The meeting is scheduled for a week later, on August 8th.
Contrary to the claim by Ascension Lord Won-gyeom that it would be a month later, the meeting was arranged earlier than expected.
It must have been influenced by Cheongjinryeong’s pressure.
From Cheongjinryeong’s perspective, whether I win or the Archlords win, it’s crucial to quickly recover from the losses he has incurred.
Anyway, I taught Yena and Hayoung a bit or explored more knowledge about higher planes, but there wasn’t much we could do right now.
There are two powerful beings in the Main Temple that I cannot tackle with my current state.
Unless I go through my own ‘procedures’, I can’t act freely.
That’s why I intentionally avoided holding Yena’s funeral to prevent Mokmujin’s active intervention; it was all for that reason.
Tap-tap.
“Can I step out for a moment?”
“Huh?”
Has it been about three days since the week of waiting started?
Yena closed her thick book and asked me.
“Since we’re not trapped here, there’s no reason to stay.”
“That’s true.”
This place is not a dungeon, but another world.
Yena and I could freely travel between reality and the Deoen world, and in fact, we did so several times a day.
However, the difficulty level of this Main Temple was quite high, which is why we had been here for a while.
Also…
“I thought maybe the Heavenly Horse would come.”
“If it’s that person, they’ll handle it well. I’ll grab some coffee.”
They said they would definitely come, but when exactly are they coming?
I fiddled with half of the new life force I had created and nodded before logging out.
As Yena said, if it’s the Heavenly Horse, they will manage things themselves.
As the blue particles enveloped me, I soon returned to reality.
Zing—
As the connection door opened, I naturally sat up.
It was still midday with the sun high in the sky.
It felt pretty rare to be in reality at this time, around 1 PM, not exactly morning.
I moved my body, which felt like it was sinking below the water’s surface, and headed straight to the living room.
After preparing some simple snacks leftover from yesterday, I sat down, enjoying the view of the Han River through the large glass.
The Demon King’s Castle on the other side of the Han River was still clearly visible.
Of course, that Demon King’s Castle was the former headquarters of Nutri Company in Deoen.
Ding-dong~
I heard the doorbell.
Standing outside the door was Yena, dressed lightly, having bought two cups of coffee from the cafe right in front of the apartment.
Yena lightly shook the coffee cups.
—Open door, please~
“I don’t want to.”
—……
Ding ding~
The door opened.
■
Nom nom.
“…So, Lady Lily, I heard you haven’t been frequenting the cafe lately. Is that true?”
“Oh, I’ve been a bit busy. I’ve mainly been using my coffee pot. The taste is surprisingly good.”
“The part-timer over there is really looking for you. I think they might have figured out your identity?”
“Hmm.”
I always go out wearing a hat and a mask, but I can’t hide forever.
After all, this ‘blue’ hair is something that can’t be concealed no matter how hard I try.
Even if I tuck it under my hat, some of it always manages to peek out.
As I said that, Yena asked while fidgeting, “Why not just dye it?”
“That’s a bit…”
“Why not? What’s wrong with dyeing it?”
“Well… how should I put it?”
It’s a bit complicated, but simply put,
“I’ve lived with blue hair, I’m living with blue hair now, and I feel like I’ll continue living with blue hair in the future?”
It’s like an old tradition that’s been passed down.
Unless I’m planning on changing it for a very short time, I have no intention of changing it at all.
“And it’s not just ordinary hair. I’m not even sure if dye would actually work on it.”
“? Really?”
“Yes.”
Even though my power has been sealed to a level of an average person since my return, this body isn’t quite normal either.
There may be only a small cup’s worth, but the existence of mana is proof of that.
Yena nodded her head.
“Well, you are an alien after all.”
“Speaking of which, didn’t you have something to say?”
“Oh. Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about the Siege War. But we can’t skip it since it’s usually held as an event.”
“The Siege War…”
Deoen held the Siege War every year.
That summer, it was usually an event held in July, the ultimate festival of Deoen where they fought for control over the castle.
I also participated in last year’s Siege War and had my share of fun.
However, this year’s Siege War got postponed by a month to August because there were just too many recent events.
Just counting off a few…
“The Three Great Disaster Raid, the New Continent, the Altar, and quests for the top-tier users to enjoy… there were so many. For real.”
“It’s totally a god game. Yum yum.”
Yena said this while munching on the skewers I made.
