Chapter 34: A True Nemesis (2)
Episode 34. A True Nemesis (2)
Why did my body recover from magic exhaustion?
Perhaps its the synergistic effect.
If the demon hunters relationship with his demon nemesis simply improved his combat power.
Grandfells relationship with the demon gave him additional stats, including magic regeneration.
Unbreakable Pride.
As upright as ever.
He should be pleased, but he couldnt like it.
I knew from experience.
The setup for the Grandfell is never a one-size-fits-all.
Its scary.
It took a lot of hard work to get there.
From the physical training of repeated quests to the A4 sheets of paper I had to fill up.
I cant tell you how many nights Ive lost sleep over the Rare Genius setting.
But it was all worth it now.
Not another demon, but a great evil.
Well, technically, it was an incarnation of evil, but whatever.
An enemy that would make even the mighty Harkon nervous.
It would be ridiculous to face such a creature with depleted magic.
First, lets be grateful.
While I was thinking about that, Harkon approached me.
Lord Ho-Yeol, do you know why you came to the Yusra Islands?
It was because of the renewed quest.
Or, to put it another way, because of evil.
I replied as if it were obvious.
I see. Lord Harkon.
!
His pupils dilated for a moment.
Harkon muttered to himself.
Im sorry, Your Majesty. If only I had realized it sooner.
When he says sire, he means emperor.
There was no reason to respond to the mutterings.
Of course, what was unknowing?
This was no time to rack his brains.
Prepare for battle! Theyre coming!
An ornate palace that seemed to embody greed.
Soldiers began to spring up around it.
They werent summoned, but sprouting was the right word.
Hood, Hood, Hood!
They were actually crawling out of the ground.
Someone shouted.
Its the undead!
Sure enough, they were right.
A skeleton had emerged from the dirt.
The undead are not demons, but.
I checked the skill window.
Natural Enemy: Increases combat power by leaps and bounds when fighting demons.
Enemy Relations was still active.
It had been activated while the beast was crouching.
Now that it was fully revealed, there was no need to check.
But I needed to make a sober judgment.
I looked around the battlefield.
I saw players scrambling.
Well have to take it down before we can enter, right?
We need to fight them with as little damage as possible!
Thats a good idea, itll be more competitive inside!
Unlike me, the demon hunter.
The players didnt realize the gravity of the situation.
They were excited and eager to capture the Golden Palace and the Great Evil.
Maybe they would.
The Golden Palace.
From the looks of it, it looked like it would be a great source of loot.
Greed, itself.
The Golden Palace, by its very existence.
It clouds the players judgment.
A symbol of integrity, of course.
For Grandfell, greed is a non-existent emotion.
This means that my judgment is intact.
Thanks to him, I was able to make rational decisions.
We must conserve our magic.
The embodiment of evil.
Its strength cannot be compared to that of Count Ascura.
I had no energy to waste on a skeleton.
In that sense, I was fortunate.
I had the most reliable ally of all.
Even if it was only in the Yusra Islands.
Lord Harkon. Does your vow still stand?
Of course.
With that, Harkon donned his helmet.
Clang.
Then he and his knights raised their swords and shields.
I have sworn to the king that I will be your sword and shield in this place. Ser Hoyeol, you are authorized to lead us, the Knights of the Lionheart.
He added a word.
Especially since I have learned that you have come here to slay a demon. At the very least, you can rest assured that I will not back down in the face of the enemy.
Oh, and line up.
The Knights of Lion Hart lined up in front of me.
I feel like a big deal.
I didnt feel smug.
Its just me taking their loyalty for granted.
Its a tiring thought.
But it was a burden.
Responsibility comes with the territory.
In a word, noblesse oblige.
I wondered why Id even bothered with such a tired setup, when my past self would have used! At least I was sure of this. I just took a word that sounded cool.
Regardless of its truth, of course.
I opened my mouth proudly.
I turned to the players and said.
The Knights of the Lion Heart need your blessing and favor to face the undead. If you will cooperate, I would be deeply grateful for the favor.
Its shameless to ask for favors!
Hes just saying he needs a buff.
God bless you.
Skeletons and other undead had no such weaknesses.
Naturally, I had no such skill.
I thought to myself.
An order, maybe, but a favor.
I never thought Id say this.
