Even Phantom Is Only Human

Concentrating their strength to repel the Four Calamities when they struck predetermined cities was, at the very least, the method that would stop them with the least damage.

But the majority of the city rulers remained skeptical of that proposal.

"There is no guarantee the Four Calamities will become 'the one who is the Abyss itself.'"

"Hmm. The other masters of the Abyss might keep the Four Calamities in check."

"They might not invade at all."

"Exactly. Zeraph, aren't your assumptions fixated solely on the worst case?"

Zeraph's entire body trembled.

These bastards!

Reason was useless here. They had convened this meeting from the start with the intention of expelling him. Severing the warps of already-connected cities required a certain degree of consensus, after all.

"…Even if we cut the warps, that doesn't mean there is no way to harm your cities."

One of the neutral city masters who had been silent finally spoke. A bald monk in orange monastic robes, he continued in a mild, measured tone.

"Simply connect to the warps of ownerless regions that require no permission. Even if the Four Calamities never become 'the one who is the Abyss itself,' you would still be handing them an infinitely expanding foothold, would you not?"

"…Are you saying we should all die together?"

"Pull a stunt like that and none of our cities will survive!"

The monk gave a small, cold laugh.

"Whether we die this way or that, are we not already dead men? If you insist on acting out of self-interest, then I shall have no choice but to do the same."

In other words, if they unilaterally cut ties, he would drag them down with him like a water ghost. If they truly wanted safety, they could sever every warp and sink into the Abyss—where some other master of the depths would be waiting to welcome them in place of the Four Calamities.

"Hah."

"This is quite…"

In the end, the meeting returned to square one. Endless back-and-forth continued as they groped for a compromise that showed no sign of ever arriving.

"…Have you prepared your excuses, Obsidian?"

Master, who had personally raided Obsidian's hideout, twisted his face into a scowl. She had taken a full fifty million gold and then sealed her lips completely shut.

"Well… I never expected the Four Calamities to show up all of a sudden… I didn't know either……"

Caught while trying to go to ground, Obsidian twisted her whole body into knots.

"So you obtained neither information on Phantom ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nor succeeded in kidnapping the White King's daughter?"

"Ahahaha."

"I am not joking, Obsidian."

The atmosphere sank heavy and cold. Murderous intent radiated from Master's eyes. Obsidian swallowed hard.

"It's not like I came away empty-handed, you know? Information on the Black King and the Four Calamities should sell for a high price, shouldn't it?"

"Speak."

"Laktusha, the Black King's direct subordinate, clashed with the Four Calamities himself."

"Laktusha… Swordmaster Laktusha, that orc great warrior?"

"That's right! And you know what's even more surprising? That orc suddenly underwent giant transformation. From the information I've gathered so far, it seems the Black King can grant Hidden Traits to his direct subordinates."

Master stroked his chin. The giant trait would refer to Giant's Magic Resistance. So the Black King possessed the ability to bestow Hidden Traits. Was that why he could so confidently target the White King?

The Hidden Traits I've identified so far number seven. The Black King may know more.

Even simply learning about Hidden Traits made contact with the Black King worthwhile. If he could discover the types ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Hidden Traits and the talents linked to them, ten million gold would not be too much to pay.

The Hidden Traits Master had spent years painstakingly uncovering numbered a mere seven.

The possibility that other Hidden Traits existed beyond these was extremely high. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not uncover them. If the Black King knew the rest, contact was worth forcing even at great cost.

"The problem is that even then, Laktusha lost to the Four Calamities. And that despite Laktusha being Level 13."

"You mean the Four Calamities are beyond that?"

"Exactly. A being of Level 14 or higher. How are you supposed to stop a monster on the level of the White King or Black King? Not unless the Goddess Sect's Holy Grail Knights take the field themselves."

This was fairly useful information. The fact that the Four Calamities were Level 14 or above could be put to practical use—he could even sell it immediately to the cities connected to the Mountain of the Cultivator.

But it still was not fifty-million-gold information. Sensing the dangerous shift in mood, Obsidian quickly opened her mouth again.

"And Phantom doesn't seem to have been on the Mountain of the Cultivator anymore."

"Why do you think that?"

"If he had been there, I either would have known about it or he'd already be dead?"

She had planted plenty of eyes at the mountain's entrance. The monster legion held the central zone, and Laktusha and the Four Calamities had been at the summit. If Phantom had been present, he would have been discovered one way or another.

Was that truly the case?

There is a hard ceiling on proficiency levels…

Sword Saint Gracia held first place at Level 24. Master himself was third at Level 22. Raising anything beyond that on the mountain was hardly easy. It would be more efficient to raise proficiency moderately and prepare for the next quest.

"More than anything, the Mountain of the Cultivator has already sunk. Raising proficiency levels any higher would leave far too little time, wouldn't it?"

That, too, was correct. Time invested and proficiency level were proportional. No matter how legendary one's talent, once the mountain had sunk, the absolute time available for training was insufficient.

So he really settled for Level 15 without any greed for the Hall of Fame?

Randolph had run away with an overwhelming first place through Main Quest 6. And that same Randolph had suddenly compromised at 7? It was strange—but by common sense, it made sense. If Randolph truly had not participated in the Abyss Labyrinth, his training time on the Mountain of the Cultivator would have been a month at most. Surpassing Level 24 in that span was impossible. Overwhelming talent and an excellent class made no difference.

Right. So that's how it is…

A strange sense of relief settled over him. Hearing Obsidian speak with such certainty made him feel even more at ease.

Yes. Even the great Phantom had things he could not do. No matter how outlandish and bug-like his playstyle, Phantom could not have everything. Phantom, too, was human. Some people treated Phantom like a god, but Phantom was by no means a god.

