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

As evening fell, the chilly air pierced my lungs.

“Everyone, stop working! That’s it for today!”

When the supervisor’s words fell, I put down my pickaxe.

Then I collapsed on the ground and caught my breath for a moment.

My arms, and indeed my entire body, ached and hurt from the labor that had continued all day.

‘I still can’t get used to this.’

Even after 10 years here, it was a pain I couldn’t get accustomed to.

Perhaps the memories of my past life made it feel even more difficult.

Without exaggeration, every muscle in my body was screaming.

“Haa….”

Apart from the pain all over my body, I had no energy left.

How much longer do I have to do this?

‘Even overtime would be better than this.’

I meant it sincerely. Working overtime at a company would be better than working here.

This is a place where beatings and corporal punishment are everyday occurrences.

Is there a hell worse than this, where supervisors beat children just because they’re bored?

Above all, the most difficult thing is…

“Sigh, now I have to eat that horrible thing?”

It was the food.

It should be a time to be happy, but I sighed first.

I felt like it might be better to eat dirt rather than eat the food.

Moreover, the environment itself was so poor that there were no chairs or tables in the dining hall, just sitting on the dusty floor.

“Even eating is a job, a real job.”

As soon as I arrived at the dining hall, I saw a long line stretched out.

I slowly headed towards the end of the line.

Since we only wanted rest after finishing hard labor, we only talked freely during meal time.

The children chattered and talked with bright faces, momentarily free from their shackles.

It was pitiful to see them always happy just because work was over.

‘Who am I to worry about whom.’

I’m just one of the slaves here too.

Most were sold or kidnapped here when they were young.

Not many children survived to adulthood in these harsh conditions.

In a way, it was understandable.

Young bodies constantly overworked in a dust-filled place couldn’t grow properly.

The problem was that I was no different.

‘Is there no way to escape from here?’

This question had been circling in my mind since I started working.

Escape.

Unfortunately, no suitable method had come to mind yet.

The security system here was that tight.

From guards monitoring underground everywhere to artifacts like CCTVs installed in each area.

Moreover, if one person even attempted to escape, they made the children in the same room collectively responsible, making them monitor and tattle on each other.

Of course, rewards were given to informants.

Who would dream of escaping when everyone watched each other with such intensity?

Furthermore, if caught while escaping, merciless punishment awaited.

No, it wasn’t punishment, it was essentially death.

I remembered the fate of children who had failed to escape before.

‘They all died.’

The punishment for those caught escaping was simple.

Just beating.

They were beaten until their last breath.

They died screaming in front of everyone.

Seeing that, most didn’t even dream of escaping.

To begin with, most of the children here were ignorant of normal life.

Having lived as slaves in the mine since childhood, they didn’t know the outside world.

So even if they escaped, it would be problematic.

Not knowing what to do or how to live, they chose the painful but certain present over an uncertain and frightening future.

‘But I’m different.’

For me, this place was an even worse hell.

Although I don’t know exactly where this is, I have memories of my past.

I slowly turned my head and looked around.

Although it was mealtime, the supervisors walked around, strictly monitoring the children.

‘Whether I die working or escaping, it’s all the same anyway.’

It was clear that I wouldn’t live long living like this.

While thinking about what to do next, it was suddenly my turn to receive food.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to take it?”

The girl in charge of serving food asked with a puzzled face.

She had gray hair that somehow matched the atmosphere of this place well.

“No, I’ll take it.”

As I hurriedly held out my tray, it was filled with a brown gruel that looked dry.

It looked like something that would kill your appetite just by looking at it.

But here, we had to eat for survival, not for taste.

“Give me more.”

“…You want more of this?”

At my request, she raised her eyebrows and looked at me.

Her expression seemed to say, ‘There’s such a crazy person in this world.’

It would seem strange to ask for more of this disgustingly tasteless gruel.

But my answer was set.

“Yes, give me more. A lot more.”

I’m going to survive from now on.

My body is currently emaciated.

In this state, forget about escaping, it wouldn’t be strange if I suddenly died while swinging a pickaxe.

I needed to eat a lot of this tasteless gruel to build up my strength.

“O-okay. Eat a lot, strange kid…”

She filled my tray with a heap of gruel with a sour expression.

By the way, strange kid?

Well, I didn’t care how she saw me.

No matter what anyone said, my only goal was to escape from here.

“Thank you.”

I just left those words and sat down on the nearby ground.

“……”

They make us work so hard, but all we get is this unidentified brown gruel.

Should I be grateful that they at least give us trays and spoons?

I scooped up the gruel with my spoon.

“…This taste is really horrible.”

A nauseating smell filled my mouth as soon as I took the first spoonful.

Should this gruel, with its mixed taste of sourness and bitterness, really be called food?

But to survive, I had to force myself to eat it.

“Ugh…”

I shoved the brown gruel into my mouth while holding back the urge to vomit.

The urge to spit it out immediately rose to my throat, but I endured.

This gruel was the only food that could provide me with nutrients.

‘I’m really going to escape.’

The more gruel I ate, the firmer my will to escape became.

“Shit.”

I couldn’t help but curse.

I emptied the gruel cleanly and moved to wash the dishes.

Of course, we had to wash our own trays after eating.

The problem is that the water for washing isn’t clean?

I brought my tray to the muddy water that was murky enough to make me frown.

While trying to clean the back thoroughly…

“…?”

Something was engraved on the back of the tray.

I might have passed it by if I hadn’t been familiar with it.

“A symbol?”

It looked faint, but it was certain.

That symbol…

“I know this, don’t I?”

More precisely, it was a symbol that appeared in the game Isekai Conqueror, which I used to play.

