◈ Episode 206. A Lucky Day (2)

Continent of Arcana.

Imperial capital, Antonium.

The Iron Castle floats in the sky.

“Sometimes the Empire’s wheat beer isn’t so bad.”

“Sometimes? You’ve got to be careful what you say, hasn’t it been decades?”

“is it? Hahaha. That’s why it was so good.”

The fatigue of smelting lingered in his body.

The deep fatigue that lay beneath.

After drinking down the ale, the dwarves returned to their daily routine.

Now that the demons were on the wane, their first priority remained the same.

“Scout squadrons, prepare to depart.”

To find the remnants of the Quernberg machine tower.

The thing that does it.

The Sceptre, a small airship inside the Iron Castle.

Dwarven pilots, each in a sceptre.

Gunner, the veteran pilot, spoke up playfully.

“By the way, Chainwalker.”

“?”

“Isn’t this a drunken flight, eh?”

Chainwalker responds to the tongue-in-cheek joke.

“You know, wasn’t it just a few hours ago that you were whining about how beer is lighter than water? Cut the crap and get out of here. It’s getting to be time to move on from Antonium.”

Hoyeol defeated the high ranking demon king.

Peace has returned to the continent of Arcana.

The dwarves stopped flying and stayed in Antonium for a while.

But the Holy War was ongoing.

There was no telling when or where the next event would occur.

“Antonium, especially the tavern merchants will be disappointed.”

“Let’s see, how much did we bring in?”

“Gunner, how many barrels have you emptied on your own since you said you were a beast.”

“Did I, eh?”

Walswale looked around the empty ship.

He hadn’t been so frenzied when the children, survivors of the Dredsen village, were running around, but now that they were gone, the void felt quite large.

Chainwalker spoke.

“I’m going to see the Emperor before I leave.”

“Really? You are? Why?”

Akshan’s extermination.

The dwarves had cut off all contact with humans after that. The Empire, the Emperor, was no exception.

In a way, Akshan’s disappearance was the Empire’s own fault for mismanaging its territory.

“Has time forgotten the past, Chainwalker?”

Wallswale asked, and Chainwalker shook his head.

“No. Even if they have, I cannot forget.”

Akshan, for their sake, he vowed, I will leave them a trail.

But at the same time, there was excitement.

Akshan, the last man standing.

Chainwalker put himself in his shoes.

“That’s why I’m willing to break my stubbornness and meet you.”

Lord Hoyeol.

Surely you would not turn your back on Antonium and the Empire, so Chainwalker would bring the information he had gathered from his scouting directly to the Emperor.

“If you have learned a lesson from the past, wouldn’t you take our words to heart?”

.

.

.

Weing─

The Sceptre glided through the sky.

The small airship was no larger than a wagon.

The cockpit was also dwarf-sized, barely big enough to fit a Dredsen child.

“Let’s see. The wreckage is…….”

The little Sceptre still had everything going for it.

High enough to find the remains of the machine towers scattered across the continent. The Iron Castle, the center of dwarven technology, was part of the Sceptre, so it’s not unreasonable.

“?”

The Sceptre detected an anomaly.

The magic-sensitive instruments pulsed wildly.

Gunner’s face tensed for a moment.

” …… maxed out?”

As if reaching maximum wasn’t bad enough.

It was shaking from side to side, as if it were going to break through the dashboard.

There had to be a cause for this level of magic sensitivity.

Gunner whipped around, scanning his surroundings.

Dark clouds rolled across the sky.

A flash.

“Suddenly a thunderbolt……?”

A rumbling.

“What kind of fucking weather is this!”

Even the Iron Castle, hundreds and thousands of times larger than the Sceptre, was not immune to flying in bad weather.

Taking to the skies in a Sceptre on a day when it wasn’t raining enough and thunderstorms were pelting down?

Suicidal behavior, in other words.

“Dwarven natural death, this.”

We’re already far away from the Iron Castle.

Flash.

Even if I fly diligently from now on, there’s no way I’ll make it back safely.

The sky crackled with lightning.

But Gunner did not turn the controls.

“Sky, do you think I’m going to back down?”

His experience in the holy war had taught him something.

He realized the importance of information.

Akshan, not knowing what had happened to them.

I could do nothing to help them.

He could only watch their end.

“Lightning? Dodge it and you’ll be fine.”

The instrument panel twitched even as he spoke.

I will not turn the controls of the Iron Castle until I find the source.

Gunner piloted the Sceptre without stopping.

And then he saw it.

“……!”

The Zero Mountains have been transported to the Adventurer’s World.