Its like Ive grown up with responsibilities, or something.
As if that werent enough, Im grateful for the favor.
Of course, it still sounds arrogant to the players.
Im just going to say thank you with no concrete reward.
Especially after all the unkind looks Ive gotten.
Not a single one of them would say.
Well help you.
Well work with you!
I thought would say.
Somehow, the answers came at the same time.
I looked at the two men and women.
Wait, isnt that us?
*** read first on
Eventually, the collapse progressed to the end.
The golden palace that appeared at the same time.
Nam Tae-min muttered.
My brother was right after all.
-Be careful. Tae-min, it wont be easy.
The Yusra Islands.
It was too calm to be the legendary treasure island.
Unless, of course, ten Named Monsters were guarding the treasure.
The rice cakes that had been thrown there since the days when Arcana was just a game were huge.
Nam Chul-min continued.
-Dont be greedy. Lets go slowly.
Nam Tae-min stared at the golden palace.
Why am I staring at it like this?
As he stared at the golden palace, he felt like he was mesmerized by something.
Eh? Eh, yeah. Hyung. You need to wake up.
Nam Tae-min quickly shook his head.
Then he spoke to his guildmates.
The opponent is a demon race. Mental strength items, buffs. Prepare what you can in advance. We dont know when the battle will begin. Well, you didnt have to tell me.
Skeletons rise from the ground.
Demons, and now the undead?
Youre just plain f*cked up.
Nam Tae-min forced the corners of his mouth up.
If you will cooperate, I am deeply grateful for the favor.
This voice?
It was Ho-yeols voice.
Not just Nam Tae-min.
Even Nam Chul-min, who was listening through his earphones.
-Tae-min, this is your chance!
It was Ho-yeols favor, not anyone elses.
Even if the other players didnt know, the brothers did.
How many times had they seen Ho-yeols abilities in front of them?
He couldnt pass it up.
Well cooperate!
I replied reflexively.
And then our eyes met.
What the f*ck?
With Leonie looking up at me very disapprovingly.
Well help you.
Leonie, her reason for using a forced respectful tone was simple.
Those crazy things were stabbing her in the side.
Cackle, cackle, cackle.
And she was screaming like a crow.
Sis, its a favor!
Quick, quick!
No, shit.
Of course, Leonie had some will of her own.
Just like the Nam siblings in Gaon.
That monster.
Leonie was one of the people who had witnessed Ho Yues abilities.
Witnessed?
Thanks to Ho Yeol, the Berserker Guild had the honor of being the first to clear the new Rift.
Well, its a way of returning the favor.
A favor should be paid back while it was still possible.
After all, Leonie knew better.
-Im afraid I dont have a car for you.
Im afraid I dont have a car for you.
Leonie stifled a giggle.
But you said you wouldnt forget the favor first.
If all goes well, Ill be able to get a decent cup of tea, right?
Im getting my appetite back just like that.
Suddenly, a giant unwelcome visitor appeared in the form of Gaon.
Bam!
Gaon and Berserker.
Barbarian and Berserker.
A barbarian and a berserker.
The tension between them was palpable.
But it was a tension that would not end easily.
I remember you.
!!
It only took one word.
*sigh
The world is so warm.
We havent even talked to each other in person.
Youre so willing to help me.
I feel that there is still some kindness in the world.
I regret it.
Nam Tae-min and Leonie.
They were both involved in the Count of Ascura rift.
I was so rude to them then.
Its not polite. I dont have a bus to offer.
Youve said all you need to say, and more.
Of course, regret was not a word in Grandfells vocabulary.
I said nonchalantly.
I wont forget the favor.
Oh.
At my words, Nam Tae-min clapped his hands.
Gaon, the best guild in Korea.
And the guild master of Gaon, Nam Tae-min.
Even I, who hadnt been interested in players in the past, couldnt help but recognize Nam Tae-min.
In Korea, Nam Tae-min was a hero beyond players.
A favor like this is nothing, Mr. Ho-yeol. Or should I say Sir. Ho-yeol? Anyway, I have some help from Sir. Ho-yeol!
By help, I assume youre referring to the square battle.
Should I call it help?
Just luck.
A time when magic was all you had to build walls.
It was a matter of meeting the right cavalry at the right time and winning.
