[Diamond 1000 Points -> Master 1001 Points.]
[You have reached Master Rank.]
[150 Honor, acquired the title ‘Master’ (weekly maintenance).]
[Title, ‘Undefeated Winning Streak (Master)’ acquired.]
Since capturing the Ice Mage, Frost, the matches have been easy—so easy, it’s ridiculous.
Of course, it’s not that they’re incapable.
Everyone had decent equipment and skills above average, but still, they were far below the top 100, the rankers.
No matter how well they played, it’s impossible to outplay a ranker.
And so I achieved 7 consecutive wins in Diamond.
In the promotion match of best 5 out of 3, I scored 3 wins in a row, achieving promotion to Master with a total of 10 wins in 10 matches.
[Wow]
[That last moment, stabbing with the spear was so cool, LOL.]
[Lily! Lily! Lily! Lily!]
[Undefeated streak, whoa!]
[How did you not lose once?]
[Is this really Lily, LOL?]
[The Diamond level was higher than expected, and you just crushed it with a 10-win streak… ]
[That title is ridiculously sweet.]
[You blew my mind.]
[What rank?]
[What rank is she? If she’s a Master, it should be measurable.]
“Ranking? Just a moment.”
I checked the Hall of Honor monument surrounded by three angel statues in the battleground.
A blue spear appeared before me.
[4997th – Lily Elbrite]
“Looks like around 5000th.”
Considering the number of players in Deoen and the concurrent users, this puts me quite high.
Still a long way to go, though.
[Oh.]
[Let’s aim for 1st place, LOL.]
[5000th? Not a chance, I’m going right for the challenge, LOL.]
[Oh, LOL, Sword Saint, move aside!]
[With Lily’s skills, she can just go for the challenge.]
[Shall we go today?]
[Rank up?]
[Once you’re Master, points don’t come easily.]
[They only go up by 3 or 4 points; even if I grind all night, it won’t work.]
[I want to fight the Sword Saint.]
[What’s the Sword Saint even doing these days?]
[Let’s go for the match, let’s gooooo!]
“First, let’s wrap up this battle broadcast. It’s not good to overdo it…”
[Overdo it?]
[Is there any more content?]
“Yes.”
I have some homework that I’ve been putting off, after all.
“I’m trying to block some noise between the floors.”
[?]
[?]
[Really?]
■
“Lady Lily~!”
Thud thud thud thud!
A cute child with sparkling pumpkin-colored eyes came running towards me like a puppy.
At first glance, she seemed like the noble young lady who knows nothing of battle…
“Hehe… so glad to see you.”
“It’s been a while, Lord Leo.”
But in reality, she’s a powerhouse capable of fighting an entire army single-handedly.
[?]
[It’s Leo!]
[Leo is so cute!]
[LOL!]
[Why are those two getting so chummy?]
“Are we getting close like this?”
“Lily Leo… How annoying.”
“Oh lol, better Leo than Yena!”
“Agreed.”
“Really lol.”
Leo nodded, saying “Yeah! Yeah!”
How long has it been for us to look like this?
When I asked, Leo counted on his short fingers one… two… and then, with a sparkling gaze, raised his head.
“9 hours!”
“…Excuse me for a moment.”
“Huh? Ah!”
Stretch. Leo’s squishy cheeks popped out.
They really stretch well.
A smile spread across my lips.
“Ugh… Lady Liliiiy!”
“I’m sorry. Please wait just a moment.”
How can I endure this?
“Hahahahahahaha!”
“Not looking sorry at all!”
“I want to be cutely treated by Lily too…”
“That’s a bit rare.”
“Hahahahahahaha!”
“Leo is cute though!”
“Wait, does Lily only let you touch her?”
“I-I wanna touch too!”
“So funny lol!”
“Didn’t you do that with the Devil before lol?”
“Ahem, thank goodness!!”
Nailed it!
Leo shook his face side to side and swatted my hand away.
Looks like he’s not completely consumed yet.
‘What a shame.’
While shaking his head earnestly, Leo handed me a map.
“Ahem! I’ve prepared everything so that Lady Lily can proceed smoothly, so there shouldn’t be any problems!”
“Okay. I’ll be back quick.”
I left the disappointment behind and headed for the mine.
■
[Sub – The Strange Voice in the Roton Mine]
Objective – Confirm the identity of the ‘strange voice’ heard in the mana stone mine of Leo, the marquis of the empire, and eliminate it.
Reward – 100,000 experience points, 300 gold, Leo’s trust (the reward may vary subjectively as the client is a user).
I checked the quest one more time.
Honestly, the rewards aren’t exactly great!
To commission someone within the top 100 rankers, you’d need unimaginable compensation, and those within the top ten demand tens or hundreds of times more.
And even the strongest among them, Leo, can’t do anything about this something.
