◈ Episode 146. Protecting Pride (2)

Yusra Kingdom, Golden Palace.

“You’re crazy.”

Leonie opened her mouth.

What?

To protect the pride in his heart?

Oh, no, she couldn’t help but feel a chill run up her spine.

Nam Tae-min was furious.

“What’s all the fuss about? It’s the same thing Mr. Ho-yeol said.”

“Are you crazy? What’s the same?!”

“We’re in the same boat, Mr. Nam, but you’re talking nonsense.”

“Hey, Kazuma Hisagi. That’s not what you’re supposed to say, is it?”

-“Nothing is more important than pride. I realized that late in life.”

In front of reporters, you spit out words that are not much different from him, but act like a fool.

Shaking his head, Hisagi shook his head.

“The words probably spoke for themselves.”

“Like what?”

“I’m just saying that you didn’t have to beat your chest with your fist.”

“Eh? Why not, that’s manly and nice.”

“The original didn’t look like you.”

Same old bullshit.

We’re not going to agree on anything.

Okay, we’re done.

I had more important things to do than argue.

Prove your worth in the area. (Ongoing)

Prove your worth.

Tae-min, Leonie, and Hisagi.

The moment they saw the quest, they realized.

-‘So you want us to……!

Why did Ho Yeol unite three guilds that had a history of bad blood or no relationship at all? It was for this very quest, the three of them were sure.

“Imagine this. Imagine if we were still active.”

Well, one could be sure of that even before imagining it.

Hisagi struck first.

“At least Inazuma and Gaon wouldn’t have been able to grow as much as they did because they’d have to keep each other in check.”

“Right, that’s what I was going to say, but wait, why Inazuma and Gaon again? They’re out of order, out of order. By ranking, even alphabetically, we should be first…….”

“Isn’t that right, Leonie-san?”

“Okay. I can see it now.”

In the past, competition between guilds.

Not only did they compete for the first clear of a rift, but nervous battles within the rift were commonplace.

Even when they knew it was their loss, their pride wouldn’t let them back down.

“It’s a good thing you all stayed out of the way.”

“There’s no point in entering the same rift as us.”

“I haven’t hunted like this since my days on the Arcana Continent.”

Battle-crazed berserker.

Thanks to the mega-alliance, she was able to fully utilize her class.

Leonie and the Berserker Guild, as well as members of Gaon and Inazuma’s guild, were gaining experience at an unparalleled rate.

The results are showing in their levels.

Nam Tae-min, level 408.

Kazuma Hisagi, level 405.

Leonie, level 399.

This growth wasn’t just due to the synergy of the mega-alliance.

It was the Demon Castle Rift that had a bigger impact.

This was due to the disappearance of demonic monsters after Crushing the Demon King.

“By simple math, the time it took to capture the rift more than doubled.”

Why are Demon monsters so tricky?

Part of it was the high level of these monsters. But the biggest headache was the status abnormality. Especially if someone got a ‘fear’ attack, it was bound to slow them down.

Nam Tae-min spoke up.

“Not only us, but all the players need to be grateful for this situation. Mr. Ho-yeol must have suffered a lot.”

“No.”

“Then what else is it that you’re not? How come you’re hanging on every word……!”

This is getting me all worked up again, isn’t it?

Hisagi continued without missing a beat.

“The Demon Castle Rift shouldn’t even be a struggle for someone of Mr. Ho-Yeol’s caliber. Didn’t he clear three Demon Castle Rifts in just over ten minutes, as you know?”

……So he’s not wrong again.

But even when you’re right, you’re such an asshole!

It was Leonie who stopped Nam Tae-min from continuing.

Chorak─

Arcana’s official website.

Player Rankings.

While looking at the levels of the players, Leonie spoke up.

“Liu Zunqun, you’re also level 400.”

“Level 400 as a monarch? He’s a poisonous breed, too. A poisonous bastard.”

“That’s why he’s the head of the super giant guild called Heavenly Unification.”

Looking at the levels of the other players, the levels of the two collaborators naturally came into view. Leonie’s eyebrows twitched. ……What, look at them?

“By the way, why do you both seem to be leveling a bit slower?”

“……?”

“No, what did you do until I caught up to you at level 399, both of you? Playing? I said, if you two had hunted at least one more monster in your time to argue……. Ehhh, that’s enough. What’s the point of talking?”

Namtae-min and Hisagi exchanged an exasperated glance.

“Look, Ms. Level 399. I don’t think you know what you’re doing yet.”

“It’s really different at level 400.”

“Whatever.”

