Chapter 87 – Skull (３)

[So it really was nothing, huh?]

[This is how it ends?]

[Wow, I’m getting seriously disappointed now.]

Public opinion toward the Saints was turning bad again, quickly.

Whenever things quieted down, someone kept throwing out provocative bait.

[Aren’t they trying to monopolize Tartaros?]

[Maybe they knew about Tartaros’s existence from the start.]

[Makes sense. The Saints’ followers report even the most trivial info to them, don’t they?]

[I heard their data volume alone is over thousands of terabytes.]

[Then they must have known about Tartaros long ago.]

[So you’re saying they’ve been holding out until now to monopolize Tartaros?]

[Trash lol]

Ridiculous accusations—lacking even a shred of plausibility—were being driven by these people.

The number of those condemning the Saints grew steadily.

And with the Saints guild itself remaining silent, the suspicion swelling was only natural.

In truth, at this point, there was nothing the Saints guild could do.

No, that’s not entirely correct.

All they could say was to ask for patience.

That they would reveal everything, hiding nothing, just as promised.

That was their sincerity, their best effort, their only response.

Of course, some heard this and offered their support.

But as always, it’s only natural that the loud few lead public opinion.

And then, at that moment.

[We will now reveal the next raid location.]

A notice from the Saints guild went up.

[Forest of Prostra?]

[What’s that?]

[That map exists?]

In that instant, a map no one had ever heard of—the Forest of Prostra—was made public.

Once again, public opinion flipped.

[Still don’t get it?]

[Unlike those Skull or Bone bastards, the Saints are generous enough to reveal even undiscovered maps. lol]

[Where’d all those haters go?]

“Where would I go? Right now he’s probably rallying and running toward the Forest of Prostra to watch the show.”

*

‘That this would happen.’

Not that he’d grown attached to Prostra, mind you.

No—even if he had, Gijun had no real reason to be angry.

Wasn’t that right?

This was just a game, after all.

And yet something felt wrong.

It was as if the resentment Prostra was feeling had seeped into Gijun himself.

Like hearing that someone you knew in real life had died in an accident.

Especially now, when the thought that this might not be a game was growing more certain by the minute.

The emotions Gijun felt were becoming sharper, more vivid.

Wasn’t this proof that something like this could happen in his own Earth too?

When, or how—

He couldn’t know the details, but…

‘I need to get stronger.’

Gijun tightened his grip on his staff, thinking just that.

He shook off the negative feelings.

As always, the only thing he could do was grow stronger and push past the obstacles.

Predicting the future or preparing for it was never his domain anyway.

‘It’s not like I’m a regressor.’

So this moment was no different.

He decided to focus on the Quest in front of him, right now.

‘That bastard’s strong, sure.’

But Gijun had grown stronger too.

And against evil, he held far greater power.

Especially with the Veil of Darkness and the Blessing of the Primordial he’d acquired not long ago.

Combined, those two abilities could reduce Dark-attribute Damage by a full 80%.

On top of that, his resistance had already surpassed 100%.

Of course, resistance itself didn’t reduce the raw Damage.

It was merely the ability to cancel out additional elemental Damage.

But that wasn’t all.

If you factored in his bonus attack power against enemies with the Dark attribute…

Right now, an enemy at the level of a mid-grade Magin wouldn’t even be a match for him.

‘Let’s finish this fast.’

And then it happened.

Ssssshhh!

“!!”

Black tendrils shot out from every direction.

“Wha—what the…!”

The Players of the Saint guild scrambled, scanning their surroundings in panic.

Dozens of tendrils that seemed to have come from nowhere were hurtling toward Gijun alone.

[The entire forest is your enemy, Master.]

Libre said.

And she was right.

The physical form of evil standing before them was just one entity.

But that was only a single shape.

Its essence was spread across the entire forest.

In this moment, he had to fight both the visible enemy and the invisible one.

‘It’s fine.’

But Gijun didn’t flinch.

He summoned his Avatar instantly.

The moment the Avatar materialized, he began casting another Skill.

‘Strong Wind.’

Sssshhrrkk!

Strong Wind tore through the evil tendrils rushing toward Gijun in an instant.

He cast Fireball as he spoke.

In an instant, the Fireballs manifested, their forms contorting as they rained down in unison toward the Evil.

A flash—then a thunderous boom, BOOM, BOOM!

The forest trembled under the force of the explosion.

From the spot came a guttural roar.

Kyaaaah!

The Evil’s roar.

And with that, the fight resumed.

A rustling sound—whoosh!

This time, instead of tendrils, figures shaped like humans emerged from the Evil’s form.

Evil-shaped entities stepped out from every corner of the forest.

Their numbers were countless.

‘Damn it.’

Gijun let out a hollow laugh.

‘So, you’re not planning to finish this easily.’

Fine.

Come at me, then.

[Master. I am linking our minds.]

“Go ahead.”

With that, Gijun and Libre’s minds merged into one.

‘I can do this.’

In that moment, he could even sense the Evil figures emerging from the corners of his vision.

It won’t be easy.

But it’s not a fight he can’t win.

