If the goal was simply to seize the fortress, then there was only one path forward: defend one’s own against invaders and take theirs by force. However, that only held true when the object of conquest was a scarce and limited resource.

- Capture the magic circle (+30 points)

A magic circle, however, was a different story entirely.

“... Please.”

“Then, excuse me.”

[You are attempting to capture the magic circle.]

[Countdown has been initiated!]

Fwoosh—!

Between the glowing magic circle and the distant ceiling, a red window flared in the air. A countdown appeared, ticking down from ten.

[Three, two, one.]

As soon as the final number flipped to zero, a message appeared.

[Siege successful!]

[You have captured the magic circle (+30 points)]

Eun-Ho had earned 30 points with ease. However, that much was expected. The real key lay in what came next.

- Defend the magic circle (+30 points)

There was no penalty when the defending side failed to protect the magic circle.

That means we can essentially take turns farming it, Eun-Ho thought.

Tap!

With a hardened expression and a heavy sigh, Saito stepped onto the circle.

[Defense failed!]

[The magic circle has been taken.]

Ten seconds later, the alert popped up, and Eun-Ho immediately stepped forward again.

[Siege successful!]

[You have captured the magic circle (+30 points)]

“It works. That’s sixty points in total,” Eun-Ho said.

“So it really works...” murmured Saito, his once-blank face giving way to astonishment.

“It’s probably one of those special trials designed to make players tear each other apart. I guess no one ever thought to use it like this.”

The idea had come to Eun-Ho while watching others struggle, thrashing helplessly in a metaphorical quicksand. By exploiting the loophole—this cycle of capturing and recapturing—he could multiply their score endlessly.

Of course, there’s a risk.

Even knowing that, it wasn’t a strategy most could choose. They had to open the path all the way to the central tower for their opponent first. Moreover, for it to work, they had to trust that they could reclaim the fortress afterward.

“... Thanks for trusting me,” Saito said quietly. “We got our fortress back because of you.”

“I should be thanking you,” Eun-Ho replied. “You gave it up in the first place.”

It was almost like a corporate favor exchange between affiliates.

“Either way, the look on the hostess’ face is gonna be priceless.”

“Right.”

They could completely flip the game board.

[Siege successful!]

[You have captured the magic circle (+30 points)]

[Defense failed!]

[The magic circle has been taken.]

[Siege successful!]

[You have captured the magic circle (+30 points)]

...

[The Brain from the Bureau of Investigation exclaims that they have never seen anyone grind a siege like this before!]

“Whatever you call it, as long as we win, that’s all that matters,” Eun-Ho muttered.

[The Prince from the Bureau of Investigation laughs, saying that’s not what the trial was designed for!]

[The Newbie from the Bureau of Corporate Relations scratches their head, wondering what they have even been doing all this time.]

[The Morning Star from the Sales Department urges them to hurry up before the organizers patch it out!]

[A donation of 1,000 Welfare Points has been made!]

[A number of observers are shocked by your cunningness!]

[A donation of 2,000 Welfare Points has been made!]

The observers’ reaction had been electric with continuous gasps, donations, and a steady influx of new viewers. However, Eun-Ho thought it was far too early to be impressed.

“Don’t get shocked already,” he muttered to himself.

That was because there was more to come.

- To: Lee Eun-Ho

- From: Kim Ji-Eun

- Message: Everyone’s scattered to China, Turkey, and the U.S. fortresses, working on them now. I’ll pick you up when we’re done!

This point-copying factory wasn’t limited to their little corner. It was happening everywhere.

[The Catty Cat from the Bureau of Investigation gasps at your ruthless persistence!]

[The Old Guy from the Sales Department slaps their forehead and says you would even chew on tree roots if it earned him points!]

[A new observer has joined!]

[A new observer has joined!]

[A new observer has joined!]

...

Amid the headache-inducing flood of messages, the final trial concluded.

[Time is up.]

[The final trial, Siege Warfare, has terminated.]

[Due to unexpected performance results, evaluation grading will be delayed.]

[Please stand by.]

***

Thanks to Ji-Eun, they’d been able to join the Chinese fortress. As soon as they arrived, Eun-Ho scooped up Yul, who came barreling toward him.

“Uncle! Where were you?!”

“I was working. Were you okay? Not crying?” Eun-Ho asked.

“Yup! But that Oppa was crying!” Yul insisted.

“That Oppa?”

From behind a pillar, a familiar little face peeked out. It was Wei with black, round hair, and eyes still puffy as if from crying.

“Wei? Why...” Eun-Ho started to say, the thought why are you here? rising to his throat but swallowed down.

Wei hunched his shoulders and hid behind the pillar like a guilty child, watching Eun-Ho warily. It was so childlike it almost made Eun-Ho smile.

“Did you do it? The magic circle,” Eun-Ho asked.

