◈ Episode 165. You Left Something Precious (1)
Before the Storm.
The Holy War would begin in earnest with the battle for the Demon King as the starting point.
Nevertheless, time passed as usual.
Yusra, Frost, Muon, Magic Tower, and finally the Rift.
Players accelerated their growth in their positions.
“Ugh, this is killing me!”
It was a routine I had never experienced before.
There was no rest after the Rift.
A life of free work, work, and dinner.
These were the days when the biggest reason I chose to be a player was gone.
“What’s with the pride?”
What could make a man so tired?
But I had to suck it up.
I had to grit my teeth and grit my teeth.
“Stop whining. I don’t want to get involved with you and get kicked out.”
“Whatever. I’m the one who’s going to get kicked out, not you.”
“Okay, just shut up.”
This was not an opportunity that came along often.
Lionheart, the strongest knight in the Empire.
Back when Arcana was just a game.
Players with a decent reputation couldn’t even talk to the Knights of the Lionheart. No, you couldn’t even touch them. But in the special circumstances of a holy war.
Who cares about conversation or contact?
He was training under the guidance of a Lionheart Knight.
“Basic physical strength is the foundation of everything. Now, run!”
Harkon’s booming voice echoed through the Frost Training Grounds.
“No chatter during training.”
Yesica’s stern voice rang out from the Yusra Training Center.
Muon’s was no different.
” ……I’ve been praying penance for hours, man.”
“Haah, I feel like I’m going to have cramps.”
“I’ve long since lost feeling in my lower body.”
The priests groaned as they knelt to pray.
“Why did I choose to become something like a paladin!”
“A barbarian can wear a bullhorn.”
“I resent the plate armor, really…….”
The paladins were sweating bullets.
The situation was not much different for the Magic Tower.
The library in the tower.
Players were first impressed by the vast amount of magic books.
Secondly, they were stunned by the quality of the books.
There were so many books on high-level magic.
“……What the hell does this mean?”
“Assimilation, interference, manifestation……?”
“I don’t understand it so much that it slaps me in the face.”
No wonder.
『Magic』 and [skill] were two completely different things.
But even the Chief Mage, Marcelo, hadn’t fully grasped that fact yet. How could players who had just become Apprentice Mages understand it?
“I feel like I’m studying for the SATs again.”
“Did you even study for ……?”
“If I had, I could have gotten a rank in Arcana.”
“What.”
Something so pedantic that it sounded like it was coming out of my mouth.
If it were the magic tower of the past.
No one would have cared about the travails of an apprentice mage, for each would have seen only the truth that would not be caught.
No one cared for those left behind.
But.
“What? There’s an occasional conference in the Crystal Hall?!”
Magic Tower had changed.
They were no longer chasing a false truth.
They no longer looked down on those around them in their pursuit of false truth.
The Crystal Hall is vast.
Chief Marcelo stood in the center of the crystal hall.
The hall seemed fuller than usual, thanks to the players.
‘I pride myself on thinking more than anyone else.’
The founder of Theoretical Magic.
To organize all magic into theories.
Marcelo was always looking at things from different perspectives.
It’s only natural that many thoughts would follow.
But even in his many imaginings.
A conference in front of adventurers.
There was nothing like it now.
‘And, of course, as I am now.’
The body was still thin, but it no longer creaked.
There was no blood rushing to his mouth, no pain.
Most importantly.
My mind was clear.
I realized with a start.
At that point, I couldn’t help but think again.
‘……Does this really mean that the curse of Terminal Illness is gone?’
Among the millions of demons that Lord Hoyeol had slain, there was one that was related to the curse? That’s a ridiculous coincidence. That’s why I didn’t take it seriously.
I didn’t get my hopes up.
‘Do I deserve such good fortune?’
The curse of the Simuard family.
The faces of those who had gone before him flashed through his mind.
“…….”
It stirred an emotion he’d forgotten.
Marcelo shrugged.
‘No, now is not the time for me to be sentimental.’
Yes, we have a long and difficult road ahead of us.
Besides, the good fortune that Lord Hoyeol has brought us on the continent of Arcana.
I don’t want to waste a single moment of it.
Marcelo then spoke up.
“Theoretical magic was established to help us understand abstract magical structures. What is assimilation, what is interference, how can magic be manifested from magic power…….”
.
.
.
Golden Crown Tavern, Kingdom of Yusra.
Rockid is recovering from his injuries.
Peace has returned to the tavern.
Mmm.
A drink to wash away the fatigue.
The liquor goes down the throat.
The players spit out their thumbs as if in competition.
“I’m not kidding, you guys don’t know Master Harkon’s personality, he’s not a lion for nothing, he’s glaring at you with his eyes wide open……!”
“You might as well run.”
“What did you say?”
Puk-puk-puk.
The priest slaps his own thigh roughly.
But there was a worrying lack of movement in his expression.
“Since dawn until a little while ago. I’ve been kneeling and praying. Look at me, I can’t feel my lower body. No, not just that, my head is spinning from the lack of blood.”
I feel sorry for him.
No, I feel sorry for myself.
In the midst of all this, I heard a sound.
BANG!
First of all, it wasn’t the Rockid.
“……Why are you banging your head on the table again?”
“Did something happen at the Magic Tower?”
“I did. I realized I was a stone head. Look at this. I hit my head this hard and it’s still intact. I’m so depressed. Assimilating sucks. I need to find out what’s in my head…….”
What kind of hardships did you go through at the Magic Tower?
It looked pretty bad.
Yeah, nothing is easy in this world.
We didn’t have much time to console each other.
“That’s it. Let’s have a drink.”
Ta-da─
The three players finished their drinks.
One of the men suddenly interrupted.
“But, Lee Hoyeol.”