And now…

Kyaaaah!

The Evil figures surged toward Gijun all at once.

“We need to… control those people first.”

Around that time.

Users who had already heard the news began gathering in the distance.

His heart wanted to help Gijun, but if they charged into the fight, it could spell trouble.

It might interfere with Gijun’s Quest.

Or worse, they could get caught in the fray and die, which would be just as messy.

“Over there!”

“That’s the spot!”

Soon, excited users flocked in as they confirmed the battle had begun.

The Guild Members of Horpa and Saint held them back, preventing further approach.

*

Before long, a sizable crowd of users had gathered in the Forest of Prostra.

Easily hundreds of players.

Of course, those present were merely a fraction.

Real Spirit was a vast world, and moving between maps alone took days.

For users far away, reaching this place on foot was practically impossible.

Because of that, those who couldn’t come directly to the Forest of Prostra flocked to the community.

[Get a live feed going!]

[What monsters appear in the Forest of Prostra?]

[Show us the new map already!]

Even those who couldn’t visit the Forest of Prostra were buzzing with excitement.

It was inevitable.

The new content, Tartaros, had already drawn all the Aggro it could.

On top of that, a new map appearing mid-Quest?

Any user playing Real Spirit couldn’t help but be curious.

[Here’s the link!]

[Come to CheontaeSang TV!]

[We’re broadcasting live right now on the Real Spirit live channel!]

ViewTubers and gaming journalists seized the chance, quickly starting live broadcasts of the ongoing Raid.

Already, the number of channels streaming the scene live had soared past a hundred.

An event drawing enough attention that the total viewers gathered would number in the millions.

[Wait, what the hell is that?]

[Why is it on fire?]

But the scene unfolding before them was nothing like what they’d expected.

They’d imagined a new world—mysterious, with sights never seen before and monsters unlike any other.

Instead, the Forest of Prostra that revealed itself was ablaze, engulfed in roaring flames.

[What kind of Quest are they even doing?]

[No, seriously—what are they doing?]

The whole burning forest made it impossible to see anything.

Frustration mounting, more and more people began clamoring for someone—anyone—to charge in and start streaming.

But it wasn’t that easy.

Players from the Saint guild had locked down the perimeter, letting no one advance further.

And then, right at that moment—

[Huh?]

[I can see it!]

CRRRRRRRASH!

Something sudden sent the trees of the ridge crashing down all at once,

and the view opened up wide.

[Holy shit, what is that?]

[Are those black things monsters?]

[Where’s the Boss Monster?]

What emerged was something black, its form barely discernible.

And there were so many of them.

Just what the screen could capture numbered at least twenty or thirty,

and with attacks still raining in from off-screen, the true count was impossible to fathom.

[Shit… is this guy insane?]

[Then what the hell is that thing?]

What they saw was someone standing alone against those monsters.

[That’s supposed to be a Mage?]

[Why would that be a Mage?]

Even more astonishing was that the one fighting dozens of unidentified monsters was a Mage.

And he was fighting alone, without even forming a Party.

[No joke, right?]

[That’s fucking awesome.]

The Mage’s combat was a spectacle at the peak of brilliance.

The sight of him expertly controlling ten fire spells of unknown origin while fighting was enough to inspire awe.

[He dodged it!]

[He blocked it!]

He evaded and blocked attacks pouring in from all directions.

Yeah.

That part, at least, was understandable.

[Why isn’t that Mage moving even after getting hit?]

Even though he’d clearly taken a hit, he paid it no mind and immediately counterattacked.

[Is he a Ranker?]

[There’s no Mage like that among the Rankers, though?]

[Then how good is his Equipment?]

[How much money do you have to dump in for a non-Ranker Mage to tank like that?]

And of course, the most stunning thing of all was the Mage’s magic itself.

[Is that really magic?]

[Looks more like a machine gun?]

[Isn’t he a bomber, not a person?]

The fire spells that blasted out unceasingly in every direction were terrifying.

They struck the monsters before they could even approach, as if the flames had a will of their own,

and the monsters couldn’t even dare to get near the Mage’s vicinity.

And then, for about ten minutes straight, the indiscriminate explosions continued without pause….

[It’s over.]

[Whoa, that was insane.]

[No joke, this guy’s on another level.]

[Where the hell did a mage like that come from?]

[No matter how you look at it, he’s got to be a gold-plated spoon.]

[That’s probably why he’s the main one running that secret Quest the Saint guild’s been doing, even though he’s not even a Ranker.]

A flood of speculation poured out about the mage.

Maybe he was some insanely wealthy silver-spooner hiding his identity.

Or maybe he was a genius elite agent Saint guild had scouted and trained specifically for this one single Quest….

But then.

[It’s not over yet!]

[Something’s coming out!]

[What’s that, again?!]

The moment everyone thought the fight was finished, something new revealed itself.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t just ‘something’.

What began now was, quite literally, a colossal darkness.

An immense darkness so thick you couldn’t see an inch ahead began to blanket the entire forest.

But then.

From within that blinding-black darkness, a single ray of light burst forth.