Chapter 74 – Arcadia

Swish, swish, swish!

“Hoo.”

After swinging his sword for a while, Duren confirmed that his internal energy had dropped below the stable line and began circulating his qi.

Quickly recovering his internal energy and opening his eyes again, Duren reviewed the internal energy efficiency of the techniques he had just tested.

“The internal energy consumption for basic physical enhancement is at a manageable level… but Sword Qi is the problem.”

―Maintaining Sword Qi drains internal energy in an instant. If I have to use it, I’ll have no choice but to briefly draw it up only at necessary moments.

“In that case, it’s better to mix it with Skills.”

Since he still had one more Rare Skill slot left, it was possible to evolve his existing two General Skills instead of acquiring a new one.

Based on the Inner Family Qi Art, he planned to evolve the remaining General Skills <Slash> and <Thrust> for Duren.

In fact, he had already thought of an evolutionary direction for Thrust.

‘Acupoint Strike.’

The concept of Acupoint Strike that flowed in along with knowledge of acupoints.

Using his own body as a test subject, he pierced a few safe acupoints.

Pfft, pfft, pfft.

Acupoints that accelerate the flow of internal energy.

Acupoints that block the flow of internal energy.

A mute point that blocks the voice.

A paralysis point that numbs the body.

The effects that appeared varied depending on which point was pierced with how much internal energy, but ultimately, the essence was one.

―The core is blocking the pathways through which qi circulates within the body and twisting the flow.

Even the phenomenon of accelerating internal energy flow was merely a result of increased true qi pressure utilizing the bottleneck effect.

Having realized this fact through Lee Hanseong’s words, Duren could guess the locations of the fatal points that would cause death if pierced, even without testing them on his own body.

[Conditions met. General Skill <Thrust> evolves into Rare Skill <Acupoint Strike>.]

“Next is Slash.”

He quickly repeated vertical, horizontal, and diagonal slashes, mastering the knack of manifesting Sword Qi only briefly at the moment of slashing.

At some point while repeating internal energy recovery and practice…

Swoosh!

A cross-shaped afterimage of Sword Qi remained in the air.

[Conditions met. General Skill <Slash> evolves into Rare Skill <Cross Slash>.]

Slash had also evolved into a Rare Skill.

It was the moment all of Duren’s Skills reached Rare grade or higher.

* * *

Knock, knock.

Not long after Duren’s Skill evolution was complete, an arena errand boy arrived with perfect timing.

“Sir Hero Duren Spirit. A designated request has arrived.”

“I’ll go right away.”

Having heard the news through a servant of the lord’s castle, Duren simply wiped off his sweat and headed to the reception room where the errand boy was waiting.

Step, step.

When he first left the training ground, a faint fatigue from practice remained on Duren’s face.

But with each step, his complexion gradually improved, and by the time he arrived at the reception room, he looked as refreshed as if he had rested well.

―As expected, the stability of the Circuits has increased.

For some reason, I thought it might work, so I suggested he try circulating qi while walking, and indeed, there were no particular problems.

Internal energy manipulation made possible by all Skills having a minimum grade of Rare.

Creak.

Opening the door and entering the reception room, the arena guide who had been dealing with him for the past two months was waiting inside.

“Mr. Duren! Your hero ranking plummeted—what on earth did you do? And what is this request about?”

“I merely exercised a hero’s right to challenge a knight of the domain to a duel. The drop in ranking is the price, and the request seems to be because the church figures who happened to observe the duel took a liking to me.”

“Huh…? That was real?”

Nod.

The guide seemed slightly surprised by Duren’s calm affirmation but soon collected himself, cleared his throat, and pulled out the request form from his pocket, unfolding it.

“Ahem, first, I’ll explain the request as per regulations.”

The border of the request form was decorated with silver patterns, indicating the appropriate grade of the request.

“Is there something I need to know?”

“Originally, Mr. Duren, who is still merely an Iron Badge Hero, cannot, in principle, take on Silver Plate-grade requests. However, since this is a request designating Mr. Duren, a higher-grade request has come in as an exception.”

“Then isn’t that fine? If it’s a higher-grade request, the quest points should be plentiful, so I’m quite pleased with it?”

