◈ Episode 427. I Do Not Believe (2)
What is this, an item getting all shy with me or something?
Equipment items did have [Restrictions],
but I didn’t think for a second that I wouldn’t meet those restrictions.
After all, my level had broken past 1,000, and more than anything, there was no way I couldn’t wear something my seniors had worn, right?[Akshan’s Relic rejects you.]
If so, there had to be a reason behind the message.
Even though the class quest objective hadn’t been updated yet.
As if I hadn’t been shocked in the slightest, I recited,
“I, too, was not inclined to do so.”
I brushed off my clothes as though I had no regrets.
As I said, this was the damp, dark bottom of the Forgotten Ones’ Canyon. Even if that fellow, the Shadow God, had left the holy land, it was still a place where sunlight did not reach.
“Ventilation and sunlight are indispensable by nature.”
Wasn’t this Granfell, who, even while living in my studio apartment, cleaned thoroughly every day, shook off accumulated dust, and wouldn’t tolerate even a single fallen strand of hair?‘Touching something like that with bare hands?’If it hadn’t been Akshan’s Relic,
Granfell wouldn’t even have thought of reaching out.
However, that untimely hesitation didn’t last very long.
Suddenly, Hiel appeared in midair.
“My lord.”
As I said before, there was only one situation in which Hiel appeared without my summons. When an unexpected threat or news arrived.
“Diend is coming.”
Swooooo─ Even if I look like this, I am Diend’s contractor.
Diend’s changed presence?
Even if Hiel hadn’t told me, I could sense it as well.
It seemed even Gwicheol in my hand had noticed.
-Master, something is wrong.
At that moment, darkness covered every direction.
In the pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen,
my vision flickered.[The dark spirit, ‘Diend Crisihad Eternal Darkness,’ appears.]……
This message is definitely only appearing to me, right?
There’s no one around, right?!
While hoping the Forgotten Ones’ Canyon would please live up to its name,
I swallowed a sigh of relief.‘Yeah, I’m glad I found him, even like this.’An appropriate mana was looming.
This was an unmistakable threat.
Yes, Diend was threatening me.
Someone might ask if this was really the time to feel relieved.
But this, too, was one of the developments I had expected.‘More than anything, I’ve experienced it myself.’A lump of appropriate mana, Diend.
And even compared to Diend,
I, Lee Hoyeol, possessed appropriate mana that made him seem relatively bright.
Thanks to that, I knew.
The nature and danger of appropriate mana.
Yes, just as Matisse had warned.
Appropriate mana was a double-edged sword.
-“Please, beware of blackening.”[Status Abnormality, Blackening]
Unlike the misleading name, it was tremendously dangerous.
I, too, had experienced blackening, so I knew its aftermath well. The appropriate mana that originated from the blackened Granfell had been enough to cover the entire Arcana Continent.
Was it thanks to that?‘Or perhaps thanks to the effect of [Grandmaster of the Strange].’The moment I faced Diend, I was able to grasp that he was suffering from [Blackening].
And the moment Diend opened his mouth, I was also certain of the cause.
“We, Akshan, must hunt.”
So let me be grateful once again.
“Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo, you.”
For the fact that there were no ears listening nearby except mine. As if putting Diend’s full name in the appearance message wasn’t enough, he even spat out my full name. Our seniors really…….‘It seems they have a lot built up against me, don’t they?’I said it like a joke, but in all honesty, I flinched.
The desertion of some of Akshan’s demon hunters.
It seemed Granfell had been involved in the cause.‘Just what did you do, Granfell?’I may have been diligently attaching honorifics and calling them my Akshan seniors,
but would Granfell of the past really have been capable of using honorifics?
For what reason did I quit my company and jump into a rift?‘Because I was afraid I’d throw green tea in my department head’s face.’Did he really throw black tea in the seniors’ faces or something?
Is that why the seniors have been sharpening their blades for you, Granfell?
