◈ Episode 220. With My Own Two Eyes
Horyeong (號令).
Not Hoyeol, but horyeong.
To be precise, Gwicheol was commanding the Zero Mountain Range.
Gwicheol, which I was gripping and swinging with my own hand.
If you asked why I was speaking of it as though it were someone else’s sword—
—Hahaha! Good, run wilder still. O wild!
Because I was far too embarrassed to admit it was my sword.
Every time I swung it, another line came pouring out.
If I could, I wanted to post a question on the community board.
──────Q. Are all Ego Equipment originally this talkative?
──────Then an answer like this would come up.
──────A. Ego Equipment? Where in the world does something like that even exist? lol
──────What did that answer imply?
In the end, it meant this was a worry that couldn’t be solved.
Couldn’t I just tell Gwicheol to shut its mouth?
I wanted to.
But I had to be able to do that first.
“The wildness that did not bend until the very end. You were sufficiently honorable.”
That mouth!
As you can see, Granfell’s and Gwicheol’s sensibilities were practically a match made in heaven. Thanks to that, the only one suffering from both sides was me, Lee Hoyeol.
Still, let’s think positively.
‘……It’s better than it used to be.’
Back when I had just awakened as a player.
Compared to the time when I was lecturing mere gnolls about etiquette.
Now, even if someone saw me acting like this, I had an excuse to explain it away.
After all, even the mob I had just defeated was a level 700 monster.
[Name: Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo]
[Title: Last Adventurer, Sublime, Transcendent]
[Class: Demon Hunter]
[Level: 601]
[Stats]
Strength: 141 / Agility: 139 / Magic Power: 517 / Luck: 12 / Aesthetic: High / Tenacity: 2
[Available Points: 0]
A new addition to my daily routine.
It had already been four days since I started steadily hunting monsters in the Zero Mountain Range. Thanks to that, I broke through the level 600 wall and gained one more level. But the important thing wasn’t my level.
Abilities more fundamental than level.
How much I had improved the abilities I possessed.
I had begun to place more emphasis on that point.
In that sense, there had been a certain amount of progress.
First, I tried not to use 『Magic』 against monsters whenever possible.
Because, well, it would break the balance, wouldn’t it?
It was magic whose manifestation power had been amplified by the effects of the Circle. Hunting monsters with magic that had already reached the realm of a Transcendent would only fill my experience bar meaninglessly.
“Efficiency is important in all things.”
Time is the tea enjoyed in the afternoon……
No, no, that isn’t it.
Time is as precious as gold, after all.
Besides, I could procure experience points from the Arcana Continent, from the Kwirnberg Mechanical Tower. As expected, inheritance is the best.
Thanks to that, from now on, hunting in reality no longer had to be limited to the simple purpose of gaining experience.
Swoosh—
Efforts to refine my incomplete swift swordsmanship, of course.
Even marksmanship utilizing the crossbow.
In truly various fields.
As befitting a Demon Hunter.
I focused on developing my fundamental abilities.
‘There’s also the possibility of advancing them into something anomalous.’
Of course.
If the players found out, they would be horrified by this method of growth.
They would say I was willingly making things hard for myself.
If so, I would answer them.
“At times, there are things one can only see by walking slowly.”
No, there was no need to answer so romantically……
—Those words are utterly correct, my master.
And you don’t need to agree with lines like that, Gwicheol.
In any case, I called forth the greatest results of the past four days.
Hiel and Diend.
Because with the time I had been given after so long, I was able to properly grasp the strength of the two of them.
I opened my mouth.
“Hiel, Diend.”
“Hiel has answered my lord’s summons.”
“You called, my lord?”
They say you die if you meet your doppelgänger.
Hiel, Diend, Gwicheol.
I was facing no fewer than three alter egos at once.
I already felt dizzy, but let’s endure it.
‘First, Diend was as expected.’
I had never confirmed Diend’s combat power with my own eyes, but I had been able to guess his strength.
Diend, the spirit of darkness, had made Fire Drake, the contract spirit of senior spirit scholar Feiyan, nervous from his very first appearance. I had expected him to be at least upper-rank spirit level.
‘But I had overlooked Hiel.’
I’ll admit it. It was because of prejudice.
After all, I knew Hiel’s past. So without realizing it, I had overlooked her. I assumed Hiel would still be an existence that was flashy only on the outside, like back in the Predator’s Swamp.
‘Even though Hiel is capable of stopping elves in their tracks.’
