Rank 1.
The benefit the Supreme Heavenly Demon obtained upon entering the world of Ventail was a hidden trait.
Three randomly acquired traits were combined, and the hidden trait best suited to them was granted. That trait was “Violence Is Not Allowed!”
Rank 3.
Irights’ benefit was the right to choose a trait.
The skill “Charm” was indeed a higher-tier skill, but the reason it had been able to spread without limits on distance or number of targets was that she had chosen her trait herself, and that trait meshed all too perfectly with “Charm.”
In other words, Irights had planned on using the Charm skill from the very beginning.
Its synergy was even more outstanding than expected, and if she had not deliberately revealed herself, Charm would have continued spreading without end.
It was the sort of ability that might have made her a villain who surpassed Atawolf and held the entire continent in the palm of her hand.
However, rather than prolonging that meaningless life, Irights willingly revealed herself for the goal she had pursued all her life, and met her death.
Her pitiful, and at the same time sin-laden, soul now slept peacefully within Hio’s lantern.
Rank 5 was Sirbert van Ernhem.
In Korea, he was known as Nam Tae-min, the guild master of Taeryong.
The benefit he obtained was that one of his three basic skills would begin as an intermediate-tier skill.
What he gained that way was “Psychokinesis,” a lower skill of “Telekinesis,” which now symbolized Sirbert himself.
That, too, was an incredible benefit depending on how one used it. It meant his starting line was different; if he made good use of it, he could monopolize what he wanted right from the start.
However, compared to the benefits obtained by the top rankers from 1st to 4th, it was also true that its ceiling was low.
After all, every single thing they had obtained was enough to reach the pinnacle of the world.
Then what about Daphne, ranked 4th?
In this world, she was famous as the Adventurers’ Guild Master. What benefit had she obtained?
* * *
The hill where the entrance to the Abyss was located.
In the game, it had been called Hell Hill, for it was where ruin had begun. Now, that place was under the complete control of the Adventurers’ Guild’s elites.
Every one of those elite guild members was overwhelmingly powerful. And every one of them was a possessor.
On Earth, they were famous people whose names everyone knew. Heroes revered and admired as the first Awakened.
Daphne was the pinnacle and the center of such people.
Even among them, she stood out for her overwhelming strength, her charisma, and even the beauty that harmonized with her uniquely cold, levelheaded aura.
The reason the Adventurers’ Guild had expanded its influence so quickly was because of the power of the possessors who had been captivated by Daphne, gathered around her, and united under her.
Daphne stood halfway up Hell Hill, silently gazing into the entrance of the Abyss.
Her long, dark navy hair fluttered in the wind, yet she did not move in the slightest, only staring quietly at the entrance to the Abyss.
At that entrance like a bottomless pit. At that entrance that might dye the world in hell at any moment.
The surroundings were silent, without the slightest noise.
It was because the guild members, who knew Daphne’s temperament well, were keeping their distance so as not to disturb her contemplation.
“Lady Daphne.”
Behind Daphne, one guild member carefully approached and called to her, and only then did Daphne’s head slowly move.
When those blue eyes, like the deep sea, turned toward him, the guild member who had called Daphne bowed his head deeply.
“They say Hio Pavlenko has arrived.”
That was rather welcome news.
After all, the request for cooperation had been sent with the desperation of grasping at straws.
“The Supreme Heavenly Demon.”
“Yes. He carries the token symbolizing a guardian knight, so it is certain that he is Hio Pavlenko.”
“Let him in.”
Hio Pavlenko.
His true identity was the former server rank 1, the Supreme Heavenly Demon.
For nearly three years, there had been no news of him whatsoever, so she had judged him a coward. But as if mocking Daphne’s thoughts, his recent movements had been anything but ordinary.
He had first appeared in the war of imperial succession, one of the major problems leading to ruin, and personally placed the emperor on the throne.
At the same time, he had stopped Imenia’s attack, seized that momentum to start a war with Black Fang, and even quiet rumors were spreading that he had defeated Atawolf, one of the strongest beings on the continent.
Of course, he had likely been together with the Sword Saint, but even that was more than enough to prove his strength.
The only question was what he had been doing all this time.
It should have been impossible to build strength without Fame Points, so how had he grown stronger? Had he truly inherited the abilities of the Supreme Heavenly Demon from the game, just as Sirbert said?