“No, really, from level 400 onwards, the experience requirement is ridiculous, I mean, you can spend days beating up on decent level monsters and not see any change in your level……!”

.

.

.

I checked the status window.

[Name: Granfell Claudie Arpheus Romeo]

[Title : Last Adventurer, Sublime]

[Class: Demon Hunter]

[Level: 490]

[Stats]

Strength: 72 / Agility: 77 / Magic: 401 / Luck: 7 / Aesthetics: Low

[Points held: 50]

Haven’t I told you this many times?

The damn leveling up system in Arcana.

It is said that the amount of experience required to level up increases exponentially from level 100. But to the extent that the dissatisfaction felt like an insult.

I came back from an expedition to the Arcana continent with a whopping 50 levels above the system’s threshold……!

Even with the death penalty.

The moment I closed my eyes, a message popped up.

[You have died].

[Death penalty will be applied].

[Your earned experience will be reduced]…….

A staggering drop in experience, and I’m still at my limit.

I know I shouldn’t have rushed to get the Quernberg Machine Tower.

I’ve got the numbers to prove it.

I realize what I’ve been doing.

Yeah, it wasn’t enough that I hunted down the demon ruling the Simuard family.

Along with millions of demons, I was oxidized by the Iron Castle’s magic beam cannons.

It was an act of such prodigious power that even the system was confused and gave me a title, seriously.

“You can’t measure me by a number.”

……All right, I’ll give him credit for this one.

I’ll give him credit for this one, because he realized that for him, levels and enemy heads are really just numbers, which is why he threw himself into the midst of millions of demons.

It was a wild and crazy time when nothing was really scary.

Anyway, let’s start with 50 points.

I was about to invest all my points in magic as usual, but then I stopped.

Why, don’t they say you learn something from the light?

Because I realized one thing.

“A demon hunter has a demon hunter’s way of hunting.”

From the past to the present.

Demon hunters are the same.

They have no strengths to show for it, except when they’re hunting demons.

This can be seen in the way they invest their stat points. As a Demon Hunter, I had no choice but to split my stat points between Strength, Agility, and Magic.

However, I realized after this fight that I shouldn’t have.

I realized that the way I was built actually helped me hunt demons.

I had the strength to wield a sword, the agility to use a crossbow, and the magic to manifest.

I would do anything to hunt demons.

That is what a demon hunter is.

That’s what it was.

‘It’s also worth investing points in strength and agility.’

The crossbow exceeded my expectations.

Above all, it has reached the level of swordsmanship.

Unlike before, the importance and cost-effectiveness of the Strength and Agility stats had skyrocketed. The class quest rewards were not enough to cover it.

‘Swordsmanship and Marksmanship. A little more for Agility, which affects both.

12 points for Strength.

15 points for Agility.

And 20 points for Magic.

I finished allocating the points.

I now have three points left out of my 50.

That’s a lot of fucking points.

‘……Yeah.’

I closed my eyes tightly and invested three points in luck.

If you ask me, why three points, not one?

Because double digits look better than single digits.

[Luck: 10].

Let’s be honest with ourselves.

I was hoping for good luck, at least for this moment.

I opened my inventory and took out the demonic item.

Demon loot is purified through the exorcism ritual.

The [Map of All Things] had been turned into a piece of paper by the teleportation effect, but I still had two Demon Loots left.

‘If I had time, I would have purified them both.’

I knew that demons would come, but I never dreamed that there would be millions of them. Thanks to this, there was only one item from the demon king that was purified. And if you ask me what is the spoil of choice for sacrifice it was…….

“Still ugly.”

Eyes…….

No, it was the [Eyes Blazing with Malice] that Flouros had dropped.

The reason for cleansing the eyeball first is simple. Since it was dropped by a higher ranked demon king, there’s a slight chance it’s a better item.

Of course, I didn’t invest points in luck just for the sake of a single demon’s loot.

There’s more to look at.

For Purified Demon Loot.

For the title, for the effect of [Sublime].

And for the quest of [The Unfinished Holy War].

For the quest to go well.

‘Please, may I get the first step right.’

Putting aside my crappy feelings, I checked the information one by one.

And then I realized.

[Evil Eye’s Telescope]

1 point.

[Sublime: Sublime one, the continent of Arcana remembers you].

1 point.

[Breaking News: Mega Alliance “Decided to join the war to protect pride.”]

1 point.

Indeed……!

The system, luck, does not lie.

*

Magic Tower.

The Crystal Hall where the Roundtable is held.

The Adept, and Apprentice Mages stare in amazement as they enter.

“……What are you all doing here?”

