◈ Episode 176. Nothing happened……?

 

High Ranking Demon King.

What a fucking weight class.

With all the stat points I’ve invested in magic, and now that [Natural Enemy] has been triggered. I don’t think my magic power is enough to reveal the power of most magic.

An endless stream of messages popped up.

[Blessing of the First World Tree rejects ‘Magic Exhaustion’].

[Blessing of the First World Tree rejects ‘Magic Exhaustion’].

[Blessing of the First World Tree rejects ‘Magic Exhaustion’]…….

Without the blessing of the World Tree. I would have been curled up on the floor long before my legs gave out. That’s a lot of magic drain, seriously.

“More than that.

What struck me was that Gamigin was resisting the [『Anomaly』] at all. He was resisting it simply by his physical strength.

I don’t need to explain its power.

‘That’s the same with the one I met in the broken dimension.’

Even Karimzeva was unable to resist it, as it was an amalgam of two completely different concepts.

Koo-koo-koo-koo!

I rolled my eyes coldly.

If it weren’t for the [Blessing of the First World Tree], would I have been able to defeat Gamigin? No, even if I desperately channeled my magic power, it would only end up causing me to stumble.

But I stopped thinking about that.

“The prone position is the one that suits you.”

Maybe it’s the buffs.

Or pride.

Or a reward for struggling.

Maybe it’s the way Grandfell is set up, where you have to keep your word.

The 4th Throne of Demon King, Gamigin.

I brought him to his knees.

Only then did I see his eyes.

The moment I saw them, I knew.

The Evil Eye of the Sky, looking down on the continent of Arcana.

Gamigin’s eyes glowed with a pupil that looked exactly like the evil eyes.

‘Horrible.’

The Telescope of Evil Eye, which shares Evil Eye vision, illuminates the entire Arcana Continent.

The fact that Evil Eye only opens its eyes at night must be one of the reasons why the Arcana Continent has survived so far.

If we lose Gamigin as it is.

‘There would no longer be a safe time of day on the Arcana continent.’

The Quernberg Machine Tower would not have been safe, nor would the Iron Castle.

In that sense, it’s epic, Grandfell.

Fierce.

Unrivaled.

Unbreakable in front of anyone.

My dark history has done it again today.

And then.

“Akshan.”

In truth, I have already reached my limit.

The point at which I had forced Gamigin to lie flat on his stomach meant that no further manifestation of magic was possible, not even the snapping of a finger.

“□□!”

But Gamigin was steadily falling to hell.

Or more accurately, he was being dragged.

The hellfire, which would have burned all demons, enveloped Gamigin and began to pull him down into hell.

Goooooo-!

In the midst of the hellfire, there were demon hunters.

Unlike me, there were Akshan’s demon hunters, who would continue their endless hunt in Hell.

‘But, if someone calls you, shouldn’t you at least pretend to look at them?’

I felt a little bad that they didn’t even look at me, but that’s Akshan for you.

Indeed, they are cruel enough to bring back memories from years and years ago.

But.

“I’ll watch your back.”

That’s why I can trust you.

Akshan, if they are broken, they will be broken.

Because I know that if I give up my pride, I will drown with it.

Quadruple!

Gamigin sinks through the rift.

The hellfire slowly dying down.

The gates of hell closing.

When the ritual is over, the frozen time finally passes.

The rift begins to fall apart.

‘I’m tired.’

It must be the recoil from the massive amount of magic power that even the Blessing of the World Tree can’t handle.

Damn, I feel like I’m going to collapse at any moment.

But unlike Gamigin, who trembled upon the hellfire.

I’ve been pretending to be fine, pretending to be unaffected, pretending to be calm.

I’m pretty damn good at that.

That means I still have the mental strength to be formal…….

Tuk-tuk.

Dust from clothes lightly brushed off.

I straightened my clothes and stood up straight.

Suddenly, my vision was changed…….

*

Rift cleared.

What was left for the players was not a huge amount of experience points or loot, but experience.

An experience that might be more valuable than experience points and loot.

“……As I speak, players and Arkanians have emerged from the rift, and everyone seems to be safe!”

As the crowd gathered, the players realized once again.

We’ve made it out of that massive rift alive and well.

But I couldn’t help but feel elated.

Something was nagging at me.

“……So, can I ask you a question?”

“?”

“Did you happen to see the message? The last one that popped up.”

“If that’s what you mean, I saw it.”

“I see, that explains the look on your face.”

The message that came to mind as the rift cleared.

