◈ Chapter 58. Our pride matches (2)

Continuous teleportation.

A large tin foil hat appeared and disappeared on the roof.

The continuous skill activation consumed a lot of magic, but Jesse didn’t mind.

-Lee Ho-Yeol. I’m concentrating my forces there.

It’s urgent now.

Jesse gripped his staff.

“I haven’t even asked a single question yet!

“Is there really such a thing as magic?

Thanks to Ho-yeol, Jessie had put her doubts to rest.

Thanks to Ho-yeol, she was making progress on her class quest.

New questions arose along the way.

Questions he hadn’t been able to ask because Ho-yeol had fallen asleep.

The exclamation point in Jessie’s pupils was there for a reason.

The tin foil hat lamented.

-This master would never be this enthusiastic in a crisis……. It’s not fair, disciple, after all I’ve taught you!

Unsurprisingly, there was no reply.

But the tin foil hat stopped talking.

Jessie was currently ‘obsessed’.

He had discovered a new spell.

When she opened an interesting spell book.

She didn’t want to be disturbed, and she didn’t want to give up what she had in her hands.

Well, with one difference…….

This time, it’s not just any magic.

It’s just that it’s the magic of favorable heat.

That was the reason for the tin foil hat’s sigh.

-……Even I would have to squint.

There was no blood, no tears.

The man had taken an unseemly nap.

Wasn’t that the archmage’s conscious alter-ego, the tinfoil hat?

Eyes as old as a man.

No, a wizard’s eyes.

He was full of pride.

That’s why he wanted to watch Ho Yeol once again.

-Although his talent seemed exceptional…….

As an adventurer, Ho Yeol became the chief mage’s co-researcher.

But as talented as he was.

The sky-high arrogance bothered him.

The tin foil hat knew.

-That will surely prove poisonous in the future.

Ho-yeol, to himself.

Or to his students.

He could say this because he had suffered the same fate himself.

It was then.

“!”

Whirling─!

A gust of wind.

The acrid smoke that was being cleared by it.

A giant hellbird appeared.

The tin foil hat warned Jesse.

-Disciple, this is no ordinary one.

But Jesse had already activated his skill.

It was Ho Yeol that the Hellbird was after.

Vast amounts of magic surged from Jesse’s body.

Enough to overflow a garage.

“Retribution.”

An obsession with not giving in to anyone.

Even if it turns out to be hellish, there are no exceptions.

As if to prove it.

Digging in─!

An electroshock that condensed magic power shot through Hellbird’s head.

A message popped up in Jesse’s mind.

[Demon Corps Leader, Kupikan is experiencing ‘stiffness’].

Jesse’s massive burst of magic power.

But it wasn’t a stun, just a stiffness.

Jesse’s intuition was telling him.

“At least level 500……!

His current level was only level 401.

Druk─

Hellbird, Kupikan’s pupils glared at Jessie.

You’re next.

As if to warn you.

But he looked away.

It was an obvious mistake.

Pavavat-!

A flash of light from below.

The flash lasted only a moment.

Denggeng─!

The head of the Demon Corps leader, Kupikan, was blown off.

“……what!”

Jesse didn’t notice, but the tin foil hat did.

A stairway carved out of thin air.

The flash must have flown up those stairs.

And the manifester of the magic recognized it.

-……It was just a cloud.

No one knows, but magic never lies.

Yes, that was not hubris.

What kind of wizard in his pride would clear the stairs for someone else?

He knew better than anyone that wizards were not like that.

-A pride so high that it could be mistaken for arrogance.

He glanced from row to row of neatly arranged corpses, then spoke.

-I can see where you’re coming from, disciple.

I thought I saw through the wizards.

-You are a strange man.

A quest for the unknown.

It’s refreshing enough to reawaken a forgotten desire to be a wizard.

But the thing about the unknown.

It was so unknowable.

As soon as Ho-Yeol saw Jesse, he announced in a cold voice.

“Failed. Jesse Heinness.”

* https://pindangscans.com

I thought to myself.

…… I can’t believe how good this f*cking cubed dude is.

There’s no holding back, really.

“An unnecessarily forced manifestation. There was an unusual amount of clutter.”

Still, it was understandable, as I listened.

“Also, the manifestation did not take into consideration the surroundings.”

This wasn’t downtown.

This was not a city, and if she made a mistake, a hidden survivor could be caught in the aftermath of the skill.

Jesse, who was actually in the room, seemed oblivious to the survivor’s existence.

“I know……. I’m not good enough!”

I was grateful for his understanding.

A celebrity from the days when Arcana was just a game.

Indeed, the treatment of Jesse was different from mine.

She was called the Chosen Mage.