No, putting all of that aside, what kind of person was he? That was what she was most curious about.
And not long after, the figure of a person began to appear, climbing up from the foot of the mountain.
A bizarre black cloak that seemed to absorb all the light around it. In his hand, a staff that looked as if blood might drip from it at any moment. On his head, a large pointed hat. The sight of the man trudging upward was, how should she put it—
“…That thing?”
To call it the dignity of the 1st place everyone had been searching for was… quite ambiguous.
There was far too much to point out, but first was the staff.
Well, at a glance, it did look fairly impressive.
A murderous appearance, as if blood were dripping from it.
But in the game, a staff was an item carried by people who liked to show off—an item for bluffing, so to speak.
The fact that he was using one so confidently was enough to make her question his mental state.
And what about the robe he wore?
No, if he wanted to wear a robe, he should remove the cloak; if he wanted to wear a cloak, he should take off the robe. What kind of mindset made him wear both at once, and what sort of fashion values did he even have? She could not begin to fathom it.
There was no need to even mention the clown-like pointed hat on his head.
It was truly the worst possible appearance, with the color coordination, types of clothing, and practicality all thrown into chaos.
That was Daphne’s first impression of Hio Pavlenko.
“Oh, so you’re Daphne. This is my first time meeting you in person.”
And yet, despite looking like that, he spoke to her in a friendly manner.
If she had met someone like him on the street, she would have lightly ignored him and passed by. Perhaps she might even have felt a little contempt. But in any case, the other party was the Supreme Heavenly Demon.
She doubted whether he truly was the Supreme Heavenly Demon, but now was not the time to ask such things.
Many eyes were watching.
Countless possessors, split to either side, were observing this place. She was the leader guiding them and the person responsible for managing this Hell Hill.
Daphne’s mouth slowly opened toward the Supreme Heavenly Demon, who had walked up to stand before her.
A cold yet beautiful voice resembling her spread on the wind.
“You must have heard the situation. Supreme Heavenly Demon.”
A labyrinth had appeared on the 10th underground floor of the Abyss.
As a top player who had remained until the very end of the game, Daphne also knew well just how troublesome labyrinths were.
And because she knew there was not much time left, they had to hurry.
“I heard. A labyrinth that should only appear after the 50th floor has already shown up.”
“There are no abnormalities on the other floors. The anomaly began on the 10th floor.”
“Are you certain it’s a labyrinth?”
Daphne nodded.
“Franco and Criton confirmed it, and both of them were rankers within the top 100, so you can trust them.”
“And those two?”
“They got lost in the labyrinth, logged out, and are waiting.”
Why was a labyrinth a labyrinth? Because it was difficult to find the way.
Moreover, the labyrinth of the Abyss was a space that stripped away one’s senses, much like the Baal Forest ruled by Atawolf—no, even more than that.
Even in the game, once labyrinth forms began to appear, the success rate of攻略 had plummeted.
“Figures. There probably isn’t anyone yet who’s learned the relevant skills up to high tier.”
To push through the thick darkness of the labyrinth and find the way, one needed pathfinding-related skills that had reached at least the high tier.
But who in the world would raise such a support skill to high tier?
In the past, it had only been a game, so there had occasionally been people who raised such skills for fun. But this place was not a game; it was reality.
Wasn’t this an ability they had finally obtained? Everyone wanted to be the protagonist, and no one wanted to become someone else’s guide.
“There were people raising guide skills in preparation for labyrinths, but at best, they’re intermediate grade. If that really is a labyrinth, they won’t be of any help.”
And so Daphne’s gaze turned toward Hio.
Her eyes, like the depths of the sea, were asking him.
Do you have the ability to overcome this crisis?
To that, Hio answered.
“I get the gist of it, so let’s hurry in.”
There was not even much thought behind his answer.
As if he had grasped the situation, and everything would be solved as long as they went inside. As if he had a method of his own, he moved without the slightest hesitation.
“…You do have a method, don’t you?”
“I have an idea.”
That was enough confirmation.
There really was almost no time left until the攻略 deadline.
If they failed the攻略, the Abyss Gates would open not only here but also in the original world, and if the difficulty of the Abyss released that way was, perhaps, that of the 50th floor…
Something she did not even want to imagine would unfold indiscriminately.
And so Daphne, too, turned without hesitation.
She stepped toward the bottomless pit yawning open vertically.
“What about the攻略 party?”
