◈ Episode 236. It’s time to hunt

cheolkeog─

A metallic sound was heard.

I didn’t have to turn my head to recognize it.

It was the sound of Shegwin sheathing his atlas.

What it meant was simple.

A swordsman’s intuition.

That there was no longer a threat here.

Thinking about it, I realize I’ve done this for nothing.

Raymond Sean, I’m going to punch that bastard in the face.

[「A miracle of reversal」] appeared in the cleared rift.

‘Are you saying the reality never existed from the beginning?’

I’ll have to search the control room.

The effect of [Blessing of the First World Tree] is still active.

But there’s no magic power left. I’m still holding on to the rift that’s about to close, but I should be able to manifest a single light.

Duduksil─

A sphere of light illuminates the control room.

I thought so, but this really doesn’t exist?

Of course, I hadn’t made an appointment and had entered the lair by force.

So I don’t really have anything to say to you…….

‘You weren’t planning to meet in the first place, were you?’

He was the one with the polymorphic mannequin. I guess you were trying to trick me, just like you’ve been doing all along. I should be grateful I didn’t get played in that sense.

Of course, whatever.

“You never seem to be proud to the end.”

don’t know.

To Grandfell, Raymond Sean evaluation has reached rock bottom.

Well, almost to the point of no different from the demon.

The voice of the Illusion Breaker is heard.

-Sword sharpened. I can’t help it.

The words were addressed to Shegwin, not me.

I may have been struggling on the inside, but it didn’t show on the outside.

Unlike me, Shegwin was showing his emotions to the fullest.

Cih.

He’s genuinely sorry that he missed it.

I feel the same way, Shegwin, though I don’t show it.

We need to find a clue.

‘Control room.’

There’s got to be some kind of information there.

No one can say for sure what form this place will take once the rift is cleared.

A miracle of reversal is preventing the rift from closing. This could be our last chance to find any trace of Raymond Sean.

So I look around and see…….

‘!’

A familiar ‘something’ caught my eye.

Actually, it was Shegwin who spotted it first.

Tuk-tuk.

Shegwin touched the thing with the sheath of his sword.

He bent down and carefully picked it up by the ear.

He looks at me blankly.

-The boy asks if it’s a beast’s egg.

A beast’s egg.

To the eyes of an Arcanian, perhaps.

But not to me.

Let’s see, it’s been years, decades, since I last saw it.

I couldn’t forget it.

It was attached to something.

At least because the red label remained clearly in my mind.

Back when Arcana was just a game.

An exclusive access point to Arcana’s continental virtual reality.

It was Cosmo’s VR capsule.

The one that cost ten million won each.

In the illuminated control room, nothing existed except for the console. There was no trace or any item that could be called a reward. Well then that means.

That’s it.

The reason for Raymond Sean’s invitation.

The reward for clearing the dungeon.

I finally realized.

‘It was fucking dark under that lamp.’

Soon after launch.

It was a virtual reality game, a biography of the continent of Arcana, a game that was said to have surpassed humanity’s technological capabilities by decades. Yeah, I know, I know, I know. Looking back on it now, I realize that…….

It was definitely a technology that bordered on the [『Anomaly』].

I murmured.

“I see.”

That dedicated access point, the one that looked like an egg.

It was the way to the Arcana Continent.

The moment I realized, a message popped up in front of me.

[World Quest: 10 Adventurers]

Ten prototype devices hidden in a code rift.

This is the only way to return to the Arcana Continent.

Adventurers, Arcanians.

Seize the opportunity to win it all on a continent in chaos.

Find the ─CODE Rift. (Success)

─Clear the rift and acquire the connector. (Success)

─Enter the continent of Arcana through the Link. (Ongoing)

You really did save the best for last, Raymond Sean.

.

.

.

As the quest description suggests.

The quest didn’t just occur to Hoyeol.

The players watching the video were stunned.

“!!!”

