◈ Episode 157. Raise Your Head
The skies above Arcana.
The dwarves of the Iron Castle were moving busily.
Night flight.
Demon Eye (魔眼).
It was night, when the demons’ activity became even more vigorous because that eye opened. Yet unlike usual, the Iron Castle had no need to stop flying even at night. The reason?
“Truly, it’s unbelievable.”
Was there any need to add cumbersome words?
Everything was thanks to Akshan’s last survivor.
The adventurer, Lee Hoyeol.
“How can he obtain such information from another world?”
The leader of the dwarves, Chainwalker, recalled Hiel’s words.
—“He said there likely won’t be any major movements.”
Yes, they could have predicted that much themselves. After all, the Iron Castle had swept away millions of demons with its trump card, even if that had been only an extremely small portion of them.
However.
“Chainwalker, do you think this makes sense? That he understands the state of the war across the continent more accurately than we do, when we’re flying in the sky and looking down at the ground!”
It was exactly as he said.
Information detailed enough for them to continue sailing through the clouds.
This was something even their technology could not predict.
“Last night as well. Just what are the limits of that ability…!”
Chainwalker smiled and said,
“Simply trust him.”
It was an unbelievable feat.
And yet, because they were bound by an oath, they had no choice but to believe.
Besides, now was not the time to search for reasons.
They were already hard-pressed just carrying out Hoyeol’s request that was not quite a request.
—“He asked that we collect the remains of the decisive weapon.”
Akshan’s decisive weapon, the Qirnberg Machine Tower.
Even at this moment, the machine towers were hunting demons all across the continent.
As the demons’ forces had grown stronger, not all the machine towers could possibly be intact.
Judging as its creator…
At least five or six of the machine towers must have reached the end of their lifespan and stopped operating.
A bitterness seeped into Chainwalker’s smile.
“……He was keeping in mind even what we ourselves failed to pay attention to.”
Iron was merely iron.
A machine made of iron was also merely a machine.
To the point that their own way of thinking seemed shameful.
Hoyeol did not spare his respect for Akshan’s legacy, the Qirnberg Machine Tower. That was why he wanted even the remains to be recovered. Now that they had realized that sentiment, even belatedly…
To make up for it, they had to hurry and collect the remains of the machine towers.
“Now, everyone, make haste!”
Clack—!
The machinery meshed together once more.
It was then.
Warmth spread through the cold Iron Castle.
“!”
Hiel appeared. She had been summoned by Hoyeol’s call and had returned once more to the Iron Castle. Chainwalker quickly approached Hiel.
“Hiel, did Sir Hoyeol say anything?”
Hiel nodded gracefully.
In her arms was a single lump of stone.
More precisely.
“Blacksmith, temper me into the finest weapon.”
“……!”
It was a talking ore (鑛石).
What kind of race were dwarves?
The greatest blacksmiths on the Arcana Continent.
They possessed technology comparable to the magic of the Magic Tower. No matter how rare a mineral was, if it was a mineral, most were something they had hammered to their hearts’ content.
However, Chainwalker’s face was dyed with shock.
“……Th-this is Ghost Iron? Where in the world did he get something this precious?”
Akshan’s last survivor, Lee Hoyeol.
His vessel was deep.
Far too deep.
So deep that it would not be an exaggeration to call it endlessly profound.
*
The office of the Yusra Kingdom.
……
For some reason, my ears itch terribly.
However, picking one’s ears at a desk is a breach of decorum.
Besides, I have done plenty of things that would make my ears itch.
Starting with that umbrella combat that is painful just to recall…
Never mind. Talking about it will only torment me.
“You are still arrogant.”
……
I wondered why he was suddenly introducing himself.
But it was a murmur directed at the demons of the Arcana Continent.
Its duration ended, and the [Telescope of the Demon Eye (魔眼)] closed its eye once more.
The state of the Arcana Continent was just as expected.
“A struggle for supremacy.”
The struggle for the Demon King’s throne.
With civil war ahead, the demons were beginning to move. Thinking back, they were creatures who could challenge the seat of the Demon King. Each and every one of them was on a completely different level from ordinary demons, starting from their appearance.
“Not only do they style themselves kings, they even rank themselves?”
Well, from Grandfell’s perspective, there could be nothing more laughable.
“As expected of an inferior race, they choose to do meaningless things.”
As if asking why they would attach numbers to prey that were all the same.
But I, Lee Hoyeol, was different.
That day I entered the Arcana Continent alone.
That day I leapt into the midst of millions of demons.
I realized it clearly.
