Infinitely Deep Darkness (1)
The nerve war between Cheonha Tongil and Shining. Lee Hoyeol's unexpected appearance shattered the mounting tension. But Shining's guild master, Rocks, wasn't in a bad mood at all.
'Makes them realize their place in all sorts of ways.'
He was reminded once again. He felt most at ease as the underdog. Once he bit down, he never let go. That position as the underdog brought out his true nature best.
In stark contrast, Dmitri was brimming with dissatisfaction.
"Lee Hoyeol—what the hell is his deal with me?"
This was too much!
His voice dripped with pent-up frustration.
"The demons are gone. No more status ailments to worry about. I was finally gonna boost my stock a bit, and now this monster shows up in our playground rift? What I'm saying is!"
Twirling her hair around her finger, Camilla snorted derisively.
"Boost your stock? You were just trying to pick up girls~"
"......What?"
"What, did you make a promise or something? An interview shoutout~?"
"H-How did you know that......?"
"Jealous that he was grumbling to Hoyeol?"
"J-Jealous? Who? Me? Of Lee Hoyeol? No way? Not at all?"
"Pfft—"
Even after Jessie's departure, those two hadn't improved at all. No point trying to intervene. Instead of mediating, Rocks pointed at Hoyeol.
"He's here to keep his combat senses sharp."
"Combat senses? In a rift like this?"
"Maybe testing out as many skills as possible?"
"......Yeah?"
"Keep your eyes wide open, Dmitri. Stop staring at girls~"
"Hey, you bastard."
The Spirit of Darkness appears.
Compared to Lee Hoyeol's estimated level, the appropriate level of [Teppern Fence] was ridiculously low. But among currently generated rifts, it boasted the highest level.
"Instead of blaming Lee Hoyeol, blame your own narrow vessel."
With the demon threat gone, rifts like [Demon King's Castle] or [Crack in the Broken Dimension]—ones big enough for Lee Hoyeol—simply didn't exist anymore.
That was Rocks' thinking.
On the flip side.
"Annoying."
Ryu Ojuncheon's mood soured. His eyebrow twitched. With Hoyeol's arrival, all attention had shifted there.
"This isn't the first time."
The feats Cheonha Tongil—and he, its monarch—had accomplished. Hadn't they even surpassed Shining to claim the top guild ranking?
They deserved the world's gaze beyond their homeland, yet the attention on him hadn't lasted.
"......Lee Hoyeol."
Indeed. Every time he achieved something, Lee Hoyeol was there. Even in the [Mantra Mine] rift he was sure was a first clear, Hoyeol had been ahead. And [Demon King's Castle]? No need to even mention it.
In just over ten minutes—before Ryu Ojuncheon could even leave the guild house—the rift had been cleared and vanished.
Zzt—
Ryu Ojuncheon glared at Hoyeol. Not as a player, but as a Monarch class.
'How the hell did he move the Mage Tower?'
If Hoyeol's class was the same [Monarch] as his, it would make sense. Hoyeol's estimated level was at least 900. A Lv.900 monarch could whimsically command the Mage Tower.
But Ryu Ojuncheon knew better.
'However, a monarch couldn't do that.'
A monarch's weapon was their subjects. Not magic, not swords.
Yet look at Hoyeol over there.
"......What the hell?"
"He broke through that encirclement?"
"How many attack skills does he even have? You keeping track?"
"Y-Yes! But it's hard to keep up with that speed......"
Wasn't he facing an entire army single-handedly?
Ryu Ojuncheon's mind grew complicated. In the past, he'd dismissed such a Lee Hoyeol. Individuals were just that—individuals. He knew their limits.
But before he knew it, the Mage Tower moved in tandem with him. Yusra Kingdom, closely tied to King Hakuna, went without saying. The Goddess Church, Lion Heart Knights, even the Shadow Mercenaries.
He could no longer deny it.
'Above Shining stands Lee Hoyeol.'
A sky above the sky. A heaven beyond heaven?
Now he understood Rocks' attitude. Why a man like Rocks rated Hoyeol so highly.
Ryu Ojuncheon's eyes blazed.
