Chapter 205

1.

Just as Seonghyun was heading towards the sixth city, Hexia, several users were gathering in the fifth region, Fifth Reach.

The sight of them entering a building, each hiding their identity, looked quite suspicious.

However, because they were secretive and swift, no one knew that people were gathering in that building.

The members gathered one by one.

In total, about 12 people had gathered.

And among them, a woman in a long robe took off her hood and stepped forward.

The woman who had received the most attention among the Rapid Guild's rookies.

It was Luna.

The people gathered here were also all affiliated with the Rapid Guild.

Members of the Luna Team, who had been a team from the beginning.

From Joseon's Best Swordsman Kim Chegeon, who had joined relatively recently, to Meiran and Kurosawa Ren.

And Kyou, who was an individual, not part of a party.

And finally, the Embris party, who had joined just a few days ago.

When everyone gathered, there were a total of 12 people.

As they were all individuals overflowing with both personality and skill, Luna tried to get the situation under control as quickly as possible.

As if they knew this, everyone focused on her.

“First of all, thank you all for gathering. I would like to inform you that you have been summoned so I can speak about our future activities.”

Since it was an official meeting, Luna was speaking as politely as possible.

Everyone listened silently without raising any objections.

The purpose of those gathered here was clear, after all.

“First, we have been urgently summoned because Seonghyun has already gone to the sixth region, and we need to catch up as much as possible.”

“Damn, he’s fast.”

“Mmhuhu!!! As expected of Seonghyun.”

“Euhahaha!!! As expected of the Demon King!”

“Joseon samurai, Light Lancer, can't you both be quiet for a moment?”

“Hmm, as expected.”

They were all so full of personality that it quickly became noisy.

The four who had recently joined.

The Embris party also looked a little bewildered.

No one paid it much mind.

In any case, Luna took control of the room and spoke.

“In any case, we need to back Seonghyun up, so we need to match his level as much as possible.”

Luna's words echoed in the now-quiet room.

If she hadn't had a plan, she wouldn't have called them like this.

“First, since there are people who have joined this time, I will tell you about our team's approximate strength.”

At those words, a few of them showed pride in their expressions.

But at Luna's next words, Kyou's and Embris's expressions crumbled.

“First, from our team, the existing Luna Team, after the 3rd Class Advancement, we have one Almighty-rank and the rest are all Legendary-rank. And the newly joined Kyou is also Almighty-rank. And from the Embris party, which has just joined, Embris is also Almighty-rank, and the other three are also Legendary-rank.”

Three Almighty-ranks and nine Legendary-ranks.

There were some who were originally Unique-rank, but they had all risen by one rank with the 3rd Class Advancement.

In particular, the fact that Luna, who was originally Legendary-rank, had risen to Almighty-rank was significant.

Even among the top-ranking guilds, there wasn't a party with this much power.

Usually, they were divided, or parties were split up with an Almighty-rank as the core.

But it was unbelievable that this much power was just a backup team.

All of them had gathered to back Seonghyun.

Kyou was no exception.

Although his ultimate goal was to win against Seonghyun, he had judged that it was necessary to follow behind him as backup to do so.

The problem was that even with all of them gathered…

‘To think it's still hard to catch up.’

‘Just how far above us is he?’

‘He really is amazing.’

Most of them were having similar thoughts.

From their perspective, it was a bit of a blow to their pride that it was still hard to catch up even after gathering like this.

That was why they had banded together.

“With 12 people, we must split into two groups of six. So, I plan to divide us into my original party, the Luna Party, and Embris's party. And Meiran and Kurosawa Ren will join Embris's party.”

“Haaa. The Joseon samurai should have gone.”

“Hehehe! Be quiet. You failed thief!”

A small commotion broke out, but Luna quickly calmed them down and spoke again.

“And this time, we have obtained a quest that requires a party of at least two people. Originally, it was a quest that should have been given to Seonghyun, but since he has already gone to the sixth city, we will clear it and quickly rise to the same level as him.”

Everyone nodded at Luna's words.

Looking around at everyone who had made their resolve, Luna thought.

‘Haaa, why did all the disobedient ones gather in our team.’

But what could she do?

It was obvious what would happen if she put Kim Chegeon and Kyou in the newly joined Embris party.

It was right for her to control them.

With that thought, Luna looked up at the sky with sad eyes.

The image of the guild leader, Rapid, flickered in her mind, but she soon shook her head.

Rapid, who had given these instructions, was also incredibly busy.

2.

The sixth city was not a region with a particularly large number of users.

Since players were considered intermediate level starting from the fifth region, the user distribution was not very high.

This city was especially so.

The city of black mages and death, Hexia.

The surrounding scenery of Hexia, a city where users were rarely seen, was nothing short of dismal.

Due to the ominously spread dark clouds, even sunlight barely penetrated.

Because of the basin-like terrain, a thick fog was spread out, making the city, which was already gloomy due to the dark clouds, even more dreary.

