◈ Episode 291. Highly Developed Magic

Heavenly Unity.

I assure you.

There was no player who wouldn’t be unhappy with their actions. Before the Zero Mountains update, they were merely annoying, but afterward, they crossed a line.

Yusra Kingdom.

The Golden Crown Tavern.

Players chatter.

“Even if you broke the rules, you broke them badly.”

“No matter how wide the mountain range is. Did they rent it?”

“Why are you carrying a gun? I think it’s fucking ridiculous.”

Since the introduction of the Zero Mountains.

Higher-level players have become less reliant on Rifts, even if it is not a rift, a high-quality experience point source called Zero Mountains has been updated. However, if you were to ask whether it was comfortable to do activities in the Zero Mountains, it would not be true.

“Why, it’s just greed.”

An exclusive weapon for the Great Arcana.

Even if you hunt monsters with a product of science, you won’t get any experience or loot. This was the reason why the actions of the Heavenly Unity could not be seen as good in the eyes of the players.

“I don’t know about anything else, but named monsters aren’t common, are they?”

“Yes. But even then, they just hunted them down.”

“They don’t think about efficiency.”

Why hunt monsters for no experience and no loot?

It was simple.

There was no reward for the players who hunted them.

It was for the sake of the [Monarch] who controlled them, Liu Zunqun.

“According to people who have raised the Monarch class in the past, the experience penalty is quite high, which is why he’s pushing them so hard!”

Even if it’s only a 1% increase.

The super-giant guild, Heavenly Unity, was not one to hesitate to push forward.

In other words, they would do whatever it took.

In that sense.

-“Let this be a warning. Heavenly Unity.”

The moment Hoyeol mentioned the Heavenly Unity.

“Is, is this a true story!!”

The Golden Crown Tavern erupted in cheers.

No matter how powerful the forces of Heavenly Unity were, they were still a mere mortal.

There was no way they could keep up with Hoyeol and the Holy War Alliance.

At least not as a player. Or more precisely, those who had played in the Heavenly Unity.

It was natural for anticipation to sprout in the heart.

“Can we see them lowering their tails?”

The excitement was short-lived.

As Hoyeol finished his declaration, the background came into view for the players. The intense halo of Hoyeol’s light had blinded them.

“……By the way, isn’t that the Heavenly Unity outfit?”

Players in red uniforms lay on the ground.

Black blood splattered across the center of the field.

It was a carnage.

“Ugh.”

All around the tavern.

There are so many players feeling nauseous one after another.

A few sharp-eyed players began to guess the course of events.

“Great Evil……. Seven Deadly Sins, Envy, you said? Maybe he needed a sacrifice, just like the Frost Demon King, Decarabia.”

“No way, that sacrifice was a member of the Heavenly Unity Guild?”

“Wait, if that’s the case, then……!”

It all started to make sense.

Why would Hoyeol mention the name of Heavenly Unity?

The players were stunned.

“Liu Zunqun, could he really send his guild members to……?”

There is such a thing as common sense.

The problem was that Liu Zunqun was a person who didn’t fit that description.

The players shouted even louder.

“Hey, anyway, that’s not a good idea.”

“Could it be that Liu Zunqun was also blackmailed by the Great Evil?”

“Are you saying that Commander Lee Hoyeol’s judgment is wrong?”

“You, that’s blasphemy.”

“No, what’s so extreme about you?!”

Then something happened.

The decibels of my voice had risen too high.

It was self-awareness.

“……heub.”

The players quickly shut their mouths.

The reason was simple.

It was the boss of the Golden Crown Tavern…….

No, Rockid of the Shadow Mercenaries.

If he’d witnessed this whole mess, he’d certainly have a fit.

“……?”

But there was an eerie silence in the tavern.

The players looked around and breathed a sigh of relief.

There was no sign of Rockid or any other member of the Shadow Mercenaries.

Someone spoke up.

“Well, that’s a relief, but what is it?”

He didn’t get the nickname Troublemaker for nothing, did he?

He was Rockid who wouldn’t leave the Golden Crown Tavern without a fight, and it wasn’t uncommon for the barrels of beer he emptied in the morning to number in the dozens by evening.

