Episode 493. A True Upheaval

AAU.

The AAU Branch Leaders and executives from around the world traveled to the capital of South Korea.

Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

When Magic Tower appeared in Seoul, they thought it was just a coincidence.

“It’s about time…….”

In the Limousine on the way to the Magic Tower.

Jim Joshua, United States Branch Leader.

He muttered seriously.

“Should I really learn about Feng Shui now?”

Reality and the Arcana Continent were permanently connected. The incomplete prototype rift collapsed. Above it, the field formed by the self-destruction of the Fused Intelligence Body Yugweed bridged the two worlds.

“I don’t know. Personally, I think it’s superstition.”

“Seriously.”

“Are you kidding? I’m sorry, it’s a lot of information to take in.”

Katrina, riding with Joshua, had no time for such feng shui, her focus was on deducing the current situation from the limited information available.

The screen on her tablet flickered.

“As expected, the other half of the Fused Intelligence has appeared on the Arcana Continent. It’s said to have self-destructed and formed a field, just like in real life. Still, it’s probably the last gift from the elder mage who was a member of the Magic Tower.”

“Katrina, don’t say anything too serious.”

“……yes?”

At Joshua’s stern look, Katrina glanced toward the backseat.

There it was.

The deep fatigue on her boss’s face.

“We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs today.”

“……!”

From the bottom to heaven, back to the bottom, again…….

Literally.

It had been a day of emotional roller coaster rides.

Joshua clenched a shaking fist.

“I still can’t believe it, I mean, I still feel like I’m dreaming, that General Manager Yusra, who died on the Arcana continent, came back alive, but…….”

The unbelievable view outside the window.

“This is a bonus.”

A forest of buildings in Seoul.

The setting of the Arcana Continent biography.

Spirits that could not be seen by the eyes of a normal person entered.

Wind spirits, forest spirits, water spirits…….

If it was a sight that only Joshua could see, he would have gone crazy and sought a psychiatrist, bemoaning his lot.

But the anchor’s voice on Katrina’s tablet.

-Well, it’s a sight to behold. Spirits from the Arcana continent join in on the recovery operations in Seoul. Our correspondent is on the scene right now…….

It is.

In the eyes of others.

In the camera lens.

The spirits were alive and well.

Katrina added some more information.

“The players said that an ‘Age of Purity’ had dawned on the Arcana Continent, so maybe it’s something that can’t be explained by the previous lore of the Arcana Continent.”

Joshua nodded.

“In a sense, this is the true cataclysm.”

Not only is there a permanent link between Reality and the Arcana Continent, but the buffs of the Arcana Continent are now valid in Seoul, as if they were one and the same…….

Joshua muttered.

“It’s beyond anomaly.”

A smile tugged at the corners of Joshua’s mouth as he finished.

Was it because the unrealistic scenery of Seoul with spirits running around was so beautiful?

No, it was the nervous excitement.

The General Manager who had accomplished such an upheaval.

It was the anticipation of being reunited with Hoyeol.

Soon, Joshua and his group entered the Magic Tower.

Seug.

He raised his head once in front of it.

“It must have been a disaster.”

I’m not sure it’s still standing.

It took him a moment to realize the greatness of Reversal Magic. Joshua made his way to the Magic Tower, the Crystal Hall. He pushed his way through the flash baptism of reporters in the lobby of the Magic Tower.

The moment the doors to the Crystal Hall opened, Joshua was stunned. The sight before him was more unbelievable than the forest of buildings where the spirits roamed.

Katrina barely managed to speak.

“……This, this isn’t the testing room, is it, boss?”

.

.

.

I replied.

“No.”

“What, surprise……?!”

“Ge, General Manager!”

Joshua, and presumably his AAU subordinate.

“I’m so glad you’re okay……!”

I stare into Joshua’s eyes, which look like they’re about to burst into tears at any moment. God, I wanted to look away. Avoiding anyone’s eyes is not in Grandfell dictionary.

‘…… I don’t know how many times this has happened.’

