◈ Episode 89. Blooming in the Swamp (6) [Predator’s Marshland].
Before the Rift that had formed on the Scandinavian Peninsula.
The ones overflowing with more confidence than anyone else
were Europe’s strongest guild.
Bohemian.
“We’ve just been unlucky until now.”
“Exactly! As if the Magic Tower wasn’t enough, what kind of Rifts only formed over in Asia? Looks like the balance is finally starting to even out.”
“To be precise, it was either Asia or Russia, wasn’t it? Moscow or Hokkaido, just thinking about that cold gives me chills. I thought I was going to freeze to death while showering. Seriously.”
They received the full support of the European Union.
Was it thanks to that support?
The atmosphere at the start wasn’t bad.
Guyver, the number one ranked paladin and the guild master,
had even smiled for the first time in a while.
“When this Rift raid is over, everything will go back to the way it was.”
One of those things was the guild ranking.
Bohemian Guild, which had stubbornly held third place for years after Shining and Cheonha Tongil.
Though the gap between them and those ahead was large, Guyver had been overflowing with confidence that they would never be caught.
As for the latecomers,
there were only Japan’s Inazuma and Korea’s Gaon.
How much could players from such small countries possibly achieve?
Even if they received national support, they would never be able to catch up to Bohemian with the EU at their back.
But something had gone wrong.
Perpetual third place.
Bohemian had been robbed of its position. Not by fourth-place Inazuma, but by fifth-place Gaon.
“There’s no such thing as luck in the Colosseum.”
Yes, Gaon had only been lucky.
Guyver believed that.
So when a Predator Zone appeared as a Rift,
he expressed his overflowing confidence.
“Not just Gaon, but even Cheonha Tongil……!”
Like Bohemian, large and small guilds backed by the EU. Since the Rift had appeared in Europe, their home ground, Guyver used every card with meticulous precision.
“Master. My mana is at its limit!”
The supporter players positioned in the rear.
Guyver treated them like machine parts to be swapped out,
sending the players outside the Rift.
“Team 2. Enter immediately.”
It was effectively a united front of dozens of guilds.
And because they had selected high-level players even from among them,
the levels of the replacement players were not far behind either.
They were more than sufficient to provide support from the rear.
[Your level has increased.]
Amid that full support,
Guyver and the Bohemian guild members focused solely on hunting monsters.
It had truly been a long time since they had seen such a steep rise in experience.
“We’ll save some face for once, won’t we, Guyver?”
Guyver nodded silently.
Yes, at least in this Rift, it was fine to be arrogant.
Neither Shining nor Cheonha Tongil
were showing an overwhelming hunting speed like theirs. Yes, if things continued like this, then the likes of Gaon would never again be able to covet their ranking……
“……
Lee Hoyeol entered the Rift?”
Wait, who entered?
Lee Hoyeol!
Grind—!
At that name, veins bulged on Guyver’s forehead.
It was a name that grated on his nerves just by hearing it.
‘Because of that bastard, Gaon took third place.’
All the various luck that had followed Gaon.
Among them, the greatest stroke of luck had been Lee Hoyeol.
In the Yusra Kingdom and in the battle for Frost as well,
Gaon had benefited greatly from joining forces with Lee Hoyeol.
‘The Berserker bastards are no different.’
A guild ranking that merely hovered around the top ten.
They were not yet worth considering as competitors.
But Berserker, too, was a guild backed by the EU.
‘Since Britain’s Second Sun is no longer part of the European Union.’
Within the EU, they were also the guild that had taken the position of second-in-command after Bohemian. That was why Guyver could not help but be sensitive to Lee Hoyeol’s appearance.
‘What does he lack that he would enter a Rift like this?’
Even if it was a Predator Zone,
this Rift’s level should be far too easy for Lee Hoyeol.
Surely he had some other objective.
‘……
Could that other objective be?’
What if it had something to do with Gaon or Berserker?
Or, if not them, with some other guild?
Beads of sweat formed on Guyver’s forehead in an instant.
‘I must take responsibility for my words.’
The fact that he had received enormous support.
The fact that he had to produce results befitting that support.
Impatience began to sprout in Guyver’s chest.
“We’re raising the pace. Team 1, re-enter!”
“Team 1 still hasn’t finished recovering their mana, though?”
“It doesn’t matter. From now on, this is a race for speed.”
At that moment, a message appeared.
[Someone has formed a contract with a spirit.]
“!”
It was Lee Hoyeol.
So his goal had been to contract with a spirit.
For a moment, Guyver thought that was at least fortunate.
