novelraw Chapter 173: A New Possibility (1)
Chapter 173: A New Possibility (1)
Translator: Dreamscribe
Darkness approached.
The moment the Legion of Darkness arrived at the Seoul Field, the world began to change.
[The reverse world tainted by darkness unfolds.]
From the space split from the sky to the ends of the earth, dark currents burst forth and began to dye the sky in pitch-black darkness.
The clouds tainted by darkness changed as if they were burning with black flames and poured down black rain like spilled ink. Buildings struck by the black rain melted as if corroding.
Even the sun was dyed in darkness, as if an eclipse had occurred.
It was as if the end of the world had arrived.
A war staking the fate of the world of heroes, and further, the fate of Arsilan, had begun. It was on a completely different level from the enemies they had faced until now. The self that had grown with all their strength until now had become the enemy.
“This pisses me off.”
“Look at those bastards smiling.”
“So annoying.”
The heroes were irritated.
They were acting as if they had already won. They were even broadcasting among themselves and mocking the Legion of Light. It made them even angrier, as it felt like watching their own past selves mocking enemies.
The Legion of Darkness paused briefly after entering the Seoul Field. It did not look like they had any strategy. Overflowing with confidence, they had charged straight into the Seoul Field, Arsilan’s territory.
“They’re scared.”
“Haha!”
“Everyone, if we kill those bastards, do they drop items?”
“Light power? They probably give something like that. Ah! They give experience points too.”
“They’re all dead. It’s farming time.”
Mocking shouts and laughter rang out.
The Legion of Darkness shouted like that while looking at the Legion of Light. Those voices were heard with extreme clarity at their ears. It felt as if they were being delivered directly to their souls.
As the Legion of Light stirred, Heina released enormous magic power and raised her sword.
“Stay calm! Unrestrained anger becomes poison. Do not fall for their provocation!”
As Heina shouted like that, the heroes focused on her words and steadied their minds.
“As expected of Heina nim!”
“Falling for provocation is amateur stuff.”
“My mind feels calm.”
Heina’s voice calmed the heroes. Up to Episode 4, they had fought countless battles together and built trust with one another.
It was at that moment, as the atmosphere was being brought under control in the standoff.
Whooosh! Bang!
A spear imbued with a massive force was planted in front of Heina. A bloodstained red cloth was fluttering from the spear.
The one who threw the spear walked forward.
It was the reversed Heina, leading the Legion of Darkness.
“Oh…”
“Hm…”
The heroes admired the reversed Heina when they saw her.
As the episodes progressed, Heina had lost her original intention and wore only knight armor with little exposure or rigid-looking uniforms. Since she was such a beauty, even that armor looked impressive, but there were often remarks that people missed the old days.
However, the reversed Heina was different.
She was wearing an outfit that would likely be popular even if sold as a paid skin, it was a desirable outfit. Above all, the difference from Heina was that she was enjoying herself. As if she were a seductive dancer, she held her sword and walked forward gracefully.
With makeup on, her atmosphere was completely different from Heina’s. When Heina looked back, the heroes cleared their throats and averted their gazes.
“I think I like the current Heina nim.”
“That is right.”
“Ahem.”
The heroes hurriedly made excuses, but they did not feel sincere. Heina let out a sigh and looked forward again.
[Heina (Darkness) has challenged Heina (Light) to a duel.]
In Arsilan, throwing a weapon with a red cloth attached was a request for a duel. The reversed Heina blew a kiss toward the Legion of Light.
Seeing that, Heina’s expression turned vicious.
Anyone could see that she was extremely enraged.
“…I will kill you.”
Heina stepped forward without hiding her killing intent. It contrasted with the words she had spoken just moments ago to calm the heroes’ anger. Amid the confrontation between light and darkness, the commanders’ duel began.
When the reversed Heina held her sword in a seductive pose, the Legion of Darkness let out a huge cheer. She grinned and looked at Heina.
“Our Heina nim’s point is being shy!”
