◈ Episode 448. Not My Taste (1)

Corridor of Shadows.

An appearance message sent to the continent.

The presence was intense.

The capital of the Empire, Antonium.

Hesiyasi, the southern province of the Empire.

Polestar, the eastern province of the Empire.

Furthermore, every place on the Arcana continent.

An unidentifiable building floated in the sky.

“Hah, is that a castle in the sky?”

“Is that the Corridor of Shadows…… that the message said?”

“What do you mean, a Corridor of Shadows?”

Just a single line of message.

“That’s the message of emergence. No, it’s a long explanation!”

Still, it was better than the clueless Arcanians. The moment the players explained the Corridor of Shadows to the Arcanians.

Same time.

The Great Alliance, under the Holy War Alliance, froze in place.

“What do you think that is, Snake-Eye?”

“I don’t know, I have nothing to say.”

“What the hell was that?”

Nam Taemin, Hisagi, and Leonie.

Three guild masters of the Great Alliance.

Plus Skal and Schreig of Second Sun.

Even those who had been firmly established in the ranks since the days when Arcana was just a game could not guess their identities. Schreig trailed off.

“It doesn’t look like entry is possible……?”

“It looks that way to me.”

“No, was it even real in the first place? Isn’t this a illusion?!”

It was a natural reaction.

Like a mirage in the desert.

The Corridor of Shadows was the same all over the Arcana continent, even its shape seemed to be hanging upside down in the sky.

All right.

They gazed at the corridor with serious expressions.

Soon, the scouts returned.

But there was no harvest.

The guild members dismounted from their horses, their expressions puzzled.

“No matter how far we go, we can’t get any closer!”

“We can’t even set the teleportation coordinates.”

“Damn, no matter what we do, we can’t get closer.”

The questions are flying around.

I instinctively breathe a sigh of relief.

Schreig continues speaking cautiously.

“But how has something like that not occurred in reality?”

The thought of the London dungeons still gave him goosebumps.

But the relief was short-lived.

Hisagi, the Wise Man of Tokyo, pointed out the reality.

“We can’t be safe forever, as long as the rift exists. The Arcana continent and reality are connected. There’s no reason to believe that the Corridor of Shadows won’t be updated to reality as well.”

“I suppose so.”

No matter how they thought about it, the best solution was clear.

If they cleared the unstable rift in the Arcana continent.

It had been discovered that the creation of rifts in reality could also be suppressed.

Leonie turned to Skal and asked subtly.

“Hey, shouldn’t we ask that Ice Dragon to give us a ride? At least it should be able to fly long enough for us to find out if it’s real or an illusion?”

She had a point.

Maybe the Hidden Piece, the Corridor of Shadows, was a mere mirage.

Or a new field.

Or a dungeon that must be tackled.

It was hard to tell from a single message.

But Skal bit his lip hard.

“…… is not my territory.”

In truth, Skal was more frustrated than anyone else.

The Ice Dragon was supposed to be majestic.

An ice dragon who should be more proud than anyone else…….

-“I am a chick. A newborn chick.”

Why does he call himself a chick!

The words of Dark Dragon were intertwined.

Skal could not know the truth.

Leonie looked at Skal with wistful eyes.

“Are you a Dragon Knight?”

In the end, no solution was forthcoming.

Eventually, another thought came to mind.

Looking up at the Shadow Corridor, Nam Taemin spoke.

“Mr. Hoyeol. No, Commander, do you think you know something?”

*

It’s not just chaos, the Arcana Continent.

Claudi’s territory.

Under the pouring night sky.

I lifted my teacup.

Despite my love of green tea.

Aren’t you the same Grandfell who takes such terrible care of yourself?

“It’s late.”

Real-life health common sense that comes to mind.

The caffeine in green tea at night interferes with sleep.

Despite knowing this, I picked up my mug for a simple reason.

“I have a good reason today.”

Indeed.

The Shadow Mercenaries have been sentenced to Akshan……. No, wasn’t I the one who was holding on for dear life to get a job as an Akshan? The dangling green tea bags broke the mood and I desperately refrained.

Late-night teatime to fulfill my green tea quota.

“Still, I’m not satisfied.”

dalkak.

Normally, I wouldn’t have been surprised if an exclamation point had burst out of me.

I can sympathize with you one hundred percent, Grandfell.

Even I, a non-aesthete, thought it was a bit out of place.

The night sky of the Arcana continent.

The sight of the demons everywhere is unsightly enough.

It’s bad enough that it’s risen to the Corridors of Shadow.

‘It lives up to its name.’

Should I say that it is a building that roughly resembles a coiled snake?

To call it a castle, its appearance was far from that of a castle.

It’s hard to describe, but it’s definitely too black.

No roof, no exterior walls, no windows, no banners.

Even the black, dreary thing hung upside down in the sky.

I would have said it was being seen all over the Arcana continent like a mirage…….

Naturally, I can’t find the right words.

“There’s a reason you chose the bottom as your holy ground.”

I’m referring to the 『Canyon of the Forgotten』, which Grandfell hasn’t liked since the first time I set foot in it, but he keeps bringing it up again and again.

“It’s consistently bad aesthetics.”

Someone will ask

I wonder if I have too much free time even though I have debt to pay off.

That is correct.

If Granfell had the same temperament as usual, he would do it right away.

He would have entered that Corridor of Shadows, or some such hidden place.

But.

Shhh.

Gaze from the night sky to the black parchment on the table.

If there is a proper procedure.

Isn’t it also our Grandfell’s stubbornness that we must follow?

[Invitation from Shadow Corridor]

[Rank: Epic]

[Restriction: None]

[Effect : Hidden Piece, allows you to enter the Shadow Corridor]

[Description: An invitation from the Shadow God. The wielder can reach the Shadow Corridors. Where there is light, there are shadows, even where there is only darkness. You will not be able to ignore the Shadow’s invitation.

