Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: The Merman King's End
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"Huhu, I can't wait to see whose mermaid royal essence I'll absorb today."
A massive figure with a face covered in fish scales.
The one wearing a crown was none other than the Merman King.
As just mentioned, he had his merman soldiers kidnap mermaid princes and princesses to absorb their essence.
He grew stronger by absorbing the mermaids' essence.
That was why the Merman King frequently abducted mermaid princes and princesses.
Today, too, he anticipated whose essence he would absorb.
But that turned out to be the Merman King's final moment.
While he drooled at the thought of absorbing a mermaid royal's essence.
The Merman King flinched in shock.
"What is this...?"
He suddenly looked up.
Naturally, looking up from inside would only show the ceiling.
Realizing this, the Merman King wondered if he should call someone to check outside.
"Is there anyone out th—"
Kwaaaang—!
His words, about to ask if anyone was outside, became his last.
A last will no one heard.
It had to be that way.
A gray cross tinged with purple had swept through the spot where the Merman King stood.
And in its wake, the Merman King and the other merfolk staying in the partially shaved-off merman castle were all obliterated.
A portion of the merman castle vanished as if erased.
A man looked down from the sky at the scene.
It was Hae-jin, the one responsible for it all.
Seeing this, Hae-jin commented.
"Hmm, looks like they caught the king and queen too."
Next to the Merman King, who had reacted to Hae-jin's Chaos Cross, the Merman Queen lay sleeping. He had taken them both out.
Confirming this, Hae-jin said.
"Then I'll grab just one more merman royal, leave the rest for the others to catch, and focus on wiping out the remaining merfolk."
The remaining royals had to be caught by the others.
That was the hidden trial of this Trials' Arena.
Catch the merman royals.
Not just the Merman King or Merman Queen, but the merman princes and princesses as well.
Catching three or more would guarantee clearing the hidden trial in this Trials' Arena.
With that, Hae-jin caught only one merman royal to allow the others to achieve the hidden trial, ignored the rest, and began rampaging solo against the merman forces.
Soon enough, while Hae-jin was cutting through the merman kingdom like a whirlwind, the delayed mermaid kingdom forces arrived.
The first to arrive were the Mermaid King and Mermaid Queen, along with those who had cleared the previous hidden trial.
They had no choice but to treat the players who avenged their children more favorably.
Still, it wasn't a huge gap—just enough that more mermaid forces were visible approaching from behind soon.
Even so, Hae-jin and his party members had a moment to chat briefly.
Kwon Na-ye, Lee Sang, and Manager Kim approached.
"You already got the king?"
"Yes, just as I told you... you know, right?"
"Got it."
"Yes."
The three moved as if they understood without Hae-jin needing to explain in detail.
They knew he meant for them to achieve the hidden trial.
The only one still seated without knowing the explanation was the Supreme Sorcerer.
The Supreme Sorcerer, whose face was hidden under a hood.
He just watched.
Watched Hae-jin's party members move.
Hae-jin noticed this too.
'Is he cleverly following along?'
Before long, the party members targeted only merman royals.
The watching Supreme Sorcerer spoke up.
"We just need to catch merman royals. Hey, let's join the fight too. Prioritize any that look like merman royals."
"Understood."
The mermaid prince moved immediately at the Supreme Sorcerer's words.
But Hae-jin sensed something off there.
"Hmm?"
Hae-jin tilted his head.
He had to.
'Why a woman's voice?'
It didn't make sense.
Clearly, those who cleared the previous hidden trial each got a mermaid royal offspring as guide and duo partner.
Mermaid princes for men, mermaid princesses for women.
Yet the one paired with the Supreme Sorcerer was definitely a mermaid prince, so why the woman's voice?
So Hae-jin thought.
'Is it a minor or an underage boy?'
No matter how he looked at it, that was the only explanation.
Anyone could see the mermaid royal offspring with the Supreme Sorcerer was a prince.
Anyway, intrigued, Hae-jin observed the Supreme Sorcerer.
He seemed sharp enough to deduce from his party members' movements related to him that the hidden trial involved catching merman royals.
'Really quick on the uptake.'
Watching this, Hae-jin grew curious.
'Excluding Joo-hyuk's roster, he's a candidate if we add more.'
Since Joo-hyuk had finalized the roster, Hae-jin's own shortlist was limited.
He had picked a few more as backups, including Manager Kim and Joker, who joined the current party.
But there were other backups too.
The Supreme Sorcerer was one of them.
Joo-hyuk had focused on finding a physical DPS replacement for his position, deliberating over Manager Kim and Joker, but had casually mentioned others.
The reason the Supreme Sorcerer wasn't directly on the roster was.
'Because we already have Sang and Raffaello.'
Lee Sang, the archmage supreme among mage players, and Raffaello, the sage who could wield any magic.
