I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 1

Became the King of the Crusaders – Episode 1 (1/215)

Deus Vult? (1) [God Wills It – a Crusader battle cry]

* * *

‘God is like an X.’

Let me say it again.

‘God is like an X.’

That was the conclusion I came to while staring at the draft notice.

Draft notice.

Why did I receive a draft notice?

Just a few weeks ago, I was a cadet at the Korea Military Academy.

A company commander cadet with several commendations.

Just one semester until commissioning [becoming an officer].

I only had to endure one more semester to graduate.

But all of that disappeared in just one night.

The night I went out on weekend leave.

I found a woman being sexually assaulted in an alley.

After throwing a few punches, I subdued the assailant.

The problem was what came next.

It turned out the assailant was the son of a current member of the National Assembly [South Korea’s legislative branch].

The victim disappeared from the scene, and I suddenly became a cadet who assaulted a civilian.

[4th-year Korea Military Academy Cadet Assaults Civilian During Outing]

The result was expulsion.

It happened just one semester before commissioning.

[You’ll have to go to the Supreme Court at the very least. We will do our best to overturn the expulsion, so please don’t lose hope…]

[What a stupid bastard lol. Why did you even bother with someone else’s business?]

How many times have I looked at the lawyer’s texts and news comments?

I sighed and turned off my smartphone screen.

Screw the Military Academy.

I’m just going to live as a game addict.

If the Military Manpower Administration comes to get me, I’ll just run away.

Clicking the mouse, the familiar main screen appeared.

Last Crusaders.

A simulation game set in the Crusades era and the only driving force in my life for the past few weeks.

The Crusades!

What era could be more fun to escape reality?

A bloody free-for-all party of Western Catholics, Eastern Romans [Byzantine Empire], and Islamic forces centered on the holy land, Jerusalem!

In Last Crusaders, you could choose to play as one of hundreds of families.

A king ruling a country, a knight fighting against enemies, or a merchant leading a caravan.

In fact, it was popular among fans for its high level of detail and freedom that allowed virtually anyone to play.

“What kind of concept should I play today….”

It feels like I’ve already done most of the common ones.

As I hesitated while looking at the selection list, a new window appeared.

[Congratulations! You have been selected as a closed beta tester for the new mode]

“A new mode?”

It’s an in-game window, so it can’t be a scam or spam.

Red letters.

A sign that it was sent by the game developer, not a user.

Pressing the button brought up a new window.

[New Mode]

[One-Way Ticket – Choose one character instead of a family to play. You will be given goals specific to that character]

You can only choose one character instead of a family?

It sounds less fun than before.

One of the advantages of Last Crusaders is that you continue playing through the family.

If you can only play as one person, the playtime would be shorter.

The explanation continued below the window.

[You can set the character’s settings differently from existing history. Including age, gender, and character traits]

Customization is possible?

Then it’s worth calling it a new mode.

Originally, character stats and traits in Last Crusaders could not be changed arbitrarily by the player.

It was even impossible to modify the game files.

That was the biggest complaint among fans….

Has that changed?

What if Eleanor of Aquitaine was a man, or Richard the Lionheart was a woman?

Those two would be too easy.

“I’ll roughly skip the tutorial and start in 1181….”

1181 was just before the Third Crusade.

A time when war was raging between Baldwin the Leper King and Saladin [the famous Muslim leader].

There is no more thrilling combination than this.

Come to think of it, I wrote a report on this era.

I think the military science professor told me to stop obsessing over the Crusades.

As I was looking at the characters, one name caught my eye.

Baldwin of Montferrat.

“The Leper King’s nephew. He would still be a baby in 1181.”

He becomes the King of Jerusalem after Baldwin IV, but dies in just one year.

I don’t think I’ve ever played as him before.

His original age is four years old.

Too young to take charge of state affairs or step forward.

But if you can change the age, it’s a different story.

Moving the slider to the end set it to thirteen years old.

“This seems to be the maximum changeable value.”

Now it’s time to choose character traits.

Pressing the button brought up a list.

[Master of Architecture]: ―5 points

[Man’s Man]: ―5 points

[True Drunkard]: +5 points

[Natural Clown]: +5 points

[Competent Strategist]: ―10 points

[Foolish Workaholic]: ―5 points

[Energetic Casanova]: ―5 points

[Foolish Stupidity]: +5 points

…….

Good traits are minus points.

Bad traits are plus points.

Do I have to match the total score to 0 points or less…….

I can’t do cheat plays by choosing only good traits.

I looked at each trait in detail.

