Chapter 27

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The Golden Rule Shop

The reason Serengeti was sparing with his words.

He must have been worried that I was the Demon King or some kind of incarnation of the Demon King.

Given that a shadow tried to dominate my body, it was natural for him to be cautious.

'So... in the game, it was set up so that the Demon King couldn't be defeated, right?'

Listening to it, things started to make sense.

Only players with special privileges could kill the essence of the Demon King.

However, the Knight King Wilhelm was not a player.

He was just a simple character I moved with a mouse.

'If all this was 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 couldn't be achieved.

Only players could kill the Demon King.

If that's the case, I needed to figure out the conditions for becoming a player.

'If you die in the game, you are summoned as a player. But Wilhelm's character wasn't my first death.'

In my case, I was summoned with the sound of achieving a "hidden piece" when I created a new character after Wilhelm died.

However, if the death of a character was the criterion, there were definitely some strange points.

I had raised hundreds of characters.

Naturally, a significant number of them had 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 the summoning?

'The strongest character I raised died, so I became a player.'

That was the only reasonable explanation.

I always liked hardcore games, and if a character didn't turn out well, I would abandon it and start a new one.

In the process, the disparity in power grew, and it's possible that the death of an average character didn't trigger the summoning.

After that, I gathered everything Wilhelm needed for his growth using other characters and spent years doing grueling work to expand his growth limits.

In terms of talent, I was far less than Randolph, and the completeness of my body couldn't compare.

It was a body of extreme suffering and destruction.

In the end, I reached a semi-divine state.

The environment was set up so that I could only be summoned as a player if the strongest character, Wilhelm, died.

...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 or having special privileges.

This also affected reality.

The blue screen made it impossible to intervene.

During that time, the Demon King tried to change his body.

'Before the Demon King took the stars, the goddess took Wilhelm's life.'

Game Over.

In the end, I had no choice but to start over.

Thanks to that, a unique character with full talent and 13 hidden traits was born.

'The mystery is solved, but a new one arises.'

Not all the clues have been unraveled.

First mystery.

'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, I confirmed that he had returned to the territory through Hudson in the Golden City of Arcana.

But I still can't easily guess how he returned.

Serengeti said he had no memory of what happened after that.

Someone must have helped him escape from the Demon King secretly, or he crawled back with superhuman survival instincts.

But the latter seems unlikely.

'My body... Wilhelm's body... did it become the Demon King?'

The goddess took Wilhelm's star and life, but his body remained in the Demon Realm.

The Demon King might have used that body for resurrection.

There were many demons who used death and corpses.

'Anyway, the Demon Realm is in ruins. The Demon King destroyed half of it to execute a magic circle to kill me. Half of the Great Expedition was a success.'

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 also suffered a significant, if not greater, blow.

However.

'Traitors. The other 8 heroes must be involved.'

If there were no traitors, maybe it would have been a perfect success.

I must find out who communicated with the Demon Realm.

'I'll exterminate everyone involved.'

I won't treat NPCs with leniency anymore.

I will give a fitting end to all those who have hindered, hindered, and continue to 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 Panginea are not connected.

After the war of 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.

Therefore, the only way to connect the continents is through warps.

However, if warps are left unmanaged for a long time, a "monster wave" can occur.

The problem is that managing warps requires astronomical amounts of gold.

'I guess the Viscount Wiser neglected the management of the warps due to lack of funds.'

Tsk. I clicked my tongue.

"Let's finish this quickly and return."

*

The Dark Space.

Or the Gap.

If you go deep into the abyss, the rulers of the abyss appear.

If warps are left broken 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 a transcendent of considerable strength can't stand against them.

Let alone the "Garden of Knights," where all the powerful knights have died, which can't possibly stop the rulers of the abyss.

If they appear, I will also flee.

If all the remaining warps are consumed by the abyss, I will be trapped in the gap forever, with no escape other than death.

The Dark Space blocks all "connections," so even a teleportation book can't be used.

"Fight! We must protect the city!"

Viscount Wiser stood up on the city wall, lifting his heavy body and sword.

...Some knights were still blocking the functioning warps.

In front of the functioning warps, many citizens gathered, trembling with fear.

"Viscount Wiser! When a 'monster wave' occurs, it is the duty of the nobles to safely move the citizens. What are you doing?!"

Andrew the priest raised his voice.

Why block the functioning warps?

At least the powerless citizens should be moved to safety first, he argued.

Viscount Wiser nodded.

"Andrew the priest! If you will help, I will do so."

"Understood."

"Open the warps!"

As the knights moved aside, some citizens used the warps to move.

But most of them didn't move, hearing that Andrew the priest would stay.

"We must get out quickly. Let's meet again 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 scene revealed the citizens' blind trust in Andrew the priest.

Moreover, losing the city means becoming wanderers.

Viscount Wiser knew this and used Andrew the priest.

"Ugh!"

"Block them from invading!"

"Aaah! My leg!"

A bloody battle between monsters and knights was taking place nearby.

Some warps are inside the city.

This means that the battle is happening inside the city.

For now, only low-level creatures like dark goblins are appearing, but more powerful ones will emerge through the broken warps as time passes.

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 through the warps is on the scale of a considerable army.

The current standing army in the city can't break through.

On the other hand, I can't just ignore it and go my own way.

<<'Side Quest: Protect the City' has started.>>

<<Reward: +30 Honor, massive experience points>>

<<Penalty for refusal: -30 Honor>>

...Since the side quest has reached me.

Massive experience points. Can I just pass this by?

Moreover, it's not just one.

<<'Main Quest 4: Seal the Gap in the Dark Space' has started.>>

<<The warps are heating up. You must stop the operation of all heated warps before the strong beings from the abyss emerge.>>

<<Time limit: 30 minutes>>

<<Reward: Differential based on clear time>>

<<Reward 2: Access to the 'Golden Rule Shop' if registered in the Hall of Fame>>

<<If over 10 minutes: The strong being 'Black Skin Hybrid' appears.>>

<<If over 20 minutes: The super-strong being 'Dragon Skin Hybrid' appears.>>

<<If over 30 minutes: The ruler of the abyss 'God Skin Hybrid' appears.>>

...I didn't expect this 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.

Even if I do, it won't be worth it if I don't make it into the top ranks.

The wisest course of action is to flee and retry. If I don't challenge it at all, it won't count.

Most importantly, the Golden Rule Shop.

'A shop that uses fragments of the broken Golden Rule?'

This is a privilege I desperately need.

That's why I must enter the top ranks of the Hall of Fame.

Under normal circumstances, I would have fled without a second thought.

'Andrew the priest. Serengeti.'

Andrew the priest and Serengeti catch my eye.

If this city disappears, they will disappear with it.

The most honorable priest and the knight who risked his life for me.

'If 10 minutes pass, it's over.'

The problem is that the quest itself has a time limit.

The hybrids that appear every 10 minutes.

All the hybrids are incredibly powerful.

Let alone the Black Skin Hybrid, which is a level 10 monster.

The rest are even more formidable.

'I need to break through quickly.'

So, I must clear it within 10 minutes.

However, with just Isabella and Hudson, it's 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.

Zzzz!

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 lord of the forest and the king of the dryads, he was waving from the other side of the warp.

I smiled slightly and said,

"I need your help, friend."

What's the point of having a friend?

Isn't the friend card meant to be used at times like this?

*

"..."

"..."

"Wh-What's going on...?"