◈ Episode 28. Knights of the Lionheart (1)
It’s said that every three years, you can celebrate a good year.
‘Well, it’s not three years.
At least my brain is better than a dog’s.
Thanks to you, I can remember.
I remembered my lessons at the Akshan base.
-The Seven Deadly Sins. They are referred to as great evils, just like the Devil.
The Seven Deadly Sins.
The seven common sins.
Pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth.
Yes, that’s the scent of the big names.
The difference between them and the common demons is their names.
-You will not have to face them anytime soon, but be aware and vigilant. For one day you will surely come face to face with them.
That is what the Demon Hunter of Akshan said.
Evils, they’re supposed to be strong.
It wasn’t their time to show up then.
There was no need to explain it.
But wasn’t that a decade or two ago?
“Unfortunately, that’s all I know.”
I had left Arcana in the fold.
The 12-year gap chills me to the bone……!
But for now, it was enough.
‘I’m sure.’
The quest window.
And that message just made it clear.
[The Yusra Islands begin to be tainted by greed].
[Collapse Progress: 1/10]
A great evil crouches in the Yusra Islands.
He’s the Seven Deadly Sins, Greed.
That explains the decay progression.
“When the progression is full, the evil awakens.
……was. Wait a minute.
I almost got goosebumps.
I suddenly remembered the setup of the Yusra Islands.
” …… Isn’t that too much of a trap?
Isn’t this too much of a favorable environment for a great evil?
The Yusra Islands were a legendary treasure island.
Greed aside.
People would naturally want to find the legendary treasure.
Just like now.
The players murmured.
One of them shouted.
“It’s The Shining! They’ve already captured one island!”
“Wait, so one in ten, does that mean……?”
“Yeah, I think it’s the Yusra Islands, and it goes up every time you clear an island. By the way, what did he get? Treasure!”
“Are you crazy, they’re just going to give that away? But they did get the island treasure.”
The Yusra Islands consist of 10 islands.
The Shining Guild cleared one of them.
Then the collapse progression increased.
“That makes sense.”
No, I was sure.
The moment all ten islands were captured.
Greed, the great evil that sleeps in the Yusra Islands, would be awakened.
But isn’t that a little too much for an evil?
“Despicable.”
You’re a tycoon, and you set up a trap like this.
“But he must be evil to be despicable.”
That was my reaction when I realized the truth.
And the moment I realized the truth.
“!”
The quest window flashed.
[Class Quest: Origins]
The prelude rises, and the torch is lit.
You are the last demon hunter.
Uncover the world of evil.
─Train your weakened body. (Repeat)
Investigate the great evil of the Yusra Island. (Success)
Stop the resurrection of the Seven Deadly Sins of Greed. (Ongoing)
Keep the island’s treasures from being tainted by greed. (Ongoing)
This is a good thing.
Defeat Greed, not the other way around.
By the way, kill or be killed.
It’s the same thing.
“‘What are you going to do?
I shifted my gaze back to the players.
“Let’s hurry. It’s an island treasure or something. We should have one!”
“… …… Are we allowed to touch it? It looks like it’s going to increase the collapse progress.”
“Senior, that’s none of our business. It’s not like we’re going to solve it by standing still. The other assholes don’t care about the collapse, they just want to find the treasure.”
I didn’t want to say anything.
That was a normal human reaction.
It’s not like he’s a saint or anything.
If they came for the treasure, they’re going to find it.
“And they don’t realize it’s a trap.
So I didn’t want to criticize them.
It’s not just those players.
At this moment, every player in the Yusra Islands is probably thinking the same thing.
That was the source of my frustration.
I thought realistically.
“Convince them? No way.
You better believe me.
They’re not going to believe I’m a demon hunter first.
You said there’s no such class in Arcana.
If there were, they’d all have been deleted ten years ago.
Well, then…….
There’s only one way to find out.
I must claim the island’s treasure!
The goal of the quest is always the same.
was to keep the island’s treasure from being tainted by greed.
Isn’t it possible to obtain the island’s treasure without greed?
