The Shadow Organization Members Raised Through Pay-To-Win Are Too Strong

Life is full of unpredictable events.

Especially unexpected incidents always come suddenly.

Just like now.

Who would have thought I’d collapse from a rock flying while swinging a pickaxe?

“Hah…”

This dark and damp underground mine is where I work.

I’m not exactly sure where it is.

All I know is that the mineral we’re mining here is called mana stone.

And that the value of this mana stone is considered far more precious than the lives of slaves like us.

That’s how dangerous the process of mining mana stone was.

A moment’s carelessness could lead directly to death.

“……”

But this is strange.

The reason I’ve been dazed for a while after being hit by the rock isn’t because of pain.

Despite blood flowing from my head, I was just blankly staring at the ceiling.

“…What’s this now?”

Is it because of the shock from the rock hitting my head?

Amid extreme pain, I was gripped by a strange sensation.

Unfamiliar memories flashed through my mind like lightning.

Not the life of a slave being forcibly exploited in this underground mine, but memories from Earth, South Korea, quickly flashed through my mind.

At that moment, I realized.

These were memories of my past life.

*  *  *

In my past life, I was an ordinary office worker.

A life of waking up at the same time every day, commuting along a set route, sitting in a familiar seat, and going through repetitive daily routines.

On the surface, it seemed like a monotonous daily life with nothing to complain about or be particularly happy about.

But the reality hidden in that monotony was different.

“When are you going home again?”

Work that continued late into the night every day.

Thanks to that, I was giving up on my free time and weekends.

Of course, the time to go home was uncertain, and fatigue kept piling up.

The shadows under my eyes darkened, making it hard to endure without coffee.

As always, quitting time came today, but it was uncertain when I’d get home.

The sky was already shrouded in darkness.

“I really need to quit this damn company.”

Muttering a bitter complaint, I boarded the subway with my tired body.

There were no seats, but I didn’t mind.

After all, I had a set routine for the journey home.

Standing in a fixed position, I reflexively took out my smartphone.

It was to play the game, the only solace at the end of a hard day.

As I moved my fingers and touched the screen, the phrase [Isekai Conqueror] appeared.

A game where the main goal is to conquer another world, just as the title suggests.

Although it was an offline game, it was perfect for me right now.

‘When would I play games after getting home anyway?’

When I got home after work, I had no energy left.

Rather than sitting in front of the computer to play games, lying down and playing mobile games was better.

How comfortable is it to just move your hands comfortably?

Moreover, I didn’t want to compete with people and get stressed even in games.

I just liked enjoying my own game comfortably.

That’s why I chose Isekai Conqueror.

A single-player game without ranking, competition, or stress, and fun simultaneously.

It was even cost-effective as the in-app purchases weren’t expensive.

The game content was also simple.

Creating my own group and nurturing members.

It was a game where you conquer the continent of Eluncia using those nurtured members.

Above all, the greatest charm of this game was something else.

[Welcome back, Leader of Black Raven. I’ll report the current situation now.]

[Leader, this is the first report. We have successfully persuaded Count Renfield of the Arcadia Empire. The Count has agreed to turn a blind eye to our activities within the Empire and provide information when needed.]

[Would you like to assign a member to monitor Count Renfield?]

It was the feeling of becoming like a behind-the-scenes mastermind.

A kind of vicarious satisfaction of dominating a world when I had nothing?

That aspect made me more immersed in this game.

The name of the organization I created was Black Raven.

I didn’t particularly intend to name it that. I just thought it looked cool.

I skimmed through the reports that appeared on the screen one after another.

Depending on what decisions I make, future events will change.

‘The Arcadia Empire…’

Known as the largest Empire even in the world of ‘Isekai Conqueror.’

This place was difficult to conquer, but persuading one noble of the Empire alone was an encouraging achievement.

‘Lucky.’

But I couldn’t be reassured just because I had persuaded one Count.

I had to devise a way to take control of the entire Empire using the Count as a stepping stone.

Here, I planned to assign one of the members I had nurtured as a running mate to monitor Count Renfield.

It was to prevent the risk of the noble betraying or the plan being exposed in advance.

‘Who should I send?’

The current members of Black Raven consist of various races and professions.

Humans, dwarves, elves, demons, monsters, and so on…

They were all members I had collected and nurtured.

There were many options, but I needed to be careful.

Isekai Conqueror might look simple, but it’s not an easy game.

For instance, I’m in a situation where I need to choose a member to monitor the Empire’s Count.

It’s obvious that the Count is human.

But what if I assign a monster race member as a running mate here?

The Empire would detect something strange and immediately investigate the Count.

‘Here, the correct answer is to send a member who is also human and doesn’t raise suspicion.’

