He must have been wary that I was either the Demon King or some kind of incarnation of the Demon King.
Since shadows tried to dominate my body, it was natural for him to be cautious.
'So... in the game, the Demon King was set up to be uncatchable, right?'
After hearing this, things started to make sense.
Only players with special rights could kill the essence of the Demon King.
However, Wilhelm the Knight was not a player.
I was just a simple game character controlled by a mouse.
'If this is all part of the goddess's plan, then clearly killing the Demon King in the game was not part of her plan.'
The game was designed so that it could not be achieved.
Only players could kill the Demon King.
If so, it seemed necessary to consider the conditions for becoming a player.
'If you die in the game, you are summoned as a player. But Wilhelm was not my first character to die.'
In my case, I was summoned when I achieved a 'Hidden Piece' after creating a new character following Wilhelm's death.
However, if the death of a character was the criterion, there were clearly some strange points.
I had raised hundreds of characters.
Naturally, a significant number of them died during the process.
But I only became a player when Wilhelm died.
Because I had a unique item?
No. There were too many people who became players for that to be the case.
If it wasn't a special item, what criteria and basis were used for summoning?
'The strongest character I raised died, and that's when I became a player.'
This was the only reasonable explanation.
I always liked hardcore games, and I would abandon a character if it didn't develop well and start a new one.
During this process, the disparity in power grew, and it's possible that characters who died early didn't get summoned.
Later, I gathered everything Wilhelm needed for his growth using other characters and spent years grinding to expand his growth limits.
My talent was less than Randolph's, and my physical completeness couldn't compare.
It was a body of extreme refinement.
In the end, I reached a semi-divine state.
The environment was set up so that only the death of the strongest character, Wilhelm, could summon a player.
...And thus, I finally achieved the feat of beheading the Demon King.
'A blue screen appeared. It was probably due to the Demon King's power.'
The limit of the game.
No matter how strong Wilhelm was, he couldn't defeat the Demon King without being a player.
This affected reality as well.
The blue screen made it impossible to intervene.
During this time, the Demon King tried to change his body.
'Before the Demon King took the star, the goddess took Wilhelm's life.'
Game Over.
In the end, I had to start over.
Thanks to this, a unique character with full talent and 13 hidden traits was born.
'Questions were resolved, but new ones arose.'
Not all the clues were resolved.
First question.
'Who sent Serengeti out of the Demon Realm?'
He returned to the territory tied to a horse.
I vaguely thought that if he survived in the Demon Realm, he would return to the territory.
Later, in the Golden City of Arcana, Hudson confirmed that she had returned to the territory.
But it's still hard to guess how she returned.
Serengeti said she had no memory of what happened afterward.
Someone must have helped him escape from the Demon King, or he must have crawled back with superhuman survival instincts.
But the latter seems unlikely.
'My body... Wilhelm's body... did it become the Demon King?'
The goddess only took Wilhelm's star and life, leaving his body in the Demon Realm.
The Demon King might have used the body for resurrection.
There were many demons who used death and corpses.
'In any case, the Demon Realm is in ruins. The Demon King destroyed half of it to execute a magic circle to kill me. The Great Expedition was half successful.'
Regardless, it wasn't a complete failure.
The Great Expedition was half successful.
That's why the Demon Realm can't act after the failure of the Great Expedition.
The Demon Realm suffered a significant, more than half, blow.
However.
'Traitors. The other 8 heroes must be involved.'
If there were no traitors, perhaps it could have been a perfect success.
I must find out who communicated with the Demon Realm.
'I will exterminate all those involved.'
I won't treat NPCs with leniency anymore.
I will give a fitting end to all those who hindered, have hindered, and will hinder me.
For that, rapid growth is necessary.
"Damn! How many warps have exploded!"
"Sword! Where's my sword?!"
"Move quickly!"
...The outside was unusually chaotic.
A monster wave.
The city was under attack.
In other words.
'I haven't managed the warps for a long time. They are connected to the Dark Space.'
All continents in Pangaea are not connected.
After the war between light and darkness, the continents sank into darkness when the goddess Lea died.
That's why there is only darkness, the 'Dark Space,' at the end of the city.
So, the only way to connect the continents is through warps.
However, if warps are left unmanaged for a long time, a 'monster wave' occurs.
