46 - The Game Master's Burden

---Viktor's POV---

I knew all too well the severity of my injuries—something Edgar was also keenly aware of.

His expression softened considerably. "No wonder you had the confidence to mention the Sea of Mist in front of them."

"You're overthinking it. Divine power isn't that miraculous. The main thing is that the undead are resilient and naturally hard to kill," I replied, tilting my head in thought. "With another ten thousand points of divine power, I might not even need mana nodes to heal."

Such was the unreasonable nature of the undead.

Unfortunately, I currently only had a fraction of that—barely over a thousand points of divine power after a harrowing brush with death.

A truly unprofitable venture.

I sighed inwardly, shaking my head. And divine power wasn't just for healing. There were plenty of other pressing needs vying for it.

Thinking of the unresolved problems still on my plate, my head began to ache.

Sitting back down, I spoke solemnly. "My original plan was to use the tide to gradually familiarize the players with Aeltia. But plans can't keep up with changes."

"The Sea of Mist is a must-visit. So, it's time to expose them to the outside world."

Edgar tapped his fingers rhythmically against the ground. "They can't even get past the Great Oak Forest right now. How do you plan to introduce them to the outside world?"

"Not the outside world itself," I clarified, "but here—this abandoned town. It can serve as a microcosm to help them understand."

When I first chose Honeyvale as a base, this was part of my consideration. Aeltia's civilization hadn't changed much over the centuries. Even the remnants of town's culture could provide the players with a glimpse into the outside world.

"I don't have enough divine power to fully heal myself. But speeding up their training? That's doable."

"With their own efforts in training added in, I'm confident we can bring them up to speed quickly!"

After saying this, I hesitated slightly. "But there are still two issues we need to address."

Before heading to the Sea of Mist, Honeyvale Town had to become self-sustaining—capable of operating autonomously even in our absence. In other words, it needed to function as a proper "starter village."

That meant solving two major problems: security and food. The current magical barrier could last until winter, but we needed a stable source of food.

After some thought, Edgar spoke. "From my observations this morning, Alyanne is capable of handling the players for now."

"I can head to Nary tomorrow and see if I can acquire some crops suitable for planting now."

He still had a decent amount of coins. With enough profit to entice them, he was confident he could find willing traveling merchants.

"That's exactly what I wanted to discuss," I said. "The best option would be fast-growing crops that can be harvested before winter. They'd fill the gap left by the absence of sweetfruit."

Gathering information had its perks. If I hadn't known about the Nary Town mayor's decree for citizens to plant extra grain for the winter tide, my confidence wouldn't have been so high. With news like this circulating, plenty of traveling merchants would likely head there to profit from the situation. This gave us a decent selection of crops to choose from.

Edgar nodded in understanding. "Anything else I should bring back?"

"Find 10 refugees willing to come to Honeyvale."

I wasn't concerned with taking things step by step anymore—I needed the town operational.

"But," I added, "any willing refugees must destroy all items related to the Church or deities before coming here. And they'll have to sign a contract: anyone even considering converting their faith will be immediately expelled."

"What?! No switching faiths allowed?" A small voice suddenly chimed in. Luminaris shot upright in protest. "How will they provide me with divine power then?"

"Isn't the divine power from the players enough for you?" I retorted. "Adults are talking here—don't interrupt."

"If you hadn't spoken up, I'd have almost forgotten. Since you can fly, go get Alyanne for me. Use the back door."

Luminaris was about to refuse but froze under my death glare. His body reflexively shrank back before reluctantly floating off.

"Fine..."

I could tell he was thinking about breaking the contract again.

With the troublemaker gone, our conversation resumed.

Edgar rested his chin on his arms, contemplating the feasibility of the plan before shaking his head. "The conditions are too strict. I might not be able to find ten people."

"Bring as many as you can."

I wasn't surprised by his response. Convincing believers to renounce their faith was harder than getting them to quit an addiction. But with enough people to choose from, suitable candidates would appear.

"These refugees will likely become Honeyvale's first residents. Their baseline qualities must not be compromised!" I said firmly. The first batch of residents would set the tone for the town's image.

Edgar nodded calmly. "Anything else to add?"

"That's all for now."

Simultaneously training players, accepting refugees, and cultivating farmland was already pushing our limits. Any more tasks could risk overextension and failure.

Seeing that I had nothing more to say, Edgar reminded me, "What about the God of Creativity's divine essence? You sent him away specifically to discuss how to deal with him, didn't you?"

"Luminaris?" I hesitated.

My gaze fell on the distant statue, his head just visible over the barrier. A thoughtful look crossed my face.

Due to the one-sided contract and his status as a divine essence, I had rarely avoided his presence. He probably knew much of the players' origins. But in terms of allegiance, he was technically an enemy. And I was certain that if he found a way to break the contract, he'd betray me in a heartbeat.

Handling Luminaris wasn't easy.

"For now, I'll keep him close. He doesn't retain much of Aeceus' memories, so there's a chance to reform him."

"Maybe he can even become our most important piece against Aureal or even Aureal once they resurrect."

My serious tone made Edgar study me for several moments before looking away.

"Fine. You know your situation best. Just don't expect me to find a bigger mana node for you if another accident happens."

His tone carried a hint of frustration.

"Relax, today was just an accident. Its value far outweighs the risk!"

At that moment, commotion erupted behind the chapel.

"The gate's open!"

"Quick, everyone charge!"

"Ow! Why can NPCs pass, but not us?"

The players were as energetic as ever.

A few seconds later, Alyanne appeared, clasping her hands nervously.

"Leader, good day."

"Good day," I responded politely. "Perfect timing—we just finished talking."

