◈ Chapter 71. I Can’t Wait (2)
This was not a story to be told on parchment.
Dalcock─
“I missed this flavor.”
But it’s also not a casual conversation that could be exchanged over a cup of tea. Formality and etiquette are so important. Marcelo sipped his tea, then spoke.
“As you might have guessed, the Quernberg machine tower was built by Dwarfs.”
……I can’t believe I took such an important statement for granted!
Yes, the technological marvels of the Quernberg Tower.
It was the handiwork of the Dwarfs.
“……Is this a true story?
A dwarf.
Ever since the days when Arcana was nothing but a game.
They were the stuff of legend.
At least the elves had eyewitness reports.
Dwarves, on the other hand, were practically invisible.
-Are they coming later for balance reasons?
-Dwarf weapons and such are already popping up.
-If you think about the lore, it’s not exactly wrong???
Yeah, it’s a legend.
A legend passed down from mouth to mouth.
Dwarf equipment is hard to come by, even for a billion dollars.
That their technological prowess is comparable to magic.
That they were the victims of balance patches.
……In hindsight, you weren’t wrong, were you?
“The technological prowess of the Machine Tower was comparable to the Magic Tower.
Plus, Marcelo wouldn’t have said anything out of character.
Apparently, the Quernberg machine tower was a dwarf construction.
“Indeed, such technology is not common.”
I hadn’t guessed.
I was surprised by the sudden appearance of the Dwarven race.
Of course, I didn’t show it.
Marcelo nodded and listened to me.
“The dwarves’ extreme technological prowess is comparable to magic, only in a different direction. I can understand their hunger to learn and hone their skills.”
If there are those who seek magic for truth.
There are dwarves who seek technology.
Marcelo pauses, as if he’s on to something.
“So, may I ask what happened to you at the Quernberg Machine Tower?”
The question was formal and polite.
I was pleased to hear it.
It started with the story of the crack.
Or rather, the quest.
“I have witnessed the continent of Arcana in the crack, a strange space.”
“……!”
“You guessed it, demons are on the loose.”
“Such……!”
The reaction that their fears had been realized.
Marcelo spat out a sigh.
Then he spoke with difficulty.
“I can’t lift my head, I can’t do anything.”
Magic Tower, the hidden story behind the story.
I still didn’t know exactly what happened.
His reaction made me even more certain.
“I’m pretty sure I can’t intervene even if I wanted to.”
The situation must be serious.
The real power in the tower.
Even the chief mage, Marcelo, was stuck.
So, I’m motivated again.
Quests, anything.
As long as you can solve the story of the Magic Tower……!
“You’ll have an incredible ally in the form of the Magic Tower.”
It’s a huge reward.
So you won’t be able to solve it right away.
Didn’t I tell you?
Not even Marcelo can solve it.
He couldn’t even say it out loud.
I’m the same as always.
Just patiently waiting for the right time.
Mmm.
I set my teacup down and continued.
“But I also saw the possibilities.”
Marcelo beat himself up.
There was one thing that could certainly comfort him.
Anticipation flashed across Marcelo’s dry face.
“……A possibility?”
“That you have interfered with the continent of Arcana through the cracks.”
“……!!!”
Of course, the next crack will also witness the Arcana Continent.
and interfere with it.
Well, he wasn’t wrong.
He hadn’t forgotten the specifics.
“The Quernberg Machine Tower is Akshan’s ultimate weapon of war, and it will hunt demons until its pride is spent. As much as I recognize the skill of the dwarves. Marcelo, I suggest you ease your guilt a bit.”
The subject of Akshan comes up naturally.
“There’s no reason to hide it.”
And even if you wanted to, could you?
There is no such thing as a dirty trick in the Grandfell lexicon.
Marcelo looked like he needed time to think.
“……Thanks for the kind words.”
I should have said more.
In hindsight, the tea was a good idea.
Otherwise, I would have burned my throat talking.
“Oh.”
Gulp.
As if he felt the same way.
Marcelo picked up his empty teacup and set it down with a grunt.
I said generously.
“Would you like another cup?”
“No, I can’t be bothered anymore…….”
“From green tea to black tea. How about that.”
A neatly organized collection of tea bags on the table.
Sale items, in other words, with an abundance of innocent taste.
Marcelo rolled his big eyes and opened his mouth.
“……, then I’ll have black tea.”
“Excellent choice.”
“Thank you.”
“Take this tea as well. It doesn’t smell too bad.”
