Blooming in the Swamp (2)
“What a load of crap.”
The first time I saw that post, I thought, Is this the lamest aggro bait ever?
“Sigh. Look at the level of these idiots.”
Who is Lee Hoyeol? A player treated on the same level as the illustrious chief mage of the Mage Tower. Even setting aside that halo, what about everything else? After seeing the flashy magic skills he's shown in battles all this time, how could anyone fall for nonsense like that?
Tap tap tap!
A sigh escaped as I hammered the keyboard. The comment section refreshed with a smooth scroll—
Arcana didn't have a class system for no reason. To give an extreme example—
Suppose, just suppose, Lee Hoyeol wanted to learn swordsmanship for some reason. (Not that he would, but hypothetically.)
So of course the post was getting roasted as aggro bait. But something felt off.
“What the hell? Are they mass spamming or something?”
Posts claiming Lee Hoyeol was wielding a sword just wouldn't stop flooding the board. Normally, I'd suspect some bot farm, but...
...Why would Lee Hoyeol run a bot farm?
What could he possibly be lacking? No matter how I racked my brain, nothing came up. And this wasn't promo or praise—it was straight-up nonsense about a mage-class player using a sword. Total common-sense violation.
So my mind naturally jumped to the next conclusion.
“Must be those sleazy Lee Hoyeol haters running bots.”
After lurking communities long enough, you develop a nose for this stuff. My mouse started moving sharp and precise.
“Pathetic trolls. Just wait till I catch who you are.”
They were probably spreading absurd rumors while sneakily slipping in positive spins on themselves. But...
“...?”
No matter how hard I scoured with fire in my eyes, there was nothing about other guilds or players. It was all about Lee Hoyeol.
What the—? This defies logic. The growing sense of wrongness wouldn't let me dig in my heels anymore.
“Fine. I'll bite—just this once.”
With that resolve, I clicked the NetTube link. The screen lit up, and there he was—Hoyeol, really pointing a sword...!
“Holy shit!! What is this?!”
Yes. At that moment, the battle between Hoyeol and the Beast Predator Anaconda was being broadcast worldwide through dozens of cameras.
The implication was simple: this live feed was unedited reality.
One word summed up the fight: overwhelm.
Hoyeol was hunting the swamp's apex predator, the Anaconda. No—calling it a hunt was too generous. Since the battle began, he hadn't moved a muscle.
The players hunting in the rift understood best. Against something like that Anaconda, no need to swing a sword.
The continent's strongest magical force, the Mage Tower. The empire's elite knights, the Lion Heart Knight Order. How could a player snag a key position in both? And not just any spot, but an elite one?
Every time they puzzled it out, the mysteries around Hoyeol only grew.
But nothing surfaced. No tales of such an outlandish player. His past is seriously intriguing!
The moment watchers thought that—
Thud—
The Beast Predator Anaconda breathed its last. The farce of a battle was over.
In the Predator Swamp. In the ceaseless Colosseum of combat. For a victor of that brutal arena, Hoyeol showed not a hint of disarray.
As if he existed in another realm entirely. No—as if he starred in a different genre.
Yes. Hoyeol's figure was utterly alien, profoundly aloof. Like a lotus blooming pristine in the muck.
*
......It's like a damn documentary. One where you can't drop your guard for a second. An extreme real-life docu.
I checked the rising messages.
At least the EXP is a consolation.
The Beast Predator Anaconda—fitting its level, it dished out hefty EXP. Not quite boss-monster tier like giant evils or demon kings, but I'd soloed it all.
A straight 18-level jump. Sure, my base was low, but I'll take this kind of "win-win."
Morning three levels or evening four—
I'm in no position to be picky.
Even reviewing the Anaconda fight confirmed it. If I'd slipped even a moment, let my sword stance waver—
I'd have eaten a counterattack.
Without Predator-Prey Relationship active, even with class quest-boosted Strength and Agility—I've dumped all points into Magic, with occasional Luck dips.
