The Game of the Greatest Black Mage-Chapter 127
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
Chapter 127
6.
It had been five days since the Demon King of Rapid went silent.
Many people voiced their dissatisfaction.
There was no reason to hurl insults merely because the supply of quality content had dwindled.
However, it was also proof of how much they thirsted for new content.
Of course, those searching for the Demon King of Rapid weren't a significant portion of the overall player base.
Understandably so, as Seonghyun, still merely a rookie, had a fanbase that was laughably small to threaten the thick fanbases of the Single Rankers.
Unless something like the Fortress of the Past happened again…
Would anyone really be hanging on the Demon King of Rapid’s every move again?
However.
[Title: Honestly, Isn't the Demon King of Rapid Past His Expiration Date?]
[Author: TripleSwordStyleTaster]
『Honestly, the Fortress of the Past?
It was amazing, sure.
He accomplished something no one had ever cleared before.
But that’s only because the game has changed a lot.
Yuna, who’s a Single Ranker now, was number one in the Fortress of the Past back then.
Was she Almighty rank at that time?
ㄴ No, definitely not.
The Demon King of Rapid is impressive, that’s true.
Hmm, but is he that good?
I’m saying this because it’s pretty much confirmed he has an Almighty rank class.
Frankly, among the current Single Rankers, only Yuna, a latecomer, cleared the Fortress of the Past because she knew it.
Other rankers couldn’t.
If other rankers had tried, I think they could have cleared it easily.
Therefore, I’m not sure if the Demon King of Rapid can pull off something on the level of the Fortress of the Past again.
If you disagree, you’re right lol.』
[IsHeThatGood: Hmm, seems plausible?]
[PoopConnoisseur: But wasn’t he overwhelmingly number one in this recent large-scale event?] frёewebηovel.cѳm
└[TripleSwordStyleTaster (Author): He has an Almighty class lol. And it’s a class specialized for large-scale battles, so shouldn’t he at least do that much?]
└[PoopConnoisseur: Sounds reasonable, maybe?]
No one thought Seonghyun could create an impact on the level of the Fortress of the Past again.
Although he had shown incredible prowess in the recent large-scale event.
It was still just an event for levels 120 and below.
Considering his class traits and rank, they judged it wasn’t something he couldn’t do.
If he were to fight one-on-one against another Almighty rank class, could Seonghyun actually win?
Such discussions were taking place.
[HateMaliciousComments: Still, considering he caught Echo Willow? Isn’t his control good?]
└[SafetyGoodGood: This also seems right?]
└[NoRebuttalsAccepted: LOL, do you think people just get Almighty classes for free? His control would obviously be much better than basic. In the first place, while many of the Echo Willow mobs are strong, aren’t there a lot of dregs too? Compare things that are comparable.]
[1234BubbleBubble: Honestly, doesn’t it seem like a bubble? It’s plausible to think it’s all about the presentation. The Fortress of the Past is advantageous if a class specialized in large-scale [battles] does it ㅇㅇ.]
Gradually, talk began to circulate that Seonghyun’s skills were all hype.
From the perspective of the people, it was a plausible story.
Most of the skills Seonghyun had demonstrated so far were in large-scale battles.
There was the Anemor Raid solo play, but…
At best, it was a level 60 raid.
The prevailing opinion was that it wasn't a credible record.
It was characteristic of communities to latch onto promising rookies or celebrities and tear them down when there was no enjoyable content.
There were those who felt a thrill from criticizing others.
As some users got swept up by this and started to believe it, public opinion rapidly deteriorated.
Moreover, the Rapid Guild wasn't particularly addressing the situation.
Just as they were chattering like fish in water…
A single notice appeared within Eternal World.
A global announcement visible to all users.
[Global Announcement]
[East Asia Server - Korean player 『Seonghyun』 has cleared the Hidden Field, 『Hall of Knights』, and has been awarded the 『Knight』 rank.]
[His renown spreads throughout the entire continent.]
An announcement stating he had cleared the Hidden Field, 『Hall of Knights』.
And an announcement that, as a result, he had obtained the Knight rank.
At first, users thought they had misread it.
Hidden Field, 『Hall of Knights』?
It was a place name and a title they were seeing for the first time.
Let's say they didn't know much about it.
But did a global announcement ever ring for no reason?
[ThisGameIsMyFirst: If a global announcement went off, doesn’t that mean it’s an incredible achievement?]
└[MerryBerry: Yep, yep, yep. It’s gotta be an achievement on the level of the Fortress of the Past, right? Or at least close to it. Even Single Rankers can count the number of times they’ve triggered a global announcement on one hand.]
└[FanaticBarbarian: Crazy;;; So, the Demon King of Rapid is almost at that level?]
└[MageNotWarrior: To be precise, the Demon King is still low-level, but if he’s triggered two global announcements, honestly, he deserves the praise;;;]
It was a feat that even Single Rankers could count on one hand.
He had triggered it twice in just ten days.
If someone were to ignore this, they were clearly a game-ignoring troll just there to stir up trouble.
The achievement Seonghyun had accomplished held that much value.
The power of a global announcement created that much of a ripple effect.
Naturally, it was an event significant enough to flip the deteriorating public opinion 180 degrees.
However, there was information that even they didn't readily know.
[WyvernSoda: But what’s this Knight rank? Anyone know?]
[BasicAttackMaster: Right? What’s a Knight rank? Does it mean he’s like a quasi-noble?]
[ShieldlessMage: There was a rank system too?]
The Hall of Knights, fine.
It's a Hidden Field, so they could accept that.
But what on earth was this Knight rank?
Since when had this system existed?
As most people expressed their confusion about this unknown fact…
A few who knew began to release information.
Among them, the most popular post explained the accurate information quite well.
[Title: I'll Explain the Knight Rank.]