[Demon, □□□ appears].

The appearance message was clear even in the light of the rift.

Players knew the message better than anyone.

Ever since the days when Arcana was a game.

Their lives depended on it.

“You should run, right?”

It was a warning.

A sign that a higher-than-appropriate level monster had appeared in the area, and it was time to run. Some players breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, that’s right, the rift just cleared.”

But relief quickly turned to questioning.

The Arcanians had a strange look on their faces.

No, they weren’t the only ones.

The Great Alliance.

The three Guild Masters knew about the plan.

Nam Tae-min spoke up.

“Mr. Hoyeol was right about everything. Judging from the appearance of the message, the High Ranking Demon King must have been resurrected by sacrificing the demon we defeated.”

“……What happens then?”

“According to plan, I suppose.”

“Fuck, the plan.”

Leonie hadn’t objected to the plan.

Being the only one against it was a sign of weakness.

But she was determined.

If the High Ranking Demon King were to appear before her.

She would not stand idly by.

Boom.

Hisagi grabbed the shaft of his spear.

“But we never had a chance, did we?”

It wasn’t just Leonie and Hisagi’s thoughts.

Nam Taemin, Harkon, and everyone else felt the same way, if not worse.

Even the Shadow Mercenaries.

“Damn.”

A snap.

Rockid gritted his teeth.

He’d heard about the plan from Kichi.

It wasn’t enough to enter the Rift alone, but to hunt down a High Ranking Demon King by himself?

To put it simply, doesn’t this mean that your famous employer is just going to pretend to be cool again?

“It’s not enough to pay off the debt.”

Rockid was a fan of moving picture frames and television.

Thanks to it, Rockid had witnessed the entirety of the day he fell to Elsidor.

He replayed it several times and realized.

He could have fought a thousand times, but he couldn’t beat the big eared one.

And then.

“This Rockid’s ransom is far from enough!”

He realized that if his employer, Hoyeol, hadn’t shown up, he’d be dead or crippled for life. So he’d quickly fulfill his quota and join Hoyeol.

A plan?

He’d never seen one in his life anyway.

“I swear I heard horses’ hooves…….”

But just as things were about to get serious.

He was kicked out of the rift.

Rockid turned to his partner, Alkari.

“Old man, let me ask you a question.”

“What?”

“Is our commander-in-chief different from me?”

“… … Are you talking about what happened?”

Old man, you’re getting old, you’re full of shit…….

If only I hadn’t gotten the potion……!

Rockid suppressed his anger and asked again.

” ……I’m not asking about that, I’m asking if I’ll have the ability to not be bounced out of the rift when I’m a commander-in-chief.”

“Well, I’ve never had that conversation with Lord Hoyeol, so I don’t know. So this is an old man’s guess, but……. I don’t think anyone can resist a rift, let alone Lord Hoyeol.”

“What makes you think that?”

“C’mon, do you think you can resist something like that?”

Something like that……?

Rockid looked at the rift.

Then he nodded quickly.

“Sure. that thing is full of whimsy. Casting us off to other worlds, moving metropolises the size of Frost in an instant!”

Yes, that would be impossible no matter how good you are at magic and how much mana you have. But even as he nodded in understanding, the question remained.

Rockid scratched his complex head.

“So, how do you think our commander-in-chief going to catch the High Ranking Demon King?”

“Tsk.”

He didn’t even understand.

Too many questions.

Even worse, I don’t even realize it.

‘If I knew that, I wouldn’t be here worrying like this.’

Alkari’s brow furrowed.

The adventurer spoke up.

“Wait, it says we have to clear the last rift?”

“What, where’s the last rift?”

“The 20th Throne!”

“……!!!”

If it’s the 20th throne, then it’s the rift that Lord Ho Yeol entered……!

Those who knew about the plan could only swallow their saliva dryly.

The rift was cleared, which meant one of two things.

The plan succeeded or failed.

.

.

. . .

Portal manifestation.

[20th Throne].

Those who gathered at the location of the rift saw.

The line of honor, standing as stiffly as ever.

As always, their looks and expressions gave nothing away.

Marcelo and Harkon exchanged glances.

Nod.

They nodded and moved toward Hoyeol.

Then they asked Hoyeol, who still had his back turned.

But.

“Sir, the plan is……?”

There was no answer despite his polite tone.

This was impossible due to Hoyeol’s nature of placing importance on formality.

Soon enough, he realized.

“……Marcelo!”

Marcelo wasted no time in responding to Harkon’s call.