Of course, that’s something only a saint can do.
But I know.
Because that saintly man was right here.
“For Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo, wealth was temporary. Born to a great family and having tasted the end of affluence, he had no reason to be obsessed with glorified wealth.”
Yes, even in the face of 110 billion.
Even in the face of a unique material item, a pure emerald crystal.
Not even greed.
Wasn’t I the one who didn’t even twitch the corners of my mouth?
So I didn’t delay.
“I must hurry.”
All to prevent the resurrection of greed.
I must claim the island’s treasure…….
No, I must devour it.
*.
The Shining.
Rox checked his messages.
“……Collapse progress, Camilla, Dmitri.”
“Uh, it popped up for me too?”
“Me too~”
Shining, the best guild in the world.
Second in the player rankings, Rocks.
Not only were they talented, but their accumulated experience spoke for itself.
“I guess it’s because we acquired this treasure.”
Rox shrugged.
Yes, the Yusra Islands wouldn’t give away their treasures so freshly, and the real game would only begin once all ten islands’ treasures had been acquired.
“Has the countdown begun?”
“Ugh. No. I thought you were going to take it easy.”
“By the way, Jessie, when is this coming? Ouch!”
Gentlemen, please.
Dmitri treated the injury.
Jesse is absent, attending a conference in Magic Tower.
The Shining’s strength didn’t suffer much.
Even without Jesse, they had managed to defeat the Named Monsters on each island and claim the island’s treasures.
“Well. No word yet.”
No word from Jesse.
But Rox had a vague idea of what had happened at the Magic Tower.
He had a rough idea of what was going on.
The Shining, the best guild in the world.
There were plenty of players who didn’t have to be Jesse to attend their regular meetings.
The members of that guild were speaking in unison.
“I’m glad I set him up as a dangerous person.
Lee Ho-yeol.
We knew he was up to no good.
Of course, the incident in the magic tower was more than Rox could have imagined.
‘I’ve never been up there before.
Of course, I’ve never even spoken to the chief mage.
So he had to be clear.
“What stance should we take?”
Friendly or hostile.
We had to decide where we stood with Lee Ho-Yeol.
Rox brushed back her spilled bangs.
“I’d like to go out on a good note. Don’t you think?”
“I agree. I’m tired from the Skar alone.”
“I’m with you on that one – the mere mention of a Skar makes my head hurt.”
No reason to be hostile, then.
Rox muttered, and Camilla whispered.
“You’d all better watch out if you don’t want to be hated by Jessie. It’s not good, that sparkle in her eye. Just like when I first found out I was in love…….”
“Isn’t that just a weird skill Jesse has, that’s the only time his eyes sparkle.”
” ……You’re a real freak, are you. And do you know anything about the female mind, because if you did, you could have rented the whole hotel lounge and it wouldn’t have made a difference~”
“……You’re crazy, dude, did you finish your sentence?!”
Anyway, the moment the Shining decided to take a stand on Ho Yeol.
Another message popped up.
[The Yusra system begins to be tainted by greed].
[Collapse Progress: 2/10]
It has begun in earnest.
I’m guessing the World Unification Council has acquired the island’s treasure.
Rox said, leaving the two arguing behind.
“Let’s get moving. To the next island.”
- https://pindangscans.com
[The Yusra Islands begin to be tainted by greed].
[Collapse Progress: 2/10]
There’s a tangible reward at stake.
Progress is rapid.
This is why I said I would devour the island’s treasures.
I’ll have to modify my grand ambitions.
‘First, only on this island.
I must acquire the island’s treasure.
In fact, just one is daunting.
Not to mention the top guilds like Shining and World Unification.
Even the number one ranked player, Skal, is bound to make a move.
That means you’ll have to compete with those players to get the Island Treasure.
The good news was that just one Island Treasure was enough to stop the Great Evil from resurrecting.
‘If you’re one treasure short, you can’t fulfill the requirement.
……I’m curious, though.
What kind of item is it?
Is it called the treasure of the island?
