Chapter 829

〈Chapter 829〉 Part 3, Chapter 2, Section 06

“Aaaah…!”

Hari blankly gazed up at the sky.

The mysterious SS-Rank Monster boasted a size and power that made one doubt if even the Eight Guardian Deities of Vishnia could easily defeat it.

Could they really take it down without causing any collateral damage near the border area?

Then again, since this monster “appeared” within the borders of the Vishnia Kingdom, wouldn’t responsibility for dealing with it fall to them?

But what about the people of Gaiana Kingdom who are already suffering the immediate consequences?

All such thoughts fled Hari’s mind when Phoenix was seemingly devoured mid-air.

“Aaah…!”

Despair. Terror. Fear.

The anguish of possibly never seeing Phoenix again.

WHOOSH!

As if to erase all these emotions in an instant, a Blue Flame erupted from the monster’s mouth. Then, in a chain reaction, blue flames began erupting from within its body. Eventually, Phoenix burst forth, piercing through the monster’s torso.

“Haaa…”

Hari collapsed onto her knees, her legs giving way beneath her. The remains of the shattered monster scattered across the ground while Phoenix hovered above, merely looking down at Hari.

Though no expression could be seen through the helmet, it seemed as if Phoenix were smiling.

WHOOSH!

Phoenix disappeared in a blaze of fire. Hari was startled by the sudden warmth she felt beside her.

“It’s teleportation.”

Phoenix had reappeared in human form – as a rather small boy. With a slightly tired expression, he yawned and looked around.

“With a monster like that suddenly showing up, it’d be strange if you didn’t pass out, right Master? Hmm. Hari, I’ll leave the cleanup to you.”

THUD.

Phoenix fell towards Hari. Though startled, she managed to catch him, but his face ended up pressed against her chest. However, Phoenix remained completely still.

“…”

KIIEEET!

Krishna, rolling on the floor, bared her fangs threateningly at Hari, but Hari only hugged the sleeping Phoenix tighter and patted his back.

“…Rest well, my lord.”

* * *

“As a commemoration of our glorious victory, I logged out to have sex. Just shoved it in.”

To celebrate our triumph, I engaged in vigorous sexual activity with the three of them. Through the movement of my hips and member, I fully expressed the excitement and adrenaline rush from our battle victory. Shin-ra, Harang, and Yuna all eventually left.

Still, I couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.

“You’re better in bed than in battle, aren’t you, big brother?”

“Big brother looks better wielding his manhood than a sword.”

“…”

While their compliments on my bedroom skills were certainly pleasing…

Still…

“I wish they’d acknowledge my combat skills too.”

Remember, this is me who once achieved victory against Blazing Phoenix during the Chang-yeom era. In her spiritual realm, I repeatedly emerged victorious, to the point where the frustrated Blazing Phoenix erased those memories.

If I had been born into a fantasy world, I likely would’ve reached Grand Swordmaster level.

“Both on the battlefield and in bed.”

“If you’re SS+ rank on the battlefield, then your performance in bed must be SSS rank, so naturally there’s no comparison.”

“What? Are you saying my fighting skills aren’t as good as my sexual skills?”

“Yes.”

At Shin-ra’s decisive statement, I decided to reflect on myself while taking a shower.

SHHHH…

As warm water cascaded over me, I recalled the days when I developed my combat abilities in-game.

“Even in-game, I learned by getting beaten up.”

Before successfully defeating Blazing Phoenix for the first time.

I trained under numerous heroines and NPCs, including Park Ra-on of the Soaring Clouds and Xiao Lin the Martial God.

Perhaps I’m the only one who did this.

Even within a game world, I managed to achieve S-Rank combat strength without relying on system advantages or Chang-yeom’s mental backup.

After that, I honed my skills further to defeat Spiritual Chang-yeom and ultimately succeeded.

Through that process, I gained the ability to survive the 20-Year Earth.

I defeated Kim Penril, Azidahaka, and Hydra in a 1:3 battle. Honestly, if Chang-yeom hadn’t held me back, I could’ve incinerated them all regardless of how many cubes they used, bringing peace to the world earlier.

“That was desperate times.”

In the 20-Year Earth, danger lurked everywhere – bombs could explode anywhere, anytime.

“I fought to survive.”

Here, I had to make every effort to survive, especially to protect my – Chang-yeom’s – body with all my heart.

“But things are different now.”

Tera is different.

Creating an avatar takes some time, effort, and budget, but if Tera’s avatar dies, it doesn’t mean my death.

“Death is familiar to me.”

I’ve experienced the pain of death countless times in the 20-Year Earth. So even if my avatar dies here, I’m not afraid.

What I fear is one thing:

Any accident that traps me in Tera, separating me from my loved ones.

Even if my physical body remains in the original world while only my spirit crosses over, an accident could leave my consciousness trapped in Tera, unable to return to my body.

If that happens, I’ll handle it just like I did in the 20-Year Earth. I’ll consider all possibilities, thoroughly investigate every option, and proceed cautiously before making any moves.