Dodging purely on physicals? Impossible.
I'd have had to cast magic, minimize damage. Then the nightmare loop: unexpected cast → mana starvation → predator zone rematch → more unexpected casts → mana crash → endless fights...
So.
I was dead serious.
No idea how it looked to outsiders. But I never relaxed, not for a second. And I scored EXP and loot.
Three drops, no less. Rare, Rare, Unique. No wonder its belly was so bloated.
All crafting mats, but three of them? No complaints.
Plus, thanks to Pure Knowledge of the Five Stars, I know every mineral and plant on the Arcana continent.
“They'll fetch a decent price.”
The melted amberstone. The birch soaked in Anaconda venom. I instantly knew their uses.
Of course, being from its guts—
A little processing needed.
But no biggie.
Time to pull strings at the Mage Tower.
Free services at my whim. A chief's rightful privilege, fair and square.
That said.
No real breather in the Predator Zone, huh?
Rustle—
No sooner had one fallen than another monster appeared, like it was lying in wait. Snake, then a rat? Not your average rodent, of course.
Human-sized. Bipedal, wielding weapons on forepaws. Crossbow, axe, shield—geared to the teeth.
Guess not all rats are equal. Its long tail twitched.
Still gripping my sword, so it hesitated to charge.
Fine, first things first.
Point allocation. Every stat point's precious to a scrub like me.
18 points available. I was gonna dump 'em all in Magic but held one back.
......Luck's a gamble, after all.
One more Magic point? This is a Lv.500-appropriate rift. Better pray for luck than expect miracles from +1 Magic.
I invested 1 in Luck.
🍀 Luck: 6
......Why 6, of all numbers?
A memory flashed. I skipped 4 (death) by dumping 2 points once. But I still had to pass through the devil's 6.
This is the real bait-and-switch.
No points left now anyway.
“Superstition is just that—superstition.”
Not like me investing in Luck to say, but still.
Can't obsess over omens forever. And devil's number?
Suits me fine.
Hell, if a demon pops up, I'd thank it—as long as Predator-Prey Relationship triggers. No more lily-pad hopping. No more solo docu-genre vibes.
Enough idle thoughts.
Crack—!
What was that? I glanced toward the sound.
The massive trees jutting from the swamp. The rat was gnawing the base with its teeth.
Crunch crunch—!
Huge chompers. The tree tilted with a racket in seconds.
Obvious intent: reshape the battlefield in its favor.
Tree falls, swamp ripples—exploit the opening.
Not easy pickings.
In old-game terms... Annoying-ass pattern.
Not even a boss, just a named mob, and it's a pain. But all that effort for naught—
Crunch—!
I skipped scanning. I know every Arcana plant cold.
Obviously, I could interfere with that Chukira Tree it was chewing.
Crunch...? Crunch crunch—?!
Scan skipped. Interference: hardening intensified.
Cast.
Groooan—?!
No felling that tree now.
I stared down the panicked giant rat, the Cruel Scavenger.
No chit-chat needed. Sword aimed, magic manifested.
Frozen foe—no need for Aesthetics flair.
Just mana efficiency.
On Cruel Scavenger
Among the spells I unleashed, pick the one hitting hardest.
Brute force it is. No choice against foes way above my paygrade.
Don't care why, don't wanna know.
Just that it works.
Frostbite means weak to cold.
I cast the advanced ice spell Frost.
Whoooosh—!
Frost tendrils stretched toward it. Slow projectile speed, but destructive power earns it advanced status.
Crackle crack—!
Swamp freezing solid in moments? Predictable.
Screech—!
Pressure from my swordtip. Frostbite-slowed movement. Creeping frost.
I spoke in a voice colder than the chill.
“I have no intention of joining you in the muck.”
Not a drop of swamp filth on me.
Besides.
I eyed the Chukira Tree. Specifically, the glowing Flight Herb at its precarious top.
Tree falls, herb sinks. Can't let that happen.
I know its effects better than anyone!