Chapter 49. Captain Buff
Jooheon’s original world.
The light of life Jooheon had sent over created a miracle.
At this point, the word ‘healing’ was no longer enough to describe it.
Blood vessels that had been rotting away from the plague repaired themselves.
Organs that had stopped functioning began moving again.
People who had been unable even to breathe slowly opened their eyes, as though waking from a long sleep.
“The fever... is gone.”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore...!”
It was a miracle.
And not one limited to a single city.
It was a light capable of healing all humanity.
Julian stood at its center.
In his hand was the ‘Seed of Healing’ Jooheon had left behind.
And then there was the troublesome Authority.
“...Haah.”
Julian looked down at Rulebook and eventually rubbed the back of his neck.
“This name is seriously terrible.”
<SPAM Transmission>.
It didn’t discriminate.
It didn’t ask for conditions.
It gave the target no right to refuse.
Whether they could handle it or not, the power simply spread.
Still, despite his complaints, Julian understood exactly how the ability worked.
So he took a deep breath and activated it.
[Authority activated.]
[SPAM Transmission.]
An invisible wave crossed continents.
Crossed oceans.
Spread everywhere humanity lived.
Indiscriminate restoration.
An almost excessive infusion of life force.
The plague couldn’t resist at all.
A short while later, Rulebook’s voice rang out.
[Trial of Disease cleared.]
Its voice was much quieter than usual.
Almost as if it hated admitting what had happened.
[All humanity survived.]
[...Success.]
“‘Success,’ huh.”
Julian muttered.
“You really don’t sound happy about it.”
Sure enough, Rulebook answered from the air in an obviously displeased tone.
[...You cleared the trial.]
[I truly didn’t expect you to overcome the Trial of Disease.]
Julian smiled at the disembodied voice.
“Thanks to you, we can properly use the effect you left us too.”
[!]
Rulebook flinched.
Come to think of it, it had once given them an effect meant to accelerate humanity’s destruction.
And that effect was—
[Healing Artifacts permanently operate at 200% effectiveness in this world.]
[Urgh...!]
Rulebook immediately understood.
Originally, using a healing Artifact had caused the disease to spread even faster.
Back then, this buff had been a curse.
But now that condition was gone.
“It’s become an excellent permanent buff for protecting this world.”
[Urgh!]
“And according to your rules, aren’t we supposed to get a reward for clearing a trial?”
[Urrrrrrgh!]
Rulebook ground its teeth.
It clearly hated everything about Jooheon’s abnormal behavior.
But—
[F-Fine! Rules are rules!]
[Notification.]
[An exceptional reward will be granted to the Majesty who disrupted the system’s order.]
It called it a reward.
But Rulebook sounded as though it were reluctantly handing out charity.
A pile of items immediately spilled at Julian and Ilya’s feet.
[Golden Hammer of Artifact Enhancement]
Consumable Artifact that raises the performance of any Artifact by one stage without damaging it.
[Attribute Conversion Scroll]
Temporarily changes an Artifact’s innate attribute, such as fire, water, or poison, according to the user’s preference.
[Majesty-Exclusive Potion]
Concentrated potion that greatly increases a Majesty’s basic capabilities.
[Gold Coins]
Universal currency used across worlds.
[Urrrrgh! I can’t believe I have to give away treasures this valuable! Of course, they were predetermined rewards, so I suppose I have no choice...!]
Ilya snickered.
“You’re making it painfully obvious you don’t want to hand them over.”
He looked up.
“Hey, book-head.”
“Aren’t there supposed to be privileges too?”
[URRRRRGH!!!!]
Rulebook practically writhed in agony before shouting:
[FINE!]
[Then I shall grant the Majesty who disrupted the system’s order the ‘Not Recommended Package’!]
It was technically a reward.
But naked calculation filled Rulebook’s voice.
[Listen carefully!]
[The rewards you are about to receive may severely damage trust between Majesties.]
At the same time, three glowing sheets of paper appeared in the air.
A warning message followed.
[Warning: Use is not recommended.]
[Warning: Severely damaging to alliances, agreements, and neutrality treaties.]
Julian looked disgusted.
“If they’re telling him not to use them...”
Ilya nodded.
“Captain is definitely going to use them.”
Rulebook gave a smug little laugh.
[He won’t be able to use these.]
After all—
[Reward 1: Declaration of Plunder Right]
Select one Majesty and declare, ‘That Artifact does not belong to you.’
If the declaration is accepted, the target Artifact enters a ‘Disputed’ state.
During a dispute, diplomacy, alliances, and neutrality treaties are automatically terminated.
One adjacent Artifact submits.
The moment a Disputed state is declared, the relevant area becomes neutral territory and all buffs disappear.
※ Using this on a Majesty permanently damages relations beyond repair.
Ilya stared at it.
“...Plunder?”
“That’s just Captain’s everyday life.”
“Shh.”
[Reward 2: Reputation Reversal]
Drops reputation to the lowest possible level.
In exchange, Authority effects are amplified by 30%.
Silence.
Ilya blinked slowly.
“...Uh.”
Then he said, with complete honesty:
“That’s literally just a Captain buff.”
“His reputation is already rock bottom—”
“Shh.”
Even Rulebook hesitated before presenting the final reward.
[Reward 3: Relationship Nullification Token]
Select one past treaty, implicit agreement, act of goodwill, or favor and make it ‘never have happened.’
The targeted Majesty cannot formally object.
Ilya recoiled.
“...Wow.”
“This one is actually trash.”
He didn’t add, Captain would probably use it while laughing.
Rulebook hurriedly continued, sounding excited by his reaction.
[Exactly!]
[Ordinary Majesties would never use rewards like these!]
[They destroy relationships!]
[They isolate you!]
[In the end, they only cause loss!]
Rulebook spoke as though placing all its remaining hope on this argument.
[These rewards destroy alliances and ruin your reputation within Majesty society.]
[So even Seo Jooheon—]
Julian and Ilya looked at each other.
Their expressions said everything.
That man cares about reputation?
[Anyway!]
[With rewards like these, he shouldn’t be able to exploit the system anymore!]