Thanks to this, a vast flat land was created.

The beings that appeared there.

“That, that!”

The Sceptre’s ability to see through the wreckage of a machine tower.

That’s why I recognized it.

The pointed ears.

“…… Elves?”

Elves, it wasn’t just one or two.

It was hard to believe they hadn’t been seen on the continent before. Nearly a hundred elves stood on the plain in groups.

“What are they doing?”

Gathered in a place like this?

He didn’t know why, but it was a cause for concern.

Gunner swallowed dryly and gripped the controls hard.

‘We have to get back before it’s too late.’

His head was screaming, but he ignored it.

But even the dwarf’s stubbornness could only last so long.

A flicker.

A light that struck my vision.

At first I thought it was lightning.

But it wasn’t.

“!”

Lightning falls from the sky.

But this flash was coming from the ground to the sky.

It stretched from the ground to the sky, toward me, toward the Sceptre.

For a split second, he could feel it.

‘They’ve noticed me!’

Kirik!

I reflexively jerked the controls in horror.

A barely missed flash of light.

The reverberation hit my eardrums late.

Zeeeeeeeeeee-!

“!”

A roar that could only be heard from the Iron Castle’s magic injection cannons.

However, the current flash was nothing like that.

Gunner’s pupils fluttered wildly.

‘It was only an arrow!’

It was literally a miracle that he dodged.

“I can dodge lightning, but not that!”

Chiric!

Gunner twisted the controls in frustration.

Somehow the elves had gone into collective action.

He couldn’t figure out why, but one thing was clear.

“They don’t care who they kill.”

They pull the bowstring against those who go against their wishes without even thinking about it. That alone was valuable information to the dwarves. It would be the same for the Empire and Hoyeol.

Kurrrr-!

“Damn, should I call this lucky?”

In the pouring thunderstorm.

Gunner muttered as he returned safely to the Iron Castle. He ran straight to Chainwalker, where several dwarven pilots were already engaged in a serious conversation.

“Chainwalker. And everyone has something to say.”

The arrival of an elf would be more important news than any other.

Or so I thought, and opened my mouth to speak.

It wasn’t.

The sound of conversation grew clearer as it approached.

“Demon, that energy was definitely at the level of a demon king.”

“Demon? That’s crazy……!!!”

“What’s with the look on your face?”

“Damn it, I witnessed it too.”

“Witnessed? What do you mean?”

“You don’t know. You remember, Chainwalker, you remember. Once upon a time, when our king was still alive. A human man came to our kingdom.”

Chainwalker frowned.

“It can’t be Akshan……. You mean Urs?”

“That’s right. The man who got the mechanical arm from us. It’s that mechanical arm. It was definitely Urs of the Iron Arm! That guy has appeared on the Arcana Continent again!”

“My God.”

Oh, my God, Chainwalker.

“…… Look, that’s what I’m trying to say, isn’t it?”

“Ah, Gunner. Did you make it back safely, too?”

“Chainwalker, is everything I just heard true? The demons start moving again. The Iron Arm Urs has appeared on the Arcana Continent again?”

“Yes, that’s what I heard.”

“Damn, what’s going on.”

Gunner spoke up.

“I have seen elves. A hundred of them.”

“……!!!”

Gunner spat out in sighing relief.

“Damn it, it’s lucky that everyone came back alive.”

*

Technically?

Does this really qualify as a drastically increased luck effect?

First, the [Telescope of the Evil Eye].

It was definitely good news to have a demonic loot in my inventory.

Demons.

Elves.

Transcendents.

If it wasn’t for the telescope, I wouldn’t have recognized them.

Okay, good, good, positive thinking.

I found out about the incident in a very timely manner.

I try to chalk it up to luck.

But then.

My phone vibrates.

A disaster text from the AAU.

At the same time, a text from the player.

It said the word.

‘Dragon.’

The dragon had been spotted at the top of the Zero Mountains.

I muttered to the top of the mountain range.

“You’re very cautious for your size.”

To translate from Grandfell.

It flew away without a trace, when, where, or how……!

But thank goodness.

At least it didn’t try to smash the planet as soon as it woke up.

‘Besides, according to AAU observations.’

At the top of the Zero Mountains.

They said they detected a phenomenon similar to the [Broken Dimension] rift.

That was enough to convince me.

‘So, dragons can open rifts?’

An incomplete rift, but one that leads to the Arcana Continent.

That’s what I thought…….

I really feel like I’ve been hit by a lucky letter!

From demons, elves, transcendents, and the final and most important dragons.

This is literally an unprecedented event, isn’t it?

