◈ Episode 33. The True Natural Enemy (1)
Thud─![Lava Giant Brocade Carp : Lv.420]
For a body with such tricky patterns to deal with, the main body itself had no choice but to be weak.
If something that rampaged like that had high vitality on top of it, it could no longer be called a level 420 monster.
So.
Thud─!
Thuuud─!
Spears of stone.
Even stone spears could land effective hits.
Had it not expected the lava to split apart?
The giant brocade carp had dozens of stone spears embedded in its flank.
It was thrashing its tail.
Only for a moment, but its movements had clearly been restricted.
There was no way Harkon and the Lion Heart Knights would miss that opening.
Goooooo─Harkon’s sword began to be dyed in a deep light.‘……That’s not something like a skill.’The reason I thought so?
Simple. I could tell at a glance.‘Just how strong is he?’That lofty realm of his.『His innate magical talent was such that he could imitate most magic simply by seeing it. Furthermore, he possessed physical potential that was no less than that talent.』……Even thinking about it again, they really did attach every good thing to him.
By setting, Granfell possessed martial talent that rivaled his magical talent.
So he must be able to gauge Harkon’s realm, the one that made his sword shine.‘It’s definitely different from mana.’But unlike magic, I couldn’t even begin to imagine it……?
Where would I have to start to reach a realm like that?
I had no sense of it at all.
Of course.
“It has piqued my interest a little.”
I opened my mouth arrogantly, but.
Still, let’s think of it as a good thing.
Rather than pessimistically thinking it was impossible.
It was better to overflow with baseless confidence.
Of course, if my goal was Harkon’s realm—
The realm that made light burst from his sword.
There would never be a day when fatigue left my body.
Swooooo─Sure enough, just as I had expected.
Harkon truly filleted the Lava Giant Brocade Carp.
“Everyone, snap out of it! This is our chance!!”
“Kill contribution! Secure it no matter what!”
“First, run through the split lava— ruuuun?!”
The other players didn’t even have time to get a spoon in.
Clack─Harkon sheathed his sword.
Just like that, the battle was over.
Thud─!
Then the giant brocade carp’s head fell straight to the ground.
That was truly the end.
At the same time, a message appeared in my vision.[Your level has risen.]…….
The increase was 10 levels.I went from level 166 to level 176.‘The experience isn’t bad.’This was a bit unexpected.
Because I had formed a party with the Lion Heart Knights.
I also had to contribute to the kill in order to gain experience.
If separated from the lava, the Lava Giant Brocade Carp itself wasn’t a difficult opponent.
It seemed that, in that regard, I had been acknowledged for a considerable contribution.[Due to your high kill contribution, loot will be acquired automatically.]……
No, not just considerable. It looked like it was more than half?
I immediately checked my inventory.
The island treasure I had acquired was radiating its presence.[Island Treasure, Brocade Carp Scale Silk][Grade : Unique][Restriction : None][Effect : When crafting, grants the crafted item increased affinity with the fire attribute / increased evasion rate / unlocks the Aesthetic stat][Description : Silk that is said to be impossible to exchange even for jewels of the same weight. As it is exceedingly rare, no one would dare appraise its value.]
Whoa.
Another material item following the emerald crystal.
But this wasn’t an item I could afford to complain about……!‘There are more than three guaranteed effects?’The Pure Emerald Crystal.
Its effects could only be confirmed after crafting.
As I said, that was because its effects varied depending on the crafter’s proficiency.
But this silk had no such conditions attached.‘Even if I overlook the other effects, it unlocks a new stat.’[Aesthetic]
Huh……
It was a stat I’d never heard of, and I had no idea what effect it had, but it felt good.
After all, I was a Demon Hunter without a single unique stat.
If anything new was unlocked, I’d be able to use it gratefully.
Indeed, it was worthy of being called something that couldn’t be traded even for jewels of the same weight.
“Beautiful.”
Above all, even Granfell’s aesthetic eye found no flaw in it.
That was likely the greatest guarantee of its quality.
My thoughts ended there.
“……Wait, what about the island treasure?”
Someone said that.
It was probably because the named monster had fallen, yet no message had appeared.
If they asked politely and with proper decorum.
Answering them would not be difficult.
However.……Why did the looks directed at me become even more unusual?
Roll, roll─Should I say their eyes were rolling around?
They seemed to be looking back and forth between the message window and me.
But I was not idle enough to care about the reason.‘I burned myself white.’Mana exhaustion.
Because my mana was nearing depletion.……Strength drained from my entire body.
Fortunately, once the Lava Giant Brocade Carp fell, the volcanic eruption stopped, and the lava rapidly cooled.
At this point, there was no need to maintain my magic any longer.