“Come to think of it, we haven’t seen the Mercenary Leader in a while, have we?”

But the players’ questions didn’t last long.

As expected.

Because it popped up on the TV screen.

“Look, it’s …….”

“The red robe, several members of the Heavenly Unity Guild are still alive……?”

“But, that big guy isn’t Heavenly Unity, he’s……. Isn’t that Rockid?!”

Rockid is a big guy, not easily concealed.

He and the other members of the Shadow Mercenaries.

All of them are dressed in the outfit of the Heavenly Unity.

The Shadow Mercenaries, the Great Evil, and even Hoyeol.

The situation was far more complicated than it seemed.

Only one thing was certain.

“……Maybe it could get really twisted?”

The evidence was clear.

The Heavenly Unity they had seen.

Liu Zunqun’s demeanor was predictable.

“Those bastards, they are extremely forceful.”

*

Shadow Mercenaries.

Everyone was escorted to the Magic Tower. Senior Healing Mage Bellier sighed, as the extent of their injuries were beyond the reach of most healing magic.

“Whoa, this isn’t easy.”

The School of Healing Magic.

Bellier and the other skilled mages had their hands full.

It was hard enough to fulfill the request from Chief Lee Hoyeol.

She sighed heavily.

“As if dragons weren’t enough, now the continent’s bad guys…….”

Dragons who swallowed evil fruits.

The current dragons were in good condition.

There was no telling when or how the seeds of the evil fruit they swallowed would affect their physical bodies. In order to find the solution, she was looking through ancient books and records of the Dragon Magic War, and this was a bonus.

Bellier shook her head.

‘Still, it’s a rare favor, so I’ll do my best.’

Additionally, the atmosphere in the Magic Tower was unusual at this time.

.

.

.

Magic Tower’s lobby.

A reporter opened his mouth in front of the camera.

“The number of bodies of Heavenly Unity Guild members found in the Zero Mountains, at the site where the Seven Deadly Sins Envy appeared, is estimated to be at least a hundred…….”

“The reason why a member of the Shadow Mercenary Corps was dressed in the attire of the Heavenly Unity Guild is also raising great questions among the public…….”

“Player Lee Ho-\yeol, it’s also unclear how he will react, as the Shadow Mercenaries are, after all, part of the Holy Unity Alliance.”

Crushing the Great Evil.

Akshan’s Resurrection.

Hoyeol’s class.

And the meaning of Claudi.

It was a situation where many things were solved and thrown again.

The world’s attention has turned to the Heavenly Unity and the Shadow Mercenaries.

They were the only questions that remained unanswered.

Players everywhere in the Magic Tower.

Each of them checked the live broadcast on their smartphones.

Gazes naturally turn to the Healing Magic School’s private room.

“What the hell was they doing there, especially in those Heavenly Unity attire? They couldn’t be trying to stab us in the back, could they?!”

Such is the notoriety of the Shadow Mercenaries.

Any player who has entered the Magic Tower is familiar with this.

Even if you’re a member of the Holy War Alliance.

Those who would stab you in the back any day for a greater reward.

That’s what they knew about the Shadow Mercenaries.

“Oh, that can’t be possible.”

“Why, no one knows what’s inside of people.”

“If they did, do you think this chief would have stood still?”

“Aha.”

There was no clearer answer than that.

This was a man who valued pride above all else.

And betrayal?

The Shadow Mercenaries would have been hunted down alongside the Great Evil.

“And some of the footage shows the Shadow Mercenaries engaged in combat with the Great Evil. Well, even then, the Great Evil’s gaze was directed at the Chief, so I don’t think it was much help…….”

Above all, if you are a simple traitor.

There was no reason for Chief Lee to take care of them at the Magic Tower.

Surely the Shadow Mercenaries had other reasons.

So I hissed.

“……Aren’t you using that excuse to get away with it?”

Liu Zunqun is clever.

I’m pretty sure there’s no one with a more cunning brain than him among all the famous Ranked players. At a time when Arcana was nothing more than a game, Skal, who was unrivaled in first place, was consistent with mysticism, so even if we were to overlook it.

“Even his rival, Lox, isn’t that good.”

