Chapter 117: What Yujun Let Slip

At the words Yujun had let slip without thinking, Jo Su-a spoke.

"...You could have said something first."

"Sorry. I didn't realize the backlash would reach everyone around me."

He hadn't even poured out all of his mana. He had only drawn a moderate amount from his body and cast a single spell belonging to Ancient Magic. That, it seemed, was simply the nature of the spell.

"The two of the Hon have fallen asleep. They must have been exhausted."

"Yujun. That was you."

Manuela's rebuke was blunt.

"Anyway, did you see your level go up?"

"I saw the message, but I haven't checked it. How much did yours go up, Jo Su-a?"

"Mine went up by one."

"...What? That's all?"

"The monsters here must have been unfinished. They give far less experience than the ones we faced in Sourtul Forest."

Disappointment was written plainly across Jo Su-a's face. Her level had risen far less than she had expected. Even so, she was already past level 600 — a high-level player, incomparably higher than Yujun — and once the gap between her and the monsters was taken into account, a single level was anything but small.

How much did I go up?

His level had been 440. He was curious to see how far it had climbed, and he opened his status window.

"Hmm...?"

His level, too, had risen far less than he had expected. He had cut down hundreds of monsters in a single blow, and this was all he got? Disappointment settled over his face. It was true that the experience coming in dropped off hard past level 400. Even so, he hadn't thought it would be this bad.

The reason was simple enough. The monsters he had killed were probably lower than him, or somewhere around the same level.

"Tsk. Maybe I should have waited until they were fully strengthened before I killed them."

"What? A moment ago, didn't you say we ought to help them so they wouldn't suffer...?"

When Yotolban voiced the question, Yujun's face twisted. Can't you read the room? his eyes said. Yotolban didn't dare talk back. He only nodded.

"Shall we go see whether there are more friends locked up in here? Iere."

"Uh... huh?"

"This isn't all of them, is it?" Yujun asked, smiling brightly.

"It is all of them..."

"......"

"B-but this probably isn't the only lab. I heard there's a place even bigger than this one."

Iere said it while trembling. Yujun's expression was far too murderous.

"You've never been?"

"No. They said it was a shame I didn't have the clearance."

"Why were they disappointed?"

"Because then they'd have to do more of the work themselves? All I had to do was keep this lab running and tell them the Potential of the monsters they brought in. That was the end of it."

"Do you know where that lab is?"

"I heard it isn't far from here. That's all I know."

"Got it."

Yujun searched the laboratory from top to bottom. He didn't expect to find any items. He was looking for monsters still alive. Unfortunately, there were no more suffering friends. That single cast of Ancient Magic had killed every test subject in the place.

He did find one thing. Several sheets of paper were covered in script he couldn't read, and the System interpreted them for him.

The part about measuring Potential was something he had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already heard from Iere.

It doesn't say how they actually strengthen the monsters, though. He was curious. What kind of item could strengthen hundreds, even thousands, of monsters? If it was a consumable, then someone had the ability to craft that consumable. And if it wasn't, that was a problem of its own.

Why strengthen them at all? To swell the Demon God Worshippers' forces? If so, they must also know how to dominate or control the strengthened monsters. It was all guesswork, but it felt close enough to the truth. He could feel, all too clearly, just how meticulously the Demon God Worshippers were preparing to bring this world to ruin.

The objective is the same this time, isn't it? Rule the Continent, and bring about the Demon God's descent. The order of the two might even be reversed.

The Demon God is no ordinary being. If it descended right now, there'd truly be no answer. But that was unlikely to come to pass. If summoning the Demon God were already possible, they would have no need to capture monsters and strengthen them one by one. They had gone to all this trouble because they themselves felt something was lacking.

A thunderous chain of explosions tore through the laboratory as Yujun climbed the stairs and blew it apart with Ancient Magic.

Jo Su-a stared at him, dumbfounded.

"A culprit isn't supposed to leave evidence."

"When you put it like that, it sounds like we're the ones doing something wrong."

"From the Demon God Worshippers' point of view, we are criminals."

"The Demon God Worshippers are the villains, though."

"I see. Then we're the good guys."

What he had just done was a good deed. He had hindered the Demon God Worshippers' plans, if only a little.

"Either way, we'll have to find the entrance, or the other laboratory."

Time was of the essence. The Demon God Worshippers were hunting Yujun's party with their eyes burning, and staying one step ahead of them was what mattered.

The Continent was changing quickly. The rise of outstanding prospects was no longer anything unusual, for the Tower of Infinity and the Continent gathered not only humans, but every race under ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the sun.

There was a problem, however — none other than the Demon God Worshippers, enemies of the Continent in every sense of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠word. Players across the Continent had begun to notice they existed. Rumors, once they start to spread, travel with astonishing speed, and it was fair to say that no player remained ignorant of what the Demon God Worshippers were scheming.

"We can't simply stand by and watch. Don't you agree?"

"Of course it has to be dealt with. We'll need to prepare, though."

