There is Something Wrong with This Game

[Ornus Town]

At the same time, in a different place.

Hecate strolled through the cobblestone streets of Ornus Town, her eyes fixed on her Game Interface with a complex expression.

The notification from Leon had come through to all Genesis Guild members—Rosenweil Kingdom had fallen, and the coronation was imminent. He had asked for all guild members to help maintain order during the process, but Hecate, instead of joining the others in the capital, had made her way to Ornus Town.

"Leon-sama, you really did it..."

Even though she had known about this plan in advance, it felt different when it actually happened. While it was impressive Genesis Guild had taken over an entire nation, and solidified their power, there were some glaring issues that troubled her.

It had all happened too suddenly and there was no sense of participation.

Hecate had been aware, yes, but she knew the other members of the Seven Stars, save for Astrid and Grim—had been left in the dark. They hadn’t been consulted, and certainly hadn’t been part of the operation. She could already anticipate the dissatisfaction that would surface during the next guild meeting. Leon’s unilateral action was bound to create waves.

Beyond the guild's internal politics, there was the larger issue of the Natives.

Genesis Guild was now labeled as usurpers, and that wasn’t something that would go away easily. While the relationship between Players and Natives hadn’t turned outright hostile, there was a tension now, a distrust. Only time would tell if that fracture could be mended or if it would grow worse.

And then, of course, came the inevitable backlash from the other guilds.

Prominence Guild would not stay silent after this, especially if it involved such big interests. Hecate knew that this coup would attract attention, and not the good kind. An anti-Genesis Guild coalition was all but guaranteed to form. There would be battles, conflicts, maybe even a full-scale war between guilds.

"Haah, if that happens, it’ll become my job to decimate them."

Hecate sighed, thinking of the extra work that would undoubtedly fall into her lap. 

But despite the looming challenges, there were merits to this development. After all, Genesis Guild was her foundation, her background. The stronger they became, the stronger her influence in the game grew. It gave her more leverage, more power. If this coup solidified their control, then all the effort would be worth it.

With that in mind, she pushed her concerns aside for the moment and closed her Interface. 

And then, a few minutes later, Hecate arrived and entered the Auction Hall of Ornus Town.

When the original Ornus Village was upgraded to a town, several Native organizations such as the Adventurer's Guild, the Mage Association, and even the Church of Light built their facilities there. And naturally, the Merchant Association did not miss the opportunity to construct the Auction Hall in this town.

This Auction Hall facility was newly created, and surprisingly, it had not yet been included in the surveillance by Kazu's intel. It was possible that he didn't expect the new auction hall and forgot to add it to his surveillance list. Here, nothing could prevent Hecate from claiming the proceeds from the auction sale of Black Phantom's loot.

A slight smirk crossed her face, grateful for the lack of oversight. 

As she approached the teller, a young Native woman dressed in the Merchant Association’s uniform greeted her politely.

“Welcome to the Ornus Auction Hall. How may I assist you today?”

“I’m here to collect the proceeds from the sale of several items.”

Hecate replied calmly, keeping her words brief.

The teller nodded and retrieved a small, plate-shaped artifact from beneath the counter, placing it gently in front of Hecate.

“Please place your hand on the artifact. It will transfer the gold directly into your inventory.”

Hecate pressed her palm against the cool surface of the artifact. A slight pulse of energy flowed through her hand as her game interface lit up, confirming the transaction: Ꞧ𝐀ŊǑ₿ƐꞨ

Transaction Complete!

You received <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQev-PBiOZDQ0RTHWY9nBfIz74bepUowMaovHqGZy1JoRmFV2ZrwWi-ydA-id9r99eEeB_8oRdNMmM8hYACgm8jzbWrc6zfs8NABN7qM_5aee4w9D5gi4Wfeus59iBOE3IkfYy4FTGsDYwMOiBlaaRU-YGdFeMFn26qdkywKGhfZwRVEPDY8j9e7L/s120/coin_1fa99.png" alt="" width="16" height="16" /> 1,216,335,000.

Hecate raised an eyebrow, impressed by the hefty sum. It could be said that the Genesis Guild was truly rich. They spent so much money to get back their equipment that Black Phantom sold. This was a good day.

The teller smiled as she took the artifact back.

"Thank you for your business." 

Hecate gave a nod, not one for unnecessary words. 

She exited the Auction Hall and made her way through the bustling market of Ornus Town. Vendors called out, their stalls overflowing with goods, but nothing stood out to her today. No rare artifacts or valuable items that might warrant her attention.

With a sigh of slight disappointment, Hecate took out her Return Crystal and activated it. The cool blue light enveloped her, and within seconds, she vanished from Ornus Town, returning to her territory where her real work awaited.

♠♠♠

[Ruins of Archades Imperial Palace]

As soon as Hecate reappeared inside the chapel, she was welcomed by 10 of her daughters.

The ten “Crowned” Revenants, immediately gathered in front of her and knelt down as they sensed her arrival. And then, Yuna, as the representative of the group, spoke.

"Welcome back, Mother!"

Hecate nodded at Yuna's greeting, her gaze scanning the loyal faces of her daughters.

A day had passed since the last Revenant creation, and just that morning, she had completed another batch of 30. Including the 30 she had created yesterday, the total number of Revenants with "Numbers" names had now risen to 60. These new Revenants had been assigned equally to the "Crowned" Revenants as their subordinates, expanding their ranks and efficiency.