However, Hiel was undeniably a unique spirit, and an existence who had received the [Blessing of the First World Tree] together with me.
Even if the {Nature} ability wasn’t specialized for combat, she was still an existence ordinary monsters could not dare to reach.
The proof was visible before my eyes.
All the beast-type monsters were bowing their heads to Hiel……! It wasn’t that they were docile.
Among them was even the [Warmonger Reindeer], an herbivorous animal whose aggression would make beasts of prey tremble.
So, to put it simply……
‘You educated them too, Hiel.’
I don’t know who you take after, but you could easily be called a star instructor.
Looking at Hiel like that, I was beginning to understand.
Why the archmages inside the cone hats had shrunk back so much when they saw me.
‘Should I say I think I know the reason?’
In truth, even I, the person in question, was surprised anew.
Hiel, the spirit chosen by the First World Tree.
Gwicheol, who had overwhelmed the Sword Saint.
And even Diend.
Even if you set aside me, inflated with an absurd amount of foam.
If there was someone who commanded all three at once?
That fact alone would be enough to make anyone flinch.
In that sense, they were more reassuring than anything else.
So there should have been nothing in this world for me to fear.
Yet at this moment, my heart was far from calm.
“I preached my lord’s theory of etiquette to the animals of the forest.”
Was it because of Hiel, who now spouted flattery on her own even without being told?
“I, too, shall take you as my example, my lord.”
If not that, was it because of Diend, who was learning from that fuss?
—Indeed……!
Or was it because of Gwicheol, who admired even such a bizarre scene?
Yes, under normal circumstances.
Even this alone would have been enough for me to complain of mental suffering.
But right now, in my head.
There was something that made all of this seem like a trivial happening.
That’s right.
It was because of the story Skal had relayed to me.
To be precise, because of the news about the “Great Family.”
[Class Quest: Gathering of All Dragons]
The old dragon cried out.
That the “Great Family” had returned to the Arcana Continent.
All dragons wish to ascertain the truth of the matter.
—Witness the dragons gathering on the continent. (Optional)
Skal shared the Dragon Knight’s class quest with me.
The moment I saw it.
My vision swam.
『Great Family』
Because there was a setting that overlapped with those words.
『Though he was the heir of a great family, that family fell to demons.
Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo, hereafter Granfell, the sole survivor of the family, walked the path of the Demon Hunter in order to avenge himself on those demons.』
Of all the countless modifiers in the world.
Why did it have to be a “Great” Family?!
I thought as calmly and rationally as I could.
Claudi.
Just like Granfell.
It was an imaginary family I had created when I was suffering from eighth-grade syndrome.
It couldn’t exist on the Arcana Continent.
‘It must be some other family.’
More than anything, it said that Great Family had returned, didn’t it?
‘At the very least, I’ve still been hiding the past and the name well.’
I forced my inner thoughts to settle.
Even so, I couldn’t simply feel at ease.
Because even now, I was experiencing it firsthand.
The settings of Granfell, onto which I had attached every good thing imaginable!
‘Of course, the scale is different.’
Let’s see……
The settings of the Claudi family faintly came to mind.
Back then, even the twisted me had attached the modifier “Great” to them.
To put it simply.
They were on par with Granfell.
They were absolutely packed with settings that made my face burn, truly.
……Really, if by some chance.
Those settings were realized?
If traces of the Claudi family remained on the Arcana Continent?
I guarantee it.
At least on the Arcana Continent, I wouldn’t be able to live with my head held high.
So I had to make sure such a thing never happened.
Why?
[Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo]
Because I had absolutely no intention of revealing this damned name.
Not on the Arcana Continent.
And certainly not in reality.
‘Especially if those enemies of mine ever found out, seriously……!’
That was why I had declared to Skal.
—“I will not believe it until I confirm it with my own two eyes.”
That wasn’t what I meant, and yet.
The cold words slipped out unintentionally.
I felt sorry to Skal, but I hoped he would understand.
Because my life—death by humiliation—was on the line!
*
Since the establishment of the AAU Yusra Branch.
Exchange between the various branches had become active.
Not only between branch heads, but also between employees.
In other words, exchanges had become incomparably more frequent than before.
Yun Sugyeom lightly waved at the camera.
“Wow, how long has it been since I saw your faces?”
“You’ve been well, Tom? Katrina, you haven’t changed either.”
“Not contacting us once and now you’re waving?”
“Hey, you know, don’t you? Who my boss is.”
“Well, I suppose you must be dying under none other than Mr. Bak.”