The deliberation wasn’t long.

There was a character that immediately came to mind.

[Walter]

Rank: 5★ (Hero)

Race: Human

Profession: Sword Saint

Walter’s appearance on the screen was basically just an elderly man.

But he was not to be underestimated.

Walter was a 5-star rank, known as one of the masters of swordsmanship.

In other words, one who has reached the pinnacle of the sword, a Sword Saint.

His equipment was all premium items obtained through in-app purchases, so his power was beyond imagination.

‘This one’s really old too.’

Walter was a character given as default at the beginning of the game.

When first given, he was a 1-star, but after nurturing him bit by bit through in-app purchases, he became the current 5-star.

In other words, you could say he’s been with me since the game’s early days.

‘He looks like an old man on the outside, so he’s perfect for disguising as a butler.’

The elderly appearance could become a hidden weapon.

‘Enemies won’t suspect him.’

I could assign Walter the infiltration mission as a butler to monitor and control Count Renfield.

Even if, by any chance, his identity is exposed and the plan goes awry, I wasn’t worried.

With Walter’s skills, he could easily overcome the crisis and more.

‘It shouldn’t be particularly difficult.’

I selected Walter and pressed the dispatch button.

Then Walter, beyond the screen, bowed politely to show respect.

– I will wield my sword only for my lord.

As his loyalty was at MAX, it was unwavering loyalty.

With a satisfied smile, I moved on to the next report.

[Leader, the scale of illegal money laundering this month has increased by 20% compared to the previous month.]

[We have obtained core confidential documents from the Ruby Kingdom. Through this, we can identify the kingdom’s weaknesses and establish future plans.]

[We have developed the latest magical communication equipment. As a result, the speed of information transmission within the organization has doubled, and the risk of enemy eavesdropping has been greatly reduced.]

[Leader, we have detected suspicious movements in the underground mines of the Hailstone Duchy. We will continue to investigate.]

[There are no special reports from the elite guard ‘Phantom.’]

The contents of the remaining reports were not very informative.

Issues like increased funds, information acquisition, and equipment development could be left to the members.

‘This underground mine has nothing to do with me either.’

Now, there was only one report left.

[Leader, ‘Ariel’ has passed all training and become a provisional member. Would you like to promote her to a full member?]

“Oh!”

An exclamation of joy burst out at the welcome news.

I glanced around briefly and then focused back on the screen.

Ariel was a character I had recently acquired.

‘Finally, I’ve got a High Elf…!’

The High Elf was the only race I hadn’t been able to obtain in all my time playing the game.

It took a long time to find because they were so rare and precious.

‘Mobilizing Black Raven was the right choice.’

I even deployed Black Raven’s forces to find a High Elf.

I even ordered to give the best treatment and recruit unconditionally as soon as one was discovered.

I immediately promoted Ariel to a full member.

‘Now that she’s become a full member, I should start nurturing her earnestly.’

I touched Ariel right away.

Ariel had snow-white skin, long silver hair, and pointed ears typical of elves.

Although she was a character in the game, her beauty was truly overwhelming.

[Ariel]
Rank: 3★
Race: High Elf

Not just an elf, but a High Elf.

I started enhancing Ariel without hesitation.

Anyway, I had more than enough in-game currency like gold coins and diamonds obtained through in-app purchases.

[Enhancement successful! Ariel’s rank has been upgraded from 3★ to 4★.]

[Enhancement successful! Ariel’s rank has been upgraded from 4★ to 5★.]

[Enhancement successful! Ariel’s rank has been upgraded from 5★ to 6★.]

The potential of the High Elf was amazing. She could reach 6-star in one go.

However, that was the limit.

[Sorry. You lack the materials needed to upgrade Ariel.]

‘Upgrading to 7-star is a different matter.’

From 7-star, enormous materials were needed, and those materials differed for each race.

Moreover, she was the first High Elf I found, and all the materials were not easy to come by.

It was quite tricky to prepare materials in advance in a situation where information was completely lacking.

‘Let’s be satisfied with this for now.’

After enhancement came potential unlocking.

[Ariel’s potential has been unlocked! High Elf Ariel has the ability to communicate with the World Tree. With potential unlocking, Ariel can now feel the Leader’s will.]

“?”

Feeling the Leader’s will, what does this mean?

I shook my head at the ambiguous explanation.

No matter how many times I read it, I couldn’t understand exactly what that ability was.

‘Let’s figure this out slowly.’

Now, all that was left was item distribution.

It was possible to strengthen the force by providing equipment or to build affinity by giving items suited to the race.

There was an item I had been keeping preciously to give to a High Elf if I ever obtained one.

[You have gifted ‘Seed of the World Tree’ to Ariel.]