'And I can't even guess his class.'
Clench—
Frustrated, he balled his fist and shouted at his guildmates.
"No time to stand around. Start the assault."
Rumble—!
"Tch."
Bad luck. Now rain too? The rift's sky darkened.
Soon, Hoyeol felled all the scarecrows and sheathed his weapon. Seemed he was calling it a day.
Ryu Ojuncheon unwittingly felt relief.
"......!"
......For a moment, thinking it fortunate? And discomfort at himself for it.
Yes. Rocks and Ryu Ojuncheon. Same situation, Hoyeol before them.
Their thoughts differed entirely.
But soon, they aligned perfectly.
"!"
Before the two—no, every player in [Teppern Fence].
A message appeared.
[The Spirit of Darkness appears.]
......Spirit of Darkness?
All eyes turned to one place. Toward Hoyeol.
"......No way, he came to [Teppern Fence] for this?"
......
Why were they all wearing such grave expressions?
I worried.
......Did I look too ugly, maybe?
After all, to them, I was like Chief Mage Marcelo—a senior mage. Battling scarecrows that should've been swept away in an instant.
However.
The Spirit of Darkness appears.
I swallowed a sigh of relief at the message.
Whew, false alarm. Better this than nothing.
'Still.'
It had blown up big time. Payan Lot's gaze toward me was intensely serious.
Payan spoke to me in a highly alert tone.
"......It's the Spirit of Darkness."
Spirit of Darkness, huh. Regrettably, my knowledge of spiritology was still superficial. Naturally, I had no idea what it was.
Yet I brazenly replied.
"I know."
"......?"
This shameless skin of mine. But not wrong. I knew from the message that the Spirit of Darkness had 'appeared.'
Not just rationalizing blindly. I'd noticed it too. Instinctively. My body reacted first.
Precisely, the mana flowing through my body. The 'compatible mana.'
Yes, I recognized this sensation.
'My first meeting with Matis.'
It felt similar. The difference?
Then, Matis' magic tool—his ring—responded to my compatible mana. Now, the rift's environment, that Spirit of Darkness, was responding to mine.
"If you already knew, I have nothing to say......"
Payan bit his lip and continued.
"As a senior in spiritology, failing to consider this possibility is entirely my fault. I'll accept any punishment after we resolve the situation."
Responsibility matters. But whose?
To pinpoint it precisely requires due procedure.
Following procedure, I asked Payan.
"Report the circumstances, Payan."
"I'll keep it as brief as possible."
Listening to Payan...... It wasn't anyone's fault. Just bad luck.
The tricky appearance conditions for the Spirit of Darkness had aligned perfectly. That was the issue.
I said calmly.
"You bear no responsibility, Senior Payan."
"......?"
Payan fell silent. Finally grasping my meaning, he asked back.
"What do you mean by that?"
What else? Simple. No need for responsibility if none arises.
Hummm—
The 'compatible mana' resonating from my body. Just like manifesting black magic, I controlled the overflowing compatible mana.
'Not difficult.'
Same name, but compatible mana was entirely different from regular mana.
My first meeting with Matis.
—"Even in mana exhaustion, black magic can manifest."
And after that first meeting, I'd grasped black magic's potential.
Yes, Black Magic was one of the wells I'd dug.
Of course, black magic was a newly established field.
But thanks to that, I'd devoured every book on it.
So I didn't move a step.
"Wh-What is that?!"
The sky darkened further. Beneath it, a black form rising in the air.
That was the Spirit of Darkness?
"The message said Spirit of Darkness!"
"Huh?! Get closer and take a pic? No, you guys might be fine, but I'm seriously scared? It's getting bigger!"
"Everyone, check your status resistance first!"
Situation assessment. Players stirred noisily. Quick thinkers entered combat stance. Like Cheonha Tongil or Shining.
Not overreacting.
[The Spirit of Darkness appears.]
Even back when Arcana was just a game, [Appearance Messages] existed.
They had conditions.
"An appearance message means at least a named mob! Bros, sis—Cheonha Tongil, Shining, Hoyeol, spirits, and now a named mob. Today's luck is off the charts...... No way it's my death day, right?!"
