Chapter 289: 50th Floor (3)
"Present your neck! You evil cult leader!"
The hunters swung their swords.
Upper left. Upper right. From behind. In an instant, blades targeted my life from three directions. Clang! I hastily raised my s.h.i.+eld to parry the most urgent strike.
"I"m telling you, I"m not the bad guy!"
"The wicked cultist spews lies."
The apparent leader among them snorted disdainfully.
"Don"t listen to him. Mahos said that this man"s tongue is more dangerous than any sword. Once he starts his rhetoric, the heavens overturn, and the earth is mocked. His tongue truly births devils! Without realizing it, we could be enchanted, so be very cautious."
"But who is he, really!?"
The hunters I confronted swallowed their saliva.
Their eyes were filled with fear as they looked at me.
"Terrifying…!"
"His appearance seems so innocently naive. To think such pure evil lurks behind that simple face… It"s truly frightening!"
"Are you all blind or what? Huh?"
Even amidst this, the battle continued.
The skills of Mahos" followers were, well, not particularly terrifying. In the past, they might have given me trouble, but frankly, their level of aura control was far inferior to mine.
["The Lone Seeker of Truth is interested in your realm of skill."]
["The Eye Living in the Labyrinth doubts you are truly a beginner."]
Three, six, twelve of them formed formations and attacked together, but it wasn"t overwhelming.
Unlike ordinary martial arts, aura is a martial art of the "plane."
With enough aura to dominate s.p.a.ce, no matter how numerous the enemies, it only became a slight annoyance. I was just dumbfounded by the ridiculous quest content, not really in a predicament.
"What…! Is this really the prowess of someone who just arrived on the 50th floor!"
The followers of Mahos seemed shocked by me. They continuously changed formations, employing various techniques, but I remained immovable. As their synchronized attacks piled up, the followers of Mahos became more anxious.
"It"s impossible. He must have made a pact with a devil!"
Not a devil, but I did adopt a ghost.
"How could he have reached such a level by normal means! He must have treaded the path of heretical magic!"
Well, I did build my skills with some abnormal abilities….
"Quickly call for reinforcements! This cult leader commands the dead. It"s said he summons soldiers from h.e.l.l, the ones he"s killed. We"re all dead if we don"t subdue him before he gets a chance to cast his summoning spell!"
"Wow!"
"I knew it when they said he was the "Death King"! A truly evil being!"
Hmm.
It"s different but not entirely incorrect….
"Hurry up. We are fighting him now, so he can"t cast spells, but if he gets a chance, he"ll perform a summoning! We"re all dead if we don"t subdue him first!"
....
Really?
"Sword Emperor~nim."
-What?
"I just realized something."
I effortlessly countered and twisted the aura of the twenty followers. Responding to each of the twenty strands of aura, I bent them back onto the followers.
"This can"t be!"
The followers were in disbelief.
I listened to their screams in a daze.
"Maybe, just maybe, I don"t think so, but just in case, I have to ask."
-Yeah?
"Do I… appear like a really bad guy to others?"
-Is that even a question to ask now?
Bae Hu-ryeong replied as if it was obvious.
-You totally give off the vibe of an evil boss.
"Why!?"
-Hey, zombie. Think deeper about why I call you a zombie.
"Uh, because I"m a psychopath with a broken moral compa.s.s…?"
-There are many reasons why I call you a zombie, but one of them is to mock your Lich-like qualities.
"A Lich?"
-Yes, a Lich. An undead sorcerer. They gain power by sacrificing their own life and use the corpses of those they"ve killed as their minions. To those who don"t know any better, you just look like a minion of evil.
I was dumbstruck.
"That"s ridiculous! I"m a hero! I"ve been recognized as one since the 11th floor. Isn"t that right, s.h.i.+ny?"
[....]
[s.h.i.+ny acknowledges you as the true and genuine Hero.]
Huh.
It seemed like s.h.i.+ny hesitated before answering. Or was it just my imagination?
["The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains" acknowledges your extraordinary skills.]
["The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains" expands the scope of your quest.]
[Warning! The range of your a.s.sociated quests has expanded to encompa.s.s the entire city!]
As I was subduing the followers of Mahos one by one, an ominous warning sound echoed. It was a message I had never heard before. But I could tell it wasn"t good news for me.
"Over there!"
Sure enough, hunters began pouring out from the direction of the city.
"There"s the Lich!"
"Catch the minion of the devil!"
"Oh, Mahos, protect us!"
