◈ Chapter 471. It Doesn’t Deviate from Expectations
The Shadow Corridor.
Now that I knew its story, its pitch-black exterior somehow looked forlorn.
However, personal sentiment was not reflected in Lord Grandfell’s aesthetic eye.
[The Shadow Corridor sinks into the shadows.]
Watching the Shadow Corridor scatter away, I recited,
“At last, a clear sky.”
Yes, very objective of you.
Leaving behind that very Grandfell-like clear impression.
I recalled his final words.
In my conversation with the Shadow God.
I, Lee Hoyeol, had asked of my own pure will.
Just how in the world was I supposed to use this thing called “karma”?!
After all, the karma I possessed was one thousand karma, the same as the bounty. And on top of that, I couldn’t overlook the bounty I had acquired by hunting the prototype, the Omen, at the entrance of the Pantheon.
[Current karma in possession: 1,171]
I’d beaten them all down, and it had only risen by 171 karma.
I realized once again just how absurdly enormous the amount of karma I possessed was.
‘Which is why I can’t help but be even more bothered by it.’
The Shadow God answered my question.
-“Karma is one’s deeds.”
To put it simply.
It meant that the path I had walked until now had been measured as karma.
Thinking of it that way, I felt like I could understand it.
‘I really did have to do a lot, didn’t I?’
Not only had I saved the Empire, I had saved the Arcana Continent and newly sprouted the Mother of All Things, the World Tree. Was that all? I had hunted the Seven Deadly Sins, the demon kings, and the upper demon kings……
‘And just now, I even saved the mastermind, didn’t I?’
[Savior of the Mastermind: You who saved the mastermind have the right to contact the mastermind at any time. When the effect is activated, you may enter the Hidden Pieces, “Shadow Corridor” and “Entrance to the Pantheon.”]
However, even so, the question remained.
Whether the sum total of all my achievements truly.
Had a value worthy of one thousand karma.
The Shadow God had not been certain about that either.
-“As I said, I, and the gods of the Pantheon, could not properly look upon the Arcana Continent. What guided the gods were the prayers of believers, and what guided me were the eyes and ears of my contractors.”
There was a reason he had compared themselves to frogs in a well.
As expected, it was because of the setting. Even the Shadow God could make it so that his contractors could not die even if they were killed through a contract. Then the gods, who must possess powers more omnipotent than the Shadow God, would be even more so.
‘They were prevented from influencing the Arcana Continent.’
It was probably the same reason the Magic Tower had been unable to take any action in the past.
Well, still, good things were good things.
There was plenty of room to let it slide roughly.
[Karma: Currency accepted in the Pantheon]
It seemed that the currency called karma could be used not only in the bleak Shadow Corridor but also in the Pantheon. I was sincerely relieved in many ways.
Grandfell engaging in consumption activities in the Shadow Corridor?
Knowing that such a thing was impossible, I had been worried the precious karma would rot away unused. Still, if it was the Pantheon, I thought there might come a chance to use it somehow someday.
-“The gods would use karma to awaken and make use of sacred relics with omnipotent effects that slept in the Pantheon’s treasury. That much power dwells in karma.”
And very usefully at that.
Of course, all of that was only when the Pantheon update ended.
I couldn’t know what Raymon Sean, that bastard, was scheming.
‘For now, it can’t be accessed.’
However, I already knew that even Raymon Sean could not completely control the system. If so, whether he wanted it or not, it meant that one day the Pantheon update would end and its doors would open.
I spoke meaningfully.
“The crime of meaninglessly delaying precious time.”
Then I manifested a portal.
“That, too, shall be reflected in your punishment.”
The portal’s target coordinates were the Maw of Behemoth, where the Holy War Alliance should be.
Paimon had returned to the Demon World, and at most, only imps would be running wild there.
To be honest, I wasn’t worried about the safety of the Holy War Alliance.
Yes, the only thing I was purely worried about was one thing.
‘……So nothing besides a legend popped up, right?’
While I was staying in the Shadow Corridor, had a world message been displayed on the Arcana Continent? And by any chance, had my damned full name appeared in that message, or had it not?
That was all……!
*
“!”
