◈ Episode 16. Another Whale in the Fight (4)
I never thought I’d say this as a humanities student.
Science at its best.
The constant messages were the proof of that.
It was a level 350 monster.
The destructive power of its charge would be immense.
Literally.
I’d be dead on arrival.
However, with great destructive power comes great repulsive power.
[Count Ascura’s knight is ‘stunned’].
[Count Ascura’s knight is ‘stunned’].
[Count Ascura’s knight is ‘stunned’]…….
At that point I remembered the battle with the soldier.
‘Back then, I used reversal magic here to bring down the wall.’
But in this situation…….
It didn’t seem like such a good idea.
For one thing, there were too many players.
The knights had built a bigger, thicker stone wall to withstand their charge.
The fallout would be devastating.
“Whatever it is……, let’s attack it!”
“This is our chance! Smother it!”
The players tangle with the knight.
I didn’t have any advanced techniques for dodging players and knocking down stone walls.
If only I could.
I would have wiped them out without having to laboriously build a wall of stone.
‘So…….’
I thought a little differently.
It was the terrain that was currently working against us.
“An open battlefield favours cavalry.
Indeed, except in the direction of my stone wall.
Ding, ding, ding, ding!
“Damn it! Here they come again! Everybody grit your teeth!”
Charge, retreat, charge again.
The knights on horseback were in full swing.
The ranks of the players were rapidly collapsing.
“What an arrogant setup.”
I can’t let that happen.
Yes, I was going to change the terrain in the enemy’s favour.
There was no hesitation.
Probe, interfere, manifest.
The whole process was swift.
Koo-koo-koo-kung!
Stone pillars rose from the ground.
Soon, the plaza was filled with pillars rising everywhere.
Hiiiiiiiiiing─!
The horses became agitated.
Their movement had been restricted.
Some of the pillars were not aimed at the knights, but some of them directly damaged them.
[Count Ascura’s knight suffers a ‘fracture’].
[Count Ascura’s knight is ‘Stunned’] …….
I checked my magic levels.
‘No wonder you’re doing this.
I said under normal circumstances.
Level 91.
Only 42 points of Mana.
That’s a lot of Mana to change a battlefield.
That means I only have enough Mana for a cup of green tea.
From now on, all I could do was use reversal magic to knock down walls and pillars without getting players in the way.
But it wasn’t so bad.
I don’t know about Grandfell’s pride.
I had no intention of tangling with that knight in the first place.
Well, technically, there was…….
which has since disappeared.
“These bastards have got some nerve, they’re persistent.”
“Shit. I’m bleeding. Help me recover!”
“You freaking bastards. You could fall off a horse.”
They’re all at least level 300, right?
Even those players were struggling.
Indeed, it was a sight that showed the strength of the knights.
Would I be able to fight with them?
Considering the effectiveness of [Natural Enemies]…….
I might be able to fight them one-on-one.
But this was a battlefield.
A battlefield where the opponent would change every second.
I was alone on such a battlefield without any allies.
So it wasn’t so bad.
No, I had invested all of my magic to change the terrain of the battlefield.
That was the best decision I could make.
The rationale for it was similarly expressed in the message.
[Count Ascura’s knight is credited with a kill].
[Count Ascura is credited with the kill for the article].
[Kills for Count Ascura’s Knight are credited]…….
Arcana’s experience system.
Players earned experience based on their kill contribution.
This is what made Arcana so popular for over a decade.
As you can see, it’s a system that makes sense.
My kill contribution was high when it was high.
Never low.
Causing decisive ailments in my knights.
I’ve visibly broken their momentum.
The proof was in the message.
[You’ve leveled up].
A line every time a player killed an enemy.
Added rationale.
[Leveled up].
I was watching from the sidelines of this battlefield of proofs.
Even in this moment of disenchantment.
‘Maybe I can mimic that one…….’
Diligently toiling away.
[Leveled up].
[You’ve levelled up]…….
*.
Level 376.
Ranked 6th in the player rankings.
A spear of lightning, Hisagi Kazuma thought.
“Where did that monster come from?
