◈ Episode 441. Hypocrite (3)

A duel of spacetime.

Jesse wasn’t surprised.

Luckily, she had a trail to follow.

The Spacetime Duel between Hoyeol and Sword Saint Shegwin.

The duel wasn’t just for players.

It was also broadcast on the official Arcana website.

[You have entered the Spacetime Duel Arena].

Jesse looked around the arena. One by one, the empty seats were being filled with players. Of course, the players’ expressions were bewildered. She hears their voices.

“I got a message to watch, so I accepted. What is it?”

“Wait a minute……. Isn’t this the Colosseum?”

“The one where Lee Hoyeol and Sword Saint fought!”

The players recognized each other.

“Is that ……? Is that Jesse Heinness?!”

tug.

Jesse tapped the cone hat and muttered.

“Thanks to you, Master, my individuality has become so strong.”

-So you don’t like it?

“Not really.”

-Beware the time for complaining, Jesse.

The cone hat master realized from Jesse’s conversation with the Transcendent that this was coming.

Eventually, it would come to this.

When did he notice?

From the moment the majority of Transcendents voted in favor of Jesse’s entry into Spacetime.

The majority is only seven.

It’s a vast Arcana continent.

Even for a rare Transcendent.

It didn’t make sense for them to have more than a dozen heads.

Chief Lee, Mary, and the 4 family patriarchs.

They alone were already six, if they were counted. Needless to say, they would not have voted in favor of Jesse’s ascension to Transcendent. Chief Lee’s discipline is too strict.

The story then becomes simple.

Aside from the Transcendents listed above…….

it meant that there were no Transcendents in the Arcana continent.

Why?

Simple.

The cone hat brings the disciple back to reality.

-Jesse, they’re after your life. And it won’t be the first time they’ve tried to take a Transcendent’s life.

At the same time, Jesse’s eyes flashed.

[Creature of Eternal Life, Urs entry complete].

Jesse opened her mouth.

“Urs…….”

To gain a broader understanding of magic.

Whenever she had time, Jesse would peruse the magic books in the Magic Tower.

So the name of Urs was familiar.

It had to be.

From the cover, Lee Hoyeol.

He was the one who appeared in the book with the engraved name.

──────

How to Cultivate Elixirs

Author: Adept Mage Cleodia

Reviewed by: Chief Mage Lee Hoyeol

──────

The cone hat asked.

-Do you remember reading that with such a serious expression?

“Of course!”

Jesse nodded lightly.

Urs’s deeds were hard to forget. He first ingested the elixir in exchange for his own territory back in the days of the Ancient Kingdom. Since then, Urs had traveled the Arcana continent and consumed countless elixirs.

However, there was a connection between Urs and Chief Lee.

『Urs was transformed into a living elixir, a creature capable of facing the king of all things, a dragon. However, consuming countless elixirs does not mean that everyone can become Urs. Please keep this in mind. There is no power that cannot be gained without pain.』

‘That’s a very uncharacteristic order from you, Chief…….’

In the past, Hoyeol had consumed the elixirs, the Everlasting Snow Flower and the Scorching Sunflower, at the same time to form a circle. He even broke his teacup and came close to crossing the netherworld.

He never told anyone, and never wrote it down.

‘You must know something about him.’

I can only guess that the elixir’s power has a price.

As she watched Urs slowly take shape.

Jesse thought.

‘I wonder if I can find that price?’

Even if she did awaken the power of a true Archmage.

No wonder his opponent would be no match for him.

From what her master had told her, the seven Transcendents who had telepathized to her were skilled enough to make a fellow Transcendent look ridiculous.

That was why Jesse had agreed to a duel of spacetime.

The Transcendent whispered a warning.

-“I’m sorry to hear that, Jesse Heinness, but we don’t need traitors.”

The cone hat muttered.

-“You must be discerning in your learning, Jesse. I admit that I admire the Chief for his knowledge of magic and anomaly, but I don’t see the need to copy his doctrine.

Not a Transcendent, but a hypocrite.

It was Jesse who threw the first stone.

Jesse was actually proud.

“I didn’t say anything wrong!”

In the end, it meant they had to face each other.

The duel was bound to begin.

And the players entered the dueling arena of Spacetime.

