◈ Episode 40. Performance Test (3)
[Name: Grandfel Claudius Arpheus Romeo]
[Class: Demon Hunter]
[Level: 226]
[Stats]
Strength: 33 / Agility: 35 / Magic: 126 / Luck: 3
[Available Points: 50]
Strength and Agility raised as rewards from the Physical Training quest.
If I calculate those numbers…….
Does it mean I’m roughly 10–20 levels ahead of others at the same level?
‘A gap like this just from repeatable quests.’
I feel it once again.
Class quests are incredible enough to make a fuss about.
Of course, what rose through the Physical Training quest was Strength and Agility.
For me, who mainly utilizes magic, it probably won’t have a huge effect immediately.
But I gained a new realization.
The class, Demon Hunter, which in the past hadn’t excelled at a single thing.
That new growth method……!
Honestly, there’s no need to call it a growth method so grandiosely.
Because I’m the only Demon Hunter there is.
Lying sprawled on the floor, I muttered.
“……How lonely.”
Lonely my ass.
It might be miserable that I collapsed on the room floor drenched in sweat.
Anyone listening would think I have some deep, tragic story.
Anyway.
As I said, the fact that there’s nothing outstanding—
depending on how you look at it, can also mean there are no weaknesses.
Of course, it won’t be an easy path.
Limited stat points.
Investing those points in a scattered manner was definitely inefficient.
For example, it’s simple.
Even if a mage-type class raises its strength…….
‘They can’t utilize that strength.’
Because mage classes don’t have skills affected by Strength.
In that sense, Demon Hunter was a ridiculous class no matter how I thought about it.
‘To think there’s not a single proper combat skill!’
Natural Enemy and Exorcism Ritual.
Only class-unique skills effective solely against demons.
There probably isn’t another class this faithful to its concept.
Because of that, there was no established method for stat investment either.
“But it doesn’t matter.”
Even without skills, I had magic.
That was the reason I had poured all my points into Magic until now.
On top of that, I had even witnessed a new possibility.
‘……Lion Heart Knight Order.’
To be exact, three knights.
Harkon. Yeshica. Enoch.
I’m talking about the aura flickering on their swords.
‘Sword Qi (劍氣).’
The name still wasn’t certain.
Because I hadn’t asked them directly.
But magic, too, begins from Probing, Interference, and Manifestation.
It wasn’t something I learned by asking someone.
Just this head.
Grandfel’s outstanding talent.
Realized it the moment I saw it.
‘What’s important isn’t the name or anything like that.’
Yes, what’s important.
Is simply whether I can handle that ‘Sword Qi.’
Since I had witnessed the power of Sword Qi directly.
‘Yeshica, Enoch. To the point of making the level gap between them and the skeleton meaningless.’
Anyone might see this as greed.
But they say that without knowing my situation.
Just so I don’t sink—
I have to struggle with all my might!
Including Strength and Agility raised by the training quest.
The rewards acquired through class quests.
Only by utilizing each and every one at a hundred percent
can I support this heavy pride.
So my schedule for the time being is more or less set.
─Prove your ability. (In Progress) ●Convince the majority of senior mages. (3/20)
While carrying out the Magic Tower’s quest.
‘I’ll need to stop by the Yusra Kingdom.’
Confirm information about Sword Qi from Harkon.
If I can acquire Sword Qi, even training in it.
……Damn, I’m already tired.
But after hardship comes reward.
I checked the quest window again.
[Class Quest: Emergence]
The prologue rises and the beacon flares.
O last Demon Hunter.
Illuminate the world covered in evil.
─Train your weakened body. (Repeatable)
─Investigate the Great Evil of the Yusra Islands. (Success)
─Prevent the resurrection of Greed of the Seven Deadly Sins. (Success)
……Yes!
I have to endure, if only thinking of the class quest rewards.
Because there might be rewards as tremendous as stats waiting for me.
But damnably.
This pure and innocent body and mind
held no greed for quest rewards.
“To wield a sword again, I must build up my stamina.”
Among the quest contents, only one line was visible.
─Train your weakened body. (Repeatable)
Thud, thud—
I started doing push-ups again.
Tremble, tremble—
Looking at my trembling arms, I thought.
‘To think I can’t even sleep as I please. My life.’
I am so pitiful.
*If there was a profession in the spotlight in the media these days.
It would undoubtedly be Player Paparazzi.
Short for plaparazzi.
“Ah, just trust me, will you? Who am I?”
Yuanjun was quite a successful plaparazzi.
A single one of his photos fetched millions of won.
Videos went for tens of millions at most.
