◈ Episode 53. Mistaken Assumptions Are Your Own Business (1)[Quest: Recapture Frost]
Frost has fallen into the hands of demons.
Recapture Frost.
Bravery shall be rewarded.─Current Contribution: 0p……
A quest!
The recapture of Frost had begun with the manifestation of Hoyeol’s magic.
And at the same time,
a quest appeared before the players gathered at Frost.
It was more than enough to awaken the players who had fallen into panic.
“How long has it been since we got a quest?”
“The rewards’ll be given according to contribution, right?”
“Let’s just charge in first.”
“Everyone, get ready. We’re attacking immediately.”
Not only the guilds that immediately entered the siege,
“Hyungs. I don’t think we can just sit around and watch this, can we?”
but even the Nettuber players who had come to Frost for the purpose of broadcasting.
This was a quest that anyone who had once enjoyed Arcana
could not simply pass by.
“I was trying so hard to hold back, but if they do this, I can’t take it either!”
Hadn’t Frost been that influential?
And Malone, who had been practically the mascot of Frost.
The situation in which his head, along with those of Frost’s residents, had been hung upon the castle wall.
The quest had poured oil onto emotions that had barely been suppressed.
Posts exploded across the player community as well.
-Can’t resist a quest lol I’m low level but I’m going too
-What matters in a siege is numbersㅇㅇ-Levels don’t matter, everyone just gather first
-If we recapture it, do we get something to brag about? I’m going right now lolYes, their reasons were all different,
but the mood changed in an instant.
“How exceedingly insolent.”
Without a single moment of hesitation,
thanks to Hoyeol, who had manifested magic toward the castle gate!
And yet, for some reason,
the players actually standing near Hoyeol were filled with doubt.
They had no choice.
Because the magic that had shot out from Hoyeol’s hand was……
“……
What is that?”
in a form no one had expected at all.
Frost’s castle gate was made of thick steel.
In order to bring it down,
even pouring in high-level magic of considerable power would not be enough.
But the magic Hoyeol had manifested, no matter how they looked at it……
Float—
“……
Hey, isn’t that [Light]?”
The most basic of basic skills.
Its effect was merely to illuminate the darkness.
Wasn’t [Light]
nothing more than a simple sphere of mana?
“……
Did he press the wrong hotkey?”
“You crazy bastard. Where are hotkeys in reality?”
“No, it was a joke. It’s weird enough to joke about. All of a sudden.”
Drift, drift—
And it wasn’t just one or two.
Spheres of mana, Lights, flew toward the castle gate and wall.
“……
Just how high is his mana, seriously?”
Their number seemed to easily exceed one hundred.
He had that much mana to waste in a situation like this?
Just as the players were about to fall into bewilderment,
the Lights, the spheres of mana, clung to the gate and wall.
“……?”
And from that moment on,
Fwoosh—!
“……
Wh-what?!”
Crackle—!
“Their forms are ch-changing?!”
Whoooosh—!
“W-wait, what the hell is that?! That skill?!”
Marcelo, the chief mage of the Magic Tower,
had once been moved to admiration by it.
Hoyeol’s “strangely” high magical proficiency began to reveal its true value.
So fast it could not be followed by the eye.
A continuous chain of swift exploration, interference, and manifestation.
Of course, one could only see as much as one knew.
“Just what level is Lee Hoyeol……!”
Exploration, interference, manifestation.
Weren’t these players people who did not even know the basics of that magic?
All the players could do was stare blankly in awe.
“As expected of Sir Hoyeol……!”
It was no different for Harkon and the Knights of the Lionheart.
Regardless of their discernment, they were knights to the very end.
It was only natural that while they could recognize it was of an outstanding level, they could not evaluate it beyond that.
“……
This is insane.”
But from the position of someone who knew,
there was no sight more insane than that……!
The Shadow Mercenary Corps.
Seventh Seat, Alkari.
His nostrils flared.
“……!”
The traces of mana carried on the blowing wind
were enough to make Alkari’s bent spine twitch.
Alkari let out a cackling laugh.
The lowest seat beside him, Rockid, cut in.
“Why the hell are you laughing so creepily, old man?”
“Kekeke. I think I know why the leader followed along.”
“What? You know the reason for that bothersome thing? What is it?”
Alkari looked at the leader, Kichi.
Oh dear, Kichi wore an expression full of complicated thoughts.
