I had once wondered.

‘Why does a player hold higher status than a champion?’

The battlefield hosts countless champions.

Among them are high-cost champions capable of wielding formidable power even in the real world.

In fact, some were even stronger in reality than on the battlefield.

The battlefield’s rules prevented them from unleashing their full strength.

Conversely, a high-tier player did not necessarily possess great martial prowess.

Yet the strong served beneath the weak, commanded by mere words?

The question was natural enough, and the answer came with surprising ease.

“Well… because they’re players?”

Hans had looked at me as though the question itself was absurd.

In hindsight, the answer was obvious.

A knight commander and a king.

The knight commander possessed enough strength to slay the king with a single stroke, yet in reality, it was the king who could effortlessly take the commander’s life.

What made this possible was hierarchy.

The battlefield’s order, established long ago, was simply accepted as natural by the people of this world.

This was also why champions were forbidden from carrying weapons in their daily lives.

For a champion to harm a player was a grave offense.

The Empire hunted down offending champions and dealt out appropriate punishment.

However, the righteous path^[note] was not always upheld.

Incidents did occur from time to time.

A champion murdering a player.

A brutal act of insubordination.

“… …”

A corpse.

Just yesterday, brimming with smiles.

The man who had said he would visit the lord’s castle to collect his reward.

Blood from ‘Hans’ covered the floor.

The spilled blood had already coagulated into a hard crust.

Suggesting that considerable time had passed since death.

Hans’s body, draped in white cloth, had been removed from the scene. I could only stare blankly at the sight.

“A considerable amount of time has already passed. However…”

Imperial Investigator Johanna.

Her suspicious gaze turned toward me.

It couldn’t be helped. I was the one who had been close with Hans, and I was the one who had discovered his death.

“According to Federer Einthoven’s statement, at 6:00 PM yesterday, the victim finished his meal at the Einthoven estate, received his reward, and returned home. Naturally, an Imperial Priest accompanied him during the transfer of the Item combination formula, and we have already obtained the priest’s testimony.”

“…”

An official who investigated crimes involving champions. The Imperial Investigator.

Despite being relatively new to the role, her eyes held unwavering conviction.

A premeditated murder of a player by a champion seeking reward money.

That was her reconstruction of the incident.

“1-Cost Champion, shieldbearer Lee Shin. Yesterday at 9:00 PM. What were you doing at that time?”

Yesterday evening…

“…I went to the bank.”

Why the bank?

The reward Hans had promised. He had given me ten Gold Coins he received from the Einthoven family.

The reward had been paid in physical currency. Having received the money from Hans, I had simply stopped by the bank to deposit it into my account.

“Shieldbearer Lee Shin. Last night, you deposited 1,000 shillings, equivalent to ten Gold Coins, into your personal account. Is that correct?”

Collecting personal information was illegal.

But in cases involving the murder of a player, an exception clause was invoked.

“Can you explain where that money came from?”

“…”

There was no way I could explain.

Because the money had indeed come from Hans.

But even if I told the truth, would she believe me?

That Hans’s first-place finish was thanks to my contribution, and that we had agreed I would receive the entire prize money?

In her eyes, I was a 1-Cost Champion and a shieldbearer.

Nothing more.

“Shieldbearer Lee Shin. Are you aware that Gold Coins bear unique serial numbers based on their year of manufacture?”

I hadn’t known. I’d never had occasion to handle Gold Coins before.

That attitude, that gaze.

Imperial Investigator Johanna. What she harbored toward me from the very start was not suspicion but certainty.

“Shieldbearer Lee Shin. You maintained a close relationship with the victim, and upon his victory in the battlefield, you exploited that familiarity to target his wealth and committed this crime. Is that correct?”

No. Hans was the one person I could call a friend.

“…No.”

“Shieldbearer Lee Shin. You stole ten Gold Coins and an Item combination formula, and in the process, murdered player Hans. Is that correct?”

“… …No.”

An Imperial Investigator always carries a recording device when visiting a crime scene.

Such questioning was the kind recited right before arresting a suspect whose guilt had already been established.

By way of comparison, it was similar to the Miranda rights back in Korea.

“Shieldbearer Lee Shin. You committed this crime despite being fully aware that killing a player during the champion contracting process constitutes a violation of Imperial law. Is that correct?”

I understood her position. Every piece of circumstantial evidence pointed to me.

Even if I had been the Imperial Investigator, I would have had no choice but to name myself the culprit.

A champion killing a player was a grave offense, and arrest at the scene was the standard protocol.

“Shieldbearer Lee Shin!”

The Imperial Investigator raised her voice as I maintained my silence.

Her imperious demeanor left me with no choice but to sigh.

Phew-

A situation that seemed impossible to escape.

Instead of answering, I extended one arm.

Not to be handcuffed, of course.

Everyone who participated in the battlefield wore a Device on their wrist.

The Device served multiple functions.

Processing battlefield-related tasks, and—

Serving as an identification credential.

Flash-

As I operated the Device, a distinctively shaped emblem materialized above my wrist.

What that emblem revealed was—

“…!”

None other than the Player’s Emblem.

***

Late evening, Hans’s house, a ten-minute walk from the guild.

Having returned from the Einthoven estate, Hans immediately called me over, insisting on keeping his promise.

The reason we didn’t meet at our usual tavern was simple.

The guild staff had heard the news of Hans’s victory and kept approaching him to talk.

Despite his sociable nature, Hans had faced subtle ostracism for being a dwarf.

Only a handful of people knew that he held player qualifications.

Defeating Chasey Einthoven and claiming victory meant he was destined to rise higher.