First of all, its attire was unusual.
Unarmed in a rift.
It was a new rift that even he couldn’t guard against.
There was no telling what threats might be lurking.
Moreover, this new rift was home to demons.
‘Mental trinkets would be a must……?
But just the same.
There were no earrings, necklaces, or rings to be found.
Flutter.
A long coat fluttered in the wind.
Another click.
The stately tread of his heels spoke for itself.
As if he didn’t need them.
A look of fearlessness.
A posture that didn’t show the slightest hint of nervousness.
Indeed, the man’s confidence was well founded.
“!”
He raised a wall to block the enemy’s charge.
No, that wasn’t enough, he was erecting pillars all around the square.
Hisagi understood the man’s intentions immediately.
“……They’re trying to neutralise the cavalry’s mobility.
The man’s plan worked, restricting the knights’ movement.
As if that weren’t bad enough, some of the knights had fallen into a comatose state.
Hisagi was still puzzled.
“Who are they?
No class, no name, no Mana, not even a level.
There was no easy guess.
“That’s a good thing.
If that creature had been a Gaon…….
‘I can only imagine the horror.
Most importantly, he didn’t seem to be from Gaon.
If he was, he wouldn’t have moved.
Most importantly, they could see that he was just as bewildered as they were.
“Still, it’s a chance.
Hisagi didn’t miss the opportunity.
Class, juggler.
Fazizik-!
Hisagi’s spear was wrapped in lightning.
The Lightning Spear.
True to its nickname, Hisagi streaked across the battlefield.
“Krrr…….”
Barbarian’s unique skill, [Berserk].
The effect caused Nam Tae-min to exhale like an animal.
Gaon’s guild members looked at Nam Tae-min and said.
“This is a perfect environment for a master to go on a rampage, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know who that is, but shouldn’t we say thank you?”
“Thank you? First of all, shouldn’t we worry about staying alive?!”
The players of Gaon are becoming famous one by one.
Naturally, all of them were as high level as their fame.
Higher levels meant more experience.
And with that experience, they had eyes to see.
Indeed, they were right.
The walls and pillars rose suddenly.
The knights’ ranks were broken.
It was a difficult situation.
In such a battle, Nam Tae-min was second to none.
Shush!
All that was left was wildness.
Nam Tae-min moves with only instinct.
He wields his greatsword with one hand.
He climbed a towering pillar and charged at the knights.
Nam Tae-min’s voice rang in his ears.
-Taemin, I know that whatever I say to you now will not be heard.
Even if I have to go through the trouble of saying the same thing again.
My mouth was itching and I couldn’t stand it.
-……that’s the guy I was talking about!
At first, I was skeptical.
No, it can’t be him.
For a short time, I told myself over and over again.
But then I had to admit it.
-How could I forget that face?
The face of the man who had saved my life from the devil.
No matter how I looked at it, it was the face of my benefactor.
Even more so than before.
Even his formal attire.
-……But the truth is, I still don’t know.
……How could he do that?
I couldn’t fathom the man’s class.
In the Rift of Line 4, he had obviously hunted imps with a dagger.
Of course, he also used a bow.
Yeah, I could understand that.
Both physical abilities.
That is, they were affected by the [Strength] and [Dexterity] stats.
-Suddenly, magic. What is this……?
But this time, it’s different.
Magic is affected by the [Magic] stat.
A class that requires Strength, Dexterity, and Magic?
I’d never heard of it, and even if I had, it couldn’t be good.
Stat points were limited.
-She was fine in front of the imp. I just thought she was mentally tough. I never thought he could actually use magic!
Is that what you call normal magic?
Even though I was watching it on the screen, the square was at least twice the size of a football field, if not larger.
The company filled the square.
He had built huge walls and pillars!
As if that wasn’t enough.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
He even managed to knock down a pillar to attack the knights.
-What does everyone think?
Nam Chul-min used all of his knowledge as an analyst.
Starting with his own knowledge of the arcana.
And the opinions of his fellow analysts on the same screen.
But no matter how much he put his mind together, he couldn’t even guess.
