◈ Episode 193. Can You Keep Up? (1)
The Zero Mountains had existed even back when Arcana was nothing more than a game.
There was no way a message would pop up just from discovering them.[Achievement: Illuminate the Shade of the Zero Mountains.][Effect: Slightly increases item acquisition rate in the Zero Mountains.][Duration: 23 hours 59 minutes]
First achievement accomplished.
It was a message I had only seen before the Great Cataclysm.
Of course it was.
After all, the Zero Mountains were the first proper region to be updated into reality.‘Was it because rifts are such strange spaces that these never appeared?’Well, in any case, good to see you, achievement.
The effect and duration were modest.
But this was still something.
I opened my Circle.
My magic manifestation power had risen tremendously.
Thanks to that, even if I recklessly manifested basic magic like Light, it barely made a dent in my mana.
Brightly illuminating the entrance to the vast Zero Mountains wasn’t difficult at all.
Drift—‘I said one thing wrong, and now what is this, seriously.’Even if it wasn’t difficult.
I couldn’t help wondering if there was really any need to go this far.
At least the achievement effect soothed my heart somewhat.
Of course, Grandfell threw cold water on it as usual.
“Riches and glory are nothing but illusions.”
Yes, yes, of course you would say that, with that damned incorruptible integrity of yours!
Grandfell aside.
You, at least, need to keep your eyes open and your head straight, Hoyeol.
Because there was an awful lot to secure in the Zero Mountains.[Man.
Tong.
Ji]
Back when its effect was still active.
In order to get my money’s worth, I had asked Man Tong Ji every bit of shallow information I knew. Among them, the key pieces of information were about the elixir herbs and the [Hexagram Brooch].
That was right.
Somewhere in these vast Zero Mountains.[Hexagram Brooch]
And elixir herbs existed.
And they weren’t just any elixir herbs.
From the era of the ancient kingdom.
They were precious spirit medicines that had already vanished from the Arcana Continent.‘It must be thanks to the dragons.’No matter how tempting spirit medicines were, how many people in the history of the continent would have climbed the Zero Mountains where dragons slumbered?
As I said, even the Alliance explorers had given up before reaching the middle slopes of the Zero Mountains.
I spoke in a low voice.
“They are faithful to their role as sentinels.”
Do not call the strongest creatures, dragons, as if they were guard dogs, Grandfell.
I’m afraid they’ll wake up from their sleep after hearing your nonsense……
Even as I flinched, I repeated the information in my head.‘There’s nothing I can get my hands on right away.’The spirit medicines grew above the middle slopes of the Zero Mountains.
Because untouched places would begin around there.
Well, I had expected as much.
The problem was the Hexagram Brooch.
“A cave where no light enters.”
At the time, I thought I just needed to find a cave in the Zero Mountains.
But after learning about the Hundred Thousand Caves.
I couldn’t help feeling utterly at a loss.‘No, isn’t it obvious that light doesn’t enter a cave?’There was no way I could search through a hundred thousand caves by myself.
Fine. Good.
Let’s look at the forest, not the trees. I’m not alone, am I?
Any player would do.
If anyone discovered and entered a “cave where no light enters” and obtained the [Hexagram Brooch], then I could simply pay a fair price and buy that brooch.‘I may not be greedy for money, but it’s not like I don’t have any.’However, I ended up spouting off again.
“Darkness is more familiar to me than anything.”
Please refrain from saying things that are extremely prone to misunderstanding, Grandfell.
As always, I swallowed a sigh and climbed the Zero Mountains.
Drift—With every step I took, spheres of light.
Light rose into the air.
The Zero Mountains, where there was no telling what monster might appear from where.‘Isn’t this basically advertising that I’m here?’I had that worry, but it was fine.
Light was essentially the same as a mass of mana.
No matter what monster sprang out from where, I could immediately interfere with the Light.
It meant I could manifest magic and respond.
“A stroll through the mountains at night is not bad either.”
Grandfell might seem carefree.
But in order not to sink.
I was still working my brain nonstop even now…….*China, the only country on Earth that had not signed the AAU Agreement.
The appearance of the Zero Mountains.
At that very moment, China began acting independently.
Their movements were not difficult to detect.
“China’s fleet is sailing toward the Zero Mountains!”
“They’ve never shown such radical movement before.”
“……What on earth are they plotting?”Even though China was not a member of the AAU, it had not done anything beyond common sense until now.
