Chapter 876 – 876. God’S Atlantis
“We will now announce the rankings for the top 5 in the hunting competition.
1st place: Gidin Yustia
2nd place: Ojam Stinger
3rd place: Seira Arpis
4th place: Seong Yujin
5th place: Kang Myungjin”
Gidin Yustia is the 3rd Prince, and Ojam Stinger is the master of a large legion.
Kang Myungjin should have been 3rd. Even if Kang Myungjin’s skills were somewhat lacking, he should have used the information he had to hunt monsters and achieve and maintain 3rd place. However, with Seira and me participating, an anomaly occurred.
‘Because of the Moon Hunter’s wrath, when monsters found us, they didn’t run away but attacked us like they were going to die.’
I shook my head, lost in thought for a moment.
I don’t know.
Kang Myungjin, who is aiming for 3rd place, will take care of it himself. That guy will surely surpass me and Seira.
We followed the suspicious guys and found Gidin Yustia a little further away.
He was a handsome man with curly blonde hair and red eyes. The corners of his eyes drooped slightly. He had the air of a nobleman, and he was with four other nobles of his age and five escort knights. Those nobles were Gidin’s followers and witnesses to the incident that was about to happen.
Not only that, but Kang Myungjin was in front of Gidin. As in the original story, he was having dinner with Gidin. Here, Kang Myungjin gets caught up in the incident, saves Gidin, gains recognition, and attracts attention from many people.
‘As expected, it’s going according to the original story. There was no need for Elena and me to come.’
Identifying the culprits will also be easy. All we have to do is follow one of the fleeing guys and catch them.
“Who are you? You suddenly appeared and are being rude. Take off your masks and show your faces.”
The 3rd Prince Gidin stood up and spoke to the suspicious guys. His calm voice had a restrained murderous intent. His acting skills were excellent. The escort knights drew their swords, and Kang Myungjin also gripped his spear. The nobles retreated with trembling eyes, watching the situation.
“Your Highness. Would we wear masks for no reason? We apologize, but Your Highness must die here.”
“You’re after my life. Who is behind you?”
Gidin said with a stiff face.
“Do you think we’ll tell you that? We’re just doing what we were told. Attack.”
The terrorists rushed towards Gidin, and they clashed with the escort knights.
Bang! Kwaaang! Bang!
Flames erupted, and ice pillars soared. It was the work of a mage among the terrorists.
“Kill the 3rd Prince!”
“Protect His Highness!”
They fought fiercely.
The terrorists and the escort knights killed each other. Looking at the intensity, you could never think it was a staged event. I glanced at Elena. She had her arms crossed and was quietly looking down with her blue eyes.
Seira asked Elena, as if she couldn’t understand.
“How long are you going to just watch? Two of the 3rd Prince’s escort knights are dead. If this continues, the 3rd Prince’s life could be in danger.”
“…No. It doesn’t seem like we need to intervene. They can handle this themselves.”
“We’re going to retreat to the back.”
“To the back?”
“Yes, that way it will be easier to catch the fleeing guys. And there’s no good in facing the 3rd Prince.”
We moved back, turning our backs on the screams of someone we didn’t know.
Grrrrrr….
We heard the growling of a beast. Naturally, our steps stopped. We naturally raised our heads and looked far into the forest.
There was a boar about 500 meters away. It was a giant boar over 5 meters tall. It wasn’t an ordinary monster. Even from a distance, its momentum was extraordinary.
The black-skinned boar began to run, its red eyes glowing. Its destination was me and Seira.
I immediately realized the cause of the situation. The Moon Hunter’s wrath. It’s because of that damn old maid.
“Duke Valdert, has the magic been lifted?”
“It hasn’t been lifted. It just didn’t work on that boar. It’s not ordinary. It seems to be because of you… take care of it yourselves.”
Elena said curtly and retreated with her knight.
“B-But, Duke Valdert? I am Princess Seira’s escort knight!”
“Help me instead of cleaning up after those idiots.”
Elena took the knight away. Seira only glanced at the knight and didn’t stop her. She held her greatsword in both hands and took a fighting stance.
“Sir Yujin. I’ll step forward and draw the boar’s attention. You focus on attacking from behind.”