When Harkon recognized her, he was pleased.

“I never thought I’d see you here again, Miss Jesse.”

“It is the first time I have seen you in the palace, Templar Harkon!”

“… ……Jesse? You mean, the same Jesse Haines?”

The Shadow Mercenaries are sensitive to rumors.

They, too, were familiar with Jesse.

Yes, the Jesse whose name was known to the mighty of Arcana.

“And then, on sight, what? Failed?!

But shamelessly.

There was not the slightest flinch in my face.

This guy, this cubed figure, was talking down to everyone.

I finally realized.

‘……In times like these, you have to be even more shameless.’

The only thing scarier than a bad guy is a crazy guy.

I realized this in my social life.

Yeah, if it’s unavoidable.

It’s better to be the crazy one, isn’t it?

Like now.

So that no one can even think of questioning me.

That’s something I’m pretty good at.

I was in the middle of a mental victory lap to stave off self-doubt.

“I heard that the monsters were heading this way, and I thought you might need some help, but it turns out I was wrong!”

An exclamation point appeared in her pupils.

Jessie flashed an exclamation point.

“I thought it was a little too much.”

But in a way, it wasn’t so bad.

The message from earlier.

[Demon Corps Leader, you are credited with a kill on Kupikan].

I will not miss a single falling congolese.

I quickly manifested the stairs.

I’ve been given credit for assisting Harkon.

I’ve also gained a level thanks to him.

I checked my status.

[Name: Grampel Claudi Arpheus Romeo]

[Class: Demon Hunter]

[Level: 250]

[Stats]

Strength: 38 / Agility: 42 / Magic: 186 / Luck: 5 / Aesthetics: Low]

[Points held: 12]

Finally, level 250.

For now, I’ve invested all my points in Magic.

I could increase my Strength and Agility through class quests.

Even if my body was suffering, I’d rather spend my precious level-up points on magic.

‘Honestly, I’d rather go all-in on Luck…….’

But luck is an unreliable stat.

Like a ship when you really need it.

It’s probably best to take it one point at a time.

‘If you wish for good luck, you will be punished…….’

With that, I composed myself and started walking.

“From what Miss Jessie says, I suppose we don’t have to go looking for the Demon Corps leader.”

Harkon said in a cold voice as he gathered up the loot.

So much for me and Jesse’s contributions to the Kupikan hunt.

We can’t match his contribution.

It was only right that he should own the spoils.

“My lord, and Miss Jessie. I beg your pardon, but may I keep this spoils, as proof of my success in carrying out your Majesty’s orders.”

Harkon held out a large feather.

……That’s at least a Rare, right?

“I didn’t do anything!”

Unlike Jesse, who immediately snapped back.

I was tempted to check the item information, but.

Damn innocence.

Who am I to covet what belongs to others?

“Of course, I will respect your wishes. Lord Harkon.”

Let’s not get carried away.

Besides, it’s too soon for regrets.

There were still nine Demon Corps Leaders left.

I tried to estimate the level of Kupikan, the Demon Corps Leaders.

‘Somewhere around level 500.

The amount of experience gained.

And judging by the way he fell to Harkon’s blow, it seemed about right.

“Nine level 500 named monsters.”

But I wasn’t worried.

Another one.

I realized that this confident stride was not a bluff.

“As if that weren’t enough, there’s a chance they’ll all attack at once?

Confidence, even in the worst of times.

The source of this confidence was.

His allies, of course.

And the magic he’d saved up.

There was no reason for anxiety, even in the midst of retrieving a corpse.

“Is that question still valid?”

A hilarious incident at the Magic Tower.

I asked Jesse, who had been ditching his apprenticeship.

After spitting it out, I wanted to punch him in the face.

How could he be so shameless about saying the same thing?

“Yeah, give me time to think about it!”

……I wondered if she was going to spit it back at me.

His glowing pupils showed no such malice.

Even if she was, it was understandable after what I’d done.

“There has to be a give and take.

Because there were spit words.

“There must be a give and take,” I said impersonally.

“Well, in that case, I guess I’ll just have to set aside some time.”

“Ugh! I’d rather have the time!”

“If it’s easier for you, I’ll do it.”

“Yes, because it’s polite!”

I paused, subconsciously reveling in Jesse’s formality.

I added another word.

“I’ll serve you tea properly this time.”

I’ll serve tea.

What could that possibly mean?

Finally, a rocket delivery to the Magic Tower.

At the snap of a finger, the order would be delivered to the tower……!

After convincing the senior wizards, I was officially granted co-researcher status.

The first thing I did was order a rocket shipment.

Power is so sweet.

“Well, it’s only green tea.”

