◈ Episode 116. The Demon King’s Castle (2)
Certain news of victory.
For that, I needed thorough preparation.
No, I had no choice but to prepare thoroughly.
The Lionheart Knights under Harkon.
The Shadow Mercenary Corps.
The Goddess Church.
The Magic Tower.
Whatever the reason, if only so that I would not show my limitations to the allies who followed me.
In that sense, I stopped by the Magic Tower’s Garnet Hall for the first time in a while.
At long last, level 390.
Compared to the overestimation I received, I was still far from enough. ‘Still, compared to a few months ago, I’ve grown.’ As I looked around at the magic tools in Garnet Hall,
I remembered the first time I came here.
Because of the level restrictions, all I could do was drool over them, until in the end, the level-100-restricted
[Hexagram Brooch] was the only thing I managed to take with me.
Yes, compared to back then, I had many more options now.
“Chief Lee Hoyeol, you are the last.”
The skilled mage in charge of Garnet Hall.
He bowed his head politely and greeted me.
Then he added one more sentence.
“I sincerely hope there are magic tools remaining that suit your discerning eye, Chief.”
The magic tools of Garnet Hall.
Even now, most of them were still pies in the sky to me.
But I immediately understood what he meant. ‘The objective is to crush the Demon Kings.’ I had conveyed that plan to the senior mages of the Magic Tower, including Marcelo.
Perhaps my intentions had been properly conveyed. Ever since then, lines regarding [Magic Tool Rental]
had constantly appeared on the parchment. ‘Everyone borrowed some incredible magic tools.’ [Golden Statue of Illusion]. [Miniature Magic Sun]. [Staff of the Great Sage]
and so on……
Even with a rough glance, the most prominent magic tools were nowhere to be seen.
The senior mages must have rented them.
They must have rented them because they could use them.
I roughly recalled the twenty invisible magic tools. ‘The lowest level restriction among them was level 800.’ That meant the senior mages’ levels were at least 800.
Once again, I realized the gap anew.
I had thought I had grown in my own way. ‘It’s the difference between heaven and earth.’ On top of that, I knew of Karimjeva and Senios.
And I had even guessed at the existence of higher-ranking Demon Kings, whom even they could not approach.
Heaven and earth. And even beings beyond the heavens, incomparable even to that sky. ‘……
I still have a long way to go.’
It was a grand goal—far too grand.
An ordinary person’s morale might have dropped.
But I—Grandfell—was hardly an ordinary person.
“Not bad.”
A lofty pride that seemed capable of piercing even the heavens beyond heaven!
Thanks to that, I was able to calmly choose the magic tools I would rent.
After all, the magic tools rented by the senior mages were items that I, at a mere level 390, could not even equip.
“I’ll take this.”
Suited to my level.
At least possible for me to equip.
I rented three magic tools—items—in total.
[Token of the Whirlwind]
[Grade: Unique]
[Restriction: Lv.350]
…….
[Masterpiece - Outer Wings of Hundred Colors]
[Grade: Unique]
[Restriction: Lv.350]
…….
[Masterpiece - Lightning-Struck Branch Wand]
[Grade: Unique]
[Restriction: Lv.380]
…….
A ring, clothing, and a wand.
The items that met Grandfell’s aesthetic sense and had level restrictions I could use amounted to about those three.
At the magic tools I had chosen, the skilled mage seemed startled.
“……
Are you truly all right with only these magic tools?”
Even if I wanted to choose something else, my level was lacking, so there was nothing I could do.
Of course, confessing my own insufficiency?
As long as there was pride in my heart, that was impossible.
I had no choice but to speak brazenly.
“These will be enough.”
“……!”
Soon, a gaze full of respect poured onto me.
He had clearly misunderstood somehow.
Yet there was only me, taking even that gaze as a matter of course.
How terribly embarrassing……....
However, apart from that shame.
Grandfell’s eye was remarkable.
The proof was appearing in the status window.
[Name: Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo]
[Title: Last Adventurer]
[Class: Demon Hunter]
[Level: 390]
[Stats]
Strength: 67 / Agility: 73 / Magic Power: 350 / Luck: 6 / Aesthetic: Mid
[Available Points: 0]
The [Aesthetic] stat had risen.
It was probably thanks to equipping two additional [Masterpiece] items. I was glad that a stat that had barely changed from [Low]
had risen, but……
Feeling it properly would be impossible until I manifested proper magic.
But there was no need to grow impatient.
──────
A new rift, ‘Demon King’s Castle,’ will be added.
A new rift, ‘Demon King’s Castle,’ will be added.
A new rift, ‘Demon King’s Castle,’ will be added.