“... Huh?” said Wei.

Eun-Ho sighed and listened as Jae-Hyuk lowered his voice to brief him, “Yes, that’s right, Hyungnim! The magic circle work was done with that kid. He worked very hard.”

“Oh, really?” Eun-Ho said.

“Yes. It’s hard to see a child who won’t say they’re tired even when they are...”

Hmm.

Eun-Ho nodded at Jae-Hyuk’s report and set Yul down on the ground. The girl ran off the moment her feet touched the floor, but Wei stayed behind the pillar.

“Are you going to stay there all day?” Eun-Ho asked.

Wei blinked as if waiting for permission. “C-can I go?”

He seemed to genuinely expect Eun-Ho to grab him, bully him, or even kill him.

Therefore, Eun-Ho answered lightly, “Well, for now...”

He didn’t want to be cruel. Wei had been an enemy, but he was clearly talented. Eun-Ho preferred to leave room for future possibilities.

[Go Player: Wang Wei]

- Grand Match(Lv. 17)

- Territory Construction(Lv. 9)

Of course, Eun-Ho had confirmed that aside from his Go skills, Wei posed no other immediate threat. Go talent was only dangerous against an opponent sitting right beside one, and was harmless in this situation. The calculation had been clean.

“Hyungnim! You won’t kill him? He’s an enemy.” Jae-Hyuk asked, surprised.

Wei lowered his head so deep, his strained expression completely unlike a confident warrior.

“He already conceded, didn’t he?” Eun-Ho replied.

“Huh?”

“He resigned. He said he gave up.”

Wei looked up, bearing a seriousness that didn’t suit his age.

“I don’t see the point in killing someone who already surrendered,” Eun-Ho explained. “Unless he comes back to fight.”

Wei seemed startled, “Ah...”

“Pay me back if you’re grateful. Give me something good later, okay?”

It was half a joke, half sincere, but the little boy treated it like a promise.

“Something good...” He pondered the words with a solemnity that suggested he had never heard a joke in his ten years. Then he answered with quiet determination, “I’ll look for something.”

“All right, all right,” Eun-Ho said, satisfied.

Leaving Wei behind, Eun-Ho walked over to rejoin the rest of his group.

Jae-Hyuk shook his head in disbelief as soon as he saw him. “Grinding points like that... Seriously, how do you even come up with such ideas, Hyungnim?”

“Well, it just sort of happened,” Eun-Ho replied with a shrug. “How many points did we get?”

“We’re close to nine hundred points, Hyungnim! I think we went back and forth at least thirty times!”

“At that rate, we should be in the safe zone. Nice work.”

Jae-Hyuk was the only one still full of energy. He looked around at the others collapsed on the ground and sighed sympathetically. “Heh, I could still go another hundred rounds, easy. It’s everyone else who looks dead on their feet.”

Maybe it was because they had spent three straight hours doing nothing but marching, fighting, and grinding points.

“Nah, don’t say that,” said the security guard, waving a hand. “We barely did anything! Those guys are the real heroes!”

He pointed toward the corner of the central tower, muttering under his breath, “I still can’t believe this, honestly.”

Eun-Ho followed his gesture and heard a faint clatter.

Clack—!

Lined up in neat rows, Skeleton Soldiers stood rigidly at attention, rattling with each movement. They were the troops Eun-Ho had brought earlier to defend the central tower while he was away.

“Welcome back, Captain!”

“We have completed our mission and waited for you...!”

Their jawbones quivered as they spoke, teeth clacking together, but their posture radiated discipline in a way that felt oddly endearing.

“Young Man! When you said that you’ll be bringing some friends,” the guard chuckled. “I didn’t expect those friends to be Skeletons.”

Eun-Ho gave a vague answer as it wasn’t worth explaining. “Ah... I see.”

“Friends?”

However, the Skeleton Soldiers apparently took it differently. Their bony arms froze mid-motion, and the empty hollows of their eyes flickered faintly with blue light.

[The Skeleton Soldiers are deeply moved by their commander’s words.]

[Skeleton Soldiers' loyalty instantly restored from 95% to 100%.]

There was a bit of a misunderstanding, perhaps, but not one he felt the need to correct. Still, now that he looked at them properly for the first time, they seemed better.

“All of you look healthier somehow,” he muttered.

Having reassembled their skeletons by hand, he remembered all too well how fragile they’d once been. Bones so brittle they crumbled at a touch, joints that creaked even in stillness, and the faint bloom of mold spreading in patches here and there. However, now, their bones gleamed faintly, as if they had been polished, and their movements were far smoother.

“It’s all thanks to you, Captain!”

“Yes, it’s because of your care...!”

Curious, Eun-Ho pulled up their status window.

