I Became the Commander in a Trash Game Who Copies Skills

Chapter 2. Burken Fortress (2)

‘Warlord Conquest’ was a fantasy strategy game.

I led armies as a hero capable of shattering mountains and slicing rivers, conquering foreign lands and expanding territory.

How could a person shatter mountains and slice rivers?

The answer was simple.

Because mana existed.

[Achievement Unlocked! You have acquired a spell for the first time!]

[You have gained a fixed trait.]

[Crude Mana]

[A mana capacity at the level of someone just stepping onto the path of magic.]

Even in my darkened vision, the notification window was visible.

Anyway, the hero growth system in ‘Warlord Conquest’ was broadly divided into two branches.

The first was ‘skills’ like [Infernal Meteor (Level 7)].

The second was ‘traits’ like [Crude Mana] or [Lord’s Unyielding Mind].

‘The former is active. The latter is passive.’

Digging deeper made it a bit more complex.

But that wasn’t something to worry about right now, so it didn’t matter.

What was more important was the commonality shared by skills and traits.

Namely, they weren’t something you could just magically acquire by reading a skill book or the like.

[Warrior’s Insight]

[Instantly acquires skills witnessed in actual combat.]

[The proficiency of acquired skills is 100%.]

…That was exactly why this trait was so overpowered.

Instantly acquiring a skill just by witnessing it?

And with 100% proficiency, no less?

Had the developers finally lost their minds?

Even learning a skill through a secret manual or a good mentor took anywhere from a few weeks to several years.

Traits were the same. In many cases, learning them was outright impossible.

If a trait like this existed before the update, I would have long since fulfilled my fantasy of flipping the game board.

For example, something like ‘a swordmaster archmage paladin elder shaman who simultaneously unleashes a level 12 unique spell and sword aura while casting large-scale resurrection and wide-area buff rituals.’

“Ughhh…….”

Up to this point, it seemed like a situation worthy of firing off celebratory cannons.

But contrary to my silly fantasies, my expression wasn’t good.

Not just because blood was streaming from my entire body.

It was because I knew this game well.

Or rather, I should say I knew the developers’ malice better than anyone.

‘Those bastards never, ever make the game easy, no matter what.’

If an overwhelmingly powerful hero appeared, capable of breaking the balance?

Then an antagonist strong enough to crush that hero in one blow would inevitably show up.

If a faction received an excessively strong buff in the early game?

That meant an insanely difficult crisis was updated for that faction’s mid-to-late game.

[The hero Nameless Ash is granted three traits as a bonus.]

[The detailed abilities of the traits start in a hidden state and will be revealed when conditions are met during play.]

The hero ‘Nameless Ash’ would be no different.

I didn’t know about other things, but this hero was crafted with some damn fine traits.

Not only [Warrior’s Insight], but the previously acquired [Lord’s Unyielding Mind] was also one of the most unrivaled overpowered traits.

Which meant, among the content added with the 4.0 update…

‘There’s content designed to counter this hero. Or the difficulty for the empire faction has become insanely tough.’

Fuck. I should’ve just stuck with the hero I was playing.

As always, regret came too late.

And when regret hit, dwelling on it usually led to an even more miserable ending.

Instead of self-blame, I had to do my best with what I was given.

“Ughhh….”

That said, there was nothing I could do right now.

It was a miracle I wasn’t dead already.

The power of a level 7 spell was comparable to an explosive shot from a dwarven cannon.

Even considering it only grazed me, surviving was a miracle.

My prisoner’s uniform was already in tatters, and my body was torn, scorched, and covered in blood.

The shortness of breath suggested my lungs were damaged too.

But there was one piece of good news…

“…Aaaah!”

The fact that I could finally hear something through my muffled ears?

I thought it might be a hallucination and poked at my ear.

Come to think of it, my hands were moving too. That was good news as well.

The throbbing in my finger joints didn’t feel like they were crippled.

If I could feel sensation, it meant I was roughly intact.

“Aaaaah!”

Anyway, the source of the hallucination was a scream.

As my blurred vision cleared, I could see the owner of the scream.

“Huff, huff! Cough!”

It was a mage.

A mage with one arm and one leg amicably blown off, skin sizzling as if roasted by an ogre slathered in oil.

Though half-cooked, the face seemed oddly familiar.

On closer inspection, it was a face I had glimpsed at the execution ground earlier.

So, he came to watch the prisoners’ necks get chopped?

Mages and their tastes.

“[Shield]! [Shield]! Aaaah!”

Come to think of it, if he was inside the open ground, he would’ve taken a direct hit from [Infernal Meteor].

It seemed the mage survived by using the [Shield] spell to absorb the impact.

But repeatedly turning [Shield] on and off like that was tactically a huge waste.

Mana wasn’t infinite, and even a shred left should be used to support allies.

As a veteran commander who led countless wars to victory, this was highly bothersome…

[Deploying [Warrior’s Insight].]

[Skill acquired.]

[Shield (Level 1)]

…If you’re going to waste it, couldn’t you use some other spells too?

