◈ Episode 85. Blooming in the Swamp (2)
“What a load of crap.”
When he first saw that post.
He thought, what kind of low-grade bait was this?
—Guys, I heard Lee Hoyeol can use swordsmanship too?
At least say something that makes sense.
“Ugh. Look at this level.”
Who was Lee Hoyeol?
A player treated the same as the great Chief Mage of the Magic Tower. And even setting aside that halo, what then? After seeing all those dazzling magic skills Hoyeol had shown in battle, they were still getting baited by this kind of nonsense?
Tadadadak!
A keyboard clattered along with a sigh.
The comment window refreshed in a stream.
—Why are you seriously spouting bullshit lololololol
—It’s not bullshit? It’s for real
—For real my ass, have you even played Arcana? You’re exposing yourself as an Arcana noob
They still didn’t understand the situation.
It seemed they didn’t even know what kind of game Arcana was.
Arcana didn’t have a class system for nothing.
Let’s concede a hundred times and give an example.
Suppose.
As if Lee Hoyeol lacked anything.
It would never happen, but suppose by some one-in-a-million chance Lee Hoyeol wanted to learn swordsmanship and swung a sword.
—You think a swordsmanship skill is just gonna ding and pop up???
That’s right. No matter how much he practiced, it would be a waste.
A waste that wouldn’t become a skill, a stat, or anything at all.
Players could not overcome the limits of their class.
That was common sense in Arcana.
So it was only natural for the post to be treated as bait.
But something was strange.
“What is this? Are they spamming it as a group?”
Lee Hoyeol had picked up a sword.
That absurd story wouldn’t stop appearing on the forum.
Normally, he would have thought some bastard had hired part-timers again.
But part-timers?
That didn’t make sense either, did it?
‘……
Does Lee Hoyeol have any reason to hire shills?’
What could he possibly be lacking?
No matter how much he racked his brain, there was no proper reason.
Besides, this wasn’t promotion or praise.
Lee Hoyeol, a mage-type class, using a sword.
It was nonsense that defied common sense.
So his mind naturally started turning.
“Those filthy bastards are at it again.”
Lee Hoyeol’s antis must have hired shills.
When you lurked around communities long enough, you developed a sense for these things.
The mouse began moving sharply.
“Damn trolls. Just let me catch which bastards you are.”
They would surely spread some ridiculous rumor.
And subtly slip in positive evaluations of themselves while they were at it.
But.
“……?”
No matter how hard he searched with his eyes wide open.
There was no talk about other guilds or players.
Every single thing was about Lee Hoyeol.
What was this feeling, like common sense was crumbling?
With the sense of incongruity he felt, he could no longer be stubborn.
“Fine. I’ll let myself be fooled just this once.”
With that thought, he clicked the NetTube link.
Soon, an image appeared on the monitor.
And there, Hoyeol truly was aiming a sword……!
“Holy shit!! What the hell is this?!”
That was right.
At this moment.
The battle between Hoyeol and the [Beast Predator Anaconda]
was spreading across the world through dozens of cameras.
What that meant was simple.
This live footage was reality, not manipulated in any way.
“It can’t do anything at all? A level 530 monster?”
One word was enough to describe that battle.
Annihilation.
Hoyeol was hunting the anaconda, the long-standing ruler of the Predator’s Swamp.
No, calling this a hunt was too generous.
Since the battle had begun, Hoyeol had not moved even once.
“Wow, damn. He’s really on a completely different level……”
“Some of us are struggling, stuck in this mud.”
“It’s Lee Hoyeol, who even cleared a level-one-thousand Rift. What did you expect?”
Those who understood more deeply than anyone what that action meant.
Were the players who were likewise hunting inside the Rift.
Against an anaconda like that. It meant there was no need for him to even swing his sword.
“So his connection with Harkon wasn’t for nothing.”
The stance with which he aimed his sword.
Seeing that stance, they could also realize the relationship between Hoyeol and the Lionheart Knights.
Hoyeol was surely deeply connected to the Lionheart Knights as well.
The proof was that his stance was identical to Harkon’s.
“He might be holding a position there, just like he does in the Magic Tower.”
“It’s practically confirmed. And it probably isn’t an ordinary position either.”
“Since even the Harkon calls him Sir.”
“Then doesn’t that mean he’s close with the imperial family too……?”