Soon, Harkon approached me.
“It was magic one could not help but admire. Sir Hoyeol!”
At his words, I was shocked twice.‘If anything, I was the one admiring you?’Once at his humility.‘No, more importantly, everyone can hear this. What?!’……Sir Hoyeol?
And once more at that embarrassing title.
In that fleeting moment.
I was shocked again, but I showed no sign of it.
Without changing my expression in the slightest, I answered.
“Your swordsmanship was also splendid. Sir Harkon.”
If there was one relief, it was that no one laughed at me.
Well, that was only natural.
I told you, didn’t I?
Sometimes even I get fooled by my method acting.
“……No way.”
“I’ve never seen Harkon act that polite before.”
“And that tone is somehow so arrogant. Don’t tell me he has a higher title than Harkon……?”
If I could, I wanted to correct them.
I didn’t have a title, not even a shred of one.
And an arrogant tone?
For me, this was the height of politeness.
But I couldn’t.
“!”
Because a message suddenly appeared before my eyes.[The Yusra Archipelago is beginning to be stained by greed.][Collapse Progress : 9/10]
The collapse progress had risen.
Naturally, it wasn’t a message that appeared only to me.
The players began to murmur.
“Didn’t that pop up a bit late……?”
“Wait, the numbers don’t match in the first place. What is this?”
“Could another island treasure be hidden somewhere else?!”
The other players might be confused.
But I was not.
The island treasure I acquired had not affected the collapse progress.
That was because, for me.
For Granfell, the emotion called greed did not exist.
Then what was the reason the message appeared?
I could guess.
An island treasure acquired by someone.
That island treasure had been stained by greed once more.*Supernova.
Park Hyeonjun continued biting his nails.
His body was drenched in cold sweat.
—Really? This is the last time. There won’t be any more chances.
—Are you just going to keep watching like that?
—You said you wanted the treasure, didn’t you? You’re a coward.
A voice reached him.
However, Park Hyeonjun was not wearing earphones.
Then was this voice an auditory hallucination?
It would have been natural to doubt it and be on guard.
But Park Hyeonjun had no mind for that.
“Shut up. I’ll handle it myself……”
Park Hyeonjun observed the battle situation.
In the middle of it, he spotted Hoyeol.
Even though he had run away, did some minimal loyalty remain between Supernovas?
It was just as Kinver had said.
If he had carelessly messed with Hoyeol without knowing anything…….
“I still don’t want to die.”
He felt like he would have said goodbye to his life on the spot.
Looking at the current situation, he could feel it clearly.
Not only did Hoyeol split lava, he sent dozens of stone spears flying.
And beside that Hoyeol was one of the strongest NPC groups, the Lion Heart Knights.
Even if that bastard Kinver hadn’t run, attacking Hoyeol would have been no different from suicide.
At this rate, it was obvious as day that Hoyeol would acquire the island treasure.
“Fuuuck. Nothing’s going my way.”
But if he went back empty-handed like this…….
“……I’m finished.”
He couldn’t go back like this.
He needed an island treasure.
Then, another auditory hallucination sounded in Park Hyeonjun’s ear.
—Then just take it.
—What’s wrong with craving something?
—Why care about what others think?
He simply had to take it.‘There’s no need to care what others think.’At those words, Park Hyeonjun’s eyes flashed.
“……Yeah!”
If Hoyeol was impossible, then he could kill someone else and take it.
And Park Hyeonjun knew.
Among those who had acquired an island treasure, the easiest prey.
“There are those Explorer’s League bastards……!”
The Explorer’s League.
It was one of the NPC groups that had come to the Yusra Archipelago.
As one could tell from the name, they were explorers.
Naturally, their combat power was not outstanding.
That characteristic had also shown when they acquired this island treasure.‘They definitely said they obtained the island treasure without fighting.’That was a method unique to the explorer class.
Park Hyeonjun’s eyes sank even deeper.
Yes, the important thing was not the method.‘It’s that those bastards have an island treasure.’Park Hyeonjun put on his earphones.
“I’m going to hunt the Explorer’s League.”—……Who is this? Are you crazy? You’re going to mess with NPCs?
—Haha. Kinver and you are both completely insane!
—Are you serious?
Hunting players and hunting NPCs were different matters.
Moreover, this meant turning the entire Explorer’s League into enemies.
Considering the influence the Explorer’s League had in Arcana, it was not something one should do rationally.
However, Park Hyeonjun did it.
“I’ll take responsibility. Just watch.”[The Seven Deadly Sin of Greed is watching you.][Your judgment is clouded by an unbearable desire.][Status Abnormality : Greed has occurred.]
Because his eyes had already been dyed pitch black.
And now.