But as with regrets.
It was an emotion Grandfell had no humility for.
So be it. I suppose theres give and take in everything.
As if the Knights of Lionheart werent enough?
I dont know. Now Im afraid of myself.
I looked at Leonie.
Im watching your every move, too.
The Berserker Guild.
One of the top guilds, if not the top.
I could still see the way she wielded her twin swords.
Though I never really got to copy it because I didnt have a sword I could wear.
Hic.
Why does she look so surprised?
Leonies eyes widened at my words.
Theres no way his straightforward nature would let a question like this slip past him.
What are you so surprised about?
Oh, no, Im not surprised. I?!
But enough to force the unspeakable.
Its not like Grandfell is another narrow-minded aristocrat.
Good, then.
Besides, now was not the time for small talk.
They were about to enter the Golden Palace.
Harkon turned to the two men.
Thank you, adventurers. Your blessing will be a great help in our fight against evil.
Knights of Lionheart armed with buffs.
A player who appeared to be a healer approached me and asked.
Do you happen to have any buffs you need? A goddess prayer, a blessing, something. I have the highest skill proficiency in the Gaon Guild!
I replied nonchalantly.
I dont believe in gods.
Im losing my mind. Seriously!
Cringe-worthy line.
The look on his face that didnt change after he said it.
Ill be honest with you.
Im more afraid to open my mouth than the great evil in front of me!
Prayer is a blessing to the mind, and physical power is a boost to the body.
I have both, but they were one mana buffs.
So that just means I dont need a buff.
Damn it.
Internal shame boiled over.
So I didnt hesitate.
To the Palace of Greed.
I walked quickly.
Another angle
Before anyone could catch me off guard,!
*** Read First on
AAU Korea Association.
Sung Hyun-joon accessed the official Arcana website.
He checked the status of the latest update.
I knew it!
What is it? Is there an additional patch?
Yes, sir. I swear, even Raymond didnt see this coming!
Yusra Islands.
No, more precisely, the Kingdom of Yusra.
It was a large piece of content that Sung had been preparing since his days as a developer at Arkana.
Not only him, but the entire Arcana development team was aware of the Yusra Kingdom.
No, if youre going to do it alone, at least do it right!
The target of his anger was Raymond Shen.
What the hell did I do wrong?
Hyunjun, Im not the only one whos mistaken, am I?
You cant be mistaken, it was supposed to be the end of the Kingdom of Yusra, Raymond Sean, until that bastard went missing and Cosmo was ruined!
But, why, is that now?
Had the now-defunct Golden Palace reappeared, along with an unheard-of monster called the Great Evil?
Whats with the Seven Deadly Sins and Greed, which I only know about.
The good news is.
The good news is that there was an update, complete with additional details.
We just had to extract the bits and pieces of information that would help players.
That was AAUs job.
But.
, senior?
Sung was speechless.
Holy sh*t.
Senior Yoon Soo-gyeom was no different.
In the back of his mind.
Sung Hyun-joon struggled to open his mouth.
Well, theres still the Lionheart Knights, and then theres Lee Ho-yeol. The big guilds are still alive and well.
The Knights of the Lion Heart? You think theyd risk their lives for that? I dont know how they got so far, but its hard to expect any more help from them.
Thats true.
But his voice trailed off.
Yoon urgently dialed the number.
Its impossible! No one, absolutely no one, can enter!
The monitor showed.
A despairing update.
New Collapse Rift, Golden Palace is added.
Suitable level: Lv.600~650
New Boss Monster, Seven Deadly Sins, Greed Incarnate : Lv.650
New monsters will be added.
The Sleepless Soldier : Lv.500
Yoon Soo-gyeom shouted.
Were all going to die if we keep this up!
.
.
.
But he was wrong.
No one died.
It was like a flash of light.
It was a flash of light, about level 600 to 650.
It crossed the Collapse Rift, the Golden Palace.
Predictions were wrong again.
At the forefront were the Knights of the Lion Heart.
Knights of the Lion Heart.
Harkons sword glowed with black steel.
His eyes glowed with the same determination.
So I was wrong about everything.
Give your hearts. So that Lord Ho Yeol can reach the Great Evil!
They really did risk their lives.
I found him.
In the distance, a throne was seen, the embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins of Greed.
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