[Skeleton Soldier Number 1]

- Affiliation: Lee Eun-Ho (Temporary) Royal Guard Platoon 1

- Rank: Squad Leader

- Stats: Stamina (12), Strength (9), Intelligence (14), Judgment (11), Agility (10), Endurance (18)

- Trait: Undead

- Skills: Clattering(Lv. 99), Bone Dislocation(Lv. 3), Self-Destruct(Lv. 4), Basic Swordsmanship(Lv. 7)

- A Three Crossings River’s Returnee. Though destined to erode over time, through years of sword training and the Commander’s touch, it has overcome its natural limits.

Sword training and the Commander’s touch?

The sword training made sense since Eun-Ho had entrusted them at the Training Institute. Still, it was impressive that the Soldier’s level had actually surpassed his own, but given how time worked inside the training grounds, it wasn’t impossible.

The Commander’s touch though, what is that supposed to mean?

“What did I even do?” Eun-Ho murmured, frowning in thought.

Just then, a bright notification rang in his ears.

[Attention, new recruits of Sector 13.]

[At exactly 1:00 PM, the final evaluation results and awards ceremony will begin.]

[All recruits, please gather in the auditorium.]

Fwoosh—!

A massive holographic map unfolded before his eyes.

***

“It’s not that far,” said Ji-Eun, glancing at the map. “If we fly, we’ll be there in no time!”

“Shall we head out ahead of the others, Hyungnim?” Jae-Hyuk suggested.

“Give me ten minutes first,” Eun-Ho replied.

Then, he rose to his feet. Ten minutes was barely enough time to blink if one got distracted, but it’d suffice for what he had to do.

“Let’s go.”

“Go where, Captain?” the Skeleton Soldiers asked, startled. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“To finish the beginner swordsmanship course,” Eun-Ho said simply.

After all, things worked differently inside the Training Institute.

I should’ve done this earlier, but everything’s been chaotic.

He’d seen what Sun Ming’s Sword Force could do. Its sheer power still made his skin prickle when he thought about it. Without Chitin Breastplate and Electric Surge, he wouldn’t have lasted half as long. And he was facing a mere Level 1 skill.

[Swordsman: Sun Ming]

- Intermediate Swordsmanship(Lv. 2)

- Sword Aura(Lv. 4)

- Sword Force(Lv.1)

I want it. No, I need it, Eun-Ho thought.

“And to get it, I have to finish the swordsmanship class and unlock the Swordsman trait,” he said.

“Swordsmanship class?” the Skeleton Soldiers echoed.

“Yeah. You saw it before, right? The class where I hunted the Drosera, the Mealworms, and the giant wasps.”

“Oh, those...”

They had seen the status board too, so they’d get what he meant.

Ten minutes here equals ten hours in the Training Institute. That should be plenty of time.

Just as he was about to pull out his audit pass, Skeleton Soldier Number 1 clattered his jaw open. “We already did it!”

Clack!

He even attempted applause, his bony fingers rattling together.

“Did what?” Eun-Ho began to ask, but the system’s voice spoke before the Skeleton could answer.

[The Skeleton Soldiers squad’s loyalty has reached maximum level.]

[The Skeleton Soldiers squad wishes to aid their commander’s progress.]

[The Skeleton Soldiers squad has dedicated all achievements to their Commander!]

“Huh?” Eun-Ho blinked.

The wording rang a bell. Now that he thought about it, the last time he’d seen a notice like this was during the Drosera hunt.

[The Skeleton Soldiers squad’s loyalty has reached maximum level.]

[The Skeleton Soldiers squad has dedicated all achievements to their Commander!]

The kills they’d made had all been credited to him. He’d thought that bonus was a one-time thing, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.

So that means...

He could not help the small grin tugging at his lips.

Ding!

Then, a bright chime rang.

[Congratulations!]

[All course objectives for the Beginner Swordsmanship Class have been achieved.]

Eun-Ho’s eyes widened and a cheerful, triumphant notification followed.

[Please check the current status board!]

[Course Objectives (Lee Eun-Ho)]

1. Eliminate Rooted Enemies (100/100)

2. Eliminate Moving Enemies (50/50)

3. Eliminate Winged Enemies (10/10)

“... Wow. You guys are more diligent than I thought,” Eun-Ho said with a faint laugh.

“We are just following your teachings, Captain!” Skeleton Number 1 replied proudly.

[The Skeleton Soldiers squad rejoices at their Commander’s praise!]

Apparently pleased with themselves, the Skeleton Soldiers’ cheekbones twitched upward, a crude imitation of smiles. Eun-Ho couldn’t help but feel a flicker of pride in return. Now, all that remained was to claim the reward.

[Congratulations!]

[You have completed the Beginner Swordsmanship Class.]

[You have unlocked the trait, Swordsman.]

[You have unlocked a unique Swordsmanship skill.]

[Check your skill list for details!]