AAU Korea Branch Head, Bak Minjae.
The man who had faced CEO Raymon Sean head-on.
A legendary figure in many senses.
His rebellious nature had been famous throughout every branch since the days when AAU was Cosmo. When they heard that such a Bak Minjae had been assigned as branch head and Yun Sugyeom’s boss, Tom and Katrina had offered their condolences.
“Still, sometimes I’m jealous.”
“Are you crazy? You’re jealous of me? Why?”
“You’re somewhat close, aren’t you? To player Lee Hoyeol.”
“I agree.”
When Hoyeol’s name was mentioned, Katrina shoved her face toward the camera.
After all, wasn’t Yun Sugyeom someone who had a closer relationship with Hoyeol than they did?
Katrina continued enthusiastically.
“There must be some point of contact or exchange! So what is it? What information does only the Korea Branch know about Yusra General Manager Lee Hoyeol? I’ll really keep it secret. If necessary, I’ll even shove Tom over there out of the way.”
So that was what this was about?
They were completely barking up the wrong tree.
Yun Sugyeom shook his head.
“Do you guys know what pride is?”
“Pride? Of course. It’s the word General Manager Lee Hoyeol always has on his lips.”
“Right. Do you think special treatment exists for someone like that?”
“Ah……”
The two understood at once.
Well, considering Hoyeol’s actions so far……
Discrimination probably did not exist for Hoyeol.
To the point that he would not even tolerate sacrificing the small for the great.
That was how fair and just Hoyeol was.
The three, who had gotten their hopes up for nothing, soon got to the main point.
“So you’re saying we should revive the old memories?”
“That’s right. The memories of piecing stories together.”
“Sorry to rain on your parade, but does that even have any meaning?”
“Tom, please. If you’re sorry, then don’t say it.”
“Katrina, punch him in the side for me.”
As the three bickered, it felt as though they had returned to those days.
But they couldn’t simply laugh.
Because they could no longer return to those days.
Tom, rubbing his struck side, opened his mouth.
“First, let’s start by admitting what we need to admit. Maybe Arcana was outside of our control from the time it was still a game. Let’s proceed with that premise.”
“Agreed.”
“Okay. Well, only Raymon would know the answer.”
Tom was pessimistic about everything, but when he actually did something, he did it well.
“When you think about it that way, you suddenly get scared of how many mountains we’ll have to climb from now on. Why, before the demons appeared, the Arcana Continent was still fairly peaceful, wasn’t it?”
“You could say that. There were major incidents like the Imperial War, but compared to this Holy War, they were child’s play. So what are you trying to say, Tom?”
“The core is simple.”
And sharp.
“There must have been a reason for that era of peace.”
“……There was a reason for the long peace?”
“You’re saying it wasn’t simply that demons were updated and everything became a mess?”
Tom shrugged.
“We set the premise, didn’t we? That everything existed from the beginning. That background settings we didn’t know about existed from the start. Even recently, we have a good example called the Magic Tower.”
“The reason the demons didn’t appear wasn’t because of the setting……”
“But because there were some circumstances that hadn’t been revealed, like the absence of the Tower Master?”
“Exactly. So……”
Tap, tap—
Tom struck the keyboard, and a line of text appeared.
[There was a reason for the peace of the Arcana Continent.]
And he added one more sentence.
“And there is also a reason why that peace was broken.”
...
The Social Hall of Time and Space.
Black hair.
The east, where the sun rises first.
The Sunrise Warrior who came from there lacked knowledge regarding the Arcana Continent. After all, it was only thanks to the “Demon Realm Crustal Upheaval” that he had set foot on Arcana soil in the first place.
Naturally, he did not know.
“How brave of you. To mention that name.”
At the words of a Transcendent, the Sunrise Warrior nodded.
The Witch of the Southern Sea.
He could not forget the reaction she had shown.
To think she could make such an expression.
It was clearly different from the listless appearance he had seen in the Social Hall until now.
That was why a natural question arose.
What on earth was that name, for her to be so……
But the Sunrise Warrior could not say anything.
“From the return of a legend to the subjugation of the Great Calamity.”
“Even ‘that incident’ passed down in your homeland.”
“Warrior from the east, can you believe it?”
“That behind all those incidents, there was one family.”
“Yes. It was Claudi.”
“Because Claudi existed, the continent was able to maintain peace until now.”
“Because that Claudi disappeared, the continent has become this miserable sight.”
“……!!!”
At a past so shocking that it left him speechless.