“Oh, no, I don’t mind. Obviously, the last time you told me about the existence of rocket ships, I wasn’t ready for new knowledge.”
Ready for new knowledge?
At best, how to use a smartphone.
At worst, how to shop on a smartphone.
“Sure. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”
Like it’s a big deal.
Ask away.
No matter how much I think about it.
The more you go, the more shameless it gets, really…….
.
. https://pindangscans.com
.
The Oval Office.
Marcelo paced the office for a long time.
His mind was racing.
He couldn’t sit down easily.
Marcelo shook his head.
“My lord, what do you want me to do?”
He knew there would be no answer.
He felt like he would explode if he didn’t talk to himself.
The situation on the Arcana Continent?
I had already guessed.
The shock wasn’t great.
The helplessness of not being able to do anything?
That was also not a day or two away.
I could handle it.
Besides, there was a possibility.
The possibility of saving the Arcana Continent.
Hadn’t Ho Yeol witnessed it?
No, that wasn’t why his head was spinning.
“……Akshan.”
Yes.
The name that had come out of Ho-Yeol’s mouth, Akshan.
A tangle of thoughts began to form in his mind.
“The Quernberg Machine Tower was Akshan’s ultimate weapon. It was the weapon of the Demon Hunters. It was activated by Lord Ho-Yeol to save Arcana…….’
A barely organized thought.
What it meant was simple.
That Ho-Yeol was a demon hunter.
Marcelo laughed bitterly.
“…. are you trying to get me into debt again?”
Akshan.
And a demon hunter.
To them, Magic Tower owed a debt he could not repay.
Marcelo groaned.
“Without even knowing it, I……!”
Unaware of the debt.
He was once again indebted to Ho-Yeol.
It felt like my heart was breaking.
I felt a distinctly different emotion than helplessness.
Yes, this was true guilt.
Aah!
Marcelo gritted his teeth.
“No, I don’t even deserve to feel sorry for myself…….”
Akshan.
Demon hunter.
And a holy war.
To think of the trials Ho-Yeol must have faced in the past, I dare not……. In that sense, Marcelo was in awe again.
“How can you be so calm?”
How could Ho Yeol not be agitated?
Even if he reversed the situation, he couldn’t understand it.
Marcelo looked at the tea bag in his hand.
-Take this tea as well. It didn’t smell bad.
And then he thought.
‘… … If only I was a god.’
Would I be able to show such mercy?
Marcelo was unsure.
He couldn’t even begin to count the bowls of fever.
But he was sure of one thing.
“I can endure no more, my lord.”
That he could no longer be in Ho-Yeol’s debt.
Though he couldn’t hear the lord’s reply, Marcelo was certain.
“Now that I know where he came from. I’m sure you’ve come to the same conclusion as I have.”
So there was no hesitation.
The roundtable was scheduled to resume.
Marcelo was going to drop the bomb at that meeting.
He had a good reason.
Why, thanks to Ho-Yeol, hadn’t he witnessed the possibility of a crack?
Druk-
Marcelo opened the drawer.
“I don’t even deserve mercy right now.”
He placed the tea bags in the drawer, which was clean and dust-free.
I don’t know when I’ll ever open this drawer again.
One thing was certain.
Things will never be the same at the Tower.
Marcelo murmured low.
“You elders had better be ready.”
* https://pindangscans.com
Quernberg Machine Tower Crack!
From its beginning to its clearing.
It took a turn that no one could have predicted.
And by anyone, I mean AAU.
“Senior, I think I’ll just write my resignation.”
“Resignation? What kind of resignation?”
“There’s a limit to how much you can suffer!”
Sung Hyun-joon was frustrated.
There was nothing great about AAU.
It was just a game,
even when he was a member of Arkana’s development team.
“No, common sense tells me we don’t know much!”
Arcana became money when it was just a game.
It makes sense that information about Arcana would be valuable.
So the security of the content had to be tight.
Even the developers don’t know everything.
Unless you’re Raymond Sean, the missing CEO…….
Anyway, it was obvious to everyone.
“Why do you keep asking me, I’m a baby!”
Ugh.
Sung Hyun-jun scratched his head.
He too was suffering from the pain of his comrades.
Yoon Soo-gyeom replied nonchalantly.
“Everyone is just frustrated. How much do you want to know?”
“I don’t know! I’m dying of frustration too! No matter how many times I tell you, you’re still calling me at dawn…….”
“Then punch me, but you won’t be free.”
“You’re too cold, senior. It’s sad. I feel sorry for you.”