“Seriously! How does that even make sense!!”
The strongest military organization on the continent, the Magic Tower.
The strongest knight order of the Empire, the Lionheart Knights.
How could a player hold a position in both of those groups.
And positions that, no matter who looked at them, were clearly not ordinary?
Somehow, every time they thought and pondered, their questions about Hoyeol only grew.
“How did not even a single rumor spread until now?”
Even now, Hoyeol’s presence was something that could not be hidden, even if one tried.
Surely, even back when Arcana had been a game, Hoyeol must have stood out.
But nothing came to mind. No stories about a player who defied common sense like that.
They were seriously curious about his past!
The moment those watching had such thoughts.
Thud—The Beast Predator Anaconda.
Its breath stopped.
The battle that could hardly be called a battle had ended.
The Predator’s Swamp.
A colosseum where combat never ceased.
For the victor of that fierce battlefield.
There was not the slightest disorder in Hoyeol’s appearance.
As if he alone were in a different space.
No, as if he alone belonged to a different genre.
Yes, Hoyeol’s figure was utterly alien and noble.
Like a lotus blooming in the swamp.
*……
Really, it was like a documentary.
One where you couldn’t let go of the tension for even a moment.
An extreme, real documentary.
I checked the messages that appeared.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
…….
Still, the experience points were a comfort.
[Beast Predator Anaconda].
As befitted its level, the amount of experience it spat out was considerable.
It wasn’t experience on the level of a boss monster like a great evil or a Demon King.
But I had taken all of that experience for myself.
[Name: Grandfel Claudi Arpheus Romeo]
[Class: Demon Hunter]
[Level: 314]
[Stats]
Strength: 53 / Agility: 60 / Magic Power: 244 / Luck: 5 / Aesthetic: Low
[Available Points: 18]
In other words, I had risen 18 levels in one go.
It was only because my absolute level was low that I had gained so many levels.
But if it was this kind of three-in-the-morning, four-at-night trick, I welcomed it.
More than anything, whether it was three in the morning or four at night.
‘I’m not in a position to be picky.’
The same was true even when I reviewed the battle with the anaconda just now.
If, even for a moment, I had let go of the thread of tension.
If my sword-aiming stance had faltered.
‘I would have immediately allowed a counterattack.’
[Predator-Prey Relationship]
had not activated.
No matter how much Strength and Agility I had raised through class quests.
I had invested all the points obtained through leveling into Magic Power. And occasionally into Luck.
‘It would’ve been impossible to dodge with physical ability alone.’
Naturally, I would have had to manifest magic.
I would have had no choice but to minimize the damage.
Then, from that moment on, a vicious cycle horrible to even think about would have begun.
Unplanned magic manifestation → absolute lack of magic power → battle again, as befitted a predator zone → another unplanned magic manifestation → another absolute lack of magic power → battle yet again…….
Therefore.
‘I was serious.’
I don’t know how it looked to a third party.
But it meant I had gone into battle without relaxing for even a single moment.
As a result, I was able to obtain not only experience, but loot as well.
[Thick Anaconda Hide] - [Grade: Rare]
[Melting Amber] - [Grade: Rare]
[Birch Soaked in Venom] - [Grade: Unique]
There were as many as three spoils.
Their grades were Rare, Rare, and Unique.
‘No wonder its belly was swollen so fat.’
They were all material items.
But if it dropped three at a time, I had no reason to complain.
Above all, thanks to the effect of the [Pentagram of Pure Knowledge],
I had acquired knowledge of every mineral and plant on the Arcana Continent.
“They should have some value.”
Melting amber.
And the birch drenched in the anaconda’s venom.
I immediately realized how they could be used.
Of course, since they were spoils that had been inside the creature’s stomach.
‘They’ll need a little processing.’
But that would not be a major problem either.
‘It is time to pull a pillar out of the Magic Tower.’
It meant I could use the Magic Tower’s services as I pleased.
For free, at that.
That too was the rightful authority of the Chief.
‘By the way.’
There really isn’t any time to rest, is there?
This predator zone.
Rustle—
As if it had been waiting for me to take down one, another monster appeared.
A snake, and next is a rat? Of course, starting with its appearance, it was no ordinary rat.
[Cruel Scavenger: Lv.550]
Its size is about the same as a person.
Beyond its size, it walked on its hind legs and held weapons in its front paws.