After much deliberation, I chose three traits for now.

[Innate Frailty: You have been physically weak and powerless since childhood. You receive a ‘major’ debuff on activities related to physical strength] +10 points

[Spoiled Brat: You have been notorious as a brat with a bad and violent personality since childhood. Starts the game with a ‘bad reputation’ status] +10 points

If I’m not going to be fighting hand-to-hand on the battlefield, it doesn’t matter if I’m a little weak.

The same goes for being a brat.

‘Even if my reputation is low at first, I can always raise it.’

That’s a piece of cake.

So now for the good traits….

[Innate Charisma: You are born with eloquent speech and appearance. Gain a ‘major’ buff on all diplomacy and persuasion activities] ―10 points

‘Charisma’ trait is essential.

Unless you’re a warrior who only fights all day, diplomacy and persuasion are more important.

I only need to choose one more….

Then a strange trait caught my eye.

Unique trait?

Was there such a thing?

[Unexplainable Intuition Unique: You have shown an unexplainable intuition since childhood. Gain a ‘very large’ buff on assassination evasion, enemy detection, and emotion detection] ―10 points

Unexplainable intuition.

It’s a trait I’ve never seen before….

I guess it was added to the new mode.

Assassination evasion, enemy detection, and emotion detection.

These are all effects I’ve never seen before.

‘Should I try this one?’

It’s annoying to be suddenly assassinated in the mid-to-late game.

Since the assassin group, the Hashashin [a secretive and feared group of assassins], exists, such risks cannot be ignored.

Now it’s time to start.

Pressing the confirm button brought up a window to choose the difficulty level.

“The difficulty level is……”

Of course, Iron Man mode [a game mode where you cannot reload a previous save].

I have plenty of time, so it’s an obvious choice.

If I die, I can just start over from the beginning.

After stretching, I pressed the start button.

[Guardian of the Holy Sepulchre]

Final Goal: You are a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Defend the holy city, Jerusalem, from Saladin and the Islamic forces.

Reward: ???

The game loaded and the screen turned white.

What’s with the question mark in the reward?

Is the game file corrupted?

Then large letters filled the monitor.

[Suitable factor found. Starting synchronization]

A phrase I’ve never seen before.

I stared blankly at the monitor.

‘Suitable factor? Synchronization?’

What the hell is this….

It was then.

I heard people shouting in the distance.

The sound of steel clashing and scraping.

― Deus Vult!

― Deus Vult!

Light poured out of the monitor and surrounded me.

Everything spun around and turned into a vortex.

Am I finally going crazy?

Or did I play the game for too long…….

Before I could finish my thought, I lost consciousness.

The last thing I saw were letters I couldn’t understand.

[Synchronization complete]

[Final Goal: Defend Jerusalem]

[Reward: Return to the original world + Bonus]

[Failure will result in annihilation in both worlds]

[Good luck. Guardian of the Holy Sepulchre]

***

“Young Lord!”

Someone grabbed and shook my body.

Why does my back hurt so much?

Did I pass out while playing the game?

“Young Lord, are you alright?!”

When I opened my eyes, I saw a man I had never seen before.

A ridiculously dressed man with a crossbow in his hand.

He doesn’t look like a 119 paramedic [South Korean emergency services].

Is the hospital holding a medieval cosplay event these days?

“Just hold on a little longer! I’ll go get the doctor right away!”

“W-What the….”

“You fell off your horse because you were surprised by a snake. Please bear with it even if it hurts.”

Only then did the surrounding scenery come into view.

A wide plain and orchard that doesn’t exist anywhere in Korea.

Even the desert and lions in the distance.

Okay, let’s analyze the situation.

I was playing Last Crusaders.

The unidentified text that appeared the moment I pressed the start game button.

The moment I saw that, I lost consciousness.

[Final Goal: Defend Jerusalem]

[Reward: Return to the original world + Bonus]

This can’t be the situation I’m thinking of.

Possession in the game I was playing?

No, that can’t be.

I grabbed the man’s arm.

“What’s my name?”

“Y-Yes? Of course….”

“Who am I?!”

The man answered with a bewildered expression.

“You are Young Lord Baldwin. A member of the great Kingdom of Jerusalem and Lady Sibylla’s….”

This is crazy.

I collapsed as if fainting in the midst of intense pain.

The sound of people around me being surprised was faint.

“Young Lord? Young Lord! Get the doctor quickly!”

The 12th century, where the Crusaders and Islam clash head-on.

I fell into this damn era.

Even as a royal of a doomed kingdom.