◈ Episode 51. Frost (2)
How many hours had it been at most?
Even if they brought in a “Demon King.”
I had been certain that this brazen attitude of mine wouldn’t change in the slightest.…
So it isn’t just words—even thoughts can become seeds. Seriously.[Class Quest: Demon King Subjugation]
The king of demons.
Their talons have begun to reach out.
Last demon hunter.
Topple the throne.─Train your weakened body. (Repeat)─Investigate the northern city of Frost. (In Progress)
I stared at the blinking quest window.
The king of demons.
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed to be the Demon King I knew.‘This isn’t just cold water—it’s like getting doused with ice water.’I know you like twists, but still.
Ever since the Yusra Archipelago, these updates have really been crossing the line.
Putting everything else aside, I wanted to ask.
Can you really handle the mood right now?
-It’s been a while since we saw the NPCs, kinda nice lololol-Mascot Malone appears lolol-Malone? Who’s that?
-You don’t know Malone? There’s this tsundere blacksmith
-His nickname was The Giving Tree, right? Probably? lolFrost was appearing.
The community was excited by that fact.
But I could guess from the quest contents.
Frost was probably not in as normal a state as the players imagined.‘It’s related to none other than the Demon King.’Demon King.
To me, they were beings both close and distant.
After all, Arcana had only been a virtual reality game.
Back when I was in my second year of middle school.
The demon hunter NPCs of Akshan always said this.
—The Demon Kings are truly our sworn enemies.
Maybe because I’d heard it until my ears had calluses.
Information about the Demon Kings still remained in my memory.
I picked up my quill pen.
“Consider it an honor that I remember you.”
If a Demon King heard that.
They would be dumbfounded, if only for a moment.
I moved my pen to organize those memories.──────1. Demon Kings are incomparably stronger than ordinary demons.
2. There is not just one Demon King.
3. There is a hierarchy even among those Demon Kings….──────I wrote down more, but….
If I had to summarize it in three lines, this would be appropriate.
Looking at it again after writing it down made it feel even more hopeless.‘So the counterattack hasn’t begun.’Has the real road of suffering begun instead?
In short, Demon Kings were the boss monsters of the demon race.
So let’s roughly think about their level.
First of all, they’d be different from Count Ascurra starting from the very first digit.‘In that case….’The only comparison would have to be the Great Evil, the Seven Deadly Sins’ Greed.
But even that couldn’t be a proper estimate.
That was something I’d realized through a demon hunter’s intuition.‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ Greed wasn’t in a proper state.’The form of a young demon that had shown through him.
I didn’t know why he’d ended up like that, but he definitely hadn’t been in a complete state. In other words, he was different from what I’d heard from the demon hunters of Akshan.
According to my memory.
Great Evils were beings of even higher rank than Demon Kings.
I’m telling you.
There was a reason I’d made such a fuss about defeating a Great Evil…!
After much thought, I reached a conclusion.
Scribble—I added one line as my assessment of Demon Kings.──────However, to me, they are nothing more than insignificant demons.──────That’s right.
Whether it was a high-ranking demon or a Demon King, it didn’t matter.‘……
Honestly, if the Great Evil had dropped some loot.’It was that oh-so-great Great Evil, said to be stronger than a Demon King.
The level of its loot would have been beyond imagination.
No, even setting aside loot from a Great Evil.
If only the class quest had given me some kind of reward, at least…!‘Well, I might have had a little more confidence.’But my confidence.
Compared to Granfell’s pride, it was not even a drop in the bucket.
I rose from my seat and said,
“I trust that one who calls himself king will not hide in cowardice.”
It was a warning.
“Do not disappoint me, Demon King.”
In the end, what I had to do was simple.
Struggle so I wouldn’t be crushed by that heavy pride and drown.
Please, just let me live up to the words I’ve already spoken.
I prayed earnestly and opened my status window.[Luck: 3]
With that wish in mind.
I was about to invest 1 point into Luck, then spent a little more.[Luck: 5]
Even if it was superstition.
When I was about to encounter a Demon King, the number 4 felt ominous……....
My flesh-and-blood 2 points…!
They were worth a whole 2 levels.
Perhaps my desperate struggle had reached something.
Luck did not betray me this time either.
The Magic Tower’s laboratory.
I checked the magic tool and items that had been delivered onto the desk.──────[Vampire Count’s Orb]
- Rental[Pure Emerald Crystal]
- Accessory Production[Island Treasure, Silk Carp Scale Silk]
- Handkerchief Production──────Excluding the orb whose rental I had approved.
