◈ Episode 17. How Lacking in Class (1)
Shining and Cheonha Tongil.
A clash in the Rift over the title of strongest in the world.
The victor was Shining.[Shining successfully raids “Count Ascurra’s Trusted Retainer”…][Player Rank 2 Rox finally reaches the level 400 milestone… Only 2 levels behind Rank 1, Skal.][Experts say, “Jesse Haines played a major role.”]
What determined the victory and defeat of the two guilds was Count Ascurra’s trusted retainer.
A demon-type monster at a staggering level 390.
Due to the nature of demon-type monsters, which inflicted status abnormalities,
there weren’t many players who could stand against Count Ascurra’s trusted retainer. Shining, which had no fewer than four rankers in the top ten, had resistance to it, but Cheonha Tongil, whose average level was relatively lower, did not.
“Hmm.”
Shining had defended its title as the world’s strongest.
And yet, there was no sign of joy on the guild master Rox’s face. After all, what had been waiting for him after he left the Rift was a development he hadn’t anticipated in the slightest.
“What is that? What do you all think?”
Base camp, master room.
There, four men and women had gathered, including Rox.
A projector screen filled the wall.
Watching the video playing on it, a Black man spoke.
“I told you, asking me won’t get you anywhere, Rox.”
Player Rank 8, Dmitri.
He thought this precious time was a waste.
He’d been rolling around in a Rift to his heart’s content until just an hour ago.
And now, all of a sudden, a meeting?
“Rox, a man like you, with women lining up for you, can’t understand my desperation. Do you know how hard I worked to land this date? Do you know how much progress I squeezed out of my busy life? You’re trying to make me throw all that suffering away because of one guy like that?”
Dmitri’s resentment was directed at the man on the screen.
A silver-haired man wearing a long coat.
When that man gestured, walls and pillars rose up in the plaza.
Player Rank 7, Camilla, opened her mouth.
“Well~ I’m an archer, so even if I look, I can’t tell~”
Twirl—
She wound her long, hanging red hair around her finger.
Then she raised herself up from where she had been leaning deeply into the sofa.
“Do you really think he’s amazing enough for us to pay attention to? Really?”
Rox did not answer.
It wasn’t because that man was amazing.
He was simply annoying.
“Well. I suppose you could call it jealousy?”
“Jealousy? Our leader sure is greedy~”
“Rox, this happens all the time. The media makes a fuss over some rookie who’s nothing special. Because it gets ratings and views. They’re obsessed with forcibly creating stars.”
Dmitri was right.
There had been countless players who had appeared like comets, only to vanish without a trace.
Even just counting those who acted like they were really something, then died in a Rift, there would be hundreds.‘But why did it have to overlap on a day like this?’Well, it had been an impressive entrance.
Starting with that outfit, too.
But that was all.
It was only natural.
Player Rank 2, Rox.
Hadn’t he frequently seen monsters even worse than that, including Rank 1, Skal?
Still, a sword that changed shape. He was interested in that weapon, at least.
“If you’ve got nothing else to say, I’m leaving?”
At that moment, Camilla and Dmitri rose from their seats.
“I went all out and booked an entire hotel lounge today. No refunds, either. I have to at least make this date a success, seriously.”
“I’m heading in too~ Leader~ Don’t be so sensitive~”
Bye to our pretty girl too.
While Rox looked away for a moment, the two of them fled.
Now only one person remained.
Player Rank 4, Jesse Haines.
“……?”
Rox tilted his head. That Jesse Haines was staring intently at the man on the screen. It was a sight he couldn’t usually see from Jesse.
Yes, just a few hours ago.
Even when she’d been hunting monsters in the Rift, her eyes hadn’t shone so brightly.
Rox asked carefully.
“……
Why? Do you think you know something, Jesse?”
“……
It’s really fascinating.”
“Fascinating? It’s more fascinating that you’re saying that.”
Was there something worth noting?
