◈ Chapter 50. Frost (1)
The Shinhwa Group.
To Baek Yi-seol, shinhwa was a huge mountain that must be brought down one day.
If not from below.
A mountain that had to be brought down by standing on top of it.
“Poisonous b*tch.”
That’s what Baek’s mother was called.
Baek Yi-seol was the illegitimate child of her father, Chairman Baek.
It was unfair.
It was unfair that Chairman Baek was the one who did the wrong thing, but it was her mother who was being criticized.
It was unreasonable.
My mother suffered from depression and eventually passed away.
-Please live peacefully. Seol-ah.
In a funeral home where no one was looking for her.
Chairman Baek said that.
But she couldn’t.
He couldn’t stand the ridiculousness of it.
He would have called her a poisonous bitch.
Then I, who would have inherited her blood.
With poison running through my veins.
I would have poisoned the shinhwa and killed it, because only then would this grudge be resolved.
In that way, the Cataclysm was an opportunity.
No, it was fate.
The arcana I started to escape the past, to escape reality.
That arcana had become reality.
Baek Yi-seol did not miss that opportunity.
She walked into the tiger’s den called Shinhwa on her own.
And it wasn’t long before he was recognized by Chairman Baek.
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[Exclusive] Shinhwa Group Chairman Baek Ju-sung, “Baek Yi-seol is my daughter.”
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She became a master of the Shinhwa Guild.
The Shinhwa Guild has become an official affiliate of Shinhwa Group.
Are you happy about that?
Unfortunately, the revenge was only just beginning.
……Yes, I’m sure it was.
“What am I doing now?
The feeling of sinking into unconsciousness.
The only time I came back to my senses.
It was only when someone spoke to me.
“What do you think, are we getting closer to our goal, my dear?”
A view of the hotel.
She saw her reflection in the glass.
……That was definitely her.
But she couldn’t move anything.
Not even the fingers that stroked his reflection in the glass.
She couldn’t even spit out a word.
The voice continued, as if mocking her doubts.
“Of course, it may not be the way you thought it should be, but so what if you regret it, it’s something you can’t change now.”
…… The words struck a chord.
Yes, it was a demon that had taken over his body.
The succubus he’d met in the rift.
The memories of that day came flooding back.
The attack on the rift was a failure.
A demonic monster.
No one had expected such a variable.
Sting─
Baek Yi Seol looked at the guild members who had pointed their swords at him.
All of them had fallen victim to the succubus’ abnormal state.
Is this how we die?
Baek Yi-seol gritted her teeth.
She couldn’t die like this.
Her revenge had only just begun.
Baek Yi-soel clenched her fists.
“‘Even if I have to sell my soul to the devil,……!’
The demon whispered to Baek Yisoel.
“You have an ecstatic look in your eyes, I like it.”
[Intermediate Demon, Succubus has eyes on you].
[Mental power is too low].
[Abnormal condition: possession is occurring].
But Baek Yisoel was mistaken.
What kind of people are demons.
Did you say you were selling your soul?
Away from the trade.
To the demons, humans were all the same.
Insignificant beings to be manipulated.
There was no point in showing remorse.
Baek Yi-seol suddenly realized.
“…… It wasn’t the first time.
Yes, she realized that her body had been taken by a demon.
The process of dejection and falling back into unconsciousness.
He realized he was repeating himself dozens of times.
It plunged him into a deeper sense of helplessness.
The next time, he couldn’t even hear the demon’s voice…….
“Indeed, a lowly demon.”
“……?
But what was this voice?
Not a lowly human, but a demon……?
It was the voice of a man, not a succubus.
Even the succubus was puzzled.
Baek Yi Seol, who had been unconsciously sleeping, woke up due to the agitation.
And he saw Baek Yi-seol.
Her posture was straight and unwavering.
“……wh, what are you talking about?”
It was as if he couldn’t even hear the devil’s temptation.
“This is ridiculous!”
Ho Yeol hunted the demon.
“Argh!!!”
Baek Yi Seol felt an unspeakable feeling.
……Painful?
No, it was far from that.