‘……
Did he know even that there was a spirit here?’
As expected, Lee Hoyeol is incredible.
But Lee Hoyeol being incredible was nothing new.
That was why Guyver focused on the messages that followed.
A buff that increased experience and drop rates.
Color returned to Guyver’s face.
‘My decision to raise the tempo was correct.’
A progression speed faster than any other guild.
Thanks to that, Guyver was able to reach the center of the marshland.
And he witnessed it.
“A gift from God.”
A chance to seize a jackpot!
At the center of the Rift, monsters were battling one another.
The analysis team’s voice came through his ear.
—Judging by appearances, they are presumed to be a Ragged Giant and a Black Iron Eagle.
Then came the information from the update details.
[Ragged Giant: Lv.600]
[Black Iron Eagle: Lv.600]
Named-class monsters at a staggering level 600.
Those two monsters were locked in a life-and-death struggle.
Was the battle as fierce as their identical levels suggested?
Both seemed to have suffered no small amount of damage.
Guyver licked his lips.
“The enemy of my enemy is my ally.”
Yes, this was a chance to hunt two named monsters.
Under normal circumstances, even facing one of them would have been burdensome. But the creatures were focused on each other. If they aimed for that opening, wiping them both out should be possible.
‘But before it’s stolen from us.’
Now that the experience and drop rate buff had activated,
the other guilds would also be speeding up, just as they were.
He could not allow such an opportunity to slip away right before his eyes.
The number one ranked paladin.
A skill he had obtained as a reward from a class quest.
[Crusader’s Protection] activated.
Shaaaaaak—!
Golden light began to pour out from Guyver.
Guyver shouted.
“Gather around me. We charge.”
A skill that granted attack and defense buffs to nearby allies,
while dealing continuous damage to enemies.
As befitting a reward from a class quest, its effects were outstanding beyond words.
“Oooh! So this is Mr. Guyver’s skill!!”
“The effect is incredible.”
“As expected, he isn’t a ranker for nothing.”
The boost to morale that came from it was a bonus.
Shushushuk—!
Following Guyver’s command,
a rain of arrows and attack skills poured down.
The players charged with Guyver at the lead.
“We take down the Ragged Giant first!”
They would aim for its back while the Black Iron Eagle clung to it.
Flutter—!
“?!”
However, that plan went up in smoke with a flap of the Black Iron Eagle’s wings.
The Black Iron Eagle soared into the air, changed direction,
and targeted the supporter players in the rear.
Guyver’s mind went blank.
“What the hell?”
The creatures that had been fighting as if they would kill each other just moments ago
had instantly joined forces to attack them.
“Damn it……!”
Guyver shouted urgently.
“All forces, retreat! Protect the rear!”
They fled with their tails between their legs.
There was no trace left of the momentum of their charge.
Damn it, no disgrace could be worse than this.
Guyver gritted his teeth.
‘I admit that I was hasty.’
But my judgment was not wrong.
Wasn’t this pattern too much?
This was a trap.
A cunning trap that anyone would have fallen for……!!
*
……
Wow, they’re fighting brutally.
So it was true that in Predator Zones, monsters fought among themselves even when there were no players around. Those things really are fighting as if they’re trying to kill each other, aren’t they?
With an elegant gaze,
the nymph watching the scene spoke.
“What should I do, Lord Hoyeol?”
Spirits, by nature, do not like fighting.
However, a contracted spirit is a different story.
Even apart from the terms of the contract, a spirit is influenced by the nature of its contractor. In other words, the nymph’s quick grasp of the situation was due to my influence.
Let’s see.
From atop a lotus leaf floating over the marshland,
I observed the tide of battle.
‘We should be reaching the center of the marshland soon.’
According to the nymph,
the fighting was even more active at the center.
It was because the trophy was located there.
‘As proof, they started grabbing each other by the collar from this point on.’
Players were an afterthought.
The monsters were in the middle of a death match among themselves.
‘Honestly, if I had my way.’
I wanted to barge into that battle.
Both of them were exhausted.
Meaning I wanted to hunt them both and make off with the experience and trophies without lifting a finger.
‘It’s not taking advantage of them. It’s a common-sense judgment.’
Honestly, who could turn away from an opportunity like this?
However, as obsessed with battle as I was,
wasn’t I mad in a different sense?
I said to the nymph,
“It is a battle in which they have staked their pride against one another.”
Yes, I mean I’m insane about pride……!
In order to prove their strength and seize the trophy,
the monsters had flocked to the Predator Zone.
Grandfell’s pride must consider that behavior reasonable.
