◈ Chapter 260. Different from a CatDemon Hunter.
Now that demon-type monsters were overflowing everywhere.
The name was occasionally being mentioned in player communities, but—
Back when Arcana was nothing more than a game, its treatment had been downright pathetic.
Even thinking back on it now, it was terribly pathetic.
While other classes hunted monsters in exhilarating fashion with skills that were flashy from the name alone, demon hunters fought monsters to the death with basic attacks, or at best, with [Simultaneous Shot], one of the basic shooting skills.
‘Seriously, don’t even get me started. Back in my day…….’
At this point, those who didn’t know about those days would probably ask.
Then why on earth had players changed classes into demon hunters,
a class that had absolutely nothing to boast about?
I, Lee Hoyeol.
As if possessed by a severe bout of chuunibyou that had come out of nowhere,
had indeed changed classes into a demon hunter.
But there was no way other players had chosen the class for the same reason I had.
That was right.
There had been mascots who had led innocent, clueless players to Akshan. One of them was none other than Akshan’s guardian spirit, the Akshan wolf.
[You have acquired the class-exclusive skill, ‘Guardian Spirit of Akshan’.]
──────
Guardian Spirit of Akshan: Summons Akshan’s sacred beast, the Akshan wolf.
──────
[The Akshan wolf answers your call.]
A wolf’s howl rang out across Sisley.
Awooooooo—!
Argentress’s eyes flew wide open, and he rose from his seat.
“……!”
Argentress had been right.
Sisley was, on the surface, a perfect land.
There was no more appropriate expression for it than a greenhouse.
It was something I had noticed while walking through Sisley as well.
There was nothing here that could be considered a threat.
‘It was excessively peaceful.’
You could tell just from the herbivores that, on the Arcana Continent, had been busy fleeing at the mere sight of a human shadow, yet here they had stared with round eyes and approached first.
“How could a beast of prey be in Sisley……?”
So it was only natural to flinch at the sound of a wolf’s howl.
But it was too early to be surprised already, Argentress.
I told you, it was a mascot.
The one responsible for bringing players to Akshan,
which had nothing whatsoever to boast about……
No, the wolf responsible.
Shaaak!
The air split apart.
The rushing wind gave a sense of its speed.
As befitted the guardian spirit of the mighty Akshan,
it did not appear in any ordinary fashion.
‘Now that’s one hell of an entrance.’
Watching it, memories came flooding back.
After all, even in the demon hunter class introduction video from Arcana Continent Chronicles,
the presence of the Akshan wolf had been truly incredible.
A body larger than that of an adult man.
Flames blooming wherever its paws stepped.
Its appearance wasn’t merely plausible.
“……
L-Lord Argentress?”
It was overwhelming enough to make even an elf stammer.
So do you understand a little now?
Why the demon hunter class had once drawn attention from players, however briefly? Why Akshan had once bustled with players, if only for an instant?
‘No wonder it was called wolf trainer instead of demon hunter.’
For most players who changed classes into demon hunters, their goal had been the Akshan wolf.
If they could command the Akshan wolf, then they must have thought they could endure the pathetic skills, the alien growth method, and the grind quests.
However.
‘Akshan, you really were malicious…….’
I was inwardly appalled.
……
Now that I saw it, that had not been ordinary false advertising, had it?
I mean, that demon hunter class introduction video!
I looked back.
On the process by which I had acquired [Guardian Spirit of Akshan].
This exclusive skill was, in effect, no different from the reward for [Class Quest: The Fruit of Good and Evil]. In other words, it was an intermediate reward absolutely necessary to move on to the next objective.
The problem was.
‘How long would it take to reach this point?’
To put it bluntly.
‘……
Putting aside how the process turned out.’
Among players, I was overwhelmingly in the lead.
In level.
In actual ability.
In the quality of the items I wore.
Even in the tricks I had saved for last.
In every aspect, I was several steps ahead for certain.
And yet.
Even for me,
I had skipped countless intermediate steps, and even actively emitted Claudi’s halo to reach Sisley. And only because I had reached Sisley had I obtained this exclusive skill.
‘I vowed not to overuse this phrase.’
But this time, I could confidently declare it.
If Arcana had still been nothing more than a game,
this was definitely a skill that no one could have acquired!
To begin with, the acquisition difficulty made no sense, did it?
The moment I realized that fact,
the faces of the Akshan seniors came to mind.
To the players who had asked about the Akshan wolf—
‘They just vaguely said we’d know when the time came, didn’t they?’
Our seniors had done so
because if they had told the truth, everyone would have run away.
Of course, even before they realized this horrible truth,
the players had fled on their own.
At this moment,
there was me, who had returned after a gap of more than ten years.
‘……
Is it because it’s been so long?’
The Akshan wolf stared at me intently.
