◈ Episode 146. It Is to Protect Our Pride (2)
The moment they stepped into the Golden Palace of the Yusra Kingdom.
“You lunatic.”
Leoni opened her mouth.
What did he say?
It was to protect the pride in his heart?
Goosebumps rose all over her body, and she could hardly stand it.
Nam Taemin felt wronged.
“What’s the problem? It’s exactly what Mr. Hoyeol said.”
“Are you insane? What do you mean, exactly the same?!”
“Though we are in the same boat, that was a reckless statement, Nam Taemin.”
“Hey, Hisagi Kazuma. Aren’t you the last person who should be saying that?”
—“There is nothing more important than pride. Even if I realized it late.”
He had said something not so different from Nam Taemin in front of the reporters, yet now he was playing innocent.
Shake, shake—Hisagi shook his head.
“His words alone would have been more than enough to convey it.”
“Convey what?”
“I’m saying there was no need to pound your fist against your chest.”
“Huh? Why not? It was manly and cool.”
“The original wasn’t as cringeworthy as you.”
Exactly the same, my ass.
There was no way they would narrow the difference in opinion by arguing any further.
Fine, let’s drop it.
Because something more important than a pointless interview or a quarrel was waiting for them.—Prove your worth in the corresponding area. (In progress)
Proving their worth.
Nam Taemin, Leoni, and Hisagi.
The three of them realized it the moment they saw the quest.—‘So that’s why he brought us together……!’Why had Hoyeol made three guilds that were either ill-fated with one another or completely unrelated form an alliance? It had been for this quest. The three people involved were certain of it.
“Just imagine it. Let’s say we’d been operating like we used to.”
For starters, one thing could be stated with certainty even before imagining it.
Hisagi spoke first.
“At the very least, Inazuma and Gaon would have been too busy keeping each other in check to achieve the growth we have now.”
“Right, that’s what I was about to say. Wait, why Inazuma and Gaon again? The order’s wrong. The order. By ranking, or even alphabetically, we should obviously come first……”
“Isn’t that so, Ms. Leoni?”
“Okey. I can tell just from watching right now.”
In the past, competition between guilds.
Not only did they compete for the first clear over rifts, but mind games breaking out inside the rifts themselves had been a daily occurrence.
Even knowing it was a loss for both sides, how many times had they been unable to back down because of pride?
“It’s thanks to everyone wisely keeping out of our way.”
“There would be no benefit to entering the same rift as us, after all.”
“I never got to hunt like this even back in the days of Arcana Continent Chronicle.”
A battle-crazed berserker.
Thanks to the massive alliance, she was able to fully display her occupational disease.
Leoni and the Berserker Guild, as well as the guild members of Gaon and Inazuma, gained experience at a speed that could not be compared to before.
The result was showing in their levels.
Nam Taemin, level 408.
Hisagi Kazuma, level 405.
Leoni, level 399.
It was not growth that could be achieved through the synergy of the massive alliance alone.
What had influenced it even more was the attack on the Demon King’s Castle rifts.
Because after the so-called “Demon King Crushing,” demon-type monsters had vanished as if they had never existed.
“Even by a simple calculation, the time we can spend clearing rifts has more than doubled.”
Why were demon-type monsters so troublesome?
There was the fact that their levels were high because they were growth-type monsters. But as expected, the biggest headache was status abnormalities. In particular, if someone was afflicted with “fear,” delays were inevitable.
Nam Taemin spoke with fervor.
“Not just us, but all players should be grateful, you know? To create this situation, just how much hardship do you think Mr. Hoyeol went through?”
“No.”
“What do you mean, no? How do you nitpick every single thing I say……!”
There he goes, setting me off again.
Hisagi continued, unconcerned.
“A Demon King’s Castle rift would hardly have been a hardship for him. Not at Mr. Hoyeol’s level. As you know, didn’t he clear three Demon King’s Castle rifts in a mere ten minutes or so?”……
Now that I hear it, he’s not exactly wrong.
But even when he says something true, does he have to sound that annoying?
It was Leoni who stopped Nam Taemin from flaring up again.
Flutter—Arcana’s official website.
The player ranking page.
Leoni, who had been checking the levels of the rankers, opened her mouth.
“Liuo Junchun hit level 400 too.”
“Level 400 as a monarch class? He’s a tenacious bastard too. Tenacious.”
“That is precisely why he holds the position of leader of a supermassive guild like Unification Under Heaven.”
As they examined another player’s level, the levels of the two collaborators naturally caught her eye. Leoni’s eyebrow twitched. ……
Well, well, look at these guys?
“But somehow, it seems like both of you have slowed down in leveling up?”
“……?”
“No, what were you two doing while I caught up to level 399? Playing around? I told you again and again. If you two had hunted even one more monster in the time you spent arguing……. Sigh, forget it. What’s the point of saying it?”
Nam Taemin and Hisagi exchanged wronged looks.
“Excuse me, Ms. Level 399. You don’t seem to understand yet.”
“From level 400 onward, it truly becomes a different dimension.”
