Chapter 51 – Frost (2)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Just how many hours had passed.

Even if you bring a ‘Demon King’.

There would be not a single slight change to this confident attitude.

I definitely had such a thought.

……It’s not just words, but even thoughts become seeds, seriously.

[Class Quest : Subjugation of the Demon King(”)]

The King of Demons.

Their demonic hands are beginning to reach out.

Oh, the last Demon Hunter.

Bring down the throne.

─Train your weakened physical body. (Repeat)

─Investigate the Northern City, Frost. (In Progress)

I stared at the blinking quest window.

To think it’s the King of Demons.

No matter how you look at it, it seems to be that Demon King I know.

‘Cold water, no, at this point it’s pouring ice water on me.’

No matter how much I like twists.

This is an update that crosses the line starting from the Yusra Archipelago, really.

Putting everything else aside, I wanted to ask.

Whether they could handle the current atmosphere.

-Thinking about seeing NPCs after a long time makes me glad lol

-Mascot Marlon makes an appearance lol

-Marlon? Who’s that?

-You don’t know Marlon? There’s a tsundere blacksmith

-His nickname was The Giving Tree, right? Probably? lol

Frost makes an appearance.

The community was excited at that fact.

But I could roughly guess from the quest details.

Frost is probably not in a normal situation as Players think.

‘Because it’s related to the Demon King of all things.’

Demon King(”).

To me, they were existences that could be called near yet far.

Because Arcana was merely a virtual reality game.

Back when I was in my 2nd year of middle school.

The Demon Hunter NPCs of Akshan always said so.

-The Demon King, those guys are truly our arch-nemeses.

Is it because I heard it until my ears bled.

Information about the Demon King still remained in my memories.

I picked up the quill pen.

“Consider it an honor that I remember.”

If the Demon King were to hear it.

A line they would find absurd was only for a moment.

I moved the pen to organize those memories.

──────

1. The Demon King is incomparably stronger than ordinary demons.

2. The Demon King is not just one or two.

3. There is a hierarchy even among those Demon Kings…….

──────

I tried writing down more things but…….

If I had to summarize it in three lines, this would be appropriate.

Looking at it again after writing it down makes it feel even more hopeless.

‘It’s not that a counterattack has started.’

Hasn’t a full-blown path of hardship just begun, this?

In a word, the Demon King was the boss monster of the demon-kin.

So let’s roughly think about that level.

First of all, compared to Count Ascura, the digit in the front would be different.

‘If so…….’

The subject of comparison could only be the Great Evil, Seven Deadly Sins Greed.

However, even that couldn’t be a proper estimation.

It was something I realized with the intuition of a Demon Hunter.

‘Seven Deadly Sins Greed, that guy wasn’t in a proper state.’

The appearance of a young demon seen from that guy.

Even though I didn’t know the reason why it became like that, the guy was definitely not in a perfect state. It meant it was different from the story I heard from the Akshan Demon Hunters.

According to my memory.

Great Evils were existences of an even higher hierarchy than the Demon King.

You know, I.

I wasn’t making a fuss for nothing when I said I defeated a Great Evil……!

After agonizing, I came to a conclusion.

Scribble

An evaluation of the Demon King added in one line.

──────

However, to me, it is nothing more than an insignificant demon.

──────

That’s right.

Whether it’s a Higher Demon or a Demon King, it doesn’t matter.

‘……Honestly, if only the Great Evil dropped some spoils of war.’

That great, so-called Great Evil who is stronger than a Demon King.

The level of those spoils of war would also be to the extent one wouldn’t dare to imagine.

No, even leaving aside the spoils of war from the Great Evil.

If at least the class quest had given a reward……!

‘Well, I would have gained a little more confidence.’

However, my confidence and the like.

It couldn’t even compare to a fraction of Granfel’s pride.

I said as I stood up from my seat.

“Calling yourself a King, I shall trust that you will not hide cowardly.”

That was a warning.

“Do not disappoint me. Demon King.”

In the end, what I had to do was simple.

Just desperately struggling so as not to drown under the weight of this heavy pride.

Please, just let me keep the words I spat out.

I desperately prayed as I opened the status window.

[Luck : 3]

Carrying such a wish.

I was going to invest 1 point into Luck, but I used a little more.

[Luck : 5]

No matter if it’s a superstition, you know.

In a situation where I’m encountering a Demon King, the number 4 was ominous…….

.

.

.

My 2 points that are like blood and flesh……!

It’s a value of a whopping 2 levels.

Had my desperate struggle reached them.

Luck did not betray me this time either.

The laboratory of the Mage Tower.

I checked the magic tools and items transferred onto the desk.

