SWNOVELXO Chapter 187
[Do you know the power hierarchy of the Demon King’s Army? The first is the savior of the east (Est Asha), her maid Luri is second, and Al Zahab the Great King is only third.]
At that moment, I thought the jokes from the Demon King’s Army captives were just silly banter.
Hero Klaus groaned as he crawled desperately on the floor.
A large gash in his abdomen was soaking the ground with dark red blood.
Shadows loomed around him. What came into his blurry view was a girl in plain clothes.
Black hair, black eyes. If you were asked to find a criminal based on such a composite sketch, even if it were the Emperor, a fist would fly first due to the lack of distinctive features.
“The hierarchy of the Demon King’s Army is indeed determined by power… cough!”
“Looks like you know me.”
Strangely, the girl’s mouth did not open.
The unpleasant sensation of mana-based language being forcibly jammed into his brain made Klaus grimace as much as he could.
The unknown magic being cast by that girl swept away the Dark Fortress Demon Subjugation Squad.
Klaus was already surrounded by the corpses of elite members in black uniforms.
“How… old are you?”
“Fifteen.”
“You’ve long passed the age called a hatchling. Sylvia and Remilia are probably dead… So am I the last one?”
“I received an order from Mother to kill you and take my own life here.”
“Mother is delirious… You all are so cold-hearted and unfeeling. Huh?”
“…”
As Klaus let out a gasp, Luri quietly approached and knelt.
The girl’s moist lips, pressed close to his ear, finally opened.
Whispers revealing all the truths struck his eardrum one by one.
“…!”
At that moment, the air became heavy, and Klaus’s eyes trembled like a fawn’s.
Luri swallowed her tears and continued speaking calmly.
“And Mother isn’t as strong as you think. Certainly not a cold-blooded killer.”
“She enjoys foolish jokes and tricks, and she can’t resist meat dishes and sweet desserts.”
“She loves swords and magic, and appreciates close combat training more, but if I bleed even a little blue blood, she worries so much that she can’t sleep that night.”
“Does this foolish person who doesn’t even know how to cope with slander and rejoices in empty compliments really hate you?”
Klaus’s mouth finally stayed shut.
What shocked him more than anything was that this pureblood dragon girl was now shedding tears.
Seeing Klaus with a stupid expression, Luri seized his neck roughly.
“So you were abandoned, Klaus Banaport. How I wish it had been me instead of a betrayer like you when Mother took her first student!”
“Cough…! gag!”
Black scales emerged on her hand, greedily drawing in the surrounding mana.
Klaus’s desperate effort to protect his neck with an aura was in vain as the barrier shattered with a clang.
“Right, Mr. Klaus. Mother once wanted to live a life like yours. Did you know that?”
Klaus looked at Luri with disbelief.
“The master wanted to be a hero…?”
The princess of a nation, now entrusted to the Demon King’s Army, wanted to be a hero like him?
But Luri rolled her eyes and shrugged.
“No, rather than a hero… more like a show-off? A celebrity? Something like that. Although it has now become a fleeting dream because of you.”
“Cough!”
“Well then, goodbye…”
*
The sword at her waist resonated with a deep sound.
The colorless steel emitted a striking blue glow, announcing its presence.
Both allies and enemies widened their eyes, seemingly forgetting what to do next.
[NoName has defeated Rodante.]
Eleven pairs of eyes scrutinized Klaus, prompting him to unsheathe his sword and recite a line he had heard somewhere.
“Ahh – this chilling and heavy sensation. But how many years has it been?”
“Whoa! You stole it! Kill them all!”
“I got it! I got it! Go go go go go!”
“How did you steal it? You’re insane, NoName! You’re the best!”
The early game of Wagal multiplayer had developed into a low-power fantasy, but once playtime reached 20 minutes and extreme cases hit 30 minutes, the situation transformed.
It morphed into a battle of superpowers that easily disregarded the laws of physics, with attacks that were lethal even on grazing contact.
And now.
The one who defeated the ‘Rodante’ appearing as the third object would get relaxed parring success criteria, and upon success would trigger an ‘Abyssal Strike’ passive equivalent to 1000% spell power.
To create a tanky tank for Kariri, my spell power was 6450.
In other words, if successful in parrying, no matter how much magic armor one might wear, a minimum of 60,000 damage could be expected.
