Book 3 Chapter 59 - Ionian Plains (2)

The Clan system, many had not fully understood its nature until the very end.

The ranking updated in real time, and rewards would be given out every four months. It only applied to the players, so if you were highly ranked, you could gain many benefits. This in turn incited conflicts among the clans aiming for the top spots.

‘Back then, the clan wars were quite savage.’

Caring about your clan’s rank was an inevitability. This was because there were regular updates released, reporting stats like the number of people in the clan, average stats, equipment level and amount of monsters killed.

Eventually, this forced coalitions to form among clans that shared similar interests so that they could achieve a better ranking. These coalitions would frequently clash leading to many wars on the Eeth continent.

‘Would the Rhine kingdom still be under the Red Hawk alliance?’

Although they had managed to defend the kingdom for some time, they were eventually overrun by the Niflheim alliance led by Logan.

They had invested greatly in developing their navy due to their advantageous geographical location and also maintained good diplomatic status with neighboring countries.

‘What might be different now that Isaac isn’t around?’

Although the rebel camp was missing an entire medium sized clan, he felt that this shouldn’t have too big of an impact.

After organizing the thoughts in his head, Woohyuk looked at a large tree stump.

“This looks like a good place to sit down and enjoy nature.”

“Any signs of Mikaelovich nearby?”

It had been three days now that he had gone missing, so it was proving difficult to find any clues.

As Jung Sanghoon continued to search the surroundings for any tracks, Undine appeared.

“The spirits say that they saw a man being dragged away.”

“What did the assailant look like?”

“I was a Demon with a child’s appearance. It had dark green hair and golden eyes.”

Upon learning this crucial information from the nearby spirits, they now knew that it was a single person that had acted alone. Still, it was still unknown whether or not the Red Hawk alliance was involved in some way.

Woohyuk had his party summon their Jabberwoks, as they took off in the direction mentioned by the spirits.

“Someone has joined hands with a demon?”

“Well.”

It wasn’t always as simple as that. The key lay in the reason for Mikaelovich’s kidnapping. If all the Demon wanted was to obtain some land from the Count, then it didn’t quite make sense.

‘Is it simply personal curiosity?’

It wasn’t like Demons were completely uninterested in the arts. There had been many cases of them fighting among themselves over collectibles obtained from humans.

Since the victim was a famous painter, it was certainly a possibility.

“Hey, what are Demons?”

Song Anna that was riding beside him on her Jabberwok, asked cautiously.

She had also felt the Demonic power occasionally coming out of Woohyuk.

“Intelligent beings from the Abyss.”

Actually, the difference between Gods and Demons was almost negligible. They just drew their powers from different sources, but both sides had various kinds of personalities.

For the most part, Demons sought chaos, whereas Gods wanted to establish order.

Still, there were many exceptions to this, so one couldn’t just carelessly make assumptions.

“Wow… that’s quite complicated.”

Just like humans.

Song Anna muttered to herself.

“Is your ability still at the first stage?”

“Yes, it hasn’t increased.”

The Child Blessed by the Seven Stars was a unique class. It was somewhat similar to a Shaman, but the abilities were much more powerful. However, the number of abilities was limited to a maximum of seven.

These nights she would often have dreams in which she was Ahri.

“How many contracts can you hold at elementals?”

“Just the one.”

She had tried to summon both the Fire Elemental Salamander and the Wind Elemental Sylph at the same time, but failed.

There seem to be some sort of restrictions . As Song Anna was pondering on her failures, Undine spoke.

“The trail ends here.”

They were now at the edge of the forest. Woohyuk got off his Jabberwok and stepped over some shrubs.

‘It must have noticed the spirits and defeated them with its demonic power.’

There was a chance that it's hideout was nearby, so it was worth searching the area just in case.

“Did he return to the demon world?”

“It’s unlikely.”

The Demons that were awakening one by one, were already fighting over their ranking. It was difficult to claim ownership over a human, unless they were one of the 72 Demon Kings.

Hearing Woohyuk’s response, Jung Sanghoon raised his sword.

‘It must be right since the boss says so.’

Woohyuk had yet to be wrong. The tragedy that had occurred in the Canyon Battle could only be blamed on them, since they had ignored his warning.

‘I need to be careful not to repeat the same mistake as last time.’

This is good timing to use his Rogue skill, ‘Trap Search’.

A hideout would always have a healthy amount of traps.

Chulkuk

Just as Jung Sanghoon lowered himself, a small hole appeared on the middle of the nearby cliff and a long muzzle stuck out.

Bang!

A magic bullet shot out, heading straight to Jung Sanghoon’s forehead.

It was a very dangerous moment, but luckily he had already been dropping down, and was just barely able to dodge.

“Kuook!”