I knew it well because I had played it for so long.

And the identity of the symbol was…

‘…The Duchy of Hailstone.’

Why was the symbol of the Duchy of Hailstone engraved on the tray here?

Why hadn’t I seen this before?

It’s only been a few hours since I regained my memories of my past life, now that I think about it.

I probably would never have known if I didn’t have those memories.

“Ha.”

Who would have thought this place would be the world of Isekai Conqueror?

‘If there’s the Duchy of Hailstone, there must be the Arcadia Empire too.’

Of course, even knowing what kind of world this is doesn’t mean I can escape right away.

However, having or not having information was crucial in determining the future course.

If I could just succeed in escaping safely, it would be a great help in surviving somehow.

“This makes it more doable.”

A thread of hope emerged.

Just as I thought that…

[…9%, 10%… Synchronization progress has reached 10%.]

[You can now give orders to Black Raven.]

[Welcome back, Leader of Black Raven.]

A familiar message appeared before my eyes.

*  *  *

Ariel, who felt the Leader’s energy.

She immediately informed others of this fact.

“…The Leader has returned!”

Ariel’s voice trembled with emotion.

The moment they had been waiting for had finally arrived.

The old gentleman who heard Ariel’s words reacted.

“Is, is that true? Are you certain that the Leader has truly returned?”

“Yes, without a doubt. It’s definitely the Leader’s energy!”

At the confident answer, the old gentleman’s eyes sparkled.

The old gentleman’s name was Walter. He had white hair and deep wrinkles but maintained a sharp impression.

“Huh… The Leader has finally returned…”

It’s been 10 years.

It’s been 10 years since the Leader suddenly disappeared.

And now the Leader has returned.

His eyes reddened with emotion.

“Ariel. Where is the Leader?”

Walter didn’t doubt that the Leader had returned.

She is a High Elf who can communicate with the World Tree.

It might be a useless ability now that the World Tree has disappeared, but Ariel has unlocked a new potential.

It was the ability to feel the Leader’s will.

Thanks to this, she became a special existence within Black Raven.

With this special ability, Ariel quickly became the vice-leader of Black Raven.

So far, they had searched the entire continent centered around Ariel to find the Leader, but there had been no proper results.

Even when they wanted to give up, there was a belief that the Leader would return.

At those times, Walter never lost hope.

To him, the Leader wasn’t just a simple meaning.

The Leader was Walter’s benefactor and mentor in life.

The Leader who had been with Black Raven since its early days.

Walter, who was insignificant in the past, received help from the Leader and is now known as a Sword Saint.

He had never forgotten his benefactor and only lord who had brought him to the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

Sword Saint Walter drew out the sword that had been sleeping for a long time.

It was a sword bestowed by the Leader in the past.

It wasn’t an ordinary sword, but something far more extraordinary than any famous sword known to the world.

When was the last time he had wielded this sword?

‘Has it already been 10 years?’

He recalled the last order the Leader had given to Walter himself before disappearing.

– Monitor Count Renfield of the Arcadia Empire.

He had left to carry out the mission, but it had fizzled out when the Leader disappeared.

And since then, Walter no longer wielded his sword.

The reason to wield the sword had disappeared.

Moreover, his body has aged now.

Based on the experience and wisdom accumulated during his activities, supporting Ariel and nurturing the future of ‘Black Raven’ was the best loyalty he could offer.

‘That’s what I thought.’

But the situation has changed.

Because the Leader who had disappeared has now returned.

‘I can show that this old sword hasn’t rusted yet.’

Walter now had a goal to raise his sword again.

To Walter, who was thinking of meeting the Leader right away, Ariel shook her head.

“Unfortunately, I can’t pinpoint the exact location. But I’m tracking the Leader’s energy, so I’ll give you good results soon.”

“……”

Disappointment flashed across his face for a moment, but Walter soon smiled.

The Leader was always someone who thought and judged ahead, as usual.

There must be a good reason for suddenly disappearing and not revealing himself immediately.

Walter decided to fulfill his duties until the Leader fully returned.

“By the way, how are the movements of the Arcadia Empire?”

Walter’s eyes sharpened.

Recently, one of the empire’s nobles turned traitor.

The traitor’s identity was none other than that of Count Renfield.

He had betrayed them, taking advantage of the loosened surveillance due to the Leader’s absence.

However, Black Raven was not a group that was kind to traitors.

There was a separate agency that only eliminated such traitors.

In the end, Count Renfield met a terrible end.

Now that the Count is dead, what gesture will the empire’s intelligence department make?

Walter was concerned about that part.

Now that the Leader has returned, they couldn’t leave threatening existences alone.

Even if the opponent was the empire.

No matter how old he had become, his skills as a Sword Saint were intact.

Walter was prepared for anything, even fighting the empire to the death, for the Leader and Black Raven.

“Don’t worry about that part, Sir Walter. We’ve already sent a warning, so they won’t move rashly. Rather, it’s time to focus on internal reorganization.”

Until now, there might have been mistakes due to the Leader’s absence, but not anymore.

Ariel whispered secretly towards the empty air.

“Reaper.”

Then, a masked man appeared from the darkness.

“The Leader has returned. From this moment on, I’m reviving the Supreme Council. With the revival of the Supreme Council, the authorities of Judex and Noctis will also be restored.”

Black Raven is an organization that pursues perfection.

But now that the Leader has returned, it shouldn’t end with just pursuing perfection.

Therefore, Ariel solemnly declared.

“And I’m raising Black Raven’s crisis alert to the highest level. In the name of the Supreme Council, we will begin the purge.”

Black Raven must perform beyond perfection.