While my mind was racing,
Diend’s appropriate mana surged.
At the same time,
Hiel stepped forward.
“In the name of Crisihad.”
Crisihad.
Hiel and Diend had been bound together under the name I had given them. So you’re feeling responsible because of that, Hiel. Thanks to having sprouted the seed of the World Tree, Hiel had received [Blessing of the First World Tree] and reached a rank above that of a Spirit King.
“I will take responsibility, my lord.”
However, Diend’s combat power was surely higher than Hiel’s.
If comparing them to players, Hiel was a healer, and Diend was a dealer.
Even so, Hiel had stood in Diend’s way.
I know your loyalty well, Hiel.
So you may step back.
I spoke to Hiel, who was manifesting the power of {Nature}.
“There is no need for concern.”
“But, my lord…….”
“This is an entirely natural matter.”
That was right.
Even if Diend had blackened,
wasn’t I someone who knew the meaning of blackening well?
I recited solemnly,
“To Diend, this is nothing more than growing pains.”
Yes, middle-school syndrome was technically growing pains……. Of course, those damn growing pains had relapsed after more than ten years, leaving me suffering even at this very moment……!
I continued calmly.
“So you may rejoice.”
Hiel would believe me even if I said I could make meju out of red beans. But even so, it seemed she couldn’t erase her concern right away. Understandable.
The energy Diend was emitting was utterly ominous.
The icy-blue blade of Akshan.
That blade, merciless beyond measure toward prey, truly felt as though it were aiming for my neck through Diend.
But who am I? Akshan’s last survivor, and at the same time, an infinitely deep darkness, the possessor of appropriate mana that no one can rival.
My voice alone was enough.
“If this is interference for Diend’s growth, I shall understand.”
I declared to the appropriate mana wielding Diend.
To the past and background that originated from Akshan’s Relic.
What kind of “incident” there had been between the Akshan seniors of the past and Granfell,
I could not know at present.
“However, if that is not the reason.”
But apart from that, I will properly hold you accountable for making Diend get swept up in the problem between you people and me. Why, even if they’re seniors, one mustn’t endure absurdity, right?
“I shall hold you responsible for your actions.”
So should I be happy about this, or hate it?
As I said, no matter what kind of past or background story it was on the Arcana Continent,
it could not surpass the appropriate mana originating from Granfell.
“My lord? What did I just……?”
My appropriate mana brought Diend, who had been suffering from blackening, back to his senses.
But who was Akshan?
They were those who would never break before their prey, or before those they regarded as prey. Under the influence of blackening, Diend once again conveyed the voices of Akshan’s deserters.
“As expected, we were not wrong.”
Then, through Diend, their attack was delivered.
Yes, that was the reason I had been wondering
whether I should rejoice or grieve.
The attack was light.
So light that the current me wouldn’t even budge.
It was a ticklish blow that wouldn’t leave even a scratch on the Jacket of Dawn.‘It feels like spitting in my own face.’……
I really hadn’t intended to go this far.
A class with more than a few screws loose outside of hunting demons. A lowest-class, untouchable class that even players with every imaginable taste ignored until demon-type monsters appeared.
That was precisely the demon hunter.
There was no way my seniors’ attacks would be effective against me.
I opened my mouth.
“I understand your resolve well.”
In truth, with Granfell’s temperament,
whether they were Akshan or seniors or whatever, he would have put the aesthetics of give-and-take into practice.
However, I could not overlook it.‘There is definitely a story behind this.’The class quest.
The reason Akshan’s Relic rejected me.
The reason Akshan’s deserters declared that they would hunt Granfell.
So until I properly learned the cause,
let’s suppress your temper just this once, Granfell.
Of course, even that came out in Granfell’s manner of speech.
“However, as Diend is indebted to you, I shall overlook it this time.”
At that, the appropriate mana of the deserter seniors gradually began to soften. Their voices sounded as though they couldn’t understand why. Leaving behind their final words, they withdrew from Diend.