Among the highest-ranking players, there was a group known as the Elite Association. Its numbers were not great, but every member was either famous across the Continent or a hidden powerhouse. To belong, ability mattered above all else.

What they did was nothing elaborate. They prepared for the moment when threats to the Continent — the Demon God Worshippers, the demons, and their like — appeared, or they dealt with those threats before they appeared at all. That was their purpose. In a sense, they were a beneficial group with a purely righteous aim, and even they had now resolved to act.

"I have something to say."

A woman with bright, clear eyes spoke up.

"What is it?"

"It's recent. I ran into a Demon God Worshipper."

"There are plenty of them. Nothing strange about that. Why bring it up?"

"If it were just any Worshipper, I wouldn't have. I'm bringing it up because this one was extremely strong."

"How strong?"

"Strong enough that two of us would have had to step in?"

"...Someone like that exists?"

"Well, of course they do. And I hear there isn't just one or two of them."

"How did you find that out?"

"I overheard them talking."

"You weren't caught, were you?"

"You know my stealth is second to none."

"...I hate to admit it, but that's true."

The woman was Baek Hyoyeon, a player said to have no equal when it came to stealth or concealing her presence. That was why the members of the Elite Association trusted her word.

"Did you hear anything else?"

"You know Sourtul Forest, right?"

"Yes."

"I think there's some secret there. They were plotting something enormous."

"Something enormous?"

"I couldn't follow them into Sourtul Forest. I only tracked them as far as the entrance... One moment."

Her throat must have gone dry. Baek Hyoyeon gulped down water, and one of the members grumbled.

"Why do you stop halfway through?"

"A person can get thirsty, you know. Don't rush me. Keep that up and I won't say another word."

"Sorry."

"Anyway. I'll tell you. Ah, where was I?"

"You followed them to the front of Sourtul Forest..."

"Right, that's it. From what I heard there, the Demon God Worshippers seemed to be toying with monsters."

"Toying with monsters?"

"Something about using an elixir to make them stronger? And then they went into Sourtul Forest."

"Anything else?"

"I didn't hear any more. That was the end of it. Even so, I couldn't go into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Sourtul Forest."

"You did well."

Sourtul Forest, from which no one was said to have returned alive. One member of the Elite Association had gone in and still hadn't sent back so much as a whisper. Knowing that, Baek Hyoyeon hadn't been able to bring herself to follow them inside.

"We all knew the Demon God Worshippers were building their strength, right?"

"Right."

Another member agreed.

"To think they'd even use monsters. And they went into Sourtul Forest, of all places?"

"Without a second thought. A lot of Demon God Worshippers seem to go in there."

"...Which means they can come back out."

"I suppose so?"

Silence settled over the gathering. Most of them were turning Baek Hyoyeon's words over again and again.

"Oh, and... there's one more thing I heard."

Baek Hyoyeon spoke again.

"What is it?"

"They said the Demon God Worshippers have a player they've marked as their chief enemy."

"A chief enemy?"

"Yes. Their primary foe. A target to be eliminated before anyone else."

"And who is that?"

"Don't be shocked when you hear it."

"...Who."

"...You're really going to be surprised, you know?"

"Say it! Just say it!"

"The elimination target is Shin Yujun."

"Shin Yujun..."

"That prospect?"

"Isn't he a bit too big to call a mere prospect?"

No one here was ignorant of Shin Yujun. The Species Tournament was where he had truly shown himself. He had already been plenty strong then, and now the rumors that he had grown even stronger were everywhere. More than a few people wanted to know who he really was.

"That player. I heard he has pay-to-win items that only existed back in War of the Gods."

"Yes. I saw it in a recording, too. He was using items you absolutely cannot obtain in the Tower of Infinity. I looked into it a bit, and nothing came up."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I dug and dug and found nothing. There's no telling where he got items like that."

"The Ancient Ruins, I'd bet."

An older member of the Elite Association spoke.

"The Ancient Ruins?"

"You didn't know? Shin Yujun cleared the Ancient Ruins. Well — more precisely, he went in and came back out."

"Wasn't the Ancient Ruins a place no one could enter?"

"You really don't know a thing about the world."

"I'm not finished yet!"

Baek Hyoyeon cut them off.

"So, to get to the point, Shin Yujun seems to have thoroughly offended the Demon God Worshippers. They were gunning for him in earnest."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I only heard that he has to be killed."

The older member spoke.

"Hmm. So what is it you want to say?"

"The point is, we have to protect the player named Shin Yujun."

"...Because he's an enemy of the Demon God Worshippers?"

"Yes."

"Even so, helping a human leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

"I'm human too, you know?"

"You're different. Your character has already been proven, so there's no issue. We know almost nothing about this Shin Yujun."

"Even so. Wouldn't it be better to have one more powerhouse who can stand against the Demon God Worshippers? We can prove who he is while we help him."

"Hmm."

Baek Hyoyeon looked at the dwarf member of the Elite Association with bright, earnest eyes.

"No?"

The dwarf's stern face softened, just a little.

"W-we ought to hear the other members before we decide."

"Great!"