“When you have time to bemoan your lot, take a look at this.”
“What, again.”
“What the hell, Lee Ho-yeol.”
“Oh really! Even like this?”
Lee Ho-yeol.
It was a name he seemed to hear more than his own name.
Drat─
Sung Hyun-joon grumbled and dragged his chair.
Then he saw Ho-yeol’s image on the monitor.
“What, you’re a Park Hwi Kang subscriber too?”
“Oh, yeah. His fan movies make me laugh out loud. Whatever.”
That wasn’t the point.
It was the Quernberg machine tower in the background.
The mouse cursor hovered, pointing to the background.
“You know it when you see it, right?”
“I know it, the Quernberg machine tower. Whatever that is.”
“Exactly. That.”
Sung was right.
He knew it, but he didn’t know what it was.
That was the limit of AAU’s intelligence.
It was unavoidable, even if it seemed incompetent.
“You weren’t going to use that until a long time later, were you?”
“Yeah. We just didn’t know how we’d use it.”
“Rayman, that son of a b*tch knew, didn’t he, that bastard……!”
“Anyway, there’s player testimony about it.”
Player testimony.
That was the moment the crack cleared.
A message popped up.
[Someone has unlocked the secret of the Quernberg Machine Tower].
[The ultimate weapon, the Quernberg Machine Tower, has begun its counterattack].
Sung Hyun-joon’s eyes lit up.
“Yes! I thought I was going to die because of that, too? Of course it’s Lee Ho-yeol. I asked him, and he answered nicely. He said he knew about it. No, then why did you call me? What the hell?!”
Why call?
Yoon Soo-gyeom moved the mouse.
The mouse cursor hovered over the second line.
Sung Hyun-joon spoke up again.
“So I’m curious, too? I don’t even know what the Quernberg Machine Tower is. How do I know what it’s for? You know how I feel, don’t you?”
“No, not that one.”
“What? You mean, not the one on the battlefield?”
I looked again, and the cursor was pointing behind me.
“…… is launching a counterattack?”
Yoon said meaningfully.
“System messages don’t lie, that’s a promise.”
“Isn’t that right?”
“So that message must be true, too.”
The counterattack begins.
Sung read the message over and over again.
“……Wait a minute, senior. You mean it’s a counterattack?”
“Yes. It means that the counterattack has begun not in our reality, but on the continent of Arcana, where the Quernberg machine tower exists. Hyun-joon, do you know what that means?”
“Of course!”
The situation on the Arcana Continent?
Even if I couldn’t witness it, I could predict it.
The passage of time was four times faster than in reality.
That meant that the growth rate of demonic monsters and their power were faster than the passage of time.
Just by looking at the fallen Frost, I could tell that the hypothesis was not wrong.
So.
Sung Hyun-joon opened his mouth cautiously.
“If the system message isn’t wrong…….”
“On the Arcana Continent, a living hell. A significant counterattack has been launched that even the system is forced to admit. someone in the message. Yes. thanks to Lee Ho-yeol revealing the secret of the Quernberg Machine Tower.”
“……Senpai, this isn’t normal, is it?!”
“Yeah, it’s not normal.”
Maybe that’s what Ho-Yeol had just done.
“It’s humanity’s first counterattack against this shitty situation.”
In both reality and the Arcana Continent.
It’s the first fight back in both worlds.
Even if the world doesn’t know that yet.
The two of them certainly do.
In that sense, the two of them couldn’t help but admire it.
“If it’s really me, it’s a neighborhood place…….”
Doridori.
“No, what’s a neighborhood place? I would have told the world about it! Isn’t Lee Ho-yeol’s character unique? Sometimes he’s like Noble, sometimes he’s like…….”
“Hyun-joon, I saw that on the internet and they said it was blasphemy.”
“……? Blasphemy?!”
“Yeah, why else would they say Gentleman?”
“Man, I can’t even tell a joke to Mr. Lee Ho-yeol. Really.”
Sung Hyun Joon sighed, then glanced at Yoon Soo Kyum.
“……Surely, you’re not a senior or something?”
Yoon Soo-gyeom playfully raised his eyebrows.
“Gentleman?”
“Ah, senior!!!”
* https://pindangscans.com
……My ears are tickling badly.
I wanted to scratch my ears.
IIt couldn’t be.
Another angle─
Formality knows no time or place.
I was about to step into my Frost nature.
Yes, relationships and influence, which are at their peak in Frost.
I checked the [Authority] feature that was activated because of this.