The reason China had not joined the AAU? It was not because of ambition, but simply to solidify its own power structure.‘But they dispatched a fleet to the Zero Mountains, where no one knows what danger might be lurking……. And with the members of the Unification Under Heaven guild aboard, including Luo Junchun.’The AAU branch directors’ meeting.
The Republic of Korea branch director, Park Minjae.
As he looked through the relevant materials, he furrowed his brow.
“This departure time is extremely early, isn’t it?”
“You’re right. To be precise……. It looks like they set off the moment the regular update details appeared, doesn’t it? That means they took on a considerable risk.”
“Their movements are certainly strange.”
The time China’s fleet set sail was when people were clamoring about whether humanity would be destroyed because of the appearance of the Zero Mountains.
To put it bluntly, it was a situation where Earth might have been destroyed if the Magic Tower and Hoyeol had not stepped forward.‘It wouldn’t have been strange if they’d been swept away by the waves. And yet they loaded every member of Unification Under Heaven and headed for the Zero Mountains……? Without considering the possibility of a coup or internal strife?’In truth, depending on how one looked at it, it could also be seen as a decisive move.
China, a country that was not part of the AAU.
At the same time, Unification Under Heaven, which had not participated in the Holy War.
There was only one option through which they could solidify their position.
The Zero Mountains.‘But the China I know wouldn’t have done that.’He could tell by their conduct after the Great Cataclysm.
They had been satisfied with ruling China.
They had not revealed an ambition to rule the world.
But at this moment, the flow had changed.
“It seems some kind of change has occurred inside China.”
They could not know exactly what kind of change it was.
However, they could make a guess.
Because they were the AAU, once the creators of Arcana.
“……!!!”
The branch directors.
Not a single one of them opened their mouth, but everyone thought of one person. Yes. The guild master of Unification Under Heaven, holder of the [Monarch] class, who had no choice but to reign.
Park Minjae spoke.
“Luo Junchun. It seems we’ll have to keep an eye on his movements from now on.”*The Magic Tower’s portal.
The players also heard the news about Unification Under Heaven.
“Wow, these guys really have guts spilling out of their bellies.”
“Dmitry, it looks like your belly is spilling out instead……? The only thing worth looking at on you was your muscles. What happened? Did you binge eat from heartbreak?”
“……How did you know that again?”
“You posted a tearful selfie yesterday~”
How was he so good at picking only the things women hated?
Bickering—Camilla and Dmitry’s quarrel lasted only a moment.
“Should we praise them for being quick on their feet?”
Rox murmured.
Shining and Unification Under Heaven.
Rox and Luo Junchun.
Because they were rivals, he could confidently say he understood the other’s way of thinking better than anyone.
Moreover, from when Arcana had been nothing more than a game until now.
Were they not two men who had never fallen from the very top, or near it?
“Unification Under Heaven threw the dice.”
“The dice? Why do you think that?”
“They must have judged that the first achievement effect was more important than the danger of the Zero Mountains. Luo Junchun’s [Monarch] class can maximize achievement effects.”[Monarch].
It was not a hidden class, but it was one of the extremely rare classes. No, among ranked players, Luo Junchun was the only one with the [Monarch] class.
Perhaps it would not be wrong to regard it as a hidden class.
Dmitry nodded.
“If it’s the class effect of Monarch, then certainly…….”[Monarch]
Obtained a portion of the experience acquired by those under its command.
That experience included not only EXP.
But also buffs and various achievement effects.
Looking only at that aspect, Monarch could only be called a fraudulent class.
However.
“It’s amazing he managed to raise it that far~”
At the same time, Monarch was also evaluated as a class that was impossible to cultivate in modern society. A player who swore loyalty to a monarch suffered one-sided losses.
Dmitry pouted.
“That bastard was just lucky to be born in the right country.”
“So you’re jealous?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. I’m a free spirit.”
“So that’s why you get freely dumped over and over~?”
Bickering again—Apart from the noise, Rox agreed with that opinion as well.
If not for support on a national level.
Luo Junchun would never have been able to break through the level 500 wall.‘But they’ve never moved this openly before.’To think he had led a fleet to the Zero Mountains.
It was a move that bothered him in many ways.
Rox looked around.
Two men’s heads stood tall amid the crowd.
And though he couldn’t see her, one person who would be by their side.
“They must be thinking the same thing, right?”...
Nam Taemin’s blood was boiling.