It was the Seed of the World Tree.

I had previously bought a large quantity of World Tree seeds through in-app purchases.

But they all died when I tried to plant them.

It was an item that even elves couldn’t handle properly.

In the end, all died except for one seed.

I had been keeping this in storage for later.

Sure enough, Ariel’s reaction to my gift was fervent.

[Ariel’s affinity towards the Leader has greatly increased.]

‘So this is what makes High Elves different.’

I nodded with a satisfied smile.

This almost completed what I needed to do in the game.

There was a bit more left to do, but suddenly a new alert popped up.

[Starting synchronization of Isekai Conqueror.]

[1%… 2%… 5%…]

What’s this? An update?

No, there was no mention of an update.

Moreover, the game screen froze.

‘I’m so sleepy…’

Suddenly, fatigue overwhelmed me.

‘Why is this happening…?’

My eyelids felt heavy and started to close.

It felt like all strength was draining from my body.

“……”

My vision quickly darkened with the tremendous fatigue.

As consciousness drifted away, I could hear people’s voices around me.

“What’s going on! Hurry and call 119! Quick!”

“Are you okay? Wake up!”

In the darkness, someone gently touched my cheek.

But soon the atmosphere changed ominously.

“…Wake up!”

No, why the informal speech?

The force of the hand slapping my cheek gradually increased.

It became rough, as if urging me to come to my senses.

Pain surged from the sharply striking palm.

‘It hurts when you hit like that…!’

Words wouldn’t come out of my mouth. Instead, a sharp shout rang in my ears.

“I said wake up! You son of a bitch!”

Slap-!

“Ugh!”

The hand stroking my cheek jolted me awake.

But what I saw wasn’t the subway scenery, but just gloomy and rough rock walls.

It was the familiar underground mine.

“Finally, you’ve come to your senses.”

“Ah….”

Shit, was it a dream?

But it was too vivid to be just a dream.

Yes, this must be precisely the memory of my past life.

And now I am…

‘Right. I fainted after being hit by a flying rock while working.’

I looked around blankly at the sudden situation.

However, the demon-like supervisor wasn’t the type to leave me alone.

“Hey, Ethan! If you’ve come to your senses, move quickly! If you dawdle, you won’t have dinner tonight, you know!”

Those words snapped me back to reality.

I gritted my teeth and forcibly got up.

Then I picked up the pickaxe and got to work.

‘Is another hellish day starting again?’

I was starting to miss the days of overtime work in my past life.

‘I wish I hadn’t remembered…’

Here, I’m just a mere slave.

Whatever happens to me, it doesn’t matter to the supervisors.

In fact, there are even younger children than me here, so that says it all.

Swinging a pickaxe isn’t easy, but if you want to avoid the supervisor’s whip, you have to move diligently.

Everyone worked hard to avoid the supervisor’s beatings.

“Whew.”

I sighed softly and moved my arms mechanically.

‘I was definitely on my way home from work…’

At some point when I opened my eyes, I was in this mine.

I organized the current situation in my head.

My name is Ethan.

Currently, a 17-year-old boy who was sold here when young.

Of course, I couldn’t remember the faces of the parents who abandoned the boy.

I was 7 years old when I became an orphan, so it had been 10 years already.

‘Where exactly is this place?’

I squeezed out the memories remaining in my head as much as possible.

The me who didn’t know about the past life and the current me were similar yet different.

And I came to one conclusion.

‘Ah, this is definitely not the Earth I knew.’

This mine wasn’t ordinary.

It was a mana stone mine where high-priced minerals used as magic materials were produced.

Since there was no such thing as magic on the Earth I lived on, it naturally meant this world was a different place.

But that was all.

Having lived in the underground mine for a lifetime, I had no idea what world this was or what was outside.

‘Usually in novels, don’t they give you some good ability?’

Unfortunately, I had no abilities at all.

‘Fuck.’

Does this make any sense?

Now that I remembered my past life, the desire to escape from this underground mine surged.

I secretly raised my middle finger towards the supervisor.

—-—

In a dark space, a figure was kneeling and praying.

The faint light emitted by the burning candle gently embraced her silver hair.

A devout and sacred atmosphere, fully concentrated on prayer, emanated from her appearance.

A breathtakingly beautiful face was revealed as she slowly raised her head after finishing her prayer.

Two pointed ears and clear blue eyes indicated she was an elf.

Her name was Ariel.

She was a High Elf beyond an ordinary elf and the vice-leader of Black Raven.

“……”

Ariel, concentrating on prayer, slowly lifted her eyelids, fluttering her long eyelashes.

“…The Leader has returned.”

A calm yet clear voice echoed in the quiet space.

A strange light gleamed in Ariel’s blue eyes.