Chapter 675 – What It Means to Protect (3) #PART2

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He turned his eyes away from the meaningless system message.
Instead, he took in the view from the summit of the Zero Mountains. The Zero Mountains had existed since the time when Arcana was just a game. From then until now, the Zero Mountains had remained one of the definitive final contents in the Arcana Continent Chronicles.

And now—
‘Just now, I cleared it.’

Though honestly, could it even be called a ‘clear’?
The final bosses of the Zero Mountains were dragons—at least, that was the original setup. This peak was meant to be guarded by dozens of dragons.

‘This place wasn’t designed to be cleared.’

But there were no dragons in the Zero Mountains.
After swallowing the Evil Fruit, the dragons deliberately stayed away from here. Even after the Evil Eye of Grandfell appeared over the Arcana continent, they continued to avoid it.

‘Because the malice in the fruit could trigger at any time…’

That’s why he was able to clear the Zero Mountains in less than a day. There were simply no dragons at the peak.

‘Of course.’
It wasn’t like he was at odds with the dragons either… But as he gazed at the landscape, a residual image came to mind. He quietly called a name.

“Eunaxus.”

Slowly,
As he closed his eyes, he once again heard faint hallucinations—echoes from the past and its surroundings. Voices with no identifiable owner. Perhaps it was because he had visited a place closely connected to one of those voices.

Faintly…
Suitable magic began to take form, rendering memories from a past he didn’t know—memories before time was reversed by Reversal Magic. It painted a picture of the Zero Mountains as they once were.

—“So in the end, you were our enemy.”

That voice belonged to Eunaxus.

‘I’m sorry, but I really don’t know.’

What had the past Lee Hoyeol been fighting for?
Why had he risked his life to battle Eunaxus and the dragons of the Zero Mountains?

…Tremble.
Yet the most vivid feeling was the guilt crawling down his spine. That sharp sensation spoke clearly.
Even if it was a ‘past’ he didn’t remember, it had actually happened—and even if he reversed time, it was a karma that would never disappear.

He opened his mouth with difficulty.
“…All brawn and no brains, huh.”

Apparently, the previous version of Lee Hoyeol had grown in power, but not in wisdom. This final content of Arcana Continent Chronicles was designed to be unbreakable.

‘Considering he hunted down dozens of dragons, that is.’

And part of that overwhelming power had now been inherited by him.

“I’m sorry, Eunaxus.”
We must have been enemies in the past. Perhaps that’s why he couldn’t forget Eunaxus’s sacrifice in this timeline—for him. And it wasn’t just Eunaxus.

Senios, Yugweed, and countless other players.
Now that he was an adult, he could no longer look away. That’s why he had climbed to the peak of the Zero Mountains. And there, a path opened up just for him.

Riiiiip. The sound of space itself being torn.
A rift appeared.

Even without the system interface, he wasn’t confused. He had the information.

‘Just like Raymon Sean said.’

In truth, there was no real reason to clear the Zero Mountains anymore. ‘At this point?’ was the right way to put it. Like mentioned before, without dragons, the Zero Mountains were like a dungeon with no boss.

There were the Hundred-Thousand Caves, but for someone like him, they held no value. Even if he cleared all hundred thousand of them, it would gain him nothing.

He already knew—
That the power he sought could not be attained through mere monster hunting and experience gain.

‘…I saw glimpses of it in the past and the backgrounds.’

And so, he decided to reach for it. It didn’t matter what the past Lee Hoyeol had done. He was going to surpass him—using the current Lee Hoyeol’s method.

Because only then—
“I’ll be able to end it all.”

With that, he stepped forward.
Toward the trials waiting beyond the rift.

.
.
.

“…Shegwin, it seems my disciple was in your debt.”
The man spoke as he looked at Hoyeol.
“Do you seek the title of Weapon Master?”

A sword aura surged toward Hoyeol.

“If you can take it, then take it.”
.
.
.

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Endgame content is being updated.
The Trial of the Martial God (God of War) begins.
The Space Time Arena is now open.
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