◈ Episode 506. What Remains After the Past (2)

Shashashak.

‘What’s written on that?’

The scroll stretched to the floor.

Lorenzik hadn’t let go of the quill since he entered the office, which piqued my curiosity. I wonder what he’s scribbling so passionately.

“Eummm.”

He rubs his chin with a serious expression and sighs with concern. However, the weight of his anguish is hard to see because he looks so young.

‘He looks like an elementary school student doing vacation homework…….’

……I’m sure Arang is doing well in kindergarten, right?

Anyway, it didn’t bother me.

No, it was rather nice.

As I said, I had some things to check.

First, I checked the status window.

‘The stats are ……. Heartbreaking.’

Death on the Arcana continent.

The penalty for that.

Even if I’ve gained more than I’ve lost, it’s still heartbreaking to see the numbers. I looked at the many titles I had gained, most especially [Great Master of Anomaly].

‘I finally understand the exact effect.’

[The Great Master of Anomaly: A being unborn from Anomaly becomes aware of Anomaly. His teachings, as a pioneer, will lead countless others to the realm of Anomaly].

At first, I thought, what’s all the fuss about? It wasn’t as obvious as [The Last Adventurer], but I guess that’s the effect of repeated learning.

‘I’ve definitely changed since I got the title, haven’t I?’

For better or worse.

I’ve always been the same.

It’s not that Grandfell and I have changed.

It’s the people around me, the Holy War Alliance.

‘Plus Lox.’

I’m referring to their remarkable transformation.

‘Honestly, until Nam Taemin, Hisagi, and Leonie, …….’

I was skeptical.

-“I’m not just saying that I’ve seen the vision of the Commander-in-Chief before my eyes……!”

-“No. It wasn’t a vision, it wasn’t a hallucination, I saw it clearly.”

-“…… How can you say that with my mouth?”

I didn’t get a specific testimony from Leonie, but she later nodded reluctantly, so it must have been “I” who led the three of them into the Anomaly realm.

‘Lox even got a message.’

It was my [Great Master of Anomaly] that led Lox to the [Wandering Knight] class. At first, I thought, What’s the point of all these titles if they don’t have any specific effects?

Not from the point of view of the narrow-minded Lee Hoyeol.

A position of great responsibility.

Now I see it from the point of view of the Commander-in-Chief of the Holy War Alliance.

‘It’s not bad. No, honestly, it’s beyond that.’

I realized that this could be a great effect.

The realization hit me.

So, I wonder if the realm of anomaly is one that one can easily step into!

‘Buffs that greatly increase the power of allies.’

A buff that goes beyond that and increases the ‘level’.

Thinking about it like that makes me puff out my chest even more proudly. Of course, it’s all thanks to me, and I don’t want to take credit.

‘All who enter the realm of anomaly.’

After all, they didn’t realize my teachings until they were near death.

Without that effort.

No amount of buffs could have made a difference.

I still don’t know what they learned from me.

‘Well, at least I taught them manners.’

After a brief rationalization, the gaze shifts.

[Lantern of Humanity: Let your light lead all people.]

In that sense, I suppose I can expect a similar effect from this new legend I’ve acquired. Is it the Lantern of Humanity, by the way. Is the system message also a reference to my gorgeous set of self-luminous dawning lights……?

It was an unnecessary poke in the eye.

Lorenzik, who’d been writing, spoke up.

“Do you realize, Commander in Chief of the Holy War Alliance, that the streets are full of stories about you right now? I assure you, if this were the Arcana continent, your ‘karma’ would be even greater with the anecdote just told.”

……Karma?

‘Wait, that.’

The Shadow Corridor.

It was a unit of currency in the New Territories.

I wasn’t exactly sure what Karma meant.

‘Wasn’t it something like 1000 or so that I had?’

Compared to others.

I didn’t even know the word for that kind of karma.

But there you are, Lorenzik, the romantic explorer.

You do know something about karma, don’t you?

‘My mouth is already watering with curiosity.’

But who is our Grandfell?

He does not reveal his regretful situation to anyone.

A man of unflappable character.

“Karma, we’ll talk about that another time.”

It’s a pity, Hoyeol.

‘I’ve got a lot of work to do with Lorenzik anyway.’

Lorenzik, the romantic explorer. Why else would the great Grandfell say anything to Lorenzik, who entered his office unannounced?

‘Because we’re going together, to the bottom of hell.’

The case was closed, but he didn’t dwell on it.

Not with Grandfell’s temper, anyway.

It was more important to find Paimon in the Demon World than Hell.

‘No matter how you look at me, just endure it this once, Grandfell.’

Meet the seniors of Hell.

There will be a reward at the end of the class quest, and who knows, maybe I’ll be able to match the strength of the seniors who completely overpowered even Paimon?

‘Let’s get insurance before we go to the Demon World.’

seug.

At that point, I put down my feather pen.

I’d finally finished organizing my paperwork.

Time to get down to the nitty-gritty of how to get to hell.

‘But…….’

At this point, I’m even more curious.

I can’t believe I’m still using it.

The expression of serious agony makes even the young face look quite serious.

Fortunately, Lorenzik doesn’t seem to be hiding anything.

“Okay, that’s good enough.”

Lorenzik smiled with satisfaction.

Then he walked over to me.

He held out a scroll of parchment.