But now?

With the ability to log out and escape at any moment?

“Maybe doing something flashy once or twice isn’t so bad?”

Flying through the skies, dramatically defeating enemies to show off to my women, wanting to create impressive stories to tell my future children about my heroic deeds in another world – isn’t that acceptable?

When I tried to pull off something truly spectacular, I only received polite nods in return.

“…”

This must be the inevitable difference between men and women. What would send shivers down the spines of male viewers clearly failed to resonate with my wives.

Yuna prefers clean and efficient enemy disposal.

Whether burying them underground, compressing them out of existence, or sealing them away in metal plates like construction debris, she likes making enemies disappear completely.

Harang appreciates beauty.

Rather than brutally burning or crushing enemies, she prefers freezing them whole then letting them shatter elegantly.

Shin-ra?

She prefers complete annihilation without leaving even ashes.

But I chose to tear through the monster’s insides, creating a spectacle with debris flying everywhere as I defeated it.

Entering through its mouth and exiting through its tail like riding a waterslide, I intentionally turned at the last moment to spread my wings dramatically.

All for style.

Waiting for the day when I can proudly tell my future child: “That was your father.”

But perhaps I’m mistaken?

“Was it all just pointless showboating?”

I could’ve fought like in the 20-Year Earth, using long-range attacks.

Though it might lack flair, I could’ve obliterated the enemy with overwhelming firepower.

I could’ve launched my full-strength Blazing Phoenix Revival after lifting the monster high into the air, erasing its very existence.

Yet I deliberately chose the more dangerous path.

As commonly said about why men tend to die young – unnecessarily suffering when they don’t have to.

Knowing I shouldn’t have done it, yet I ignored that knowledge and went ahead anyway.

“Next time, I’ll just kill from a distance.”

Instant Blazing Phoenix Revival upon meeting.

Rather than engaging Garura in aerial combat, I should’ve roasted it mid-air.

Instead of close-quarters battle with Kinna-ra, I should’ve broken its limbs, immobilized it, then burned it until it collapsed.

Rather than breaking through Sand Dragon’s body, I should’ve scorched it red-hot from outside without being swallowed.

Reflection.

I don’t know what kind of monsters will appear next, but from now on I’ll fight purely for practicality.

SHHHH…

“…”

I finished my shower and stepped out. On the bed, Shin-ra wearing a gown looked serious as she examined something.

“What’s wrong?”

“The company sent a new proposal.”

After putting on my gown, I approached Shin-ra and checked the smartphone she handed me. It was a message from Ha Sun-tae.

“There’s that mobile game based on Tera, right? PV.”

“Yeah.”

“They want to use your footage.”

“…”

I watched the video file Ha Sun-tae sent.

The 30-second clip showed various heroines battling S-Rank monsters in cutscenes, and among them –

SWOOSH!

There was me, emerging from the Sand Dragon’s body while spinning. Spreading my two wings, I flashed the bright blue eyes visible through my helmet toward the camera.

Then the screen transitioned.

“Wow.”

“You.”

Shin-ra gave me a satisfied thumbs up.

“That was really impressive.”

“Looking at it now, it does seem somewhat decent. But I won’t do this kind of thing anymore. Making people watching feel anxious is a bit…”

“Mother, really? Money’s coming in though?”

“What?”

Shin-ra pointed to the top part of the messenger conversation. There was a previous message Ha Sun-tae had sent.

“Following the chairman’s special instruction, we’ve decided to produce another PV incorporating Phoenix Sir’s highlights. Given how vividly Phoenix Sir battles chaos, if you could provide us with some spectacular combat footage, we’d be willing to compensate accordingly. Looking forward to more impressive performances?”

“In short, they’ll treat you better the more spectacularly you fight. Basically, hazard pay? Heheh.”

“It wasn’t actually dangerous though?”

“It’s different from the viewer’s perspective. Starting with how you lured the Sand Dragon away from people and fought it over a ravine, making it look like you were barely avoiding being eaten.”

“That was just to provoke it.”

“People watching won’t know that.”

Shin-ra whispered a terrifying temptation into my ear.

“Two thousand per cut.”

“W-what…?”

“They’ll pay you every time you put on a spectacular fight. Even…the sun will shine on your account. As incentive.”

“Wh-what?”

In other words, the more spectacularly I fight, the more money goes to my child?

“Shin-ra.”

“Yes.”

“Earning money for our family is never something shameful, right? Isn’t it?”

I’m simply doing my best as the head of the household.

* * *

“We’ve succeeded. We probably won’t need additional costs for filming the PV now.”

“Good job. This is impressive even for me. It’s going to blow up in views.”

“…Wasn’t this supposed to be about reducing PV production costs?”

“Huh? No way. It’d be a waste for only me to see this. Everyone should watch it.”

“…”

“Suntae. Edit it properly and release appropriate highlights. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

Ha Sun-tae.

He’s a manager, and the bald president is the chairman.