“?!!”

It meant that the spectators were bound to be stunned.

seug.

Players are agitated by the sight of Urs.

“…… Is that a human?”

Only a tiny fraction of the human form remained.

Urs was a creature beyond description.

Something half-man, half-tree.

A plant became a man.

Or a man turned into a plant.

It was the moment when the audience was confused when they saw Urs.

Swoosh.

Urs’s arm sliced through the air.

At the same time, the wind rose.

Its destructive power was comparable to a raging typhoon.

Kugugung.

Even the completely disconnected auditorium of the Colosseum shook.

“…… Aren’t we going to get in trouble?”

“What’s Jesse fighting about in the first place?”

“No, Jesse Heinness isn’t the kind of person to get herself into trouble, let alone do something like this, telling the world. Who the hell is this Urs guy?!”

“Maybe she was dragged to the Colosseum by force……?”

Murmur.

There were countless speculations.

Unfortunately, they were all wrong.

Who would have dared to imagine?

In the slowly settling dust.

Overwhelming momentum rising.

Jesse’s voice echoing through the air.

“A being who has longed for elixirs and only material things for eons.”

Eyes glowing with the magic of the violet twilight.

“For the same eons you have.”

“……?”

“You think you can surpass us in our thirst for truth?”

“……!!!”

Jesse Heinness would say something like that.

*

Who are you?

[Soon, a duel of Spacetime begins].

Grandfell, who has no interest in socializing.

I, Lee Hoyeol, had no choice but to stick to the setting.

Thanks to that, I’ve blocked all system messages

I’ve unsubscribed from all system messages…….

‘I’m sure it’s because I’ve entered the social hall.’

I had no idea who was fighting with whom in this situation, but I couldn’t afford to be curious at the moment. Curse, now that I’ve entered the [Understanding Darkness].

My vision was filled with the intact landscape of Akshan.

Sure enough, it was just as I remembered. From their flashy outfits to their lack of eye contact to their lack of greeting, the atmosphere was devoid of any sense of kindness.

Looking at those Akshan demon hunters.

‘…… My stomach churns.’

A word immediately came to mind.

Mirror therapy.

It’s a horrible scene, seriously……!!!

How could those bastards……. No, the demon hunters went to Akshan because they thought it was cool?! They’re not serious humans, right?!

Suddenly, a voice said.

“Don’t hold on.”

Once again.

Demon hunters are reticent by nature.

They don’t greet each other, so why would they grab each other?

‘He stepped on his own cloak, what?’

Don’t hold on to me, senior……!!!

I could have sworn that Grandfell’s manner of speaking had worsened, not improved, since he had been in Akshan, and in that respect I was even more doubtful.

‘Now that I think about it, it’s not so bad.’

As you can see, the Akshans are not a common sense group.

So even if Grandfell had acted in an uncommon way, he wouldn’t be hated for it, would he? All the more reason to delve into the Understanding Darkness of Grandfell’s past, the one we were now witnessing.

‘Why did he get involved in the Akshan Civil War?’

Why.

The Shadow Mercenaries’ holy grounds told me that the blinded Akshan fugitives must hunt Grandfell, and I was eager to scour the Akshan base to find out why. …….

[Quest: Curse Hunt]

……Oops.

I’d overlooked it.

The terrible Akshan tiresome quest back in the day!

Fresh in my mind are memories of the days when Arcana was just a game.

Now that I see the quest, I remember it completely.

What, curse hunting?

It’s an Akshan quest, and the packaging is pretty convincing.

‘But the real thing is…….’

From Akshan to a nearby city.

I follow the quest objective and stand in front of the outer wall.

The owner of the building speaks.

“Well, then, please.”

Yes, it completely dawned on me.

This damn quest!

And the player community at that time.

There were some Demon Hunter players who stuck their tongues.

-I’m suing Cosmo for exaggerated advertising.ㅇㅇ

-I was tricked by the Akshan wolf. ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-I’m deleting my account and creating a new one. hahaha

-Curse hunting is just fucking erasing graffiti on the wall?!!!

A demon hunter outfit that looks like it’s loaded with modifiers rather than functionality.

While wearing such an outfit.