I didn’t realize it until after the Fused Intelligence Raid was completely over.

The moment I threw away my life on the Arcana Continent.

The fact that it was captured in the real world beyond the Prototype Rift……!

‘I can understand that.’

The [Last Adventurer] effect or whatever.

I was dead, so I couldn’t just dismiss it as a rumor until I was resurrected. But from then on, it was a rumor that was wrong, but firmly wrong?

Headlines I glanced at during Anomaly’s quest.

-Lee Hoyeol writes miracle of Resurrection!

-Spirit King bows their head! A Spirit Emperor Appears?!

-Monster subjugated by words? A rant beyond words!

……Our reporters. This is the first time I’ve ever read a book that’s not just about the story, but also about the characters, and I’ve never seen anything like it before.

‘Homen is enough of a burden.’

They created a new word by taking the character ‘Ho 호(浩)’ from ‘Hoyeol’.

‘If it weren’t for my track record in Reversal Magic and Architectural Magic…….’

I would have been able to say something, but the sins of the past are too great for me to scream at the rumors that are pouring in. In that sense, I couldn’t help myself.

“From now on, everything you see is the truth.”

Why the sound of the Testing Room, which would only have existed when Arcana was still a game? I had an idea why.

For at this moment, the Crystal Hall was filled with beings that, according to Arcana’s continental biography, should not be allowed to congregate in one place.

The seat of the Tower Master.

Suddenly, Marcelo stood up from his seat.

He must have noticed my arrival.

He offers me his usual respectful bow.

‘……Wh, what is between us?’

But I don’t even have time to reply because I’m mute.

Marcelo’s behavior must have alerted him to my presence.

The chatter dies down.

People begin to stand up, following Marcelo’s lead.

cheog.

The Senior Mages, of course.

cheog.

The Great Alliance.

cheog.

Agentress and the elves he leads.

cheog.

The Spirit Kings, who have taken on human form.

……cheog.

I was mesmerized by the unbelievable sight.

Not to mention the AAU’s branch leaders, who rose to their feet.

I thought to myself as I stood in front of the overwhelming greeting.

‘……If only there weren’t two people next to me.’

I must have sighed in frustration, I swear.

‘Well, we can always gather at the Magic Tower. No, of course not.’

Reality and the Arcana continent were connected.

Not just a temporary portal, but permanently, through the formation of a new field. The situation was unprecedented, and everyone, both in Reality and on Arcana, needed to understand what was happening.

‘I’m the only one who can answer the questions.’

I get that, but…….

‘There’s no need for everyone to stand up?’

But the center of the world is himself.

He believes that the path he is moving forward is the center.

It was our Grandfell.

ttogag.

I left Joshua and the rest of the group huddled together at my side. I made my way to the lectern in the Crystal Hall, and soon, I was up there, basking in the stares and attention.

Maybe because of it.

‘Mixed emotions.’

I could feel it in the back of my mind.

Anticipation.

And more than that, confusion.

‘I feel like…….’

I wanted to say something nice.

But I can’t.

Because, like I said, this is the reality we face.

‘To put it in perspective…….’

The World Tree.

Like the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

It is the beginning of an upheaval that holds both hope and danger.

He summarized his thoughts and put them into a Grandfell-style speech.

“In this moment, a new path has opened up for us. It’s a path that no one has ever taken before, so it’s only natural that there is no set direction. However, the footprints we leave behind will become milestones for future generations.”

Isn’t this a way of speaking that doesn’t consider the audience’s position?

Me, Lee Hoyeol.

As a representative of small citizens.

I feel a lot of pressure just hearing that.

But fortunately.

‘Because the people gathered here are not like me.’

None of them seem to have the same ideas as I, Lee Hoyeol. Yes, all of them have just risked their lives to confront the Fused Intelligence that has appeared in reality and on the Arcana continent.

Knowing that, he continued.

“I have no intention of wasting the seeds that Yugweed has sown.”

Those who leave have nothing to say.

I spoke plausibly, not really knowing what Yugweed meant. But from what I’ve seen of Yugweed, I’m sure that’s what she meant when she formed the field.

