“Whoosh… whoosh…”
The sound of heavy breathing echoed.
Dantalion, having escaped the forest, spoke up.
“This expedition was a failure.”
He still wore a smile on his face, but the atmosphere was far from cheerful.
Blood continued to ooze from his severed ear.
Even a demon seemed to feel pain, as his eyes twitched.
It was the same with Seere; it felt like whenever he met that human, the bodies of demons were somehow diminished.
At least, unlike Seere, it was fortunate that the severed part was just his ear.
It might be uncomfortable, but it shouldn’t hinder him in combat.
“Humans really have many strong individuals. I never imagined such a human would be hiding in a forest like that.”
“… Indeed,”
Harold nodded in agreement. He then briefly imagined the last image of Yor he had seen—glowing red spear and intense murderous intent.
The serious determination of his opponent was akin to a wild beast.
The pressure was such that even someone who prided himself on living a hard life flinched for a moment.
Just the fact that someone could injure a demon proved their skills.
Of course, if challenged, he could retaliate.
“What shall we do? Should we regroup our forces? If it’s related to the altar, not just me, but the other faction leaders would also lend their strength.”
“Forget it. With things as they are, let’s put a hold on finding the altar in the forest.”
There were too many variables. Thanks to Andromalius’s arm, he had a rough direction, but that was all.
He didn’t know if it was deeper in that cave or beyond.
Better to search later. He couldn’t deploy excessive forces in such uncertain conditions.
If they lost anyone, it would be a serious headache.
The curious thing was that it was Dantalion, rather than faction leader Harold, who thought this way.
It was clear he was a demon, yet he was worried about losing power.
Harold felt there were quite a few puzzling points.
“Dantalion, it’s an impertinent question, but may I ask why you allowed the stream to be broadcasted?”
“Well, for promotion, of course.”
His face shifted. Even with one ear cut off, the change in expression didn’t stop.
Though, getting back his ear wouldn’t happen.
“Although it turned out a bit different from my plans… originally, I intended to showcase your group to gather more followers.”
“I see… However, we already have a fair number of devotees. There’s no need for you to go to such lengths.”
“No, we need even more. Far more than we have now.”
Harold watched Dantalion for a moment. A strange ambition gleamed in his eyes.
Harold cautiously asked, “What exactly are you planning…?”
“I plan to establish a kingdom.”
Dantalion’s black eyes lost focus, as if he were gazing beyond what was directly in front of him.
“One day, when my king descends, the world will be easily adorned. A kingdom that humans cannot easily covet.”
“……….”
Harold silently nodded. It was a grand dream, but not an impossible one.
It wasn’t a bad idea for someone who yearned for immense power.
“Let’s go. Other altars will appear soon anyway. There’s a lot to do in the meantime.”
And so, they leisurely returned to their hideout.
*
As I said before, Yor was quite the famous NPC on the internet.
Not only his stunning appearance but also the fact that he was a “male” and possessed considerable combat skills.
He was a being that could draw people’s attention from multiple angles.
But that alone didn’t fully explain his notoriety.
The reason he had captured so much interest was quite simple.
A seemingly perfectly healthy “man” living in that dangerous Forbidden Forest was the trigger for it all.
Why is there an NPC here? Why doesn’t he enter the city?
Why isn’t he living a comfortable city life, but rather in the dangerous and inconvenient forest?
Since the moment he appeared in the game, people started to pose countless questions, and many conjectures arose. Some were quite plausible.
But ultimately, unless he himself spoke up, it all remained as hypotheses.
In the midst of all these questions, an unexpected answer popped up in a stream.
It was revealed that he was a potential Mine with Demon’s Blood.
At first, the stream had ignited buzz in the Community due to Dantalion.
The number of viewers was rapidly increasing. In fact, the numbers surged even more when Dantalion and Yor faced off.
When combat erupted, the viewership peaked.
By the time the stream ended, the number of viewers was nearing 30,000.
That’s a figure many streamers would aim to hit with a large-scale collaboration.
Despite her stream being forcibly shut down by her superior, it had been a significant success.
Of course, more than half the comments were trolling due to the name Lemegaton, but nonetheless, they had gathered views.
Naturally, with so many people watching, the Community was buzzing with discussions about Yor. The combination of “Demon’s Blood” and what was shown during the stream drew a lot of attention.
Without exaggeration, it felt like the entirety of the Aggal Community was talking about him.
+
[I knew his level would be high, but damn, he’s incredibly strong.]
How do you even compete with that demon dude…?
+
[He even pushed back at the end, wow.]
[At that level, wouldn’t he seriously be knight commander level?]
[Nah, does a knight commander look like a piece of trash? LOL.]
[Nah, do you think Yor is trash?]
[Well, he’s not wrong… haha.]
+
[What kind of technique was it that coated the spear with blood?]
I’ve genuinely never seen that in this game. What even is that?