“Yeah, she doesn’t know the point!”
“No matter how much you imitate, you can’t follow the real charm.”
Uwaaaah!
The heroes were shaken at first by the appearance of the reversed Heina, but they lost interest faster than expected.Heina’s charm lay in the way she became shy and did not know what to do whenever she wore revealing clothes. Usually, she showed a dignified appearance, and occasionally revealing such a contrasting side was the point.
The heroes’ inner cultivation was that profound.
“I think I get it.”
“Mm!”
“It feels like my eyes have been opened to a new world.”
Even the people of Arsilan hesitated for a moment before agreeing with the heroes’ words.
The Legion of Darkness also flinched.
“Now that you mention it…”
“Mm…”
“That is certainly true.”
Such remarks came even from within the Legion of Darkness.
Which Heina was more charming. Everyone’s opinion leaned toward the original Heina.
It was a preference that transcended light and darkness.
“Mm…”
Heina wondered whether she should like this, but in any case, the overwhelming support gave her strength.
She was one of the few people of Arsilan who knew the truth of Episode 4. Even so, the reversed Heina made her tense.
“She did not just copy everything about me…”
Jinwoo said that with enormous computational power, even her weaknesses had been compensated for. There truly was no opening to be seen. In this state, it was difficult to guarantee victory. The word defeat even surfaced in her mind.
At present, she was stagnant.
Up to now, she had done fairly well, but the problem was what came next.
Now, she would not fall to Erosion.
If until now she had focused on supporting the heroes, now she could fight alongside them.
“Even if it is not to the level of Ella nim and Helby nim…”
She had to become much stronger than she was now.
She had to become strong enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with His Highness and fight higher existences of Erosion.
“The heroes will become much stronger than they are now.”
For now, she was still strong, but the heroes were growing at a rapid pace. Once they surpassed level 100 and completed their second job advancement, they were worthy of being called elite knight class.
As she heard about FS Games from Jinwoo, she learned about the character called an “early tutorial NPC”. Strong at the beginning, but pushed into the background as the player grew.
In the end, such a character merely stood there like background scenery.
“I…”
She could not become such a character.
She always wanted to set an example for the heroes. She wanted to lead them. Therefore, she had to become far stronger than she was now.
“Heina nim!”
“Fighting!”
Heina turned her head and looked at the heroes.
Someday, she would be overtaken. However, that would be a very distant future.
“Hoo.”
Heina focused her mind and raised her sword. It was supposed to be a narrowly winning performance, but she had asked Tiris not to stage such a performance.
Heina and the reversed Heina stared at each other, then charged at the same time as if by agreement.
Kwaaah!
Heina’s blue aura collided with the aura emitting black currents. Heina’s body was pushed back slightly. At the moment she frowned, semicircular black auras flew toward her. Heina swiftly swung her sword and knocked away all the black auras. As the black auras burst, black smoke thickly settled down.
Her vision was completely dyed in darkness.
The black smoke dyed even sound in darkness, depriving her of sight and hearing.
Swoosh!
Attacks continued from within the black smoke.
Heina barely blocked them, but the wounds on her body increased. The dark sword became a venomous snake, persistently aiming only for her vital points. It was clearly the swordsmanship she herself used. However, it was far more irregular and powerful.
Heina released her magic power and erased the black smoke.
The reversed Heina was looking at her with a grin. The posture she took, one Heina herself would never take, looked quite free.
Tang! Kwaang!
In an instant, dozens of exchanges followed.
The reversed Heina’s sword drew afterimages as it pressured Heina. That speed easily broke the sound barrier and grew faster and faster. It was a speed that even named heroes could not properly perceive.
When the reversed Heina stepped in and swung upward at her, her body shot into the air. The reversed Heina jumped as well and, the moment she reached her, struck her down with tremendous force.
Heina’s body was flung backward like a bullet and crashed into a melting building.
Kwagaragagag!
