◈ Episode 310. I will end it (1)

Demon deleted.

A shocking regular update.

The aftermath was indescribable. It was too much for players to ignore as a routine update.

Seoul Station.

The area is packed with waiting players.

A huge hunting ground called the Zero Mountains opened up.

Only high-level players have access to the Zero Mountains, a moderately leveled area that is not recommended for anyone. While the overall level of players has risen in recent years, the number of low-level players was overwhelming.

Lee Hoyeol, Skal, Jesse, Nam Taemin, Hisagi, and more…….

They should have been motivated by looking up.

“Eh, shit.”

Not a single one of them had a smile on their face.

Their faces showed that they couldn’t dream of a glorious future as a player.

It’s inevitable, isn’t it?

“…… Do you really want to quit now? Player?”

I snapped.

Whoosh.

I exhale a cigarette that has burned through the filter.

“Whoa, a balance patch after the Cataclysm. Raymond Sean, that asshole stood by and watched people and players die because of demonic mobs.”

“What a piece of shit.”

“Don’t you realize that even if you level up, you’re still useless in the end? What’s the point of dying and coming back from the rift? Raymond Sean, that asshole can just hit a balance patch at will and it’ll be for nothing.”

With trust shattered, players’ hearts were broken.

Just as they feared.

That was a scary change, even more so than the removal of the threat of demons.

In the first place, the removal of the Demon didn’t remove the threat of demons.

Demons hiding in the real world.

To them, the removal of the demon was good news.

The demons in the shadows laughed.

‘I never thought you would leave me without scattering all these negative emotions! If I had known it would be like this, would I have made some adjustments to my kingship when you were still alive?’

A sense of loss among players.

The aftermath was already showing.

Nam Cheolmin was dumbfounded when he received the information from the AAU.

“……What are these numbers?”

Within a day, the rift collapse rate had skyrocketed.

In just 24 hours, players who had been voluntarily attacking the rift were gone.

I never thought the numbers would skyrocket like this just because we were negligent in targeting rifts.

I rub my eyes in disbelief.

“Did I miscalculate somewhere?”

Nam Cheolmin runs his hands through his hair, collecting and calculating information.

But nothing changes.

There was no error in the AAU’s data.

A sigh escaped him.

“I just didn’t realize it……?”

As I said, the level of players had improved significantly.

Not only to the level of the Zero Mountains, but also to the level of low-level players.

That said.

“In the first place, the frequency of rifts was much higher than before.”

As players have grown.

It meant that the number of rifts they risked their lives to clear was also proportional.

Gulp.

Nam swallowed dryly.

The AAU must have sent this to him for a solution.

“Damn.”

But Nam shook his head.

“Right now, we’re too busy looking ahead…….”

The Great Alliance.

They were players before the Holy War Alliance. They were trying to hold their heads up high and not let the damned regular updates break them.

That alone was hard enough.

‘If the real Mr. Hoyeol wasn’t there…….’

The only thing that consoles me is.

It was thanks to the forces of the Arcana Continent that Hoyeol had organized. In the first place, they were NPCs in the past. And now they’re going to be subject to Raymond Sean’s balance patches?

Marcelo’s words echo in Nam’s head.

-“They’ve been through too much.”

And so the spirit of the Arkanians has been strengthened by their trials.

“They’re strong, they really are.”

Magic Tower, Yusra, Frost, Muon.

Players are in turmoil.

The Arcana forces were in full swing.

They were ready to attack the Rift on behalf of the players.

Nam Cheolmin muttered.

“…… but we need to see the forest, not the trees.”

Putting out the fire was a temporary solution.

‘Of course. The Arcanians are strong at this point.’

For now, with the exception of Hoyeol, there are no players who can confidently claim to be on their level, but players grow up fast.

This time, I recall the words of my brother, Nam Taemin.

-“Master Harkon recognized your talent?”

Through the system.

It was true that he could grow faster than the Arkanians.

Nam Cheolmin had a thought in mind.

‘Raymond Sean, if that’s the world he designed.’

He wasn’t sure when that would be, but he knew that in the future, there would be enemies that even the current Arcanians couldn’t handle. At that point, only players who had grown up would be able to deal with them.

But…….

“I never thought I’d plant such a seed of doubt.”

This confirmed it.

Raymond Sean, he is an enemy of humanity.

And not just any enemy.

He is a vicious enemy who deceives humanity and leads it to ruin.