The moment they realized it was a connector.

A message popped up in front of them.

A world quest.

“What’s with the atmosphere?”

Kingdom of Yusra.

The Golden Crown Tavern.

Rockid looked at the tavern, which had fallen silent.

The adventurers, their faces grim.

He gulped down his ale and scanned the room.

‘It’s not like I’m going to roll my eyes at ……..’

They look like they’re about to stab each other in the back, don’t they?

He was able to recognize it because it was Rockid who had been through all sorts of hardships.

A strange tension between adventurers.

It was unavoidable for the players.

‘A connector.’

‘Are you saying that I can enter the Arcana Continent with that prototype access device?’

‘It might be crazy to just enter the Arcana Continent, but there are quests…… and world quests.’

Class quests alone are incredibly rewarding.

There were many rankers who were dozens of steps ahead of everyone else just by doing class quests.

But what if you could do a World Quest that was even rarer than a Class Quest?

‘This is a chance!”

The rewards were unimaginable.

The players looked at each other.

Now that Hoyeol had found one, there were only nine left.

Naturally, no one thought of stealing Hoyeol’s connector.

‘You’re insane, you’re messing with him?’

‘No one in their right mind would do that.’

‘And if you’re an asshole, you’re still an asshole…….’

How much did you receive from Hoyeol so far?

It was also Hoyeol who discovered this world quest, so the players would have to fight for the remaining nine spots.

The news also reached the AAU.

“Haha…….”

Park Minjae spat out a hearty laugh.

How long have I been wrapping my head around this?

Ever since the Magic Tower rose in the middle of Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

This means that I have really thought about it without missing a single day.

What should I do with the Arcana people?

Will we be able to send them back to their Arcana continent?

It was not just humanity’s problem.

The Magic Tower had made it clear.

-“The purpose of the Magic Tower is to return to Arcana.”

Both humanity and the Arcana people tried desperately.

To return to life before the Cataclysm.

And then, as if to mock their efforts.

“You really do make a fool of yourself.”

Raymond Sean had the answer.

It was an Arcana Continent Virtual Reality connector.

It’s a VR capsule that Park Minjae is all too familiar with.

Yoon Soogyeom asked Park Minjae.

“Mr. Branch Leader, do you know anything about it?”

“Know what?”

“The shape of the connector is slightly different from what I know.”

“That’s no big deal.”

Park Minjae desperately suppressed his anger and continued.

“Beta testing days. It’s a prototype connector. That one.”

“……!”

“You really think we’re idiots, Raymond. The Arcana Continent VR was just a means to an end for this guy. The whole thing was just a buildup to the cataclysm.”

It was.

It was all a fake for the cataclysm.

The beta test, the dedicated Arcana continental vr connection, the Arcana services, all of it was just a prelude to the cataclysm. A damned sense of helplessness crushed me.

‘Then what the hell have we been doing all this time?’

I’d been playing into his hands from the start.

‘What did you son of a bitch think when you saw us?’

How strange must it have felt to see us, founding the AAU as if we knew what we were doing and pretending to be ready for the cataclysm.

‘…… But I can live with it.’

The fool was at fault.

This means that I can persevere by putting my rebellious temperament first.

But the problem was that Raymond Sean’s deception wasn’t over yet. Even if it was all smoke and mirrors, he had experience servicing Arcana Continental VR.

The AAU Korea Branch was in shock.

Park Minjae spoke up.

“I want everyone to pay attention.”

The shouting dies down.

Anyway, the faces are truly spectacular.

As I said, it was because I had experience and could clearly picture the future.

“To summarize the situation, only ten players……. No, I’m not counting you, General Manager Lee Hoyeol. There’s a huge reward for only nine players.”

Naturally, there would be a lot of competition.

But it wasn’t just the players who were competing. The people who want to return to the Arcana continent more than anyone else are the Arcanians who fell into reality..

Someone spoke up.