The building split apart and collapsed as it was. The reversed Heina landed on the ground and looked at the fallen building. The Legion of Darkness let out cheers as if celebrating victory, but the Legion of Light was not worried about Heina. She was not someone who would fall from something like this.
The debris split apart, and Heina slowly emerged.
The reversed Heina rushed forward, then flinched and stopped. It was because Heina’s atmosphere was changing.
Heina lowered her head and looked at her sword.
Her blue aura was extraordinarily calm. As if symbolizing the discipline of the knight order, it had cut away everything unnecessary. It was extremely restrained, as if reflecting the hundred years spent inside the Magic Barrier.
She let out a small laugh.
“Being trapped in the Magic Barrier for a hundred years, it seems my swordsmanship became the same.”
Her lord did not want a knight bound only by discipline. Her lord was always spontaneous and free. The heroes were the same.
With a restrained sword alone, one could not contain the light of Arsilan.
Just like Arsilan, she too had to change.
Heina loosened her stiff neck and placed her hand on her armor.
Click!
The armor covering her body disengaged and fell to the ground. Her expression, having released her self-restraint, looked refreshed. The reversed Heina, frowning, charged at her.
She unleashed attacks at a faster speed than before, but Heina was not pushed back at all. Rather, blue aura surged wildly from her sword, becoming even faster.
They clashed swords and then retreated far back.
The reversed Heina gathered all the darkness into her sword, and Heina too focused all her magic power into her sword while staring at her.
Tension settled over the Seoul Field.
The final attack would be delivered. The Legion of Light instinctively realized it. At that moment, a building melted and collapsed.
Paat
The two shot toward each other.
The reversed Heina’s sword contained an overwhelming darkness that looked capable of destroying several buildings in an instant. Heina’s sword likewise swirled with storm-like blue aura. It was as if the storm of Arsilan itself was contained within it.
At the moment they extended their swords toward each other, the tips collided.
Pasus!
The two enormous forces collided, yet it was quiet.
The moment the sword bearing darkness struck the blue sword, it collapsed from the tip and vanished emptily. Heina continued forward, cutting through the body of the reversed Heina as she advanced.
Paaang!
When Heina came to a stop, the shockwave swept through belatedly and shook the ground.
The reversed Heina staggered and dropped to her knees.
Starting from her head, she slowly melted away and disappeared, and the black currents were absorbed into Heina. The massive experience points made Heina’s heart pound.
Above all, what made her happiest was,
Jinwoo (Reversed Leon): That is impressive. Now I cannot even contend with you in swordsmanship. You are worthy of being called a sword master.
It was her lord’s praise.
“Uwaaaah!”
“This is it!”
“She won!”
The Legion of Light erupted into cheers.
They had shown an incredible battle and even achieved victory, so their morale could not help but soar endlessly. In contrast, the Legion of Darkness was enveloped in silence.
The heroes grinned and freely opened their itching mouths.
“Haha! Why do you all look so grim.”
“Relax your faces. You should smile.”
“Hey, stop it. You are going to make them cry.”
The heroes’ relentless mockery poured out.
The Legion of Darkness had no choice but to accept the taunts with stiff expressions.
[The Crystal of Light has absorbed a massive amount of experience.]
Heina slowly raised her sword.
Golden light flickered from her sword, which had been imbued with blue energy. It was still faint, but it clearly existed.
She was becoming stronger.
She was growing stronger.
The Holy Sword of Arsilan was gradually being completed along with her growth.
Heina did not suppress the overwhelming emotion rising within her.
“Arsilan!”
She smiled refreshingly and looked at the Legion of Darkness. From here on, it was a performance. But it was also sincere.
“Massive experience points are waiting for you! Even if they die, they keep coming back, experience point lumps. So from now on…”
When Heina slashed her sword forward, an aura mixed with golden light burst forth and swept over the Legion of Darkness.
“It is time for explosive leveling!”
And it was also time to repay their defeat.
“For Arsilan!”
“For Arsilan!”
“Let us kill them all and make the Holy Sword!”
