◈ Chapter 109. Do You Have No Regrets, AAU?
A branch meeting held over video.
But no matter how many heads they put together, they couldn’t find a clue.
The starting point, as expected, was Hoyeol.
“It’s chaos, starting with Player Lee Hoyeol. Chaos.”
The emergency update.
Immediately afterward, eleven [Broken Dimensional Rift] rifts had appeared simultaneously. Just how had Hoyeol managed to clear those rifts in such a short span of time?
Even simply tracking his movements had been overwhelming.
“And why is the situation in Muon still at a standstill?”
The very next day.
A bomb had gone off in the regular update.
Arcanians showing hostility toward humanity.
AAU had no choice but to be on edge.
“From what we can observe from the outside, there doesn’t seem to be any major change. But if anything, the hostility toward humanity inside Muon has probably grown, not diminished. They must be sick to death of the drones hovering over their heads.”
Muon, the holy land of the Goddess Church.
Since Muon had shown hostility, it was only natural for the world to be wary of Muon in turn. But there was an even bigger problem. The existence of Freyja, the saintess of the Goddess Church.
“Freyja. Just what is that NPC’s true identity……?”
Freyja had existed since the days when Arcana was still a game.
That was precisely why it was baffling.
If she was the saintess of the Goddess Church, then she was undoubtedly an NPC of considerable importance.
She couldn’t be an NPC randomly generated by artificial intelligence like an ordinary villager……. Yet even after sending an official notice to every AAU employee, there was no one who knew anything about Freyja.
“In the end, the answer must be one of two things.”
“If Raymon Sean wasn’t involved…….”
“Then she’s a truly unknown existence, one even we don’t know about. Like the great evil that appeared in the Yusra Kingdom.”
“Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s giving us a splitting headache. Truly.”
The world was changing rapidly.
“Jesse Heinness’s departure from Shining. And because of Unification Under Heaven’s aggressive rift raids, the guild rankings have finally changed. For the first time since the rankings began being tallied, Unification Under Heaven has risen to first place.”
The order of power was fluctuating accordingly.
“Gaon, Inazuma, and Berserker haven’t made an official announcement, but it’s fair to say they’ve effectively formed a giant alliance. Their strength is expected to be no less than that of Unification Under Heaven or Shining.”
There was no choice but to be concerned in many ways.
“A giant alliance is one thing, but why did it have to be Unification Under Heaven…….”
That was right.
Behind Unification Under Heaven stood China.
China, the only country in the world that had no exchange with AAU and had established its own independent route.
Now that Unification Under Heaven’s influence had grown even stronger, the variable that was China could only loom larger.
“Perhaps we’ve reached our limit.”
After the Cataclysm.
AAU had tried to predict countless variables and respond to Arcana’s erosion.
But the recent trend of updates was utterly beyond prediction. They had no choice but to acknowledge their own limits.
If only even one thread of this tangled skein could be unraveled.
Silence—amid that heavy atmosphere, someone opened their mouth.
“……
But isn’t this a strange coincidence?”
“What do you mean?”
“Doesn’t every tangled thread seem to be pointing toward one thing?”
“……
Pardon?”
“The [Broken Dimensional Rifts] created by the emergency update. Jesse Heinness’s last known movements before leaving the Shining Guild. The giant guild alliance of Gaon, Inazuma, and Berserker. Player Lee Hoyeol is connected to all of them, isn’t he?”
“……!”
“Maybe……. Player Lee Hoyeol knows something about Muon, which we can’t even begin to grasp. And about Freyja as well. What do you think?”
There was one person who reacted especially violently to that question.
“……
Hold on, everyone. What’s with those looks?” It was Park Minjae, head of AAU’s South Korean branch.
He shook his head vigorously and pleaded.
“Don’t tell me you’re expecting something from me. If you are, hurry up and give up on that thought. You’re all talking like it’s someone else’s business just because you don’t have any contact with Player Lee Hoyeol. Did you not see the interview? Even those persistent reporters and Nettubers tremble before Player Lee Hoyeol. How could I possibly dare……!”
*
The guild rankings were in turmoil.
Guild rank 4, the guild master of Bohemian.
Gaiber shuddered.
“Of all the damn ways things could go wrong…….”
He had thought they would be able to make a dramatic comeback in Muon.
But Muon, which he had thought would be a jackpot, wasn’t merely a losing ticket—they weren’t even in a position to scratch it.
Yesterday and today, while they had done nothing but waste time.
Unification Under Heaven had cleared a new rift.
And at last, they had climbed to first place in the guild rankings.
“Damn it.”
Of course, Unification Under Heaven wasn’t the only one to clear a new rift.
There was Lee Hoyeol as well.
According to players’ testimonies.
