◈ Episode 99. Top Secret (2)
Mage-style communication.
There was no need for unnecessary conversation there.
Information about the rifts flowed into my head through telepathy.…
So much mana, seriously!
To think he was sending telepathy not only to me, but to all the senior mages as well.
If it were me, I would have already collapsed from mana exhaustion.
My astonishment lasted only a moment.
I felt something familiar about the locations of the rifts.
‘They look similar to the time at Frost.’
The descent ritual of the Demon King Decarabia that had taken place in Frost.
That descent ritual had required sacrifices.
And a procedure.
‘Like the magic circle drawn in blood and corpses.’
Eleven rifts had been generated.
Their positions looked like a specific pattern, just like back then.
Senior mage Bangrit carefully opened his mouth.
“……
It looks something like a horse, doesn’t it?”
If there was a constellation related to horses, perhaps it would look like that.
Now that I heard it, it did seem that way.
But that wasn’t the important part.
Judging by the distance between each rift.
The problem was that the scale of this descent ritual was incomparably larger than it had been in Frost.
I couldn’t help but flinch inwardly.
‘The amount of sacrifices needed is different from the start.’
Between a lower Demon King and an upper Demon King,
there existed a gap even greater than that between an ordinary demon and a Demon King.
The words of Akshan, the demon hunter, truly hit home.
‘No wonder figures on the level of elder mages are going this far…….’
They must be causing this uproar in order to make an upper Demon King descend.
But naturally, I did not show that emotion.
『No temptation, deception, or trial from any demon can leave even a scratch upon Granfell’s noble pride.』
Yes.
Even before an upper Demon King,
that damned heavy pride of Granfell would not waver without backbone.
Even if it sank under its own weight.
But also naturally.
‘Of course, I have no intention of sinking whatsoever.’
This wasn’t my first time.
I knew what this damned pride was like.
In order not to sink,
I had been struggling constantly.
And this time would be no exception.
“The Demon King is not what you should concern yourselves with.”
That was why I had moved like this, wasn’t it?
To stop the descent of that great and mighty Demon King.
I continued calmly.
“Dispose of the traitor Karimzeva. Focus on the objective.”
That was right.
In the end, the crux of the matter was Karimzeva.
‘Why worry in advance about an upper Demon King descending?’
We had prepared thoroughly and moved precisely to prevent such a mishap in the first place. So stop saying things that’ll jinx us, Senior Mage Bangrit Tom.
I had opened my mouth with that meaning in mind, and yet.
“However, even if the Demon King is revived, you have nothing to worry about.”
Before the Demon King’s descent ritual,
my damned pride only rose even higher.
In the end, I had no choice but to spout words I didn’t mean.
“I am here.”
……
I had resolved that if I was going to go mad, I might as well go properly mad.
‘I never intended to go this mad!’
If I could, I wanted to hurl curses at myself.
Because the people before me right now.
Were they just any ordinary people?
They were the real powers of the Magic Tower, the greatest armed organization in Arcana.
‘Senior mages, a chief mage, and as if that weren’t enough, even an elder.’
This wasn’t just showing off in front of experts……
For someone who was only level 333, there was nothing I couldn’t say.
This was a level of shame utterly different from running my mouth in front of players.
But my brazen, shameless mask did not change in the slightest.
“Understood.”
Nod, nod—
At Marcelo’s answer, I saw Bangrit and the other senior mages nodding their heads.
Please, I hope they didn’t take my words seriously.
As I prayed desperately,
Marcelo continued.
“Then we will move according to the plan.”
Ooooooh—
That was a kind of signal.
Through telepathy, everyone had grasped the information about the rifts.
Each of them manifested a portal.
Naturally, I stayed still.
I had to conserve as much mana as possible.
‘I did dope myself with elixir herbs, but still.’
Thorough preparation.
Naturally, that included elixir herb doping.
[Mana regeneration slightly increases for 6 hours.]
[Mana regeneration slightly increases for 3 hours.]
[Mana regeneration slightly increases for 1 hour.]
……
It was, quite literally, full doping.
As long as the effects did not overlap,
I had eaten everything said to be good for mana regeneration.
‘It would have been truly awful without even this.’
This, too, must have been part of my struggling.
Still, thanks to the information on elixir herbs I had acquired through the [Pentagram of Pure Knowledge],
I had been able to consume various types of elixir herbs with various effects.
Obtaining elixir herbs itself was not difficult.
‘At the auction house, they’re treated like junk items.’
Knowledge about elixir herbs was far too vast.
It was only natural that players would find it difficult to recognize their true value.
There was also a limit to figuring out their effects by consuming them directly.
‘Basically, whenever I saw an elixir herb, I bought it.’
Among them, though not as good as the Four-Colored Mistletoe, there had even been a few precious elixir herbs that permanently increased stats.
Still, at that level, perhaps there were people with discerning eyes. Bidding wars did happen, but.
Who was I?
No, who was Granfell?
