◈ Chapter 315. What If He, Too, Is Me? (2)
Was he seeing things because one eye was covered with an eyepatch?……
No, that couldn’t be.
System messages appeared in his mind. Even if he couldn’t see what was in front of him, system messages alone could be seen clearly. Even so, unable to believe it, he muttered.
“Is this for real?”[You have entered the Arcana Continent.]
The Arcana Continent heading toward ruin.
That despairing modifier, which had adorned the entry message, had disappeared. But that was not why the members of the Unification Under Heaven Guild were shocked. This was their first time entering, so they could not know what message had appeared in the past.
Then.[The one who saved the Arcana Continent as it fell into despair was a single man. He breathed new hope into the Arcana Continent.]
Was it because they had guessed in advance.
The identity of the man said to have brought hope?
Not yet.
There was nothing they could infer from the message alone.
The reason for their shock lay in the messages that appeared afterward.[From now on, the Arcana Continent shall sing of that legend. The cold winds that blew across the Arcana Continent have ceased, and the frozen earth melts, trembling with vitality. : Experience gain increases by 50 percent.]
“Th-That’s impossible……!!”
That was right.
The reason the members of Unification Under Heaven were shocked the moment they set foot on the Arcana Continent was because of the absurd buff. A 50 percent increase in experience gain without any condition whatsoever. That alone was a buff that players in reality could not even imagine.
And that, too, was only the beginning.[The spirits of the universe rejoice greatly at the reversed entropy. Their playfulness has greatly twisted the causality of the Arcana Continent, but no one will blame them. : Item drop rate increases by 50 percent.][The pure-blooded magical race, the Descendants of Twilight, scatter violet magic power across the Arcana Continent. The concentration of magic power in the Arcana Continent grows denser. The curtain rises on the Age of Great Magic. : Magic manifestation power increases by 30 percent.][The teacher of martial arts (武)
, the Weapon Master, who had suddenly vanished without a trace, has returned. All weapons of the Arcana Continent worship him and take on sharpness to surpass him. : Proficiency acquisition for all weapons increases by 30 percent.][The missing Romantic Explorer, Lorentsk, has returned to the Arcana Continent. The knowledge of the Romantic Explorer, who ended his secluded life after his dramatic survival, enriches the Arcana Continent even further. : The Romantic Explorer, Lorentsk, wanders the continent and spreads knowledge.]……
Each and every one was a buff capable of changing the order of Arcana.
Those messages were appearing ceaselessly, as if competing with one another.
They were players who had been able to set foot on the Arcana Continent because they were counted among the skilled even within Unification Under Heaven. Their extensive knowledge as seasoned players immediately drew a conclusion about what these buff messages meant.
All seven of them thought the same thing.‘This is a chance to be reborn.’Carrying out missions on the Arcana Continent with such absurd buffs. By the time they returned to reality…… they were confident they would have grown so much that they would be completely different from the past.
So they could not help but be moved.
“To think you would grant me such an opportunity. It is an honor, my lord!”
Of course, that emotion did not last long.
They had only briefly marveled at the buffs before their minds began to turn.
The message had clearly said “that man.”‘Just what kind of man is he?’How could he bring about buffs like this across the entire Arcana Continent?
Their question did not last long.
Hadn’t it been said again and again?
A legend was something that grew ever more inflated as it passed from mouth to mouth.
In that sense.
It was only natural that the man’s legend had spread across the Arcana Continent.
So much so that there was more than enough for it to be displayed as a message.
The final message flickered.[All of this was the arrangement of the Dark Dragon.]
“……?!!”
Dark Dragon.
At those words, the faces of Unification Under Heaven’s guild members turned deathly pale.
That name was one that resounded without pause even in reality, a world completely different from the Arcana Continent. As someone had said, it was a name that echoed hundreds of millions of times a day.
“L-Lee Hoyeol……?”
Yes, because it was Hoyeol’s alias.
In shock, they carefully read through the message.