This means I had become a super hedgehog capable of dissolving even tanks with a single hit.
With Kariri and Han Yong-cheol’s envious gazes upon me, I chased down the fleeing enemies.
“We are almost there! We won!”
“Kill them all! Make it 3-0 in the finals!”
“No, no! It’s not over yet! Focus, focus!”
The victorious Brownie and Shinsim Man.
On the other hand, Han Yong-cheol, who desperately wanted to win, kept demanding his teammates to concentrate, but the corners of his mouth were already reaching the heavens.
“Make way! The invincible Blory Team is coming through! Let’s go, Na-me!”
Five sharp claws pointed toward the soaring Yggdrasil. Kariri shouted with joy.
“Phew. In the past, just drawing my sword had everyone trembling in fear.”
Those memories lingered in the past.
Feeling a momentary sense of omnipotence when I lived under the name of Estasha, I kicked the ground and dashed forward.
All the audience cameras and spotlights hovered in the sky, focusing on me.
Was the observer sensing the end of the game?
I pictured the audience trying hard to watch through the lens.
After confirming that 460,000 had gathered by the end of the four-set, I wondered if it had surpassed 500,000 now.
It was an unimaginable number.
I recalled that the population of the Britannia Republic was somewhere around that size in my past life, and the thought of the entire nation paying attention sent shivers down my spine.
It was a strange sensation.
I wanted to wrap up the game quickly and feel the cheers and applause from the crowd wash over me.
Initially, I had participated in the tournament just to grab attention, but the game was becoming ever more enjoyable.
Perhaps because the blood of Koreans flowed thickly in me, being with many people certainly made it far more exhilarating than standing alone.
All names, status, and pasts erased, I was starting my life anew.
The teammates by my side felt so precious that I nearly teared up, but now was not the time for that.
The horn signaling the start of the final battle resounded.
For this moment, let’s all enjoy ourselves together.
There is nothing better than turning the importance of daily life into the past.
Now, I was charging toward the enemy’s territory with my comrades, seizing victory.
At that moment, I charged toward the enemy with my teammates, claiming victory.
Then, emotions of joy and sadness surged simultaneously from deep within my chest.
[Are you satisfied?]
Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed like an auditory hallucination in the fierce wind.
Whose voice could it be? Niobe? Sylvia? Luri?
Whoever it was, the answer would be the same.
‘You’re still far from it.’
The treatment that Seol-ah’s daughter was to receive shouldn’t end here.
Gently caressing the beautifully shaped hilt, I raised my sword up high into the sky.
The sword blade, containing the bright sunset hue, served as the prow of a ship setting sail to discover new continents.
““Uoooooo!””
“Whoa, that was surprising!”
“What is this?”
Cheers unexpectedly erupted from the NPC soldiers following us.
The battle cry that periodically emerged while leading the army coincidentally matched the timing perfectly.
“The sky is dazzling today! Isn’t it?”
As Kariri said.
There are days when you feel like you can do anything.
When you survive from an enemy dive, or when you hit a hellish string of choices during a duel, the atmosphere in this battle was solely focused on our team.
All conditions were in alignment.
All that was left was to swing the sword.
My feet barely grazed the ground in an instant.
Using a skill to twirl my body halfway in the air, I added momentum to my attack.
Adding the physical power disregarding the laws of physics to the delicate technique resulted in an incredible speed.
I prepared the Kaizen-style swordsmanship boasting 400 years of history aimed at the enemy who firmly gripped their shield.
[Kaizen-style Wrist Cut]
[system: Mittlehauw Judgment]
Bang—!
The horrific explosion brushed past my ears.
The enemies blasted back from the strong shock, wide-eyed in fear.
As the hazy dust began to clear,
My Skiabona pierced sharply through his chest.
“Good job.”
It’s arrogant to think you can stop an entire nation’s essence with just one shield.
I guess only Luri would know how many cities have crumbled like that.
Today, I found myself thinking about Luri a bit more often.
She was a poor child who would need to apologize a hundred times for meeting someone like me.
“NoName! Quickly, that line!”
“Huh?”
“Na-me, do that thing!”
“Quickly! The game’s going to end soon!”
“That one! We need to do it fast! The voice will cut out soon!”
A camera flew in and illuminated my face.
Through the lens, behind me, a massive tree splintered into pieces.
All the leaves burned away, leaving black ash covering the ground, turning the area into a wasteland.