Joo-hyuk's roster already had two mages.
Thus, the Supreme Sorcerer was lower priority.
'And he tends to disappear mid-game.'
The Supreme Sorcerer was known for vanishing in one of the mid-stage Trials' Arenas.
Specifically.
'The one that induces split personality. He never survived it.'
So Joo-hyuk only mentioned him as a backup, not essential.
But Hae-jin thought.
'What if Joo-hyuk had given the Supreme Sorcerer prior info on the Trials' Arena?'
This sudden thought made Hae-jin reconsider blindly following Joo-hyuk.
'Anyway, the fixed six are just Joo-hyuk's optimal roster. Increasing survival isn't bad.'
Watching the Supreme Sorcerer, Hae-jin realized.
He had thought to stick solely to Joo-hyuk's optimal, but after a couple rounds, he knew how to manage others.
So Hae-jin considered building his own roster.
'Shall I try?'
With that thought, Hae-jin said.
"Well, let's thin out the merfolk first."
With the Merman King down, Hae-jin was guaranteed first place in this Trials' Arena.
Still, aiming to ensure all players survived, he decided to help.
Thus, Hae-jin began hunting merfolk.
Of course, while hunting, he kept eyes on his party members and the Supreme Sorcerer he was monitoring.
Through this, Hae-jin concluded.
'Hmm, good. They all got theirs.'
Hae-jin didn't mean himself.
It was about his party members and the Supreme Sorcerer.
While hunting merfolk, Hae-jin observed.
Watched his party and the Supreme Sorcerer catch merman royals.
Instead of praising his party first, Hae-jin approached the Supreme Sorcerer.
The Supreme Sorcerer was blasting magic everywhere, hunting merfolk. Hae-jin arrived behind him and spoke.
"Nice to meet you."
"Eek!"
"Hmm?"
Hae-jin tilted his head.
Something was off, no matter how he saw it.
It should be a man, but the Supreme Sorcerer's reaction.
'Too girly?'
Sure, some men might squeal like girls.
But anyone could see the reaction and voice were a woman's.
What was this?
Anyway, as Hae-jin approached and spoke, the briefly flustered Supreme Sorcerer replied.
"Ahem, what is it?"
"Hmm?"
Instantly, Hae-jin tilted his head at the Supreme Sorcerer's voice.
He had to.
From departing the mermaid kingdom, arriving at the merman kingdom, and until just now.
The Supreme Sorcerer's voice was unmistakably a woman's.
But just now, it completely changed.
To a man's voice.
Forced?
No.
It didn't feel artificial.
Magic?
Hae-jin sensed no mana.
But one change stood out.
'The build changed?'
Just now, when the Supreme Sorcerer spoke to Hae-jin, though hidden by the robe, his height had increased and build shifted noticeably.
Hae-jin was baffled.
The puzzled Hae-jin was asked by the Supreme Sorcerer.
"What's wrong?"
Still a man's voice.
What was going on?
Then, it hit Hae-jin.
'Ah, right, that exists.'
What Hae-jin recalled was one of Joo-hyuk's skills.
Among Joo-hyuk's skills was 'Odin's Eye'.
Odin.
The being from Norse mythology, father of all gods.
But why was his eye a skill?
Odin was one-eyed.
To drink from Mimir's Well, granting all wisdom, he sacrificed one eye.
Thus, Odin gained wisdom but lost an eye.
The inherited 'Odin's Eye' from Joo-hyuk was the one discarded into Mimir's Well.
Soaked long in Mimir's Well, Odin's Eye pierced the essence of all things and converted wisdom to information.
Joo-hyuk acquired it in a Trials' Arena, and the 'Odin's Eye' skill read info on lesser beings.
Recalling this, Hae-jin checked the Supreme Sorcerer's info.
'Odin's Eye.'
[Skill! 'Odin's Eye' has been used.]
[Checking opponent's information.]
Thus, Hae-jin used 'Odin's Eye' on the Supreme Sorcerer, and soon the skill shared the info.
[Supreme Sorcerer]
Name: Park Bo-young
Age: 21
Level: 33
Titles: 12
Job: Double Caster
Rune: Rune of Yin and Yang
[Skills]
"Ah?"
Only then did Hae-jin understand from the Supreme Sorcerer's info.
Why the voice switched between man and woman.
The name alone suggested the Supreme Sorcerer was likely female.
Of course, could be male.
A man named Bo-young.
But Hae-jin grasped one truth.
'Both man and woman, huh.'
What did that mean?
Man and woman at once.
Hermaphrodite?
The reason Hae-jin thought this was simple.
It was due to the rune the Supreme Sorcerer, Park Bo-young, possessed.
'Obviously, the "Rune of Yin and Yang" grants something like the Yin-Yang Divine Art, right?'