◈ Episode 104. It Reeks
[Name: Grandfel Claudie Arpheus Romeo]
[Title: The Last Adventurer]
[Class: Demon Hunter]
[Level: 377]
[Stats]
Strength: 62 / Agility: 66 / Magic: 287 / Luck: 6 / Aesthetics: Low
[Available Points: 44]
Karimzeva was not a monster. Which, of course, meant she gave no experience points.
And so, I had risen a whopping 44 levels solely from hunting the Demon King army……!
『……
Tremendous.』
The higher the level.
The Arcana system, where the experience required to level up rose exponentially. I had experienced that vicious system in the [Predator’s Swamp] myself. To think I had risen 44 levels.
Yet I was not surprised.
I muttered calmly.
“A thoroughly natural result.”
Of course. As if it could be otherwise.
Yes, I had hunted many demons, after all.
Moreover, those demons were no ordinary ones.
They were the Demon King army, and subordinates of a high-ranking Demon King at that. ‘There were definitely legion commanders mixed in, too.’
I could not remember each and every one of the countless messages that had popped up.
Besides, my attention had been distracted by the battle between Senios and Karimzeva then.
Someone might ask, flinching.
That I had taken down so many demons while distracted.
Whether I had that much composure.
Of course, I had no composure; there were circumstances. ‘And extremely messy ones at that.’
Senios’s ice magic.
Karimzeva’s flame magic.
The two polar-opposite magics collided and transformed into pure mana.
A feat made possible only because they were attributes of absolute extremes.
Thanks to that, I had freely used the pure mana undulating across the rift area. ‘Just as I had interfered with Bangrit’s mana.’
For it was the mana of two elder mages, Half-Gods.
That amount of mana was enough to let me manifest spells like drawing water.
Of course, since it was not my mana, there was some loss in experience, but I would feel guilty blaming that.
As if that weren’t enough. ‘A battle of a different dimension.’
Lee Hoyeol would have been overwhelmed merely watching blankly,
but in the battle between two Half-Gods, I witnessed ‘something.’
Realized thanks to Grandfel’s talent.
To put it into words.
Eye Opening.
Perhaps the feeling of opening eyes that had been shut.
I felt as though I had opened my eyes and beheld the ‘realm’ of magic one dimension higher.
『His innate magical talent was such that he could mimic most spells merely by seeing them.』
And thanks to unconsciously imitating that realm.
I made a demon legion commander tremble in ‘terror.’
And in the end, I was able to execute even Karimzeva with [『Kii』].
I could be certain.
That the so-called realm truly existed.
Why, because I had experience.
Even in days when I was ignorant of magic.
Search, interference, manifestation.
I had immediately grasped the structure of magic.
Thanks to Grandfel’s talent, I had tasted its benefits in full.
So much that I could tell the realm truly existed.
Of course.
“Unfortunately, that view is blurry.”
The realm was, quite literally, a Half-God’s realm.
At that time, I had been unconsciously immersed.
I had merely imitated the realm.
In short, thanks to Senios and Karimzeva, I had been forced to open my eyes briefly. ‘No matter how much I like freeloading…….’
Peeking into a Half-God’s realm at a mere level 377 would prick my conscience, would it not.
But I had a thought that pricked my conscience even more.
“However, Kii is also a realm that does not fall behind.”
Yes, strictly speaking, it was not wrong.
Through [『Kii』],
I had defeated Karimzeva, who had ascended to the realm. Knowing that fact gave me a goal. This time, I had merely followed the realm. ‘If I can open my eyes with my own strength and manifest [『Kii』],
’
then I truly would not be so messy.
I do not know when that will be, though.
But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Allocating stat points is also part of that step. ‘Strength and agility are enough from class quest rewards.’
As always.
I was about to go all-in on magic when I paused. ‘……
Why exactly 44 points, of all things.’
A 44-level increase.
Two 4s, the number of death.
But I was someone who had spoken.
Having declared that I was faithless, that I did not even believe in gods.
Yet being swayed by mere superstition was a bit unsightly. [Magic: 331]
As I had promised.
I invested all points into magic and shifted my gaze.
My immediate goal—I checked the quest window.─Identify the factions participating in the Holy War. (In Progress)
●Encounter the Saint of the Goddess Order. (In Progress)
First, I must figure out what kind of person the Saint of the Goddess Order is. Naturally, there was no need to get up from my seat. I said shamelessly.
“This, too, is Kii.”
Don’t speak so grandly of web surfing in the Magic Tower, Grandfel. ‘Later you’ll probably call dawn delivery Kii as well.’
I began searching for information on the Goddess Order. ‘……
What?’
And I regretted it.
I should have invested at least 1 point in Luck.
Why, because a Demon Hunter’s sense of smell was telling me. ‘There are Holy Maidens,
but no Holy Sons?!’
A suspicious smell is wafting from the Goddess Church!
*The Goddess Order’s holy land, Muon, appears.
None other than the Bohemian guild master, Gaiber, was the most excited about that update.