One man, the Dark Dragon, arrangement……
The knowledge of seasoned players provided an answer.
“All of this is a change brought about by that bastard, Lee Hoyeol……?”
Back when Arcana was nothing more than a game.
There had been times when buffs were triggered according to a player’s achievements.
But this was a different story.
This was not a buff activated in a limited area, like a hunting ground or a village. It applied across the entire Arcana Continent. On top of that, each individual effect was powerful enough to change the order, the balance itself.
The knowledge of players told them.
“……Just what kind of achievement?”
Even with the vast knowledge of veteran players, they could not even begin to guess. What they did not forget even amid the chaos in their minds was their loyalty to their lord. That loyalty warned them.
“My lord, that man must not be challenged……”
Lee Hoyeol was on a different dimension.
Several dimensions different!
If all of this was due to Lee Hoyeol’s influence, then the Arcana Continent was already no different from being in the palm of his hand. The Arcana Continent, which had seemed like heaven, began to look like the very heart of enemy territory.
The guild members of Unification Under Heaven made their decision.
“We must retreat for now, my lord.”
But they, too.
Just like their own lord, had overlooked something.
What was shared with Liuo Junchun was only their field of vision.
“……Can he not hear us?”
Their lord could not hear their voices.
Nor the messages that appeared.
And.
“……More importantly, how are we supposed to get back?”
There was no such thing as a logout function in the access device.*
The Kingdom of Yusra.
I moved a chess piece spread out on the round table.
Sitting opposite me was the king, Hakuna.
To an outsider, it might look as if we were leisurely playing chess and resting. But as the one hearing such an assessment, I would feel wronged. Granfell was hardly the sort of person who could easily take a rest.
This, too, was an extension of work.
Besides.‘Why did he even touch the chess pieces?’I don’t know how to play chess.
I know how to play omok or janggi, but I know nothing about chess.
I don’t even know the names or functions of the pieces accurately.‘Was this one called a pawn? The one with the crown is the king, so it’s the king?’Even so, I brazenly moved the chess piece.
“The remaining forces can be broadly divided into three.”
It wasn’t just a suitable excuse to say this was an extension of work. As the commander-in-chief of the Holy War Alliance, I was currently reviewing the strength of our allies and enemies with Hakuna, the king of Yusra.
As for the forces on our side, thanks to faithfully keeping up with my daily routine, they were etched in my mind even without mentioning them. Right now, it was time to list the enemy’s strength—the demons.
Tak.
My fingers moved, setting down a chess piece.
“The High Demon Kings.”
A term referring to the Demon Kings ranked in the top ten.
Among them, Rank 4.
Gamigin had been dragged down to Hell by me and the Akshan seniors, so he was excluded.
Then exactly nine remained.
Tak.
“The Great Evils, the Seven Deadly Sins.”
Tak.
“And the Primordial Evil.”
Two chess pieces were set down in succession.
“Of the Seven Deadly Sins, five must remain.”
“That’s right.”
At Hakuna’s words, I nodded.
Greed, which had possessed Hakuna, had been cut off at the root and thrown into Hell.
Envy had been hunted through the sacrifice of the Shadow Mercenary Corps.‘If you say that’s a lot, it’s a lot, and if you say it’s few, it’s few.’But demons were growth-type monsters.
Annoying bastards who grew stronger through negative emotions.
The frightening part was that you couldn’t know through what opportunity, or how far, a low-rank demon imp might grow.
Proof of that was currently appearing as a class quest.
-Hunt demons. (Repeat)●Follow the bloodstains and track the half-blood demon. (In progress)Considering it was the objective of the grandly named class quest [Rebuilding Akshan], it was probably no ordinary bastard. However, the fact that there was no information whatsoever on the half-blood demon told me just how troublesome demons were.‘On top of that.’Demons weren’t everything.
To begin with, the source of a demon’s power was someone’s negative emotions. Forces as vicious as demons were overflowing both in reality and on the Arcana Continent.
Of course, it was a natural phenomenon.