The reason his footage received such good treatment was simple.
“I’ll dig up humiliation shots you can’t see anywhere else.”
Humiliation photos of players, capturing fleeting moments.
There wasn’t a single player who could avoid Yuanjun’s angle.
Not even rankers were exceptions.
Needless to say, Player Ranking 8th, Dmitri.
He, too, had suffered humiliating articles thanks to Yuanjun.
[Exclusive] Dmitri, a Beginner in Romance?
The photo attached to that article was Yuanjun’s work.
A hotel lounge rented out entirely.
A photo capturing Dmitri proposing on his knees, only to be rejected.
Dmitri’s expression and, of course, the flustered reaction of the other party were clear as day.
-LOL he got rejected LOL
-The article content is even funnier LOL
-They say he proposed marriage after only a week of dating LOL
-He’s a pure-hearted guy despite his looks LOL
Thanks to that, Dmitri had raged furiously.
Saying he’d kill whoever it was if he caught them!
Of course, Yuanjun wasn’t caught, and so today as well.
He could lie in wait at the Magic Tower.
Yuanjun thought of today’s subject.
“If I just reel one in……!”
There was no big fish like this big fish.
Today, Yuanjun’s target was none other than I Hoyeol.
Yes, this was a bigger catch than Dmitri.
I Hoyeol, who is he?
The player with the highest rising stock recently!
More than anything, his track record was nonsensical.
Starting to reveal his presence at Count Askyura’s raid.
In the Yusra Islands, he killed not just two Named Monsters but even a level 650 monster.
He even defeated the Great Evil, Greed of the Seven Deadly Sins.
‘To be exact, it would be the Lion Heart Knight Order’s achievement.’
Since it was I Hoyeol who virtually led that Lion Heart Knight Order. Moreover, I Hoyeol had star quality above all.
Effortless eloquence.
A costume where one couldn’t tell if it was a concept or sincerity.
And unbelievable skill utilization on top of that.
There was a reason for I Hoyeol’s popularity.
But Yuanjun knew.
‘The higher you fly, the more it hurts when you fall.’
Flawless.
That near-perfect image would instead become a boomerang.
He wouldn’t even need a huge humiliation shot.
Just taking a photo of him slightly off-balance
would be enough to put a scratch on that lofty image.
“Illusions are meant to break slowly, you know.”
In that sense, the Magic Tower was the optimal place.
More than anything, look at those knee-buckling stairs.
Disappearing and reappearing.
Yuanjun shuddered.
“Just one shot, let’s reel it in.”
I Hoyeol.
Rumor had it he had received a quest from the Chief Mage of the Magic Tower.
He didn’t know when, but if he waited, he could capture that sight.
It was when Yuanjun was hiding his telephoto camera and lying in wait.
The players gathered around the portal began to buzz.
“……It’s I Hoyeol!”
“Hey, don’t make a fuss. You want to get on his bad side?”
“I’m telling you to show some decency. Don’t whisper, either.”
Understandable reactions.
Most players had nothing to gain from being disliked by I Hoyeol.
Why, imagine running into I Hoyeol in a rift while on bad terms.
‘Well, it’s none of my business.’
Of course, that was a story that applied to players aiming for rifts and monster hunting.
So Yuanjun stealthily took out his camera and zoomed in.
‘Now, shall I take the shot?’
Yuanjun licked his lips.
But for his face to harden—
didn’t take long.
Clip-clop—……
How can a person be like that?
Yuanjun was dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open.
No matter how much he zoomed, there wasn’t a hint of trembling.
‘Far from humiliation, this is a pictorial?!’
Normal shots.
Continuous shots.
One should come out bad, and yet.
What was going on?
Even while climbing stairs dizzying just to look at.
Not an ounce of humiliation—not even a disturbance in expression or posture.
That appearance was like a white swan floating peacefully on a lake.
Shake, shake—
Yuanjun shook his head.
‘No!’
An I Hoyeol pictorial?
Photos like this already overflowed!
Hell, if you went on NetTube, there was a ton of videos uploaded by guys claiming to be I Hoyeol fans.
What he needed was only a moment of humiliation.
‘If I shoot from a bit closer…….’
He might catch something.
A pore shot, at worst.
Yuanjun, led by his plaparazzi instinct.
In the moment he took a few steps forward.
“Hey, stop right there.”
A voice filled with killing intent rang out.
“You with the camera over there. Look at me for a second.”
Turning his head, there was a giant hunk of muscle.
It was Dmitri.
He flashed a grin.
“We’ve met before, right? At that hotel lobby.”
In that instant, one line came to mind.