Gaiber recalled the humiliation of the last rift, the [Predator’s Swamp]. ‘A shame I wish to forget.’
The rift [Predator’s Swamp] that had spawned in Europe.
Thanks to that, Bohemian had entered with the full support of the EU.
However, the rift conquest had ended in failure.
The goal of showing the greatest performance?
The moment Lee Hoyeol appeared,
it had been practically over. ‘There is nothing to regret regarding that.’
But even excluding Lee Hoyeol, it had been a massive failure.
Everything was due to his own misjudgment.
The greed of trying to lure two named monsters at once.
What was lost due to that blunder was far too great. ‘I have no face to show everyone.’
There had been guild members who died during battle.
He couldn’t help but fall for that pattern.
He could make no excuses.
It was because of Hoyeol again.
Hoyeol had acted as though he knew everything. ‘He made Gaon, Inazuma, and Berserker unite to respond.’
With that judgment, they had even succeeded in sprouting the World Tree seed. He realized there existed a gap between himself and Hoyeol that was too embarrassing to feel inferior about.
However.
An opportunity to wash away his sorrows had come.
The appearance of the Goddess Order’s holy land, Muon!
Gaiber’s class was Holy Knight.
Moreover, a chosen Holy Knight undergoing a class quest.
He was not a Holy Knight of the Goddess Order, but orders had things in common. ‘Moreover, we were on friendly terms with the Goddess Order.’
At least for him, his intimacy with Goddess Order NPCs was quite high.
Thinking of that…….
Gaiber mulled it over.
No matter how he punched the calculator. ‘This is a better deal than conquering a rift.’
The probability of receiving a quest.
No, even if he did not receive a quest, Muon was surely in a confused state right now.
Like a bolt from the blue. It was as though they had teleported from the Arcana continent to Earth. ‘It means I can raise intimacy during the explanation process.’
I wasn’t getting my hopes up for nothing.
Gaiber did not hesitate.
The moment Muon’s coordinates appeared, he headed straight for Muon.
But.
“……
Gaiber, something’s strange?”
That Muon was different from what he had imagined.
Unlike during Frost, flames were not shooting up, nor was it in the clutches of demons.
A pure white fortress.
Muon looked exactly as it had when Arcana was a game.
“Gaiber, those on the walls are Holy Knights, right……?”
Yes.
If you excluded the Holy Knights sending hostile gazes from atop the walls.
As expected, the reporters gathered at the scene.
They noticed Gaiber’s appearance and threw questions at him.
“Is it not unusual for Holy Knights to move?”
“…….”
Nod—
Gaiber nodded silently.
For he was the player who knew better than anyone what it meant for an order to mobilize Holy Knights. ‘But I’ve never seen Holy Knights on that scale.’
The largest religion on the Arcana continent.
Befitting the holy land of the Goddess Order.
Muon possessed a fortress comparable to a major city.
On the walls of such a Muon, not a gap was visible. Holy Knights were packed densely atop the walls.
“……
There seems to be some misunderstanding.”
Amid the pouring questions.
Gaiber opened his mouth with difficulty.
That was the only way he could explain it. ‘There’s no reason for them to be hostile to us, is there?’
Something was definitely a misunderstanding.
But it was not a misunderstanding.
A signal coming from Muon.
Pwoooooo—!
It was a war horn.
Soon, the majestic sound that focused all eyes and ears ceased.
And a voice rang out.
“We await the Day of Judgment in Muon, the holy land of the Goddess.”
“Everything is the Holy Maiden’s arrangement. We need no such help.”
“Therefore, those who approach Muon.”
The declaration continued.
“We shall execute in the name of the Goddess.”
A clear hostile declaration toward humanity….
──────[Breaking] Goddess Order Holy Land Muon: “We do not wish to talk.”
[Breaking] EU: “Deep regret; we wish to clear up the misunderstanding.”
[Breaking] Holy Knight Rank 1 Gaiber: “The situation is definitely serious.”
[Breaking] AAU: “Currently assessing the situation…….”
──────
Muon’s attitude was completely different from imagination.
Back when Arcana was a game.
Recalling the Goddess Order’s conduct, the shock could only be greater.
“To an extent, I understand. The updated NPCs……. That is, the Arcanians summoned to reality were like that at first too. Since they had suddenly fallen into an unfamiliar world.”
At Seong Hyeonjun’s words, Yoon Sugyeom nodded.
“But this is excessive, isn’t it? Senior, did you check the satellite photos?”
With Muon, the Goddess Order, showing hostility,
AAU could not simply sit and watch either.
Naturally, AAU had mobilized satellites to film Muon’s interior.
Click—
A mouse click.
The panoramic view of Muon appearing on Seong Hyeonjun’s monitor.
“First, the scale of Holy Knights is at a nonsensical level, isn’t it. At least tens of thousands. Up to 100,000 at most. You know the gold required to raise one knight, right, senior?”
“I know. But, well. It’s the largest religion on the Arcana continent, the Goddess Order, so let’s understand and move past that. What’s puzzling is since when.”
“Yes, that’s my question too.”