Surprisingly, all the hunters could use aura. Whether skilled or not, they each employed different aura techniques and approached at high speed. Watching dozens of hunters leaping and using lightness skills was like seeing a swarm of c.o.c.kroaches jumping towards me.
It was a scene that could rival any horror movie.
"Here, it"s basic for hunters to know how to use aura!"
What was more daunting was the sight of dozens more people following them.
"Oh boy."
I barely held back a snicker.
Of course, I could easily repel them using [Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation].
But if I did.
"If I use [Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation] here, I"ll definitely be labeled as the Lich King…"
I sighed inwardly. I might escape the immediate danger, but it seemed like it would cause more headaches later.
There were probably forces watching this fight from afar.
In such a situation, if I displayed my might leading the ghosts, I"d definitely be branded as the evil boss of the 50th floor.
Eventually, I reached one solution.
"Let"s make a run for it!"
A very simple answer.
"There"s no benefit in fighting these guys. Why bother with unnecessary battles."
-Chuckle. Wise decision.
I concentrated my aura on my thighs, hamstrings, calves, and soles, then seized a brief moment when the followers of Mahos paused to catch their breath, and whoos.h.!.+ I quickly distanced myself from the ground.
"No!?"
"The Lich is escaping!"
Sorry to say, but the encirclement laid out by Mahos" followers was frankly of low quality. Having developed the Infernal Heavens Formation with Uburka, what they did was just a combined attack with mere numbers. Although they had learned the same martial arts, they did not share the same mindset, so even dozens of them collaborating only resulted in disarrayed aura.
"Well, it took our Goblins several generations, hundreds of years, to enjoy the Fire Painting Play and learn the Infernal Heavens Formation. It"s hard for ordinary hunters to mimic such formations."
I left the battlefield with a newfound sense of pride in my people.
"Chase him!"
The followers of Mahos clumsily began their pursuit. However, by the time their leader said "chase" and shouted "him!", I was already far away. It happened in an instant.
A few of the more skilled hunters pursued me. But that also lasted only briefly. In less than six seconds, cries of astonishment from my pursuers echoed behind me.
"My G.o.d. How can he be so fast…!"
"We can"t do this! Contact other branches! We"ll lose him if it continues like this…"
Those voices of astonishment soon faded into the distance, becoming inaudible.
"Maybe I should move a bit more cautiously from now on."
After shaking off my pursuers, I didn"t stop moving. I darted back and forth across the wilderness, approaching the city only to abruptly change direction. I visited each of the city"s entrances – north, south, east, and west.
"This should keep me from getting caught."
I even took off my outer clothes and tucked them by my side. As a temporary measure, I messed up my hair, changing its style, and then fixed it with aura.
"Okay."
From a distance, it wouldn"t be easy to recognize me. Perhaps my colleagues who usually know me might, but to the followers of Mahos, I was practically a stranger.
"Is this enough?"
After about 20 minutes.
["The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains" sighs.]
["The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains" acknowledges the failure of the quest.]
It seemed my prediction was correct as the message refreshed.
[The quest you are involved in has changed!]
[Difficulty is being adjusted.]
[Linked quest in progress.]
[The quest is disclosed.]
I quickly glanced at the text that appeared before me.
+
[Death King Pursuit Order]
Difficulty: A+
Mission Objective: Unfortunately, the Death King has broken through the encirclement and escaped. Brave warriors had surrounded him and put him in jeopardy, but he used his reserved strength at the last moment to flee, and we failed to catch him!
If the Death King enters the city and goes into hiding, the 50th floor will face a great catastrophe. He is more poisonous than any plague and more vicious than the Black Death. No human-made cure can handle this villain.
Hurry and find the Death King, and inform your comrades!
Warriors, only you can preserve the city"s peace and uphold righteousness! Other forces have recognized the Death King"s potential and are attempting to approach him. If the cunning groups collaborate with the Death King, a tremendous disaster will befall!
※ However, you cannot partic.i.p.ate in this quest.
※ You are the [Target Subject] of the quest.
+
What can I say?
I"d find endless faults if I started nitpicking, but for now, I understand that I"m increasingly resembling a villain straight out of legends….
"Oh my, what in the world is all this?"
I tore one part of my pants. Rrrrip! I rolled up the torn fabric and wrapped it around my neck like a scarf. Adjusting it to cover my mouth, I was sufficiently disguised.
"Why are they hara.s.sing innocent people? Are all the Constellations like this?"
-Their tendencies are all different, but their personalities are somewhat similar.