“Shit! Who’s Lee Hoyeol, our leader of the holy war?”
“It’s just us, man. Anyway, Mr. Hoyeol.”
It’s because it’s hard to say a word because of that damn name.
The man cleared his throat and continued.
“How are you still alive?”
Hoyeol was as imposing as ever.
There was nothing bold or hidden about his demeanor.
His routine of traveling back and forth between the kingdoms of Yusra, Frost, and the Magic Tower was well known, so it didn’t make sense. Surely, Harkon had said.
“Even the great Lord Hoyeol never misses a day of physical training…….”
He wasn’t the only one.
“……Wait, you guys haven’t heard the news yet, have you? A rumor about Lord Lee Hoyeol that’s been circulating around the Magic Tower. I couldn’t believe it when I heard it, so I checked it several times.”
The story of Hoyeol’s heroism is all over the Magic Tower and Muon.
After talking to him, I couldn’t understand it anymore.
“He came back to Magic Tower with insufficient physical training, and now he’s stuck in his office handling chief duties, and when a rift is created, he’s the first one to appear, and he’s repeating that life over and over again?!”
Is that even a human?
.
.
.
I, Lee Hoyeol, declare.
I retract my statement that I don’t need the [First World Tree Blessing].
This is not human life……!
‘If only there wasn’t the blessing of the World Tree.’
I must have crossed the netherworld from overwork.
First and foremost, it was the amount of physical training I had to do.
Thanks to the blessing buffs, my body didn’t get too tired, but the amount of time invested in training increased.
I can see it now.
I’ve been doing push-ups for tens of minutes now.
I stare at the message on my screen.
Train your weakened body. (Repeat)▲
●40 kilometer run (successful)
●3,500 push-ups (successful)
●2,000 pull-ups (successful)
●1,200 burpee tests (successful)
Finally, success.
Finally, you’ve made it through another day.
But your mouth says something different.
“There is nothing without pain. What a blessing.”
……He’s so fucking stubborn!
Okay, well, to a certain extent, I agree.
I mean, sometimes my arms and legs need to be shaking to feel like I’ve trained properly, but there’s nothing like a full stomach to look forward to the next day.
Sigh.
I sat at my desk in a straight line.
Flipping through books. I’ve dug more than one hole, more than one well.
There are so many fields of books that I have to read every day.
‘I could hold them all my life and never understand them.’
But I had the brain of a grandfell.
I crammed a staggering amount of book knowledge into my brain.
Of course, they say you can never learn too much, even though I could see no end in sight.
And being a chief.
The good news was that now that Marcelo was fully recovered, his workload was lighter.
On top of that, Marcelo was struggling with the adjustment of the new players in the tower.
‘If I had to deal with the players…….’
There’s nothing worse than that.
He would have unleashed even more vitriol on the apprentice and adept mages of the Magic Tower, and the internet would have been buzzing with news of his vitriol and personality controversy.
“I don’t care what others think of me.”
What can we say?
It didn’t end there.
[Quest: The Unfinished Holy War].
I was the commander-in-chief of the Holy War.
Yusra, Frost, Muon, Magic Tower. And then there were the players. It’s a crazy, overwhelming battle.
‘Who am I to take on such a heavy responsibility?’
You don’t even have to go all the way to the Magic Tower.
Harkon alone is level 600.
His experience in battle and warfare is far beyond mine.
But I won’t make excuses.
At least right now, with the big event called [Battle of the Demon King] approaching, there isn’t even enough time for that.
“Numbers are just numbers.”
Yes, shamelessly.
It means I’ll carry the weight.
If I do it again, I’m confident.
Why, I’ve got an unbreakable Grandfell set-up.
“Underestimation requires proof, and overestimation requires that you make it happen.”
Of course, it was me who was dying for it.
When you’re done reading, you’ll have to go straight to the Kingdom of Yusra to prepare for the Holy War. I’m not grateful for the World Tree’s blessing for nothing.
“But maintaining a practical sense is also important.”
I also need to make sure I’m getting the right amount of experience by entering the Rift whenever I can, unleashing sword force, manifesting magic, hunting monster and collecting loot.
Seriously, you never get a break.
I miss my green tea and my mouth is dry.
I can’t wait for tea time.
Ding.
I closed the book and looked at the information on the currently created rift.
Let’s see, the highest appropriate level rift is currently…….
……But, what is it.
What is this article?
[Live report: Rumors floating around the Magic Tower……. Lee Ho-Yeol kills millions of demons in just two hours?]
It’s not wrong.
It’s obviously misleading, isn’t it?!
I was the one who was still struggling to live up to the hype.
The bubble isn’t bursting, it’s just getting bigger.
But.
“Slow for a horse with no feet.”
Who can blame me?
Everything was brought on by my big mouth alone.
In the end, I had no choice but to be diligent.
I worked on my appearance.
I dressed neatly and stiffly.
To avoid sinking under the weight of my responsibilities.
.
.
. . .
I vowed not to falter.
Despite my resolve.
Entering the rift, I was nervous without showing it.
Hiel bows to me.
“This is the remains of the core of the Quernberg machine tower you spoke of.”
She adds, still bowing.
“The damage was so severe that the dwarves tried to restore its condition, but to no avail. “I, Hiel, have dishonored myself for failing to properly carry out Hoyeol’s request.”
You’re being overly polite, Hiel.
Anyone who sees me would think that I control discipline as tightly as the world tree.
I said in a generous voice.
“You don’t have to bow your head.”
“……?”
“That’s good enough.”
The broken core of the Quernberg machine tower.
Even if the dwarves who created it say it cannot be repaired, there is no problem.
I had a trick up my sleeve.
Because there was a trick I used to use.
『Reversal Magic』