“This is for you, Commander-in-Chief.”

……A scroll for me?

I had a bad feeling about this even before I saw it, but I’d seen with my own eyes that Lorenzik was as eager as anyone. It was Grandfell’s pride that Lorenzik’s sincerity could not be ignored.

chwaleug.

I read the scroll, line by line.

And then I uttered no words.

To be precise,…….

I was speechless!

‘My gosh.’

Hey, Mr. Lorenzik.

I don’t know how it was on the Arcana continent, but……. If I spread something like this in the real world, I could be arrested for spreading falsehoods, exaggerating advertising, or even being the leader of a cult!!

A line of writing can be seen at a glance through the overwhelming dizziness.

“Believe even if you don’t believe, for it is the only light in the darkness, the only true path, and those who follow it will never be lost, no matter what trials and tribulations…….”

Inwardly, I doubted Lorenzik.

‘This nonsense you’ve been spreading, about being a lantern for all?!’

But our shameless Grandfell.

“What a beautiful rhyme.”

……Grandfell, are you seriously calling it beautiful?

This is narcissism beyond shamelessness.

Isn’t it true that if it goes too far, it’s unlucky?

“So much so that I want to own it.”

I want to own it.

Of course, I do.

This was me, Lee Hoyeol, speaking out of sheer force of will.

Was it because I liked the strange hymn?

No, I’m crazy.

Lorenzik is puzzled.

“You want to own it. This hymn is one of the most unique pieces of writing I’ve ever written, and I believe it must be spread throughout the world…….”

Your intentions are impure, Lorenzik!

‘I can’t see that even if I die.’

Lorenzik nodded as if the message had gotten through.

“Nevertheless, if it is your will, then so be it, and I, Lorenzik, will gladly offer my praise to the Commander in Chief of the Holy War Alliance. However, I hope that the hymn will resonate at least in the Magic Tower.”

Is that a condition for handing over the scrolls?

‘It’s not that difficult.’

Unlike in the past, players have entered the Magic Tower as apprentice mages. If even one of them witnesses this strange hymn, word of it will spread quickly through the internet.

But.

‘I am the Chief of the Magic Tower, as you see.’

I have every corner of the Magic Tower at my disposal, not just the spaces that apprentice mages are not allowed to enter, but also the places where I can safely hide this hymn.

‘Bury it deep, where no one will ever know.’

Part of me wanted to throw it into the Mugan, but pride wouldn’t allow it. Anyway, for now, I tucked the scroll into my inventory and focused on the next topic.

Lorenzik spoke up.

“Then I suppose we should start making plans for a full-scale exploration of Hell!”

Very well, Lorenzik.

So.

How do I get to hell where my seniors are?

*

jeobeog.

Matisse Dean Karl, Senior Black Mage. As a senior mage, he was granted the freedom to travel earlier, but he didn’t rush out of the Magic Tower. He was on guard.

“Oh no.”

Just the black magic overflowing in Seoul. Everyone, even Tower Master Marcelo, believed they had gotten through this crisis without incident.

But Matisse knew better.

‘Sir, you have been desperately patient this time too.’

Indeed, a vast amount of black magic had fallen to the bottom of Seoul, and so Matisse was able to disperse it naturally.

He was unable to take a step away from the Magic Tower.

Blackening.

Without being swallowed up by Chief Lee’s black magic power.

He wasn’t sure he could contain the blackening.

Matisse wore the ring to calm himself.

But his mind was not so easily calmed.

It had to be.

It was Matisse who had recently witnessed the potential of adventurers.

He wondered what he could be of use.

‘What can I do for Chief Lee…….’

To calm his turbulent mind.

He was strolling around the Magic Tower like a walking path.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar sensation stirred his heightened senses.

‘Something has changed.’

A sensation that was not usually felt in the Magic Tower.

Matisse stopped at an imaginary outbuilding hidden in the Magic Tower.

It was the Amethyst Hall.

One of the many doors that filled the hall.

Beyond one of the doors, he sensed a strange energy.

No wonder.

If Matisse had had the vision of an adventurer.

[You’ve found the Hidden Piece.]

A message like this must have flashed before his eyes.

…… cheolkeog.

But Matisse could not see.

So he couldn’t guess by looking.

Only one thing in an empty space where nothing exists.

A bundle of scrolls floating in the air.

Matisse whispered.

“My current actions do not violate the rules of the Magic Tower.”

The Amethyst Hall is reserved for mages of rank Senior and above.

Senior mages had free access to the hall’s private chambers.

There were no restrictions on exploring its interior.

……seug.

But Matisse didn’t realize it until he reached for the scroll. What he didn’t realize until he reached for the scroll was how painstakingly the letters had been engraved.

Lorenzik, the romantic explorer.

Everything he writes becomes legend. The hellfire he brought became a torch that never went out, and the journals he left behind became a guidepost for explorers.

Such was Lorenzik’s masterpiece.

A Romantic Explorer making up legends.

A line he wrote after seeing a living legend.

It was something beyond legend.

It was ‘something’.

Even if he couldn’t witness it.

[Hidden Peace, ‘The Bible after the Cataclysm’ was discovered.]

It was a greatness that could only be felt.

Matisse Dean Karl.

The third pillar of the post-cataclysmic Magic Tower.

He expressed his sentiments.

Some would be appalled.

“……Homen.”

Just one word.