Completing just this one request would provide enough points to rise to Copper Plate grade, and for some reason, not only quest points but also adventure points were included in the reward.

“The problem is that it’s that dangerous.”

“Dangerous? Merely following a pilgrimage path?”

Having toured five major cities over the past year, Duren couldn’t understand the word ‘dangerous.’

“The place they must go to is beyond the influence zones of the five Sacred Mountains.”

The guide unfolded a map of the Arcadia Continent he pulled from his pocket and began explaining.

“First, take a look.”

First, the area labeled as the territory of the Sun Kingdom caught his eye.

A layout with the Thousand domain, where the archdiocese is located, at the center, and the Hundred, Billion, Million, and Ten domains positioned to the east, west, south, and north.

And in each domain, there was a triangular mountain symbol and a circle centered around it.

Viewed as a whole, five slightly overlapping circles formed the territory of the Sun Kingdom.

“Within the kingdom’s territory, thanks to the five Sacred Mountains absorbing the vital energy of all flora and fauna except humans, even if Awakened Monsters appear, most are limited to 1-Star.”

“Ah, so that’s why…”

No wonder Duren had never encountered particularly dangerous Awakened Monsters while training for decades in the mountains near Hundred—it seems the mountains themselves had such power.

In fact, when Hanna was learning Arcadia’s geography, she also wondered why all the major cities were nestled against mountains in regions that were mostly plains.

So there was such a secret.

“Why didn’t I know about this?”

“This is knowledge not shared with those who aren’t heading outside the kingdom’s territory.”

“Was the reason adventure points were given also because this request heads outside the territory?”

“Correct.”

Having heard the guide’s explanation, Duren looked at the area outside the kingdom’s territory drawn on the map.

The area outside the territory was entirely colored green and labeled ‘Great Flood.’

And inside the Great Flood, about a month’s distance north of the Ten domain, was the Holy Land Lumen.

“Huh? But north of Holy Land Lumen… there’s something more.”

About a month’s journey further north from Holy Land Lumen, there was a circle similar to but slightly smaller than the Sacred Mountain’s influence zone, along with a tree drawing.

“…What is this tree beyond Holy Land Lumen?”

“The Sun Tree. I’ve heard that single tree performs a role similar to the five Sacred Mountains, blocking the approach of Awakened Monsters in the area.”

“Then is there a city there too?”

“Yes, the city of elves, Elysion.”

Elves!

Duren’s eyes sparkled at the fact that the superior demihumans, born 2-Star and passed down like legends in Arcadia, actually exist.

Since Duren, who had trained only in the mountains since childhood, still had an unblemished childlike heart, he became interested in the existence of elves.

‘According to legend, elves reach 3-Star when they gain a profession and become 4-Star when they attain Stellar Body, right?’

It’s said that gaining a profession is faster than reaching adulthood because they are a long-lived species with an average lifespan reaching a thousand years.

The time when an elf is generally recognized as a full Adult is around 100 years old.

After another 300 years pass and they reach 400 years old, they evolve into 5-Star Rank Elder Elves.

Additionally, after another 600 years pass and it’s time to die, they become 6-Star Ancient Elves, half-elementals, and dwell within the Sun Tree.

During this period, if absorbed by the Sun Tree and losing self-awareness, they die, but if fortunate enough to maintain their ego, they are reborn as complete 7-Star High Elves through the fruit of the Sun Tree.

Noticing Duren’s changed attitude, the guide asked.

“Are you interested in elves?”

“Wouldn’t anyone born in the Sun Kingdom be?”

Sun Kingdom legends also included content that past kings, upon death, become High Elves through the Sun Tree and live in Elysion.

Until now, Duren had also considered it merely a legend, but if elves exist, he thought it might be true.

Excited by the possibility that other legends of Arcadia might likewise not be false, Duren poured out questions with a childlike, innocent face.

“Can you really reach the Sky Island where giants live by climbing the Sun Tree? Are the angels of the Church of Radiance also there?”

“It’s best to keep interest as just interest. I’ve heard that around Elysion, it’s filled with 7-Star or higher Awakened Monsters drawn by the Sun Tree.”

“Ah…”

At the guide’s warning, Duren made a gloomy expression.