──────

[Count Vampire’s Orb] – Returning

[Pure Emerald Crystal] – Accessory Production

[Treasure of the Island, Koi Scale Silk] – Handkerchief Production

──────

Excluding the orb that was approved for returning.

Two items were neatly placed on the desk.

Seeing as I requested accessory production.

Indeed, it was exactly as I had asked.

I picked up the ring decorated with an emerald.

[Pure Emerald Ring]

[Rank : Unique]

[Restriction : Lv.200]

[Effect : Upon being hit, restores vitality.]

[Description : A ring crafted through a special production method. Even a highly renowned blacksmith would not be able to draw out the effect of the emerald beyond this.]

A special production method.

That’s because blacksmiths didn’t exist in the Mage Tower.

From smelting, processing, to composition.

All of those processes were carried out with intricate magic.

Thanks to that, they were able to draw out the best effect.

‘……Wait, this is no joke. This?’

One extremely short line of effect.

However, to say it differently, it meant there were no specific conditions attached.

Simply put, it meant if I get hit, I unconditionally recover vitality.

Of course, I wouldn’t know how much that vitality recovery effect would be until I get hit.

‘At any rate, it’s no different from a state of continuously drinking potions.’

……This, is beyond expectations.

As I thought so, my gaze naturally shifted.

I lifted the neatly folded handkerchief.

A handkerchief crafted with [Treasure of the Island, Koi Scale Silk].

Indeed, its exterior was unusual right from the start.

A subtle yet radiant light.

Just looking at it shows that it’s a precious item.

“Indeed, excellent.”

Even before checking its information.

A pass mark fell from my mouth.

However, unlike Granfel, what was important to me was its effect.

Above all, because I was currently facing a super-massive class quest called ‘Demon King Subjugation’.

Soon, the handkerchief’s information popped up.

[Masterpiece-Koi Scale Handkerchief]

[Rank : Unique]

[Restriction : Lv.200]

[Effect : Upon equipping, Fire attribute affinity increases / All attack evasion probability increases / Aesthetic stat is unlocked]

[Description : An exceptionally rare material was crafted through a special production method. Its value is to the point no one would dare to appraise it. The title of masterpiece would not be undeserved.]

……Wait, a masterpiece!

Masterpiece, just having that title attached in front of an item.

Its value was hard to express.

That’s because masterpiece items couldn’t be easily found even in Arcana.

‘Because they say even blacksmiths might only make one in their entire lifetime.’

You see, there was even a rumor that just putting up a masterpiece item at an auction house would make one’s relationship and influence with that auction house reach the maximum limit.

Of course, what’s more important than that is its immediate performance.

As for the other effects, they were exactly as I had checked beforehand.

What was left was the effect of the [Aesthetics] stat that even the Mage Tower couldn’t figure out.

I did not delay.

I immediately stuck the handkerchief into the breast pocket of my jacket.

Then a message popped up.

[Aesthetic stat is unlocked.]

“!”

And simultaneously.

Knowledge regarding [Aesthetics] flooded into my mind……!

I thought as I looked at the newly popped up status window.

[Stats]

Strength : 38 / Agility : 42 / Magic Power : 186 / Luck : 5 / Aesthetic : Low()

[Available Points : 0]

As expected, it was expressed in a different method.

‘It must be categorized into high, medium, and low.’

Considering the effect of Aesthetics, this was a logical expression.

I felt like confirming the effect with my own two eyes right now but.

The laboratory of the Mage Tower was not an appropriate place.

And there’s also the bill I had to settle before that.

‘I’m scared. Scared.’

Did I say I wanted the best result regardless of the cost.

Spotless integrity my foot.

‘Granfel, you pushover!’

However, since water has already been spilled.

What’s the point of resenting the past me?

Besides, there must be money going out for there to be money coming in.

Above all, because I still had the unconfirmed reward money for the Yusra Kingdom left.

So I checked the terrible bill without showing it outwardly…….

No, the parchment.

Let’s not be surprised even if it’s tens, no, tens of billions.

Promising myself.

And then I realized it all over again.

──────

P.S.

The Mage Tower does not charge commission fees to mages with authority above a Chief Mage. In order to reach the truth. I ask that you repay us with even more in-depth research.

──────

Indeed, the 2 points invested in Luck were not a waste at all!

*

A new update that captured the attention of the whole world.

The Northern City Frost finally revealed its appearance.

The moment its location was captured.

The Guild Master of Inazuma.

Hisagi Kazuma clenched his fists tightly.

“……We did it!”

Frost was in Japan’s North Sea region.

It had appeared in the waters near Hokkaido.

The opportunity has finally come.

An opportunity to overturn everything!

