◈ Episode 424. The Story I Don’t Know (2)

[Class Quest: Akshan Civil War]

Fugitives from Akshan.

They have gone into hiding in the Canyon of The Forgotten, one of the most dangerous places on the Arcana continent. Enter the Canyon of the Forgotten and retrieve the artifacts of Akshan that have been stolen by the Fugitives of Akshan.

-Enter the Canyon of the Forgotten. (Ongoing)

‘Escape from civil war……..’

……Yep, now you’re smelling human.

The early days of the Arcana Continent.

The Akshan demon hunters I remember were not exactly humane. Just look at the stamina quests that players grinded their teeth on.

‘There were no rewards back then.’

Even when we weren’t out hunting demons, we were all holed up in the Akshan base, training all day long. Don’t ask me what’s wrong with training on vacation.

‘Not in my time.’

The Arcana Continent is completely different from the Arcana Continent now. The Demon World wasn’t updated, so the demons weren’t as rampant and unruly as they are now, and Akshan spent more days sucking their fingers.

Almost every day was a holiday, and every day was spent training.

‘How did you survive that, Hoyeol, really?’

I don’t know what is this damn live for appearance die with appearance…….!

I don’t know about anything else, but one of my favorites was pine, too.

I close the quest message and mutter.

“Trial and error is how we grow.”

Yeah, fighting makes you stronger.

Of course, the Akshan seniors were all very dignified.

Anyway, it was the first time I saw their humanity.

I felt a sudden, yet inwardly welcome feeling.

‘By the way.’

The Civil War.

It must be true that there was a great internal conflict.

I naturally wonder what caused it.

Let’s see, I rack my brain and try to remember……. No wonder it doesn’t come to mind. It was over a decade ago in real time. Exactly four times that in Arcana Continent time.

I’ve heard that even strong acids change in ten years.

‘I can’t imagine.’

I guess we’ll just have to find out as we go along.

we’ll have to find out slowly.

In that sense, I couldn’t slow down the excitement.

‘One of the most dangerous places on the Arcana Continent’

Just when I thought I had reached the required level of nearly 1,000, I felt an eerie aura hovering over me……. The system message, which doesn’t lie, also warns. Grandfell may be carefree, but I, Hoyeol, must not let my guard down.

Sereung─

Therefore, from the entrance, for the first time in a while, I raised my beloved sword, Gwicheol.

However, Gwicheol’s voice is unfamiliar.

He reacts in an unusual way from the start.

-I smell blood, master.

He spoke with the utmost respect for Grandfell.

You’re only half respectful to me, Gwicheol.

But I completely understand the sentiment.

Rather than let the discrimination bother me, I cut to the chase.

“Don’t relax.”

-Of course. My master.

“There is no such thing as a grave without a story.”

In Grandfell style, of course.

“This place is all the more strange for its lack of story.”

I stared at the fingers of my right hand, which held up Gwicheol.

[Refined Araxitas Ring]

[Limit: Lv.500]

[Effect: Can detect suitable magic power].

Matisse Dean Karl, a Senior Mage of Black Magic.

Borrowed from him, this magic tool can detect suitable magic power. It was the Dark Spirit, Diend, a suitable magic power source.

I thought it might help me find him.

But the gem hadn’t tarnished in the slightest. This place reeked of blood and had no past or background, which made it all the more dangerous.

Gwicheol’s voice subsided.

-Are you saying that someone committed such a senseless massacre that even didn’t leave a story behind? This is truly unpleasant, master. It seems that there is no one in this land who can be called a prosecutor.

I can assure you, at least our seniors would not have committed such an atrocity. I still don’t know if there was some kind of conflict that led to their escape from Akshan…….

‘Massacre? That’s ridiculous.’

Personality aside, aren’t you all demon hunters?

A class that has nothing to prove except that they hunt demons.

So much so that this dangerous place reeks of blood.

That means they don’t have the ability to hurt anyone!

But the question remained.

‘Why did you avoid this place?’

Well, I guess I’ll have to go in to find out.

Naturally, the [Natural Enemy] hasn’t triggered, which means that I’ve got a whole thousand levels to go. That meant I’d have to rely solely on my own abilities to take on a level appropriate place.