“No, they’re really getting the jump on us like this?”
Unification Under Heaven……!
To move one step faster before the AAU had even formally announced the appearance of the Zero Mountains. Even if China wasn’t part of the AAU, wasn’t this cheating?
“No, as fellow players, they have no business ethics.”
It was Hisagi who stopped the fuming Nam Taemin.
“Unification Under Heaven must have taken on risks as well.”
“Risks? What risks?”
“The Zero Mountains that appeared in reality will be different from the Zero Mountains that existed on the Arcana Continent.”
“……?”
The title of rivals.
The only thing added in front of it was the modifier “friendly.”
For Hisagi to simply explain things to him.
Was something Nam Taemin’s pride would not allow.
But no matter how much he racked his brain, nothing came to mind.‘……Is he talking about the dragons? No, that’s not it either, since Hoyeol sealed them properly. It shouldn’t be that different from when it was on the Arcana Continent.’In the end, Nam Taemin opened his mouth.
“Wait, let me tie my shoelace before you continue.”
“……Where are the shoelaces on that armor?”
“No, it’s just a figure of speech.”
Even under Hisagi’s cold snake eyes, Nam Taemin stubbornly bent his waist and squatted down.
Then he raised his head.
He mouthed to Leoni, who wore a sullen expression.
“……What’s he talking about?”
Leoni thought sincerely.‘Should I kill him?’Why was it that the lack of malice made it even more irritating?
Whenever she looked at Nam Taemin and Hisagi, she always felt that way.
Even if they didn’t bend down like that.‘I can see you and hear you, you big muscleheads.’Leoni sent a cold gaze that contained that meaning.
Nam Taemin let out a sigh.
“Forget it. What does a barbarian and a berserker need brains for?”
“?!”……Should she really smack him once?
That impulse surged up, but she held herself back.
She had made a resolution, hadn’t she?
That she would try to have a little of that thing called formality too.
Somehow, Leoni managed to speak first.
“Because it rose out of the sea. The lower parts of the Zero Mountains, where relatively low-level monsters appear, must all be submerged, right?”
“……Holy crap, are you a genius?”
“It’s not like your brain is muscle too. Why don’t you try using it?”
It was a conversation that anyone would see as far from formal, but Leoni was satisfied with herself. Since she hadn’t spat out any curses, by her standards, it was enormous progress.
Hisagi nodded.
“That’s right. All the information we knew about the Zero Mountains before the Great Cataclysm has become useless. The low-level regions must all be submerged beneath the Pacific.”……What, you heard all of that?
Nam Taemin pretended not to know and stood up.
“That certainly makes sense.”
The Zero Mountains revealed above sea level.
Indeed, it seemed they would only be able to gauge their level after entering and clashing with them directly.
In that sense, Unification Under Heaven had indeed thrown the dice.
“We’ll need to be on guard too.”
Leveling up, of course.
And even though they had grown stronger with the help of the Arcanans, including the Lionheart Knights, arrogance was forbidden. They were still far from being able to do their part in the Holy War.
Soon, the players entered the portal.
When their vision changed, what greeted them was light.
“What is this?”
Was it because of the time difference, or was it because of the Zero Mountains towering so high they could even block out the sun? In the darkness, only the shining spheres, Lights, could be seen all the more clearly.
“Was this Unification Under Heaven’s doing?”
No, why would they do something to benefit others?
There was no way.
Besides, the number of Lights visible was far too many.
In order to manifest this many Lights.
Even if every mage in Unification Under Heaven poured out their mana, it would not be enough.
Thanks to that, the direction of their thoughts naturally flowed.
A powerhouse strong enough to enter the Zero Mountains.
A heart kind enough to illuminate the darkness for others.
Magical ability great enough to manifest Light on a massive scale.
When it came to someone who possessed all of that.
Only one person came to mind.
Had they all thought the same thing?
Nam Taemin, Hisagi, and Leoni.
The three of them met one another’s eyes.
“……Hoyeol?”...[A small change occurs due to the effect of Sublimity.]……What is this?
What sublime thing did I do without even knowing this time?
Tell me everything truthfully, Grandfell.
But despite my urging.
Grandfell merely recited leisurely.
“Are they pursuing it? My light.”
And he only advanced.
“Then I, too, shall advance without concern.”[Skill, ‘Natural Enemy Relationship,’ has activated.]
Toward the place where the presence of demons could be felt.