The ones made in reality have a drastically reduced taste and effectiveness, but experiencing that taste fully in reality is nearly impossible anyway.
The food made in reality lacks both taste and efficacy, but honestly, experiencing the full flavor in reality is almost impossible.
Yena’s ability to taste is pretty average, so it’s essentially the same.
Anyway, the disaster subjugation battle took too long, and there were so many events that the timing for the siege war got delayed.
Above all, even if the siege war opens, I had no intention of participating.
I had already announced my non-participation in the siege war through broadcasts and community notices.
“Are you really not going to do it?”
“Yeah.”
“But the rewards can be great…”
“If I do, it’ll be a massacre.”
In the past, the siege war had the ‘justification’ of being the empire conducting spirit experiments, and my power back then wasn’t that strong either.
Of course, even that not-so-strong power was enough to crush most of the participants in the siege war.
Magic Lord or Duke Huangyeol could be pretty threatening unless they tried their best.
But now, what’s it like?
“I can just sit here and wiggle my fingers and conquer everything.”
“Whoa!”
In the past, I conquered the empire’s castles by dashing all around using the Spirit King’s powers and spear techniques.
It was shocking enough for the viewers back then, but now I could achieve similar results with just a finger wiggle.
Unless it’s top-tier rankers like Yena, Leo, or the Grim Reaper, they wouldn’t even be able to withstand my little ‘wiggle.’
Moreover, the empire has already fallen.
The empire is at half, no, a third of its original size, and the practical owner, Duke Huangyeol, has gone missing.
“I don’t have anyone in particular I want to conquer. I don’t really hold a grudge.”
“How about lowering your power a bit? Can’t we balance it out?”
“Well… I don’t know. Even so, I think it’s better not to.”
It seems more suitable to enjoy with similar users than to match levels against each other.
The final reward of the siege war, the mythical item, is nice, but for me now, it’s just a meh item.
‘It’s like an adult stepping into kids’ fights.’
I picked up a skewer and took a bite.
It tastes fine, but… having it often makes it not that delicious.
‘Maybe I should try something new soon.’
In reality, materials are so scarce that researching is not exactly easy.
“Are you thinking of participating, Yena?”
“I’m in thought, but… hmm. I feel like I’d get scolded if I do.”
“That’s true.”
Yena is in a stronger position now than I was in last year’s siege war.
It’s a situation where I’ve gotten even stronger than the Temple.
I’ve grown in every aspect: skill, technique, race, weapon, and power, and especially the Upper power of ‘parrying’ is quite a threatening ability.
I can even bounce back the techniques of the Celestial Race.
If Yena, like this, starts launching sieges, wouldn’t people go crazy?
“So I’m just going to apply and focus on defense. I can still defend, right?”
“Um… that’s right.”
Defense is definitely valid.
Who would complain about someone only protecting their own land?
Nyaam.
I chew on the stick of a skewer I’ve eaten all the meat off.
“Mmmm… Defense, huh…”
It might not be such a bad idea?
“I should just focus on defense as well.”
“Oh, good idea.”
“So when is the siege war happening?”
“It’s around mid-August, I think. If you want to apply, you should do it soon.”
“Okay.”
After handling the meetings and leveling up the display case, I think I’ll deal with everything else after the siege.
After all, tackling matters leading to the Marriage Device or going against a Junseon-level existence will probably take longer than I thought.
“Do you think other users will participate a lot?”
“Um… I don’t think the top rankers will join. It’s not like you actually get to keep anything by conquering. Although the Empire was a bit of an exception.”
Originally, siege wars were structured so that by capturing a castle, you earn certain points and rewards.
The real issue was the Empire waging an actual war using this system.
After I broke it down, they were stopped.
“The rewards aren’t that great compared to the New Continent or Altar, and if you’re not a broadcaster like us, there’s really no reason to participate, right?”
“What if someone does it like the Empire?”
“Well, there’s Lady Lily, right?”
The key figure who stopped the Empire’s atrocities is standing right there.
As long as I’m participating, I don’t think there will be any users acting out of line unnecessarily.
The only one with a chance, the Grim Reaper, has also recently toppled over for me.
“That’s true.”
“Um, oh right. Actually, there’s a real reason I wanted to see you today.”
“What is it?”
“I’m not too sure about this yet.”
Yena leaned in close to me and whispered in a small voice.
“I think there’s a stalker of Lady Lily in the apartment.”
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