“Yes, Princess.”
Seira collided with the boar. Kwaaaang! A shockwave that seemed to shake the ground reverberated. Kang Myungjin and Gidin must have noticed the giant boar and were running this way. That’s why Elena left her position.
My eyes widened as I held Stormbreaker in my hand, preparing to throw it. It was because Seira’s body was lifted into the air by the boar’s upward tusk attack.
“Princess!!”
“I’m fine! Attack!”
Crack.
Lightning sparked from my body. The lightning gathered on Stormbreaker.
‘Astrape.’
I activated the skill. It would be more powerful that way. Lightning enveloped Stormbreaker. From afar, it would look like I was holding lightning in my hand.
「The Lord of the Sky sighs.」
「The King of the Demonic Sky chuckles.」
Putting aside the fact that they were reacting at this timing, I threw the spear at the boar’s head. A blue bolt of lightning tore through the air with a sound that shook the sky. The boar moved its head again this time. It was trying to deflect my Stormbreaker with its tusks.
And absurdly, the boar succeeded in deflecting it. Stormbreaker spun around and flew into the sky.
The boar charged at me again.
The boar overlooked Seira’s presence. Seira fell from the sky and swung her greatsword. She left a deep wound on the boar’s body.
Kweeeeeeeeeeek!
「The Moon Hunter glares at you, trembling with uncontrollable rage.」
「The Moon Hunter (Fake) aims a moonlit arrow at you.」
「The Lord of the Sky reveals his presence with a wry smile.」
「The Lord of the Sky tries to calm the Moon Hunter.」
「It’s too late. It’s backfired.」
A beam of light flew towards me from the crescent moon in the night sky. I was grateful for the system’s advance warning. Thanks to that, I could prepare. And the Lord of the Sky was annoyed. The Lord of the Sky’s intervention was actually counterproductive. I was at fault for using Astrape (B), but the root cause was the Lord of the Sky.
‘Stormbreaker!’
I reverse-summoned Stormbreaker and summoned it again in front of me. I changed the form of Stormbreaker into a shield.
「The King of the Demonic Sky shows interest in your weapon.」
Stormbreaker was a weapon I hadn’t used until now. It was natural for him to be interested since I suddenly took it out and was using it skillfully. The system didn’t react much. Was it used to it? Or was it a sign that it was going to watch for now?
I pulled up my mana and strengthened my body. I focused especially on my lower body, raised both hands, and lifted the shield.
I thought it was impossible to dodge from the start.
‘That’s a god’s arrow. It must have a homing function as a basic feature.’
If I tried to dodge clumsily, I would only get hurt. It was better to block it properly.
The moonlit arrow collided with the shield.
There was no sound. The moonlit arrow was literally moonlight. However, the power it carried could not be ignored. My body was pushed back. I used mana to create an aura and wrapped it around the shield. Even so, my body continued to move backward.
Thud!
My back collided with a tree. Crack. The tree broke, and my back continued to be pushed back. Four trees fell in a row.
I gritted my teeth. The moonlit arrow had disappeared, and I knelt on the ground, gasping for breath. Drip, drip. Blood dripped from my nose.
“Yujin! Are you okay?!”
Kang Myungjin approached, grabbed my shoulder, and supported me. I nodded and got up with Kang Myungjin’s help.
“What about the boar?”
“The 3rd Prince has joined the fight. That woman is… Seira Arpis? Where is Duke Valdert?”
“He went to chase after the guys. It would be troublesome if it was known that Elena was here.”
“I see. I’ll keep quiet as we agreed before.”
「You have defeated the leader of the Moon Hunting Grounds.」
「There are multiple hunters. Points will be awarded based on contribution.」
「You have received 41 points.」
I looked at Kang Myungjin. He seemed fine, so it seemed that the notification window didn’t appear for him. Well, Kang Myungjin didn’t fight the boar. He had no contribution.
“Myungjin, isn’t your goal 3rd place? What are you going to do?”
“There’s still a lot of time left, and I have a plan. However, Seira Arpis’ participation is unexpected. So… can you take care of Seira Arpis?”
“With my skills?”