After all, he wasn’t in a state where he was suffocating along with the demons.
It was more of a mixed feeling that She couldn’t quite put into words.
But one thing is for sure.
‘……Thank you.’
I am grateful to Ho-Yeol.
I remembered the succubus’ cruelty.
It made me feel sick to my stomach.
Not having to do that anymore was worth it.
It was worth dying for.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking at the time…….
“……?”
Shhhh.
I heard a constant sound.
It was the sound of a signature…….
Yes, the sound of a sharp nib cutting through paper.
“……What is it?”
Whatever it is.
It was the strangest sound I’d ever heard in my life.
Baek Yi-seol slowly opened her eyelids.
What she saw was Ho Yeol.
It was as if nothing had happened.
With the same steady posture as his mother.
Ho-yeol was writing something down.
Baek Yi-seol blinked a few times and realized the reality.
I don’t know how it happened, but I’m alive.
Once she realized that, she was able to recognize her situation.
“…….”
I was possessed by a succubus.
Or that he was trying to do something ugly because of it.
Ho-Yeol knew everything about her.
No wonder she was embarrassed, not grateful.
“I should get up.
Baek Yi-seol wiggled her toes and looked at him.
“Wake up.”
“……!”
Ho-yeol called out.
Baek Yi-seol reflexively looked at Ho-yeol, then frowned.
“That’s ……. Thank you.”
But his posture didn’t waver in the slightest.
……I wondered if he had eyes on the sides of his head.
Ho-Yeol continued.
“We’ll talk about the details later.”
……Details?
Quick judgment.
Baek Yi-seol rolled her eyes.
The good news was that she was used to this kind of situation.
So she was able to organize her position quickly.
“……I’m in a position where I can only be dragged around.”
Ho Yeol was a man who knew his place.
Wasn’t he the one who saved her life?
Consider it the price of life.
Baek Yi-seol prepared to accept whatever the deal was.
She calmly opened her mouth.
“You can say anything now.”
But her hard work was for naught.
What came back was an unexpected question.
“Aren’t you the one who owes me something?”
“……?”
It’s a true nobleman.
“I have yet to hear your offer. What investments and risks the Shinhwa Guild is willing to take to participate in the rebuilding of the Yusra Kingdom. Present it clearly at our next meeting.”
“……!”
Not so mean, hiding behind someone’s back.
Not even a single dirty look.
That’s the posture of a nobleman.
Baek Yi Seol nodded at Ho Yeol’s words.
“I understand.”
How could she have misunderstood him so easily?
With gratitude and apology.
Baek Yi-soel continued.
“In that case, I will come back to you with a sincere proposal.”
* https://pindangscans.com
When the natural enemy relationship was not triggered.
In short, a screw was missing.
Add to that the unfamiliar combat style of Sword Energy Radiance.
At best, I could only fight a level 350 monster.
And even then, I’d struggle to defeat a single one.
Of course, considering my level, that was a feat.
Considering the level of the demonic monsters I had defeated, it was definitely low.
As a result, my level was stuck at 230.
Not a slow pace considering the other players.
‘They already know the flavor of the meat.’
But I already knew the flavor.
I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
By the way.
[Name: Grandfeel Claudie Arpheus Romeo]
[Class: Demon Hunter]
[Level: 238]
[Stats]
Strength: 38 / Dexterity: 42 / Magic: 180 / Luck: 3
[Points held: 8]
I defeated the demon possessing Baek Yi-seol.
And then, in one fell swoop, I gained 8 levels……!
I couldn’t help but be happy with the loot.
I must hunt demons.
I don’t know anyone else who was born to be a demon hunter.
‘Anyway, you’re full of yourself.
Demon monsters.
Once again, I realize how vicious they are.
Demons were definitely not like normal monsters.
Even if the rift collapsed and they jumped out.
There was no way to tell under the circumstances.
“Once they possess a human, that’s it.
Why, even the weakest low-level demon imps.
They could easily possess a player, wouldn’t they?
Just like what happened to Nam Chul-min.
‘As if that weren’t enough, the stronger the demon, the more despicable it becomes.