Alyanne glanced around hesitantly before speaking. "Luminaris said you were looking for me?"

"Yes," I replied. "Please escort Edgar back. On his own, he might struggle with the players swarming him out of curiosity."

When those words were spoken, everyone was stunned.

Alyanne straightened up, her body tense, stammering, "M-Me?"

Even Luminaris couldn't wrap his head around it.

"Viktor, have you gone crazy? She is just an ordinary person without any magic!"

"I know that," I replied, turning my gaze to Edgar. "Just now, you used the Dawn Judgment, didn't you?"

When the white light descended, I hadn't lost consciousness immediately. That blade of light—I had seen it clearly. It had interrupted the divine power supply seamlessly, but that wasn't a power Edgar could wield in his current state.

From the moment I woke up, I had sensed something was off. That I managed to show no sign of it was purely due to sheer willpower.

Edgar looked dazed and shook his head. "No, that slash was a new skill I comprehended after leaving the Radiant Church. It doesn't have a name yet."

"The consumption is also less than the Dawn Judgment. I just need a bit of rest."

"But you just set up a barrier forcefully, and now you're barely holding on to your consciousness," I said, finishing the thought for him.

"Alyanne, take him down to rest," I ordered without room for argument.

"Yes!"

Years of receiving orders had trained Alyanne's body and mouth to act faster than her brain. Before she even processed the news of the Knight of Dawn's injury, she had already made a "please" gesture.

Edgar sighed quietly. "Nothing escapes your eyes. But my injury really isn't—"

Before he could finish, his body went limp, and he collapsed backward with a thud. Fortunately, Alyanne and I worked together to catch him, avoiding a disaster where his head hit the ground.

Luminaris screamed loudly, "He's really hurt!"

Alyanne looked at me in a panic. "This…"

"It's up to you to take him back," I said helplessly. I hadn't expected that as soon as I finished speaking, he would actually faint. What kind of jinx was this?

"If he wakes up halfway, please let him know—I'll replace his sword with a new one."

Alyanne nodded quickly in agreement. Having grown up in a mercenary group with a survival-of-the-fittest system, she didn't hold traditional views about propriety between men and women.

She bent down and hoisted Edgar over her shoulder.

Offering me an apologetic smile, she said, "Sorry, Sir Edgar's height isn't suited for being carried."

I was silent for a moment before replying awkwardly, "No problem. I understand."

It had only been a few days, but the powerful physical strength of the dragon race was already beginning to show. I just hoped that when Edgar woke up and learned he had been carried around in front of the players, he'd be as understanding.

I escorted Alyanne and Edgar to the back door, watching them leave before closing the church door.

But I stayed inside for a bit longer. I wanted the players to believe there was still ongoing content in the church, minimizing their chance of witnessing Edgar's embarrassing moment. It was the least I could do for the man.

Luminaris perched back on my shoulder, muttering softly, "You only cared about his health at the end. Are you two even friends?"

"Hah, you know what friendship is?" While tidying up the area where players logged off, I asked sarcastically.

Luminaris puffed out his chest proudly, "Of course! The memories I inherited say Aeceus's friends were spread all across the Divine Realm!"

"Oh—you mean the friends who ended up killing each other?"

"Absolutely not!"

Luminaris stomped angrily.

I always used the Divine War to mock him. But lacking memories of that part, he had no way to refute it.

"I'm sure there were compelling reasons for the war. It wasn't some petty fight over faith-based power like you claim!"

I could see his thoughts working.

"Hey, hehehe…"

"Lost your mind?" I glanced at the giggling orb in confusion. Never mind, his affairs weren't important.

Pushing it aside, I opened my system panel to handle one final matter.

---

[Name: Viktor von Vinesse]

[...]

[Skills: Divine Insight, Shapeshifter, Multiple Avatars (9/1000)]

[...]

[Divine Power: 988]

[...]

---

Although my divine power points had dropped below 1000, the upper limit of Multiple Avatars, which had increased a hundredfold, remained unchanged.

"Could it be that the maximum divine power determines the number of divine avatars?" I mused. For me, that translated into the maximum number of players. If I wanted 10,000 players, I'd need to gather 100,000 divine power points!

The most significant gain from the resurrection ritual was this sudden increase in the player cap. I closed the system panel without immediately issuing a new round of player recruitment. The new players still hadn't fully adjusted to Honeyvale. Bringing in several times more would overwhelm me.

"I'll wait until today's over and evaluate the new players' progress," I muttered.

The stars twinkled faintly in the night sky.

I didn't stay long in the church. Once the players either voluntarily or involuntarily logged off, the town fell into a quiet calm. With Edgar unconscious, the task of bringing logged-off players' bodies back to the church fell to Alyanne and me.

Thud!

"This is unacceptable. I must write a player handbook. Behavior like collapsing outdoors should incur penalties!"

Throwing the last clueless player into the safety of a protected logout zone, I gritted my teeth. I didn't want to repeat this hide-and-seek scavenger hunt through town!

I was just a fragile undead who could fall apart at any moment—not a moving service for players.

"They've got to be carrying over habits from some other game," I muttered. "Who logs out only when they've used up all their stamina?"

Next time, I wouldn't feel sorry for their bodies. A night of cold wind outdoors would teach them a lesson!

Opening the system panel, I noted the divine power points: 1600.

It was a clean number. I immediately allocated 1000 to make the players' in-game backpack feature a tangible reality. If I delayed further, the growing player base would eventually notice the inconsistencies.

At least this would free up much of my time—no more lurking in the shadows to monitor their activities.

"For now, let's see how today goes before planning the next steps," I decided.