◈ Episode 99. Top Secret (2)

Magical communication.

There was no need for unnecessary conversation.

Information from the rift flowed into his head through telepathy.

… … It’s overflowing with magic power, really!

Sending telepathy not only to me, but to all the senior mages.

I’d be exhausted if I were him.

I hold my tongue for a moment.

I felt a familiarity in the location of the rift.

‘Looks similar to Frost.’

The descent ritual of the demon, Decarabia, in Frost.

The ritual required sacrifice.

And a ritual.

“Like the magic circles drawn in blood and corpses.”

Eleven rifts created.

The positioning of the rifts looked like a specific sigil, just like then.

Vanguard, the senior mage, spoke cautiously.

“……something looks like a horse?”

If there was a constellation associated with horses, it would look like that.

From the looks of it, it might.

But that wasn’t the point.

Judging by the distance between each rift.

The problem was that the scale of this ritual was nowhere near the scale of Frost.

I couldn’t help but marvel.

‘The difference is in the amount of sacrifices required.’

Between the lower demons and the higher demons.

There is a gap between ordinary demons and higher demons.

Akshan, the demon hunter’s words resonated with me.

‘I mean, there are people who are at the level of an elder mage…….’

They’re making this mess to descend a higher demon.

But naturally, I didn’t hide my feelings.

“No amount of demonic temptation, deception, or trial can make a dent in Grandfell’s lofty pride.”

Indeed.

Even in the face of a higher demon king, Grandfell’s pride is heavy as hell.

It didn’t sway without a pole.

Even if it was sinking under its own weight.

But then again, of course.

“Of course, I have no intention of sinking.”

Not for the first time.

Because I know what pride is like.

To not sink.

He’s always fought back.

And this time is no exception.

“It’s not the demon you need to worry about.”

Isn’t that why you made this move?

To stop the High Demon King from descending.

I continued calmly.

“To dispose of the Great Sinner, Karimzeva. Focus on your purpose.”

He did.

After all, it was all about Karimzeva.

“Why are you so worried about the High Demon’s descent in the first place?”

We’re moving to prevent it from happening in the first place. So stop the denial, Senior Mage Vanguard Tom.

That said, I’m glad you opened your mouth.

“But if the demon does arise, you have nothing to worry about.”

In front of the Demon Descent Ceremony.

My damned pride had risen even higher.

I couldn’t help but blurt out something I didn’t mean.

“I’m here.”

……I told myself that if I was going to be crazy, I was going to be crazy right.

“I didn’t mean to be this crazy!”

I want to curse at myself if I can.

The people in front of me right now.

I mean, they’re not exactly common.

They are members of the most powerful military organization in Arcana, the Magic Tower.

“Senior, Chief, and as if that weren’t enough, Elder.

It’s not like they’re going to wrinkle up before the damn chrysalis…….

It’s a level 333 thing, and it doesn’t sound bad.

This is a different kind of humiliation than the ones I’ve been talking about in front of the players.

But my shameless iron façade hasn’t changed a bit.

“Understood.”

Nod.

I can see the senior mages, including Vanguard, shaking their heads at Marcelo’s answer.

Please, he didn’t take me seriously.

I begged him.

Marcelo continued.

“Then we will proceed as planned.”

Go-go-go-go.

It was a signal of sorts.

They all knew the information of the rift through telepathy.

Each manifested a portal.

Naturally, I remained still.

I should save my magic as much as possible.

‘I’ve doped it with herbs.’

I was prepared.

That included herbal doping, of course.

[Gain a small increase in hp regeneration for 6 hours].

[Slightly increased hp regen for 3 hours].

[Slightly increased magic regeneration for 1 hour]…….

That’s full doping.

As long as the effects don’t overlap.

I’ve taken everything that’s good for magic regeneration.

‘It would be terrible if I didn’t have something like this.’

This is also my struggle.

However, thanks to the information on medicinal herbs that I acquired through the [The Pentagram of Pure Knowledge], I was able to consume various types and effects of medicinal herbs.

As for obtaining them, it wasn’t difficult.

‘They’re treated like junk at the auction house.’

The knowledge about herbs was vast.

It would be difficult for players to recognize their true value.

There was also a limit to the effectiveness of consuming them directly.

“First of all, if it’s a medicinal herb, you buy it when you see it.”

There were a few rare elixirs that permanently boosted stats, though not as much as Mistletoe.

Still, there were those who recognized them. Though there was an auction.

I.