In the old days.

‘I would have gotten my ass handed to me.’

But I don’t want to be too tough.

Still, there is quite a lot that I have accumulated through struggling.

Grandfell is just a number, as evidenced by the stat totals here.

[Stats]

Strength: 200 / Agility: 194 / Magic: 877 / Luck: 16 / Aesthetics: High / Tenacity: 10 / Charm: Exist

Strength, Agility, and Magic.

Adding up the major stats alone, it easily exceeds 1,000.

Moreover, my magic power is especially ‘different’.

Nevertheless, I wasn’t overconfident.

Compared to other classes, I’m very humble.

The confidence I had when I looked at the skill window was gone.

‘Don’t forget, know your subject.’

While I was thinking to myself, Gwicheol spoke to me.

-Master, you don’t have to consider me.

……It’s not about being considerate, this is my strength, Gwicheol.

His words stung even more because he didn’t mean it.

I swallowed hard at the thought.

Suddenly, I remembered the message.

[You have entered the shrine of shadow, ‘Canyon of the Forgotten.’].

The Canyon of the Forgotten.

It seems we’ve made it from the entrance to the canyon itself.

Indeed, this place is as extraordinary as its proper level.

Grandfell’s snout appraises.

“Interesting.”

I say it nonchalantly, because no matter how interesting or extraordinary something is, it’s never easy to admit. I just read……. What kind of harmony is that? I straighten up and look up, my pupils dilating slightly.

‘From the top of the canyon to the bottom…….’

Had I traveled hundreds of meters in just a few steps?

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was magic.

A portal could take you to and from a completely different world, and teleportation could take you hundreds of kilometers.

It wasn’t magic.

Then.

‘Are there rules that only apply to this place?’

[Labyrinth] or [Dungeon].

Just as fields have their own rules. Perhaps there are rules in effect in this canyon that cannot be figured out with Arcana’s common sense alone.

Well, that’s a tough one……?

‘If it weren’t for the last adventurer.’

I’m saying that I’m in a situation where it wouldn’t be strange if I died.

But there was a part of me that believed.

I stepped forward, confidently.

“Please do not dampen my interest.”

Okay.

A good shake of bullshit, Grandfell.

I couldn’t hold back.

Not to mention tracking down Diend’s disappearance.

I was in no position to play the hot and cold game right now.

The weakest of the Ten Thrones Demon Kings.

I’m in a situation where it’s not strange that the demons that infest the Demon World, the Lich of the Demon World, and the boss mobs that are as strong as Discus are strangling my breathing at any time.

Did they hear of my determination?

ttogag.

It’s scary to take a step.

Sssss.

Something rose up from the bottom of the canyon.

I don’t know if it’s unfortunate or fortunate.

The message helped me identify it.

[The guardian of the Holy Land, the ‘Apostle of the Shadow God’, appears.]

……Crazy.

I’m calmly watching the scene unfold.

However, my insides were burning.

To think that a proper level 1,000 space would display an appearance message.

‘Shadow God’s Apostle? What kind of mob is that?’

I muttered to myself.

“!”

An apostle covered in black armor.

ssaeaeg.

It split the moment and charged at me. Defenseless, with no [Natural Enemy] triggered and no magic power to complement his physical abilities.

Swak─!

It’s coming.

To cut off my breath with a blow.

A dagger flew towards my neck.

……This isn’t just death, it really looks like death, doesn’t it?

*

The Underworld.

The orcs of the Oak Auction are bustling about.

“Somehow, the top of my head is spinning.”

“I don’t care if they’re after the empire or not, but does it have to be now? I mean, what is this, when we can barely keep a roof over our heads……. Anyway, I have to admit, you humans like to fight.”

“By the way, Mr. Ulrich, you’ll take care of our nightly allowance, won’t you?”

Kichi spat out a wry smile at the orcs.

If nothing else.

Orc were more rational and social than Rockid.

“Haa.”

A sigh escaped.

Kichi leaned back against the back of the chair.

Her head tilted back as far as it would go.

Her short black hair brushed against her face.

Still, it didn’t ease the tension that tickled the nape of her neck.

“……Must be here. Those.”

