◈ Episode 181. They’re All Unqualified

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[Main Quest: Warring States Period]

A time of upheaval.

Is it mere power that is at stake?

Is it the Emperor’s incompetence?

Or an irresistible destiny.

The continent’s powerful people covet the throne.

Your choice will set a new course.

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Capital City, Antonium.

The last bastion of the Empire has not fallen. Despite unprecedented losses, it has not yielded to the demons. A desperate stand.

“Stop it! Risk your lives!”

“If the walls fall, it’s all over!”

“Even if I die, I’ll stop it and die!”

Did the heavens pity this desperate struggle?

“……Is it true, the demons are gone!”

The demonic forces that had been scattered throughout the empire had been wiped out in a single day.

And that wasn’t all. Even the King of Demons, the Demon King, Unlike before, the movement was withdrawn.

Dag-dag.

Scouts scouring the vicinity of Antonium.

They couldn’t believe it with their own eyes.

“What kind of harmony is this?”

True to the reports, the demons were gone.

As if scared away by ‘something’.

Without even leaving a trace.

“……I want you to go back and tell the Emperor the news!”

Everyone in Antonium was relieved, including the emperor.

“Thank God, we were about to run out of food.”

“I don’t know what tricks you have up your sleeve, but…….”

“Stop criticizing me. We don’t have a choice, do we? We just have to stay vigilant and capitalize on this opportunity.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

I thought I’d finally gotten a chance to breathe.

But I’d overlooked something.

The demons that grow stronger through negative energy.

How could such demons exist.

Even after they appeared on the continent of Arcana.

They have grown stronger day by day.

Where did the source of their power come from?

Rumbling.

Soldiers were rushing toward Antonium.

They were not demons, nor were they reinforcements.

“Your Majesty, the Duke of Yumir is leading his soldiers to……!!!”

“Marquis of Cassano, he has turned against the Empire!”

“The Eastern Marquises of the Empire have declared a coalition……!”

It was a rebel army trying to bring down the Empire.

The Emperor stepped to the walls of Antonium.

He looked at those who had surrounded him.

A bitter smile crossed his face.

” ……I was foolishly mistaken.”

They were the ones who did not respond to the telepathy of the Imperial Mage. Foolishly, I thought you had been defeated by the demon.

I blamed myself day and night for failing to protect you.

But.

“You were staring at me all along.”

A bitter laugh escaped the Emperor’s lips.

” ……I have no place for anyone’s envy.”

A crown that threatens to crush you under its weight.

Are you willing to step up and bear it?

If the emperor’s seat is yours to pass on.

I’d gladly give it to you.

Whirring.

The Emperor gently closed his eyes against the wind.

The smell carried by the wind was different.

I could no longer smell the blood, or the charring.

“……indeed, it’s all over.”

Indeed, the demons were gone from the continent.

If the people of the empire never groaned in pain when he was gone.

I would gladly give up my position as Emperor.

The Emperor thought to himself.

“Such an end would not be so bad.”

He is too tired to go on.

The Emperor opened his eyes and spoke.

“So when we meet again, don’t blame me too much, Harkon. I owe you more than I can ever repay.”

Thump-

The Emperor’s empty words ended.

The view from the Quernberg machine tower shifted.

To the many forces surrounding Antonium.

“Our alliance is until the moment we destroy Antonium, and bring down the Emperor. After that, don’t believe a word anyone says, Duke.”

Before the demons evaporated as if in a single day.

The continent of Arcana groaned in pain.

But those gathered showed no signs of exhaustion.

No wonder.

Because those gathered here did not face the demon.

They turned a blind eye to the people groaning in pain.

They had locked themselves away in their castles, reserving their strength for today.

“The continent wants a new emperor!”

“Emperor, your incompetence has brought the continent to this point.”

“This is a revolution, not a rebellion!”

Kugong─

Its sole purpose is to hunt demons.

The machine tower has no sense of right or wrong.

It merely holds the landscape of Antonium in its memory.

Kugung─

The Quernberg Machine Tower was about to walk away.

A man stood in his way.

Dark blue hair.

Deep blue eyes.

And, most importantly, a sword.

The young man opened his mouth.

“Is this a machine that goes around doing useless things?”

Shhh.

Without hesitation, he pointed his sword at the machine tower.

The sword steel was so blue that one could feel a chill just by looking at it.

Its brightness was blindingly clear. It was so intense that it could be seen in broad daylight, even by the eyes of those who hadn’t awakened their sword energy.

It was sword force, and more than sword force.

There was a murmur around him.

“That’s Lord Shegwin……!”

Sword Saint, Shegwin.

The continent’s only Grand Sword Master.

