◈ Episode 475. Monarch? Beyond (2)

Grandfell is benevolent, or is he not?

Aside from that question, is there anything you felt?

Well, that’s one thing.

It’s that he’s so bad that he won’t lose to anyone.

Lips that open softly.

“You’re playing tricks.”

Three monsters that change the field.

I said that to the Great Monsters. By the way, in the Arcana continent biographies, being able to change the field was the same as the symbol of monsters with different ‘levels’.

‘It’s because they have their own unique moves.’

I was looking forward to the appearance of such an enormous boss monster.

I watched and evaluated the appearance of such an enormous boss monster with the posture of a king who had spoken to the Hatchlings.

Nope.

“You’re as good at rolling as a slug.”

…… It’s a venomous comment that goes beyond evaluation.

As you can see, the words were coming out of his mouth with a thick aftertaste.

But this time, it wasn’t just words.

He even wore the Dawn’s Jacket early on.

‘Of course Anomaly. Everything will be denied, Oxidin.’

If my opponent is a mage, I will subdue them with magic, if they are a swordsman, I will subdue them with swords, and if they are an assassin who is good at catching, I will defeat them with the same technique.

‘Actually, I was just watching and copying.’

I suppose my struggles were perceived differently by our Grandfell. Equip Commander’s Gloves, a [Myth] tier item, a legacy of Eunaxus, and activate the effect.

He then speaks to Dark Dragon with 【Words】.

【Greet Me Like a King】

And ordered the three hatchling dragons.

Of course, I had no authority to control the hatchlings.

‘I hadn’t even purified them of evil.’

This means that the insane dragons don’t recognize me for who I am.

But that’s how society works, young dragons.

If you want me to criticize you, you should criticize me.

It’s called subcontracting upon subcontracting.

Syuuung.

【Show Them Your Might】

At my command, the Dark Dragon spreads its giant wings and glides down.

The three Hatchlings also rush toward the great monster.

Then, a message flashes across the screen.

[Hatchling, a nameless young dragon changes the field.]

Whether it was the opponent’s specialty or secret weapon, Grandfell’s temper began to rage in earnest, as he was trying to outsmart and subdue the opponent.

[Great Monster, Tortoise of the Great Armor: Lv.1,500]

It was terrifying, turning the entire area into an underwater field favorable for swimming. Hatcheling’s Dragon Breath evaporated all the moisture in the field.

[Great Monster, Mythical Horse: Lv.1,300]

The Wooden Horse, with its wooden appearance, fared even worse. The ground was apparently flattened so that its four-legged wheels could roll easily…….

kwadeudeug.

It was all for nothing.

Every time the dragons’ wings flapped, all things seemed to pay homage to the king. Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and earthquakes began to shake the land in places, causing the horses to creak prematurely.

The last one was.

[Great Monster, Serpent of the Sunrise: Lv.1,400]

It was even more unfavorably matched against me.

‘A serpent is just a giant snake, right?’

Suddenly, I remembered. The Tefern Labyrinth, the place that had given me the shameful nickname of ‘Infinitely Deep Darkness’, and the one who slept there was a serpent.

‘If it’s a poisonous snake worse than that, it should crawl on its own.’

Dragons and snakes.

An irresistible pairing.

They didn’t even need to transform the field.

It could barely afford to deform the field with its long body.

The serpent seemed to be wary of the Hatchlings in front of it.

Three Dragons against the Great Monsters.

Honestly, it was a passable spectacle even by my, Lee Hoyeol’s, standards.

As a Dragon Lord.

The scene of the Tyrant being trampled on was fully realized.

And it was.

Krrrr.

Even the Great Monsters were no match for the King of All Things.

If the Great Monsters were too strong to surface, the Dragons would be swallowing the shackles of the Evil Fruit as well.

If we were to express the progress of such a battle in Grandfell style…….

“We finally have a theme.”

Kung……!

It’s like natural enemies.

Three Great Monsters in front of the Hatchlings.

They were being overwhelmed, unable to even put up a decent fight.

Nevertheless, it is a high standard that cannot be satisfied.