He asked because he wanted to hear the reason.
But no answer came back.
Because Jesse had no mind to answer.‘What kind of skill is that?’Class, Mage.
It was one of the most common classes, but Jesse was special.
Among players of the same class,
there was a class quest that only one person could carry out.
Jesse was in the middle of progressing through the Mage’s class quest.
While carrying out that class quest, Jesse had felt, understood, and acquired countless forms of Arcana magic. But the magic unfolding on the screen was…….‘Something is different.’It was definitely different.
Above all, the biggest difference was that he hadn’t recited an incantation.
Of course, she herself could activate magic without reciting an incantation.
But when she did, the efficiency dropped tremendously.
The mana consumption increased, and the effect weakened.
But the man on the screen…….‘There’s none of that at all!’No. It could be the opposite.
If his efficiency had dropped, and it still produced that level of effect?
Just how high was his magic stat?
Jesse’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
That irritated Rox’s nerves even more.
“……?!”
At that moment.
A single line of an article about the man flashed by as a caption on the screen.[Mysterious Player: “Lacking in decorum… I will not take questions.”]……
He really said something like that?
Rox couldn’t hide his shock.
Rox was second to none when it came to living off his own greatness.
But even he had never imagined making such an arrogant remark.‘……
What kind of lunatic is he?’Not only had Shining’s victory and his own achievement of level 400 been buried,
but that Jesse was showing interest in him.
On top of that, he had a personality that even made Rox click his tongue.
There were more than one or two points that were hard to believe....
Yes, it was a shocking debut.
The appearance of the mysterious player, Hoyeol, was unconventional itself.
-Is this real lol The scale of that magic is insane
-Guys, watch from 7:10 when he’s just standing still lol-His eyes ㄷㄷ Just watching him makes me tremble ㄷㄷAbove all, what became the biggest topic was Hoyeol’s behavior.
There were even programs analyzing Hoyeol’s every move.
“Now, as you can see here, he is truly unarmed.”
“He really is wearing a suit even under that long coat, isn’t he?”
“If you look at his fingers, neck, and ears, you can’t see a single accessory.”
“So you’re saying he used magic like that with his bare body?”
“Does that make any sense? Expert Park Nambong?”
Because shabby armor did not suit proper formality.
And as for accessories, he simply hadn’t worn any because he didn’t have any.
“His eye for the flow of battle is also extremely outstanding. He identified that the enemies’ mobility was the problem, and immediately changed the terrain.”
“Looking at it again, it would have been terrifying if he had been even a little late.”
“His quick judgment practically saved Gaon and Inazuma.”
He hadn’t had any intention of saving anyone, either.
To the point of dragging in even the law of action and reaction.
He had merely done the best he could.
“And that’s not all. Here. From here onward, doesn’t he simply stand still and watch? This is undoubtedly consideration. Gaon and Inazuma. Go ahead and fight properly. That is the feeling, you see.”
“Consideration? In that Rift?”
“Yes. Otherwise, this action can’t be explained. This one.”
It wasn’t consideration; he had simply run out of mana.
But the only one who could know that fact
was Hoyeol himself, the person in question.
Even rankers with exceptional eyes were no different.
The base camp of the guild Berserker.
Whip—
Leonie threw the blanket covering her into the air and shouted.
“Hey! I told you guys, didn’t I?! I said that guy wasn’t ordinary?!”
“Unni. I get it. Calm down and cover yourself with the blanket. You’ll catch a cold like that.”
“But what did you all say? That I had no eye for talent? Damn it. Should I seriously flip everything over?”
Guild, Inazuma.
“To think that silver-haired man was Korean…….”
“Now that it has come to this, we must bring him over to our side no matter what.”
“Hisagi Kazuma. I will carry out the mission without fail.”
Even the Nam brothers of Gaon.
“You really should have grabbed me by the collar if you had to and convinced me.”
“Hoo— Yes, it was my mistake. To think I failed to recognize potential like that.”