At the same time, a Transcendent.

“By the way, Lord Shegwin, how did you aim your sword at the Quernberg Machine Tower?”

” ……because the demons had become less active?”

“Are you saying that its value has faded? No, even if that were the case, wouldn’t there be a need to point a sword? Moreover, the Demon Kings are still crouching on the Arcana Continent… … .”

In a flurry of concern.

Shegwin twisted the corner of his mouth in a pout.

“I don’t like fuss.”

Ssshhhh!

He swung his sword wildly.

Shegwin’s sword sliced through the air.

Koo-koo-koo-koo!

And the Quernberg machine tower began to crumble.

All at once.

Countless cogs spilled out like blood as it crumbled to the ground.

An unreal sight.

Horrible!

Shegwin’s transcendent power turned Antonium into an enemy.

Even those who had allied themselves with him were horrified.

But the machine tower was neither frightened nor shaken.

One last moment.

The only thing the tower had in its memory was Shegwin’s words.

-“Is this the machine that’s doing all this useless things?”

The Demon’s Natural Enemy.

A demon hunter who sees even extinguished demons again.

Because it was a decisive weapon that carried on Akshan’s pride.

There must be a reason why demon hunting is a useless activity. The last Demon Hunter. Please, I hope you can see through Shegwin’s intentions… … .

Thump!

.

.

.

I stared at the message that popped up one after another.

[Quest: Futility]

Shegwin considers hunting demons a futile endeavor.

Converse with Shegwin,

and determine the true nature of his actions.

Meet with Shegwin. (Ongoing)

Okay, let’s think about this rationally.

Even if you don’t care about the content, I was prepared.

Like I said, I’m an experienced man, right?

Akshan tradition.

I was expecting to take over a quest left by another demon hunter.

……But what is this scale?!

First of all, there wasn’t just one quest.

[Main Quest: Warring States Period]]

No, it’s suddenly a main quest.

I want Grandfell.

I couldn’t help but blame the damn big mouth.

‘You’re really a piece of shit!’

If I were still in one piece, I might have welcomed it.

Main Quests.

Unlike World Quests, there’s so little information about them that even players are divided on whether they exist.

Or even.

“A tale untold even by those who seek the Creator’s lore.”

……Your bravado is still intact in this situation, Grandfell.

To put it bluntly, the AAU doesn’t have specific information about the main quest either. But the system doesn’t lie.

Besides, it’s very plausible, isn’t it?

‘It’s a romance, a player’s romance.’

A quest where you can become Emperor of an empire.

Indeed, it should be called the main quest.

But as I said, the problem is my condition.

My nose is three feet tall, so what do I do when a quest pops up!!

Main quest?

The Akshan quest?

All good, this is it.

But first, I need to free myself from the effects of the Screeching Circle, the Transcendent. That’s right, Grandfell, you must follow the “procedure” you hold so dear.

I heard you right.

‘Demon hunting is a futile endeavor.’

Swordsmanship.

Shegwin, the continent’s only Grand Sword Master.

I could smell it in the wake of the Quernberg Machine Tower.

I wonder if it has something to do with the demon.

‘Well, I hope it’s just old man spirit.’

Anyway, in order to fulfill Akshan’s quest, I had to meet Shegwin.

With [Map of All Things] no longer effective, the only way to meet Shegwin is to rely on the coincidences of the rift. If you’re lucky enough to meet him, you can find him there …….

‘First of all, there’s no way to avoid a collision.’

How could the great Grandfell get away with it?

Shegwin had destroyed an entire machine tower.

As far as Grandfell was concerned, this was the equivalent of crushing a fellow man.

So I spoke coldly.

“I will hold you strictly responsible for your imprudent behavior.”

So there you go.

The point is, we have to resolve the circle somehow.

We’d have to get to the same transcendent, to the same level, so we could talk.

But in this moment.

There was another thought that came first.

Antonium.

The emperor who watched bitterly from the city walls.

Harkon, his right-hand man.

‘If he finds out about this…….’

Harkon would do whatever it took to save the Emperor.

He would move to save Antonium.

Then what would be the status of the [main quest]?

I looked at the quest objective.

─Capture Antonium. (Optional)

─Defend Antony. (Optional)

Like the [Battlefield Quest], this quest objective requires you to choose a faction.

I calmly weighed the power of the two sides.

In a siege, the Opposite side would basically have the advantage.

Besides, Antonium had withstood countless demonic assaults. But even Antonium was at his limit, and the siege forces were numerous.

Moreover, I had to see it with my own eyes.

I saw with my own eyes the overwhelming sword force of Shegwin……!

As they say, you can only see what you know.