Focus returned to Kichi’s eyes. That was not the only change. Wolf flinched at the heat he felt against his skin. The 『Brand of the Shadow God』 wrapped around his body was burning away.
The former Shadow Mercenary Corps members who had been guarding Kichi’s side.
“Are you all right, Wolf?”
“Your brand is being erased, isn’t it?”
“Wait, Captain Kichi……? What, when did you wake up?!”
A small commotion arose in the annex of the Claudi Territory, but only for a moment.
“……I saw it.”
When Kichi opened her mouth, everyone shut theirs.
Perhaps because it had grown quiet.
Kichi was able to recall the hazy memories she had witnessed as a shadow.
“I saw the Commander-in-Chief in the Shadow Corridor.”
“……The Commander-in-Chief was in the Shadow Corridor?”
“Wait, the Corridor isn’t a place just anyone can go to, is it?!”
How did he get to the Shadow Corridor when even I haven’t been there?
Rockid felt jealousy in a thoroughly useless place, but only for a moment.
Kichi shook her head.
“I don’t know. I don’t know that much. But one thing is certain. My shadow lunged at the Commander-in-Chief. No, it wasn’t just me.”
Kichi had lunged at Hoyeol.
“……”
No member was surprised by those words. They had carried out countless requests and crossed countless thresholds between life and death. Thanks to that, everyone had witnessed Kichi’s shadow at least once.
So their question inevitably turned elsewhere.
“So the Commander-in-Chief is safe, right……?”
It was none other than Wolf who asked.
Wolf knew Hoyeol’s strength better than anyone.
The reason he still asked after his safety?
It was because he also knew very well.
A contractor favored by the Shadow God, a shadow.
The fact that one had entered the Shadow Corridor alone meant they were a powerhouse on an entirely different level.
And what was more, shadows could not be defeated by ordinary methods.
Kichi answered.
“……I’m not sure.”
No matter how she rummaged through her memories, the scene in the ballroom was the end of it.
Even that was such an unrealistic sight that she could not easily say aloud that she had witnessed it.
How could she?
‘That strangely long name……’
Lee Hoyeol.
The Commander-in-Chief had spoken not the name widely known to the world, but the name of Claudi, and as if that were not enough, he had climbed atop some whale and flown to the upper floors of the Corridor.
So what they needed now was confirmation.
“Wolf, the brand?”
“Wait…… Uh, it’s gone without a trace.”
“What in the world happened in the Corridor?”
Just as Rockid frowned and racked his brain.
Alkari spoke first.
He organized the situation.
“If there was perhaps a change in the contract with the Shadow God.”
Kichi kept her words brief.
She pulled away the blanket covering her and rose from her seat.
Then she walked to the window.
She drew aside the curtains that fluttered elegantly in the wind.
Swaaa.
“……”
Then sunlight fell inside. Beneath the sunlight, it was slowly revealed. The shadow stretching behind Kichi’s back. Starting with Rockid, everyone shouted in surprise.
“Your shadow is back, Kichi!”……
As expected.
Only then could Kichi be certain.
As expected, this time too.
You had done it.
How many times had it been already? At this rate, would she ever be able to repay it? Would the accounts even balance if she offered up a mere life like hers? In that fleeting moment, Kichi finished her anguish and opened her mouth.
“……Then let’s begin.”
At those words, everyone asked back.
“Begin what all of a sudden? Don’t tell me, did you come up with a new plan?”
Their faces brightened.
Looks like everyone was bored.
Kichi smiled and continued.
“What else? Akshan-style physical training.”
“……Ah.”
*
News also reached each branch of the AAU.
Seong Hyeonjun and Yun Sugyeom.
The two of them could not believe it even after looking at the documents Park Minjae handed them.
“……So you’re saying the General Manager of Yusra. Player Lee Hoyeol, negotiated with the Shadow God and returned? No, am I understanding this correctly right now?!”
Park Minjae nodded.
“That’s right. We cross-checked it through the players on the Arcana side.”
The world message displayed on the Arcana Continent.
[The Shadow Corridor has been cleared.]
[The shaded side of the Arcana Continent has lost its backing.]
