◈ Episode 517. Natural Enemy and Natural Job (1)
Elder Mage Yugweed.
You have never been one to show your feelings easily, even if I, the heir to your earth magic, have not lived up to your expectations.
-“Your land is not yet ready to blossom.”
To a question so basic.
-“Wouldn’t that require some thinking?”
Even in the face of the enemy.
-“Is that struggle resistance? I salute you.”
You’ve never lived up to your reputation as a gentle giant. But there are those who make even you unable to contain your anger.
“……The Shadow Mercenaries.”
Yes, it was them.
‘You never told me the whole story…….’
After Yugweed left the Magic Tower, Maia scoured all the books she could find to find out what happened between Yugweed and the Shadow Mercenaries. It wasn’t anything special.
Just stories of killing and murder.
“Bastards.”
Where the Shadow Mercenaries passed, carnage followed.
It was commonplace.
Elder Yugweed had no blood relatives.
It is said that upon entering the Magic Tower, all mages of the Magic Tower sever their ties to the outside world, including their families. In Yugweed’s case, the implications were a little more profound.
‘It’s not a light insulation.’
Emerald Hall, information found in an old history book.
『The Annihilation of Rynas, City of Dawn.』
She was the only survivor from her hometown.
-“I came from Rynas, and I entered the Magic Tower to live.”
Yugweed’s gentle voice echoed in her ears.
Maia stopped reminiscing.
She focused on the landscape in front of her.
Perhaps that was why.
“What right do you four have.”
Maia couldn’t understand how they had dared to cross Yugweed’s land and enter the Adventurer’s World, or how they had managed to gain the trust of the cranky Chief Lee, or even how they had managed to enter this demon-infested place.
Maia couldn’t understand.
‘I will not tolerate you.’
You dazzled my eyes with that flashy outfit.
It’s futile to try to hide your ugliness.
Maia steeled her resolve.
“Oh, here they come!!!”
A player, an apprentice mage, shouted.
The player’s vision.
Jesse didn’t panic and explained.
[Copper, the Commander of the Fourth Legion of Golden Fragrance, appears].
“It looks like Paimon’s direct subordinate will be appearing soon!”
“Let’s get ready.”
Maia and Kotein.
The two senior mages immediately prepared for the manifestation of magic, their gazes directed not at the blood-drawn rift that covered the island, nor at the magic circle, but at the curse of the Demon World.
Jesse muttered softly.
“I wonder if curses can disintegrate, too? Maybe they already have…….”
of the Holy War Alliance.
There had been talk of demonic ‘curses’ there, too.
A curse is the last act of a demon.
So we must be on guard.
Chief Lee had certainly said so.
Even if it is said that it is a brain in a hat.
His wisdom has not been dulled.
The cone hat replied.
-No, it hasn’t collapsed yet.
“……Do you think so?”
-I don’t fully understand the curse’s structure, but a manifestation of this magnitude requires a price. If it were to collapse without going through the proper procedures, the caster would suffer massive internal injuries.
Jesse nodded.
“So, in that case, it’s a structure similar to a rift, with a gradual collapse, but it can’t collapse suddenly! If that’s the case, then the monster that appeared now…….”
Was this just a foreshadowing?
“Patience only goes so far.”
Maia was no longer patient.
With the Shadow Mercenaries and the demons, her patience was at its limit.
Maia raised the burning earth to its feet.
gugugugung.
‘I am not like the other Seniors.’
Because I had the best teacher, Elder Yugweed.
-Ohora, that’s pretty good for a senior.
He is extremely stingy even to his one and only disciple.
She’s even praised by the Tower Master in the cone hat.
Maia’s manifestation was flawless.
High-level earth magic.
『Reverse Earthquake』
Condenses the destructive power of an earthquake into a single point in reverse, so that its destructive power is difficult to fathom. Since it was in the middle of its emergence, it had to deal a fatal blow to a defenseless enemy.
But nothing happened.
No message appeared in the players’ vision.
Maia didn’t even feel the hit.
‘If I had to make an analogy, that feeling just now was…….’
Maia looked at her trembling fingertips.
“……like hitting a rock with an egg.”
The Tower Master, who had praised her, also paused.
And it didn’t take long to find out why.