As the netuber player said. It appeared when a monster exceeding the area's appropriate level spawned.
No wonder Mage Tower senior Payan looked so grave.
But I still didn't move.
Overconfident from hunting Teppern scarecrows? Grandfell might be, but not me—I knew my place.
So why was I standing ramrod straight, from legs to neck?
—"Thus, without compatible mana, communion with the Spirit of Darkness is impossible. And among those I know, the only one with such compatible mana is black magic senior, Matis......"
Yes. Payan might not know, but I was acknowledged by black magic senior mage Matis Din Karl as a raw gem of black magicology.
Of course, the source of that compatible mana...... Unknown, and I didn't care to know.
'Whatever. Grateful for now.'
Thanks to it, I could avoid battling the Spirit of Darkness.
I stood firm, staring it down.
"Chief Lee Hoyeol! You should fall back......!"
Payan's worried voice reached me. Understandable.
As he said, little was known about the Spirit of Darkness.
Moreover, it was an aberrant existence appearing only under perfect conditions. Obvious from the situation.
Normal spirits in nature couldn't even be seen by ordinary folk. Yet this one brazenly revealed itself.
'Unknown dangers.'
But I was certain. I could commune with it.
The resonating compatible mana proved it.
Plus, I knew the 'nature' of compatible mana well.
—"Black magic is simple."
Tutoring disguised as conversation with Matis. I'd learned much about black magic from him.
Matis explained it simply.
—"Darkness buries itself in deeper darkness. Black magic pursues even more compatible mana. Like what you're seeing now."
To illustrate its nature, Matis pulled out a magic tool. A compass responding to compatible mana.
Spin—
The needle spinning between us ultimately pointed at me.
......That feeling? Bitter, like black magic acknowledging my dark history.
Fortunate my inner thoughts didn't show.
—"Among elemental magics, it's akin to fire magic's nature. I even exchanged letters with Karimjeva about it. That's why I can't forgive his misdeeds."
Pitying flame magic senior Bensy William over Karimjeva aside......
Point is, I had reason for my confidence.
Dark history or not.
The heir to a great family, ruined by a demon. Sole survivor Grandfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo—henceforth Grandfell—walks the demon hunter's path for revenge.
Grandfell's tragic backstory or not.
I possessed compatible mana surpassing Matis'.
Thus, I addressed the Spirit of Darkness.
"Are you the Spirit of Darkness?"
If communion impossible.
Like deeper darkness devouring lesser, subjugate it.
That's why I summoned the compatible mana.
Shhh—?
Did my words reach? A gaze from the black form.
Not at me. It examined the compatible mana I'd drawn forth.
The distance closed.
"......Wait, is it okay if we just watch?"
"What’s Lee Hoyeol thinking?"
"Even for Hoyeol, that's too close......?!"
Among watchers, only High El remained unperturbed.
But the tense moment didn't last.
A voice whispered in my ear.
"I submit to you."
......Pardon? What?
Submission to me? Understandable—I knew black magic's nature.
But what?
"O Infinitely Deep Darkness."
H-Infinitely Deep Darkneeeeess?!
What the hell was that cringey title trying to do—kill me with shame?!
But I couldn't show it. Too many eyes.
"Infinitely Deep Darkness......!"
"The Spirit of Darkness submits to Hoyeol!"
"No wonder he came to this backwater rift."
Yes. An aberrant spirit. Even uncontracted, its form and voice were clear. Even players without communion sense noticed.
Thus.
"Ch-Chief Lee Hoyeol......?"
"The chief communes with the Spirit of Darkness......?"
"Impossible!"
Mages like Payan were beside themselves.
......Am I really gonna die of shame?
Regaining composure with effort, the Spirit of Darkness opened its maw again.
"O Infinitely Deep Darkness."
No, fix that title already......!!
"Only you can unravel the labyrinth of Teppern."
......What?
Teppern's labyrinth?
Live long enough, and even spirits make you listen to the end.
Startled by the unexpected follow-up.
A message appeared before my eyes.
One of the Ten Great Mysteries Quest: Teppern's Labyrinth