It was only human nature to want to secure a connection before that happened.

“Haha- come on in.”

After a warm reunion, Hans operated the Device on his wrist and brought up a screen.

<Dawn’s Dawn Combination Formula>

– Leather Armor + Cloak of Resistance

– When health falls below 60%, briefly enters stealth and becomes untargetable. Afterwards, defense and magic resistance increase by 20 for 3 seconds.

“How about it?”

It was my first time seeing an Item combination formula in person.

Hans wore a satisfied expression. The formula he had received from the Einthovens clearly pleased him.

“Hmm…”

Stealth, huh.

‘Would it be useful for an assassin deck?’

Something felt ambiguous.

The item called ‘Dawn’s Dawn’ was closer to a defensive item than an offensive one.

Stealth wasn’t particularly beneficial for a Tank.

Becoming untargetable would cause enemies to redirect their attacks to the nearest target, which could inadvertently make allied damage dealers the new focus. And that would ultimately—

“It would be best to give it to your main champion.”

“Figured as much, right?”

Even if attacked, it would buy one turn’s worth of survival time.

That would be the optimal way to utilize Dawn’s Dawn.

‘If the positioning is right…’

Of course, there were better methods, but they would be beyond Hans’s understanding.

A clumsy attempt to replicate them could backfire and disrupt the battle formation, so I felt no need to explain.

“Hehe, an Item combination formula.”

Hans beamed with satisfaction.

Along with the Gold Coins, the Item combination formula included in the prize naturally became Hans’s.

I had no complaints.

Though my assistance had contributed to Hans’s victory, even the Gold Coins he had promised to give me were more than I deserved.

Anyone who wasn’t a madman wouldn’t covet the Item combination formula as well.

“And here.”

True to his dwarven nature, Hans kept his promises with precision. He produced the reward he had brought from the Einthoven estate.

Ten gold coins nestled in a small box.

One Gold Coin was equivalent in value to 100 silver coins.

Which meant those small coins amounted to a staggering 1,000 shillings when calculated in silver.

“It’s my first time seeing them in person.”

It was only natural for an ordinary person to never encounter Gold Coins.

Not only was the circulating supply limited, but they were used only in transactions between major shops or between players.

It was similar to how high-value checks existed in Korea but were rarely used in everyday life.

“It’ll be more convenient to deposit them into your account.”

Given their considerable value, holding them in hand would be nerve-wracking.

A battlefield account with rigorous security was the ultimate vault that no one could steal from.

“And I’m planning to quit my job now.”

I had expected as much.

Hans, an employee of the shieldbearer Guild.

The reason he had continued working even after becoming a player was simply his hope that the treatment of shieldbearers—his former profession—would improve.

He had believed that joining the shieldbearer Guild would help him find a way to achieve that, but—

As a dwarf, he had faced discrimination both overt and subtle, and he remained a low-level clerk assisting with player settlements.

“You’ll be focusing on the battlefield now.”

“…Yeah. It’s thanks to you. Thank you.”

Naturally, with Hans’s identity as a player now revealed, the guild would adjust his rank, but that decision would be based solely on the reflected glory of his player status, not on Hans the guild employee.

“I’m planning to go to the guild tomorrow morning and tell them. Well, there are plenty of people who want the job, so I should step aside as quickly as possible.”

A bitter expression.

His thoughts seemed complicated.

“…”

Clack- clack- clack-

Hans needed time to sort through his feelings as well.

With our business concluded, it was time to take my leave.

“I should get going.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow.”

I, too, needed to organize my thoughts.

How should I treat Hans going forward?

Hans, who had been at the very bottom of the player hierarchy.

And I, who had merely offered some advice.

The situation had changed since then.

In this battlefield, my assistance could play a decisive role.

Since Hans’s chances of winning had been close to zero, I had been able to easily agree to his promise of giving me the entire prize money with the mindset that there was nothing to lose.

But Hans was no fool.

The assassin deck he used as his primary strategy.

The Item combination formula that set him apart from other players.

With these two assets, he would be able to achieve strong results in future battlefields.

Even without my help.

‘Though there would be limits, of course’

The value of information that resonated with Hans would inevitably differ from before.

Simply put, the return on investment when betting on Hans had decreased.

What I had gained from this assistance was 602 shillings from Winner Betting.

And 1,000 shillings from the first-place prize.

A total profit of 1,602 shillings.

Meaning I could not expect such substantial returns going forward.

This battlefield, hosted by the Einthoven family with an enormous prize pool to foster their daughter’s growth, was an exceptional event.

An opportunity like this would not come easily again.

Phew-

Converting these earnings to gold, it amounted to a mere 16 gold.

For a 1-Cost Champion like myself, gathering 500 gold—the qualification for becoming a player—was an impossibly distant goal.

Of course, if I dedicated myself to life as a champion like Hans had, I might eventually accumulate enough.

‘Should I give up…?’

How much time would it take to gather 500 gold…

Simply living moderately as a champion was also a viable option.

Player qualification that came easily to those like Chasey Einthoven, who had the good fortune of being born to the right parents.

For an ordinary person like me to stand in the same position required tremendous luck and effort.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

It was a truth that held in any world.

Hans and other players who had risen from champion origins struck me as truly remarkable.

How many battlefields would I need to participate in before earning player qualification?

With my insufficient abilities, I would need to participate in far more battlefields than they had.

Until now, I had devoted some of my time to earning a living, but with a financial cushion in place, being able to focus entirely on life as a champion was a positive development.

‘This is difficult.’

Through this experience, I had gained confidence that the knowledge I possessed actually worked in practice.

But the starting line.

Reaching that line was proving far too difficult.