It’s spelled innocent, it’s spelled fancy.

It means that he found the lowest price and ordered it.

As we were walking down the street, I suddenly sensed something.

“?”

Familiar faces appeared in the alley.

Harkon was the first to speak.

“Miss Leonie, what brings you here?”

Leonie and the Berserker Guild.

And behind them were…….

Gaon’s guild.

But somehow I could only see Nam Tae-min.

I asked Leonie.

“What’s going on?”

He had a serious look on his face.

It looked like something was going to happen.

In fact, Leonie was mumbling something unintelligible.

“……a, serve tea, that is, properly?”

But I couldn’t pry any further.

Whirring─!

As expected, the Demon Corps Leader, they were coming.

A gust of wind.

Their forms were revealed in the clearing smoke.

The concept was consistent: birds.

Only the form was different.

Kupikan, leader of the Demon Corps.

One was a large bird, the other a half-man, half-bird.

It was a mixture of creatures that could be called bird people.

Technically, they weren’t humans, but demons.

Eek!

Harkon raised his sword at their appearance.

“I don’t know what kind of demon corps leader your Majesty is talking about, but it doesn’t matter. We’ll just have to kill every last one of them.”

Harkon killed Kupikan in a single blow.

It was a sight to behold.

‘It’s not just words, that’s it.’

Seriously, it was a chilling thought.

It meant I couldn’t stand still either.

‘I don’t think I’m going to get any experience or contribution, let alone loot …….’

It wasn’t humility, it was objectivity.

Lionheart Knights.

Shadow Mercenaries.

Jesse Haines.

And finally, the Berserkers and the Gaon Guild.

Between those whales.

There I am, a mere level 250.

But the pride in my chest refused to be intimidated.

Besides, as I said, I was enlightened.

“……If you’re going to be brash, be brash properly.

I opened my mouth to speak with proper bravado.

“I will take your command.”

The Lionheart Knights and the Shadow Mercenaries were bad enough.

Now you’re going to command the highest ranks.

“I wonder if you’re doing something even the Emperor can’t do, I thought.

But it wasn’t time to think about that.

At this moment, experience and contributions were still pouring into the battlefield.

I took a moment to watch the action and cast my magic.

I hadn’t forgotten about the big task at hand.

“Not a bad move. Leonie.”

“……?”

I couldn’t have asked for a more welcome addition.

It’s also your job as a commander to keep morale high.

*

Thud-thud-thud.

A helicopter flew overhead.

The reporter, who was coughing from the acrid smoke, shouted.

“Kekkekk. I’m starting to see a giant shadow of something……!”

The helicopter tilted momentarily.

The pilot quickly gained altitude.

The reporter gives us a sense of urgency.

“As we speak, it looks like a flying monster has appeared!”

Higher elevation.

The camera zoomed in.

And then a stunning image popped up on the monitor.

The studio.

The cast scrambled to their feet.

“……Well, what is that?”

“Beak, wings. It looks like a bird, but what kind of bird is that big?!”

“Wait, that’s more than one bird!!!”

Above Frost.

The flapping wings of the giant creatures cleared the smoke at a rapid pace.

Then their forms were fully revealed.

Frost’s battle plan came into focus.

The script was hurriedly relayed.

The anchor’s eyes widened as he read the script.

“According to further updates, those giant birds must be Demon Corps Leaders! They’re level 500 Named Monsters……!”

But wait.

How come.

Those dangerous bastards were flying toward one place.

Their angles were shifting.

To capture where they were headed.

And it wasn’t just the Demon Corps Leader.

“What, what are they doing?”

“The procession of the demon army is endless……?”

“It looks like they’re marching to the same place?”

The Demon Army on the ground.

That large army, too.

They were all marching towards the same place.

It was then.

It was the moment when the camera captured the lineup for the purpose of the show.

It was the moment when I was convinced.

“……Wait a minute, they’re swarming towards Lee Ho-yeol?!”

Even if it was just Lee Ho-yeol, this was too much!

It was as if they didn’t care about the other big guilds.

As if they were saying that the only threat to them was Lee Hoyeol and his group. The Demon King Army was concentrating all of its forces on Lee Hoyeol’s side.

The cast urgently said.

“This is just Lee Ho-yeol buying precious time!”

“Please, the other guilds should lend a hand…….”

“Even Lee Ho-yeol can only hold out so long!”

However, the situation did not go as expected.

“……Come to think of it.

I had forgotten for a moment.

“……I’m sorry, expert, what are we looking at?!”

There was a commander on the battlefield.

“‘Lionheart, Shadow Mercenaries……. Gaon and Berserker. And Jesse Heinness……?!”

No less competent than anyone else!