Could it be because I’ve reached the level of a sword master?

I could see how ridiculous Shegwin’s swordsmanship was.

‘The durability of the Quernberg machine tower is considerable.’

[Pure Knowledge].

Thanks to you, I know all about the minerals it’s made of.

No matter how great the walls of the capital city are, it is a mechanical tower made of minerals that are incomparably valuable.

‘He cut them out like tofu.’

More than Harkon.

It’s a level that I can’t reach.

So from a purely player perspective.

The odds were stacked against the Empire, against the Emperor.

Even with a furious Harkon on board, it wouldn’t change the outcome.

So if I choose Opposition.

I’ll fail the main quest in a big way.

And yet.

“I cannot imagine your feelings, Lord Harkon.”

I.

Grandfell.

Since when do you make rational decisions?

Yes, it’s all about pride.

The heavy pride in my chest was speaking.

“But one thing seems certain.”

I murmured to myself.

“But no one is left out.”

What, dethrone the emperor and become the new emperor?

Bastards like that.

Hiding in the shadows and not moving a muscle until the demon wiped out the continent?

On second thought, maybe it’s a legacy of the days when Arcana was just a game.

The same way that the Magic Tower did when it was too powerful to be tied down.

But even when I try to understand it, I can’t.

After all, he broke the contradiction and changed.

And who else?

No, do you think I want to die, so I’m going to fight a demon king because I’m not enough of a Great Evil and a high ranking Demon King?!

“They’re all unqualified.”

So this was another battle of wills.

“Shegwin, you are no different.”

The pride of Grandfell.

And me, Lee Hoyeol’s frustration.

There was no hesitation.

The words flashed before my eyes.

─Capture Antonium. (Failed)

─Defend Antonium. (Ongoing)

Swordsman?

The continent’s only Grand Sword Master?

You certainly have a big ego.

But if you have title, you can’t lose.

Infinity deep darkness.

A ray of light in that darkness.

An evil dragon hunter!

‘Damn it, speaking with my own mouth makes me feel even more ashamed.’

But aside from this title, I have nothing to bow down to, right?

Yes, I was a [Transcendent] just like Shegwin.

Even if the effect was a sealed by bewitched, anyway.

So what I had to do was simple.

Druk-

I stood up and looked out the window of my office.

… … You must grow it, elixir.

*

Separate room.

Elsidor opened the door to the separate room and walked through the golden palace. The destination, of course, was a flower garden. The employees of the Golden Palace whispered when they saw Elsidore.

“……He looks like he’s in a good mood, doesn’t he?”

“Shhh, be careful what you say, I’m afraid they’ll hear it.”

“Me neither, but isn’t it interesting?”

After being imprisoned in a separate room in the Golden Palace.

Elsidor’s face had always been grim.

His sculpted elven features had faded.

He had always had a murderous glare in his eyes.

“But they say he was laughing in the chamber!”

Elsidor’s face changed.

Why?

There was only one thing he could think of.

” …… After going to the flower garden, right?”

It was.

Elsidor had changed since he started managing Hoyeol’s flower garden.

The users chattered excitedly.

“As expected, just like the legend says, elves are friendly to nature!”

“…… Could it be that the sudden creation of a flower garden in a separate room was for the elves? Doesn’t that seem right? He is not the type of person to do that!”

“You seem to be blunt, but you’re also very thoughtful, aren’t you?”

Tsk-tsk-

The elf’s large ears twitched.

What, he’s considerate?

How dare the bastard who put me in this position be thoughtful?

Elsidor gritted his teeth.

“……I will kill you.”

However, the effect of [Hierarchy of Blessings] was still activated.

Despite his vow, Elsidor couldn’t help but take care of the flower garden.

“Funny.”

Why did Elsidor smile?

It was simple.

It was a sneer.

“You’re so full of yourself.”

It’s insignificant to go to the trouble of watering a flower garden like this. As insignificant as a bug. Elsidore was rebuilding her self-esteem as she reflected on her favorable experience in the flower garden.

“What a pointless endeavor.”

Day.

“What difference does it make if I water it?”

And another day.

“I’d like to show the cheeky guy Sisley’s flower garden.”

Whoo-hoo-hoo.

Elsidor’s expression grew brighter by the day.

Exactly four days later.

Entering the flower garden, Elsidor’s face turned pale.

“?”

It had been a few days of mocking, gossiping, and enjoying the backstabbing that he hadn’t paid close attention to. The flowers in the garden had grown larger than ever before.

Elsidor muttered.

“…… How on earth?”

In just four days.

Those insignificant flowers.

Even better than Sisley’s flowers that have lived for eternity.

Can it be big, flashy, and exude a profound energy?