The incarnation of integrity who had transcended material life.
Even when buying green tea bags, I searched for the lowest price before making the purchase. My astronomical bank balance remained untouched. In other words, even if the elixir herbs were expensive, I could buy them without hesitation.
[Name: Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo]
[Title: Last Adventurer]
[Class: Demon Hunter]
[Level: 333]
[Stats]
Strength: 62 / Agility: 66 / Mana: 287 / Luck: 6 / Aesthetic: Low
[Available Points: 0]
The status window before my eyes was the result of that struggle.
As for strength and agility,
I had steadily raised them through class quests.
Considering even that, I possessed a total stat value that far exceeded players of the same level.
Of course, numbers like these would mean nothing before Karimzeva.
“Now, let us go.”
I am not alone, Karimzeva.
Tap—
Elder Mage Senios struck the floor with his staff.
Immediately, a portal manifested.
Seriously?
This wasn’t on the level of exploration, interference, or whatever else!
Well, once one reached the level of a senior mage of the Magic Tower, they could manifest portals as if it were nothing.
So one might not feel just how incredible Senios was.
‘But how is this ordinary magic?’
A portal was undeniably high-ranking magic.
Even among players, those who could use portal skills could be counted on one hand.
And their performance was so inferior that it was embarrassing to even compare them.
‘He’s manifesting a portal like he’s casting Light.’
To think that such a Senios would be with me.
Yes, for me, the weakest one, this level of consideration was only fair for balance.
As I thought that shamelessly,
Senios suddenly asked me.
“Chief Lee Hoyeol. Are you rather sensitive to the cold?”
A random question.
Well, if it’s the cold, I absolutely hate it.
From Russia to Hokkaido.
‘Even now, when I think about wearing nothing but a long coat in that cold wave.’
I feel like the chill is seeping into my bones.
Somehow, I’d had the misfortune of being tied to cold regions often.
Of course, making a fuss over the cold?
That was impossible for Granfell’s dignity.
I answered calmly.
“Even the cold cannot stop me.”
“Is that so? Then that is fortunate.”
Wait, what was fortunate?
It didn’t take long to understand what he meant.
Whoooooosh—!
……
What the hell is this cutting wind?
I could tell from the air seeping into my lungs.
This was cold on an entirely different level.
‘Thank goodness I prepared the Warmth buff.’
If it hadn’t been for the jewel box that bestowed the [Warmth] buff on stored accessories,
then dressed in a suit as I was, I would have been suffering from hypothermia within minutes. That was how cold this was!
Through the flurrying snow,
what I saw was a snowy plain.
And a rift.
At that moment, the rift’s coordinates surfaced in my head.
Inwardly, I resented Senios.
Of all the many, many rifts……
‘Why did you choose the rift in the Arctic?!’
There was no doubt.
Senios definitely had something against me……!
Of course, it wasn’t as though I could say anything.
I did have a conscience.
Treating my superior with respect? As if. I had spoken casually and even defied him.
Considering what I had done, it would be stranger if he didn’t hold something against me.
“I like how brisk it is.”
However, Senios did not seem to have any ulterior motive.
At this moment, his gaze had sunk coldly.
The purpose of leaving the Tower that he had declared with his own mouth.
The execution of Karimzeva.
It was unmistakably the gaze of a man thinking only of his objective.
Out of all the many rifts, he had chosen the Arctic rift.
‘Then it was simply a coincidence?’
If so, what kind of cruel trick of fate was this!
It wasn’t as if I was doing military service in Cheorwon.
From Russia to Hokkaido, and now the Arctic.
Why the hell do I keep having to see snow……!!
“The stronger the opponent, the more important it is to choose an advantageous battlefield.”
An advantageous battlefield?
At Senios’s words, I recalled his epithet.
If Karimzeva had been called the Fire Dragon,
‘Senios of the Perennial Snow.’
Then he was the pinnacle of freezing magic.
“However, Karimzeva. If it is that arrogant and foolish fellow, then he likely has not kept such simple common sense in mind at all. In other words, the probability is the same. We will not know until we check beyond that.”
Senios immediately headed toward the rift.
“Now then, Karimzeva. Let us see whether he is here.”
As I followed him, I thought.
Even if Senios was beside me.
Even if we had completed all possible preparations.
Facing Karimzeva right from the start would be extremely burdensome.
Please, I hope you possess something called common sense. Karimzeva.
*
It was still a damned unpleasant sensation.
“I cannot get used to it.”
The eleventh.
Karimzeva dusted off his hands as he looked at the final rift.
Everything was merely a process for the sake of the “True Truth.”
Even so, synchronizing with demons felt repulsive.
“The preparations for the ritual are complete. Demon King.”
But now, all that was needed were sacrifices.
Preparing those sacrifices was the demons’ role.
Now, what he had to do was simply ensure that the ritual concluded safely.
All he had to do was burn away the nuisances that came rushing in.