Squatting in front of a wall, erasing graffiti.

‘This is a shame most people can’t bear.’

While others are traveling the Arcana continent in pursuit of their dreams and hopes, squatting in front of a wall cleaning graffiti is a disgrace most people would rather delete their account and start a new one.

In that sense, I have to swallow my admiration once again.

‘……How twisted are my tastes, I wonder?’

I can’t believe I got over this shame and stuck with Akshan.

Anyway, I approached the outer wall.

Shouldn’t I finish the task at hand in order to return to Akshan?

‘What.’

I’d overlooked it.

You see what you know.

So does the curse.

Flickering Vision.

[Curse: In the beginning there was evil].

The timeframe is before the Cataclysm.

That is, before the demons of the Demon World flooded the Arcana continent. However, demons have existed on the Arcana continent since the beginning of time.

The Seven Deadly Sins, including the Primordial Evil.

They were pure-blooded demons from the Arcana continent, who called the demons of the Demon World hybrids. I, Lee Hoyeol. I retract all my previous demeaning remarks about Akshan.

‘It was a spit in my face, but I’ll say it anyway……!’

What I thought at the time was just a tiresome quest.

I didn’t realize it was really to purify the curse that had spread across the Arcana continent.

Grandfell opens his mouth.

“Let’s not rush to judgment.”

You hear me?

This time, I’m the one who regrets it, Grandfell.

More like.

‘Use what you know.’

In the past, I would have squatted down and erased the curse with my hands.

Now, I don’t need to.

I cast a simple, low-level spell.

I straightened up and wiped the outer wall clean.

“As usual, Akshan. Next time, please.”

Somehow I felt like I was being treated like a janitor instead of a demon hunter……. But it’s okay. Now that I thought about it, Akshan, you’ve done it again.

‘That’s not easy.’

Maybe it’s because I’ve experienced society.

I feel like it’s even more amazing.

It’s actually a really big deal.

You keep doing things that no one recognizes.

I’ve been doing something that no one even recognizes.

‘If left unchecked, there’s no telling what might happen.’

A curse can be used as a spell circle to sacrifice to the demon, or it can literally break a man’s spirit.

‘If Akshan hadn’t removed the curse…….’

If he hadn’t been treated like a scavenger and left the curse in place.

The power of the Primordial Evil, the Great Evil, and the Seven Deadly Sins in the Arcana continent?

It must have become unbearably overwhelming.

‘Perhaps, they would have ruled as equals with the High Ranking Demon King.

Imagining such a thing makes me admire our Akshan seniors.

Of course, as soon as I returned to Akshan.

all that respect was wiped away.

Clap and flutter.

The demon hunter sitting on the floor speaks.

“I didn’t trip on the hem of my robe.”

……just plain shamelessly.

“I was just trying to take in the scenery and relax for a bit.”

And then, as if to prove his point.

He lays back down, eyes glued to the scenery.

What, is he trying to turn his snout around?

If only Grandfell wasn’t so formal.

I wonder if I’d end up on the street and glue my eyes shut.

It was so cool just now, but then I saw it again.

‘Please do me one favor, seniors.’

I wonder if that’s also an anomaly.

It was a moment when I was confused.

Suddenly, I heard an eerie voice.

“Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.”

Oh, I’m surprised.

‘No, of course I know him.’

It took me a moment to compose myself, being called by my full name.

When I calmed down and turned around, there was an Akshan demon hunter.

The demon hunter spoke.

“I have something to tell you.”

…… A word?

Like I said, these Demon Hunters don’t even greet each other.

What could they possibly have to say to me?

As I ponder, the man asks.

“Did you have fun?”

What was fun about erasing graffiti?

Silence is a virtue.

I shut up, and he continues.

“The hypocrisy of the past.”

The words cannot be overlooked.

“Claudi, blood of the demon.”

……What?

Before I can react.

Grandfell opens his mouth.

“Be careful with every syllable you utter from now on.”

A chilling voice.

A hand reaching for his waist.

The tense situation.

“For the weight of my family name is not light enough to be weighed down by rumors.”

Soon, other Akshan hunters surrounded the surroundings.

……Wait a minute.

Is this where the Akshan Civil War started?

Were you a part of it, Grandfell……?