‘This is on a scale incomparable to anything before.’
It was not merely a large-scale event, but a world-class event.
Because of that, it was an incident that would inevitably be created as a rift through an update.
An incident that could not help but threaten reality.
Because I knew that fact,
I had been struggling in every way I could, including the [Unending Holy War] quest. But what I must not forget was my own growth.
My gaze naturally turned to the status window.
[Level: 494]
“A mere number cannot measure me.”
……
So consistent. Seriously.
But then again, it wasn’t wrong.
Because fundamental growth that did not rely on level was also important.
Accumulating magical knowledge, of course.
Refining the Sword Aura that had reached a new realm.
The wells I had painstakingly dug, including marksmanship.
It meant I had to check that those escape routes did not become blocked.
‘But level is just as important.’
Leaving aside [Natural Enemy Relationship],
there was nothing to lose from having a higher level.
It meant I had to secure whatever I could in advance. However, as I had lamented again and again, raising a level that was nearing 500 was no easy task.
[Withering Ancient Tree Hill]
[Appropriate Level: Lv.400~Lv.450]
[Collapse Rate: 3.1%]
[Man-Eating Insect Habitat]
[Appropriate Level: Lv.450]
[Collapse Rate: 10.1%]
……
I looked over the major rifts that had been created at the present point in time.
Well, if I were to spend all day in rifts beating down monsters like other players, there might be some slight change in my level and experience points…
As I said earlier, I did not have that kind of time.
Unless I had two bodies.
It was true that rifts of this level had poor efficiency compared to the time invested.
In that sense.
The time had finally come to break open
the savings account I had carefully preserved!
[Experience points are accumulating in the decisive weapon Qirnberg Machine Tower.]
[Fame is accumulating in the decisive weapon Qirnberg Machine Tower.]
[You have acquired the right to obtain the accumulated experience points and fame.]
Yes, I was referring to the experience points and fame accumulated in the Qirnberg Machine Tower.
That grand plan of mine
had been relayed to Chainwalker through Hiel.
Even if I recovered just one of them…
‘……Wouldn’t I gain at least dozens of levels at once?’
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment, but this time, it was worth hoping.
It was none other than Akshan’s decisive weapon.
Akshan, renowned throughout the world, had driven back great evils and Demon Kings even amid the overwhelming disadvantage of the Holy War.
“I will not forget your pride.”
Yes, I would not forget it, and I would make proper use of it.
Of course, I could not convey such long-winded inner thoughts
to the dwarves, including Chainwalker. So I delivered the message to Hiel as concisely as possible. Along with the Ghost Iron at the end.
‘There is no longer any reason to postpone its refinement.’
Ghost Iron, a mineral that becomes the material for Ego equipment.
Given its tremendous potential, how should it be refined?
It was true that I had been agonizing over it.
First of all, what bothered me most was the level restriction.
‘No matter how good it is, it’s useless if I can’t equip it.’
If it was crafted with my level in mind, its performance would be lacking.
If it was crafted with performance as the top priority, it was obvious the level restriction would rise.
I had no choice but to suffer from this dilemma.
But I had also gained enlightenment through experience.
Performance comes first, no matter what!
The level 800 restricted item, [Fang of the Wicked Earth Dragon].
It was an item I could not even dream of equipping, yet I had used it through 『Magic』 and [Aesthetics]. Perhaps thanks to the power of item effects, its might could never be ignored. The Ego equipment created by refining the Ghost Iron would be the same.
‘……Wait, if it has an ego, won’t its range of use become even broader?’
For a moment, a plausible possibility came to mind.
But it would not be too late to think about that later, after the completed Ego equipment was placed before me.
In that sense, entrusting the refinement of the Ghost Iron to the dwarves was a very wise decision, Hoyeol.
Though the final words I added to Hiel were not particularly wise.
—“Also, tell them I will pay any amount for their trouble.”
That damned any amount!
As if anyone needed proof he was a noble, he was about to spend the money he had honestly and cleanly saved like a high minister.
In any case, now that I had said it,
I could only pray that it would be worth the refining fee.
“I have no doubt in you.”
I slowly rose from my seat.
The appointed time was drawing near.
I did not doubt the dwarves’ technology and pride in the slightest.
But one could never know a person’s inner thoughts.
In other words, I had to meet them face-to-face to know.
My destination was the AAU Korea Branch.
I lightly straightened my clothes.
Then I held my back perfectly upright and drew up my mana.
I manifested a portal.
“As I said, time is like tea enjoyed in the afternoon.”
What that meant was this.