──────
Just as expected.
The Demon Kings had revealed themselves in the update details.
And three of them, at that.
Well, I had even anticipated this worst-case scenario, so there was no surprise.
I immediately took action.
I picked up the quill and scrawled on the parchment.
Sssssk—
──────
From this moment on, according to procedure, we will crush the Demon Kings.
──────
*
The [Demon King’s Castle] rift.
Its collapse progress was soaring in real time.
While an ordinary rift’s collapse rate would rise by 0.1 percent at most in that amount of time, the Demon King’s Castle rift was rising by 1 percent, ten times that speed.
“……
I’ve never seen a collapse speed like this.”
“Just how wildly are they rampaging inside?”
“Does that mean their power is so great even the rift can barely withstand it?”
Amid countless concerns.
Additional update details appeared.
There, the recommended levels for the Demon King’s Castle rifts were specified.
[Demon King’s Castle of Rhythm]
[Recommended Level: Lv.800]
[Demon King’s Castle of Dissoluteness]
[Recommended Level: Lv.800]
[Demon King’s Castle of Hunting]
[Recommended Level: Lv.850]
“……!!!”
Could those details be wrong?
If not, were my eyes seeing things?
They were numbers that made one harbor useless doubts.
“A level 800 rift? How on earth are we supposed to……?”
The situation was different from the [Cracked Dimensional Gap] rift.
The difference between an emergency update and a regular update.
It meant this was definitely not some bug.
But the shock did not stop there.
Following the recommended levels, the masters of the Demon King’s Castles—
the levels of the Demon Kings themselves—also appeared.
[Demon King, Amdusias: Lv.800]
[Demon King, Kimaris: Lv.820]
[Demon King, Flauros: Lv.850]
“This is insane.”
Demon Kings, in the truest sense.
Beings whose mere descent plunged the world into terror.
Even if Amdusias, the lowest-leveled of the three, had appeared, humanity would not have been able to present a proper solution.
And yet, that very being was merely the weakest of the three Demon Kings.
“……
Senior, Branch Manager?”
Seong Hyeonjun.
Yun Sugyeom.
And AAU Korea Branch Manager, Park Minjae.
They, too, faced those despairing update details.
Seong Hyeonjun barely managed to continue speaking.
“O-okay! Let’s say we somehow stop this Demon King’s Castle by dropping a nuclear bomb on it. What comes after that? What are we supposed to do about the next Demon King?”
Demon King, Decarabia.
The information about Demon Kings they had learned through him.
The Demon Kings were modeled after the 72 demons,
and a hierarchy existed among the Demon Kings as well.
According to that hierarchy, Decarabia belonged near the bottom.
That information was valid for the three Demon Kings who had appeared this time as well.
Because they knew that fact,
the two men could not answer Seong Hyeonjun’s words.
Park Minjae spoke in a hollow voice.
“Those monsters are only ranks 67, 66, and 64.”
Rank 67, Amdusias.
Rank 66, Kimaris.
Rank 64, Flauros.
That was right.
If one looked at the broader picture,
they, like Decarabia, belonged among the weaker of the 72 Demon Kings.
“Branch Manager…….”
Just a few days ago, AAU had finished accepting reality.
They might not be able to predict every threat as they had in the past, but they would continue to put in all their power as they were now to protect humanity from Arcana.
And yet.
“……
With things like this, is there anything we can do?”
Minimum level 800, maximum level 850.
If those Demon Kings were considered weak,
then what level were the higher-ranking Demon Kings?
That was a threat they quite literally could not even fathom.
It was a reality that denied even the acceptance they had barely managed to reach.
“Damn it.”
Park Minjae swallowed a groan.
Despair, the feeling of being thrown into pitch-black darkness.
Was that why?
A few days ago, the one and only way out he had thought of—
his hope, Lee Hoyeol—came to mind. ‘Lee Hoyeol’s estimated level is roughly 900.’ A player would be better recognized by other players.
It was Lee Hoyeol’s level, predicted by combining the assessments of rankers including Rox and the actions he had shown so far. Park Minjae dredged up common sense from the days when Arcana had been a game. ‘If they were ordinary monsters, he might have been able to deal with them.’ By relying on level, that is.
But even named monsters possessed strength exceeding their level and troublesome patterns. Hadn’t that fact been confirmed in the [Predator’s Swamp] rift as well?
And yet the opponent was a Demon King.
As the update details stated, a boss monster. ‘Even if it’s Lee Hoyeol…….’ Besides, even if his level was ahead by 50 or even 100,
hunting a boss monster alone was impossible.