Moreover,
“To intrude upon that death match would go against pride.”
To cut in and aim for the back of their heads?
As expected, unless there was a reason that aligned with pride,
I could never get away with taking advantage of things.
The nymph bowed her head gracefully.
“I see. So that was your intent. I shall keep it in mind.”
Please don’t look as if you’ve realized something.
The plea echoing in my chest lasted only a moment.
I cast aside my lingering attachment.
‘To be honest, I’m not confident I can hunt them properly.’
In truth, I don’t even have the energy to lift chopsticks to mooch off them.
Above all, the amount of mana being drained by my contract with the nymph was a burden.
Since we had formed a contract, the nymph would also play an active role in battle, but how much help that would be was unknown.
‘I’ve never seen a spirit before, after all.’
The only ability of a spirit, of the nymph, that I had confirmed
was the blessing that had accelerated the growth of the Four-Colored Mistletoe.
In truth, even that alone made contracting with the nymph a tremendous achievement.
Why, because from that, I had gained an idea for 『The Cultivation Method of Elixir Herbs』.
But I had no intention of being satisfied with that alone.
Because in that moment, I witnessed it.
Something completely different from [Skills] and 『Magic』.
A spirit’s {Nature} ability……!
That was something also specified in books related to spirit studies.
‘Even if it isn’t the case for other mages, for me.’
What that meant was simple.
The number of anomalies I could make use of had increased.
I had witnessed the potential of Anomaly in the previous Rift.
‘The Rift fragment that could not be pierced by 『Magic』 alone.’
And that magic had not been ordinary magic either.
In terms of destructive power, it was Banglet’s pure magic, which would rank among the very best even in the Magic Tower.
With even Banglet’s magic unable to pierce that Rift fragment,
I had broken through it with [Aesthetic Sense]
combined with 『Magic』 into [『Anomaly』].
‘It could become [{Anomaly}],
or it could become {『Anomaly』}.’
To put it simply,
{Nature} had also become a way to survive, a well I had dug.
And a well that would not dry up easily at that!
“It is like the eye of a storm.”
That was enough idle thought.
At the nymph’s words, I nodded.
My appearance could only be described as leisurely and relaxed.
The closer we drew to the center, to the trophy,
the more often I saw monsters fighting to the death. Since they were busy fighting one another, they probably didn’t think a low-level player like me was worth paying attention to.
As for me, I was actually grateful.
‘The trophy is just as important as levels.’
Above all, I needed to confirm it.
A Predator Zone.
What exactly was the trophy
that drew in the named-class monsters known as predators?
As if they were bewitched by something.
Yes, as if they were under a status abnormality.
The trophy that made them fight one another.
‘There’s no small chance that it’s a demonic item.’
Yes.
If there existed even the slightest possibility that demons were involved,
Grandfell’s pride would not be able to sit by and watch.
‘He really goes out of his way to live a tiring life.’
Before long, we reached the center of the marshland.
Players came into view.
Players who seemed to have touched something they absolutely should not have.
‘This almost turned into a serious disaster, didn’t it?’
A zombie giant and an eagle as huge as the giant.
I saw players being helplessly beaten down by the two monsters.
People all think alike, after all.
‘Looks like they put into practice what I only thought about.’
As a result, they seemed to be suffering horribly.
‘That means I might have ended up like that.’
At least those players had comrades.
I was alone.
‘Without even being able to properly enjoy the experience and drop rate buff…….’
Without being able to put up any meaningful resistance,
I would have been sent straight to the underworld.
In other words, I would have died after doing nothing but benefiting others.
Even though it would not have been enough for me to clutch my chest in relief,
I shamelessly declared,
“The price for taking pride lightly is a heavy one.”
The nymph nodded.
“You are correct.”
Then, looking at something, she said,
“That enormous boulder is the trophy desired by all who have gathered here. More precisely, something inside that boulder is likely drawing them all in.”
The moment I saw it, I understood.
Why had no one been able to claim the trophy until now?
Because this was a Predator Zone where battle never ceased.
Each of them had refused to give the others
an opening to break that boulder and seize the trophy.
However.
“That is not a boulder.”
That premise itself was wrong.
As I said, that was not a boulder.
“It is a seed.”
Yes, knowledge.
To be precise, the knowledge I had acquired through [Pentagram of Pure Knowledge]
was telling me.
That was not a boulder, but the seed of a plant.
“……
A seed?”
Even if she was a lower spirit, she was still a spirit of the forest.
If it was the seed of an existence even a forest spirit did not know of?