The same goes for Nam Taemin, Hisagi, and Schreig.

Whether they’re good or bad.

Liu Zunqun was the only one who couldn’t figure it out.

Is that why?

A passionate declaration of war for the Heavenly Unity.

Even when the Heavenly Unity responded, it didn’t come as much of a shock.

-“Rather, Heavenly Unity is the victim.”

Sighs erupted from all over the Magic Tower.

“I knew it would be like this, you bastards……!!”

“They’ve already started cosplaying as the victim.”

“You think we’re gonna believe that bullshit?”

Naturally, this didn’t make any sense to the players.

Of course, there was no way Liu Zunqun wouldn’t know about it.

Soon, breaking news popped up.

“……They’re concerned about the deterioration of relations with Heavenly Unity? Just how much bribery did these bastards take? I mean, who are they in the first place?!”

“They are truly dirty bastards, ever since.”

“Wait a minute…….”

There it was, the Motherland of Heavenly Unity.

There was even a Chinese contribution.

No, it goes beyond that level.

Its supreme ruler was speaking as a spokesperson for the Heavenly Unity.

-“From now on, any attack on the Heavenly Unity will be considered an attack on our great nation.”

The Heavenly Unity is accompanied by an aircraft carrier.

We knew what to expect when they showed up at the Zero Mountains.

Reality always surpassed expectations.

“They had this much influence……?”

The world was speechless at Liu Zunqun’s scheme.

” ……There’s no such thing as CCTV in the Zero Mountains, is there?”

Heavenly Unity and the Shadow Mercenaries.

Before the rise of the Great Evil.

What happened between the two factions?

There’s no evidence of it.

The Heavenly Unity had the nerve to do this.

With the great shield of the Motherland.

He tried to put pressure on Hoyeol.

It was a confrontation that went beyond player versus player.

If the nation is out, the nation must be out.

At least the South Korean players knew that.

“I don’t expect anything from those scumbags.”

In the past, the Inazuma and Shinhwa guilds were at odds.

As Inazuma and Shinhwa settle the past, they become attached to the Heavenly Unity.

They lived off of bribes.

“Staying still is helping you…….”

It was obvious that they were going to sway public opinion by playing the political game.

As I predicted what was to come, I began to feel frustrated.

Unless there’s solid evidence to the contrary…….

“At this rate, it won’t be long before the headwinds turn.”

Members of the Heavenly Unity Guild and the Shadow Mercenaries.

Even the parties that held the key to the case.

No longer of this world.

They were too injured to speak.

Unless something literally ‘magical’ happened…….

ttubeog.

It was then that I heard the popular sound.

“?”

It wasn’t the popular sound of Hoyeol.

ttubeog.

His legs were also much slimmer and shorter than Hoyeol’s. However, for the first time in their lives, the players of the Magic Tower, or rather, the apprentice mages, were relieved.

A man appeared in the lobby.

He was the co-chief, with the same rank as Hoyeol.

It was Marcelo Simuard, the genius who defied death.

Marcelo opens his mouth in front of a crowd of cameras.

“I’ve heard there’s a saying in this world. Highly developed science is indistinguishable from magic. I’ll leave you with a word about that and move on.”

Marcelo’s magic rises from thin air.

The founder of theoretical magic.

At the same time, Marcelo is one of the most versatile mages in the Tower. Marcelo’s magic began to draw a picture in the air.

“Highly developed magic can replace science.”

A panoramic view of the Zero Mountains emerged from thin air.

It was exactly the Zero Mountains from the past.

A player in a rabbit mask appeared out of thin air.

-“What is he doing here?”

-“This area belongs to this body. This area is under the jurisdiction of Yuzuo?”

-“I’ve heard that, yes. There are people inside who are selling the reputation of the Five Stars by claiming to be unknown. I didn’t think it was true, but they’re quite the bunch, aren’t they?”

-“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid they won’t give in to your pleas.”

Murmur─

“……What are they doing among themselves?”

“Killing each other, that’s Liu Zunqun’s will?”

“If, if you can’t remember, that’s not loyalty, that’s brainwashing!”

Heavenly Unity.

It was the moment when the ugly face was revealed to the world.

Yes, just like 『Magic』.