Gracia, the strongest man on earth, was walking down a street in Eunpyeong District late in the evening. This was the place where several buildings had been destroyed by the Giant Mantis, and where Hydracon had also appeared.
- "I don't know him."
When interviewed, journalist Kim Hana immediately responded that she did not know Hydracon's owner.
In the end, there was no other way but for Gracia to visit the scene of the incident himself.
‘I must find it.’
What he was looking for was not Phantom. He was searching for a player who, according to legend, once possessed Hydracon's soul in Pangea. More precisely, he was looking for Hydracon's soul.
‘I must find it and recover Hydracon's soul at all costs.’
Swoosh!
Soon, a golden light rose like mist.
His entire body, now descended, was enveloped in a pale fog and electricity. Soon, thousands of swords appeared in the air, neatly aligned. All of them were masterpieces that could be called treasures.
Whoosh!
With a wave of his hand, the thousands of swords spun in the air. Gracia gripped one of them.
‘Jin (進) Sword of the Abyss Tracker.’
If an extreme title is related to proficiency or a limit option, a title named Jin maximizes the special performance of the equipment.
The Sword of the Abyss Tracker was a sword taken from one of the rulers of the abyss after killing them. It had been strengthened to the extreme and elevated in rank.
Therefore, this sword could pierce even a 'safe zone' and track any target.
Of course, a clue for tracking was necessary.
Something like a strand of hair or a fingernail.
The more specific the clue, the farther and more accurately it could track.
‘Wish Orb.’
A single orange orb with a white star appeared in the air. This, too, was taken from an Imugi just before it became a dragon.
The orb grants the user's wishes as specifically as possible.
While it can fulfill simple and straightforward wishes with certainty, it cannot handle complex or potentially complex wishes.
For example, instantly killing a target of level 10 or lower in front of you.
Such a simple 'wish' was a treasure that could be granted.
It takes a month to recharge one wish, but this was not a time to be frugal.
"Find everything related to the man in the photo in this area."
Gracia took out a photo of the person he believed to be Hydracon's owner from his pocket.
He planned to use the Wish Orb to find evidence and then implant that evidence into the Jin Sword of the Abyss Tracker to locate the target.
Soon, the Wish Orb turned red and burst.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The star that shot out from the Wish Orb began to spin around the area.
"Hmm..."
No matter how much time passed, the star found nothing.
However, this was the scene of the incident.
Even a small clue should have appeared. At the very least, footprints should have been visible.
It was highly unusual for the Wish Orb to find no evidence for such a simple wish.
‘He wasn’t in a transcended state.’
When the target of a wish is a transcended being.
In that case, the Wish Orb cannot even touch a single strand of their hair.
But Gracia could distinguish between transcended and non-transcended beings.
From the video, Hydracon's owner was clearly not in a transcended state.
If he was not transcended but still not a target of the Wish Orb, it suggested that he was avoiding it in some other way.
‘High-level skills to avoid tracking, or similar rights like a Guardian Wall.’
This was also highly unlikely.
No one would go to the trouble of mastering such skills to avoid being tracked.
Similarly, a right like a Guardian Wall, which grants immunity from all things of a certain level or lower, was also unlikely.
However, a Guardian Wall could only protect up to level 10.
To avoid being a target of the Wish Orb, one would need to be in a transcended state, which was impossible unless the Guardian Wall was at level 11.
Even after using the precious Wish Orb, he found nothing.
‘...If I vaporize all of Eunpyeong, he will show up, won’t he?’
Gracia's eyes turned cold.
At that moment, he frowned.
If the rankings don't change, this message won't appear.
And this was the fourth time Gracia had seen this message recently.
The culprit was only one person.
...
“...Phantom.”
Randolph. It's definitely Phantom.
Otherwise, he couldn't have pulled me down so consistently.
‘Question mark?’
But the score is strange.
??? points. I've never seen a score displayed like that.
Is it so high that it can't be confirmed?
How many points does it take to display a question mark?
‘What are you up to?’
Ding! Ding!
At that moment, the sound of a bell rang.
Gracia turned his gaze, and in the air, skeleton reapers with black cloaks and scythes were approaching, ringing black bells.
“...Chasing me all the way to outside Pangea, it seems the ‘Rift’ is about to open.”
Reapers.
Persistent beings that chase and kill ‘players’.
They had only appeared in Pangea until now, but now they had even come to the real world.
This must be due to the upcoming ‘Rift’.
Gracia clasped his hands together.
Whoosh-!
Thousands of swords merged, forming a massive pillar of light.
*
Serengeti closed his eyes again.
The accursed curse of the evil king was reactivating.
Hudson held Serengeti's hand tightly. Beside him, Duke Wiser looked at the two with a complex expression.
“...Huh.”
It was an indescribable feeling.
He had just heard from Serengeti's own mouth that he had even held a secret engagement ceremony with that seemingly insignificant person. He almost collapsed, clutching his throat, but managed to hold on.
“Duke, it will take at least 5 million gold to build and stabilize a new warp.”
Hudson's eyes lit up.
It was a dead end. There was no more room to back down.
“Are you selling Serengeti for 20 million gold?”
“Didn’t you already plan to sell him to Duke Cygan?”
“It’s a done deal. It can’t be undone. If Duke Cygan finds out, you’ll disappear without a trace.”
He had already made a promise to Duke Cygan.
Duke Cygan, who owned three major cities, was the second most powerful after the king.
A wealthy merchant couldn't stand up to Duke Cygan.
Moreover, if the secret engagement ceremony was known, the safety of Duke Wiser and the city could not be guaranteed.