The areas around the city were also quite horrific.

There was a lake made of poison where living creatures could not easily survive, a forest full of deep curses and darkness, and even a giant pit so deep that it looked like darkness itself.

Because it was a city with not a single good aspect in sight, even though it was a city that black mages had to visit, the number of users was remarkably lower compared to other cities.

Black Mages had to come to Hexia to learn about their class, so they would only visit occasionally and quickly return.

Seonghyun was also feeling something similar as he looked around Hexia.

‘The atmosphere is… not good.’

It was filled with a very gloomy energy.

An atmosphere that made him understand why users avoided it.

However, excluding that, when Seonghyun looked at the city objectively, he thought it wasn't all that bad.

Certainly, excluding the atmosphere, it was bigger and wider than any other sixth city.

It wasn't lively, but the level of the NPCs was quite high.

It was indeed a place that black mages would surely visit.

Was that why? Although not many, users active here could also be seen intermittently.

‘Should I head straight for the Over Palace branch?’

As Seonghyun thought this, he looked at the huge castle that should have originally been the lord's castle.

A castle filled with a gloomy energy.

Originally, it was the lord's castle, where the center of the city and the lord who ruled it should have been.

In other sixth cities, although each focused on a magic tower, a lord clearly existed, but Hexia was different.

This city itself was the Over Palace's branch.

Therefore, ruling this place was no different from the Over Palace doing it.

In any case, although the entire city could be called the Over Palace's branch, the branch building was strictly that lord's castle.

‘I have to go anyway, right?’

Since the Black Star said he would give him something new.

‘Perhaps the reason they didn't come to greet me is a ploy to maximize the reward?’

Seonghyun thought so and slowly moved his steps in that direction.

‘What will I get?’

As he strolled with such thoughts, a few NPCs saw him and whispered among themselves.

“Heok, h-he seems to be g-going to the Over Palace branch?”

“Sh-Shouldn't we stop him?”

“Heo, h-he's a stranger, so isn't he going with some purpose?”

“I-If he's a stranger, shouldn't we tell him about the other black mage training centers besides the Over Palace?”

At the sight of them each trembling in fear as they spoke, Seonghyun pretended not to hear, but his curiosity was piqued.

‘What are they so afraid of?’

As Seonghyun walked straight towards the Over Palace's branch with such thoughts, no one dared to stop him.

‘Do they not want to get involved?’

However, it wasn't just the NPCs; other users had a similar reaction.

“He's going towards the Over Palace?”

“Crazy, is he really trying to challenge it?”

“No, there are still people who challenge it?”

“Brave…”

“I know, right.”

Everyone was just watching Seonghyun and talking, but no one seemed to have any intention of approaching him to speak.

The atmosphere was a bit strange.

Even in other cities, the Over Palace was somewhat difficult to approach, but it wasn't to this extent.

This was especially true for the users.

Hadn't they boasted about going to the Over Palace before?

But this level of reaction?

It was puzzling, but he decided to find out later.

As Seonghyun thought this and reached the Over Palace's branch castle, he could somewhat understand why they had been so afraid.

“Heo.”

Even Seonghyun let out a gasp as he arrived in front of the castle.

He could see undead swarming all around the castle.

Should it be called an undead army?

Or an undead wave?

At least hundreds of thousands of undead were spread around the castle walls, slowly rotating as if circling the perimeter ominously.

It wasn't just their numbers; each and every undead was incredible.

‘Dullahan? Is that a Death Knight?’

High-level undead were wandering around as if they were common pebbles.

A scene where undead, easily over Level 200 and even in the 300s, were commonly scattered about.

He figured this was why the other users and NPCs had been so wary.

As Seonghyun stood there, as if overwhelmed by the undead army, the NPCs and users who were watching from a distance nodded their heads.

As if to say, "I knew it."

“As expected, he stops there.”

“We did the same.”

“No one who sees that tries to enter the Over Palace branch.”

“The Over Palace made it so you can learn black mage skills well enough outside the castle, anyway.”

“Hmph, hmph, no matter how much of a stranger he is, he knows his life is precious.”

As both users and NPCs said such things, not long after they spoke, the undead stopped in their tracks all at once.

It was the first time this had happened since the Over Palace began to rule this place.

The undead had always surrounded the castle and circled it.

As the undead stopped for the first time, the NPCs and users, momentarily terrified, shouted.

“C-Crazy!?”

“Th-They suddenly stopped!?”

“A-Are they going to attack us?!”

“Y-You, get out of there right now!!!”

As everyone was making a fuss and shouting, Seonghyun stood still, watching the undead that had stopped.

He could see the undead opening the huge castle gates and bowing their heads as if to welcome Seonghyun.

It was a sudden welcome, but Seonghyun walked into the castle naturally.

The users and NPCs stared at the scene blankly and muttered.

“Wh-What did I just see?”

“Th-The undead are welcoming him!?”

“Wh-Who is that person!?”

“D-Don't tell me, the Demon King!?”