“I do hope you show yourself, Akampatam.”
Whether that was a demon.
Or an adventurer.
There would be no exceptions.
Just as Karimzeva made that resolve.
“……!”
Karimzeva sensed it.
Mana tracking his presence.
It was clearly high-ranking magic.
Naturally, adventurers who remained at no more than apprentice mage level were not even worth consideration. Even excluding adventurers, there were not many who could wield magic of this caliber.
“A mage.”
Murmuring, Karimzeva turned the matter over in his head.
Who was it?
Who was tracking his mana traces?
The ones that came to mind were, as expected.
“Could it be you?”
The elder mages with whom communication had been severed.
No, the demon worshippers.
Karimzeva smiled mockingly.
After drawing too close to demons, had they finally—
“Has even your appearance become no different from demons?”
To Karimzeva, demons were nothing more than a means to witness the “True Truth.”
But they were different.
They had become intoxicated by demonic power.
And in the end, it seemed they had transformed into something no different from demons.
“I do not know.”
Why were they pursuing him now?
He could not tell.
But one thing was certain.
In order to witness the True Truth,
the ritual that had begun had to be successfully completed.
Soon, Karimzeva’s eyes blazed.
“!”
It was then.
The detection magic he had placed around the rifts activated.
Someone had approached a rift where the ritual would be performed.
‘Adventurers?’
If they were adventurers, it did not matter.
That would be no different from sacrifices crawling in of their own accord.
But that was not the case.
Because his detection magic had been seen through and destroyed.
“As expected, it is you.”
Ooooooh—
Karimzeva drew up his mana in an instant.
He would open a portal to that rift at once and burn the traitors to ash.
But contrary to his resolve, Karimzeva could not move.
One.
Two.
And three.
“!”
Something incomprehensible was happening.
There were only two traitors.
Even if, overestimating the situation, Akampatam was interfering with the ritual……
The nuisances should have stopped at three.
But four.
And five.
Six.
Seven.
One after another.
The detection magic at the rifts was being perfectly dismantled.
An unexpected turn of events.
Karimzeva desperately racked his brain.
And then it came to him.
“……
Could it be that the Magic Tower has moved?”
Assume the Magic Tower had moved.
One question after another began to unravel.
The fact that the demon worshippers had been unable to send telepathy.
The fact that someone had traced his mana signature.
The fact that detection spells were being broken one after another, simultaneously.
If the Magic Tower had realized their plan.
Then all of it could be explained. ‘But how?’ Who could possibly have seen through their plan?
The only one who came to mind was the chief mage, Marcelo.
He was practically the only mage who had harbored doubts about the elder mages. But mere suspicion alone would not have been enough to do anything to them, the elder mages. ‘There is no time to sit here agonizing over this.’ Now that the Magic Tower had moved, time was short.
Any other senior mage might have been one thing.
But the chief, Marcelo, was by no means an easy opponent.
And yet, even if the Magic Tower had moved.
The plan would not change.
Just as he had resolved.
Even if it meant throwing away his life. ‘The true truth’ had to be carried through. ‘Is there only one intact Rift?’ Swoosh—Karimzeva opened a portal to the coordinates of that Rift.
He entered the Rift, and waited for the intruder inside.
And then he came face to face with him.
“……!”
With an intruder he had not expected in the slightest.
“I knew it would come to this, Karimzeva.”
The elder mage, Senios.
He had entered the Rift. ‘Did Senios realize our plan?’ No, if he had been able to sense anything amiss.
He would have noticed it long before this.
Because the demon’s curse had clearly clouded Senios’s judgment.
Of course, Karimzeva’s question did not last long.
Because Senios was not alone.
Click—
Reality and the Arcana Continent.
The scenery of the Rift, mingled together.
Through the scattering snowflakes.
A silver-haired man revealed himself.
“!”……
No way?
A possibility suddenly flashed through his mind.
Co-chief Lee Hoyeol.
And Akampatam. ‘Akampatam was certainly trying to make contact with Lee Hoyeol…….’ Wait, what if Akampatam had been caught by Lee Hoyeol?
“……
I see. So that’s what happened.”
Now he understood.
The root of everything.
The one who had moved the Magic Tower.
It was neither Marcelo nor Senios.
It was that bastard, Lee Hoyeol.
“How dare you.”
Karimzeva’s pupils blazed like flames.
Mana that seemed ready to devour everything surged from his body.
Senios instinctively responded, clicking his tongue.
“Still as scorching as ever, I see.”
But even before the fire dragon.
Hoyeol was as he always was.
“High traitor, Karimzeva.”
Even amid the raging heat.
His posture and gaze remained unwaveringly upright.
“You are foolish to the point of being utterly devoid of sense.”
And finally.
Even his voice was cold....
[Masterpiece
—Silk Carp Scale Handkerchief]
[Grade: Unique]
[Restriction: Lv.200]
[Effect: Increases affinity with the fire attribute when equipped]
…….