Hisagi trembled with thrill.

Just how much severe humiliation had they suffered all this time?

“5th in the guild rankings. Hisagi, this is a disgrace. A disgrace!”

Right, guild rankings were something that fluctuated constantly.

If their ranking had merely dropped, he could have understood.

But above Inazuma.

And two steps above at that.

“……Gaon those ignorant bastards!”

The fact that the Republic of Korea’s Gaon was there was something hard to accept.

But an opportunity to overturn the situation like this has come again.

Vrrr!

A private jet heading for Hokkaido.

Hisagi checked his email on his smartphone.

Everything was falling into place exactly as planned.

‘Everything is on our Inazuma’s side.’

Because Frost appeared in Japan, Hokkaido.

Just like himself.

The Japanese government also bet everything on this opportunity.

The moment Frost was captured in Hokkaido.

They meticulously entered into an operation.

Putting forward cumbersome procedures so that guilds from other countries couldn’t approach Frost first.

‘Of course, it’s a violation of the AAU agreement.’

According to the AAU agreement.

The Japanese government had no authority to block Players.

But even at the cost of the social criticism that would follow.

They were intending to give Inazuma the priority opportunity.

‘I will definitely repay the homeland.’

The private jet that landed secretly in Hokkaido.

A fiercely blowing north wind.

Hisagi led the Inazuma guild members.

“Ugh, so cold. This is why I hate Hokkaido.”

“You, you just indirectly disparaged a region, didn’t you? This is why Kyoto people are.”

“……What. Aren’t you the one who did the regional disparagement?!”

“Everyone be quiet. We move as stealthily as possible.”

Inazuma entering Frost independently.

The Japanese government blocking other Players.

It was all possible because there were no risk factors in Frost.

However, the government dragging their feet wouldn’t last long either.

“The time given to us is an hour or two at most.”

Because other countries would also know the value of Frost.

“During that time, we swiftly secure relationship and influence in Frost.”

So they had to move swiftly.

The most important thing of all is, Gaon, getting ahead of those guys.

Hisagi recalled the information he had grasped beforehand.

‘Nam Tae-min is one of the Players with the highest influence in Frost.’

Nam Tae-min’s class is Savage Warrior, Barbarian.

Barbarian was a class that could be advanced in the forest near Frost.

The rank 1 of that Barbarian class was precisely Nam Tae-min.

‘There must inevitably be a lot of quests he cleared in Frost.’

As an individual, they wouldn’t be able to catch up to Nam Tae-min.

But looking at it at the guild level, it’s different.

Hisagi was confident.

‘Moreover, Gaon invested a lot in the Yusra Kingdom.’

It’s only natural that they can’t invest excessive interest and investment in Frost.

Even thinking about it again, it was a truly golden opportunity.

Hisagi’s snake-like eyes flashed.

‘We will rise above Gaon again!’

However, that resolve crumbled down immediately.

“……W-What is that?”

The highly soaring walls of Frost.

Something briefly seen above those walls.

A guild member triggered the skill, Clairvoyance, and then freaked out.

“It, it’s heads! It’s human heads, that……!!”

“Why are there so many of them?”

“Wait a minute. That beard, isn’t that Marlon……?”

“If it’s Marlon, the blacksmith? That M-Marlon is dead?!”

Right, it wasn’t just Marlon.

Dozens, hundreds of heads were decorating the walls.

Whoosh!

At that moment, flames soaring from inside the Frost walls.

Fear crawling up his spine.

Gulp

Hisagi, who swallowed his dry saliva, shouted immediately.

“Contact them right now! Tell them not to hold onto the Players like retards!!”

.

.

.

As great as the expectations were, the shock had no choice but to be even greater.

It was natural that everyone fell into a panic.

“……How are we supposed to go into a place like that?”

“It means it’s a demon capable of causing Frost to fall.”

“On top of that, it’s a real siege warfare. This.”

“Raymond Sean, this crazy bastard! He backstabbed us again!”

Shining and Unification of the World.

Even massive guilds, including them, were unable to enter Frost.

It was a perfect plot twist.

So in order to overturn this gloomy atmosphere again.

A shock commensurate to that was needed.

For example.

“……It’s Lee Ho-yeol.”

Like right now.

“No, wait. It’s not just Lee Ho-yeol?”

That’s right.

Ho-yeol was not alone.

Soon, the faces of Players being dyed with astonishment.

“It’s Harkon.”

“What, the Lionheart Knights stepped forward this time too?”

“No, even if we assume that. Isn’t th-that Kitch and the Shadow Mercenaries? Why are those monsters with Lee Ho-yeol……? Don’t tell me, the Lionheart Knights weren’t enough so……?!”