I mean, who was Grandfell?

The embodiment of integrity beyond material life.

I’ve been shopping for the lowest price on green tea bags. His astronomical bank account balance is still the same, and he doesn’t hesitate to buy expensive herbs.

[Name: Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo]

[Title: The Last Adventurer]

[Class: Demon Hunter]

[Level: 333]

[Stats]

Strength: 62 / Agility: 66 / Magic: 287 / Luck: 6 / Aesthetics: Low]

[Points held: 0]

The visible status bar is the result of your efforts.

Strength and Agility.

I’ve been steadily increasing them through class quests.

Taking that into account, I had a stat total that far exceeded that of players of my level.

Of course, these numbers would be nothing in front of Karimzeva.

“Come on, let’s go.”

I’m not alone, Karimzeva.

Thud.

Senios, the elder mage, struck the floor with his staff.

A portal immediately appeared.

This isn’t real.

This is assimilation, interference, and it’s not a level to talk about?!

Well, a senior mage of a magic tower should be able to manifest a portal with ease.

Senios’ greatness might not come close to you.

“But how is this ordinary magic?”

Portals were strictly high-level magic.

Only a handful of players could use it.

Its power was beyond comparison.

‘A portal like a light manifestation.

Such a Senios is with me.

Yes, I am the weakest of the weak, and this kindness balances things out.

I was thinking shamelessly.

Suddenly, Senios asked me.

” Chief Lee Ho-yeol. Do you get cold easily?”

An out-of-the-blue question.

Well, I hate the cold.

From Russia to the North Sea.

Even now, when I think about that freezing cold, I’m wearing nothing but a long coat.

I feel like I’m chilled to the bone.

I’ve had the misfortune to be associated with cold regions.

Of course, making a fuss about the cold?

It was not in the spirit of the Grandfell.

I replied nonchalantly.

“Not even the cold can stop me.”

“Well, that’s a good thing, then.”

Wait, what was I supposed to be glad about?

It didn’t take me long to realize what he meant.

Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

……What is it, this wind?

I could feel it in the air seeping into my lungs.

This is a different kind of cold.

‘It’s a shame I didn’t pack a warmth buff.’

If it weren’t for the jewelry box, which grants the [Warmth] buff to stored trinkets.

It’s cold enough to make me suffer from hypothermia after a few minutes in a suit. This one!

Through the blowing flakes of snow.

I see a snowfield.

And a rift.

For a moment, the coordinates of the rift popped into my head.

I cursed Senios inwardly.

Of all the many, many places…….

“Why did you pick a rift in the Arctic?!

It’s obvious.

Senios must have feelings for me……!

Of course, I can’t blame him.

I had a conscience, too.

My boss was an asshole, a half-wit, and an ass.

I suppose it’s strange to be emotionless after what I did.

“I like it cool.”

But Senios seemed to have no other thoughts.

For at this moment, his eyes were cold.

The purpose of the spire he had declared with his mouth.

The destruction of Karimzeva.

His eyes were single-minded in their purpose.

He chose the Arctic Rift out of many, many rifts.

“So it’s just a coincidence?”

What kind of coincidence is this?

It’s not like I’m serving in the army in the middle of nowhere.

From Russia to the North Sea to the Arctic.

What kind of eyes are you looking at……!!!

“The stronger the opponent, the more important it is to choose a favorable battlefield.”

Favorable battlefield?

Senios’ words reminded me of his tinnitus.

If Karimzeva had been called a fire dragon.

“Senios of the Ice Cap.”

He was the pinnacle of freezing magic.

“But, Karimzeva. For such an arrogant and stupid man, such simple common sense would never have crossed his mind. I mean, the odds are the same. You don’t know until you look beyond.”

Senios headed straight for the crack.

“Come on, Karimzeva. Let’s see if he’s here.”

I thought as I followed him out.

Even with Senios by my side.

No matter how prepared I was.

I don’t want to have to face Karimzeva in the first place.

Please, I hope you have some common sense. Karimzeva.

*

It’s still a damn sensation.

“I’m not getting used to it.”

Eleven.

Karimzeva dusted off his hands, looking at the last rift.

It was all just part of the process for the real truth.

Still, it felt uncomfortable to align with the demon.

“The ritual is ready. Demon.”

But now all that was needed was a sacrifice.

It was up to the demons to prepare the sacrifice.

Now all he had to do was make sure the ritual was completed safely.

And burn any interlopers who get in the way.