“……You still have a general manager, don’t you?”

Park Minjae nodded.

“That’s right, As long as there is a general manager. The Magic Tower, the Knights of the Lionheart, the Muon. Maybe even the Shadow Mercenaries will not move, but you know they’re not the only ones, right?”

Like the powers mentioned.

There are those who have merged with reality.

“Like the Carpen Rebels or the Red Wing Warriors.”

There were others who hadn’t.

If, and when, they hear about this…….

“They are willing to enter the competition.”

Park Minjae could guarantee it.

“Raymond, if you’re going to throw shit, throw it big.”

Humanity and Arcanians united.

To break the new rules established through Hoyeol’s sacrifice.

Raymond Sean was offering a reward.

A reward that neither players nor Arcanians could overlook.

Park swallowed dryly.

“I don’t know what ugly things will happen in the future.”

What happens in the face of competition.

Didn’t we see it recently in the Zero Mountains?

Advancing with their own nation’s aircraft carrier.

For example, the Heavenly Unification attacking the Zero Mountains.

“This means that the target of the ship’s fire could shift from the monsters to the player or to the Arcanians. It’s hard to start anything, but once that happens, I think we all know what’s going to happen.”

Furthermore.

“You also know that Liu Zhunqun would not hesitate to start. His notoriety has been known since the days when Arcana was just a game, hasn’t it?”

Class, monarch.

Overwhelming violence.

Liu Zhunqun had risen to his current position as a tyrant.

Even after the Cataclysm.

No, perhaps even more so.

The Heavenly unification that remains in the Arcana database.

The abnormal level distribution of the guild’s members is enough to recognize it.

“He enforces the sacrifice of others for his own ends.”

In Heavenly Unification the number of players whose level growth had completely stopped was countless. Did the situation change after the cataclysm?

“Monarchs have a huge disadvantage of not being able to level up easily because of their immense potential. But what about Liu Zunqun? After the Cataclysm, he rose steeply in the rankings, forming a triad with Skal and Lox.”

Park Minjae flashed a rotten smile.

“It’s not just Liu Zunqun. Some infamous players, including Supernova, and the Arcanians. Raymond Sean has paved the way for such dangerous people.”

He’s the devil himself for encouraging fights.

So, once I figured out his intentions, there was no time for hesitation.

Park Minjae said.

“The only thing that can stop the Heavenly Unification is the state.”

“……You mean the Chinese government?”

“Yes, the whole world has no choice but to come forward and try to appease.”

The moment Liu pulls the trigger, the chaos begins, and if we can restrain him for a while, we can rest easy for now.

“A meeting of the branch leaders for that purpose will begin now.”

Park Minjae looked at the monitor.

More precisely, he looked at Hoyeol on the screen.

Hoyeol was just staring at the connection.

Park clenched his fist.

‘This time, we’ll share the burden.’

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.

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Raymond Sean.

The quality of his work is on par with the demon.

Is it because I completed more quests than others?

The meaning of the quest was clear to me.

In short, you want me to fight for ten connectors.

It was a cataclysmic event that would be difficult to cope with even if we were united in pride, as Grandfell had said. And yet, even if I couldn’t help, I would sabotage it like this?

I spoke coldly.

“Is this an imitation of the battle for the Demon King?”

If we turn the connection device into a throne, it will be a mere imitation of the Battle for the Demon King, don’t you think? In that sense, Raymond Sean, any room for dialog with you has been lost at this time.

I declared.

“In that case, I will consider you my prey.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to fall for your bullshit.

─Enter the Arcana Continent via the connector. (Ongoing)

Quest objective.

In letters, etc.

You’re mistaken if you think I’m going to play along.

I’ve entered the realm of the anomaly.

I was seeing.

The structure of the prototype connector.

What does that mean?

Simple.

This means that I, too, have been able to tear dimensions apart like the dragons.

Goooooooo-!