Nam Cheolmin shook his head.

“Get a grip, Nam.”

We must shake off our worries and prepare a countermeasure.

Disperse the power of the Great Alliance in the Zero Mountains.

Throw them into the rifts that are showing signs of collapse, rotate them around……?

It was a moment of racking his brains to come up with the best solution.

Zeeeeeing─

There was a loud vibration from his wrist.

“……!”

The smartwatch on Nam Cheolmin wrist.

I only set it to vibrate for one thing.

Arcana’s official website.

Only when a new post is uploaded.

Nam Cheolmin swallows hard without realizing it.

Jiiiing─

“…….”

Thursday has already passed.

This is an emergency update, not a regular one.

On a normal day, I wonder what kind of update is waiting for me.

Even if I had an occupational disease, I would have gotten excited and accessed the homepage.

“Phew.”

But now, I feel like I have no choice. No matter what update pops up, I can’t help but feel like I’m playing in Raymond Sean’s hands.

“Get a grip, Cheolmin.”

Still, you have to be responsible.

That’s the pride of an analyst.

Nam Cheolmin accessed the homepage with a determined expression.

──────

Emergency update

──────

As expected.

He checked the uploaded emergency updates.

Soon, a lone word came out of Nam Cheolmin’s mouth.

“Huh?”

It’s not what I expected, but it’s so different.

No, unexpected.

It was an unexpected update.

──────

The pure-blooded mage race, the Descendants of the Twilight, are here.

──────

“……What the hell is this?”

*

AAU.

Emergency convening of branch leaders.

For some reason, a heated discussion ensues.

“So, what are we supposed to make of this?”

Park Minjae nodded in agreement.

It’s because he knows something.

He finally feels like he’s working.

“What do you think, a Twilight Descendant popping up out of nowhere, a pure-blooded mage race that was discarded during development?”

Baker, the head of the London branch, chimes in.

“As far as I know, there was never a setting where the Twilight Descendants were related to the Demon World……. Why would they show up right after the Demon King was deleted?”

Park Minjae nodded.

“That’s right. The Descendants of the Twilight don’t have the slightest connection to demons, as the only settings they were given were that they dealt with ‘twilight power’ and ‘twilight magic’ that normal mages couldn’t use.”

Descendants of the Twilight, the name makes sense.

They were a race tied to the Hidden Class.

It brought back memories from his time at Cosmo.

-“Yeah, mages have been overly popular since the early days of opening, and the mere mention of a hidden class in an overcrowded mage class is enough to create class imbalance. Twilight Descendants, with their mystical violet magic? I can see the future, can’t you?”

Raymond Sean said, …….

That’s why he discarded the Twilight Descendants project. At the time, there were many developers who were disappointed, including Park Minjae.

Someone said.

“They broke the mage class by blowing that setup.”

In particular.

The hidden class, the Archmage.

Archmage, Jesse Heinness.

She was a valuable specialty power for humanity. Although, due to the cataclysmic events during the setup phase, the AAU was unable to provide Jesse with much information and assistance…….

“If the Twilight Descendants have been realized, wouldn’t it be more or less set up for them to appear in the last half of the Archmage’s class quest, what do you think?”

“I hope so, we can’t always rely on the General Manager for everything, can we? Jesse Heinness, it would be nice if she got something out of this update and grew…….”

“But honestly, you don’t know if they are our allies, do you?”

It was a sharp point.

The setup of the AAU is just a sketch.

Experience had taught him the hard way that no one could say for sure how it would play out, so he fell silent once more.

Suddenly, Baker asks.

“Quiet today, by the way, Mr. Park?”

“Haha, I guess so.”

This is Park Minjae, who would normally jump into a frustrating situation with enthusiasm. It’s not even a regular update, it’s an emergency update. He would have been screaming at Raymond Sean like he was going to kill him.

But Park Minjae calmly looked at his wristwatch.

Someone asks subtly.

“Well, maybe you have a good appointment later.”

Park waved his hand away.

“No, I’m just checking the time.”

“Oh, is it a date?”

” ……But I’m not dressed for it.”

It sounded like an excuse, but it was the truth.

Park Minjae had been staring at his watch since before the branch meeting.

The reason is simple.

‘Slowly…….’

AAU General Manager.

The letter of explanation that Hoyeol had submitted.

The deadline was coming up.

