◈ Episode 104. You stink.

[Name: Grandfell Claudie Arpheus Romeo]

[Title: The Last Adventurer]

[Class: Demon Hunter]

[Level: 377]

[Stats]

Strength: 62 / Agility: 66 / Magic: 287 / Luck: 6 / Aesthetics: Low

[Points held: 44]

Karimzeva wasn’t a monster, which of course means it didn’t give me any experience.

So I had gained a whopping 44 levels just by hunting a demon army……!

“……That’s a lot.”

As you level up.

An arcana system that exponentially increases the amount of experience needed to level up. I experienced this vicious system in [Predator’s Swamp].

I gained 44 levels.

But there is no surprise.

I murmured nonchalantly.

“A well-deserved achievement.”

Whatever.

Sure, I’ve hunted a lot of demons.

Besides, they weren’t exactly ordinary demons.

Demons, henchmen of higher demons.

‘I’m sure there were corps commanders in the mix.’

I can’t remember all the messages that came to mind.

Besides, I was distracted by the battle between Senios and Karimzeva.

Someone might ask, “How did you do it?”

How did you manage to defeat so many demons while distracted?

Did I have that much time to spare?

Of course, I didn’t have that kind of time, and there were circumstances.

‘And a very nasty one at that.’

Senios’s ice magic.

Karimzeva’s fire magic.

The two supreme magics collided and turned into pure magic.

It was only possible because they were polar opposites.

Thanks to them, I was able to use the pure magic that flowed through the Rift at will.

‘Just as I interfered with Vanguard’s power.’

It was the power of two elder mages, demigods.

It was enough to allow even me to manifest magic like water.

Sure, I lost some experience because it wasn’t my own, but I can’t blame them for that.

As if that wasn’t enough.

“A different kind of battle.

Lee Ho-yeol wouldn’t have been able to stand by and watch,

I witnessed something in the battle between the two demigods.

I recognized it thanks to Grandfell’s talent.

To put it in words.

An opening.

It’s like opening a closed eye.

It was as if I had opened my eyes and seen the next level of magic.

『His innate magical talent was such that he could imitate most magic just by looking at it.』

And thanks to my subconscious imitation of that realm.

I was able to make the Demon Corps Commander cower in fear.

In the end, I was even able to kill Karimzeva with [『Anomaly』].

I was convinced.

that it was a real thing.

Why, I had experience.

Even in my ignorance of magic.

I understood the structure of magic.

I recognized the structure of magic immediately.

I’ve seen it through Grandfell’s eyes.

I’m just saying that it exists, that it can be recognized.

Of course.

‘Alas, the view is blurry.’

The trance was literally a demigod trance.

At that moment, I was unconsciously immersed.

I was merely imitating him.

In other words, Senios and Karimzeva forced my eyes open, even if briefly.

‘No matter how much I like to eat raw…….’

Crossing the demigod’s realm at only level 377 should be a stab in the conscience.

But I thought of something that would be even more conscience-piercing.

“But then again, anomaly is not far behind.”

Well, technically, he wasn’t wrong.

I had defeated Karimzeva, who had attained enlightenment through [『Anomaly』], and knowing that gave me a goal. This time, I was merely copying him.

“If I can open my eyes with my own power and manifest the [『Anomaly』].

Then maybe I won’t be so shitty after all.

Although I don’t know when that will be.

But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

And allocating stat points is part of that step.

“Strength and Dexterity are sufficient class quest rewards.

As usual.

I was about to put all my points into magic when I stopped.

“……Why 44 points?

Level 44.

Two deaths to go.

But I was the one with the words.

You declared yourself an atheist, a believer in no gods.

It’s a shame that you’re so easily swayed by mere superstition.

[Hp: 331]

As I promised.

I invested all my points in magic power and shifted my gaze.

I checked the quest window, my objective for the moment.

Identify the factions that participated in the Holy War. (In progress)

●Encounter a saint of the Goddess Church. (Ongoing)

First, I need to figure out who the Saint of the Goddess Church is. Naturally, I didn’t need to get up from my seat. I said shamelessly.

“This is also strange.”

Don’t make a big deal about surfing the web from a steeple, Grandfell.

“Later, you’ll say that early morning deliveries are a anomaly too.”

I searched for information on the Goddess Church.

“……what?

And then I regretted it.

I wish I’d invested a point in luck.

Why, my demon hunter’s sense of smell was telling me.

“There are saintess, but no saints, huh?!

The Church of the Goddess is stinking up the place!

*

The emergence of Muon, the holy land of the Goddess Church.

No one was more excited about the update than Guild Master Guyver of the Bohemians.

He remembered his humiliation in the last Rift, in the Predator Swamp.

