Chapter 17
The kingdom that was destroyed due to Elder Lich’s resurrection, Raven.
There was one prince and one princess in the direct bloodline of the Raven royal family.
Both the prince and the princess inherited the swordsmanship talent passed down through the Raven lineage.
Their personalities, character, and qualifications as rulers were similar enough that it wouldn’t have been strange for either to become the successor.
So I decided to merge the prince and princess into a single character named Raven.
The character that becomes the protagonist of the story—the player.
If the player’s gender is male, they meet the princess.
If the player’s gender is female, they meet the prince.
The character hides their gender through the royal family’s artifact and begins their journey with the player.
‘Since the last survivor of the Raven Kingdom is being hunted.’
Elder Lich’s resurrection.
It wasn’t an incident that occurred naturally.
It was caused by those who worshipped and believed in the Object of Destruction that I had defeated.
They gathered and formed a force, and ultimately committed such an atrocity.
“Prince, you must feel so wronged.”
My comrade who fought for the continent’s peace and the Empire’s prosperity, the Crown Prince.
His wishes and the future of the Empire had turned in a completely different direction.
To the extent that the Empire was tainted by a force of heretical worshippers.
‘The fact that there’s a Black Mage’s hideout in the Empire’s capital sewer system is proof of that.’
The heretics had already infiltrated various parts of the Empire and exerted their influence.
Raven also knew this fact, which was why they had to alter their appearance.
By using an artifact that stored the Polymorph spell, one of the royal family’s treasures.
“There was no such thing a thousand years ago.”
Over time, magic had developed significantly.
They even discovered a spell that could reverse one’s gender.
Well, I could have used the Creator’s Authority to Polymorph and revert to my original form.
But why bother now? I had already adapted to living in a female body.
And I’d even established the unique character of a ‘Cute Girl Director,’ so it couldn’t be helped.
“By the way, it seems he really didn’t expect this.”
Daehyeop Kim, who was conversing with the now-revealed Raven, still looked dazed.
There had been a few vulgar speculations in the in-game forums about Raven being a positive swordswoman with large breasts.
It seemed Daehyeop Kim dismissed those speculations as mere nonsense.
‘Every time I saw those speculations, it scared me to death.’
The princess who abandoned her name, Raven—did she have a positive personality? Yes.
Is Raven a swordswoman? Yes.
Does Raven have a big heart? …I can’t deny that.
Above all, is she an incredibly attractive and beautiful girl? Yes.
Everything dismissed as baseless speculation turned out to be true.
Those who saw these speculations had effectively encountered indirect spoilers.
Thankfully, Daehyeop Kim seemed to have thought of it as mere baseless speculation and moved on.
“Looks like he’s worried about the aftermath.”
Daehyeop Kim had turned off his stream.
But now, he’s the only one who saw the event where Raven revealed her true identity?
What would happen if this fact were to be revealed later?
The thought alone made me feel both fear and excitement.
“But now that Raven has shown up, it’s about to begin.”
Raven had contacted the Emperor and rejoined the player.
It was a sign that the main storyline of Akare was finally starting.
I deactivated Observer Mode and exited the virtual reality.
***
Daehyeop Kim, who had just finished his conversation with the now-revealed Raven, finally realized the situation.
The speculation about Raven being a woman, which he thought was just baseless gossip from the in-game forums, turned out to be true.
On top of that, he had experienced this event by himself after turning off the stream? This was a grave offense as a streamer, one that could be considered a death sentence for his career.
*[ Heretic Purification (0/10) ]
- You have learned from Raven that there are heretic hideouts scattered throughout the Empire. Destroy all the heretic hideouts within the Empire to eradicate the roots of evil.
- Upon completing this quest, you can proceed with the ‘Approaching Catastrophe’ Quest.
Daehyeop Kim examined the newly created quest after his conversation with Raven.
“A Hideout, huh.”
The dungeon hidden deep within the sewer system, Cradle of Dark Magic.
It was a dungeon that openly advertised its suspicious nature, from its location to its name.
Even the boss’s name, ‘Minion of Darkness,’ seemed clearly related to the heretics.
As he organized the new information he had obtained, someone was summoned at the fortress gate.
‘A Martial Artist?’
Daehyeop Kim thought the summoned figure was a Martial Artist since they had no weapon in hand.
However, the man summoned turned out to be none other than Sweet.
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
The two men exchanged similar expressions as if they had seen each other somewhere before.
“Aren’t you Daehyeop?”
Sweet was the first to recognize the other’s identity.
“Sweet?”
Upon hearing Sweet’s voice, Daehyeop Kim belatedly realized who the other person was.
“What are you doing here?”
“Well… I got stuck, so I was trying to recruit a party.”
“Ah, so you were waiting here for that.”
Daehyeop Kim had initially planned to politely decline if Sweet tried to join his party.
According to the description of Martial Soul, the skill didn’t stack.
Forming a party with another Martial Artist was highly inefficient and offered no synergy.
“Then how about me? I’m a mage.”
“What?”
Sweet’s unexpected remark made Daehyeop Kim narrow his eyes.