‘No, it’s safe to say it’s actually the same time.’

The deadline stated by Hoyeol.

And that’s when the urgent update came up.

That was why Park Minjae could be so calm.

Besides, Hoyeol had never betrayed his trust, had he?

“Huh? What’s going on?”

Soon, news broke to the branch leaders.

It was news from the Magic Tower.

Among the stunned branch leaders.

Only Park Minjae nodded.

“We’ve been waiting for you, General Manager……!”

*

The top floor of the Magic Tower.

I walked down the stairs of the Magic Tower.

Ttogak─

The sound of footsteps is accompanied by the occasional exclamation.

“It has developed in this way.”

Pure-blooded mage race, descendants of the Twilight.

‘It’s heavily lacquered.’

How come the modifiers and names target ‘someone’s’ tastes?

But let’s put that aside.

There are plenty of other things to think about besides that.

Let’s start with a basic premise.

‘So Claudi is involved in that too.’

It’s amazing to come from a great family.

Now it’s reaching out to places I don’t even know about.

I had no idea its influence stretched so far.

Of course.

‘The past is over, so the important thing is now.’

Debts I don’t even know about.

Not only was I reluctant to receive something like that, but I also wanted to settle it with a bad omen.

I won’t say anything.

Why, I had enough debt even without that. Thanks to me and Akshan’s Operation Bucket, Mary’s clan, the Twilight Descendants, has been restored and reestablished on the Arcana continent.

“This is why I don’t know if I can be of any help.”

Mary says, looking around the Magic Tower.

I cluck my tongue inwardly.

That’s not humility, Mary, that’s deception.

‘It was a ridiculous manifestation.’

Portal manifestations between reality and the Arcana continent take a significant drain on even me. Moreover, this time, I was in a state of repeated magic exhaustion and rejection. Even in the midst of all this, that damn time promise I never forgot.

‘I couldn’t have done it alone.’

Nevertheless, I was able to return to the Magic Tower on time.

It was thanks to Mary giving me ‘power’ when I was manifesting the portal.

The reason it is expressed as power rather than simple magical power is simple.

Her violet magic helped me tremendously in the process of exploration, interference, and manifestation. A magic that harmonizes perfectly with the magic of others.

‘There is no such thing in my magic knowledge.’

It’s a parachute, so you don’t know about it?

I’ve published several studies.

I’m the chief of a Magic Tower now, so am I?

Anyway.

“You don’t have to limit yourself, Mary.”

I saw the possibilities in that twilight magic.

I brought her back to reality.

[Quest: Marcelo’s Research].

Marcelo, Chief Mage, Magic’s Tower.

To reach the next level of magic.

He wants you to join him.

─Weight of the Chief (Repeat) ▲.

─Access to the Anomaly (Success)

─Progress towards Anomaly (Ongoing)

●Determine the source of the Magic Tower (Success)

●Track down the unknown source of the Bad Omen. (Failed)

●Pioneer a new solution. (Ongoing)

Now that I know what it is.

It’s not inconceivable that the Noble Pride of Grandfell would borrow the power of the Bad Omen, and I’ve seen a glimpse of its replacement in the Twilight Descendant, Mary.

Not only that.

‘There must be chaos.’

While I was gone, the reality was.

The vast majority of players don’t know about the Bad Omen, and they’ve been subjected to regular updates to remove demons. I can imagine what they’re feeling.

So, yes, Mary was the card to turn that around.

Balance.

Deletion.

Raymond’s intervention.

The card that would reveal the futility of it all.

In fact, I expected Mary to be enough.

Why, even if it was in front of a bunch of reporters in a rambling Grandfell style.

AAU will follow up with supplementary information about Descendants of Twilight.

But as always, you’re outrageous, our Mr. Grandfell……!

The lobby of the tower, now reached.

Ttogak─

An echoing flash.

In front of a crowd of reporters, I declared.

“I understand your concerns. But it’s all just a mirage.”

I had just scratched the right spot on Raymond Sean’s ass.

“If you still want proof, I’ll show you.”

Flutter─

Suddenly, Dawn’s jacket flutters around my shoulders.

Undaunted, I spread my arms and finish my sentence.

“For the sake of balance, try denying my existence first.”

To translate the Grandfell style of speech.

He wants you to delete me, the player, Lee Hoyeol.

Now the Bad Omen has been caught by Akshan seniors.

There’s no way that would be possible!