The line reserved only for the champions of the World of Arseria finals.
Whether it was the Champion’s Cup, ACK, or any tournament hosted by Twish, the truth remains immutable: there is only one ‘Yggdrasil’ in the world of World of Arseria.
Our tree stands tall.
So what about the other one?
Clearing my throat, I extended my index finger toward the camera.
“Ahem… Immediately sign! Your Yggdrasil is just a big tree!”
*
The aftertaste of victory would feel long when measured by a day, but short if measured by a week.
However, one thing is certain: the crowd who watched the match that day could not easily leave their seats.
“Waaaah!”
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
As the winners of each category stepped out of the game and appeared one by one on the set created in virtual reality for the awards ceremony.
The first to receive a standing ovation was the team that achieved ‘loss-loss-win-win-win’ in League of Legends.
Wishing for nothing but a PleasePlease clan consisting of just four members.
A team deemed overwhelmingly dominant from the start and still underestimated for lacking even a single pro.
Having turned the tides and emerged as strong favorites without losing a single match in the tournament, they were met with contrasting reactions after initially losing the first two sets due to the opponent’s ingenious ban-pick strategy—“That’s as expected,” or “Is it really like this?”
But storytelling was always on point.
The amazing display close to NoName’s personal performance led to an overwhelming firepower of the star destroyer, setting the battlefield ablaze and drawing nearly scathing criticism asking if they really needed to free the girl blinded by revenge.
And at last, the eagerly awaited final fifth set.
With a pick rate of 0%, they showcased ADC Irelia who had come prepared for the battle against Asteria, achieving a comeback victory and a reverse sweep that perfectly matched the name of catastrophe.
– Huh? Where’s NoName?
– Why are there only four?
– Will they appear as the World of Arseria team later?
– Guess so, lol.
– Oh, you don’t have two bodies.
– Make NoName two people!!! No, make six and let them all participate!
– LOL.
The audience, who realized NoName was missing, tried to return to their seats in the stadium.
“Next, for the 2051 Season 1 Twish Take It Back tournament, the winners of the ‘World of Arseria’! Let’s welcome them with a grand applaud! It’s Blory! Please give a warm welcome!”
The caster didn’t give them any respite.
Among 179 streamers, NoName, who delivered the most reliable and impressive performance, finally stepped into the spotlight.
– Wow, no way!
– Just animals??? LOL.
– What are you, a beast? LOL.
– This place turned into a landfill! LOL.
– Is NoName really that crazy?
– Is this even a human being?
– I love you, NoName!!!!
– Huh…! LOL Then, me too LOL.
– Are you all insane?
– If NoName doesn’t get awarded the Final MVP, I’m DDoSing!
– The viewers are truly highly educated.
– Well, the room leader…
– The room leader is a middle school dropout!
– Oh, that’s true!
– Dropout! LOL That’s right LOL.
Time passed, and the segment to introduce the highlights and MVPs of each game faded away, bringing everyone closer to the moment they had been waiting for.
“Together with Letterbox, Intel, and Almighty, I will now present the flower of the award ceremony for the 2051 Season 1 Take It Back & Catastrophe tournament! The total MVP who brightly illuminated the fiercely contested matches! A truly amazing player! Could it be someone you all guessed? The total MVP is! Yes, let’s get right to it! No! Name! Congratulations from the bottom of my heart!”
– Kyaaa!
– Get down, you stingy little thing!!!
– NoName! NoName! NoName! NoName! NoName!
– The dreaded vegetable appears! The dreaded vegetable appears! The dreaded vegetable appears!
– Real MVP for two tournaments at once? My heart is truly majestic!
– They should just lock this guy in a room and keep gaming! LOL.
– Does NoName like kimchi dumplings?
– They can’t be said to a young kid though LOL.
The audience erupted with didactic uproar once it acknowledged that NoName was there.
“Here comes the highly anticipated moment! The stage for total MVP goes to… Let’s not keep you waiting!”
The audience’s expectation began to rise and a voice, slightly vacant yet familiar, rang out.
Hello. I am… wait a moment.
Na-me tied her hair back into two under-twin tails.
“Hello. I am NoName, streaming games at Twish.”
All 550,000 audience members’ eyes were fixated on her as her daintily closed pink lips moved.
“My name is Na-me. Nice to meet you.”