The time Unification Under Heaven cleared [Mantra Mine - Shaft 2]
and the time Lee Hoyeol cleared [Mantra Mine - Shaft 1]
seemed to have been similar.
-No, Lee Hoyeol was a bit faster, I saw it, later.-No matter what, you’re saying he was faster than Unification Under Heaven by himself???
-He wasn’t alone, though? There was one person in a robe next to him.
-What, a robe means a mage, right??? Don’t tell me it was a mage from the Magic Tower??
-No lol stop with the baseless theories;; the facts alone are enough.-Fr, no matter how much Lee Hoyeol is a chief, saying he can move Magic Tower mages around however he wants is too much;; considering how the Magic Tower has stayed still until now.Lee Hoyeol.
It wasn’t exactly new for countless speculations to swirl wherever he appeared.
Gaiber wasn’t jealous, nor was he angry.
Only one thing.
‘Why did it have to be Gaon, Inazuma, and Berserker of all people!’
Guild rank 3, Gaon.
Rank 5, Inazuma.
At a time when his position at 4th was already precarious.
The two competitors above and below him had formed an alliance.
And on top of that, Berserker, another guild from the EU……!
‘Not only the guild rankings, but even the title of strongest in the EU.’
Things couldn’t go on like this.
Impatient, Gaiber couldn’t simply sit still.
He wanted to run toward a new rift immediately, but……. As stated, the two [Mantra Mine] rifts had already been cleared by Hoyeol and Unification Under Heaven.
There were formidable competitors at the remaining rifts as well.
What remained for Gaiber was.
‘A decision is necessary.’
As expected, only Muon.
Because he knew that fact.
He had set up a base camp not near a rift, but right in front of Muon. Muon’s gates remained firmly shut. Gaiber racked his brain.
‘No matter what, they can’t ignore the rules.’
No matter how sternly they had warned them.
They were paladins of Muon who served the goddess.
Though the religion he served was different, Gaiber was also a paladin.
He understood the strict code of paladins.
“A paladin cannot attack civilians first.”
“So you’re really going to approach Muon in the end?”
“Nothing will change just by standing here and watching.”
He would lay down his weapon and approach Muon.
He would try to talk to them.
Gaiber did not hesitate.
Thump, thump—As he advanced toward Muon, his heart pounded with tension. It was a heartbeat tinged with a slight sense of anticipation. After all, enormous attention was currently focused on Muon.
If, by any chance, the conversation went well.
If Muon changed its hostile stance.
And even opened its gates?
Then not only Bohemian, but his own value would soar as well.
But no such thing happened.
“!”
Because common sense, as Gaiber the paladin knew it, collapsed.
Gaiber was also one of the ranker players.
In that instant, his sharpened senses sent him a warning.
A presence from atop the walls.
Creak, creeeak—!
That was the sound of bowstrings being drawn.
Swish!
Swish, swish, swish!
Not only had he put down his weapon, he had both hands raised.
Gaiber was approaching Muon.
And a rain of arrows poured down on him while he was defenseless.
It was not a threat.
It was truly a preemptive strike aimed at taking his life.
Surging with rage!
“Those crazy bastards really……!!”
Arrows pierced all over Gaiber’s body.
If Bohemian’s guild members had not stepped forward and knocked the arrows away.
He would not have been able to breathe as he was now.
Realizing that, Gaiber barely opened his mouth.
“……
Muon and the Goddess Church are not the ones I knew.”
And this entire situation was broadcast over the airwaves.
The EU was more enraged than anyone.
They immediately released an official statement.
-We will absolutely not stand by and watch Muon’s hostile acts.
That was no different from a declaration of war against Muon.
The reactions of other countries were not much different.
No, there were even voices saying that what was bound to happen had finally happened.
“If it were only a few NPCs, that would be one thing……. But this was a situation we feared every time an update on the scale of a region or city took place. In the first place, it was a mistake to assume that the Arcanians would be friendly to us humans.”
If it were back when it had only been a game, that would be one thing.
But a reason for them to be friendly to humanity?
Frankly speaking, it was difficult to name even one.
“Perhaps the Yusra Kingdom and Frost were the exceptions.”
The breaking news ended and regular programming began.
But the shocking footage continued to replay.
The hosts’ grave expressions remained unchanged.
And as though none of those reactions mattered in the slightest.
So too did Muon’s firmly closed gates.
“If Muon continues to act with hostility, that will be an enormous variable for humanity. In the worst case, we may truly have to blow all of Muon away…….”
What should be done with Muon?
For the moment, there seemed to be no answer.
Yes, until one man appeared at Muon.
“……
What the hell? Who is that?!”
The camera filming Muon’s panorama hurriedly zoomed in.
A man was fearlessly approaching Muon.
First of all…….