It went without saying,
but there was no way I, Granfell, would avoid someone’s gaze. Thanks to meeting its eyes, the Akshan wolf’s appearance came into even clearer view.
To describe it simply……
If there were a gatekeeper that guarded hell,
I felt that it would be the Akshan wolf.
As one could tell from the title, guardian spirit of Akshan,
the wolf looked extraordinary just by being seen.
Indeed, with a face that was fierce and handsome from the start, it was worthy of being called a mascot. Even looking at it again, it was a visual that could bewitch players and trick them into falling for it.
Gulp!
I could hear the elves swallowing dryly from all the way over here.
They must be wondering what on earth was happening all of a sudden.
But there was no need to worry.
Since we were only looking into each other’s eyes,
they might mistake it for a staring contest.
But I, and Granfell as well, unlike with cats, liked dogs.
“I know your feelings.”
Look.
“You must have been endlessly lonely all this time.”
A generosity completely opposite to the merciless words he had spouted at the Tower Master.
But it wasn’t simply a greeting offered out of delight.
Yes, because this fellow should know better than anyone
what kind of end Akshan had met.
So this was closer to consolation than a greeting.
Step—
Had it understood from my voice?
The creature approached me and pushed its head toward me.
I placed my hand on its head.
Stroke—
Lightly stroking its head, I continued speaking.
“Now that I am here, there is no need for you to grieve anymore.”
……
Have I ever said something so warm before?
It was enough to make me look back on myself.
More than anything, if the Tower Master had witnessed this scene, wouldn’t he have been horrified?
He would ask what made him worse than a dog.
But when I thought back on it, it wasn’t strange.
Back during my first entry into a rift, which now felt endlessly distant—
-“It seems you have not been properly trained.”
I had been quite kind even to a gnoll that resembled a dog.
‘Kind enough to personally discipline it.’
I was unusually merciful toward puppies.
‘Strictly speaking, it’s not a dog but a wolf.’
Had the Akshan wolf also recognized
my love for canines?
Before long, its tail began to sway gently.
Thanks to that, Argentress and the other elves as well
seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
That aside……
You are excessively consistent, Akshan.
‘You never let me catch my breath.’
The first meeting, which could be called moving in its own way, lasted only a moment.
The Akshan wolf sniffed the air.
Following the scent of a demon,
it moved toward the place where the World Tree had grown.
Argentress asked.
“……
May I ask what is going on?”
You really have set your mind straight, haven’t you, Argentress?
I could feel formality even from his fairly polite tone.
In that case, I should personally answer him.
“The primordial evil that fled from the fallen World Tree.”
“……!”
“From this moment on, I will track down that sinner.”
A new class quest objective.
─Track the primordial evil. (In progress)
There had to be a reason why [Guardian Spirit of Akshan]
had been given as a reward at such a timing.
Indeed, it was just as expected.
Because the Akshan wolf soon lifted its head toward the sky and howled.
Awooooooo—!
It meant it had caught the scent.
The primordial evil.
Since the opponent bore such a grandiose name, I would not expect it to be easy to find. Just looking at that name, it wouldn’t be strange to call it the final boss.
Even so, it didn’t matter.
This was the Arcana Continent.
As long as the effect of [Last Adventurer] existed,
even if I died, died, and died a hundred times,
four days later in Arcana time,
twenty-four hours later in real time,
without growing tired of it,
I would appear before you again.
“Just as the dawn that rises each day drives away the darkness.”
……
What a poetic expression, Granfell.
‘……
Anyway!’
It meant that this damned pride would follow you until it shoved you into hell. Because I, who suffered under pride more than anyone else, knew better than anyone how persistent pride was.
It was then.
“Then I will go with you as well.”
Are you serious, Argentress?
‘Well, in its own way, it would be reassuring.’
If you set aside that temper of theirs, elves possessed strength second only to dragons. For example, you could tell just by looking at what Elsidore did to Rakid, couldn’t you?
The problem was their extremely foul personality……
Was it thanks to the effect of [Noble]?
Argentress’s gaze had certainly changed.
He did not seem to be scheming inwardly either.
In truth, even if he did scheme, as long as [Hierarchy of Blessings] existed—
‘There shouldn’t be much of a problem.’
Because there was no way our Lord Granfell’s lofty pride
would tolerate forcibly dragging another person into danger.
However, Argentress had requested this of his own will.
So.
“I cannot disregard your pride.”
“……
Pride?”
“I will permit you to accompany me.”
“Thank you.”
……
More importantly.
Do not ponder pride too deeply, Argentress.
You see, pride
is not something you can understand just because you think deeply about it.
But Argentress asked in the end.
“May I ask what pride is?”
To ask me to express pride in words—there was nothing more awkward than this.
At the same time, I became curious too.
Just how would Granfell define pride?
Amid that expectation, my mouth opened.
“That which you have seen and felt.”