“However, there is still a long way to go before it becomes formal.”

Indeed, it was still a long way off.

Even at the same level.

The health of a boss monster is much higher than a normal monster.

At least a 100x.

‘More than that, I have to do something.’

If we stood still, the legend of the Dragon Lord Dark Dragon Lee Hoyeol would only become more and more widespread. There’s nothing for the real Lee Hoyeol to gain, is there?

How can he slip a spoon into the already set table…….

That was the moment I thought.

Suddenly, my vision flickered.

The landscape began to shift.

[Field is unstable].

The field is unstable.

The cause was immediately apparent.

The boss monster was being driven by a Great Monster.

The field change must be the cause.

I thought to myself.

‘Yugweed, Archmage, and Oak Auction…….’

Their lives and whereabouts are unclear at this point.

Were they really, truly defeated by the Great Monsters?

They are strong.

Maybe stronger than I realize.

But they are.

‘……What if Raymon Sean laid a trap?’

The moment I ask the question.

[The unstable field collapses].

A series of flashing messages.

[An incomplete prototype rift appears. All types of traps, including dungeons, labyrinths, and wonders, are forming a stage inside the prototype rift.]

……Did you think I was going to do this?

Raymon Sean, you weak son of a bitch.

Then an irresistible light floods my vision.

[Entering the Prototype Rift].

[appropriate level: unknown]

[Type : Dungeon, Labyrinth, Wonder…….]

As if it were an ominous premonition, it appears that there is no right to veto.

It’s a baffling enough situation.

Still, this iron-faced fellow shows no sign of agitation.

“Your efforts are futile.”

I say nonchalantly, despite my shifting vision.

“I appreciate it, and I’ll treat you personally. But do not rejoice.”

With a really thick aftertaste……!

“For this is the last mercy I have for you.”

*

gugugugung……!

Eastern Antonium.

To stop the advancing monster.

The Holy War Alliance had established a line of defense.

But the defenders’ advantage vanished like a sandcastle.

Ugh.

My throat burns.

I fix my disheveled glasses and look at it.

I take in the situation from a dispassionate analyst’s perspective.

” …… am I caught in a rift?”

I ask myself.

“Find the cause, the root cause, Nam Cheolmin.”

As a player, you have power. You have the choice to enter the right rift for your level. But at this moment, Nam Cheolmin has no choice.

sswaaa.

The intense light of the rift poured in.

It was now.

Nam Cheolmin gathered his wits.

Surely, there must be a reason.

“……The Great Monster.”

The last thing he remembered was the scouts urgently reporting.

-“Analyst! The fields are interlocking and collapsing!!”

The Great Monsters, each a boss monster.

Each of them changed the field.

Knowledge from the days when Arcana was just a game.

‘These are boss mobs that normally wouldn’t have a chance against each other.’

But Oxidin, Lord of the Great Monsters.

He’s controlling the Great Monsters with the Hidden Class, [Tyrant].

Nam’s mind raced for an answer.

“This rift was created by the collision of the changed fields?”

An incomplete rift.

Nam wiped away a cold sweat.

Yes, all the questions were beginning to unravel.

“Great Sage, Elder Mage, Underworld force no less back-alley target. I think I have a better idea why all those great people disappeared without a trace……?”

There was no one in sight.

I didn’t feel any sign of them.

Only one thing was visible.

A doorway to an intricate labyrinth.

His level was somewhere around level 100 at most.

Nevertheless, the situation is probably better than those mentioned above.

Because I was able to see system messages on the player.

“Huu.”

Nam cleared his throat and checked the rift information.

“Dungeons, Labyrinths, Wonders……. An incomplete prototype rift with all the gimmick precariously intertwined……? Are you really out of your mind, Raymon Sean?”

Even the so-called expert [Explorer] class players.

It takes a lot of time and effort to tackle a single dungeon.

Combining such a dungeon with a labyrinth makes no sense at all.

The Wonder type has the highest compatibility.

As if that weren’t enough, unknown gimmicks were added to the mix.

The Arcanians wouldn’t even know about this.