The Supreme Heavenly Demon’s question came from behind her.
Without stopping, Daphne stretched her right hand out to the side.
“Is there any particular need for more?”
Particles of light appeared around the hand she had extended.
That light gathered and began to form a massive shape.
“Supreme Heavenly Demon. You only need to find the path.”
It was a single enormous bow.
A bow held in Daphne’s hand, shining blue and exuding a sacred chill.
It was the symbol of the kingdom of snow and ice, Phieria, and a divine armament handed down as legend.
The Divine Bow Laplysia.
The ruler of glaciers, who had once stood at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Supreme Heavenly Demon, who freely wielded flames.
“I will take care of the rest.”
It was the privilege of Daphne, the Ice God.
* * *
In the world of Ventail, a legendary-grade armament was, quite literally, a legend.
It meant they were as difficult to see in reality as a legend.
After all, only two had been released by the time the server came to an end.
One possessed by the Supreme Heavenly Demon, and one possessed by the rank 2 beneath him. That was all.
The Divine Bow Laplysia was an unreleased legendary-grade weapon.
And it was, indeed, a weapon worthy of its name.
Creeeeak—
The sound of a bowstring being drawn with all its might.
The one drawing Laplysia, a bow larger than her own body, was Daphne.
Yet there was no arrow nocked at the end of the bowstring she had pulled.
Instead, around the blue bow, four petals of an even deeper blue spread wide open.
When Daphne, who had drawn the bow to its limit, lightly released her fingers—
Kwaaaang—!
Something shot out from the center of the petals at a speed nearly impossible to see, devastating everything that blocked its path.
A sacred chill pushed away the thick darkness in every direction.
The scene soon revealed was nothing but the wretched remains of Abyss monsters that had been swarming through the labyrinth.
Watching from behind Daphne, Hio clapped softly.
“As expected of the Ice God…”
To be honest, he had missed the sight of the arrow of cold being fired.
His Agility stat was far too low.
What he had confirmed was the mighty, overwhelming power of a legendary-grade weapon.
Daphne had not even used any skill. Though it was a little different, if one were to compare it to the game, that had simply been a basic attack.
How strong would Daphne be when using the skills she had learned, as well as the skills that were surely built into Laplysia?
It was a scene that clearly showed Sirbert’s combat strength was weak compared to the other very top rankers, and this was the true martial power of a topmost ranker.
“You need not praise me so highly. In your eyes, it must look lacking anyway.”
Daphne, who was from another country, had heard the term “Ice God” for the first time. When he explained that it meant a god of ice, she had spoken such humble words.
Within the game of Ventail, the alias spread among NPCs for Daphne had been something else.
Everywhere she appeared was covered entirely in ice, and in awe of that beautiful yet cruel sight, all had called her the Ruler of Glaciers.
The alias “Ice God Daphne” was one Hio alone had used.
Did it not roll nicely off the tongue?
“In any case, is this the right path?”
“Hold on.”
The reason Hio could confidently find the way even within this terrible labyrinth was nothing special.
「‘Authority of Darkness Staff’ skill — ‘Insight of Darkness’ is activating.」
At the same time, his pupils dilated to the very edges of his eyes, and the thick darkness of the Abyss felt more comfortable than anything else in the world.
Darkness became sunlight, and all he had to do was look toward the path leading to the core.
“Yeah. We just have to keep going straight.”
If one could know the path for certain, even a labyrinth was not so difficult.
“Understood.”
After all, Daphne, the Ruler of Glaciers, was with him.
After all, there was the Divine Bow Laplysia, so much like the power she had once freely wielded.
No matter how many monsters of 50th-floor difficulty sprang out, to Daphne, the 1st floor and the 50th floor were not all that different.
Kwaaaang—!
The blue petals spread open once more. From their center shot an arrow of terrible cold.
All that remained was a devastated scene, and Hio merely had to toddle along behind her.
The destination was visible, and the arrow piercing through the path was far too powerful.
There was nothing to obstruct them, and if they continued like this,攻略 within the time limit seemed extremely easy.
So Hio clapped his hands behind Daphne and cheered her on.
“As expected of the Ice God!”
Then Daphne, with a face dripping coldness, said this.
“Excessive praise only hinders growth.”
Then, as Daphne turned her back again, a faint smile brushed past her lips.
“Let us move quickly.”
It seemed Hio’s praise pleased her quite a bit.