“What I have seen and felt……?”
“That is pride.”
No, that was shamelessness that went beyond the limit!
I had wondered whether the prickly Argentress would accept that,
but what was with that unexpected reaction……?
You can laugh after hearing an answer like that?
“I see. That ‘something’ was pride.”
……
What is this something supposed to be now?
As expected, the more deeply one thinks about it, the more one loses.
At this rate, even I might end up being steeped in pride……!
So I would delay no longer.
“We depart before the scent scatters.”
Argentress was the same.
“Do not allow anyone to approach Sisley.”
He gave an order to the elves.
‘We don’t know what information might have leaked.’
From now on, Sisley would need to tighten its guard a little more.
The elves bowed their heads to Argentress for only a moment.
Then he added one more thing.
“However……. Dragons are an exception.”
Not lizards, but dragons.
The moment he mentioned them, my brow furrowed,
but the fact that the title had changed alone was a huge improvement.
‘That’s better than me, who still calls them sworn enemies.’
At any rate.
Shall we get going?
As I took a step, as though it had been waiting,
Awooo—!
the Akshan wolf lowered its body.
To think I would realize the demon hunter’s false advertising like this.
It was moving in its own way.
I reached out to the Akshan wolf.
If I had not been prepared at all, I probably wouldn’t even have been able to mount it.
After all, wasn’t the Akshan wolf the one that had appeared while creating that fierce wind pressure?
Its speed seemed fast even to the eyes of elves.
‘Perhaps one would have to be close to max level.’
Without a fairly high level of proficiency in riding skills, it would be difficult just to keep one’s balance on the Akshan wolf. But who am I? The frontrunner of tricks, who had skipped the intermediate steps so far that it was ridiculous.
[Achievement: King of All Things, Mounted a Dragon]
[Effect: Proficiency related to all mounts rises to the maximum.]
[Duration: Permanent]
So there was no hesitation.
As if it were a single motion,
without the slightest disturbance,
I gracefully climbed onto the wolf’s back.
Then I looked at Argentress.
What are you doing, Argentress?
Shouldn’t you keep the words you spoke?
Of course.
Grandfell was not the sort of person who would let someone ride behind him.
The reason was simple.
Because the clothes he had so painstakingly straightened—his jacket—might get wrinkled. ‘……
Now there’s a reason just like me.’ In any case, ride that deer over there or something and follow me, Argentress……! *Captain of the Shadow Mercenary Corps.
Kichi stretched out the hand that had been covering her nose and placed it on the rock.
From her palm to every line in her hand.
A tingling sensation could be felt.
And soon.
Clunk!
The rock shifted.
Grrrrrk!
With a loud grinding noise, it revealed the entrance to the hideout.
Kichi’s pupils swiftly swept through the darkness.
For now, there were no signs of intrusion.
Swoosh—
Only then did Kichi remove the hand covering her nose.
“Then again, who would search a place like this so thoroughly?”
Nameless corpses.
Or corpses whose names must never be known.
Dozens of them were discarded each day in the 『Canyon of the Forgotten』.
The Shadow Mercenary Corps’ hideout was hidden at the very bottom of that canyon. It was a place where not only sunlight, but even corpse-devouring vultures—and even filthy rats—never ventured.
“And the stench of rot is still as overpowering as ever.”
Kichi sniffed and stepped into the darkness.
Given the nature of her profession, even aside from her eyes being accustomed to the dark,
this hideout was like her own home.
To the point where she could tell what was where even with her eyes closed.
Kichi knew the structure of the hideout inside and out. ‘This much is a basic qualification.’
Because the position of captain was one that demanded it.
It might look sloppy on the outside.
But in truth, it was a position where one could never afford to be so.
A seat that forced one to shoulder an immeasurable burden.
Swoosh—
When she lifted the curtain hanging on the wall, a rock appeared.
Kichi reached out once more.
Then, along with that tingling sensation, a hidden space was revealed.
A place where the wealth accumulated by the Shadow Mercenary Corps had been concealed.
Not only the members, but even the vice-captain, Wolf,
knew nothing about the existence of this space.
Naturally, none of them had ever seen the ledger either.
“Ugh, look at all this dust.”
Kichi blew—hoo—clearing away the dust that had piled up.
No sooner had she opened the ledger
than the lists of requests,
stretching from the past to the present, came into view.
Even after so long, they were truly brutal requests.
“You all really lived rough lives, didn’t you?”
It was at the moment Kichi read through the ledger with a bitter smile.
The corners of her lips stiffened.
A low voice slipped from her lips.
“……
I wondered if it might be, but it really wasn’t my imagination.”
Kichi reread the written list of requests,
pressing down on it firmly with her finger.
But no matter how many times she read it, nothing changed.
That request was,
in red ink,
clearly marked.
──────Assassination of Claudi √──────Success (√)