A crossbow, an axe, and even a shield.
It had more than one or two pieces of equipment.
Indeed, not all rats were the same rat.
Its long tail twitched.
Perhaps because I was still holding a sword in my hand.
It did not recklessly charge in.
‘Then, first.’
Let’s invest the points.
For me, who was lacking, every single stat point was precious.
I had 18 available points.
I was about to invest all of them into Magic Power, but left 1 point behind.
……
Yes, there was a saying that fortune was seventy percent and skill thirty.
Even if I invested 1 more point into Magic Power.
Wasn’t this a Rift with an appropriate level of 500?
Rather than expecting a dramatic effect from 1 point of Magic Power, it was right to wish for a stroke of luck.
I invested 1 point into Luck.
[Luck: 6]
……
But why did it have to be 6?
A memory suddenly came to mind.
Clearly, I had invested 2 points to avoid death-four points.
Yet in the end, I had no choice but to pass through the devil’s number, 6.
So this was what a pointless trick really was, wasn’t it?
However, I no longer had any points left to invest.
“Superstition is nothing more than superstition.”
Somehow, that was not something I, who had invested in luck, should be saying.
But yes, I could not remain conscious of superstition forever.
Besides, if it was the devil’s number.
‘Rather, that’s not bad.’
No, if a demon appeared instead, I would be grateful.
I didn’t need anything else; if only [Predator-Prey Relationship]
activated.
I would have no need to ride around on these lotus leaves.
Nor would I need to film a documentary genre all by myself.
My unproductive thoughts ended there.
Crack—!
What kind of sound is that now?
I looked toward where the sound came from.
Giant trees rose here and there throughout the swamp.
The creature was gnawing at the base of one of those giant trees with its teeth.
Craaaack—!
Was it because its teeth were so large?
The giant tree made a tremendous noise and began to tilt in an instant.
Its intention seemed clear.
‘It means to make the battlefield advantageous for itself.’
The moment the giant tree fell.
The swamp would surge for an instant.
It was likely trying to aim for that opening.
‘As expected, it’s not easy.’
To put it in terms from when Arcana was merely a game…….
Its patterns were damn nasty.
They weren’t boss mobs, only named mobs at best.
Yet every single one of them was troublesome to deal with.
However, rendering that effort meaningless.
Creak—
To the point where I could skip the search process.
I knew all of Arcana’s plants inside and out.
Naturally, the giant tree it had been gnawing with its teeth.
[Chukira Tree]
was something I could interfere with as well.
Creeeak—?
Search skipped.
Interference: hardness enhancement.
And then, manifestation.
Drrrk—?!
In other words, no matter how much it struggled, it could not topple the giant tree.
I stared at the flustered giant rat, the [Cruel Scavenger].
There was no need for unnecessary conversation.
With my sword still aimed, I manifested magic.
Against a frozen enemy, there was no need to add [Aesthetic].
The only thing I had to consider was magical efficiency.
Among the countless spells I poured onto it.
[Frostbite has occurred on the Cruel Scavenger.]
I had to find the magic that inflicted the greatest damage on it.
Even if it looked ignorant, it couldn’t be helped.
In order to face enemies far stronger than my level one after another.
This was the only way.
‘I can’t discover the reason, nor do I want to.’
I only needed to know that it was effective.
‘If it’s frostbite, then cold is its weakness.’
I manifested the high-level ice magic, 『Frost』.
Swoooooosh—!
Frost stretched out toward the creature.
Frost was a spell whose projectile speed was nothing but sluggish.
Yet it was classified as high-level magic for its destructive power alone.
Crack, crackle—!
As you can see, it was only natural for the swamp to freeze in an instant.
Squeak, squeeeak—!
The pressure of the sword tip aimed at it.
The movement speed reduced by the status abnormality “Frostbite.”
And the frost slowly creeping in.
In a voice colder than the chill, I said.
“I have no intention of joining you for water play.”
That was my will not to let even a single drop of swamp filth splash on me.
‘Besides.’
I looked at the giant tree, the Chukira Tree.
To be precise, at the giant tree that had been swaying precariously.
At the “elixir herb” glowing at its very top.
‘If the giant tree falls, the elixir herb will fall into the swamp too.’
That was something I could not bear to watch with my eyes open.
Because I, more than anyone else, knew exactly what effect that precious elixir herb possessed!