Chapter 84 – The Frost Turtle (５)

[Isn’t it a bit suspicious?]

[What is?]

[That mage who supposedly found Tartaros.]

[What about him?]

[Why hasn’t there been any word?]

[What do you mean?]

Around that time.

A question had surfaced on Real Spirit’s forums.

Even though players had started entering Tartaros ever since Manta began reappearing.

There was still no news whatsoever about that mage.

[Right? At least ten people already declared they’d uncover his identity.]

Even the players who entered first, apart from Hera, had boasted they’d reveal who that mage really was.

It was only natural.

He was a player who’d already drawn countless eyes, yet he’d never shown his face.

Of course so many users would be curious.

But still, no one had managed to expose him.

[Maybe he left Tartaros?]

[Possible. That’d explain why he’s out of sight.]

That sparked a new suspicion.

[Hera’s not around either, is she?]

[Hera already left Tartaros.]

[That’s exactly what I mean. Isn’t it weird that the two who entered Tartaros first have both left it now?]

[Could just be coincidence.]

[Sure, it could be. But what if it isn’t?]

[???]

[What if those two are on some secret quest?]

[???!!!]

A doubt raised by someone.

The suspicion that Hera and the unknown mage might be undertaking another quest altogether began spreading like wildfire.

*

The Sain-geom in Gijun’s grip pierced into the massive Frost Turtle’s shell.

That spot was precisely where the core lay.

The moment the creature’s core revealed itself.

And the shell portion closest to the core had grown extremely brittle.

The Sain-geom, possessing no attack power of its own, still sank naturally through that thick carapace.

Shiiing!

Soon the Sain-geom had fully buried itself into the creature’s shell.

And in that instant…

Kraaaaaaah—!

The beast’s head and four legs, which had been hidden inside its shell recovering Stamina, burst back out.

It let out a harrowing roar at the sky.

But there was nothing it could do now.

The Sain-geom had already pierced through the shell and touched the core.

Then it happened.

[The Sain-geom has absorbed the core of the Frost!]

At last, the message appeared.

A notification that the Sain-geom had absorbed the beast’s core.

[Quest completed!]

[The ‘Primordial Droplet’ has taken root in the Sain-geom!]

Another message flashed—a quest completion alert.

The moment it appeared, the creature’s shell began to split apart.

Crack—!

No sooner had fissures spider-webbed across that colossal shell than—

Boom-boom-boom-blast!

—the entire shell exploded outward.

Gijun hastily flung up a barrier with Strong Wind.

One layer wouldn’t be enough.

Two layers. Three.

He poured in every last drop of Mana, forging a barrier thick as a fortress wall.

Ka-boom-boom-boom!

Still, the giant shards hammered against his defense, and Gijun went flying, slamming into the ground yards away.

“Kuh-uhk!”

He tumbled across the icy plain, rolling until he came to a stop.

‘…Crazy.’

Even that single impact had sent his HP plummeting.

To take this much damage through a barrier—

If he’d taken it head-on…

‘That was close.’

But Gijun didn’t die.

“A-are you okay?!”

The Healer from the Saint guild had already sprinted to his side.

Her healing skill was already restoring his HP.

“Yeah. Thanks to you.”

Picking himself up, Gijun looked at the Frost Ancient Turtle.

Grrrrooooh…!

With its shell utterly shattered, the beast no longer cut the same imposing figure.

And on top of that…

Zzzzng!

The Sain-geom rose into the air.

Now, it had fully absorbed the creature’s core.

The beast’s pupils went dull.

Then it crumpled to the ground.

Craaaaaash!

The Frost Ancient Turtle collapsed limply with a thunderous roar.

In that moment, a message appeared.

[You have slain a Primordial Monster!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

.

.

.

Level-up messages flooded the screen.

Then came the Achievement alert.

[You have achieved a great feat!]

[All Stats increased by 20!]

[A special reward is awarded to the Player who dealt the most damage!]

[You have acquired the Pendant of the Primordial Turtle!]

‘…An item.’

And then, the special reward.

[Pendant of the Primordial Turtle]

– Grade : Unique

– Equip Restriction : Level 180

– All Stats +10

– Resistance +30%

– Defense +30%

– HP +1000

– Blessing of Primordium

[Blessing of Primordium]

– Creates a veil that absorbs 30% of incoming damage.

‘…Huh.’

A Level 180 Unique-grade pendant.

The stats were nothing short of stellar.

And on top of that, it carried an additional ability: Blessing of Primordium.

An ability that conjured a veil absorbing a full 30% of damage taken.

Pair that with Veil of Darkness… that’s no joke.

Veil of Darkness was limited to dark-attribute damage, but it absorbed a whopping 50%.

If Veil of Darkness and Blessing of Primordium stacked…

Against dark-attribute attacks, he’d be absorbing 80% of the damage outright.