Scars visible all over his body, marks of martial arts training, bare fists.
Everything about him screamed Martial Artist, and yet he said he was a mage?
Perhaps noticing Daehyeop Kim’s puzzled gaze, Sweet let out an awkward laugh.
“It’s a bit embarrassing to explain… You know how the Director is a mage but carries a sword around, right?”
“Yes?”
“I thought there must be a reason, so I started swinging my staff like a sword while hunting… and then it, well, broke.”
Puhaha!
Daehyeop Kim couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter at Sweet’s explanation.
“You’re laughing too freely. It’s embarrassing.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. As an apology…”
Daehyeop Kim took out a staff from his inventory.
“…It’s a level 10 staff. I got it by chance while hunting, so I’ll give it to you.”
Sweet’s lips curled into a smile as he checked the specs of the staff he received.
“Oh my, what a gift. Daehyeop, you’re truly a man of great character!”
“What, it’s nothing worth mentioning, haha…”
Daehyeop Kim chuckled awkwardly and glanced around Sweet’s surroundings.
He naturally assumed Sweet would be streaming.
Yet, there was no sign of any chat window around him.
“Are you streaming by any chance?”
“Yes, I am. Are you not?”
Sweet asked, sensing the same curiosity, and Daehyeop Kim nodded.
“But I guess others can’t see the chat window?”
“Ah, you can’t see it?”
Whisk, whisk—
Sweet waved his hands in the air as if pointing out his chat window.
Unfortunately, in Daehyeop Kim’s perspective, it looked like Sweet was just flailing around.
Afterward, Daehyeop Kim invited Sweet to join his party, and they headed to the Mercenary Guild.
After completing a side-class job change to become a mercenary at the guild, they accepted the sewer investigation request.
The two then walked together toward the sewer, conversing along the way.
“That rabbit bastard must’ve been tough to kill. You did well.”
“I saw your strategy guide. Without it, I’d have died for sure.”
Daehyeop Kim was older than Sweet, and Sweet spoke in his characteristic half-respectful tone.
“So it doesn’t smell here. That’s a relief.”
“If it did, I’d have left and gone somewhere else already.”
The two hunted sewage rats and rat men that occasionally appeared as they progressed.
“What do you think of my Fireball?”
“…It’s not bad.”
Though he said it wasn’t bad, Daehyeop Kim was honestly quite shocked at the moment.
The fireball shot in a straight line and exploded upon impact.
The surrounding area was engulfed in flames, inflicting additional periodic damage.
Compared to the primary skill of the Martial Artist, Total Annihilation, Fireball certainly looked more advantageous.
“Don’t cling, just burn up, Frostbite.”
Zzeojeojeojeok-!
As he chanted the incantation and cast the spell, the surroundings instantly froze.
Although the monsters didn’t freeze completely, their movements were restricted.
The Sewage Rats were troublesome monsters due to their agile movements.
But a single mana-infused kick from Sweet killed all the Sewage Rats instantly.
“…But do you really have to chant every time?”
‘Just burn up,’ ‘Don’t cling,’ and so on…
Every time Sweet cast a spell, he recited a unique incantation and chanted the name of the magic.
It seemed unnecessary, so Daehyeop Kim asked out of curiosity.
“If I don’t do it, I take a huge loss.”
As Sweet answered, he shared information about his passive skill.
―――
Circle (Passive Skill)
- Increases mana recovery speed by 50%.
- Increases maximum mana by 50%.
- Enhances the combat system ‘Chanting.’
- Reduces mana consumption by 25% when chanting during spellcasting.
- Amplifies spell effects by 50% when chanting during spellcasting.
- Allows custom incantation settings. If not set, default incantations are activated.
―――
There was… quite a lot.
Daehyeop Kim opened his skill window out of curiosity and checked the description of his own passive skill.
Sure enough, it had far fewer details than those listed for the Mage’s passive skills.
“Custom incantation settings…”
“Oh, that? The original Fireball incantation is ‘Burn Up,’ but I changed it to ‘Just burn up’.”
So the Mage class even offers such convenience. It would be really cool if you made the incantations sound unique.
A small shadow began to bloom deep within Daehyeop Kim’s heart.
“This is the Hidden Dungeon you mentioned, right?”
Koogugung-
When Sweet pressed a mechanical brick, iron bars fell and blocked the passage.
They had entered the dungeon, Black Mage’s Trap, and Daehyeop Kim moved quickly.
His plan was to gather as many monsters in one place as possible and use Total Annihilation for a mob-clear strategy.
Fwoooosh-!
Kwooooom-!
“Wow. Look at that experience going up.”
Click.
Sweet snapped his fingers in delight and chanted once again.
Flames erupted again, and a massive explosion consumed the gathered monsters.
“This place is awesome! My experience already went up by half.”
It hadn’t been long since they entered the dungeon, and yet the dungeon-clear message already appeared.
“Clear contribution 60%? I have a higher score, don’t I?”
“Yeah…”
Having cleared Black Mage’s Trap swiftly, the two moved on to the next dungeon.
—
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