The imp’s behavior is even noticeable to others.
In Baek Yi-seol’s case, no one noticed even after a long time had passed since he was possessed by the demon.
Sigh.
Suddenly, I stopped writing and opened my mouth.
“You are troubling me greatly.”
I realized that maybe this was not a unique case.
Maybe there are demons lurking in the real world, in society, right now.
“I’ll make sure you get what you deserve for interfering with my research.”
……Yes, I don’t know.
There’s no way Grandfell would let that happen.
Well, actually, it wouldn’t be a bad business for me either.
Basically, the demonic monsters were high level.
And I’m their natural enemy.
……Should I welcome this reality?
Seriously, I thought about it for a moment.
Zhiying─
Suddenly, my smartphone vibrated.
“Time is flying by.”
Yeah, it’s a shame to miss a day.
A moment for the cringe-worthy line.
I check my notifications.
Well, this is pretty important.
I finally put down the feather pen and opened an internet window.
I went to the official Arcana website.
To see what new updates had shown up.
*
* https://pindangscans.com
*
The community was filled with player excitement.
-Get to work, Rayman Get to work, Rayman Get to work, Rayman You’re actually starting to work.
-Are you finally waking up?
-Yeah, we need to make some updates to balance things out.
Rifts, big and small, are still being created and cleared without any updates.
Balancing the new update content has been a complete failure lately.
Count Ascura was too much.
I didn’t expect to see a Great Evil on Treasure Island.
The atmosphere was terrifying, even now.
-I thought the world was going to end.
If it wasn’t for Lee Ho-yeol, we would have been really screwed.
-Jer Homen
So it’s no wonder players were so excited about this new update.
It’s like rain in a desert.
『”A new region is coming to your side.”
We’re adding a new region, the Northern City, Frost.”』
Frost.
It was a large city in the northern part of the Arcana continent.
No, not a small town, but a big city.
There was a reason players were so enthusiastic about it.
There were shops, smithies, and other content in the city.
-The Yusra Kingdom is growing rapidly…….
-One Kingdom of Yusra is still not enough.
-The more cities there are, the better.
The influence of Frost in large cities was significant even when Arcana was still a game.
As a result, rankers and large guilds had a lot of connections and influence in Frost.
“We must recover our ranking loss to Gaon!”
“……But I’m sure Gaon was pretty famous in Frost, right?”
“I don’t want to hear that. We must do it no matter what. Even if it means sacrificing!”
It’s not just the players.
The government officials of each country were also on edge.
“We need to find out where the spawn is quickly.”
Frost.
An Arcana metropolis of immense value would appear in the territory of the motherland?
Even if it didn’t have the same effect on the country as Korea’s Magic Tower, it would still be a boost to the country’s competitiveness.
Arcana’s top experts.
AAU didn’t think much differently.
Formerly the head of Cosmo’s development team.
Now the head of the AAU chapter.
In a video conference, they agreed
“After the kingdom of Yusra, Frost has risen. Maybe this is the beginning of humanity’s counterattack.”
“Well, actually, maybe the fightback has already begun, and Lee Ho-yeol is at the forefront of it. By the way, Mr. Lee, the head of the Korean branch. Are you sure you don’t know anything about this player?”
“Don’t ask me that. I’m dying to know too!”
I burst out laughing.
The atmosphere was jovial.
.
. https://pindangscans.com
.
Yeah, I checked the new update history.
The only one who didn’t even flinch.
Only one person.
Me.
With the rise of Frost.
Would the Kingdom of Yusra’s influence fade?
No, it wasn’t for that reason.
Unless.
[Quest window flashes in front of you].
That Frost is not a metropolis full of dreams and hopes.
Because I figured it out before the other players did?
No, not even for that reason.
It’s just the pride of Grandfell.
“One of the first things he learned as the next lord of the house was not to get carried away with petty things.”
I spoke with my usual swagger.
“No amount of demonic temptation, deception, or trial could ever break Grandfell’s lofty pride.”
“You’re no better than a servant when you show up.”
[Class Quest: Slay the Demon King].
“Demon King.”
*