Is this some kind of special occasion?

The senior mages were seated in the Crystal Hall first.

Every single one of them.

But it was Chief Marcelo who caught their attention.

“Chief Marcelo, thank God.”

“I see you’ve awakened safely.”

“Is your body completely healed?”

A murmur.

The echoing sound.

Marcelo didn’t care.

No, he didn’t have the energy to care.

Somehow, his body was energized.

Marcelo clenched and unclenched his fist.

‘… … It doesn’t creak?’

The joints that groaned at the slightest movement were fine.

The pain in his heart, which came without warning, was gone.

Marcelo turned to Bellier, puzzled.

-“Senior Bellier. Did you do something……. Did you cast a healing spell?”

Bellier Yusia, senior mage of the Healing School.

They’ve known each other since childhood.

He knew of Bellier’s magical talents.

Without realizing it.

Had she reached the peak of her healing magic?

Was her healing magic revitalizing my body?

But Bellier just smiled and shook her head.

-“I wish it were possible, but no.”

I turned to Matisse, but there was no clear answer.

Bellier wouldn’t lie to me.

There had to be another reason.

“Then…….

There was only one possibility.

-“Chief Lee said, “I’ve been hunting millions of demons.”

Chief Lee.

Could it be that among the millions of demons he’d slain on the Arcana Continent, there were some related to the Curse of the Terminal Illnes? Of course, I wasn’t convinced that the curse was completely gone.

The Mage family, Simuard.

Wasn’t it a curse that no one-not his grandfather, not his father, not anyone-could escape? Even if he was feeling better, even if the curse was truly gone.

Marcelo couldn’t believe it.

But.

Bam!

Marcelo clenched his fist.

His eyes were cold, unlike before.

‘If, if the curse is related to the demon.’

I would no longer be able to maintain my composure in the presence of a demon.

‘In that sense, I admire you again.’

Marcelo finished his thought.

Ho Yeol appeared in the Crystal Hall.

All eyes on him.

Immediate attention.

The most impatient were the senior mages.

‘You returned to the Magic Tower before the sun had even set in the middle sky.’

‘You hunted millions of demons? Is that even possible?’

‘Can we finally hear that heroic story? Mr. Lee, if I had known this would happen, I would have written the purpose of expedition to the continent on the application form… … !’

Twenty senior mages.

Each of them had slightly different thoughts, but it was natural for them to be interested. Not out of suspicion, but because Ho Yeol’s actions were bound to be followed by questions.

“Let’s hear it, what happened to you.”

Even if they didn’t know the details, they knew that Ho Yeol had entered the Arcana Continent. At this moment, everyone in the Crystal Hall was waiting for him to speak.

In the midst of all the anticipation.

Ho Yeol opened his mouth.

“Do you know?”

“……?!”

Starting with a question that no one expected.

.

.

.

There’s a saying that a word can pay a million debts.

……I don’t think that’s what I’m talking about.

Standing tall with a straight face.

You ask a lot of questions.

It’s impossible to get an answer to this kind of question.

Silence.

I’m too busy trying to clean up the mess.

I didn’t speak until long after the silence.

“It’s better to see it once than to hear it a hundred times.”

After a long pause, I spit out a proverb.

I can’t believe I’m spouting off Korean proverbs to Arcanians.

…… or, perhaps, crossing the line into being an asshole?

Luckily, however, the meaning was clear.

I saw a few nods of agreement.

Thanks for the nod, Senior Wizard Vanguard Tom.

There is give and take in everything.

I’ll take the green tea, even if I don’t have anything to offer.

A moment of resolve.

I quickly pulled an item from my inventory.

Seeing is not worth hearing (Seeing is worse than hearing a hundred times).

No matter how many words I used to describe the Arcana Continent, I knew that seeing it would be faster to understand. What I brought out was the Demon King’s Loot.

[Evil Eye Telescope]

[Rating: Epic]

[Limit: None]

[Effect: You share your vision with a demon for a short time].

[Description: A pupil that shares your vision with the eyes of the demons, but be warned. The deeper you look, the more likely they are to notice your presence].

A countless number of demon eyes in the night sky of Arcana.

The effect of being able to share vision with them is immense.

It meant I could see the continent of Arcana in real time.

I spoke proudly, like a man showing off his catch.

“From now on, I will show you the Arcana Continent.”

.

.

.

Crystal Hall.

Chief, Senior, Adept, Apprentice.

There was no distinction of rank.

Because everyone was thinking the same thing, stunned.

“How on earth did……?”

How could he have come back from that hellhole alive and well?