Even an insignificant bug, after undergoing Awakening seven times, becomes a Phantom Beast Species.

In a place filled with such Phantom Beast Species, even the current Duren, who has reached 5-Star Rank with the Guarantee of the Righteous Will and Eightfold Annihilation, couldn’t guarantee his life.

―Of course, if I raise my grade to 7-Star through Transcendence and Continuous Transcendence, I could face them briefly, but…

That’s a method only usable when facing a single opponent.

If there were multiple strong enemies, it would be too dangerous when the duration of Second Stage Transcendence ended.

“…I should give up on going to Elysion.”

“Actually, even the request to go to the Holy Land is not that dangerous, but it is still hazardous. The path to the Holy Land is safer than other places because knights and priests regularly clear it, but it’s still part of the Great Flood.”

“Is my ability insufficient?”

“The request being Silver Plate level is because it’s lowered due to the companions being a 5-Star Priest and a Saint Candidate; in reality, most requests going into the Great Flood are Gold Plate level.”

The guide remembered Duren’s grade as an Iron Badge Hero, but his ability was on par with a Copper Plate Hero.

He just had few duel counts; if he continued dueling and raising his points, he had the ability to reach Copper Plate, but he was lacking to be given Silver Plate.

At the guide’s words containing such thoughts, Duren unraveled the grade he had suppressed while learning the Inner Family Qi Art.

“Don’t worry. The current me is stronger than the me you knew.”

Rumble!

The 5-Star grade revealed by the emitted energy wave caused the guide’s complexion to turn pale with astonishment.

“……!”

“Feeling a bit more at ease now?”

“How… already Silver Plate level?”

“It’s the reward for passing a trial.”

At the mention of a trial’s reward, the guide finally seemed to understand and nodded.

“At that level, the request should indeed be no problem. Your Hero’s Plate for a moment.”

“Here it is.”

Thud.

Receiving the Iron Plate handed by Duren, the guide stamped it like a seal in the center of the request form.

“Request acceptance confirmed.”

“I’ve confirmed it too.”

The guide returned the Iron Plate to Duren and left.

But as he opened the door to leave, he paused for a moment.

“Oh, right, a message from Priest Beatus. Departure is tomorrow, so come to the north gate with Young Master Dice at dawn.”

“Understood.”

Watching the guide leave completely after those words, Duren also stood up.

Having nothing more to do, he planned to return to his guest room and circulate qi all night until morning.

Even just to maintain his lifespan stably, he needed to convert as much of the Eightfold Annihilation’s Starlight into internal energy as possible.

* * *

The next morning.

“Hoo—. Indeed, sleep can be replaced with circulating qi without issue.”

Duren, having finished circulating qi, checked his physical condition and muttered.

He felt as refreshed as if he had slept soundly.

Looking at the morning sun beginning to rise outside the window, Duren, having packed one sword and a travel bag, headed to the main gate of the lord’s castle.

“Yawn, you’ve arrived.”

Dice, who had come out to the main gate first, greeted him with a yawn.

“You came out earlier than expected? I thought you’d drag your feet since it’s an unwanted journey.”

“Since it’s unavoidable anyway, shouldn’t I at least try to enjoy it?”

“Good mindset. But that packhorse beside you…?”

Next to him stood a packhorse laden with a full load of baggage on its back.

“Supplies prepared by my father. He said since there are no villages to obtain supplies once we enter the Great Flood, to take a month’s worth of provisions.”

“Hmm.”

The packhorse appeared to be a 1-Star Monster, but he was worried whether it could safely traverse the Great Flood teeming with such high-level Awakened Monsters.

However, Duren refrained from voicing that concern.

He figured Dice and Lord Ten must have their considerations.

“Then let’s go.”

“Yep.”

Clip-clop— clip-clop—

With the rhythmic sound of hooves, the two headed toward the north gate along the road and soon could see Hanna and Priest Beatus, who had finished their travel preparations.

“Ah, you’ve arrived.”

“Since everyone who’s coming is here, let’s depart soon.”

Hanna greeted the two, and then Beatus, in a blunt tone, led the party.

Thus began the pilgrimage journey of four people and one horse.