Perfect.

He’d snagged an unexpected bonus on top of everything else.

And then—

Whirrr—!

The Sain-geom in Gijun’s hands had begun to glow with a faint blue light.

…It changed.

A single blue orb was now embedded in the blade.

Looked like a new orb appeared each time the sword absorbed an attribute.

This is just the beginning.

The moment he filled the Sain-geom with all five orbs—

The’d hold the power to fight the Lord.

And he’d claim the true power of light as well.

Right then—

“Master Jun.”

Horpa of the Saint guild called out to Gijun.

But his expression was stiff.

“…I think you need to speak with our Guild Master first.”

*

“Master Jun. Let me start by apologizing.”

Gijun had contacted Hera in private.

The moment they met, Hera bowed her head as if she’d committed a mortal sin and spoke those words.

“Apologizing…?”

Why would she apologize to him out of nowhere?

Gijun had been receiving a lot of help from Hera.

Thanks to her, he’d even found the first orb for the Sain-geom.

“First, you need to see this.”

Hera sent him a link via message.

The link Hera sent arrived in his inbox.

Gijun opened the link.

A window appeared.

…Ah.

Now he understood why Hera was apologizing.

Suspicion had been raised about Hera and an unidentified mage.

Calling it mere suspicion might be generous.

Someone had pointed out that the two of them might be secretly running a quest together.

And the internet was already ablaze.

“It looks like they’re involved.”

“Who?”

“The Skull guild.”

Skull guild.

Gijun had heard of them before.

They considered the Saint guild their rival.

They didn’t approve of Saint’s methods.

What Skull wanted was survival of the fittest.

A system where those at the top of the rankings devoured everything, and strength decided all.

Of course, plenty of people sided with Skull.

Especially the whales and top-rankers—they were the ones backing Skull.

“It’s not that there’s an immediate crisis. We haven’t revealed who Jun is yet. But the real problem is that if Skull keeps interfering, they might disrupt Jun’s Quest.”

Gijun nodded at Hera’s words.

A plausible concern, he thought.

Skull was just as influential as Saint.

If Skull stirred up rumors that Saint was monopolizing the Quest that started in Tartaros…

‘Then Saint’s reputation would crack.’

Wouldn’t it.

How had Saint operated until now?

Building a game where opportunity belonged to everyone, regardless of skill or rank.

That absurdly idealistic principle—Saint had clung to it, at least so far.

But now that very conviction might fracture.

Gijun didn’t think Skull were villains, of course.

Saint had its way of playing.

Skull had theirs—the way they believed in.

Maybe Skull’s way was closer to how the world actually worked.

‘Hell, Skull probably finds this frustrating.’

That was true too.

Why spend money and time on a game if not for the pure greed of wanting more than others?

Just honest greed.

Was that greed evil?

Hard to say yes.

Coldly speaking, Saint was also using Strength to pursue what it wanted.

So the opposite was just as valid.

‘And I’m no different.’

Saint, Skull—they were the same.

Gijun was just another man chasing what he wanted.

And one thing was certain here.

Right now, the ones helping him—the ones he’d received help from—were clearly Saint and Hera.

In that case, his choice at this moment was dead simple.

“Then let’s do this instead.”

Gijun, having gathered his thoughts, spoke.

“Let’s just ram them head-on.”

That was his choice.

Ram them openly.

Hera tilted her head.

“Ram them head-on… what do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. Show them what we’re doing.”

Honestly, until a moment ago, Gijun’s goal had been to play as quietly as possible.

Even before he’d met the Ancient Frost Turtle.

‘But now that it’s come to this, there’s no other choice.’

If those Skull bastards somehow managed to interfere…

And I failed the Quest or lost everything…

‘I don’t even want to think about it.’

Gijun wasn’t playing this game casually anymore.

He’d long since changed, but ever since he encountered that ‘Evil’ thing on the battlefield last time, his mindset had shifted even more.

He wanted to see the end of this Quest, no matter what it took.

But… are you sure? About Master Jun…

Hera’s brow knit with concern.

She knew Gijun didn’t want his face out there.

But Gijun just answered.

It’s fine.

If he teamed up with the Skull guild, it’d be fuel for controversy.

A Superhuman who’d just started getting attention, and not just with any guild — with Skull.

But the Saint guild was different.

As she’d said, the Saint guild had Superhumans who operated openly.

And their reputation was solid.

It had to be.

After all, the Saint guild operated under a catchphrase of working for every User.

I’ll just share my Quest and Tartaros with every User, for all of them.

Ah…!

Then we can keep the Skull guild in check well enough, right?

Of course.

At that, Hera’s face brightened.

“If Guild Master Jun has made that decision, then we’ll do everything we can to block Skull guild’s interference on our end. No — I’ll give everything I have and stand by you until your Quest is complete!”