Chapter 37: Mine (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 37: Mine (1)
I’d thrashed the Hero pretty violently, so I expected boos rather than cheers.
He was famous, after all, and incredibly popular.
-Waaaaah!!
But contrary to my expectations, the crowd roared with excitement.
Was it because some nobody without even a rank had just beaten the hell out of the number two? It might not have been the outcome they’d hoped for, but the match itself must have been an interesting spectacle.
Seeing Yohan being carried out on a stretcher, not even leaving on his own two feet, the sharp edge of my emotions slowly began to dull.
What was that?
I furrowed my brow and slowly uncurled my hand.
The sensation of having clenched my fist so tightly, as if wringing something out, faded away.
Something was different.
It felt like my own emotions, but with something foreign mixed in. As if someone were whispering in my ear, egging me on…
I turned to leave the arena.
That’s when it happened.
I instinctively snapped my head up.
To protect the spectators from any attacks originating in the arena, there was supposed to be a powerful barrier surrounding it.
A corner of that barrier was shattered.
Killing intent washed over the nape of my neck. Without hesitation, I leaped back three steps.
-CRASH!
In that exact moment.
Something enormous slammed down right where I had been standing.
The ground trembled. Debris flew in all directions as a shockwave spread out.
If I’d been even a single step slower, I would have been crushed.
A white figure.
It was a man.
He stared at me, a giant mace embedded deep in the ground, its handle gripped tightly in his hand.
The unique, combat-modified equipment of the Holy Knights, directly under the Cult's command.
The man lifted the mace again without a word. Its weight looked anything but light.
I knew who he was at once.
The one who stands by the Hero's side, protecting and accompanying him.
A Crusader.
Not one of the pretenders Yohan played at being a Crusader with back at Gaon, but a real Crusader who eradicates Mines on the front lines.
A group that exists for the Hero and by the Hero, their loyalty is second to none.
They follow only their god and the Hero. Law, morality, public opinion—none of it matters.
Only then did I slowly open my mouth.
“…That’s a unique way to make an entrance.”
The man stared at me in silence.
He glanced toward Yohan being carried away, then slowly bowed his head in that direction.
Then, he turned back to me and spoke.
“I’ll do the same to you.”
His voice was low and heavy. At the same time, his massive figure vanished.
Instantly, the same killing intent from before pierced my entire body.
I quickly reached for my waist, but my spear wasn't there. That left only one option.
I dropped low, curling my body into a defensive stance.
-CRASH!
The moment the mace slammed down, a shockwave erupted. But something was strange.
I was still unharmed. The mace hadn't reached me.
“…?”
A man's figure stood before me. A man wearing no armor.
He had raised one hand, blocking the descending mace with his bare palm.
-Waaaaaaah!!
The roar of the crowd echoed.
The Holy Knight's expression faltered.
He immediately retrieved his weapon and took several steps back.
In contrast, the man who had blocked the mace casually brushed off his arm as if it were nothing.
Then, he spoke.
“A match is just a match. Right?”
His voice was somewhat playful and relaxed.
The Holy Knight before him muttered the name.
“Park Gwang-cheol…?”
Park Gwang-cheol smiled lightly.
“Things get a little ridiculous when you get involved.”
The Holy Knight scowled at his words.
With his armor and physique, the Crusader was more than twice Park Gwang-cheol's size.
Despite that, Park Gwang-cheol's presence was slowly overwhelming the arena.
“This is no business for the Vanquisher. Any further interference will be taken as a declaration of war against the Cult…”
“And why isn’t it?”
Park Gwang-cheol chuckled and stepped back. He placed a hand lightly on my shoulder.
“Because we're taking this kid.”
At his words, the Holy Knight's face twisted.
“The Vanquisher…?”
Park Gwang-cheol smiled once more.
“A declaration of war…”
He gently pushed my shoulder to move me aside, then took a step toward the Holy Knight.
“Wanna make it real?”
His voice was low and languid, but the meaning behind it was heavy.
“…”
The arena fell so silent you could hear a pin drop. In that moment, the Holy Knight's fingertips trembled slightly.
Park Gwang-cheol smiled and patted his shoulder.
“Just kidding.”
He turned back to me.
“Let's go.”
I looked at Park Gwang-cheol.
“Time to eat.”
His expression was full of mischief.
*
The Vanquisher had confronted the Cult head-on to take me away.
This was not only an act of defiance against the Cult, but also tantamount to an official declaration of my protection.
Thanks to that, I was nearly swamped by a barrage of camera flashes and questions from reporters on my way out.