“To cultivate that many Holy Knights, an enormous amount of time would be needed……. Since when exactly?”
Everything is the Holy Maiden’s arrangement.
As they had declared that they needed no help.
Muon seemed to lack for nothing.
Food, clothing, shelter—everything seemed to be at a level where it could be self-sufficient in Muon.
“It’s just a small country, that.”
“Is the arrangement thing real?”
“As if they had prepared for such a day…….”
Hoo—
Not only did a sigh escape on its own, but his head began to ache.
He had wanted to avoid such a twist more than anything.
“I just relaxed thanks to Lee Hoyeol only yesterday…….”
An emergency update on top of a regular update.
Just a complete mess…….
But they had to do something.
Tadadak—
Yoon Sugyeom tapped on the keyboard and spoke.
“For now, it seems some players will move.”
“……
By move, you mean approach Muon?”
“Yeah, looks like players who changed classes from the Goddess Order.”
“Oh, that sounds somewhat possible?”
“Right. They’re still on their side.”
So wouldn’t some dialogue be possible?
But he did not have high expectations. As he had said, the misunderstanding seemed very deep and old. You could tell just from the Holy Knights’ sharp warnings. ‘She said arrangement……?’
Yoon Sugyeom chewed on the words.
“She definitely said they were waiting for the ‘Day of Judgment.’”
Naturally, they did not know what the Day of Judgment was.
What could be known from the horn declaration was only who the ‘Holy Maiden’ was. [Holy Maiden, Freija].
Since the days when Arcana was merely a game.
A figure regarded as a symbol of the Goddess Order.
“Shall we look into it.”
To know what the Day of Judgment and that damned arrangement are.
There was a need to look up the settings related to her.
Yun Sugyeom accessed the AAU database. ‘Even if it’s brief, there should be some information left.’ He searched for information on the Saintess, Freyja.
But no search results appeared.
Yun Sugyeom flinched.
“...
That doesn’t make sense, does it?”
Freyja was an NPC who had existed since the days when Arcana had been nothing more than a game.
And an important NPC at that, the Saintess of the Goddess Church.
There was no way.
Yun Sugyeom logged into the company messenger. ‘Even if there are no records left, someone should remember.’ Just like with the Demon King Decarabia.
At the very least, the person in charge of Freyja’s settings would know something.
It seemed there were employees who had thought along the same lines as Yun Sugyeom.
They, too, were already asking around for information about Freyja.
Clackclackclack—clack—tap— Before long, Yun Sugyeom’s fingers stopped moving.
He spoke in a low voice.
“...
There’s no one.”
“Huh? What’s not there? Oh, caffeine? I’ll buy you a cup.”
“No. That’s not it.”
He continued, looking dazed.
“There isn’t a single person who says they designed the Saintess, Freyja.”*
Freyja.
The Saintess of the Goddess Church.
A famous NPC from back when Arcana was still a game...
Well, in the past, I would have simply brushed it off, thinking she was just an Arcana native.
Upon seeing that the quest window said Saint instead of Saintess, I might have wondered whether it was just a typo. In fact, I might even have doubted the quest itself.
But I know.
After the Cataclysm.
Only a few years had passed since Rifts began appearing.
Yet demons had already slipped into reality, into society, hiding with cunning precision.
Needless to say, the Arcana Continent was practically the demons’ homeland.
Even more than ten years ago, back when I was playing Arcana, hadn’t there been quests to hunt demons possessing humans?
So I was seriously suspicious. ‘Could the Saintess, Freyja, be a demon?’ If this were the Arcana Continent.
And if I had voiced that thought aloud.
One out of every three people would probably have stoned me.
From the Goddess Church’s perspective, there could be no greater blasphemy.
But unfortunately. ‘I’m already more than half convinced.’
Above all, it was stated clearly in the class quest.
There may be a Saint, but there is no Saintess.
And in this moment.
Muon’s attitude deepens my suspicion even further.
“They are waiting in Muon for the Day of Judgment...”
That was right.
No matter how generously I looked at it.
Even if I set aside the bias of the quest.
Granfell’s pride could not understand it.
The Goddess Church.
Despite having so many believers.
Despite having raised tens of thousands of those supposedly magnificent Holy Knights. Why did they, until the continent was reduced to ruins by demons,
sit around in Muon sucking their thumbs? Waiting only for this so-called Day of Judgment.
And the one who encouraged that absurd behavior under the guise of arrangements was none other than the Saintess, Freyja.
Noblesse oblige.
There was no way Granfell’s pride could tolerate such conduct.
I murmured indifferently.
“That irresponsible behavior is proof that no god exists.”
In any case, what I needed was to uncover the truth.
I had to trace the Goddess Church’s actions on the Arcana Continent.
It might be difficult for other players, but not for me.
They called it the Saintess’s arrangements, did they?
Fine. I had arrangements of my own as well.
I had an informant planted on the Arcana Continent.
The forest spirit, the nymph.
To summon the nymph, I would have to head to a Rift.
Come to think of it, there was a Rift created by this update.
I checked the update details.