Thanks to Ulrich, she’d learned of news from the ground.

The Emperor of the Empire had died, and adventurers were beginning to return to the Arcana continent in earnest. With the adventurers returning, there was no reason why the Shadow Mercenaries couldn’t set foot on Arcana.

“Surely, they’ll try to catch me and beat me up.”

Especially Rockid, that one.

Once they find her, they’ll come at her with all their might.

Of course, it wasn’t a collision with Rockid that Kichi was worried about.

Though the two of them would run wild.

Rockid wasn’t a threat to Kichi.

Yes, Kichi is concerned about

The weight on her shoulders and neck.

Because it was the weight of a mistake.

“…….”

seug.

Kichi’s gaze falls to the neatly organized tabletop.

The jewelry box.

She reached for the jewelry box containing the hair of the daughter of Claudi family.

Ulrich hands it over and adds.

-“I think you need this more than I do, Kichi.”

So much so that the greedy orc gave in.

The Shadow Mercenaries’ sins against the Claudi family must be great.

But don’t misunderstand me, Ulrich.

I’m not afraid of paying for my sins.

“There’s nothing good about knowing this.”

Claudi’s disposition is something that I, as the leader, have to deal with completely.

Kichi didn’t want any sparks to fly with the troupe.

They were the ones who finally shook off their hands from the underworld and regained their stability.

‘I don’t want to drag them into this.’

They didn’t want to go back to living in the shadows.

“…… Fuck. In fact, you won’t even pretend to hear me.”

But she wasn’t the leader anymore.

Fuck giving orders.

She was a deserter, and she’d have to escape summary execution.

“……I’m afraid I’m going to have to open another bottle.”

……One more bottle?

She’s already emptied six bottles by herself?

Kichi’s mutterings to herself made bartender Orc pause.

……whimper.

Beneath the magic lamps that illuminate the Oak Auction.

Kichi’s shadow flinched.

Although none of the orcs around noticed the change.

Only Kichi, the person involved, noticed.

She, too, was one of the Shadow God’s Apostles.

Kichi’s eyes narrowed.

‘……The Apostle has awoken.’

What that meant was simple.

“Someone has entered the Holy Land.

Holy Land, the Canyon of the Forgotten.

‘Someone’ who was not a member of the Shadow Mercenaries.

The presence was not easily recognized.

No wonder.

No stories are told in the Canyon of the Forgotten.

Because the Shadow God does not want that.

Therefore, the Canyon of the Forgotten.

The very existence of the bottom of the canyon.

No wonder the people of the Arcana Continent know nothing of it.

Kichi muttered.

“I don’t know who it is.”

Well, it doesn’t really matter.

The Shadow God’s Apostle possesses a power beyond measure. Their strength in hand-to-hand combat is unimaginable, and best of all, they cannot die.

Or, to be more precise.

“……Even if you want to die, you can’t die on your own.”

The corners of Kichi’s mouth turned up bitterly.

“That’s because we’re monsters who have earned the hatred of the God.”

.

.

.

Damn.

Strong.

And ridiculously good at hitting goals.

But I couldn’t help myself.

This is the moment of truth.

Wouldn’t Gwicheol in my hand be disappointed in my power?

‘He might recognize the truth about Grandfell.’

That’s right.

To keep my dark history from being discovered, I tightened my grip. I scraped together all my [Tenacity] and stood up to the Shadow God’s Apostle.

It was indeed a desperate battle.

My stance and posture did not change in the slightest.

I spat at the revived apostle.

“I’m losing interest.”

But this is no bluff.

『Granfell’s talent was not limited to one thing.

A clear mind is essential.

His innate magical talent was such that he could imitate most types of magic just by seeing them.

Furthermore, the potential of the body is comparable to that.』

It took me only a few moments to defeat the revived Apostle again.

Because the time it took was gradually shortening.

So I babbled shamelessly.

“Stay strong.”

Now, show me something.

Whether it’s a draw or a special move, it’s welcome.

I told you.

I am not in a position to choose between cold and hot food.

We must grow even from the trials we suddenly face.

So come.

“Can’t you do something more sophisticated sword technique?”

Whatever the technique, I will learn it for you!