◈ Episode 312. It Is Time for You to Regain Yours As Well (1)
The heroes of a new era, the Akshan legend.
When the message appeared, the back of my head didn’t just tingle—I felt wronged. No, it’s fine if you people become legends. But if you end up materializing too, then what does that make me, who looked out over the southern sea with tears in my eyes?!
If they’d at least become legends after some time lag, I wouldn’t have grumbled. Sure, time on the Arcana Continent flows four times faster than in reality, but still.
It was so fast it felt like becoming legends was part of a diversionary tactic.
You returned far too quickly.
Our esteemed Akshan seniors……!
Of course, I knew that the seniors who had materialized as legends weren’t the real ones.
I also knew that the real seniors were still burning with tenacity inside the belly of the Omen, and in hell as well.
Nor was I taking back my resolve to reunite with them.
It was just that…….
‘They’re still doing whatever they want, these people.’
The problem was that the materialized demon hunters of Akshan were no different from the real thing.
It felt as though the number of seniors I had to worry about had doubled.
Just look at the situation right now.
I hadn’t even thought about materializing the Akshan legend.
And yet.
Step, step.
That Akshan temperament that charged in without caring about fire or water as long as a demon was involved……! Look at how they saw bloodstains reeking of demonic odor, materialized, and walked out on their own two feet.
With their brows deeply furrowed, they said,
“The smell of garbage.”
Unlike the seniors in hell, they were not bound by rules.
The materialized seniors could open their mouths as much as they liked.
Of course, who were the Akshan?
Back in the days of the Chronicles of the Arcana Continent, when Arcana was nothing more than a game.
Even in their NPC days, when they were supposed to be kind, they were people with such cold sensibilities that they wouldn’t offer a single empty word of praise to players. Because of that, even when they saw me, the last demon hunter, the Akshan seniors showed no signs of joy or emotion.
What they said at our first encounter was:
—“You are unchanged, last demon hunter.”
……
Unchanged?
I wondered if they meant I still hadn’t matured.
But there was no point getting irritated.
After all, I did look exactly as I had during my chuunibyou, dark-history phase.
Needless to say, Granfell also had a personality that showed things through action rather than words, no less than the Akshan. So there was no need for much conversation between us.
—“I was not worried.”
—“Likewise.”
—“I leave Akshan in your hands.”
—“There is no need for concern.”
—“Hah, good.”
……
What are you guys doing?
‘I was the one who felt embarrassed, seriously.’
My tastes were really like that?
It was a sight that made me question my past.
In any case, that was all in the past now.
And from now on, as the last survivor of Akshan revived as a legend,
I was too busy being faithful to the work I had taken on.
The space before my eyes flashed.
[Class Quest: Rebuilding Akshan]
The vanished Akshan have been revived as the legend of a new era.
However, what the Arcana Continent needs is not a tale drifting through the world, but a living legend. Last demon hunter. Together with the legends of the past, rebuild Akshan for the new era.
That’s right.
In the end, I had shouldered yet another burden.
Honestly, at this point, lamenting my lot felt a little off, didn’t it?
‘What can I do when I was born like this in the first place?’
This time, I decided to think positively from the start.
And once I did, my perspective changed.
That is, I realized the hidden value inside the troublesome quest called rebuilding Akshan.
‘Demons will revive someday.’
Rank 10.
The deletion of all demon kings except the high-ranking Demon Kings.
Even right after returning to reality, I did not neglect my research into the strange (internet surfing). It seemed there were some in various communities who considered that patch good news.
Well, they could think that way.
But even if the world is deceived, I am not.
Because I saw it, didn’t I?
The process of the Demon King Contest.
To begin with, a Demon King is not something one is born as. Those who seize an empty throne in the contest become new Demon Kings and obtain greater power. So, in system terms.
‘Promotion to boss monster.’
It meant achieving a rise in rank through an item called the [Demon King’s Throne]. Therefore, the Demon King deletion patch was nothing more than wordplay and Raymon Sean’s deception.
In other words.
If the Demon Kings were to be thrown into hell,
ultimately, there was no other way than to hunt them with the hands of demon hunters.
In truth, the number of Demon Kings didn’t matter.
‘If it has to be done, he’ll do it, with this personality.’
Pride that rose even higher before demons.