“We were never wrong…….”
Drifting gently.
Diend floated in midair, unconscious. He had returned to normal, but considering the aftereffects of blackening, he might not regain consciousness for a while.
I said to Hiel,
“He has undergone a trial, so Diend shall bloom even more splendidly.”
“I will convey my lord’s will to Diend.”
“I leave it to you.”
Srrrk.
Hiel disappeared from midair together with the unconscious Diend.
Now, what remained were me and Gwicheol.
And Akshan’s Relic.‘Could it be…….’How about it, deserter seniors? Have your feelings eased even a little?
Can I retrieve Akshan’s Relic now?
I merely glanced at it,
yet the message immediately flickered.[Akshan’s Relic rejects you.]
Yes, yes, of course you do.
I know that damn stubbornness all too well.
I organized my thoughts.‘To retrieve Akshan’s Relic, first I need to know the cause of the conflict between Granfell and the deserter seniors. To learn that…….’As expected, I had no choice but to enter [Understanding of Darkness].
Because I had imprinted the existence of Akshan upon Granfell, who had lost the Claudi family and wandered the Arcana Continent. If it was Granfell, he would surely have headed to Akshan.
If I understood Granfell’s past at that point in time, I would learn the cause of Akshan’s civil war, and what situation Granfell had encountered within it.‘The problem is the uncertainty…….’Understanding of Darkness.
Since it involved entering the past, the time difference was beyond imagination.
There had even been times when it felt like only a few hours had passed, yet in real time, half a month had gone by, and in Arcana Continent time, two months had flown past.
Looking at Akshan’s Relic, I said,
“It is not yet time for our reunion.”
No matter how important the class quest was, it couldn’t be more important than those damn procedures. Chief of the Magic Tower, general manager of the AAU Yusra Branch, and now, for the time being, even acting regent for the empire’s emperor.‘……
It’ll take an age just to submit a leave of absence.’So I took in the scenery of [Forgotten Ones’ Canyon] with my eyes. I had memorized the coordinates, so if I manifested a portal, it shouldn’t take much effort to come here next time.
Someone might ask.
What if someone swiped Akshan’s Relic? It was fine. There was no need to worry about that. Who would come all the way here just to rummage through and steal mere silver weapons?‘And just where is this place, anyway?’It was the holy land of the Shadow Mercenaries, big shots of Arcana’s underworld. Unless someone intended to make enemies of the Shadow Mercenaries, there was no reason for them to roll in here.
Besides.‘When it comes to stubbornness, aren’t our seniors something else?’Considering their bullheadedness……. No, their tenacity, no matter how I thought about it, it was safe to say there was currently no way to retrieve Akshan’s Relic. So for now, let’s do what we can, Hoyeol.
-The Shadow God. And Diend’s growing pains. Though brief, many things have happened, Master. So where is our next destination? Even if Hiel and Diend are absent, I shall faithfully remain by Master’s side.
Was it thanks to manifesting [Heaven Above and Earth Below, I Alone Am Supreme]?
Gwicheol’s voice somehow seemed a little more polite than at first.
I answered Gwicheol.
“It is time to confirm the legacy.”
That was right.
The Proof of the Ten Thrones, the world quest, and the players’ betrayal.
The time had come to obtain new equipment to face the trials ahead.
I warned in advance.
“Gwicheol.”
The greatest dwarven blacksmith, Walswail.
The legacy of Yunaxus, which he had refined with all his heart and soul, was waiting for me
aboard the Iron Castle.
“Do not be too surprised when you come into contact with that intense heat.”...……
I had told Gwicheol not to be surprised,
but though it wouldn’t show thanks to my iron mask,
I was the one who couldn’t help being astonished.
This, no matter how I looked at it…….[Commander’s Gloves
- Wisdom of the Old Dragon][Grade: Mythic]‘……
A Mythic-grade item?!’It seemed I had inherited something far too great from Yunaxus.