-“Then take care of the Magic Tower, Chief Lee.”

Just as she trusted us and left the Magic Tower.

Yugweed trusted us this time.

I think the foundation was laid and it was self-sown.

“I have something to say about that……!”

“Wait, here’s the footage.”

“So what happened on the Arcana continent back then?”

And so on.

There was a lot of chatter in the Crystal Hall. Everyone had different information and different assumptions, and it would take a lively exchange of ideas to come to a conclusion.

In that sense, the inevitable question was asked of me.

It was the spirits who asked the question.

Among them, it was Phoenix, the Flame Spirit King.

“Blessed One.”

Blessed One, the crowd murmurs at that word.

“……Blessed One? What does that mean?”

“Is it a newly acquired title?”

“Well, Chief Lee has been blessed in many ways.”

Really.

If you know my name so well, why do you insist on calling me that?

I cursed inwardly, but allowed Phoenix the last word.

Then came the expected question.

“Forgive me for not being able to suppress the questions that come to mind even as I give thanks that you are safe and sound. I have clearly felt your sacrifice, even in this insignificant body…….”

Phoenix’s words were modest.

It was enough to get their attention.

Some may have been surprised by the extreme tone.

‘Still, he’s the Spirit King in name and appearance.’

Phoenix’s behavior in front of me.

As if the rumors spreading around the world were true.

He was treating me like I was some kind of spirit emperor.

But even more disturbing than that was the thought of sacrifice.

The sacrifice.

Was I really dead, as the rumors started at AAU, and there was even evidence of it. From the AAU’s shooting records to the Spirit Kings’ power, which has grown thicker than ever before.

This is why.

‘I can’t even make this up.’

‘Actually, even if I tried to make it up, this is our Grandfell-nim who doesn’t hide anything. Phoenix has asked a formal question, and I have no choice but to answer it in a formal manner.’

My lips move.

“Phoenix, you are right.”

I drive a wedge into the questioning stares.

“I have already experienced death.”

Properly.

“Enough to get used to death.”

“……!!!”

*

Today’s Arcana crew.

“It’s like a dream, it’s like a dream, Jongjin!”

PD Hyun Yongseok looked around in disbelief at the current scene and still pinched his cheeks in disbelief. Is this really the same Seoul that was in ruins just a few hours ago?

Yoon Jongjin panned the camera.

“Hey, senior. Look over there. The spirits are messing around! No, the mages were the only ones looking at such cute things, right? It’s so cheesy, it’s ridiculous.”

The corners of his mouth quirked up, unwilling to come down.

It was an outing with Hyun Yongseok, who would normally have been embarrassed.

Yoon Jongjin was not tired at all.

He shivered as he carried the camera from place to place.

“How did the buff affect us too?”

“You, check your camera film when you’re overtime…….”

Hyun Yongseok was about to scold me as usual.

He paused.

The big shots started pouring out of the Magic Tower.

“What are you doing? Move!”

Magic Tower, they must have been discussing the current situation inside.

What was said in the meeting.

This was his chance to be the first to tell the world.

“Great Alliance, run to the Great Alliance!”

It was a scoop that you couldn’t miss as a leading Korean media outlet and producer.

I wonder if Hyun Yongseok’s eagerness to get the story out reached the players, or if it was Nam Taemin, a gentle Barbarian who is unusual for his class.

“Nam Taemin, may I ask you a question?”

Today Arcana team got a scoop that no one expected.

It was able to be broadcast live.

Because of that, someone’s hair turned completely white.

……tug.

The phone falls out of her loose grip.

jjeojeog.

The screen shattered on the asphalt. But it didn’t matter. At that moment, her heart broke worse than her phone, which she had been trying to ignore.

“……I’m at my limit now, just watching.”

He died and came back to life.

Whether it is the miracle of resurrection.

Anything……!

No words came to her eyes and ears.

Lee Yerim, her eyes turned red.

“Hoyeol, are you sure you’re okay……?”