Days until the corridor opens: 2 days, 12 hours, 32 minutes]

I assure you…….

‘Even if the invitation was a little aesthetically shabby.’

Grandfell would have shrugged it off.

But the invitation was out of the ordinary, even for him.

Why, it was just like the quest said.

‘Even if I don’t have the status, does that mean I’m still half a god?’

Creeping.

Decorations flickering with shadows. The invitation was adorned with aesthetic elements not found in the Arcana continent. Even the content was quite unexpected.

Especially the last sentence.

『Please, do not be angry.』

I exhaled generously.

“I don’t feel like it, but I will agree.”

Shadow God, you seem to be very polite, unlike Grandfell, who at least talks to demons once they’re formalized.

I, Lee Hoyeol, am strict in this regard.

‘I see what I see.’

One line that does not change no matter how much coaxing or ploys you make.

[Your friendship with the Shadow God has reached its lowest point].

Just as the maximum is significant.

So does the low point mean something.

As soon as I entered that place called the Shadow Corridor.

the Shadow God’s apostles might come out in droves.

As long as we know that.

‘Two days or so before the corridor opens.’

We must not waste the remaining time.

There was no way to access the Shadow Corridor at this time.

It meant we had to prepare for all possibilities before the corridor opened.

‘First, let’s get back to reality.’

Two days in Arcana continent time or two days in reality,

And if not, would the time difference change the remaining time on the invitation?

I needed to be sure.

‘We’ll have to stop by the Magic Tower.’

I’ll have to search the Emerald Hall to see if there are any books related to gods.

A meeting of the AAU branch leaders is also on the agenda.

The gods of Arcana are from a time when they were just games.

It has been confirmed through numerous precedents that the effect is effective to some extent, so if there is a place to use it, it should be used.

“It would be best to refrain from making a fuss.”

There was no need to draw unnecessary attention.

Interdimensional portals make a lot of noise.

Yes, I have that damn ‘Heavenly Demon Reigner’.

All I had to do was take a step.

ttogag.

Before I know it, I’m at the Magic Tower.

I could feel the unusual air of the Magic Tower at once.

The Chief’s office.

I checked the lines of writing left on the parchment.

It was the familiar handwriting of Bellier, the Healing Mage.

──────

Request for emergency healing authorization for Archmage, Jesse Heinness.

──────

*

Jesse and Urs.

A duel in spacetime.

The world watched as it began and ended.

What did they think?

Someone cheered.

-Is that the same crappy Jesse Heinness I knew??? What’s with the way you talk? Did you learn that from Lee Hoyeol??? What’s with the magic you’re spewing out? It’s so magnificent.

-Isn’t she the first player to do that?

-Why is there Lee Hoyeol?

Archmages have been searching for the truth for eons, and Jesse’s ability to fully utilize their knowledge and vision has given her a new level of power.

-Not counting Lee Hoyeol, of course, because he’s out of the standard.

Although it could not be compared to Hoyeol.

It was the majesty of a ‘transcendent’ that set him apart from the other players.

It was enough to make someone’s fists clench.

“Jong-jin, are you looking at it right? Maybe Jesse Heinness will be the first player. The first person who can properly share Lee Hoyeol’s burden!”

At the same time, someone else despaired.

-I know Jesse is great, but……. What is that?

-Don’t you see? It’s Urs, the creature of eternal life.

-Where the hell does a creature of eternal life come from that can rival Jesse Heinness, mankind’s next best secret weapon Archmage!

-Why does that give me the creeps again?

Urs, the Creature of Eternal Life.

The Magic Tower or the Lionheart Knights.

It wasn’t even a name that was widely known in the Arcana continent like the Shadow Mercenaries.

Such an unheard of entity had gone toe-to-toe with Jesse, the next most powerful player in the world.

Or, to analyze the outcome more soberly.

“If the duel had continued, Miss Jesse would have definitely lost.”

A draw due to timeout.

Humanity should be grateful for the outcome.

But the duel was far from over.

“And this is the news from the players in the arena, in the audience. In exactly one day, 24 hours, the Spacetime battle will resume……!”

Jesse is currently healing in the Magic Tower.

His exact condition is unknown, but……. Jesse was last seen collapsed in Antonium. Camilla, a member of the Shining who knows her well, was seen carrying her to the Magic Tower.

It was anyone’s guess.

“A rematch a day later? What’s so fast?”

“If it’s that serious, Jesse might even wake up…….”

“No, last I checked, Urs was fine…….”

What if Jesse is unable to compete in the Spacetime rematch.

What will happen to the match?

Or worse, if Jesse loses.

“By any chance, is it a battle that only ends when you see the end like the Sword Saint?”

Everyone was watching.

It was natural for everyone to fall into deep anxiety.

But let’s start with the outcome of the concern.

“……But hasn’t it already been a day?”

The Spacetime rematch did not take place.

“What, they’re canceling it?!”

.

.

.

The world did not yet know.

It all started in a spacetime social hall.

Or, more accurately, the higher-ups who visited the lower floors.

That it was started by the higher-ups.

Three heads of four families, excluding the Golden Ignite Maxima.

And those who had previously earned access to the upper levels.

Mary, the Witch of the Southern Sea.

They enter the Spacetime Social Hall.

They declared to the lower members of the Seven Social Halls.

Or, more accurately, they said.

“From now on, no one may enter the social hall without my permission.”

“Nor may they leave.”

“Nor may you bring in ugly trash.”

Hoyeol’s message.

“These are the new rules of the social hall, issued by the top tier.”

“……!!!”