Granfell would never refuse dirty work, but the problem was the time it would take. Considering all the burdens I had taken on, it was true that I couldn’t even imagine handling it alone.
From that perspective, Akshan’s revival was welcome. I might suffer during the rebuilding process, but let’s look toward the future. There’s a saying that hardship in youth is worth paying for, isn’t there?
Actually, the rebuilding process didn’t feel all that unfamiliar either.
My gaze turned toward the quest objective.
—Hunt demons. (Repeat)
Yes, this damn repeat quest that had worn players out……!
Even seeing it after so long made me shudder.
I had only just clicked my tongue inwardly when our Akshan senior spoke.
“It is time to track.”
Then he immediately delivered it through Akshan-style communication.
—Hunt demons. (Repeat)
●Follow the bloodstains and track the half-blood demon. (In Progress)
A half-blood demon.
Seeing as it had a name, it was at least a true-name demon.
A named monster.
For now, it was an unfamiliar demon.
But the Akshan of all people would never add a kind explanation, and Granfell’s pride would never show ignorance. As expected, it would be action rather than words.
‘Now that the capture of one hundred rifts is nearing its end, I’ll have to track it.’
By the way, follow the bloodstains…….
I shifted my gaze toward the bloodstains.
And fell into doubt.
‘What am I supposed to follow?’
As I said, the blood had simply dried and pooled there.
It didn’t lead anywhere.
If I summoned Tempest, the guardian spirit of Akshan,
perhaps tracking it wouldn’t be difficult.
‘Is it telling me to call that out?’
Surely it wasn’t telling me to shout that name……?
Was I supposed to call Tempest Over the Horizon?
Just as I was agonizing over it, the Akshan demon hunter opened his mouth.
“You do not follow with your eyes.”
It wasn’t directed at me, but a mutter to himself.
However, that mutter helped me as well.
Who was Granfell?
The owner of an exceptional talent that could imitate just by seeing.
If an explanation was added, then he could follow anything without much difficulty.
“You look from within consciousness that transcends the five senses.”
Consciousness.
If it was a consciousness related to demons,
there was only one.
The demon hunter spoke the word I had predicted.
“As if you were looking upon a demon inside an exorcism ritual.”
One of the demon hunter’s few unique skills, [Exorcism Ritual].
I had thought it was a skill only used when hunting a possessing demon.
To think it could be used like this as well.
As expected of my seniors.
My admiration lasted only a moment, and I activated [Exorcism Ritual].
[Skill, ‘Exorcism Ritual,’ is being activated.]
“……!”
Then I saw it clearly.
Within my consciousness.
What kind of incident had occurred around the bloodstains spilled on the floor. It was an incident that had taken place inside the rift. Naturally, a player capable of entering rifts was involved.
I recited coldly,
“How hideous.”
PK.
In the past, it had been called PK—Player Kill—but now it was no different from murder, and such an atrocity had taken place here. What had to be remembered from that tragedy was clear.
A scream dug into my consciousness.
—“You really weren’t j-just a Supernova……!!”
The murderer was a demon wearing the mask of a Supernova.
—“Consider it an honor. You will become a historic sacrifice.”
And the fact that such a bastard would call someone a historic sacrifice
meant that he was setting up some grand plan.
That plan must be related to the half-blood demon.
Exorcism Ritual released.
As the afterimage scattered, I saw the demon hunter. I knew it. I wondered if he had explained it for my sake, but it seemed he too had activated Exorcism Ritual like I had, as he continued,
“It has been a while, so I needed to recall it.”
Then he looked at me and said,
“Last demon hunter. I may end up indebted to you unintentionally. Not only I, but all of Akshan.”
I nodded.
‘I had guessed as much.’
A legend grows stronger depending on how widely that legend resounds.
In that sense,
the current Akshan legend could not be stronger than the originals.
‘What was Akshan’s treatment like in the first place?’
Akshan had become a legend through those forgotten on the Arcana Continent. I knew better than anyone. The Akshan seniors were far stronger than they were known to be.
Their tenacity would surely exceed anything anyone imagined.
So I answered,
“Did I not tell you? There is no need for concern.”
To be honest, I, Lee Hoyeol, had no confidence.