“It’s a disgrace I’d rather forget.”

The Rift of the Predator Swamp was created in Europe.

Bohemian had entered the rift with the full support of the EU.

However, the attack on the rift ended in failure.

The moment of truth?

The moment Lee Ho-yeol actually showed up.

It was a foregone conclusion.

“There’s nothing to regret about that.”

But if you take Lee Ho-yeol out of the equation, it was a huge failure.

It was all due to his own misjudgment.

Greed, trying to catch two Named Monsters at the same time.

He had lost so much because of that mistake.

‘Everyone is to blame.’

I’ve had guild members die in battle.

I couldn’t help but fall for the pattern.

I couldn’t make excuses.

It was because of Ho Yeol.

He acted like he knew everything.

“He forced Gaon, Inazuma, and Berserker to unite against him.”

He realized that there was a gap between him and Hoyeol that he was too embarrassed to feel inferior about.

However.

He had a chance to make amends.

Muon, the Holy Land of the Goddess Church!

Guyver’s class was Paladin.

A Chosen Paladin on a class quest.

He wasn’t a paladin of the Goddess Church, but there are some things that work between orders.

“Besides, we were on friendly terms with the Goddess Church.”

He himself was quite close to the NPCs of the Goddess Church.

Considering that…….

Guyver rolled his eyes.

No matter how many calculators he pressed.

‘This is a better business than going to the Rift.’

Chances of getting the quest.

No, even if I don’t get the quest, the muons must be in a state of chaos right now.

Like a blade of grass in a dry sky. He had just teleported from the continent of Arcana to Earth.

“I’m saying we can increase our intimacy while explaining.”

I wasn’t dreaming for nothing.

Guyver didn’t hesitate.

As soon as he remembered the coordinates of the muon, he headed straight for it.

And then.

“……Guyver, something’s wrong.”

The muon was not what he had imagined.

It wasn’t bursting into flames like Frost’s, or in the grip of a demon.

A pure white citadel.

It was the same as it had been when Arcana was a game.

“Guyver, are those paladins on the ramparts……?”

Yep.

Except for the paladins on the ramparts, who were giving me hostile looks.

The press had gathered at the scene.

They’ve noticed Guyver’s arrival and are asking questions.

“It’s not unusual for paladins to move around, is it?”

“…….”

Nod.

Guyver nodded wordlessly.

The Church moves paladins.

Guyver knew better than anyone.

“But I’ve never seen a paladin of that size before.”

The largest religion on the continent of Arcana.

The holy land of the Goddess Church.

Muon had a citadel as large as any great city.

The walls of Muon were impenetrable. Paladins lined the walls in tight formation.

“…… There seems to be a misunderstanding.”

Questions poured in.

Guyver struggled to speak.

It was all he could manage.

“You have no reason to be hostile to us, do you?”

There was definitely a misunderstanding.

But it wasn’t a misunderstanding.

It was the sound of the Muon.

POOOOOOO-!

It was a horn.

Soon, the attention-grabbing sound ceased.

A voice was heard.

“We await the day of judgment in Muon, the Goddess’s Holy Land.”

“Everything is arranged by the saintess. We don’t need any help.”

“So those who approach Muon.”

The declaration continued.

“We will kill you in the name of our goddess.”

A clear declaration of hostility to humanity.

.

.

.

──────

[BREAKING] Goddess Church Holy Land Muon, “We don’t want to talk.”

[Breaking] EU, “Deeply Regretful, Wants to Clear Up Misunderstandings.”

[Breaking] Paladin #1 Guyver, “We’re pretty sure this is a serious situation.”

[Breaking] AAU, “We are currently assessing the situation…….”

──────

Muon’s attitude is not what you’d expect.

When Arcana was a game.

Recalling the actions of the Goddess Church, the shock was even greater.

“It makes sense to a certain extent. Updated NPCs……. I mean, even the Arcana who were summoned to the real world were like that at first. They were suddenly dropped into a strange world.”

Yoon Soo-gyeom nodded at Sung Hyun-joon’s words.

“But that’s a bit much, isn’t it? Senior, have you seen the satellite images?”

Muon, the Goddess Church had shown hostility.

AAU couldn’t stand idly by and watch.

Naturally, AAU activated the satellite and took a picture of the inside of Muon.

Click.

The mouse clicked.

The foreground of the muon appeared on Sung’s monitor.

“First of all, the size of the paladins is ridiculous. At least tens of thousands. Up to ten thousand. You know how much gold it takes to train a single knight, right?”

“I do, but still. It’s the largest religion on the Arcana continent, the Goddess Church, so let’s just say it’s understandable. The question is, since when?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m wondering too.”

“It must take an awful lot of time to train a paladin of that caliber……. Since when?”