At Heina’s cry, the Legion of Light charged forward with thunderous shouts. The Legion of Darkness also charged with shouts, but they were already overwhelmed by the momentum. The Legion of Darkness that had been advancing toward Seoul instead began to be pushed back.
[The Crystal of Light dwelling within you has absorbed experience.]
*Light of the Holy Sword 2% completed
“Oh, the experience is being distributed.”
“Are we making our own Holy Swords?”
“Khh! This is it!”
The heroes’ weapons were being dyed with golden light, little by little. By eliminating the enemies of Arsilan, the Light of the Holy Sword was being created.
Up to this point, it was something the heroes had expected. However, something unexpected happened. When a reversed hero fell, something they had been holding dropped to the ground.
“True Magic Stone?”
After appraising it, it was a black stone called a True Magic Stone. The moment the heroes grasped the True Magic Stone in their hands, the dark currents flowing out of it were sucked into their chests.
“Huh?”
“What is this?”
There was nothing wrong with their bodies.
Rather, they felt refreshed. Experiencing this phenomenon for the first time, the heroes tilted their heads and checked the information window.
[The light delivered from the future is absorbing darkness!]
*Power that should not appear in the current time period is trying to reveal itself.
*A new possibility may be born.
A new possibility?
What on earth did that mean?
They did not know exactly, but something ominous was happening.
“For now…”
“Let us make the Holy Sword first.”
Only then could they win this war.
***
The war between light and darkness that took place in the Seoul Field was evenly matched for a while. However, as the Legion of Light gained experience points and completed the Light of the Holy Sword, the Legion of Darkness was gradually pushed back and began to retreat to LA. At the same time, the Arsilan Worlds were also being dyed in light and returning to normal.
Ella and Helby were devoting themselves to recovery in Arsilan. Even though the two strongest in Arsilan were not on the battlefield, the Legion of Light was doing well, unlike before.
The Crystal of Light that had absorbed massive experience points was transforming into the Light of the Holy Sword.
“It consumes a lot of magic power, but it is powerful.”
“To think it is this strong even though it is not completed yet…”
“We probably need a second job advancement to use it properly, right?”
It seemed one would need to be able to generate aura to control the golden light. The first hero to fill all their experience points and complete the Light of the Holy Sword was NorthernGrandDuke.
[The Crystal of Light transforms into the Light of the Holy Sword.]
NorthernGrandDuke’s Two-Handed Axe was dyed in complete golden light. When she swung the Two-Handed Axe, golden currents burst forth and annihilated the surrounding darkness.
That was when it happened.
[A new possibility has opened!]
[Third Job Advancement] Light and Darkness
The true light of Arsilan is the will you hold.
Your strong will has opened infinite possibilities through the Light of the Holy Sword, and devotion that transcends time has granted you the power to overcome darkness. Strengthen the Light of the Holy Sword further to become complete light, or accept your reversed self into your soul and awaken the power of darkness.
Light and darkness will now become the weapons that protect Arsilan.
Requirements: Level 120 or higher, completion of second job advancement, possession of the complete Light of the Holy Sword
Reward: Third job advancement
Difficulty: Extremely high
[Third job advancement has been unlocked.]
1. Strengthen the Light of the Holy Sword and advance toward complete light.
2. Accept your reversed self and awaken the power of darkness.
NorthernGrandDuke’s information window was shared with all heroes.
The people of Arsilan were said to receive power in the form of awakening rather than job advancement.
The third job advancement given to the heroes, unlike before, provided two routes, light and darkness.
“Oh, ooh!”
“The power of darkness… this is insane.”
“I have not even passed the second job advancement test yet!”
-So does that mean we can be a Dark Mage now? Like a necromancer and stuff? I cannot pass this up!
-Kyah! I am going Dark Knight!
-This is it! This is Arsilan Saga!
-Long live the Creator God!
-The Creator God must have had everything planned all along!
-Please forgive this irreverent me!
With the news of the third job advancement being released without any prior notice, public sentiment was instantly covered in praise.