The work imparting the skill Extremity of Primary Elements in the Ebremus Tower had been completed. With the help of the "Numbers," the task had been completed overnight by the combined efforts of forty Revenants.

With that hurdle cleared, Hecate shifted her attention to new tasks, assigning them the job of scouting the entirety of her territory, excluding the dungeons. Their goal was simple: scout, mark, and prepare for the eventual cleansing of monsters, followed by the systematic harvesting of all Gathering Points.

As for the 42 dungeons scattered across her territory, Hecate had no plans to touch them for the time being.

Dungeons were vital sources of resources, as long as they exists, the resources within could be harvested for a steady supply. It was better to let them prosper and clean them occasionally, without destroying the dungeon core.

Hecate paused for a moment, inspecting her skill list as she stood within her territory.

As expected, the skill Extremity of Primary Elements Lv1 on her personal skill tree had turned gray. The new Lv10 version of the same skill, now embedded in her Territory Skills, took precedence.

Spoiler

Skill Name:	Extremity of Primary Elements (Lv10)
Type:	Passive
Effects:	Increases MATK for Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, and Dark element spells and decreases MP costs. • MATK increased by 1000% • MP Costs decreased by 65%

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It was such a ridiculously overpowered passive skill, enhancing her elemental spell damage tenfold while slashing the MP costs by more than half. The only regret was that this incredible strength could only be used within her territory. Beyond it, her Territory Skills would be unusable.

And then, there was also another overlapped skill—Precision Mana Control Lv6.

Spoiler

Skill Name:	Precision Mana Control (Lv6)
Type:	Passive
Effects:	Grants the user the ability to finely control and manipulate their mana for complex operations, including: — Mana Efficiency: MP consumption -22.5%. — Mana Threading: 11 — Mana Calibration: Calibration rate :±60% — Mana Condensation: Spell Power :+22.5%

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These two skills, together, would turn any of her Revenants into lethal weapons against most monsters below Lv120 in the territory. Anything above that level, though, and Hecate knew the Revenants would struggle.

Still, there were many areas in her territory where the Revenants couldn’t handle the threat alone. Whether it was a swarm of monsters, elemental disadvantages, or unknown challenges, she had instructed them to mark the locations so she could deal with the problems personally.

Hecate then turned her attention back to her daughters.

 "Report the progress of the task, and share the maps of any problematic areas you've marked."

Yuna, ever diligent, stepped forward first.

"Mother, my scouting covered the southern forest. We've encountered a large concentration of Shadow Beasts near the riverbanks. They're resistant to most of our attacks, and the Numbers can't handle them without severe losses."

The members of Yuna's squad were those with pure dark caster builds, so it was no wonder they had a hard time fighting the Shadow Beasts that were made up of dark elements. However, such creatures are vulnerable to Mana Drain, and as Mana Revenants, they should have this skill by default as one of their racial skills.

Why don't they use it?

After Yuna spoke, now it was Diva's turn to speak.

"I scouted the eastern area. There’s a pack of wind-elemental Drakes that are too fast for us to keep up with. Our attacks don’t seem to affect them as much as we’d hoped."

It seemed that the problem was their own personal skills and the inflexibility of their thought process.

Since the enemy was moving fast, their spells rarely hit their targets and they were struggling. They should have been able to use bind-type spells to restrict the enemy's movements, but they didn't.

Then, the problem of not being able to move while casting spells. A common problem for beginner casters who do not have the Free Cast skill. It seemed like this skill should be added as a mandatory skill that must be taken.

Moving on to Tria's turn to speak.

 "My area is the southeast. There’s a swarm of Glowshell Ants that overwhelm our squads. Even with our combined efforts, they’re too many."

Still the same problem as Diva's squad, their inflexibility thought process.

With the Mana Revenant's Racial Skill, Ethereal Form, they could just phase through the ground, and then find an opportunity to bombard them with AOE spells, but unfortunately they didn't.

Moving on to Quarta, Penta, Sesta, Setta, Octa, and then Nova.

As each Crowned Revenant presented their findings, Hecate began to notice a pattern. The problematic areas weren’t inherently unsolvable—rather, the problems was from the Revenants' rigid thought processes and lack of adaptability.

They were powerful, but their understanding of tactics was still too linear, despite their abilities, couldn't think beyond basic strategies. Their inability to adjust to the circumstances meant they were stuck relying solely on brute force.

One by one, the others finished their reports, each facing different but similar issues—elemental mismatches, environmental barriers, or overwhelming numbers.

Lastly, Deca.

"In the far west, near the cliffs, there are rogue elementals. They seem to shift between forms, and we’re unable to predict their patterns."

Still the same pattern, yet it was understandable, since they were only created less than two days ago.

They had no prior knowledge and their level of intelligence was similar to that of newly created AI models. And even AI models have to be trained constantly so they could be useful.

When Deca finished her report, Hecate let out a small sigh, with a calm expression yet condescending. She looked at each of her daughters in turn as she said.

"My children, you misunderstand your abilities. You are not incapable of solving these problems, but you just don't know how yet. Watch closely, my children, today I shall show you the way, so that you may break your own limitation of thought."

The number of problematic areas was more than she expected, but not unmanageable.

Hecate prepared to tackle the problematic areas herself, as well as to train these Crowned daughters, improving their tactical thinking and adaptability.

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