It was not Lee Hoyeol. Well, if Lee Hoyeol had appeared, their smartphones would have been vibrating nonstop by now.
The main office would have already barked orders not to miss even the slightest movement of Lee Hoyeol.
“No matter how far those Nettuber bastards cross the line, this is too……?”
Some thought he was simply a Nettuber mad for attention.
But it was strange.
For a Nettuber.
There was no filming equipment visible on the man at all.
Moreover, his attire was far from ordinary.
An archaic uniform.
Judging by how it seemed closer to fantasy than reality.
He certainly appeared to be a player.
“Does anyone come to mind?”
“With a build like that, he looks like he’d be incredibly distinctive.”
“……
Not really?”
That statement wasn’t wrong.
An unusually tall height.
Long, straight arms and legs.
Even a gaunt, skinny body.
It was a figure one would not easily forget after seeing once.
“……
Was there a player like that?”
No one among the players came to mind.
However, unlike the reporters who had fallen into confusion, there were people in the Bohemian Guild’s base camp who were also watching the scene and recognized the man’s identity.
Yes, they were mages.
“Wh-what? Why?”
More precisely, mages with enough skill to attend the regular conference.
“Chief Mage Marcelo has appeared in Muon?!”
*
News of Muon had been shaking the world for days.
Naturally, the Magic Tower came to hear of it.
Marcelo let out a faint smile.
“Sir. My turn has finally come.”
From the research on 『Oddity』.
To the punishment of the demon worshipper.
All this time, he had only been indebted to Hoyeol.
“I have not forgotten that there is give and take in all things.”
He had only received.
And at last, an opportunity had come to repay that debt to Hoyeol.
However.
“I also know this is not a matter I should step into on my own.”
With Muon involved, it was not a simple issue.
Yes, the Goddess Church, Akshan.
And even the Magic Tower.
Between them lay the “Holy War.” Having made up his mind, Marcelo did not hesitate. He immediately went to find Hoyeol. And he revealed everything.
Click—Naturally, there was no agitation in Hoyeol.
His expression and actions were no different from usual.
Marcelo could sense it instinctively.
‘……
As expected, Sir knew everything.’
It was a reaction that could only be interpreted that way.
That made his thoughts even firmer.
Marcelo continued.
“Sir, how would you feel about entrusting this matter to me?”
Marcelo knew.
Even if Sir Hoyeol knew.
Even if he did not show it.
The past that had happened would not disappear.
Even if the Magic Tower’s past wrongs were the fault of the elder mages.
No, of the demon worshippers.
That fact could not become an excuse or an indulgence.
Moreover, had Sir not said so himself?
“So that the Magic Tower may observe ‘proper formality’ toward you and Akshan, Sir.”
...
Players often said things like this.
“The Magic Tower? Honestly, isn’t it overrated?”
“No, they haven’t shown any results.”
“They don’t budge an inch, so why do they have such grand titles?”
From the days when Arcana was nothing more than a game until now.
The ones who reacted most fiercely to such reckless words were the Arcanians.
More precisely, the Arcanians who had witnessed the Magic Tower’s actions in the past.
“You say that because you have never seen them.”
“The mages of the Magic Tower are not human.”
“Please, do not provoke the Magic Tower. I do not wish to be caught in the sparks.”
But at this moment.
No further lengthy explanation was necessary.
The Magic Tower’s Chief Mage, Marcelo.
He had appeared in Muon.
There would be no better opportunity for proof.
“If we watch, we’ll know. Whether it was overblown or not.”
“He’s the same chief as Lee Hoyeol, so won’t the two of them be roughly similar?”
“If this goes well, does that mean we’ll be able to grasp Lee Hoyeol’s full strength too?”
The Magic Tower, famed under heaven.
How would its chief mage block Muon’s attack? The closer he drew to Muon, the more those watching could not help but grow expectant.
However.
“……?”
Those expectations did not become reality either.
Because unlike with Gaiber, no rain of arrows poured down.
Only.
Rumble—!
The firmly closed gates opened as if it were a lie.
Through the open gates, a paladin walked out.
-“Everything is the saintess’s arrangement. We need no help.”
-“Those who approach Muon.”
-“We shall execute in the name of the goddess.”
It was the very man who had uttered hostile words toward humanity.
That alone was shocking enough.
Soon, however, those watching came to realize.
Why the Magic Tower had been called the strongest armed organization on the Arcana Continent. Why even the emperors of the empire had offered tribute that was not quite tribute, just to avoid offending the Magic Tower.
“……!!!”
As though he had been ready to face death itself.
The paladin who had seemed afraid of nothing.
Now bowed at the waist to Marcelo with a deathly pale face.
Shock—someone murmured in a low voice.
“So Lee Hoyeol is on the same level as someone like that……?”