[Public order on the Arcana Continent greatly increases.]
[Crime on the Arcana Continent greatly decreases.]
……
Seong Hyeonjun murmured.
“It looks like it’s true, sunbae……?”
A result that could only be called astonishing.
Someone would surely ask.
The corners of Park Minjae’s mouth twitched.
“The media’s reaction isn’t any different from usual. They’re just reacting like, ‘Lee Hoyeol did Lee Hoyeol things again.’ But you see as much as you know, don’t you? Isn’t that right?”
“If everything you said is true……”
A gleam flashed across Yun Sugyeom’s glasses.
“That means the General Manager has proven more than one or two things, doesn’t it? Starting with the fact that gods exist on the Arcana Continent. That one can meet those gods. And if he dealt with such a god……”
“No, one thing is wrong.”
“Yes?”
“He did not deal with the Shadow God.”
Park Minjae relayed Hoyeol’s words exactly as they were.
“In accordance with the providence of nature, the shade merely became sunlit.”
“??”
Yes, it was Grandfell-style speech relayed exactly as it was.
“The shade became sunlit……?”
Questions appeared on the faces of Seong Hyeonjun and Yun Sugyeom, but Park Minjae had nothing more to tell them. Park Minjae himself had not yet heard the details about it.
However, the unchanging fact was.
“So which side do you think is more impressive?”
“Yes?”
“The side that slays a god, or the side that reforms one.”
The Shadow God had been the mastermind behind the early story of the Arcana Continent. According to the rules of the Cataclysm they had seen until now, he was an existence that should have tripped up the players in some way.
Understanding the meaning of the question, Seong Hyeonjun opened his mouth.
“Of course the side that reforms one is harder and more impressive!”
“Good answer. You’re finally shedding that rookie air, Seong Hyeonjun.”
“Branch Manager Park. Even if I’ve been the youngest for over ten years, I’ve been working for more than ten years now. Isn’t saying I’m finally shedding my rookie air a little too harsh……?”
However, there was no time to accept Seong Hyeonjun’s complaint.
It may have been nothing but a fake, but Park Minjae had met Raymon Sean alone regardless. Thanks to that, he had a rough guess as to what Raymon Sean was thinking.
“You think I’m harsh? The truly harsh part starts now. For the time being, we’ll be working overtime nonstop. You can guess why, right? His plan has been ruined. There’s no way Raymon Sean, that bastard, will stay still.”
Naturally, the resistance was no ordinary thing.
“Overtime nonstop for the time being?”
“No, we practically lived in the office last week too……!”
“Seriously, why did I have to go insane and set foot in Cosmo at this age……!!”
AAU’s grueling daily routine, no less harsh than Akshan’s.
However, just as Akshan could not talk back.
The employees of AAU could not talk back either.
Park Minjae added,
“The General Manager of Yusra specifically asked for it.”
“……Ah.”
Srrk.
Lee Hoyeol.
At that three-syllable name, even the employees who had leapt to their feet obediently sat down.
Should it be called a blessing in misfortune?
The overtime without promise did not last long.
The official homepage of the Chronicles of Arcana Continent was newly updated.
“I-it’s up!!”
As expected, an emergency update had appeared.
Every member of the AAU South Korea Branch checked the details at the same time on the control room monitor. Park Minjae, who had read through the update details, was the first to open his mouth.
“Everyone, go home for today.”
“……!!!”
At those words, a few employees flinched.
However, they were not flinching out of joy.
Yes, because they had checked the update details together.
They could guess what Park Minjae would say next.
“Everyone, go get your things first. Starting tomorrow, we’re on overnight duty!”
“……Ah.”
──────
A new event is coming to your side.
The new large-scale event, “Lord of the Great Beasts,” begins.
New monsters will be added…….
※Great Beast: New monsters of LV.1,000 and above
Lord of the Great Beasts: Transcendent Oxidin
──────
Seong Hyeonjun, who had been staring intently at the monitor, froze.
Wait a second……
Something was strange.
Seong Hyeonjun poked Yun Sugyeom in the side as he was packing his bag.
“S-sunbae? There, over there! There’s a strange name in the player rankings……!!”