Preferably something flashy like [Lightning Arrow].

***

Cruelly, the mage soon stopped spamming spells.

Whether he ran out of mana or regained a bit of reason.

“…Ughhh.”

Clink!

With his remaining hand, he pulled out a potion to pour on his wounds but died.

What a pity. If he had lasted 10 seconds longer, he might’ve survived.

“Ugh.”

I dragged my aching body over to the mage.

Opening the leather pouch on his belt, I found it quite bountiful.

Some clinking silver and copper coins.

Two healing potions and one mana potion.

“Ugh. Urgh…”

Groaning, I stripped off my tattered prisoner’s uniform and equipped the mage’s robe and staff.

In an instant, I went from an escaped death row inmate to a mage who barely survived a spell bombardment.

Naturally, I felt no guilt taking the mage’s belongings.

Not only was he already dead, but wasn’t he here to watch my neck get chopped?

[Deploying [Warrior’s Insight].]

Though, unintentionally, he was the one who taught me the [Shield] spell.

Well, rest in peace in the afterlife, Master.

Anyway, with my identity laundered, it was time to recover my body.

I tucked the leather pouch into my waistband, opened a healing potion, and poured it into my mouth.

“…Urgh.”

If I had to describe it…

It was like the herbal medicine my parents fed me as a kid to grow taller, concentrated tenfold.

Unlike that herbal medicine, which didn’t make me grow an inch, this one’s effect was very clear.

“Phew.”

The nausea from the spell’s aftermath eased.

Breathing became much easier, and the concussion-like dizziness in my head cleared.

The bruises and abrasions visible through the torn prisoner’s uniform began healing rapidly.

Who said advanced science was indistinguishable from magic?

No matter how advanced science got, it couldn’t make something like this.

“To the walls! To the walls!”

Unfortunately, there was no time to indulge in sentiment.

I started hearing soldiers shouting in the distance.

Surviving [Infernal Meteor] was likely due to the starting point’s tutorial buffer.

But now, having overcome the first crisis and identified two traits, there was no such thing as tutorial buffer.

“Third platoon, search for survivors! Move the wounded to the inner castle!”

Real survival started now.

Let’s organize the situation.

This was Burken Fortress on the empire’s southern border.

The invaders were the undead army of the Vampire Archduchy.

Enemy necromancers were bombarding with spells led by [Infernal Meteor].

Once the bombardment ended, zombies and skeleton soldiers would soon swarm to capture the fortress.

‘…It’s fortunate there’s no high-tier necromancer.’

If a high-tier necromancer were present, this fortress would already be done for.

Vampires could use spells one or two levels above their rank through the [Blood Sacrifice] ritual.

The ones casting [Infernal Meteor] now were likely level 5 necromancers at best.

Anyway, once their mana ran out, the spell bombardment would stop.

What mattered was what came next.

“Why are there prisoner corpses everywhere? Wasn’t this the execution ground today?”

“Urk…! That’s right. Looks like they’re all dead.”

I had two choices.

Escape the fortress.

Or hold the fortress.

Screech! Squeak!

Escape was out.

I just saw the shadow of a vampiric bat.

As long as those human-torso-sized bat bastards were around, leaving the fortress would only lead to being a drained corpse.

Like wolves hunting the weak who stray from the pack, vampiric bats had a habit of attacking detached units or scouts.

That left one choice.

Avoiding the soldiers’ eyes, I left the ash-covered open ground.

Thud. Thud…

With the noise of spell bombardments hitting the outer walls behind me, I headed straight for the inner castle where the command center was.

Come to think of it, escaping wasn’t the smart move.

Burken Fortress was one of the battlefields I knew best.

If I fled from a place where I knew every troop placement and minor terrain detail, how could I survive elsewhere in this insane world?

In that sense, I thought I should defend this place too…

‘There’s one problem.’

The reason Burken Fortress became such a familiar battlefield was exactly that.

A familiar battlefield meant I had fought here a lot.

That meant, when playing as an empire hero, I had to defend it with utmost caution early on.

Conversely, when playing as the Vampire Archduchy, it was the place I’d typically attack right from the start.

‘Baron Burken, that pig bastard, is probably true to the game’s setting, right?’

The decisive reason was none other than Baron Burken himself.

The man responsible for a corrupt command that was too busy skimming profits to conduct proper training.

Burken Fortress became a prime target for vampires thanks to his stellar performance in corruption.

‘The epitome of incompetence and corruption. Also weak to superstition.’

How should I put it?

He was the classic ‘greedy but incompetent boss’ type.

The number one person to avoid in a modern workplace, but here he was, sitting in an imperial noble’s seat. Enough said.

By the way, the inner castle walls were coming into view.

Breathing heavily, I grabbed a passing soldier.

“Hey.”

“Who… Oh, Mage!”

“Will you guide me to the command tent? I have urgent matters to report to Baron Burken.”

The soldier, who seemed to be a supply soldier, hesitated but nodded.

This showed how high a mage’s status was in this game.

It wasn’t for nothing that mages were one of the three forces that forged the empire.