“What nonsense.”
“No, seriously, from level 400 on, the required amount of experience makes no sense. Even if you spend days killing monsters at the proper level, your level may or may not change……!”...
I checked my status window.[Name: Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo][Title: Last Adventurer, Noble][Class: Demon Hunter][Level: 490][Stats]
Strength: 72 / Agility: 77 / Magic Power: 401 / Luck: 7 / Aesthetic: Low[Available Points: 50]
Hadn’t I said it over and over?
Arcana’s damned leveling system.
Starting from each hundred-level mark, the amount of experience required to level up increased exponentially. But to the point where that complaint felt like an exaggeration.
On the Arcana Continent expedition, I had hit the system’s limit and returned after rising by a whopping 50 levels……!‘Even after receiving the death penalty, at that.’The messages that had appeared the moment I closed my eyes.[You have died.][Death penalty will be applied.][Experience acquired will decrease.]……
Even after an enormous amount of experience had decreased, I was still at the limit.
If I had hastily broken into my savings from the Quernberg Machine Tower, I would have felt unfairly wronged for nothing.
Perhaps because there was definite proof in the form of numbers.
It really sank in what I had gone and done.
That’s right, as if hunting the Demon King coiled within the Simuard family hadn’t been enough.
Together with millions of demons, I had been struck by the Iron Castle’s mana beam cannon and spectacularly perished.
Indeed, it had been an action so outrageous that even the system mistook it and bestowed a title on me, sincerely.
“Numbers cannot measure me.”……
Yes, I’ll admit it this time, at least for that slip of the tongue.
Because I realized that to Granfell, things like levels or the number of enemies truly were nothing more than numbers. That must be why he threw himself into the midst of millions of demons.
It really was befitting of a storm-and-stress period when there was nothing to fear.
In any case, let’s allocate the 50 points first.
As always, I was about to invest all the points into Magic Power, but then I stopped.
Why, don’t people say you realize something from the revolving lantern before death?
Thanks to that, I realized one thing as well.
“A demon hunter has a hunting method unique to demon hunters.”
From the past until now.
The characteristics of a demon hunter had been consistent.
There was nothing they could put forward as a strength except when hunting demons.
You could tell that just from the method of investing stat points. Demon hunters had no choice but to split points among Strength, Agility, and Magic Power, stats that were already lacking even if they focused on just one.
But through this desperate battle, I realized.
That method of growth had, on the contrary, helped in hunting demons.
Because with Strength, I swung a sword; with Agility, I handled a crossbow; and with Magic Power, I manifested magic.
When it came to hunting demons, no means or methods were off the table.
That very figure was none other than a demon hunter.
Itself.‘There’s value in investing points into Strength and Agility too.’The crossbow had exceeded expectations.
And more than anything, now that I had reached the realm of Sword Aura.
Unlike before, the importance and cost-effectiveness of the Strength and Agility stats had risen sharply. In other words, it would be a shame to cover them with class quest rewards alone.‘A little more into Agility, which affects both swordsmanship and shooting.’12 points into Strength.
15 points into Agility.
And 20 points into Magic Power.
I finished allocating the points.
Now, out of the 50 points, 3 points remained.
They were truly points as precious as blood.‘……
Fine.’I shut my eyes tight and invested 3 points into Luck.If you asked why I invested not just 1 point, but as many as 3 points.
It was because two digits looked better than one.[Luck: 10]
Let’s be honest with myself.
Because at this moment, I was hoping for a fluke.
I opened my inventory and took out the demon item.
The spoils of the Demon King, purified through an exorcism ritual.[Map That Communicates with All Things]
had become an ordinary scrap of paper after activating its teleportation effect, but I still had two Demon King’s spoils left.‘If only I’d had more time, I would have purified both.’I had known demons would swarm in, but I had never dreamed that millions of them would come flooding in. Thanks to that, there had been only one Demon King’s spoil I had purified. And if you asked what spoil I had chosen as the offering……
“Still grotesque as ever.”
An eyeball…….
No, it was the [Eye Burning with Malice] that Flauros had dropped.
The reason I purified the eye first was simple. Since it had been dropped by a Demon King of higher rank, there was even a slightly higher chance it would be a better item.
Of course, it wasn’t only because of one Demon King’s spoil that I invested points into Luck.‘I’ve ended up with quite a lot to open, unintentionally.’For the purified Demon King’s spoil.
For the effect of the title, [Noble].
Furthermore, for [Unfinished Holy War].
With even my wish that the quest would go well included.‘Please, at least let the first button be fastened properly.’Putting aside my pathetic feelings for a moment, I checked the information one by one.
And then I realized.[Telescope of the Demonic Eye]1 point.[Noble: O noble one, the Arcana Continent remembers you.]1 point.[Breaking News: Massive Alliance, “Decided to Join the War to Protect Our Pride.”]1 point.
Indeed……!
The system, Luck, does not lie.*The Magic Tower.
The Crystal Hall where the roundtable meeting was held.