It was a slow reveal.
Maia’s nemesis, Kotein senior mage, muttered.
“Maia, if that’s what it is, I’ll admit it.”
Looking at the huge, blackened pupils.
“Dr, the Dragon from the Dragon Magic Wars……!!!”
Dragons, kings of all things.
Their whereabouts have been mysterious.
At the top of the Zero Mountains, where they were supposed to be. On the Arcana continent. Even their own kin, the elves, have searched for them, but they have shown no sign of them.
But in reality, if it’s a different realm from Arcana.
If the dragons were indeed headed to the Demon World, that would explain why they were able to slip away without a mouse or bird noticing. Maia, who had finished judging Kotain’s rant, shouted.
“Everyone back off!”
Lessons of the Dragon Magic War.
Even the most powerful military organization on the Arcana continent, the Magic Tower, could not stand against the King of All. Maia thought about how to minimize the current damage.
‘If we move this island as far away from the Magic Tower as possible, as a whole…….’
Slowly, the Dragon.
No, an Evil Dragon infested with evil fruit appeared. It must be the influence of the Demon World. Its appearance was tinged with evil energy, far different from the evil dragons that appeared on the Arcana Continent.
Kotein stuttered.
“I don’t think that’s something that can be purified.”
Maia gritted her teeth.
‘After all, the whole island……!’
Kotein reacted to Maia’s pulsating magic power.
“Maia Senior? That magic power?! What do you think you’re doing……!”
Manifesting such magic.
The unfinished circle would be shattered beyond exhaustion.
That’s when I tried to quickly dissuade her.
Pug.
“……?!!”
Blood gushed from the dragon skin that even the higher magic that Maia, the senior mage, had manifested under the guidance of the elder mage, couldn’t even scratch. Soon, a loud voice is heard.
“Get out of the way, you idiots!”
Maia’s eyebrows twitched reflexively.
They were definitely Shadow Mercenaries, even though their flowing outfits covered all but their eyes, but the words that came out of their mouths were out of place.
“From now on, it is the turn of Akshan, the demonic natural enemy!”
“What……? Akshan……?”
*
9th Seat.
No, now everyone is an equal Akshan hunter.
DeSheve stuck out his tongue.
“Rockid, is there no such thing as shame in that?”
He’s as big as a mountain, his cloak flapping around him like an upside-down bib. It’s embarrassing to look at, man. Then he glances down at his outfit…….
I can’t get used to this, no matter how many times I look at it.
seug.
Wolf put his hand on the top of DeSheve’s head.
“I’ll get used to it, what can I say?”
“Wolfe, no matter how you look at it, this is a bit…….”
“After all, our Commander-in-Chief set the example, didn’t he?”
Lee Hoyeol, Commander-in-Chief of the Holy War Alliance and leader of Akshan.
-“Consider it an honor beyond measure.”
Wallswale, a dwarven blacksmith.
He hands over the finished Akshan uniform and adds.
-“The cloak is identical to the Commander in Chief’s down to the last thread.”
DeSheve grumbled.
“It’s all a result of living too much in the Shadow Mercenaries, Wolfe. Suddenly you have to abide by the uptight discipline of an Akshan demon hunter. What’s so extreme about that? Why bother…….?”
Wolfe ruffled DeSheve’s hair lightly.
“It’s too late to whine now, look.”
“See what?”
“Our former captain was excited, wasn’t he?”
It was a dragon.
The King of All Things stood before them, a creature that their former selves in the Shadow Mercenaries would not have dared to face head-on, but at this moment, their hearts were calm.
Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr─
Even in front of the Dragon Fear, which was said to make all things submit.
I didn’t back down.
In fact, I had felt the change even before that.
‘From the portal in the Magic Tower.’
Beyond the portal lies the cursed Jeju Island.
Perhaps that’s why the adventurers couldn’t tread easily.
Perhaps it was the ominous pressure from the rift.
Alkari approached, tugging at his cloak.
“It must be that our mental strength has fundamentally hardened, unlike in the past when we were simply at the mercy of the Shadow Gods. Of course, what made such growth possible was……”
Wolfe replied.
“It’s a Natural Enemy relationship.”