‘At this rate, a rift is bound to be created.’

An emergency update, a regular update.

I was sure of it.

Even if I were to combine my current power with the power of all my allies in the Holy War. Between us, we’d be crumpling before a chrysalis.

Not to mention dragons and elves?

The only things better are demons and transcendents.

After all, even they weren’t out of the ordinary.

I looked through the telescope once more.

The effect of the telescope is to share the Evil Eye’s vision.

I don’t even have to try to feel it, it’s just there.

That’s why I could recognize it.

‘This is no ordinary demon.’

Evil Eye was shivering.

This was a reaction I hadn’t felt when I’d glimpsed a demon. I don’t know about the high ranking demon kings, but it’s a reaction I don’t feel when I see mid-rank demon kings that are close to 30th in the ranking.

Besides.

‘But it’s different from the Demon King.’

From the looks of it, it was more human than demon.

If it weren’t for the blatant evil energy, it wouldn’t be considered a demon.

And finally.

‘There is no sign of being intimidated even when faced with an elves.’

Elves’ strength?

I’ve said it many times before, but Elsidor was a testament to that.

Elsidor, who had slaughtered a level 800-900 demon with a single blow, and had mortally wounded a member of the Shadow Mercenaries, Rockid. There were a hundred such elves.

Only one possibility, then.

“Great Evil.”

You’re finally making a move, Great Evil.

Really!

That’s enough to make my head spin.

As if that weren’t enough, there was an elf, a transcendent in the same room as them.

How did I recognize the transcendent?

I don’t know exactly who, but…….

I recognized the face from the spacetime social hall.

‘One of two people who didn’t pay much attention to me.’

One man and one woman.

『His presence in the social scene was like an oasis in the desert, or a mirage. He didn’t enjoy socializing, so his appearances were few and far between. When he did, he was the center of attention…….』

That you weren’t distracted by Grandfell at a social gathering?

……I can’t speak for myself.

Not a common bet among the Transcendents.

A big bone.

Haphazardly grown bushy hair.

In fact, he didn’t even belong to the normal axis by appearance.

The most distinguishing feature was that its arms were mechanical.

That’s why I recognized it as soon as I saw it.

Well, it’s good that everyone showed up anyway.

‘So what is everyone’s reason?’

The question is the purpose.

‘Why are you doing this when you stay still?’

I wish I had Granfell’s personality.

A portal appears in an instant.

It’s so frustrating that you can even teleport through it!

“Anomaly. Are you holding me back even in this situation?”

See, if I only had a way to get to the Arcana Continent.

I’d run there without a care in the world.

I mean, the Grandfell I know.

In that sense, I should be relieved that there’s no way…….

I grabbed the runaway and calmly thought about it.

‘First, we need to get the word out.’

We need to tell the people on the continent of Arcana.

That way, they can prepare in some way.

Of course, we don’t have much time to spare here either.

‘Considering the passage of time…….’

Four times the speed of time on the continent of Arcana.

Something could happen there right now.

A few hours later.

It wouldn’t be strange if a rift in reality was created.

I opened my mouth.

“Diend.”

“Your orders, my lord.”

“Have my thoughts transmitted to Chainwalker.”

Information in my head, transmitted telepathically.

A moment later, Diend vanished into thin air as commanded.

Then he reappeared before me once more.

“My Lord.”

Indeed, I can sense the passage of time is different.

In what feels like a split second, I’ve delivered news to the Chainwalkers, and now I have news of yours. By the way, ……. I can’t help but be stunned by what Diend says next.

“The dwarves knew exactly what was going on.”

That’s it, I thought, thank goodness.

Even if I didn’t tell them, Chainwalkers would know.

They’re planning for it.

Here’s why I’m alarmed.

“It is also said that an Imperial army, led by the Emperor, has set out on an expedition. Their destination is near the Zero Mountains, and their purpose is to protect the people of the village. It is said that this is to honor the pride of the lord who saved Dredsen……!”

……Don’t speak in excitement, Diend.

I’m serious now.

Because my head is spinning like it’s going to crack.

Great Evil, Transcendents, Elves, Dragons, and now an Empire?

I was sure of it.

This is not luck.

I’m sure it’s a chain letter.

But I mumbled something nonchalant.

“So be it.”

It was.

Even as I pondered.

Time flows at 4X speed on the continent of Arcana.

From now on, I must use my best judgment.

at four times the speed.

So I spoke up.

“Then go and tell them.”

Even under these circumstances.

Being me.

Shamelessly.

“You have nothing to worry about because I’m here.”

Now is the time to make your words come true, Grandfell.