It’s all in the paladin’s hands.

They don’t need any help.

As they had declared.

Muon seemed to lack nothing.

Food, clothing, everything was self-sufficient on Muon.

“Just one little country, that one.”

“Is the arrangement real?”

“As if they were prepared for a day like this…….”

Whoa.

I couldn’t help but sigh, and my head ached.

I hadn’t wanted this twist at all.

“It was only yesterday that I was relieved by Lee Ho-yeol…….”

Emergency update to regular update.

It’s just a double whammy…….

But something had to be done.

Tadadak─

Yoon Soo-gyeom tapped on the keyboard.

“First of all, it looks like some of the players are going to move.”

” ……When you say they’re moving, you mean they’re approaching the muon?”

“Yeah, I think they’re former players from the Goddess Church.”

“Oh, that’s a possibility, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but they’re on their side.”

So maybe we could have some sort of conversation?

But I didn’t have high hopes. As I said, the misunderstanding seemed deep and ancient, and I could tell by the warnings on Paladins’ Day.

“Didn’t they say something about……?

Yoon reflected.

“I’m sure they said they were waiting for ‘Judgment Day’.”

Of course, he didn’t know what Judgment Day was.

All we knew from the Horn’s declaration was who the “saintess” was.

[Saintess, Freyja].

From the days when the Arcana was nothing more than a game.

A symbol of the Goddess Church.

“Let’s see if I can find her.”

If I wanted to know about Judgment Day and what the hell it was.

He needed to find a setting for her.

Yoon accessed the AAU database.

“Even if it’s simple, there should be information.

He searched for information on the saintess, Freyja.

Nothing came up.

Yoon frowned.

“…… doesn’t make sense, but this?”

Freyja was an NPC from the days when Arcana was just a game.

She was an important NPC, a saintess of the Goddess Church.

It couldn’t be.

Yoon opened the internal messenger.

“Even if there are no records left, I’m sure it’s still in my memory.

Why, just like Demon King Decarabia did.

At least the person in charge of setting up Freyja would know something.

Apparently, there were other employees who thought similarly to Yoon.

They were already searching for information about Freyja.

Tap, tap, tap.

Tap, tap, tap.

Thud.

Suddenly, Yoon’s fingers stopped moving.

He opened his mouth to speak.

“I don’t have …….”

“What? You don’t have what? Oh, caffeine? Do you want me to buy you a coffee?”

“No. Not that.”

He looked stunned.

“Saintess, there is not a single person who planned Freyja.”

*

Freyja.

A Saintess of the Goddess Church.

She’s been a famous NPC since Arcana was a game…….

In the old days, I would have just assumed she was an Arcana.

When I saw that the quest window said Saint instead of Saintess, I might have thought it was a typo, and I might have been suspicious of the quest.

But I do know.

After the Cataclysm.

It’s only been a few years since the rift began to appear.

Demons are already here, insidiously embedded in society.

Not to mention the continent of Arcana, their home.

Even when I was playing Arcana, more than a decade ago, there was no quest to hunt down demons possessing humans.

I mean, I was seriously doubting it.

“Couldn’t the saintess, Freyja, be a demon?

If only this was the continent of Arcana.

If I let that thought out of my mouth.

I would have been stoned by one of the three.

There would be no such thing as blasphemy in the Goddess Church.

But, I’m afraid.

‘Cause I’m already more than half convinced.’

After all, the class quest said so.

There are saintess, but there are no saints.

And at this moment.

Muon’s demeanor deepens my suspicions.

“I await my day of reckoning in Muon…….”

It was.

No matter how generous.

Even without the prejudice of the quest.

I find Grandfell’s pride beyond comprehension.

Goddess Church.

How can they have so many followers.

With so many followers, and tens of thousands of great paladins. How could they have sucked their fingers at Muon until the continent was overrun by demons.

Were they just sucking their fingers in Muon, waiting for something called Judgment Day?

It was a saintess, Freyja, who encouraged this insanity.

Noblesse oblige.

The pride of Grandfell could not allow such behavior.

I muttered nonchalantly.

“That kind of irresponsibility is proof that God doesn’t exist.”

What’s needed, anyway, is to get to the bottom of it.

I needed to track down the Goddess Church on the continent of Arcana.

I don’t know about the other players, but it shouldn’t be too hard for me.

Did you say the arrangement of the saintess?

That’s right, I had an assignment.

I have an informant planted on the continent of Arcana.

A forest spirit, a nymph.

I’ll have to head to the Rift to summon the Nymph.

Sure enough, there was a rift created by this update.

I checked the update history.

–

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tl note: previously i translated it as 『Anomaly』, in korean 기이 (gii) : weird, quirk, marvelous. Should i change it?