Alkari answered on his own.
“Well. At the very least, it would be best not to step forward during this commission. No, not just this mission. At least as long as that noble lord is keeping his eyes wide open. It would be better for your safety to tone down that eccentric personality of yours, Rockid.”……
Has this geezer gone senile?
Rockid looked puzzled.
But Kichi’s thoughts were not much different from Alkari’s.
No, if anything, they went even further.
Because Kichi knew, having watched him herself.‘……
This is why I told him not to meet again. Why, of all people!’Not only could he manifest magic of such a high level,
he could even wield sword energy.
On top of that, there was his terrifying growth speed.
That was why Kichi’s face could only look complicated.‘And I can’t take back what I said now……!’Finally, there was that unyielding personality of his.
Her intuition was telling her.
No matter how she thought about it, they had picked the wrong person to get involved with.*[Quest: Recapture Frost]
A quest I had no reason to refuse.
Well, it felt like a bonus quest.
Something that naturally followed while carrying out my class quest, so to speak.‘A contribution system, huh.’─Current Contribution: 0pBravery shall be rewarded.
That meant rewards would be given according to contribution, right?
Naturally, I did not set some unrealistic goal
like aiming for first place in contribution.‘Just while I’m at it.’Look at the number of players gathered here.
On top of that, they were guilds.
Of course they would be skilled in a many-versus-many battle like this.
Of course, I did have the Knights of the Lionheart and the Shadow Mercenary Corps,
but their achievements would not be calculated as my contribution.‘If that had been the case, I wouldn’t even be saying this.’So the conclusion I reached after knowing my place was simple.‘Let’s at least do one thing properly.’In that sense, the top priority was “investigating Frost.”
I thought while interfering with and manifesting the mana spheres.‘It’s a good thing I practiced.’Though I nearly set fire to the Magic Tower’s laboratory, anyway.
It had been worth keeping its possible applications in mind.
Flame, wind, electricity, water……
Light, the basic magic of pure mana studies.
Magic of various attributes manifested from those mana spheres.
Was it because I was manifesting all kinds of attribute magic at the same time?‘I can feel the mana consumption.’I had suppressed the activation of the newly unlocked stat, [Aesthetic],
as much as possible.
Because its effect was not needed right now.
But it was worth consuming precious mana.
The scene of manifestation where all kinds of attribute magic meshed together.‘……
Found it.’Because among them, I was able to find the combination of attributes most effective in attacking the castle gate.
Even thinking about it again, it was truly nothing but recklessness……!‘It can’t be helped. This is my best.’A desperate struggle.
Things I had, things I didn’t.
My own method, where I had no choice but to use absolutely everything……!
Fire (火), Ice (氷).
Frost’s castle gate was vulnerable to the combination of those two attribute magics.
The principle or reason?
I don’t know anything like that. If I had known,
I wouldn’t have needed to consume mana like this.
But there was no need to know anymore.‘Whether I solve it knowingly or guess it right.’As long as I get the correct answer, it’s the same.
All that remained was to concentrate firepower.
I immediately manifested flame and ice.
Through a series of processes,
magic poured down upon the castle gate.
Indeed, it had been worth forcing the right answer even by guessing.
Crack—! Craaaack—!
Because the tightly shut castle gate began to collapse.
Exclamations erupted from everywhere.
Somehow, the players could not hide their shock.
“……
He broke through the castle gate this fast?”
“What the hell is that skill? I told you, its destructive power is no joke!”
“……
Is this for real?”
If I could speak my mind,
I wanted to correct those evaluations.‘Do you know how hard I struggled with my poor resources……?’How much I had flailed around to attack that gate.
And yet they mistook it for nothing more than simple power……!
However, this noble pride
would never be shaken by such trivial circumstances.
“As long as you are with us, sir, I did not even harbor concern.”
Of course, there was no time for that either.
The collapsing wall.
The ominous aura flowing out from beyond it.
Clank—!
Harkon, who had spoken to me, put his helmet on properly.
“Sir Hoyeol. From here on, we will open the path.”
Shing—!
The moment Harkon and the Knights of the Lionheart drew their swords,
Rumble—!
The castle wall collapsed completely.
At that moment, the quest window flickered.───────Current Contribution: 5,000p──────Did my contribution rise because I destroyed the castle gate?‘Five thousand points, huh.’Since there was nothing to compare it to, I could not tell whether that was high or low. But that was not important right now. Leaving aside whether it was a bonus quest or anything else……
From the collapsed castle gate,
the demons of Frost soon revealed themselves.