A great surge of magic.

Marcelo manifested a portal.

.

.

.

Magic Tower.

Bellier opened her mouth.

“I think he’s simply lost his mind.”

Sighs erupted from all around.

They hadn’t expected Hoyeol to lose his mind and faint.

They hadn’t even dared to imagine it.

Vangrit muttered in a low voice.

” ……I can’t believe you stood up until the end.”

He did.

Hoyeol had fainted while standing upright.

Thud.

Bensch jabbed his elbow into Vangrit’s side.

Holding him by the side, he whispered in his ear.

“Vangrit, do you really have to act like a commoner?”

“……I apologize.”

“We didn’t mean to hear you apologize! Think of the eyes that see. We are senior mages of the Magic Tower. We should always carry ourselves with dignity.”

Hmph.

Of course, Bensch’s voice was unusually trembling as he gave such a scolding.

Truly, no one had expected this.

Marcelo summarized the situation.

“The fact that he’s overexerted himself to the point of losing consciousness must be evidence that he’s working on a plan, though we won’t know the outcome until he wakes up.”

Harkon said bitterly.

“Truly, my lord.”

Nam Taemin, who had been silent, spoke up.

“I don’t know if you know this, but in our world, Mr. Hoyeol is a symbol of peace, because if he is shaken, the world is shaken.”

Nam Taemin clenched his fist.

” ……He must have known this better than anyone else, because he couldn’t have fallen down after losing his mind. He had to force himself to stand up, to pretend he was okay.”

I wonder if it was because of Hoyeol’s consideration.

Only the people gathered here knew that Hoyeol had collapsed.

Or, to put it another way, at this moment.

The world was drunk on sweet victory.

Kichi swept a hand through his long hair.

‘You’ve got a lot to worry about, employer.’

The Shadow Mercenaries.

Because they are not great people who would come to visit someone in hospital.

Kichi, the leader, turned to Magic Tower as a representative.

‘… … Anyway, I have a lot of sins in the Magic Tower.’

As expected, the Magic Tower was a breathtaking space.

I don’t have anyone close to me, and the people I know… … .

The only person she felt connected to at the meeting was Leonie.

Kichi glanced at Leonie, who stood next to her.

‘By the way, my cute sister…….’

She’s not doing so well.

She was short, so I could only see the top of her head.

Her slumped shoulders conveyed emotion.

Honestly, Kichi didn’t understand.

‘No, shouldn’t you be happy for that guy…….? isn’t it great that our Commander-in-Chief came back alive? Passing out is a big deal. I always pass out after drinking too much.’

No matter the outcome, it worked out cheaply.

Kichi opened his mouth to lighten the heavy mood.

“I think it’s more important for you to get some rest, and while it’s nice to be around to worry about him, I think we should give him a break.”

Bellier, who had been keeping an eye on Hoyeol’s condition, said.

“That’s right, when he wakes up, he might hear us all talking.”

“……Before I go, I’ll go return the magic items.”

hudadag─

Bensch quickly exited the spare room, followed by the others.

Marcelo was the last to leave.

Bellier called him to a halt.

“Senior Marcelo.”

“I’m listening, Senior Bellier.”

“I’m not sure, but I thought I should tell you.”

“……?”

Self–

Bellier’s magic power suddenly dispersed from Hoyeol’s body.

Soon after, Bellier spoke in a confident voice.

“It seems that Chief Lee has succeeded in his plan.”

“……How did Senior Bellier know that?”

“Because I think the reason why Chief Lee collapsed has something to do with it.”

“If that’s the case……. Are you saying that Chief Lee didn’t simply overexert himself and collapse?”

Healing magic manifested.

Thanks to this, Bellier who was examining Hoyeol’s body with magic, was able to feel it.

A powerful energy stirring near Hoyeol’s heart……!

The powerful energy that resides in the mage’s heart.

Bellier’s green eyes sparkled.

“It seems like Chief Lee defeated the High Ranking Demon King as planned, and grew to the next level as a mage……!”

It was true.

That’s a Mage who has reached the peak.

It was clear that there was a 『Circle』 that only they could possess.

*

……I opened my eyes.

What I saw was a message.

What is this strange message?

[Your accomplishments echo through space and time].

[The beings of space and time talk about your qualifications.]

[You acquire a title, ‘Transcendent’].

……Not even the continent of Arcana, but space-time?

What, what the hell?!

There was no time to react.

I could feel my heart beating.

Tsureung!

……Wait, why is my heart making a screeching sound?