“I hope you’ll show yourself, Akampatam.”

Even if it’s a demon.

Or an adventurer.

There would be no exceptions.

Just as Karimzeva was vowing to do just that.

“……!”

Karimzeva felt it.

The magic that had followed him.

It was obviously high-level magic.

Adventurers who were only apprentice mages shouldn’t even be considered. Adventurers aside, there weren’t many who could wield such magic.

“A mage.”

Muttering, Karimzeva rolled her eyes.

Who could it be?

Who would be following his magic trail?

The first thing that came to mind.

“Or is it you?”

An elder mage, out of contact.

Nothing, it was the devil worshippers.

Karimzeva sneered.

He’d gotten too close to the demon, after all.

“You mean to tell me you’ve become no better than a demon?”

For Karimzeva, demons were merely a means of witnessing the “real truth.”

But they were different.

Obsessed with demonic power.

Eventually, it seemed, they became like demons themselves.

“I don’t know.”

Why were they after him now?

He didn’t know.

But one thing was certain.

To witness the real truth.

To see the ritual successfully completed.

Suddenly, Karimzeva’s eyes burned.

“!”

It was then.

The sensing magic that had been placed around the rift had manifested.

Someone had approached the rift where the ritual was to be performed.

“Adventurers?

It didn’t matter if they were adventurers.

It would have been like having a sacrifice crawl into my feet.

But they weren’t.

His sensing magic had been detected and destroyed.

“So, it’s you.”

Goooooooo-

Karimzeva summoned her magic in a flash.

I will open a portal through that rift and burn the traitors.

But against her will, Karimzeva could not move.

One.

Two.

And three.

“!”

Something beyond comprehension had happened.

There were only two traitors.

Overestimating, Akampatam, even if he disrupts the ritual…….

The interrupter should have stopped at three.

But four.

And five.

And six.

And seven.

One after another.

The rift’s detection magic was working perfectly.

An unexpected flow.

Karimzeva racked her brain desperately.

And then he realized.

“……Could it be that the tower has moved?”

Let’s assume it did.

The mystery began to unravel.

Demon worshippers, they didn’t communicate by telepathy.

Someone had tracked their magic trails.

The detection magic was being torn apart simultaneously.

If the tower was aware of their plans.

It was all explainable.

“But how?

Who could have seen through their plans?

Marcelo, the chief mage, had his suspicions.

He was the only one of the mages who questioned the elders, but questioning was not enough to stop them.

“There’s no time to dwell on this.”

Now that the tower was moving, the clock was ticking.

The other senior mages would know.

Marcelo, the Chief, was no pushover.

But even if the Matriarch had moved.

No change in the plan.

As I had vowed.

Even if it costs him his life.

‘True truth’ is something that must be seen to be true.’

“There is only one rift.”

Shushuk─

Karimzeva opened a portal to the coordinates of that rift.

Entering the rift, he waited within it for the intruder.

Then it happened.

“……!”

The unexpected interrupter.

“I knew it, Karimzeva.”

Senios, the elder mage.

He had entered the rift.

“Has Senios caught wind of our plan?”

No, if he could have seen it coming.

He would have seen it long before then.

The demonic curse had clearly clouded his judgment.

Of course, Karimzeva’s doubts did not last long.

Senios was not alone.

There were others.

Reality and the continent of Arcana.

A shifting landscape of rifts.

Scattering snowflakes.

A silver-haired man emerged.

“!”

……What?

The possibility flashes through my mind.

Co-chief Lee Ho-yeol.

And Akampatam.

‘Akampatam, he must be using this to contact Lee Ho-yeol…….’

Wait, what if Akampatam was tailed by Lee?

“…… That’s right, that’s how it happened.”

I get it now.

The cause of everything.

The one who set the Tower in motion.

It wasn’t Marcelo, it wasn’t Senios.

It was Lee Ho-yeol, him.

“How dare you.”

Karimzeva’s pupils burned like flames.

An all-consuming power surged through his body.

Senios stuck out his tongue in reflex.

“That’s still a lot of heat.”

But even in the presence of a fire dragon.

The heat was the same as always.

“High Criminal, Karimzeva.”

Despite the heat.

His posture and gaze remained steadfast.

“You are foolishly ignorant.”

Finally.

Even the cold voice.

.

.

.

[Masterpiece – Silken Carp Scale Hankerchief]

[Rank: Unique]

[Limit : Lv.200]

[Effect: Increases Fire Property Affinity when equipped]…….