“No wonder we can’t get out of the …… stronghold.”

Of course, there was no time to worry about others.

Except for the Analyst, who was a lousy level.

Nam checked his inventory.

“I promised Taemin I’d never wear it again.”

cheog.

He put on his plate armor and shield.

He promised himself he’d never wear it again.

The durability wasn’t perfect.

[Sturdy Plate Armor]

[Class: Magic]

[Limit: Lv.35]

[Effect: All performance decreases slightly due to low durability].

But somehow.

“But Taemin, your liver seems to have gotten bigger.”

In the past, incomparably compared to now.

Even more so than when he entered the Rift at a low, appropriate level.

It was more comfortable now.

Seug

Nam traced the cause of the drop in durability with his fingertips.

He rubbed the scars on his plate armor.

Specifically, the past, when he was possessed by a lowly demon imp.

It was the scar Hoyeol had left behind when he saved him.

“I can’t believe I’m relieved in this situation…….”

At this moment.

There’s no Hoyeol, no Taemin, and no guild members around.

But somehow, I felt like I wasn’t alone.

“Maybe it’s just my mood, but anyway……!”

Nam Cheolmin loosened his frozen body.

To clear the rift.

He was about to enter the labyrinth to escape.

Suddenly.

-…… brother!

The sound rang in his ears.

Nam Cheolmin couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

“No matter what, aren’t auditory hallucinations a serious stage?”

However.

-…… Brother! Do you hear me?!

“?!”

It wasn’t a hallucination.

Nam Cheolmin reached out in panic at the sound coming from his inside pocket.

Then Nam’s voice came from his in-ear.

“What, what, Taemin, what are you?!”

It was the Arcana continent.

There’s no signal, so it’s impossible to make a call.

How can they communicate……?

“Are you Anomaly?!”

-……Anomaly? What are you talking about? I’m glad you’re safe. So where are you now? You didn’t fall through the rift alone like me, did you?

……Like me?

Possibilities flashed through his mind.

Nam Cheolmin muttered.

“……Wait, if it’s an incomplete rift.”

What if all the gimmicks of this prototype rift also included gimmicks related to ‘reality’? This phenomenon was also convincing enough. If so, …….

“Taemin, I think it’s time for us to use our brains.”

-You need to use your head? Bro. I’m sorry to betray your expectations, but……. I’m a Barbarian, and when I think of using my head, all I can think of is beating.

“It doesn’t matter, it’s all about getting our heads together.”

-……Gathering heads? I don’t think it’s a beating contest, what is it?

Nam Cheolmin chuckled.

I wonder why Mr. Hoyeol emphasized the word [『Anomaly』] so much.

I felt like I was starting to understand its meaning one by one, even if it was too late.

“If we utilize our collective intellect through the exploration of the Anomaly. No matter how difficult a dungeon, labyrinth, wonder, or new gimmick awaits us, we’ll be able to clear it in the end!”

Nam stammers.

-Anomaly exploration? Collective intelligence? Bro, can you stop using complicated words?

Nam Cheolmin said the key point concisely.

“It’s better to face a blank slate. We can communicate with players in the real world, even AAU, so if everyone realizes that the prototype rift is connected to the real world, and that we can communicate with each other, it’s not that hard to overcome.”

Taemin immediately asked.

-Then what about, Commander, or Mr. Hoyeol?

“……Commander-in-Chief??”

-Will he hear from us, if we tell him we’re in trouble as usual?

I don’t know.

Up to that point, Nam Cheolmin was unpredictable.

But he wasn’t worried.

seug.

He glanced at the sword image left on his armor.

“Before you worry about Mr. Hoyeol, he’s not of the same ‘class’ as us, right?”

.

.

.

Nam Cheolmin’s thoughts were right.

A space surrounded by labyrinths on all sides.

Sinister 【Words】 resounded.

【Break Down】

And then it broke.

Wajangchang!

[You have cleared the prototype rift, ‘Labyrinth’].

“There is hereby one.”

One.

It means that one charm seal (忍) has been engraved.

The cold voice of Hoyeol continues.

“Please do not test my mercy.”