Even a low-level mage could single-handedly determine the survival of an entire unit.

But even so…

‘Mage cosplay alone isn’t enough.’

…This damn ‘Warlord Conquest’ world was never that easy.

Honestly, if I could live comfortably as a mage, I’d welcome it.

But this was a world, true to its name, where wars broke out constantly.

A continent in a Warring States era where countless factions, divided by nation, race, and territory, devoured each other.

To survive, a single well-raised mage character wasn’t enough.

To begin with, the game genre wasn’t a role-playing game.

It was a strategy game where you had to rally a massive force around top-tier commanders and superhuman heroes to clear it.

Even thinking back to World Scenario 3.0 before the update, surviving alone in this world was impossible.

“…Phew. Ha.”

“Mage, the command tent is that way.”

Ultimately, if I wanted to survive, I had to gather a force.

That was why I ran, gasping for breath, to the command center on the high ground.

“Thanks. Now return to your duties.”

I sent the soldier off and adjusted my attire.

Though I wore a trashy body for a hero.

Even if I was in a pathetic body, I was an 8-year veteran.

A nurturer who turned the weakest hero into the greatest monarch.

A strategist who reversed hopeless battles like flipping a hand.

At least in this game, I could confidently say no one was better than me.

Of course, alone…

With a body that couldn’t even use [Infernal Meteor] due to lack of mana and only knew a level 1 [Shield] spell, I couldn’t do anything.

So…

‘Seize command.’

Baron Burken, probably patting his bloated belly inside the command tent.

“Baron! Baron Burken!”

I had to settle things with that guy.

***

“Twenty percent of the southern wall has collapsed. We’ve urgently deployed spearmen to plug the gap, but I don’t know how long it’ll hold.”

“Baron, the undead army has stopped advancing. The vampires seem to know the exact range of our mortars. We need to conserve shells for battle.”

“Are you mad? If we stop shelling, three thousand—no, four thousand undead will swallow the fortress whole! Don’t you see the artillery is the only thing holding the status quo?”

“Do shells grow on trees? We’ve already used nearly half! No more…”

“Enough!”

Bang!

Baron Burken slammed the table and shouted.

The knights, glaring at each other as if ready to tear one another apart, shut their mouths simultaneously.

The baron’s hand, which struck the table, trembled before he spoke quietly.

“Only the chief of staff stays… everyone else, leave.”

The knights left, leaving only the seasoned chief of staff and the baron in the tent.

Baron Burken sighed deeply and buried his face in his hands.

“Phew…”

It was a mistake.

No, a clear blunder.

When offered the position of fortress lord, no matter how tempting the baron title was, I should have refused.

But I couldn’t, partly because of the prophecy of a wandering mage who paved my path to success.

‘When the red moon rises, you will become a lord. And when the red moon rises again, a perilous time will come. I will return on that second red moon. Heh heh heh.’

Mysteriously, as the mage said, ten years ago when the red moon rose, I achieved great merits and became a lord.

At first, I firmly resolved.

To thoroughly manage the fortress to prepare for the crisis that would come someday.

Unfortunately, that resolve crumbled within a few years.

The fortress' military supplies were just too sweet a honeypot to pilfer.

“Two hundred… no, two hundred fifty florins?”

“Is that what you’ve skimmed so far?”

“Yes.”

“Probably closer to three hundred, Baron.”

The chief of staff corrected in a deep voice.

At the jab from the only truly honest knight in this fortress, Baron Burken hung his head low.

“Ha, well…”

Regretting now was too late.

The baron knew it.

If he had to make an excuse, it was the inspections.

He had done minimal checks and training, but with news of Archduke Gabir’s inspection coming, he couldn’t even focus on that.

Why did the undead army have to invade at a time like this?

No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t figure it out.

“…Mage.”

The baron whispered softly.

The mage who prophesied his success had promised to help.

On the day the second red moon rose, when crisis struck, he would come to aid.

“If that prophecy is truly real, please, just once…”

He knew nine out of ten wandering mages’ words were superstition.

But right now, he was desperate enough to clutch at straws.

Having ignored it when times were good, it was only natural it came to mind now.

At that moment, the outside of the tent grew noisy.

“Move! Move aside! I must see Baron Burken!”

“…What’s going on?”

A knight guarding outside cautiously entered and reported.

“It’s nothing serious. Some mage is shouting to see the lord.”

At the word ‘mage,’ the baron’s shoulders flinched.

Pretending to be calm, he asked.

“Identity?”

“Unknown. He claims to be a mercenary mage, but he’s not registered. As you know, our mercenary ledger has some omissions…”

If they were listed, they’d have to be paid on time.

So, they deliberately omitted names and delayed payments with various excuses.

That’s how the accumulated amount reached three hundred florins.

“Don’t worry. I’ll quiet him down quickly.”

The chief of staff said.

Then the mage shouted again.

“Baron Burken, remember the red moon!”

“Wait.”

The baron raised his hand to stop the chief of staff heading out of the tent.

“…Bring him in.”