Two items were neatly placed on the desk.
I had requested it be made into an accessory.
Indeed, it was just as requested.
I picked up the ring adorned with emerald.[Pristine Emerald Ring][Grade: Unique][Restriction: Lv.200][Effect: Recovers health when hit.][Description: A ring crafted through a special production method. Even a renowned blacksmith would be unable to draw out the emerald’s effect any further than this.]
A special production method.
That was because there were no blacksmiths in the Magic Tower.
Refining, processing, and composition.
Every process had been carried out through delicate magic.
Thanks to that, they must have drawn out the best possible effect.‘……
Wait, this isn’t ordinary. Is it?’A brief, single-line effect.
But to put it another way, no specific conditions were attached.
Simply put, it meant that if I was hit, I would recover health unconditionally.
Of course, I wouldn’t know how much health it restored until I got hit.‘In any case, it’s no different from constantly drinking potions.’……
This exceeded my expectations.
As I thought that, my gaze naturally shifted.
I lifted the neatly folded handkerchief.
A handkerchief made from
[Island Treasure, Silk Carp Scale Silk].
Indeed, even its appearance was extraordinary.
A subtle yet brilliant light.
Just looking at it made it obvious that it was a precious item.
“Indeed, excellent.”
Even before checking its information.
A passing grade fell from my lips.
But unlike Granfell, what mattered to me was its effect.
Above all, I was currently facing a massive class quest called “Demon King Subjugation.”
Soon, the handkerchief’s information appeared.[Masterpiece
—Silk Carp Scale Handkerchief][Grade: Unique][Restriction: Lv.200][Effect: When equipped, increases affinity with the fire attribute / Increases chance to evade all attacks / Unlocks Aesthetic stat][Description: An incomparably rare material was crafted through a special production method. Its value is such that no one would dare appraise it. The title of masterpiece is not wasted on it.]……
Wait, a masterpiece!
A masterpiece—just having that title attached before an item.
Made its value indescribable.
Because masterpiece items were not easy to find even in Arcana.‘They say even blacksmiths might make one once in their lives, if at all.’Why, there were even rumors that simply putting a masterpiece item up for auction would max out your relationship and influence with that auction house.
Of course, what mattered more than that was its immediate performance.
The other effects were just as I’d checked beforehand.
What remained was the effect of the [Aesthetic] stat, which even the Magic Tower had been unable to uncover.
I did not delay.
I immediately tucked the handkerchief into the breast pocket of my jacket.
Then a message appeared.[Aesthetic stat has been unlocked.]
“!”
At the same time.
Knowledge regarding [Aesthetic]
poured into my head…!
I looked at the newly appeared status window and thought.[Stats]
Strength: 38 / Agility: 42 / Magic Power: 186 / Luck: 5 / Aesthetic: Low[Available Points: 0]
As expected, it was expressed in a different way.‘It must be divided into low, middle, and high.’Considering the effect of Aesthetic, this was a reasonable expression.
If I could, I wanted to confirm the effect with my own eyes right away.
But the Magic Tower’s laboratory was not an appropriate place.
And before that, there was a calculation I needed to finish.‘I’m scared. I’m scared.’Had I said I wanted the best result, regardless of cost?
Incorruptible, my ass.‘Granfell, you sucker!’But now that it had already passed.
What was the point in blaming my past self?
Besides, money had to go out for money to come in.
Most of all, I still had the reward money from the Yusra Kingdom that I hadn’t checked yet.
So without showing it, I checked the dreadful bill….
No, the parchment.
Even if it was tens of billions, no, hundreds of billions, I wouldn’t be surprised.
I resolved myself.
And then I realized once again.──────P.S.
The Magic Tower does not charge request fees to mages who possess the authority of a senior mage or higher. In order to reach the truth, we ask that you repay us through deeper research.──────Indeed, not a single one of the 2 points I had invested into Luck felt wasted!*The new update that had drawn the attention of the entire world.
The northern city of Frost had finally revealed itself.
The moment its location was detected.
Inazuma’s guild master.
Hisagi Kazuma clenched his fist tightly.
“……
Good!”
Frost had appeared in the waters near Hokkaido, Japan.
At last, the opportunity had come.
An opportunity to overturn everything!
Hisagi trembled.
How much bitter humiliation had he endured until now?