Is this greed?
Of course, I won’t let this greed control my body and mind.
Why, even at the cost of his life.
I think of the pride of the Grandfell.
I knew it all too well from experience.
It was then that I emerged from the palm grove.
I saw something shiny in the distance.
“Armor,” I thought, “plate armor.
It wasn’t a strange sight in the player-filled Yusra Islands.
In fact, I’d say I looked a lot weirder in a suit.
Anyway, it was the uniformity that gave me a chill.
“They’re all wearing plate armor.”
I counted at least a hundred people.
And they were all wearing plate armor.
That’s where I recognized them.
“They must not be players.”
Wearing plate armor.
Only players of the Warrior or Knight class.
“No reason to swarm.”
There’s nothing more inefficient than a single class moving together.
So, it was the NPCs?
Even as my mind raced, I didn’t stop my confident stride.
“Of course.”
It was then that I noticed the sigil on the armor.
A lion’s head on the shoulder.
I opened my mouth to speak.
“Knights of the Lionheart.”
It was a sigil I could never forget, even after twelve years of disassociation with the Arcana.
A lion’s head.
It was the symbol of the Knights of the Lion Heart, rumored to be the strongest knights in the Empire.
“Just like the Magic Tower, the Knights of the Lionheart also have been summoned.
Indeed, they lived up to their reputation as the strongest in the Empire.
And the most impressive thing is the heat.
Their plate armor shines like a mirror without a speck of dust.
Even Grandfell’s aesthetics gave it a thumbs up.
“Indeed, it lives up to its reputation.”
Of course, Arcana was no longer a game.
Neither were the NPCs.
It’s not like they’d let me get away with talking to myself.
“Who are you?”
A man who appeared to be the leader of the knights asked.
……What the hell, that sympathetic tone.
I replied as usual.
“My name is Lee Ho-yeol. I didn’t expect to meet the Knights of Lionheart here.”
……Wait, you’d think we were filming a real historical drama!
This was a different kind of embarrassment.
It was more of a verbal shame.
But like greed.
My inner shame was never expressed.
I shamelessly asked the man back.
“May I also ask your name?”
I could see the man’s eyes widen at my question.
“…… You’re obviously an adventurer by the way you’re dressed.”
I remembered.
NPCs used to call players adventurers.
I never thought I’d be criticized for my outfit by an NPC, though.
I should’ve just tried to match my armor, really.
Soon the man spoke up.
“You seem a little different from the other adventurers. I am Knight Templar Lionheart, Kingsguard of Harkon.”
Templar.
I’m tempted to say hello to my own gut.
I wonder if this is more than just a swollen gut.
The highest order in the Empire.
Even in front of the Knights Templar of Lionheart.
I can’t believe he can stand so straight.
It’s not a strange thing to do.
I’ve done worse to Marcelo, the Chief Mage of the Magic Tower.
“But, adventurer. I’m afraid this is not the time for our sassy chit-chat.”
Harkon sounded sorry.
Just as he finished speaking.
KOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
My vision shook.
More precisely, the ground I was stepping on shook.
I could feel it in my gut.
“It’s the Named Monster.
I saw it in the update history.
A named monster, I’m sure, one on each of the ten islands.
By the looks of it, Harkon was going to hunt it down with his knights.
Of course, if that’s the case.
Not that it would change my plans.
“You’re right, there’s no time for small talk.”
The knights drew their swords and shields.
I, too, raised my magic.
Then Harkon spoke, surprised.
“Adventurer. That creature is dangerous. Should we retreat……?!”
Back off?
Harkon blurted out.
For some reason, his gaze wasn’t on my suit…….
No, it was fixed on the brooch.
Harkon looked at me in disbelief.
“Is that brooch……, adventurer, by any chance do you have some sort of connection to the Magic Tower?”
……Wait, that’s an interesting reaction, isn’t it?
But like I said.
Harkon waiting for my lips to fall.
To him I said flatly.
“I told you, we’ll talk about this after the job is done.”
Thump-!