“You just need to interfere with her moderately. Besides, you’re acquainted with Seira Arpis. Seong Yujin, please. The 3rd place reward is essential for growing Biya.”
“Well, okay.”
I decided to accept Kang Myungjin’s request without hesitation. I wasn’t really interested in winning the hunting competition from the start. I’m sure Seira felt the same way.
“But there’s a problem. I’ve incurred the Moon Hunter’s wrath.”
“…I saw that moonlit arrow earlier. It’s probably the influence of the divine seat you’re contracted with.”
Kang Myungjin nodded as if he knew. Kang Myungjin had different information than me, so it was easy to talk to him.
“Do you have any good information? Like a place where there are no monsters…”
Kang Myungjin was silent for a moment. I noticed what he was doing as his eyes moved slightly. He was using AP to block the gazes of the divine seats.
“……Seong Yujin. Do you know where this is?”
“Where else? It’s the Moon Hunting Grounds in Zone 2,350.”
“You must have guessed what the Moon Hunter’s true name is?”
“Artemis.”
“That’s right. She is the goddess of the moon, and this is the goddess of the moon’s domain. Like a hunting ground, there are prey everywhere. But there is one place where there is no prey. It’s where the goddess rests.”
“Where is that?”
“It’s hidden and complicated. Do you have something like a notepad?”
I gave him a notepad and a pen.
“First, move in the direction of the crescent moon. Then you’ll find a small stream. Don’t follow the stream, but look for a place where blue flowers are blooming nearby. If you find a place where those flowers are blooming in clusters, you’ll find a small pond. If you go into the pond, you’ll find a safe zone. It’s a restricted place that even the divine seats can’t see, so you can rest there to avoid Artemis.”
“Hoo.”
That was information I didn’t know at all. I didn’t even know there was such a setting.
“The next part is important. There’s something you absolutely have to keep in mind.”
“Something I absolutely have to keep in mind?”
“Use AP to block the gazes of the divine seats and go there. And you have to leave that place one hour before sunrise. No, it’s better to leave safely two hours before.”
“I got some good information. Thanks.”
I got up. I had only bled a little from my nose from using my strength, but my body itself was fine.
Kang Myungjin stared at me intently before nodding.
“…Hah. It seems you’ve already figured out where that place is. Well, you’re capable of that.”
Kang Myungjin exclaimed in admiration while looking at me as he pleased.
I didn’t know where it was, but I nodded, thinking that was probably the case.
Kang Myungjin had a tendency to overrate me from the past. There was no harm in gaining his trust, so I didn’t say anything.
“It’s nice to meet you. I heard a rough story about you from Princess Arpis. You’re the sub-master of the same legion as Kang Myungjin, right? You caught a crazy boar and got points. Your legion is doing me a favor today.”
“I’m Seong Yujin, Your Highness Gidin.”
I greeted Prince Gidin. After a brief conversation, we went our separate ways. Gidin pretended to be troubled by the death of his escort knight, but he didn’t seem upset. Either way, things went according to his plan, so he must be happy inside.
Seira and I moved. Well, Elena would take care of herself. She’s the type to chase after us with magic if necessary. She’s the Illusion Duke, one of the Empire’s Five Dukes, so there’s no need to worry. She’s stronger than me, so who am I to worry about whom?
“Is this the place you were talking about?”
“Yes.”
I looked down at the pond. On the surface, it only looked like a shallow pond, but there was almost no chance that Kang Myungjin’s information was wrong.
I went into the pond. My body slipped down, and I found myself in a cave. And when I saw the scene in front of me, my mouth dropped open.
“A human man?!”
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
“Artemis-nim! Please save us!”
Five naked beauties were in an open-air bath. There was no way Kang Myungjin would give me a gift like this, so he probably didn’t know about their existence when he told me.
‘Is it because my luck is high?! I’m lucky!’
I grinned.
I realized where this place was. I understood why Kang Myungjin told me to block the gazes of the divine seats.
「The Lord of the Sky smiles contentedly.」
The Lord of the Sky and the King of the Demonic Sky were my contracted divine seats, so they were excluded from the divine seat gaze blocking. They basically wouldn’t do anything that would harm me. I had to save AP when I could.
‘Hehe. This is Artemis’s bath.’
