Tremors on the Board
[Quest: Next Tower Lord Election]
By the Tower Lord's final will, the next Tower Lord shall be decided through an election.
The Gentle Giant, the Mage Tower's greatest discoverer, and the Black Dark Dragon. Who among them will lead the new era?
The Mage Tower's future rests in your hands.
─Secure voting rights for the Next Tower Lord Election. (In Progress)
●Prove your qualifications to the Mage Tower. (In Progress)
A message appeared to every player residing in the Mage Tower.
They must have all vaguely considered it at some point.
"I thought about it after the cat Tower Lord collapsed..."
The Tower Lord was too significant a position to leave vacant.
But no one had imagined it would be filled this way.
Especially...
"Hoyeol really became a Tower Lord candidate?!"
As boldly stated in the quest details, the Black Dark Dragon player, Hoyeol, had his name listed among the next Tower Lord candidates.
Park Hwigang's words sent the chat exploding.
Park Hwigang protested his innocence.
"No, look at the reactions around me!"
Click─ As Park Hwigang tapped the screen, the camera angle switched.
The faces of other players appeared. They were just as shocked as him for the same reason.
"The haughty Mage Tower put a player on the Tower Lord candidate list?"
"First time ever outside the Tower, right? A player taking such a high position on the Arcana continent? Excluding territories won in sieges."
"...Yeah, not that I know of."
Park Hwigang nodded vigorously in agreement.
Then he switched back to selfie mode.
"As far as I know, this is the first time ever!"
He continued excitedly.
"This isn't just any event—it's the walls crumbling! The barriers between Arcana and our reality are finally breaking down completely!"
Water and oil.
Worlds thought utterly incompatible were now blending.
"I'm a firsthand witness, you know?"
A member of the Explorer's Federation. Explorer class player Park Hwigang.
Thanks to that, he'd naturally interacted with many Arcana natives and felt the distance.
"It wasn't outright rejection—just an unavoidable gap. Even different countries feel foreign, and Arcana and our world were completely different."
Yet now...
"To think he'd make the candidate list for the notoriously closed-off Mage Tower's next Tower Lord...! This is huge!"
Park Hwigang declared.
"Of course Hoyeol has to win!"
The Black Dark Dragon deserved to be Tower Lord.
Not just Park Hwigang—everyone who'd heard the news thought the same.
Hoyeol's achievements dwarfed the other two.
Even setting aside his past feats, his recent ones alone...
"He carried out the cat Tower Lord's will and slayed Yunak Seus."
Overflowing, to say the least.
But was Tower Lord a position earned purely by achievements?
The players didn't know the exact criteria.
Speculation flew in the chat. Park Hwigang glanced away briefly to check his quest window.
He reread it.
Then it hit him.
Wait a sec...?
"...Achievements don't matter here!"
Right.
This was the [Next Tower Lord Election] quest.
The essence of an election.
"Majority rules!"
He didn't know the exact qualifications for candidacy.
But the one with the most votes would become Tower Lord.
Park Hwigang clenched his fist.
"Hoyeol needs your votes right now!"
*
The chief mage's office.
A green tea bag dangled in the cup. Marcelo tilted it.
The world must be in an uproar by now.
He chuckled softly.
It was just like you to think of this, Tower Lord.
"It must have been quite uncomfortable for you, my lord."
The Tower Lord's final words.
Marcelo recalled what Jessie had relayed.
Adjusting her slipping pointed hat, Jessie had said:
In the end, he'd shoved the position onto him.
But who was his liege? Once he said no, he never bent without good reason.
Even if it was his final words, he wouldn't yield.
Marcelo could guess why Hoyeol stubbornly refused the Tower Lord seat.
It was the Mage Tower's regulations.
─────
The Tower Lord shall be the mage with the greatest achievements in the Mage Tower.
These achievements are not judged by worldly standards.
Only by the Mage Tower's own criteria...
─────
The Mage Tower's criteria.
That regulation came from the ancient Mage Tower.
An arrogantly sky-high past Mage Tower.
Naturally, achievements were judged solely by internal contributions.
By that standard...
'You judged it wasn't your place.'
Reversal Magic.
Hoyeol had created a great magic, but his time in the Tower was too short.
Moreover, with his heavy burdens inside and out, he lacked time to build Tower-worthy achievements.
Of course, the Tower Lord had foreseen that.
Hence the new final words.
Inheriting that will, Marcelo had announced to the Mage Tower.
The election for the next Tower Lord had begun.
Now that it was done, new worries arose.
"Of all times, while you've gone to the Arcana continent... If you're disappointed and angry, I have no defense."
But Marcelo's will aligned with the Tower Lord's.
No one else could lead the new Mage Tower.
Just one concern...
'Oh, I forgot to ask Lady Yugweed's thoughts.'
By the old criteria, the next Tower Lord was Elder Mage Yugweed Lyupeng.
The longest-serving among the elders.
"Compared to Lady Yugweed..."
Both Hoyeol and Marcelo's tenures were mere drops in the bucket.
If Yugweed objected to the changed process via the final words...
Marcelo rubbed his temple.
"Oh dear, my head aches already."
His position would be awkward.
He didn't think Yugweed would object, but her "Gentle Giant" title wasn't for nothing.
Marcelo knew that well.