“……
But looking at it again, there really was no decorum, right?”
“Exactly. This wasn’t an interview, it was a marketplace.”
“Seeing his eyebrows tremble, he must have been holding back a lot. I almost misunderstood again for no reason. I thought when he said there was no decorum, he was saying that because I’m a barbarian.”
“……
That might not necessarily be wrong.”
“What? Even you, hyung?!”
The trembling of his eyebrows had also been an aftereffect of mana exhaustion, but…….
That, too, was something they couldn’t possibly notice.
In any case, interest in Hoyeol seemed unlikely to cool for a while.
Especially in Korea, no matter what channel one switched to, the story of the mysterious player Hoyeol was in full swing.
And that kind of atmosphere
was precisely the best time for a demon to move.[The Count’s Fortress][Appropriate Level: Lv.400–450][Collapse Progress: 100%]
“……
Wh-what? It was definitely at 90 percent just now?!”
“E-everyone, get away!!”
“Get as far away as possible!!”
Collapse rate, 100 percent.
The Rift collapsed, and a castle appeared in reality.
The vampire, Count Ascurra.
He had appeared in Russia.
It was a sudden collapse.
The screen immediately changed, and the anchor delivered breaking news.
When the new Rifts were updated,
the thing they had feared most had become reality.
“Guilds from all over the world are gathering one after another around the fortress. Shining’s guild master Rox has announced that he intends to enter the fortress without delay…….”
But Hoyeol had anticipated this development as well.
-A vampire can share his authority through blood. Of course, it is also possible for him to take back the power he shared. So do not let your guard down until the very end.
And so there was no carelessness.
A body drenched in sweat.
Bundles of paper piled high once again on the table.
Beyond that, even the status window.[Name: Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo][Class: Demon Hunter][Level: 100][Stats]
Strength: 27 / Agility: 33 / Magic: 51 / Luck: 2[Possessed Points: 0]
Proof remained everywhere.
In order not to sink while remaining noble,
a swan never rests its legs for even a moment.*Working by day, studying by night.
I tried to build up my knowledge of Arcana.
After all, I had a gap of no less than twelve years.
But even I could easily recognize the seriousness of the situation. Because it was common sense. In a siege, the defending side had the advantage.……
Besides, this is bound to make people shrink back psychologically too, isn’t it?
The fortress of Count Ascurra’s family.
Its size alone made one’s heart swell just by looking at it.
“If we get lost, we’ll be in big trouble, won’t we?”
“How about sending in a scouting party first?”
“……
No. He’s not an opponent easy enough for us to split the main force.”
The castle gates were wide open.
As if to say intruders were always welcome.
Thanks to that, most of the players were waiting at the entrance.
Click—
But I was moving forward.
Was I not overwhelmed by that grandeur?
Fortunately, or unfortunately, there was no chance of that.
Because the Claudi family mansion from my cringeworthy past,
was so vast it would be embarrassing to compare it to a castle like this.
I looked around the inside of the fortress and said.
“It is so cramped that there will hardly be a proper place to hide. Ascurra.”
I added in a tone brimming with confidence.
“And yet even this is more than you deserve.”
As if it had heard my voice.
Creak, crack—
One of the statues placed in the garden began to move.……
It’s big. At least ten meters, this thing.
The gigantic beast statue came to life and approached me.
But I did not run or dodge.
I merely stood upright in place.
And carefully examined every aspect of the statue.
Before long, I opened my mouth.
“The material, the texture, the depth, and even the form are all atrocious. You actually placed a trashy statue like this in your garden as if it were something to boast of.”
Grandfell’s fastidious aesthetic sense was saying as much.
Yes, I agreed too.
I wasn’t sure about anything else, but when it came to the “material,” at least.‘How many walls and pillars have I built and destroyed?’A stone statue carved from rock.
That was an exceedingly common material to me as well.『Search』 and 『Interference』 would require no particular effort.
Craack—!