Chapter 726 – Wait (2)
It was like water long trapped behind a dam finally bursting forth.
“Holy crap, Lee Hoyeol has returned to the Magic Tower!!”
“The Magic Tower? I heard AAU?”
“The breaking news here says he’s returned as the Supreme Commander of the Holy War Alliance…?”
In human history—had there ever been a single absence felt this profoundly?
Hoyeol’s hiatus.
Only now did the world realize it.
An era of upheaval in a worldline without Hoyeol?
Magic Tower Lobby
“I feel bad for the players who struggled all this time, but… I guess I can finally relax now? Ah, please blur my face just in case!”
Civilians and players alike threw out questions.
After all, when it came to breaking news, the more reactions, the better.
While conducting interviews, Yoon Jongjin whispered to Hyun Yongseok,
“Sunbae, do we really have to enter the portal in a situation like this?”
The shoot would likely be four times longer than usual.
Which was simple enough to understand—time in the Arcana Continent flowed four times faster than reality.
“We came all this way and you’re telling me to back off?”
Hyun Yongseok fixed his gaze on the portal to the Magic Tower.
Their destination was the Arcana Continent.
They weren’t even players—barely able to protect themselves.
So why risk entering?
Yoon Jongjin answered first,
“You said it yourself, sunbae. To understand Hoyeol’s intentions!”
Not wrong.
Their goal was to directly capture and deliver Hoyeol’s intentions without distortion.
Jongjin kept talking nonstop,
“But Hoyeol’s back, right? No—he’s returned to all his positions. Should we call him Commander now instead of Hoyeol? Anyway!”
“You’re right about that, Jongjin.”
“Right? Then I’ll just hurry back and—”
“But.”
“But? What now?!”
Hyun Yongseok spoke thoughtfully,
“It’s definitely a major event—big enough to change our schedule. Just look, the whole world is already in an uproar. But scenes like this? Anyone can see and feel them. Do you think viewers will really care?”
Jongjin fell silent.
If you wanted to know public reactions, it’d be faster to walk outside than watch Today Arcana.
Everywhere you went, people were talking about Hoyeol.
“Politics, society, economy, entertainment—just say every field.”
There was nowhere his influence didn’t reach.
Hyun Yongseok shifted perspective.
“Jongjin, we’re going to pioneer a new domain.”
“You just said every field! What new domain—”
“The ‘Arcana Continent’ segment.”
“?!”
Instead of reporting reactions people could already feel,
they would vividly capture the Arcana Continent—where everything depended on players’ words.
“With that [『Anomaly Camera』] you’re holding.”
*
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*
“Whoa, what is this?”
“What is it?”
“Hey, don’t crowd me—hyung, did you know about this?”
Click.
Nam Taemin shoved Leonie aside and handed the tablet to Nam Cheolmin.
“Ah, it got delivered to VBC.”
“Wasn’t it supposed to go to AAU?”
“You know Director Park’s personality. If I put it nicely, he’s unconventional… honestly, he just bends the rules.”
On the screen—
a live view of the Arcana Continent.
“Holy crap, this isn’t recorded—it’s live?”
“Technological progress. Don’t you know?”
“Shut it, idiot.”
A pride clash between two classes that invested zero points in intelligence—Berserker and Barbarian.
Still, the slightly wiser Leonie asked,
“You really knew about this?”
“Yeah. Our Great Alliance has something similar.”
“Really? Then why didn’t I know?”
“No need to announce it publicly. Our production-class players worked insanely hard. Of course, Mr. Wallswail helped the most.”
The Arcana Continent’s reaction came through vividly.
“Wow, everyone’s celebrating.”
“He returned to all positions, after all.”
“Does that mean he’s coming back to the Empire too?”
Of course.
Antonium was also in a festive mood.
Hoyeol’s status there? Higher than the late Emperor himself.
“If you think about the Arcana system, the Empire’s security will stabilize even more. The Silver Eye is still there, but… it doesn’t harm us, right?”
“……”
At the mention of the Silver Eye, silence fell.
Each of them had something they were hiding.
“Let’s talk about that later. So the operation’s suspended, right?”
No need to reveal everything.
Nam Taemin asked, and Nam Cheolmin answered immediately,
“Yeah. The Commander is back. We can’t continue the Demon King Castle or Demon World raids without his orders. The Senior Mages already clocked out.”
“I see… Magic really is convenient.”
Then—
“Snake eye!”
Leonie’s eyes sharpened.
“Hisagi—that bastard, don’t tell me…!”
Did he teleport back to the Magic Tower alone?!
Hisagi wasn’t even a fully qualified mage—barely below proficient level.
Teleportation consumed massive mana.
“I get that he couldn’t go with us, but still—loyalty matters!”
Taemin gritted his teeth and grabbed both of them.
“Ugh!”
“What are you doing?”
“We run. I’m not losing to that guy.”
Left, right—ready.
Gripping them both at his sides, Taemin dashed toward the portal.
He wouldn’t let Hisagi greet Hoyeol first.
*
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*
Crystal Hall
“We’re here—”
Gasp.
Taemin held his breath.
The hall was already full.
“Damn.”
Leonie muttered.
Cheolmin felt the same.
Everyone had been desperately waiting.
“For Hoyeol to return.”
The Magic Tower—always dignified and aloof.
But now?
Not a single person dared speak.
Even the apprentice mages…
the talkative senior mages…
even Bensch William, the senior flame magic scholar who had been rampaging just moments ago—
All stood silent, solemn, tense.
Watching the podium.
“They’re observing discipline.”
Magic Tower Rule #1: Silence.
Maybe it wasn’t fear—
but anticipation.
Sniff.
Taemin found Hisagi and sat beside him.
He wanted to punch him, but held back.
“…!!!”
Ttogak.
Hoyeol appeared.
The Commander.
The Chief Mage.
He opened his mouth—
*
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*
Why is it so quiet?
‘Even Senior Bensch?’
Hoyeol stood there just to give a simple greeting after returning.
But the atmosphere felt… expectant.
‘Well, maybe later.’
He couldn’t promise anything about the future.
Still—
“No one has forgotten the rules.”
Silence.
A joke, in his own way.
But the atmosphere only stiffened further.
‘Ah… maybe because of the clones.’
Whatever.
“Chief Mage Lee Hoyeol. As of today, I resume my duties. I regret the gap in my absence. Most of you have shown no progress… but I won’t hold it against you.”
Even he thought it was shameless.
Still—
He needed to restore his authority.
“The Magic Tower must remain a beacon.”
He had to reclaim all his positions.
‘I dropped them before… now I’m picking them back up.’
Facing countless gazes, he stood firm.
Actions, not words.
“As a first step…”
Of course—
“Regular academic conferences will be reinstated.”
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*
Demon King Castle
“What did you say?”
Some players had only just joined after hearing of Hoyeol’s return.
Opportunists.
They hadn’t participated before—
because without Hoyeol, they didn’t trust the Alliance.
But now?
His return meant success.
“Hoyeol wouldn’t ignore a Demon King.”
And yet—
“The raid is canceled?”
“That’s nonsense, right?”
“Then why did we come all the way to China?!”
Denial.
“Hoyeol would never do that.”
“I heard it directly.”
“Nam Cheolmin announced it.”
Then anger—
“This doesn’t make sense! His behavior’s been weird, hasn’t it? First the clones, now this—”
But the next stage never came.
“W-what?!”
Creak—
The tightly shut gates of the Demon King Castle—
Slowly began to open from the inside.
“What? The gates opened just because Hoyeol appeared? That’s ridiculous—wait…?!”
.
.
…
[The Demon King of the Third Throne, Vassago, declares surrender.]