So he'd prepared early.
"No helping it..."
An excuse that wasn't quite one.
"I'll have to say it's all something you brought upon yourself, my lord."
*
Yusra Kingdom.
Golden Palace front.
Golden Calf Tavern.
The regular customer—no, the resident menace—had returned.
"Hahaha, hits different after so long. Right?"
Gulp gulp─ Back in one piece, no less.
The Mage Tower really should've let that bastard die...!
Didn't they punch a hole in his gut when he got hurt?
What kind of booze was this...!
"Urk."
Rackid ignored the stares and kept eating and drinking.
And getting drunk.
After dying and reviving, the flood of good news was too much without booze.
Thud!
Setting down the barrel, Rackid spoke.
"Hic. Thanks to the Dragon Heart, the path to the Arcana continent is open... What does that mean? The path to capture our love-hate captain, Kichi, is open!"
By Shadow Mercenary rules, he could now duel the deserter Kichi legally.
That alone thrilled him.
"And the next Tower Lord election?! I can't miss this! So where'd you bet? You know my rep, right? Hic! Rackid here is the Colosseum betting legend—undefeated!"
An irresistible gamble.
Colosseum betting undefeated, he said.
"...For real? Bluff?"
"Nah, legit."
Rackid wasn't exaggerating.
With that hit rate, even amid his antics, they had to bite.
But no one asked his pick.
Obviously.
"Don't bet on that guy though."
"Why?"
The whispering man stuck out his tongue.
"He only bets on himself and counts wins a hundred times."
Rackid wasn't a divinely lucky gambler.
Just a divinely lucky gladiator.
Mulling the news names, Rackid pondered.
"Yugweed, Marcelo, Lee Hoyeol... Hmm, let's see..."
For once, using his brain.
"Anyone here picks Hoyeol as commander? Hic! But fall for that and you're a noob. Would sticklers like the Mage Tower slap a fancy 'election' label on an obvious result? The great Mage Tower? Nah, this gambler's instincts say no!"
He went all in.
"Alright, Marcelo for me! Reason's secret."
To protect his precious odds.
Rackid had his reasons.
Staying in the Tower, he'd heard glowing reviews of Marcelo firsthand.
A grin slipped through his lips.
"Adding one more sure win to my hundred. Haha!"
.
......This spells doom for the odds.
"That monster bastard."
Golden Calf Tavern entrance.
Creak─ Kinber opened the door, spotted Rackid, and turned right back.
Of all places, Yusra for the meetup. He hated it.
His mouth soured, so he'd come to rinse with wine.
"Fucking bad luck."
Rackid was draining all the good booze.
Fine.
Kinber shook it off and hurried away.
'Rare occasion though.'
Star Council, gathering of supernovas.
Someone might ask: What can mere PK supernovas do?
But that's why—they were PK pros.
'So who's the bite target today?'
At Star Councils, supernovas picked new prey together.
No compulsion to attend.
But desperate supernovas flocked to the light.
Midnight.
Yusra Kingdom gold mine.
The deep tunnels buzzed with supernovas.
"What's with the crowd?"
At least three hundred.
Kinber had expected it.
All Five Stars were attending this time.
The five stars of supernovas.
Named players infamous for PK since Arcana was just a game.
Post-cataclysm, their aggression only grew.
Their brutality made them natural leaders.
'First time all five together, huh.'
Kinber sensed it.
'They're aiming big.'
Whoever it was, once targeted by the Star Council, no survival.
PK ignored rules—unlike monster hunts.
The tunnels stirred.
Five shadows flickered.
Kinber's eyes narrowed.
'...Them?'
The overwhelming blood scent prickled his skin.
Masked figures emerged, radiating murderous intent.
Even Kinber got chills.
"That's the blood stench we need!"
Cheers erupted.
All here were scum.
In the underworld, trash got respect.
After cheers, one of the five stars spoke.
"As you guessed, our target is a big fish."
He named him.
That instant.
"?!"
Kinber reacted strongest.
'What the—?'
Goosebumps were nothing compared.
Yusra memories flooded back.
That soaked crotch sensation...!
A recalled conversation.
And the message that appeared.
[Harcon Kingsguard watches you.]
[Body and mind paralyzed by killing intent.]
[Status: Fear applied.]
Kinber was dumbfounded.
'Target the knight after he lost his legs? They're utterly insane! They're untouchable. Hell, don't even look...!'
He wanted no more ties.
As if hearing forbidden words, he tried slipping out.
Then one of the five stars called to him.
"Seems an intruder slipped into the council."
"...!"
Suddenly, all eyes on Kinber.
He felt the shift in auras.
"Shit."
Yeah, the five stars gathering had a reason.
Opinions didn't matter.
Dissenters wouldn't leave alive.
Swish─ Kinber rolled his eyes.
No survival odds, obviously.
But no fear.
"But."
Turning, Kinber grinned.
"No matter how tough you act, you're not that scary."
Shing!
Claws on both hands, Kinber shouted.
"Alright, kill or be killed! Try blocking desperately. Warning you now—if I get out alive, I'll spill every scheme here to Him."
"Him? Who?"
"Watch your mouth, fucker."
Slash!
A charging man tumbled from Kinber's claw swing.
"You think Lee Hoyeol's an easy mark?"