Solving this something only merits 100,000 experience points and 300 gold, which is quite cheap.
But I accepted the quest anyway.
The reason is first that the smooth supply of mana stones comes first, and second, I’ve already received help from Leo.
I can probably handle some noise complaints.
“Oh.”
“When did you get something like this?”
“The rewards are super sweet!”
“Hahahahahahaha!”
“Compared to Lily’s worth, it seems a bit cheap though.”
“Over this way.”
Leo’s knight, assigned by the marquis, guided me deeper into the mine.
The walls were illuminated by magical flames, and at regular intervals, there were high-quality resting spots and a variety of food.
This place was way too nice for a working mine.
Noticing my expression, the knight spoke.
“Lord Leo cares deeply for everyone in the Empire. He personally visits working sites and directs many welfare measures.”
“I see.”
“Yes. Because of that, the mine’s efficiency has improved, and his reputation has also increased.”
Compared to all the nobles I’ve encountered so far, Leo truly seems like a kind lord.
“Maybe I’ve just seen too many garbage people?”
“Leo is nice.”
“Of course, Leo.”
“But that’s got to be super expensive to maintain, right?”
“Do we really need to do this for some NPCs?”
“Kinda would be a waste, haha.”
“Oh, haha, if the reputation drops, running the city gets tough, haha.”
“How much does all this cost?”
“Is everyone gone right now?”
“The mining has been temporarily halted. The miners heard a strange voice and couldn’t continue working. Worried about the seriousness of the situation, the lord issued a suspension order.”
“Has there been a significant change?”
“More of a… the voice keeps echoing in their heads. It’s been heard at any time, making it impossible to continue work.”
“Hmmm…”
Keeps echoing in their heads, huh?
A curse? Or maybe just some spiritual prank?
“Whoa.”
“A mine ghost, scary.”
“Is it really a ghost?”
“Lily can tear through ghosts.”
“Lily, I’m scared. Hug me!”
“ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”
“So scary, ㅠㅠ.”
“…….”
Thud. Thud.
As I went deeper, the lights in the mine dwindled.
It became more disordered, with an ominous aura creeping in.
I bent slightly to lift up some broken pieces of pottery.
A sign of something thrown away.
“This looks… almost human.”
“Exactly. At first, we thought it was just a dispute among miners, but it wasn’t.”
I set the pottery back down.
There were signs of something human-like all over.
To be precise…
“Signs of someone pretending to be human.”
Whoosh.
The light on the mine wall went out.
“…! Oh no, please wait a moment. I’ll light it—”
“It’s fine.”
I gently released some magical power. The magic brushed against the torches along the walls.
The torches ignited once more.
The knight resumed walking with an awkward expression.
“HAHAHAHAHA.”
“LOL.”
“Awkward vibes, haha.”
“…Are you a Mage?”
“I am also a Mage.”
I can do just about anything.
Be it magic, weapon skills, or anything else.
I just mainly use spear and hammer.
I wonder how long it’s been.
Finally, I arrived at the end of the mine.
“Here it is. This is where the miners first heard that sound.”
“This place…”
I left the Knight behind and slowly approached the wall.
At a glance, it looked like an ordinary wall.
As I placed my hand on the wall, a subtle sensation washed over me.
At that moment.
Hehehehehe…
“…!”
[Whoa, that startled me]
[Ah]
[I was so surprised]
[For real, it’s a ghost, lol]
[Ah, I’m alone and it’s real]
[Shivers]
[No way]
[Was it really a ghost?]
[I wanna smash the ghost’s head with a hammer, haha]
“The sound…”
“Just a moment.”
Hehehehehe…
Something is there.
It’s definitely packed inside, but something exists.
I was about to pull out my hammer when I looked back at the Knight.
He seemed on edge, ready to draw his sword at any moment.
“Can I smash it?”
“It’s fine as long as the mine doesn’t collapse.”
“Hmm.”
Then I can’t use the hammer.
I was just thinking of smashing it down with brute force.
‘In that case.’
I concentrated my magical power in my hand. Blue mana gradually gathered to one place along the mana lines.
Soon, an intangible wave enveloped the area.
The Knight swallowed hard, waiting for what would happen, but the mine remained quiet.
…
“What are you doing—”
Hehehe… heeeeeeek!!!!!
‘That’ went wild.
Flapping around, it eventually left behind a small door and vanished.
A door that looked like it could fit a small puppy through.
“…What did you do?”
“I twisted the flow of mana. Spiritual beings like that are sensitive to the flow of mana.”
That’s why the exorcists around here had to handle mana well.
[?]
[Huh?]
[???]
[What are you doing?]
[Eh]
“And probably… this must be its home.”
[Will you enter the Copycat’s home?]
[Will you enter the Copycat’s home?]
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