Whoever it is, if I catch them, I’ll kill them.
Crack—!
Watching Dmitri crack his knuckles, Yuanjun realized.
‘How was I going to catch a swan with a fishing rod……!’
The one making a fuss was truly a guy who didn’t know his place.
Smack—!
*Sssst—
News rising on the parchment.
-Magical artifact [The Sage’s Pastime] has been taken out.
Bellier Yusia, senior mage of the Healing School, snorted.
It seemed the senior mages had finally laid hands on the magical artifact.
‘Aren’t they afraid of the backlash?’
The magical artifact requested by some senior mages, [The Sage’s Pastime].
It was a kind of puzzle.
The moment it combined with magic.
A puzzle that became a formidable challenge.
The moment the senior mages’ magic imbued it.
It would become a puzzle of a level incomparable to the Crystal Hall’s lock.
‘Marcelo would have nothing to say even if he objects, wouldn’t he? Of course, it’s because they know Marcelo’s personality that they’re making this fuss.’
By senior mage standards.
Even if they devoted themselves to it all day, to solve [The Sage’s Pastime].
It would take at least ten or so days.
Their foolish thoughts were clearly visible.
While the adventurer, I Hoyeol, is tied up with the puzzle.
They intend to find all sorts of faults with him.
‘Obvious without even looking.’
If he can’t solve it, there’ll be a fuss about him failing.
If he solves it, there’ll be a fuss that it took longer than expected.
They’ll throw tantrums no matter what they nitpick.
Of course, it was none of Bellier’s business.
“Well. Wouldn’t it be best to just watch quietly?”
Bellier.
Because she had no desire to prove the adventurer I Hoyeol’s qualifications.
The reason was simple.
Cle, the skilled mage of the Healing School.
It was thanks to confirming the truth with that child once again.
-……Yes, that’s right. It was him!
Hearing I Hoyeol’s description.
Cle looked pleased.
-I see. So he was the adventurer recommended by Chief Mage Marcelo as a co-researcher! Thank goodness……! I thought I had made a huge mistake……!
Good child, Cle.
She seemed to have her own worries.
But did she know?
“That and seeing through the Tower Master’s illusion magic are separate matters.”
Naturally.
The illusion magic manifested by the Tower Master was something even Bellier herself—
no, even the world-renowned Marcelo couldn’t see through.
‘That’s why I still can’t believe it.’
That’s why she wanted to keep the adventurer, I Hoyeol, by her side and watch him.
The desire to observe him grew stronger.
That was the instinct of a mage of the Magic Tower.
‘It must be a pure desire to explore the unknown.’
Because one must devote one’s heart and soul to exploration.
Bellier picked up a lavish quill.
And wrote calmly on the parchment.
It was her acceptance of Marcelo’s decision.
The content stating she would acknowledge I Hoyeol’s qualification as a co-researcher.
‘……It was late.’
The written reply regarding that came back.
A short while later.
Could something have happened?
The moment Bellier harbored that doubt.
Sssst—
Letters began to rise on the parchment.
The content was something Bellier hadn’t expected in the slightest.
-2 votes remain until majority is achieved.
……Wait.
Only 2 votes left?
The flustered Bellier swept up her drooping green hair.
She folded her white fingers.
“Until yesterday, 3. And me…….”
The other senior mages wouldn’t have cast approval votes.
It wasn’t as if there was any reason to.
Because even Bellier would never have cast an approval vote rashly if not for Cle’s story.
So that made 4 votes.
Then where did the remaining 4 votes come from?
Bellier muttered in disbelief.
“Could it be……”
Suddenly, [The Sage’s Pastime] came to mind.
That magical artifact that ‘some’ senior mages had taken out.
Bellier checked the names of those ‘few’ on the parchment.
“……Curtain, Dorothy, Maia, Vex!”
Those few were exactly four people.
What that meant was simple.
Bellier continued in a trembling voice.
“He saw through the Sage’s Pastime in this short amount of time……!!”
…
[The Sage’s Pastime] sprawled atop the desk.
There was nothing difficult about it.
Just as seen with the eyes.
I simply had to probe the magic and unravel it with reversal magic.
─Prove your ability. (In Progress) ●Convince the majority of senior mages. (8/20)
Yes, at this level, I can finish it quickly.
I might as well finish everything quickly.
Better to hold the sword with an even lighter heart.
I scribbled my impressions of it on the parchment.
‘Maybe because I was tired. I was rather prickly.’
I even included a slight apology for yesterday’s matter.
-If this was a process of proving yourself rather than a childish prank, I welcome it gladly.