Of course, the Shadow Mercenaries, not the players, didn’t have the skill, of Natural Enemy. But there was an artifact from Akshan that had returned to the rebuilt Akshan.
[Bell of Temperance]
It was the will of the Akshan artifact, not Hoyeol’s orders, that guided the resurrected Akshan. The sound of the [Bell of Temperance] became a compass, guiding the troupe to Jeju Island, and another artifact took over the role of natural enemy.
Thanks to them.
“It’s not all about being fast, Kichi, swing hard!”
“Shut up, fatty.”
“What? It’s not fat, it’s muscle!”
Even in front of an evil dragon, they can show the side of a demon hunter and natural enemy.
A formidable force to be reckoned with.
The Shadow Mercenaries possessed even more specialties.
Now, they have become demon hunters.
As you can see.
They were a disaster for any demon.
Jesse’s pupils widened in exclamation.
“Well done!”
The cone hat spat out a second rare compliment.
-Good enough for you, Shadow Mercenaries…….
“You even arranged this!”
-……What, you mean Chief Lee again?
The old man swallowed a laugh.
-How many days has he been so great?
.
.
.
The news had also reached the Great Alliance, which had arrived on Jeju Island late from the Arcana continent. The beast-like eyes of Nam Taemin glinted sharply.
“That fluttering cloak makes me look small…….”
Only three names came to mind.
Me, Dmitri, and Rockid.
Then the answer was obvious.
A smile tugged at Nam’s lips.
“So you guys are finally getting into the swing of things, huh?”
“Crazy, we’re doing a good job fighting that monster.”
“Mr. Taemin, Miss Leonie. We still have a long way to go.”
The three of them had experienced one battle with the Elder Dragon Eunaxus.
Although they had grown since then to the point where they had entered the Anomaly realm and were recognized as Transcendents, they were not confident enough to take on a dragon like that, let alone an evil dragon that was bent on killing them.
Hisagi soberly assessed the situation.
“But it won’t end there, because as the emergency update says, there will be a higher-ranked Demon King Paimon at the end, in Paimon’s domain.”
Chuck.
He held up his spear.
“What we need to do is simple. Until our Commander in Chief reaches Jeju Island. We’re going to kill every monster that comes our way, and if we can, we’re going to capture Paimon.”
Chireung.
Nam Taemin sighed as he drew his greatsword.
“That’s a pretty lofty goal……. I don’t think I’ll be proud of myself if I accomplish it.”
“You think you’re the only one who feels sick to your stomach?”
“What is it, you? Why, all of a sudden you’re being a bitch?”
Leonie quickly came up with a solution.
“Never mind. In times like this, I just need to get some blood out of my system to clear my head.”
“……You sound crazy, like a real berserker.”
They stuck their tongues out at each other.
“Hold on, guys.”
Hisagi took stock of the situation.
A one-sided hunt of a natural enemy.
The Shadow Mercenaries had succeeded in cornering the evil dragon.
“From the looks of it, it’s going to be a two-phase fight.”
“Really? We’re the experts here again…….”
“Well, that’s strange.”
“Strange? What?”
The wise man of Tokyo.
Hisagi, who never forgets what he sees with his slender eyes, and Nam Cheolmin, an analyst who watches the situation from a different perspective.
“The real thing is…….”
A voice reached the three of them at the same time.
-Taemin! Commander of the 4th Legion, where is he?!
It was.
The message that appeared wasn’t from the evil dragon in the first place.
Leonie punched Nam Taemin in the side.
“Hey……. What the fuck is that asshole doing?”
At that moment, the evil dragon turned around.
There was a newcomer on top of the dragon.
Copper, the Commander of the 4th Legion.
He had placed a golden gag over the Evil Dragon’s mouth.
A smirking voice echoed in everyone’s minds.
“Copper of the Golden Fragrance thanks you, you have saved me a lot of trouble.”
The message updated simultaneously.
[Golden Fragrance’s 4th Legion Commander, Evil Dragon Knight Copper, appears].
Is this the high-ranking demon king Raid?
-Be careful! This is unlike any raid we’ve ever done before. I can’t predict the pattern at all!
The weight of the Ten Thrones is beginning to sink in.
*
Flash.
[Class Quest: Dragon Knight vs. Evil Dragon Knight]
……Blink!