-As an analyst, it’s not something I should say. I don’t know. Tae Min Ah.
But one thing is for sure.
-……You have to catch him at all costs, little brother.
And even if you don’t.
I had to avoid hostilities.
No good can come from confronting a player of his calibre.
Why, not now?
-Brothers helping in pairs. What am I to make of that?
If the man hadn’t shown up.
There would have been casualties by now.
Not to mention Gaon and Inazuma.
But Sae’s performance changed the game.
He was a player who could single-handedly change the game.
His value is indescribable.
-By the way, it was the Inazuma guys that I saw together.
There were many Korean players in Inazuma.
Among them, there were quite a few players who were taken away by Gaon.
It wasn’t a matter of conditions.
Inazuma was aggressively recruiting Korean players even if they were bleeding.
It was no secret that this was a condition that could be imposed with the help of the Japanese government.
That was why Nam Tae-min was gnashing his teeth at Hisagi.
-That’s why we can’t make any concessions.
The moment he said that.
“!”
Nam Tae-min’s reason returned.
I can’t give in.
That was the only thing he heard.
I immediately understood what he meant by no concessions.
The corner of his mouth raised in amusement.
“Ten zeroes? Call. Let’s figure out what to add to that.”
Same time.
Netuber Park Hwigang’s chat window was going crazy.
-Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
-A true story??? What class is that???
-The shrimp in the whale fight is too big.
-I’ve heard rumours that this is a holy place.
Gaon and Inazuma.
A mysterious player who came between two guilds.
There is a nettuber who has been broadcasting such a player since the beginning.
──────
Title : A relay as persistent as a wheel! Live broadcast from Huigang Yi!
Current number of viewers: 68,923
──────
As the word spread, Park’s broadcast attracted nearly 70,000 viewers.
It was enough to make her faint with surprise.
“Wow……!!!”
Park didn’t even have time to check the number of viewers.
The sight in front of him was incredible.
It was even more unbelievable than his own viewership.
“Do you guys see? I think we’re almost there!”
There were only a few knights left.
Even they looked like defeated soldiers.
The players had won.
“I knew you weren’t normal when I first saw you, but…….”
I never thought it would be this good!
Moreover, the viewers who watched him from the beginning, including Park Hui-gang, knew.
In this square battle, Sana didn’t give it his all.
-Ah, they didn’t even see the Ego Sword!
-The Ego Sword? What is that?
-I don’t know, but that’s not a normal name.
-If you haven’t seen it, watch it again.
-Lol, I’m getting a little nervous.
Yes, because he hadn’t even drawn his own weapon.
The same weapon that sent Count Ascura’s soldier to his death.
Park Huigang opened his mouth cautiously.
“You feel like you’re being watched ……, don’t you?”
I did.
The man hadn’t moved from the walls and pillars.
It was as if he didn’t care about experience and loot right now.
-Funny, I would have just wiped them out.
-What’s with the Ego Sword? That sucks.
-It just changed shape. I’m expecting at least a unique.
-If it’s a sword, isn’t it a knight’s blow?
……Who the hell are they?
No wonder the attention was focused on the man.
Pfft─
Soon, the last knight fell.
And then, as if on cue.
‘No way, are you Korean? If you are, then…….’
“You think I’m going to let this one slip through my fingers? I never do.
“I could at least ask for a name.
All eyes turned to one place.
To the man standing alone in the centre of the square.
The man’s expression never changed.
At this moment, all the attention is on him.
As if he deserved it.
*Why?
Amidst the barrage of questions, I thought.
‘……I’m tired.
I’ll refrain from squeezing my Mana to the limit in the future.
Apparently, the after-effects were considerable.
I don’t have any equipment to restore my magic.
What’s your name?
Do you belong to any guilds?
Are you Korean?
In truth, it wasn’t hard to answer.
But I wasn’t having it.
Aside from Grampel’s cranky personality.
I was tired and wanted to sit down.
But I didn’t have a single piece of equipment.
I’m staggering along with Mana exhaustion.
Do I really have to hold on like this?
“So much for formality.”
I added in a cold voice.
“Therefore, I will take no questions.”