Akshan’s tenacity, their spirit of sacrifice—I couldn’t even imagine chasing after them. Rebuilding Akshan with the Akshan seniors who had become legends? Likewise, I couldn’t guarantee that I would produce a better result than the Akshan of the past.
However.
“Akshan will regain it.”
“Regain it, you say……?”
Granfell was here, wasn’t he?
The youngest head of the Claudi family.
A talent considered one of the greatest even within that great house.
And that talent included the ability to raise the ruined Claudi family back up again. Hadn’t I felt that myself in Claudi’s territory, mansion, and banquet?
Therefore.
“The honor you should rightfully have grasped.”
“Honor, is it…….”
I could spout such arrogant words.
‘At times like this, Akshan-style communication is nice.’
He might have pointed out those arrogant words as my senior,
but the demon hunter merely nodded silently.
Then he left behind a single sentence and scattered back into legend.
“Then I shall await the next trace.”
They were words that were both reassuring and exhausting.
But there was no time to grumble.
Now that Granfell, a demon-hater who could not even tolerate breathing in the same space as a demon, had realized the demon’s scheme, how could I possibly afford leisure?
Shing—
A landscape half reality and half Arcana Continent.
Amid the collapsed background of reality,
I manifested the rebar within concrete as a sword.
“This is the reason I despise you.”
Emitting sword aura, I accelerated my rift clearing.
“Because you never realize anything, there is no reward in disciplining you.”
Now that even trivial chatter with monsters had been omitted,
my clearing speed had no choice but to catch fire even further.
Suddenly, as I entered the next rift, I thought,
‘Does this leave two?’
Let’s see.
Ninety-eight rifts cleared……
By now, shouldn’t the world be starting to go wild?
*
Magic Tower.
Emerald Hall.
A place where the magic books existing in the Magic Tower were kept as copies.
In that vast space, players huddled together and whispered secretly.
Their eyes were wide.
“……He cleared a hundred rifts in one hour?!”
“T-then that means it took less than one minute per rift?”
“He’s insane, Lee Hoyeol……. No, seriously, Chief Lee!”
To be exact, 59 minutes and 40 seconds.
That was the time it took Hoyeol to clear one hundred rifts. It was a masterpiece. The sight broadcast through Nettuber players who had quickly entered rifts immediately after Hoyeol declared he would clear one hundred rifts was—
“He’s just on a different dimension, isn’t he?”
“No matter what, they’re boss mobs, but they’re being sent flying.”
“……But what did he just say? Didn’t he say something to the monster in a really serious voice? Damn it, if they were going to film, they should’ve filmed from a little closer!”
Clearing rifts, to Hoyeol?
This was not a metaphor—it was easier than walking down a street. Even if one were to line up one hundred rifts in a row and walk through them, it would be a distance that easily took over an hour.
The players came to a conclusion.
“With this, he’s proven his ability for sure, right? To the point that bastard Raymon Sean can’t avoid responding. Now it’s that guy’s turn to prove himself……!”
That was right.
Now that Hoyeol had proven his ability,
it was once again Raymon Sean’s turn.
Gulp—
The sound of dry swallowing could be heard.
From this point on, it was time to wait.
“There’s less than a week until the next regular update, right?”
“But does it have to be a regular one?”
“There’s an analysis that says the patches Raymon Sean intended, including the last one, were carried out through regular updates. In any case, what’s certain is that the conclusion will definitely come at the next regular update.”
Hoyeol and Raymon Sean.
The result of their match on a different scale would be decided in some form.
Normally, they would have anxiously waited only for next Thursday.
But at least in the Magic Tower, there was no need for that.
“Hey, it’s time.”
At last, the players in Emerald Hall all stood up at once.
The magicians, including them.
The place their footsteps headed was the same for all of them: Crystal Hall.
Murmur, murmur—
“The Descendants of Twilight. Doesn’t the name sound grand right from the start?”
The Descendants of Twilight, known as a pure-blooded magical race.
The time was approaching for the magician who had claimed to be a Descendant of Twilight to stand on the platform in Crystal Hall in order to verify his abilities. It was a hook they couldn’t pass up.
It was the moment the players entered Crystal Hall.
“……?”
Their gazes all focused at once.
No, not only the players.
Even the gazes of the Magic Tower’s magicians.
“……!!”