No, even reaching the boss monster would be difficult. ‘System-wise, there should be ten or so named monsters attached to it.’ Grit—Park Minjae bit his dry lip.
The scene from the time of Decarabia came to mind. Not only the named monster, the Demon Legion Commander, but the Demon King’s Army, boasting an enormous number of troops, could not be left out of consideration. ‘Breaking through that encirclement and reaching the Demon King?’ If it were only one, maybe.
But there were three Demon King’s Castle rifts in total.
On top of that. ‘The situation is different from Frost.’ At the time, Frost had not completely become Decarabia’s territory.
The recapture quest that had appeared for the players was proof of that.
But this time, it was no different from invading the Demon King’s Castle—the Demon King’s stronghold.
It was only natural that the difficulty of the攻略 would be on another dimension entirely.
So the more he thought, the only thing that came out was a sigh.
“Branch Manager. Player Lee Hoyeol is on the move.”
“……
Is that so? He really never changes.”
“Does Hoyeol-ssi not have something called fear?”
That was why, even when they heard the news that Lee Hoyeol had moved, they could not simply rejoice.
Unlike the excited mass media, hadn’t they already run simulations in their heads?
“Damn it.”
Lee Hoyeol.
It felt as though he were walking into certain death.
If he could, Park Minjae wanted to stop him.
But that uncomfortable feeling did not last long.
Because information began coming in one after another.
“B-Branch Manager Park?!”
Frost, the Lionheart Knights.
The Yusra Kingdom, the Shadow Mercenary Corps.
The Holy Land Muon, the Paladin Order.
And even the Magic Tower.
As if they had been waiting only for Lee Hoyeol to take a step, they began to move simultaneously from all directions. Park Minjae let out a hollow laugh.
What am I looking at right now……?
“It’s not as if this is a game where he can use cheat codes.”
Forces that should have been impossible for a player to move.
“He’s moving four of them at the same time?”
Yes, if he conceded a hundred times, he could understand the Shadow Mercenary Corps.
Arcana’s mercenaries were people who would even risk their lives if their interests aligned.
“This makes no sense…….”
But the rest could not be explained.
Even if his relationship and influence had reached their maximum values,
they were people who moved with their own beliefs as their top priority.
“What on earth, what on earth did he do……?”
Could it be that Lee Hoyeol had even moved their beliefs?
The thought that surely couldn’t be true grew larger and larger.
Seong Hyeonjun cautiously opened his mouth.
“Could it be possible? Clearing the Demon King’s Castle rifts.”
At the question, Park Minjae and Yun Sugyeom, the two men, fell silent.
The Lionheart Knights and the paladins of Muon.
They could guess their level.
They would surely become a great force for Lee Hoyeol. ‘But even that may not be enough.’ Again, if it were only one, maybe.
But there were three Demon Kings.
So the outcome of the Demon King’s Castle攻略 depended on the Shadow Mercenary Corps and the Magic Tower.
But even they, who had been developers of Arcana, could not guess the extent of their power. ‘One is the mastermind behind the scenes. One is the greatest armed force on the continent.’ Please, let them show deeds worthy of those names.
All they could do was watch while desperately praying.
Of course, just like that uncomfortable feeling,
that prayer did not last long either....
[Demon King’s Castle of Rhythm]
[Recommended Level: Lv.800]
[Rift Collapse Progress: 17.9%]
[Boss Monster: Demon King, Amdusias]
▶ Lv.800
[Named Monster: Demon Legion Commander, Blackhorn, and 28 others]
▶ Lv.650
[Monsters: Approximately 100,000 under the Demon Legion Commanders]
▶ Lv.500
[Entrant List]
[Magic Tower: Senior of Black Magic, Matisse Dean Karl / Senior of Fire Magic, Banshee William / Senior of Illusion Magic, Nasrow]
[Shadow Mercenary Corps: 2nd Seat, Wolf Saccharin / 6th Seat, Izabelmar / 7th Seat, Alkari]
[Goddess Church: Paladin Commander, Talim Eber, and approximately 18,000 under his command]
Those watching could not know their detailed identities.
After all, the information known about the Magic Tower and the Shadow Mercenary Corps was extremely limited.
But they could say this with certainty.
What unfolded was a result no one had expected.
“……!”
The rift vanished in midair.
It meant the rift had been cleared.
What was unbelievable was the time.
“Th-this isn’t a dream, right, Senior?”
From the moment they entered the Demon King’s Castle rift,
not even ten minutes had passed.
That was when the scene occurred.
Park Minjae, who was watching it on the monitor, muttered.
“……
It wasn’t just beyond estimation. It was beyond imagination.”
Quite literally.
The Demon King’s Castle had been trampled.