Phantom is human.

If he was human, he could be competed with. If he was human, he could be beaten. The damage suffered so far and the overwhelming scores had merely blinded him for a time.

At last—the moment that inhuman creature was confirmed to be human. A mere human could not topple his empire. Knowing that alone made the fifty million gold worth every coin.

He had intended to kill her for taking the money and vanishing, but in his magnanimity he decided to spare her life.

Ah! I'm alive!

Seeing Master's eyes, Obsidian felt a private wave of relief. The information she had offered must have been quite useful. Master smiled at the corner of his mouth. Obsidian smiled with him.

"…"

"…?"

"…"

"…??"

"…"

"…???"

Obsidian froze in panic—frantic thoughts, uneasy eyes. Ah, wait a second.

And watching her, Master looked as if he had crawled out of the bottomless pit of hell itself.

……Things ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had, quite thoroughly, gone to shit.

Perhaps because the level had been achieved through sword proficiency, every reward was a sword. And every one of the five was the kind of blade that made the eyes spin.

…These are the sort that raise the max level of sword proficiency.

There were rare cases where a class, a star, or—very rarely—a weapon raised the proficiency level cap. Cases where a non-Unique weapon raised the proficiency max were rarer still. Yet all five swords that had appeared now carried options that raised the max level of sword proficiency.

Every one of them has a nearly fixed purpose. I need to choose carefully.

They were also specialized blades—powerful enough on their own, but capable of far greater force under specific conditions. I stroked my chin in silence. A smile formed at the corner of my mouth of its own accord.

I can push this further.

Because this was not everything.

The Hidden Quest set by the mountain's master! I had already elevated the reward six times by reaching Sword Proficiency Level 30—but if I could raise the max level further, that changed everything. The appearance of an achievement meant that going beyond this would let me complete a myth that was mine alone.

From here on is the real beginning.

I could not even imagine what it would give past Level 31. Just as I had obtained out-of-spec mysteries by overcoming every trial in the Hall of Myths, completing a myth of my own making would mean rewards of Unique grade at minimum!

When I received the survival reward for clearing the Abyss Labyrinth. When I summoned the soul of Sword Saint Ryleigh through the Throne of Brilliant Light, spent over a thousand hours of Golden Rule, and brought salvation to seventeen Constellations. Even compared to the moment I chose Baal's Helmet and the Brand of Ouroboros—I was more tense now, without question.

Grand Slash. A sword that, true to its name, carries the effect of a cleaving strike.

In Pangenia's concepts, the difference between a blunt strike and a cleaving slash lay in depth. A strike meant a relatively shallow attack—hitting, battering—while a cleaving slash meant a deep wound, a critically lethal cut. And Grand Slash granted a 5% penetration effect to strikes delivered with a sword, then left additional irreparable damage on any attack that penetrated. Penetration was an option you took without hesitation whenever you could get it.

Dragonslayer. Carries a powerful penetration effect against dragonkind.

But Dragonslayer held a full 10% penetration option against dragon species—double Grand Slash's, limited to dragons. Dragons were uniformly powerful, so it would remain useful for a long time to come. There were several dragonkind I would inevitably encounter—the Mad Dragon Ainharthar, for instance, whom one met while progressing Main Quest 10.

Skullcrusher. A blunt-type greatsword. Adds extra effects to Sword Qi.

The name was ridiculous, but it was the weapon of the giant race's greatest warrior. A greatsword larger than my own body, usable for blunt striking as well. Only those who could wield Sword Qi could handle it lightly, and so it carried an additional effect that increased Sword Qi damage.

Lu-. A combinable holy sword. Useful once completed, no doubt.

Lu-, as the name suggested, was an incomplete holy sword. Being holy, it was naturally tied to sacred power. In the hands of a paladin-related class, it boosted holy effects by a staggering 50%. Combined with other swords it produced additional effects—the problem being that I had a class with absolutely no connection to paladins or sacred power. Depending on which sword it combined with, however, even I could use it. Completing Lu- required a sword whose name began with a trailing hyphen—something like -ra or -aie. Even if not immediately, selecting it would deliver reliable performance the moment it was completed.

Lastly, Transcendent Blade. A growth-type sword.

A growth-type sword. Upon reaching certain stages after growing, it would strengthen itself of its own accord, gaining the effects of Extreme, True, Annihilation, and Severance. Completing all four strengthenings granted a fifth Transcendence effect and finished the blade.

…One of these.

Every sword had a clear identity. I could choose only one. I had to examine the path I would take from here and pick the most effective blade among them. Where I was headed next was already decided.

The Empire.

Going to the Empire to obtain Baal's Armor could mean combat. The likelihood of facing imperial soldiers and knights was quite high. Even after securing Baal's Armor, I had to account for battles against the Four Calamities or monsters of equivalent caliber. The sword that would perform most reliably across every variable.

Growth-type and combinable swords have to be excluded.

I needed to grow stronger immediately. I had never once violated that fundamental premise. If I could choose two, I might set one aside for the future—but with only a single sword available, I needed a weapon that made me stronger right now. Lu- and Transcendent Blade failed that condition. Slightly regrettable, but there would be chances to meet them again someday.

Grand Slash, useful across the board. Dragonslayer, with overwhelming effect against dragons themselves. Skullcrusher, the giant's weapon.

Three candidates remained. Not an easy choice. After long deliberation, I made my decision.

Player Talk was once again plastered wall-to-wall with talk of Phantom.

Every player progressing Main Quest 7 had witnessed the moment the rankings shifted. The Hall of Fame, which collected the achievement scores of players advancing through the Main Quest—and there, first place had changed.