“Fifth in the guild rankings? Hisagi, this is a disgrace. A disgrace!”
Yes, guild rankings changed frequently.
If their ranking had simply fallen, he could have understood.
But above Inazuma.
And two whole ranks above them at that.
“……
Those ignorant bastards from Gaon!”
It was hard to accept that South Korea’s Gaon was there.
But now, an opportunity to overturn the situation had come again.
Wiiiiing—!
A private jet headed for Hokkaido.
Hisagi checked his email on his smartphone.
Everything was falling into place according to plan.‘Everything is on our Inazuma’s side.’After all, Frost had appeared in Japan, in Hokkaido.
Just like him.
The Japanese government had also staked everything on this opportunity.
The moment Frost was spotted in Hokkaido.
They had meticulously begun their operation.
They put forward troublesome procedures to prevent guilds from other countries from approaching Frost first.‘Of course, it’s a violation of the AAU agreement.’According to the AAU agreement.
The Japanese government had no authority to stop players.
But even while accepting the social criticism that would follow.
They intended to give Inazuma the first opportunity.‘I will repay my homeland without fail.’The private jet landed secretly in Hokkaido.
The north wind blew fiercely.
Hisagi led the members of the Inazuma Guild.
“Ugh, it’s cold. This is why I hate Hokkaido.”
“You just insulted a region in a roundabout way, didn’t you? This is why Kyoto people are like this.”
“……
What? Aren’t you the one who just insulted a region?!”
“Everyone, quiet. Move as covertly as possible.”
Inazuma entering Frost alone.
And the Japanese government blocking other players.
All of it was possible because there were no danger factors in Frost.
But the government’s foot-dragging wouldn’t last long.
“The time given to us is one or two hours at most.”
Other countries would also know Frost’s value.
“During that time, we quickly secure relationship and influence in Frost.”
So they had to move quickly.
The most important thing was getting ahead of Gaon, those bastards.
Hisagi recalled the information he had grasped in advance.‘Nam Taemin is one of the players with the highest influence in Frost.’Nam Taemin’s class was Barbarian Warrior, Barbarian.
Barbarian was a class one could change into in the forests near Frost.
And the number one in the Barbarian class ranking was none other than Nam Taemin.‘He must have cleared many quests in Frost.’As an individual, he likely couldn’t catch up to Nam Taemin.
But on the guild level, it was different.
Hisagi was confident.‘Besides, Gaon invested a great deal into the Yusra Kingdom.’Naturally, they wouldn’t be able to pour excessive interest and investment into Frost.
Even thinking about it again, it was truly a golden opportunity.
Hisagi’s snake-like eyes flashed.‘We will rise above Gaon again!’But that resolve collapsed immediately.
“……
Wh-what is that?”
The towering walls of Frost.
Something was faintly visible atop those walls.
One guild member activated the skill Clairvoyance, then recoiled in horror.
“H-heads! They’re human heads, those are……!!”
“Why are there so many?”
“Wait. That beard is Malone, isn’t it……?”
“Malone? The blacksmith? Y-you’re saying that Malone is dead?!”
Yes, it wasn’t only Malone.
Dozens, hundreds of heads decorated the walls.
Fwoosh—!
At that moment, flames surged up from within Frost’s walls.
Fear climbed up his spine.
Gulp—Hisagi swallowed dryly and immediately shouted.
“Contact them right now! Tell them to stop holding up players like idiots!!”...
The greater the expectations, the greater the shock had to be.
Naturally, everyone fell into panic.
“……
How are we supposed to go into a place like that?”
“It means there are demons strong enough to bring down Frost.”
“And on top of that, it’s an actual siege. This is.”
“Raymon Sean, you crazy bastard! You stabbed us in the back again!”
Shining and Cheonhwa Tongil.
Even the massive guilds, including them, were unable to enter Frost.
It was a perfect reversal.
So in order to overturn this gloomy atmosphere again.
A shock on par with that was needed.
For example.
“……
It’s Lee Hoyeol.”
Like now.
“No, wait. It’s not just Lee Hoyeol.”
That was right.
Hoyeol was not alone.
Soon, the players’ faces were dyed with astonishment.
“It’s Harkon.”
“What, the Lionheart Knights have stepped forward again this time?”
“No, putting that aside. A-aren’t those Kichi and the Shadow Mercenary Corps? Why are those monsters with Lee Hoyeol……? Don’t tell me, not only the Lionheart Knights, but also……?!”