How does it pierce a shield that even dozens of users couldn’t break through?
+
[I’m a mage, and it kind of resembles black magic.]
[If I learn that magic, can I become like that too?]
[But that’s literally just moving blood around; I have no idea how to enhance or layer it like that.]
[Don’t get my hopes up for nothing.]
+
[By the way, that screenshot looks incredibly cool.]
(IMAGE)
That magic actually tore flesh but still retaliated, wow.
Can he not feel pain…?
+
[Bro is so tough, so cool.]
[Carefree warrior approval.]
[It’s a bit brutal, but how the hell does he think he can go further in there?]
[I fell for him again today…]
The first types of posts that caught attention were comments about the combat scenes.
They were the most intuitive and magnificent.
As time passed, user levels became comparable to NPCs, but…
That didn’t mean they could match superhumans yet. That level was still far away.
Thus, the clashes between the strong themselves served as great content. Of course, admiration was one thing, but there was also tons to learn by delving deeper.
+
[Hasn’t a guide to beating Dantalion effectively been revealed?]
Magic is annoying, but if you can break that, then there’s nothing more to it, right?
With that, it seems totally doable.
+
[Can I actually break through?]
[At least the method has been revealed; that’s what matters, dude.]
[You think I can break through? Other people will probably do it and take him down.]
+
Such were the kinds of posts being made.
But ultimately, if you sought the most common topics, they revolved around “Demon’s Blood.”
Naturally, users were now well aware of “Demon’s Blood.” That much event occurrence and damage had taken place after all.
They knew of their danger, and understood how common NPCs perceived them.
To Gaia, individuals with that power were sinners who deserved immediate eradication. They were bombs poised to explode at any given moment.
There was no way to cure them.
For the safety of humanity, it was common thought to eliminate these individuals upon sight.
There were some with such extreme views that they wouldn’t even consider them human. They simply viewed them as the spawn of demons or their minions.
They understood that perspective.
After all, it was an issue tied to their very lives, and the narrow-minded perspective of medieval men probably played a role too.
However, those who could observe the world from a step back, and those who could view various perspectives via the internet, felt a different emotion.
+
[So, Yor has been hiding in that forest for his whole life?]
The fact that he doesn’t live in the city means he could be killed if revealed.
So isn’t it safe to say he’s just been lying low in the forest to survive?
Wow… that seems tough.
+
And that emotion was sympathy.
*
Perhaps it was the third goblin hut they burned down.
The goblins’ intelligence seemed to have increased significantly. Who would have thought they’d mud their wooden houses to prevent fires?
Because of that, I couldn’t help but be caught off guard at first. Their determination not to be fooled for the third time was palpable.
But no matter how skilled the arsonist I was, I could not let that deter me.
If the mud prevented the fire from catching, all I had to do was remove that mud and set it ablaze.
Fortunately, the goblins, with their half-baked intelligence, didn’t have the means to fully complete their adobe houses.
While it took some time doing it stealthily at night, I was finally able to start another fire at their hideout.
Seeing those furious goblins was just a bonus.
I felt a twinge of guilt toward them, but… at least this way, they’d be able to recognize danger a little easier.
“Phew…”
With that, I reinforced my defenses.
After that, my sole focus was on thorough preparations.
I still hadn’t left home.
It was true I had to leave at any moment, but I had too much to organize before then.
I still hadn’t sorted out all the items in my storage, and finding a new place to stay was a lot of work.
Of course, if a hunting party came barging in, I’d have to escape immediately… but not right now.
After all, my time was already so short, I couldn’t just up and move for no reason.
Thus, about two days passed.
I recalled the first time Im Haneul had discovered my true nature.
I’d been extremely on edge back then. Now, not much had changed.
These two days were particularly nerve-wracking.
Even at night, I had to worry about intrusions while trying to sleep. Thankfully, I had the hearing gift from the unicorn, which helped me a lot.
Time finally passed, and people finally came to the forest.
It was the first visitors since Dantalion left.
Step, step.
I heightened my alert as I heard footsteps approaching.
Fortunately, there seemed to be very few of them. At most, just two.
I chased after these two to discover their purpose for coming.
I encountered two Otherworlder women.
Both were unfamiliar faces. Yet there was no hostility directed toward me.
“…Who are you?”
The only peculiar thing was that upon seeing me, they both seemed to frown.
As if they were looking at something pitiful. To exaggerate, they looked like they might cry if I just poked them.
Soon, the two women offered me something.
“Please eat this.”
It was bread. A pretty modern-looking sausage bread that smelled delicious, along with various other breads in a paper bag.
“Uh, we thought you might like bread, so we brought some. Please stay strong and live well.”
With those words, they turned back the way they’d come.
They didn’t ask me anything or try to harm me. As if merely encountering me and giving me bread was their goal.
“…What was that?”
I stared blankly in the direction they vanished.
I felt strangely uneasy.
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