The afternoon, which it was now, was an especially precious time among the twenty-four hours of the day.
Everyone, I sincerely hope you keep the appointed time.
This was my old-man stubbornness that had not even cared about the opinions of senior mages called superhumans in the Magic Tower. There was no way I could restrain it in front of AAU branch managers…
*
AAU Korea Branch.
The main conference room.
The first to arrive was Baker Chatt, the head of the AAU London Branch.
Baker spotted Park Minjae and smiled brightly.
“Mr. Park, your complexion has improved greatly!”
That man was never this friendly, was he?
Britain had not been cooperative despite belonging to the AAU.
Its branch manager, Baker, had been no different.
At least in Park Minjae’s memory.
It felt like the first time he had seen Baker smile.
“You’ve arrived early, Branch Manager Baker.”
“I truly owe you a great debt.”
“A debt? Are you, by any chance, referring to Player Lee Hoyeol?”
As expected, there was another reason he was so glad to see him.
With the person himself attending, building unnecessary misunderstandings was strictly forbidden.
Park Minjae quickly released the hand he had been shaking and continued.
“You may not believe this, but I am meeting him for the first time today as well.”
“Yes, it’s our first meeting, isn’t it? This is the first time I’m meeting Mr. Park face-to-face!”
“……No, not you. I mean even I will be seeing Player Lee Hoyeol in person for the first time.”
“Ah, so that’s what you meant!”
Only then did Baker realize why Park Minjae was so restless.
However, the greeting just now had not been an expression of gratitude toward Hoyeol.
“Then there’s no need for you to decline.”
“……?”
“I do not intend to express my feelings with just a few words like this.”
He had been possessed by a demon.
Baker became aware of that fact
only after hearing the full story from Shreig.
As an ordinary person, his mental power was bound to be lower than that of players.
He had been in a state where the demon had completely seized control, leaving him without even consciousness.
‘Lee Hoyeol saved me from that.’
No, beyond that, he had saved London.
To repay that favor with nothing but a single word of thanks would be an ungentlemanly act.
And it was not only him.
The prime minister, who had also been swept into the rift that day,
and even the queen had conveyed the same intent to him.
“Mr. Park.”
“Yes, I’m listening, Branch Manager Baker.”
“From now on, we British will act.”
“……By act, you mean?”
Did he mean they would earnestly take an independent path like China?
For a moment, Park Minjae grew tense.
But his worries were unfounded.
Because a familiar word came out of Baker’s mouth.
“We will move according to pride.”
“……!”
It was the moment the two men finished their meaningful conversation.
In time for the approaching hour, branch managers from countries around the world began to gather.
It was exactly as Park Minjae had expected.
‘Of course, they had no choice but to rush here.’
A closed emergency meeting not disclosed to the outside.
If they did not attend,
there would be no way to know what had been discussed at the meeting.
And this was not some other player, but a meeting attended by Lee Hoyeol.
If they missed it?
There was no telling what top-secret information they might lose.
Of course, beyond that, each of them surely had their own schemes.
‘Especially the United States.’
The United States was the only country with two AAU branches, one in the east and one in the west. It should have been enough for just one of them to attend. But seeing that both branch managers had expressed their intent to attend…
Somehow, it felt as though he could see right through their intentions.
Tremble, tremble.
‘It’s not like I have any reason to feel wronged, but it still bothers me for no reason.’
Park Minjae’s leg trembled from tension for a short while.
Before long, it was exactly the appointed time.
At that moment, the air changed so noticeably that everyone could sense it.
Goooooo—!
A cluster of mana light shimmered in midair.
Lee Hoyeol appeared from the portal.
They had not arranged it in advance.
And yet everyone rose from their seats.
Starting with Baker.
Clap, clap, clap—
Applause burst out from all around.
Yes.
Aside from interests, the feats Hoyeol had shown aligned perfectly with the purpose behind the AAU’s founding. It was only natural to praise the appearance of a true hero.
However, the applause did not last long.
Sudden applause would have burdened most people.
But Hoyeol opened his mouth with not the slightest change in expression.
“Due to time constraints, I will omit the welcome.”
In a cold voice.
Because of that, the atmosphere rapidly cooled.
Hoyeol’s gaze, even colder than the atmosphere, turned toward the clock in the conference room.
Then words no one had expected followed.
“Furthermore, I have nothing to discuss with those who cannot even be punctual.”
“……!!!”
At the same time.
Though no one had touched it,
the conference room door shut firmly.
Thud!
……
Good.
Now there is no way out.
Demon, raise your head.