[Author: SwordWieldingMage]
『Those who knew about the rank system must have been startled, right?
It’s a system that’s always been there, but it was one of those things kept hush-hush.
Should I call it high-tier content, perhaps?
It’s one of the pieces of content for level 200 at a minimum.
But this thing is seriously tough;;
I don’t know much about other ranks, so I can’t elaborate, but I’ll explain a bit about the Knight rank.
Knight rank? No one among the Single Rankers has it.
Why? Because it’s really difficult; you can’t get it just by being strong.
So how do you get it then?
There are largely two ways.
You can serve as a squire for a year, basically wiping knights’ asses, and then you can be granted the Knight rank.
Of course, to become a squire, you have to invest a ton of money ㅇㅇ.
And the next method is to be acknowledged by at least six knights.
Your control also has to be on a whole other level.
Subduing an NPC knight using only martial arts without skills is a basic condition.
But what’s more important here is that even if you manage that with skill, you still have to fulfill five other conditions.
It seems the Demon King fulfilled those conditions in that field.
Since it was a Hidden Field, it might have been even tougher than usual.
Anyway, this is what I know.』
The post with the fastest-rising recommendations and views.
Through it, people could understand just how incredible the Knight rank Seonghyun had obtained was.
Furthermore, as interest poured in from all over…
The Knight rank seemed quite cool, so the number of people attempting to challenge it also increased.
Some invested money to become squires.
Others sought out NPC knights to find out the conditions.
Thus, the Seonghyun syndrome was starting up again.
0.
The Dune Wild Trail, an area with a higher chance of encountering villains than any other region.
If you went out hunting three times, you’d encounter villains at least twice; in this bizarre area, it was safe to say virtually no one wandered alone.
Doing so was no different from openly throwing bait to villains.
For that reason, most users didn’t go alone and moved in parties of at least six.
Thanks to this, the Oboro Family spat on the ground with annoyed expressions.
The Oboro Family was a party consisting of five members.
In this vicinity, they were a villain group that was nevertheless quite notorious.
However, perhaps because many people had flocked here due to the recent large-scale event?
“How can there not be a single decent target to pick off?”
“Everywhere you look, it’s just strong guys.”
As the leader, Oboro, and the vice-captain, Cheongyagwi, grumbled…
The ones beneath them trembled.
At times like this, they’d feel better if they at least went out scouting.
But another member had already gone to scout.
So, the rest had to remain here.
Unsure when Oboro might explode…
The subordinates shivered in anxiety, hoping the one who went out on reconnaissance would do a good job.
But what was this?
“Boss!!! Boss!!! I found a party of only four roaming around section 439!!!”
“Oh? Four?”
As the vice-captain, Cheongyagwi, perked up with interest…
The leader, Oboro, scowled deeply and asked back.
“They’re proper targets, right?”
“Uh, uh! Ri, right, Boss! Two of them weren’t even wearing any particular gear, almost like they were bare-bodied!? I think they’re merchants!”
“Oho?”
“If they’re merchants, they’re worth robbing, right?”
Everyone muttered such things and nodded.
Shall we go for a haul after such a long time then?
The goal of villains like them was to make a big score here in the Dune Wild Trail, then, after their karma points dropped a bit later, launder their identity, build up their skills with the items from the haul, and join a decent guild.
The Oboro Family was no different.
That’s why everyone’s ears perked up at the word “merchants.”
“Kuhuhu, Boss, if this haul is pretty good, are we going straight to that place we found back then?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve kept the map safe. Let’s make a big score this time and get out of this godforsaken wilderness.”
Everyone’s faces brightened at Oboro’s words.
Was it an easy job, being a villain in a place like this?
That’s why they were all eager to leave, and this was a good opportunity.
Even better, they were lucky.
A treasure map the Oboro Family had obtained after annihilating a party a few days ago.
To be precise, they didn’t know if it was a treasure map.
But it was definitely a Hidden Piece.
They didn’t know what kind of location it pointed to.
That’s why they had planned to hit one more score and then find this place.
The timing was perfect.
“Oboro Family, let’s go!!!”
Thus, the villains set out towards the location where the group of four was said to be.
The distance wasn’t far, so they were able to move in an instant. Seeing a party whose forms were somewhat indistinct, they tilted their heads.
Why do they look so blurry?
Do they have some kind of perception-jamming item?
That must be pretty expensive, huh?
As Oboro thought this and launched an attack…
A young man standing at the front grinned and said.
“I had something I wanted to test out. This is perfect.”
With those words, he unleashed a sword energy like ash remaining after burning everything.
In a single strike, he cut down the three who were rushing at the front.
At the terrifying power, Oboro and Vice-Captain Cheongyagwi’s faces turned deathly pale.
Conversely, the one who had unleashed the sword energy also tilted his head.
“Huh?”
It seemed he wanted to see more.
As if disappointed they had died too easily.
But he soon snapped back to reality and looked at Oboro and Cheongyagwi.
In that instant, Oboro quickly made a judgment and shouted.
“He’s a swordsman! If we run—!”
The moment Oboro shouted that.
“Me?”
With the sound of a finger snap, a fierce storm of blood raged.
Seeing it, Oboro and Cheongyagwi muttered.
“Damn it!!!”
“Uwaaaaargh!!!”
The Oboro Family, caught in the storm, lost their lives in an instant.
It took less than a minute for all of them to die.
Seonghyun, smacking his lips as if disappointed by the overly bland battle, was scratching his cheek when his pupils dilated at a phrase that appeared.
[You have acquired experience points!]
[You have eliminated an opponent with great notoriety.]
[You have acquired the opponent's item, 『Treasure Map of Treasure Goblin』.]
“Huh?”
Why is this here?
He had obtained a map with somewhat familiar handwriting.
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