"What do you mean?"
I entered the city.
[Your body begins to be eroded by the Void Poison.]
[Your current erosion progression is Lv.1.]
[Your aura neutralizes the Void Poison!]
[Erosion has stopped.]
At the city"s entrance, there were slums and a bustling market.
Thanks to this, I easily blended into the crowd.
Surrounded by the noisy clamor of people talking and trading, I felt at ease and chatted with Bae Hu-ryeong.
-I told you earlier that the Constellations are like game masters. They are literally GMs. Each one has its own different tendency.
"Master…"
-And the followers who serve a Constellation can be seen as players. When a Master opens a session and issues a quest, the followers of that Constellation decide whether to partic.i.p.ate or not. Is this quest suitable for my level? Can I really achieve it?
Before long, I saw a familiar shop.
A roadside pub.
No building, no walls. Just tables and chairs, and a bar where the manager stood. It was the very open-air pub where I had sat and talked with constellation killer when I unofficially visited the 50th floor using a cheat.
-But as I said, each Constellation has its own unique tendency.
"What kind of tendency does Mahos have?"
I asked, casually taking a seat at the bar.
-Combat-oriented.
Bae Hu-ryeong answered immediately.
-His quests are pretty straightforward. An enemy appears that must be defeated. If the enemy isn"t defeated, the world is in danger. So, beat them. Oh? They escaped? Chase them. Oh, you defeated them? Here"s your reward. Simple, right?
Indeed.
Listening to Bae Hu-ryeong, I got a rough idea of what kind of Constellation "The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains" was.
-What about that blond guy you caught… Gold Hair or something? Anyway, the quests get more complicated as they reach the level of an Apostle, like him. But such cases are rare. Most of the followers are just battle maniacs.
"Hmm."
-But these seemingly simple quests are surprisingly popular. Actually, they might be the most popular. Mahos might not be good at other things, but he sure knows how to provide rewards. Battles that match the difficulty level and items worth their value. It seems easy to lure followers with these two.
I ordered an iced tea from the owner and sipped it.
"I get what you"re saying, but… why do the Constellations do all this?"
-Heh.
Bae Hu-ryeong smirked mischievously.
-Because it"s the easiest way to receive wors.h.i.+p.
"What?"
-You see, Zombie, you"ve never served a Constellation, so you don"t know yet. Put yourself in their shoes. Constellations create quests and rewards on purpose for you hunters. Just for you. To make your life more interesting.
I tilted my head, not quite grasping Bae Hu-ryeong"s words.
Bae Hu-ryeong, knowing I wouldn"t understand, explained further.
-Think about Hamustra. From your perspective, it seemed like Hamustra just threw you into a doomed world for his own amus.e.m.e.nt, watching you struggle and chuckle. But look at it from another angle. Hamustra collected "worlds" to give you quests.
"...."
-Do you think it"s easy, even for a Constellation? They have to scour through destroyed worlds, then select apocalypses that match your level. It"s hard work, really.
"That"s...."
I was struck by a fresh shock.
I had never thought of it that way before.
-Zombie. Do you think the Constellations go through all that trouble because they find hunters pretty? Or because they enjoy watching you suffer and die? Normally, Constellations are much more powerful than ordinary hunters. If they wanted to kill you, a mere gesture would suffice.
"…You"re right. That makes sense."
-In some sense, Constellations are "devoted" to you. Sure, they have various reasons for issuing quests, but their primary goal is the same.
Bae Hu-ryeong continued.
-Wors.h.i.+p.
Wors.h.i.+p.
-If you serve a Constellation, you"ll understand. Completing their quests and receiving rewards, you start to feel like you"re becoming a [Hero].
"...."
-Life becomes fun. You feel like you"re not just yourself anymore, but someone else, someone meaningful in this world. Someone far superior to me, a Constellation, is creating events just for me and acknowledging my existence… Heh. It"s an addictive drug, the thrill of an RPG.
I see.
I had never blindly followed the path laid out by Constellations, so my perspective was fundamentally different from the hunters who had surrounded me in the wilderness.
-That"s why the bond between Constellations and their followers is immense. Followers naturally wors.h.i.+p the Constellations that recognize and reward them. They adore and love them. This wors.h.i.+p is the purest form of faith, and Constellations sustain their existence on this adoration….
Just then.
Kaboom!
My gla.s.s on the table shook, the ground trembled, and other tables around us toppled trays and plates.
I reflexively looked towards the direction of the explosion.