Park Hyeonjun looked down at the corpse sprawled on the ground.
“Fuck.”
He had killed an NPC belonging to the Explorer’s League.
It was the same as when he killed a player.
He had killed someone who begged him to spare them.
It was too late to say he had killed a person.
Park Hyeonjun was not so soft as to be shaken by that.
For that, he had killed far too many players, far too many people.
However, his body was trembling.
“……Fuck!”
He had obtained the island treasure.
The message that appeared made him realize that fact.[The Yusra Archipelago is beginning to be stained by greed.][Collapse Progress : 9/10]
Even so, the desire boiling inside him did not stop.
His chest felt tight.
“Fuck. Fuck.”
Like a madman, Park Hyeonjun tore open his clothes.
“Uuuugh!!”
He scratched wildly at his stifling chest.
At that moment, people gathered at the screams.
“Adventurer? Was that sound just now……?”
“U-Uaaaah! Julie? Get a hold of yourself! Julie!!”
“Don’t tell me, you did this to Julie……!!”
The explorers of the Explorer’s League pressed him.
Park Hyeonjun found it strange.‘……Why am I doing this?’If he killed someone, he should run.
Why was he here scratching his chest?
But that thought did not last long.
“I can’t take it anymore. Fuuuck!”
It felt like he would die from the suffocation.
Scratching with his nails could not relieve the tightness.
The effect of the status abnormality, Greed.
With his judgment clouded, Park Hyeonjun did not hesitate.
Slice─With a dagger, he cut open his own stifling chest.
As his consciousness blurred.
A voice reached him.
—Splendid.
—But your death is not a noble sacrifice. It’s something you, blinded by greed, brought upon yourself. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can give you.
—I’m saying I cannot give you even a speck of dust.
“……!!”
Until the very last moment.
The voice of the demon that deceived him.[Collapse Progress : 10/10]...[Collapse Progress : 10/10]
The collapse progress rose before anything could be done.
At the same time, a message appeared.[The great evil of the Yusra Archipelago is stirring.][Collapse is beginning.]
Ruuumble─!
My vision shook.
It was on a scale entirely different from the giant turtle or the volcanic eruption.
Because, quite literally, the Yusra Archipelago—each and every island—was quaking.
“In the end, I don’t know what it is, but it collapsed?”
“Yeah, if it ended like this, it’d be way too disappointing after all that foreshadowing!”
“If it says great evil, it’s definitely a demon-type. Let’s switch equipment fast.”
As expected, since high-ranking players had gathered.
They seemed to have anticipated even the worst-case scenario.
However, it was a misjudgment.
I could be certain.‘It is not an enemy the current level of players can handle.’Harkon added weight to my judgment.
The look in his eyes was different from before.
“This aura is a demon’s.”
Level 600, no less.Harkon, who had finished off a named monster well over level 400 in a single strike, was plainly tense.
Yes, this was an appearance that made one feel why a great evil was called a great evil.
The Yusra Archipelago.
The ten islands merged into one.
Then the hidden cracks interlocked and collapsed.
And the true form of the Yusra Archipelago was revealed.
It was a colossal golden palace.
A sight as if the word greed itself had taken shape.
Still, perhaps because I was a Demon Hunter.
I could intuit it.
A palace built up from greed.
Inside it, the great evil, the Seven Deadly Sin of Greed, was coiled.
At that moment, the quest window flickered.─Investigate the great evil of the Yusra Archipelago. (Success)─Stop the resurrection of the Seven Deadly Sin of Greed. (In Progress) ▲●Prevent the island treasures from being stained by greed. (On Hold)●Defeat the incarnation of the Seven Deadly Sin of Greed. (In Progress)
The moment intuition turned into certainty.
I opened my mouth without realizing it.
“I have been waiting.”……No, I hadn’t been waiting.
I wanted to end this as quietly as possible……!
To begin with, my condition was terrible.
“Vile demon who dares call itself a great evil.”
Most of all, the biggest problem was mana exhaustion.
With my mana bottomed out right now, whether it was a great evil or the incarnation of a great evil.
Defeating it would be impossi—.‘?’What is this? I don’t feel the helplessness of mana exhaustion……?
Far from helplessness, vitality was overflowing through my entire body.‘!’Only then did I remember.『No temptation, deception, or trial of any demon can leave even a scratch on Granfell’s noble pride.』Demon Hunter and demon.
A relationship that transcended even that of natural enemies.
The relationship between Granfell and demons.『Perhaps what demons should be most wary of is not Granfell’s class as a Demon Hunter, but the human called Granfell. Granfell himself.』I lightly straightened my clothes.
Adjusted the angle of my brooch.
And, standing as upright as always, I continued.
“It is time for you to be thrown into hell.”