The skilled and apprentice mages flinched in surprise as they entered.
“……
What’s going on with them?”
Was it some special day?
The senior mages had already taken their seats in the Crystal Hall.
Without a single one missing.
But what drew their eyes more than anything was Chief Mage Marcelo.
“Chief Marcelo, thank goodness.”
“You’ve woken up safely.”
“Has his body completely recovered?”
Murmur, murmur—the sounds reached him.
Marcelo paid them no heed.
No, he had no mind to pay them any heed.
Why was it? His body was overflowing with vitality.
Marcelo clenched his fist, then opened it.‘……
It doesn’t creak?’The joints that had made him groan with even the slightest movement were fine.
The heart pains that had come upon him at all hours had disappeared as well.
Puzzled, Marcelo had asked Bellier.
—“Senior Bellier. Did you cast something on me……. Some healing magic?”
Senior mage of the Healing School, Bellier Yusia.
As they had known each other since childhood.
He knew well of Bellier’s magical talent.
Without his knowledge.
Had she perhaps reached the realm of healing magic?
Was his body filled with vitality thanks to her healing magic?
But Bellier had smiled softly and shaken her head.
—“It would have been nice if that were possible. But no.”
Even when he turned his gaze to Senior Matisse, he could not receive a clear answer.
Bellier would not have lied.
Then there must have been another reason.‘If so…….’There was only one possibility that came to mind.
—“Chief Lee Hoyeol said this. That he had hunted millions of demons.”
Chief Lee Hoyeol.
Could it be that among the millions of demons Chief Lee had defeated on the Arcana Continent, there had been one related to the “curse of the terminally ill”? Of course, he was not certain the curse had completely disappeared.
The magical family, Simuard.
Was it not the curse of the terminally ill that neither his grandfather, nor his father, nor anyone else had been able to avoid? Even if his physical condition had improved, even if the curse of the terminally ill had truly disappeared.
Marcelo could not feel it as real.
However.
Clench—Marcelo clenched his fist.
His eyes, unlike before, sank coldly. ‘If the curse is related to demons.’ I will no longer be able to maintain my composure before a demon. ‘In that sense, Sir, you command my respect all over again.’ The moment Marcelo finished that thought.
Hoyeol appeared in the Crystal Hall.
All eyes fixed on him.
Attention poured in all at once.
More anxious than anyone were the senior mages. ‘He returned to the Magic Tower before the sun, still high in the sky, had even set.’ ‘They say he hunted millions of demons? Is such a thing even possible?’ ‘Are we finally going to hear that heroic tale? Damn it, if I’d known this would happen, I would have written “continental expedition” as the purpose on my tower-leaving application……!’ Twenty senior mages.
Each of them harbored slightly different thoughts, but it was only natural for them to be interested. It was not suspicion; Hoyeol’s actions naturally gave rise to questions.
“Let us hear it, then. What happened?”
Even the fledgling mages, who did not know the detailed circumstances, knew that Hoyeol had entered the Arcana Continent. At this moment, everyone in the Crystal Hall was waiting for Hoyeol to open his mouth.
Amid those immense expectations.
Hoyeol began.
“Do you know?”
“……?!”
Starting with a question no one had expected....
There is even a proverb that says words can repay a debt of a million nyang.……
That, apparently, does not apply to me.
Standing tall with ramrod-straight posture.
To throw out a question right off the bat.
There was no way an answer would come back to a question like this.
Silence flowed—the atmosphere turned chilly, and I already had my hands full trying to salvage it.
Only after a long while did I open my mouth amid the silence.
“The saying that seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.”
After all that pause, what came out was merely a proverb.
To think I would be presenting a Korean proverb to the people of Arcana.……
Maybe I’ve gone beyond the level of an old fogey.
Fortunately, however, the meaning seemed to have gotten across.
Because, thankfully, I could see a few people nodding.
Thank you for responding, Senior Mage Bangrit Tom.
Everything has give and take.
Though I have nothing in particular to give you, I will gladly serve you green tea.
That resolve lasted only a moment.
I quickly took an item out of my inventory.
Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.
No matter how much I explained the state of the Arcana Continent in words, seeing it once seemed like it would be faster to understand. What I took out was a trophy of the Demon King.
[Telescope of the Demon Eye]
[Grade: Epic]
[Restriction: None]
[Effect: Shares vision with a Demon Eye for a short time.]
[Description: An eye that shares sight with the eyes of the Demon Realm. However, remember this. The deeper you look, the higher the chance that they, too, will notice your existence.]
Countless Demon Eyes that had risen in the night sky of Arcana.
An incredible effect that allowed me to share vision with those very Demon Eyes.
It meant I could check the Arcana Continent in real time.
Like showing off a prized catch, I continued confidently.
“From now on, I shall show you the state of the Arcana Continent.”...
The Crystal Hall.
Chief, senior, skilled, apprentice.
There was no need to distinguish between ranks.
Because everyone was horrified with the same thought in mind.
“How on earth……?”
How could he have returned alive and unharmed from a hell like that?