Indeed, it was enough to call them the Demon King’s army.
Rows and columns in formation.
The level of the equipment they wore.
Even their swift movements,
as if they had expected the wall to collapse.
The Demon King’s army.
Yes, if not for their crimson skin
and the horns sprouting from their heads,
they were so disciplined that they could have been seen as a human army.
At that sight, even the players’ momentum could not help but die down.
“……
This isn’t ordinary.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to approach carelessly.”
“Maintain distance.”
They were clearly different from the demons seen until now.
These creatures were systematic.
A demon’s voice rang out.
“Kill them all! Do not let them in under any circumstances!”
Some took an offensive stance.
Some took a defensive stance.
It even seemed they had specific operations in place.
However,
so what?
I straightened the clothes that had fluttered in the wind.
Utterly indifferent.
“Ridiculous.”
To me, to Grandfell,
all demons were nothing more than the same trash.
That Demon King’s army simply looked like trash sorted and lined up
with similar kinds placed together.
In other words, it was nothing but well-sorted recyclable garbage.
Moreover.
“Yeshica, Enoch.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Join me at the front and break their formation.”
“Understood.”
If we were talking about being systematic, this side would not lose either.‘Of course, not only the Knights of the Lionheart.’I turned my head.
When Kichi’s eyes met mine, she immediately opened her mouth.
“……
We’ll also support the Knights of the Lionheart as much as possible. Like we’ve always done, everyone handle things well on your own. You all know, right? Now, start.”
Even the Shadow Mercenary Corps, bound to me in a thorough relationship of superior and subordinate.
So this was confidence with a reason behind it.
I followed after them and declared,
“There is no time to waste.”
Tap—
The class quest.
Its final objective was the subjugation of the Demon King.
“Move aside, trash.”*Frost had a total of ten castle gates.
As a great city, it was only natural that it had many gates.
And now that a quest had even appeared,
that was good news for the great guilds, who had nothing to gain by competing against one another.
Especially the guilds ranked first and second.
Shining and World Unification.
Those two guilds, in particular, had no choice but to part ways for certain.
“This sort of thing is our specialty too, isn’t it, Rox?”
Back in the days of Arcana,
Shining had been a guild that possessed territory.
Shining had experience in countless sieges.
The one that possessed experience comparable to Shining was none other than World Unification.
Moreover, when it came to siege warfare alone, World Unification held a clear advantage over Shining.
“There could be no better opportunity than this for us.”
That was World Unification’s overwhelming number of guild members.
Their master, Ryu O Junchun, was only fourteenth in the player rankings.
But World Unification’s true value lay in the number of its guild members and their average level.
“Charge!”
World Unification employed tactics that put those numbers at the forefront.
Their attacks poured down upon the castle gate.
They emptied their mana in one breath and rotated with the rear line.
After recovering mana and stamina, they rotated again.
“Heh heh.”
Ryu O Junchun smiled.
Yes, no matter how great Shining was,
they would not be able to keep up with them in this siege.
Ryu O Junchun’s quest window sparkled.‘There must be something tremendous riding on this contribution.’Frost was currently not in a normal situation.
It was uncertain whether its lord was even alive.
Ryu O Junchun’s expectations grew larger and larger.‘……
What if the lord is dead?’Depending on the contribution, there was a strong possibility of becoming Frost’s new lord.
The lord of Frost, a great city.
Even back when Arcana had been nothing more than a game,
it had possessed value beyond measure.‘I can rise to an overwhelming first place!’World Unification, of course, and even himself.
Ryu O Junchun checked his contribution, which was rising in real time.‘Rox, you couldn’t even dream of this contribution.’As the guild master, Ryu O Junchun was receiving considerable contribution for [Command].
But Shining would not be able to do the same.
That much was obvious just by looking at Jesse Heinness.
Rox did not possess the same command ability as him.
Thinking that, motivation boiled up in his chest.
“Hahahahaha!!”───────Current Contribution: 120p──────At the same time,
there was no way Ryu O Junchun could know
that Hoyeol’s contribution had surpassed five thousand points.
He burst into wild laughter.
“I will show you what overwhelming contribution looks like, Rox!”
Yes, sometimes ignorance was bliss…….