In reality, debating whether human nature was good or evil would be a philosophical matter.
But at least on the Arcana Continent, there had been a clear answer.
You know, the fruit of good and evil.‘Even the World Tree accepted it as a given, didn’t it?’That good and evil coexisting was only natural.
Even the great Granfell had acknowledged as much.
Of course, what he meant was that evil would submit to good, so it did not matter.
In any case.‘Unless we absolutely have to, let’s not stretch our meddling that far, please.’Even the remaining demons were all big shots, weren’t they?
I was busy enough just paying attention to the demons.
Still, if there was one comforting thing, it was that reliable allies I could trust, including Hakuna, had appeared.
Hakuna stared intently at the chess pieces.……
Was it because I had moved three times in a row?
I wondered if he had been taking chess seriously. Apparently, that was not it. Soon, when Hakuna raised his head, I saw his eyes shining with resolve.
“I am one whose body was stolen by a demon, so I will not claim I can face demons boldly. However, please do not forget my existence, my benefactor. Whether it is here or on the Arcana Continent, I am prepared.”
The Arcana Continent was in the midst of upheaval.
I had heard through Hiel that those who had poured out from the ill omen were bringing new vitality to the devastated Arcana Continent.
It was only natural, but there was bound to be conflict between them.
You ask whether they all know of Akshan’s existence?
That’s right.
But Akshan is Akshan, and they are them.‘Well, it’s not like Akshan is a god.’It was absurd to hope that the conflicts between them would be resolved by Akshan’s name alone.‘That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.’As I said, it was only natural.
But I also knew.
The negative emotions that bloom from conflict become a demon’s power.
So it would be necessary to coordinate things appropriately from behind the scenes.
As I made that resolution, another phrase came to mind……‘In the end, the Dark Dragon turned out to be right, didn’t it?’The enormous Dark Dragon, Claudi, coordinating the Arcana Continent from behind the scenes!
As expected, the problem was the mouth.
Once I said something, it ended up coming true in some form or another, didn’t it?‘There really is a reason people say to watch your mouth.’In that sense, Hakuna, our king of Yusra, should also be careful, shouldn’t you? At work and elsewhere, the thing people have to be most careful about saying is, “Leave anything to me.”‘I know very well, since I got thoroughly burned by that enemy of mine.’I spoke to Hakuna with all sincerity.
“It would be best not to say what you cannot handle, Hakuna.”
Of course, since that was Granfell’s way of speaking, it did not sound like warm advice. Fortunately, Hakuna, at least, must have suffered through Granfell’s manner of speech until his ears were calloused.
Hakuna answered with a small laugh.
“I will keep that in mind, my benefactor.”...
After Hoyeol left, Hakuna, left alone, looked at the chessboard. The pieces that had been moved were three, and all of them were pawns.
Hakuna reflected on the names attached to those three pawns.
“The High Demon Kings, the Great Evils, and the Primordial Evil.”
Greed of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Hakuna knew its wickedness better than anyone.
That was why he could imagine just how great those beings were.
“And yet, it must mean they are nothing more than mere foot soldiers.”
However, Hoyeol had likened all three of them to identical pawns.
Someone might say it.
Was he not looking down on them too much?
No, that would be knowing only one part of his words and not the other.
“Demons grow through negative emotions……”
In the rules of chess, a pawn, too, can be promoted.
What the pawn signified was that even if a demon was nothing more than a lowly foot soldier, it could grow in ever-changing ways. It was surely a metaphor that he would never let his guard down.
At the same time.
“Even so, a pawn cannot become a king.”
It must also be his intention to make them feel the difference in rank.
Hakuna engraved the chessboard before his eyes deep into his mind.
Because if he let even a little of Hoyeol’s words slip by.
He would not be able to fathom their profound meaning.*
“……Huuuk!”
A heart twitching breathlessly.
An unfamiliar landscape and sensation.
The half-blood demon opened its eyes.
Just what in the world had happened……?