The problem is that managing warps requires astronomical amounts of gold.
'It seems the Duke Wiser was negligent in managing the warps due to lack of funds.'
Tsk. He clicked his tongue and said,
"...I'll be back soon."
*
Dark Space.
Or the Gap.
If you go deep into the abyss, the rulers of the abyss appear.
If warps are left open and unmanaged for a long time, there is a possibility that they will emerge.
'Then it's the end.'
The moment the rulers of the abyss appear, the city's fate is sealed.
Even transcendent beings of a certain level can't stand against them.
Let alone the 'Garden of Knights,' where all the powerful knights have died, which can't stop the rulers of the abyss at all.
If they appear, I will also flee.
If all the remaining warps are consumed by the abyss before I escape, I will be trapped in the gap forever. In that case, there is no escape except death.
The Dark Space blocks all 'connections,' so even a teleportation book can't be used.
"Fight! We must protect the city!"
Duke Wiser raised his heavy body on the wall and drew his sword.
...Some knights were still blocking the functioning warps.
In front of the functioning warps, many citizens gathered, trembling with fear.
"Lord Duke Wiser! When a 'monster wave' occurs, it is the duty of the nobles to safely move the citizens. What are you doing!"
In the midst of this, Priest Andrew raised his voice.
He was questioning why the functioning warps were being blocked.
At least the powerless citizens should be moved to safety first, he argued.
Duke Wiser nodded.
"Priest Andrew! If you will help, then do so."
"Understood."
"Open the warps!"
As the knights moved aside, some citizens used the warps to move.
But most of the citizens didn't move, as Priest Andrew remained.
"Quick, get out. Let's all meet alive!"
"How can we leave when the priest is here!"
"If we wait longer, other warps will be affected. Hurry!"
"No. Let's fight together! Let's protect the city together!"
...This showed the citizens' blind trust in Priest Andrew.
Moreover, losing the city means becoming wanderers.
Duke Wiser knew this and used Priest Andrew.
"Ugh!"
"Block them from invading!"
"Aah! My leg!"
A fierce battle between monsters and knights was taking place nearby.
Some warps are inside the city.
This means that the battle is taking place inside the city.
For now, only low-level creatures like Dark Goblins are appearing, but as time passes, more powerful creatures will emerge through the broken warps.
There are only two ways to stop a monster wave.
One is for an alchemist to fix the broken warps.
The other is to destroy the broken warps.
This is the easiest and most certain method.
But it's a long road.
When a monster wave starts, the number of creatures emerging from the warps is on the scale of a large army.
The current standing army in the city is not enough to clear a path.
And I can't just ignore it and go my own way.
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...Since the side quest is right in front of me.
Huge experience points. Can I just pass by without taking it?
Moreover, it's not just one.
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...I didn't expect it to start here.
Main Quest 4 started at an unexpected time.
'Worst case.'
I can't clear the main quest without any preparation or strategy.
If I clear it but don't make it to the top ranks, it will be a loss.
The most sensible thing to do is to run away and retry. If I don't challenge it at all, it won't count.
Most importantly, the Golden Rule Shop.
'Is it a shop that uses fragments of the broken Golden Rule?'
It's a right I desperately need.
That's why I need to enter the Hall of Fame.
Under normal circumstances, I would have left without looking back.
'Priest Andrew. Serengeti.'
Priest Andrew and Serengeti stand out.
If this city disappears, they will disappear with it.
The most honorable priest and the knight who threw his life away for me.
'If 10 minutes pass, the clear will be impossible.'
The problem is that the quest itself has a time limit.
Hybrids appear every 10 minutes.
These hybrids are all extremely powerful.
Especially the Black Skin Hybrids, which are level 10 monsters.
The rest goes without saying.
'I need to clear a path quickly.'
So, I need to clear it within 10 minutes.
However, Isabella and Hudson alone are not enough. Even with Hydra, it's the same.
Destroying all the warps within 10 minutes is an impossible situation.
But there is a way.
Ziiing!
I used the teleportation book.
A warp appeared, showing the scenery of the 'Rustling Forest.'
"Ah! Our friend. Are you coming back to the forest? If so, we must celebrate again today!"
Hi, Dryad!
The master of the forest and the ruler of the dryads was waving from the other side of the warp.