-Get out of the way!!
Though, of course, Park Gwang-cheol cleared a path.
“But, is this really okay?”
I asked, taking a spoonful of gukbap.
-Slurp
Cupping the earthenware bowl with both hands, Park Gwang-cheol slurped down the hot broth.
Putting the bowl down, Park Gwang-cheol spoke to me, spoon in hand.
“Originally, I was just planning to watch, you know?”
Then he chuckled as if remembering something.
“You… seem to be a little too popular.”
“So when I reported it to the Old Man, he told me to bring you in immediately.”
I put down my spoon and nodded.
Thankfully, it wasn't a decision he'd made on his own.
Well, if the Old Man ordered it…
Park Gwang-cheol said casually.
“But Hae-in, what the hell have you been up to?”
I paused for a moment.
"Maengju, Arcadia… what else, the Yu Family too?"
I thought for a moment before giving a vague answer.
“Just… did what I had to do.”
Park Gwang-cheol chuckled and continued.
“So who's your opponent tomorrow? There was only one match today, right?”
Only the first round of matches is held on the first day, with the second and third rounds tomorrow. Their attack will begin tomorrow, when the crowds are largest.
That's why I hadn't even checked the roster to see who I was up against. I was planning to forfeit anyway.
“Uh… I'm not sure.”
I turned on my Watch to check. Mine had been smashed, so I'd hastily bought a new one before coming to the restaurant.
But something else caught my eye first.
The first round of duels had just ended. It seemed the organizations had started bidding on students.
[Bidding Status]
[Crimson Guild] → [Park Suhyeong] bidding 10,000,000 KRW.
[Dominant Guild] → [Wilson] bidding 14,000 USD.
Bids were coming in from various guilds around the world.
And then.
[Arcadia Cult] → [Yohan] bidding 500,000,000 KRW.
“Whoa, 500 million?”
Park Gwang-cheol exclaimed, looking at the Watch screen.
“At least they're trying to save his pride.”
I nodded at his words. It was a considerate gesture from the Cult.
A measure to protect Yohan's pride, and a sign of their intention to support him to the end.
There were no bids for me yet.
I slowly scanned the list of tomorrow's opponents. They were unfamiliar names, so I just gave a vague response.
Park Gwang-cheol seemed to have finished his meal and leaned back in his chair.
I stood up from my seat and said,
“Let's go.”
Now, there was something I had to prepare.
*
The Harpe had arrived. I picked up the package left in front of my dorm room door and went inside.
“Ugh, damn, this is heavy.”
When I opened the box, a giant chunk of rock was revealed inside.
“…It's huge.”
The stone sickle was larger than I'd expected. It had a crude, rough surface and the heavy weight of a boulder.
It looked less like a sickle and more like a broken pillar.
I couldn't feel any aura or divinity from it.
I set the stone down and looked outside.
The sun had set, and the moon was rising.
A gentle night breeze drifted in, carrying the faint scent of grass.
I slung the stone sickle over my shoulder and headed out.
I headed straight for the forest. It wasn't late yet, so there were still many people around. I needed a secluded spot.
The forest at night had a completely different atmosphere from the daytime.
It was silent. I couldn't even hear the sound of the wind.
I walked slowly between the trees, tilting my head back to look at the sky.
Countless stars were embedded in the dark night sky.
What I had to do now was simple.
Make this stone sickle resonate with the constellation Perseus.
That was the condition to restore the Harpe to its true form.
Before leaving, I'd had a hard time finding the Perseus constellation on the internet.
It was April.
Normally, the Perseus constellation shouldn't be visible at this time of year.
But this wasn't reality; it was the 'world of the game'.
If that's the setting, then that becomes the law.
There it is.
I readjusted my grip on the stone sickle and looked up at the sky.
The constellation Perseus.
Aiming precisely at it, I raised the sickle.
My vision aligned perfectly with the constellation.
In that instant, a light fell. A single streak of blue light descending from the constellation.
The moment it touched the stone sickle, a thrill shot through me, starting from my fingertips.
The surface of the stone sickle began to change in an instant.
The rough surface started to crack, as if something hidden within was awakening.
From the cracks, the sheen of metal slowly emerged.
Not stone, but a mysterious, silver-tinged metal.
The heavy, blunt chunk of rock had now become a sword with a curved blade, a divine weapon.
I quietly gripped the Harpe in my hand.
It's light.
It fit my hand perfectly. Surprisingly so.
This relic, descended from myth into reality.
The sword that tears serpents.
The sword that would condemn Medusa.