Chapter 652. The One Who Has Been Watching (1) #PART2
The environment shapes the person.
“I can relate to this more than ever.”
Returning to my small apartment, I repeatedly nodded my head. After haphazardly unpacking the things and clutter I had brought back with spatial magic, it felt even more real.
“I’ve truly returned to being a humble demon hunter.”
In the end, after finishing the practical magic guidance, the halo of the chief mage has completely fallen off! Anyway, now that it’s in the past, I must admit that the senior mages were truly something else.
“Grandfell, even if they’re not as good as you, I guess geniuses are geniuses.”
It feels like just yesterday that they were clumsy in front of [『Anomaly』], but now they’ve already stepped into the domain of anomalies and activated 『Circle』, the proof of transcendence.
“I think I’m misinterpreting something here.”
The senior mages, they all seemed to think that they reached their level purely because of my guidance…!
To be precise, they claimed they were able to break through the final barrier thanks to my practical magic guidance.
If Grandfell were here, he would’ve boasted at this timing…
Even though I promised myself to be more brazen than you, I wouldn’t distort facts that weren’t true.
“I was just frustrated and snapped at them.”
They really cast magic on me with the intent to tear me apart, and I was just complaining out of frustration. After all, without you, Grandfell, how would I know anything about magic?
“I don’t have the dazzling talent to manifest something just by witnessing it anymore. Fortunately, I’ve learned some things by watching.”
Anyway, it was thanks to the seniors’ misunderstanding. Even though I stepped down from the position of chief mage, my [relationship] and [intimacy] with the Magic Tower had not decreased at all.
The result?
“Thanks for helping me out until the very end, Senior Kiko.”
I was able to borrow the Magic Tools, which were the Magic Tower’s property.
I borrowed about three or four Magic Tools, and I’ll examine them slowly.
I nodded one last time.
‘What’s important right now is to remember, Lee Hoyeol.’
The Hexagram Brooch.
Thanks to the senior mages fully committing to the practical magic guidance, I was able to activate its set effect. Unlike Grandfell, my memory isn’t incredibly sharp, so I needed to organize the information I gathered in the process.
“Let’s see…”
One.
The moment I reached the required life force for awakening, any damage beyond that would be ignored. Simply put, it’s like the phase change in boss monsters.
Should I recall when I defeated a boss monster in one strike? At that time, the players were in an uproar, saying that I had ignored the Arcana Continent’s system.
Even if I poured damage in at the final phase, excess damage wouldn’t carry over to the next phase. In that sense, I could speculate the limit of the effect.
‘It might be useless against higher-level anomalies.’
Of course, since that level has to be at Grandfell’s, I don’t need to worry about it not activating except for Bael… Still, I should keep that in mind.
Two.
The MP consumption during awakening is really close to zero. Honestly, I thought it might be a one-time effect. After all, infinite magic power? As I said, it’s an absurd effect for me.
However, the duration lasted longer than expected. Exactly how long, I’m not sure, but it must’ve been several tens of minutes. Even while I was complaining to the twenty senior mages, the effect was still valid.
Three.
Lastly, I had to remember that the set effect of the Hexagram Brooch activated the moment it was triggered, causing Grandfell’s trace within the brooch to rise.
-My name is… Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.
I muttered as I recalled Grandfell’s voice.
“…This is the most important effect.”
In other words, before my terrible memory forgets the information I acquired, I needed to write it down. Obviously, there wouldn’t be anything like a fancy feather pen in my shabby apartment.
“There should be a notebook around here somewhere… found it.”
As I looked around, I found a pile of pens and a few thick notebooks.
If someone were to ask why I was scribbling in a notebook when I could use a smartphone in this day and age, I’d want to retort and ask if they know why I wanted to do that.
Flap.
Opening the notebook, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s really filled up.”
Right after awakening as a player,
I tried to do something, watching [Skills] on NetTube and squeezing my head to convert it to [Magic].
“Back then, I complained about how slow I was making progress.”
Looking back now, after gaining some understanding of [Anomaly], all I can do is marvel at how insane Grandfell was.
One by one,
As I turned the pages of the notebook, I started feeling an eerie sense of déjà vu.
It was probably because, just like Grandfell’s trace embedded in the Hexagram Brooch, I felt him in the words written down. I silently turned the page of the notebook and spoke up.
“Who would’ve thought it would come to this?”
Anyway, I had to move forward and leave the past behind.
After making that resolution, I picked up the pen, looked for an empty page in the notebook, and began flipping through…
“How hard did we fight?”
What happened? Why is there more black than white in the notebook?
There wasn’t even a space left to write about three lines of text.
In the end, I took out my smartphone.
…Swish.
Now that Grandfell was gone, was there really a need to stick to analog? I thought about it, and then again, maybe it was necessary.
“What if I get hacked? That would be a big problem.”
Even if I reveal that I’m a demon hunter to the whole world, I would still keep your real name a secret. As I put the smartphone back into my pocket, something suddenly caught my hand.
“Huh?”
It was Gabriel, the only named NPC of Akshan.
I had obtained Akshan’s Relic, the [Chains of the Atoning Lucifer] that Gabriel owned, and along with it, Gabriel’s Diary. I examined the cover with a serious look.
“Hmm, the size is just right.”
It was easy to carry in my pocket…
The issue was that I had to open Gabriel’s diary.
There’s nothing worse than casually flipping through someone else’s notebook.
As someone who owned a dark history notebook, I knew that better than anyone.
“I really have no choice.”
To be honest, it was my rebellious spirit that made my hand move.
To be exact, it was my rebellion against Akshan, not Gabriel.
Just like any other class quest, I couldn’t just give things away.
To be forced to dedicate myself to Akshan like this…
I couldn’t help but feel a little resentful.
“…What’s this?”
However, as I opened the first page of Gabriel’s diary.
My prejudice against Akshan was shattered.
──────
It’s true.
──────
“…You.”
──────
Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo is a demon.
──────
Did you know from the start?
.
.
.
[Class Quest: Successor of Akshan]
O final demon hunter.
You have already grasped the qualifications.
Please inherit Akshan’s will.
─Dedicate yourself to Akshan. (Completed)
─Track Akshan’s true intention. (In Progress)