasn’t an ordinary person.

So he pitied the territory resident named Raon.

More importantly, why are they going that pale? It’s not that bad...

Holding that question—

Then, when the fifth dungeon collapsed, Ben, Barad, and Aria came out to rest.

“Saint’s healing... seems less impressive than I expected.”

“She was just a healer, that’s all.”

“...‘Healer’? Watch your mouth, spearman. If it weren’t for my healing, you would’ve broken a finger. And thanks °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° to me, we’re moving this fast—”

“Heh-heh. That’s not true, healer. It’s all my great spear—”

“This is why spearmen and healers don’t work. The continent’s sword share is over 40%, you know—there’s a reason—”

No—what kind of conversation was this?

Pao couldn’t understand it.

Even worse was how Saint Aria was being pulled into it.

L-Lady Aria?

At the word “healer,” Aria flared up and started arguing, competitive fire blazing.

Then—

The three of them SWISH—turned their eyes on Pao at the same time.

“Hoho. Sir Pao, I’m the best, right?”

“Heh-heh. You use a spear, do you? I’m the one called Spear Heaven, so I’m the best, right? Hm? Say it.”

“A sword, of course. Why did you even choose something like a spear in the first place? I truly can’t understand you. Starting today, you should take up a sword—”

In that moment, Pao panicked.

The killing intent and fierce expressions pouring off them.

[Saint’s Overwhelm]

[Spear Heaven’s Wit]

[Sword King’s Killing Intent]

Even one of those auras was hard to endure.

But the instant three auras erupted at once, Pao’s mind went hazy.

More precisely, he thought it would be better to pass out than try to endure it.

And in the end—

THUD— 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“This one’s a weakling too.”

“Isn’t he the top holy knight of the Ares Church?”

“He is a bit of a weakling. Anyway...”

Past the fading edge of consciousness,

Pao met the eyes of the territory resident named Raon, who looked down at him with a pitiful expression.

“......”

“......”

One of them was the strongest assassin.

One of them was the top holy knight of the Ares Church.

*****

China Special User Management Team.

Team Lead Wang Wook, Branch Head Tao, and the rest of the Special User Management Team employees—who hadn’t gone home in over a week—stared at the monitors with bloodshot eyes.

The reason was that once Saint Aria joined, the speed of seed acquisition became more than twice as fast.

They’d never once predicted a pace like this.

No.

From the start, the two kings obtaining seeds together made no sense.

And then the notification appeared.

[User Hyunsoo obtains many Seeds of Life in a short period of time.]

[A new story of Atlas begins.]

A red-flashing alert!

A new story created by three legends.

They tensed as they watched it—then fell into despair when they saw the contents.

“I-It continues like this?”

“My god...”

“This chains like this?!”

A new story was something that unfolded unpredictably depending on the actions of someone extraordinary.

And as the difficulty shot up, the rewards also became excellent.

After learning what would happen, Branch Head Tao spoke to Team Lead Wang.

“Team Lead Wang, bring me the Story Team Lead.”

Team Lead Wang dashed out and dragged in Story Team Lead Lee Hwi, who’d been eating in the cafeteria.

The moment Story Team Lead Lee Hwi entered the Special User Management Team room, his eyes trembled.

W-What is this...?

The employees inside—even Branch Head Tao—were all looking at him with hollow faces.

And maybe it was his imagination, but a heh-heh-heh... sort of expression flickered across them.

It felt like: You’re not going to be the only one.

“Team Lead Lee.”

“...Yes.”

Team Lead Lee looked at Branch Head Tao.

Tao jerked his chin toward the monitor.

Seeing it, Team Lead Lee swallowed hard.

What is this...

Because it was a story too shocking.

“Welcome.”

Team Lead Lee understood what that meant.

The Story Team was pulling overtime too.

He glanced around without thinking.

The China Special User Management Team’s expressions said it all.

Welcome. First time in overtime hell?

Heh-heh-heh-heh.

We haven’t gone home in a week.

“......”

On the verge of tears, Team Lead Lee checked the monitor again.

On the screen was something utterly unforeseen—something the Story Team hadn’t even planned.

[The Saint awakens.]