“Is ‘Maxim’ under the Duke?”
I interjected in their argument.
A completely different topic.
Hudson replied.
“Maxim, one of the Eight Heroes?”
“Yeah.”
“He is now receiving successor training in one of Duke Cygan’s territories.”
Maxim?
‘He’s made it big.’
Called one of the Eight Heroes, he is receiving successor training under Duke Cygan. What could be a greater success than becoming the lord of a major city?
‘A mere mercenary is now the lord of a major city.’
And he was just a mere mercenary.
Maxim was the leader of the mercenary group I hired during the Great Expedition. After paying a high price to hire him, he was the first to run away.
And now, he was posing as one of the Eight Heroes and had become the lord of a major city under Duke Cygan. It was an absurd situation.
‘I don’t understand the criteria for the Eight Heroes.’
Could it be based on who ran away first?
But ‘Gracia’ was also included among the Eight Heroes.
Gracia didn’t even participate in the Great Expedition. If he had, I would have known. He was my top pick for recruitment.
I want to cut off my wrist for sending him a love call, thinking he was a named NPC.
Still, Gracia openly calls himself one of the Eight Heroes, even in the real world.
Is he trying to provoke me?
‘Maybe he wants me to show up.’
There’s no way I would believe his ridiculous talk about ‘cooperation’.
When playing as Wilhelm, I never crossed paths with Gracia. He was intentionally avoiding me.
And as soon as Wilhelm died, Gracia started making absurd claims.
While talking about cooperation, there’s a high possibility, even more than enough, that he’s trying to suppress or kill me, a new player.
These people who tarnish Wilhelm’s achievements and the glory that should be shared with great knights.
Even the 500 knights enshrined on the memorial stone would be more understandable. If it came to that, I wouldn’t mind if Wilhelm’s name wasn’t on that glorious list.
‘They are inevitably the ones I must crush.’
No matter how many times I think about it, even if I give in a hundred or a thousand times, the fact remains that they are the ones I must crush.
‘Maxim is the easiest to deal with among the Eight Heroes.’
Maxim is the weakest of the Eight Heroes.
I slowly turned and headed for the door.
Hudson asked, “Where are you going?”
“I will hold a proper memorial service.”
“Huh?”
“Compensate 10,000 gold to the families of the 500 knights.”
“...Me?”
“The bell’s money is the master’s money.”
“What...? Huh?”
Is that how it works?
Hudson was taken aback by my attitude, as if I had left some money behind.
But what could he do?
“...”
There was nothing more to say to someone who had already left.
Moreover, he had said his piece.
“...”
*
“...They fought bravely. Back to back, they did not retreat a single inch against the cruel and wicked demons.”
In front of the memorial stone.
The people of the city had gathered for the memorial.
I lifted an old book.
“This book is the memoir left by the Knight King. It contains accounts of the Great Expedition. He left a record of the greatness of the knights whose names are inscribed here, not missing a single word.”
The memoir left by the Knight King.
Of course, such a thing didn’t exist.
“James, Noah, Lucas, Jacob...”
I recited the 500 names in order.
Without a single exception, I memorized and spoke each name.
“And Sion. Their glory must be passed down to future generations. The true heroes are not those called the Eight Heroes. They are the ones who quietly held their ground, even when no one recognized them.”
“Sion...!”
An old woman clutched her chest and shed tears.
May. The woman I carried to the shelter.
I coldly told her the reality, as she couldn’t accept her son’s death.
“I, as the successor of the Knight King, pay my respects to their glorious deaths. To honor the heroes who will never be seen again, I will bury them in my heart forever.”
I bowed deeply to the memorial stone.
But what is this pain in my chest?
‘James, Noah, Lucas, Jacob, Sion...’
I recited the 500 names again, one by one.
I deeply engraved them in my mind.
《The 500 knights have entered eternal rest.》
《Your Honor has increased by 50.》
《You have achieved the achievement ‘True Glory’.》
《The hatching rate of the ‘Heavenly Spirit Egg’ has increased.》
《A new waypoint ‘Knight’s Garden’ has been added to the ‘Teleport Book’.》
*
“It was good to see you again, friend!”
“Next time, I’ll come to visit.”
“Ha ha! You are always welcome, friend!”
I quickly saw off the High Dryad and the Dryads.
They looked like they were about to die from hunger and exhaustion after just one day in the city.
The next day, after sending the Dryads away via the Teleport Book, I finally turned my attention to the newly appeared ‘rights’.
《‘Secret Auction House’》
《‘Golden Ratio Shop’》
Two commands to buy something.
I opened the ‘Golden Ratio Shop’ at the bottom.
《The Golden Ratio Shop has been opened.》
《The remaining time for using the Golden Ratio is 140h 36m.》
《The number of ‘lists’ you can see varies based on your Hall of Fame ranking.》
《The 1st place gets 10 lists, and it decreases by one for each rank down to 5th place. From 6th to 10th place, you get 5 lists, from 11th to 100th place, you get 4 lists, and from 101st place and beyond, you get 3 lists.》
《The Golden Ratio Shop is refreshed every 30 days, and refreshing it consumes 10h of Golden Ratio.》
《As the 1st place, you can see 10 lists.》
A shop where you can buy something using broken pieces of the Golden Ratio!
‘140 hours.’
Thanks to the ‘large fragment’ I obtained from completing Main Quest 4, my remaining time exceeded 100 hours.
I can’t use it all, but if I’m not excited about what I can buy, I’d be lying.
I focused intently on the list of the Golden Ratio Shop.