Jung Sanghoon groaned as he rolled on the ground. Having seen what happened, Woohyuk and Undine both launched an attack against the cliff.

Pung, Pung!

Colorful magic spells exploded on the area, mangling the muzzle. As the situation had been resolved, Woohyuk went to check on Jung Sanghoon.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, luckily I was able to avoid it at the last minute.”

If he hadn’t cast Trap Search when he had, he would likely have a hole in his head right now.

Woohyuk nodded back, as he saw Jung Sanghoon look relieved.

‘His burst of speed is quite impressive.’

Lee Jaesung was an Apprentice Knight so his Defense was quite high, but this also meant that he was a bit slow to react to fluid situations.

The same was true for Yoo Kayoung and Song Anna. Their classes were primarily magic based, so their physical abilities were low.

Jung Sanghoon however was there to cover for his teammates’ shortcomings. He had to perform well in this role until Woohyuk was able to scout a capable Ranger.

“Then let’s resume the search.”

They all nodded back in response. Since there were some suspicious traps in the area, there was sure to be something hidden nearby.

The party peeled their eyes as they searched for a hideout.

Whiriic!

In a gust of wind, a dark shadow appeared within this lush forest.

“What are you guys doing over here?”

It was a young looking boy with dark green hair and golden eyes. As if that weren’t enough to link him to their suspect, he had a pair of black wings as well.

“Where’s Mikaelovich?”

“So you are searching for him as well. Are you here at the request of Count Huntington.”

“Yes.”

“How surprising, aren’t you also a Demon?”

Count Hunting was a follower of the God of Light.

Perhaps he simply didn’t know that the one he’d employed was a Demon, but why would a Demon act as a human’s messenger? Loengreen couldn’t understand the situation.

“First answer my question.”

“Mikaelovich is safe, he’s with me.”

According to Loengreen, Mikaelovich was a homosexual. That was the reason he had never taken a wife. Of course he could never reveal this secret to Count Huntington, who regarded homosexuality as a cardinal sin and would burn him alive at the stake.

“So he wasn’t kidnapped?”

“Although at first he was unwilling, eventually I was able to convince him. Only I can understand him completely.”

In consideration for the kindness which the Count had shown him, Mikaelovich had wanted to complete his work of art. Loengreen however was well aware that the other demons were starting to awaken, and had wanted to keep him safe.

“So it was like that.”

“If you understand the situation, then please return, there might be others coming here due to the sound of the gunshot.”

The enchanted mechanical trap installed on the cliff had been created by Loengreen, with the aid of Mikaelovich.

As Loengreen politely asked them to leave, Woohyuk had to think about it for a moment.

‘He seems to be quite considerate.’

Among Demons, there were those that were indeed quite virtuous.

Hopefully he would be able to resolve this peacefully. Even if he defeated him, Woohyuk might run the risk of alienating Mikaelovich, making him uncooperative.

“Do you think you can ensure his safety here in the forest?”

“It’s much better than in the villages that are so often raided these days. I’ve seen several suspicious people within Huntington’s lands.

“Suspicious people? Did they also wear watches like this one here?”

Woohyuk showed him his left wrist, upon which Loengreen nodded.

“That’s right, they seemed to be planning something. If you're on Count Huntington’s side, then Mikaelovich could be in danger.”

Loengreen patiently explained the situation since he regarded Woohyuk as a fellow Demon.

Something that he had never expected in the past. Since on the surface he appeared to belong to the Demon camp, he has been benefiting from this misconception.

However just his word to confirm that Mikaelovich was safe wouldn’t be enough to satisfy the Count’s request.

‘I’ll have to find a compromise.’

Count Huntington was searching for Mikaelovich out of concern for his safety. If Huntington were to know of this, he would surely understand.

Considering the situation, it wasn’t necessary to bring Mikaelovich to see Huntington.

‘Besides, he knows some crucial information.’

For Woohyuk, Mikaelovich’s safety was less important than rooting out the rebels. That meant that at least for now, Loengreen was a better ally than the Count.

“I have a solution to make this problem go away.”

“What do you have in mind.”

“Have a letter handwritten by Mikaelovich stating that he was eloping with a noble woman and that they were in love. For that reason, the work of art would have to be delayed.”

Of course he had to also properly ask for the Count’s forgiveness in this matter.

Upon hearing Woohyuk’s idea, Loengreen quite happily nodded in agreement.

“I accept your proposal, it seems like a good solution to this entire dilemma.”

“Now there is something I want from you.”

The location of all the clan members in the Red Hawk Alliance. With Loengreen’s help, he’d be able to quickly track them down.

As he began to make some plans for the future, Woohyuk opened his eyes, giving off a sharp gaze.

* * *

Upon hearing the latest information from Loengreen, Woohyuk didn’t delay and quickly returned to deliver the letter to the Count.

As he had expected, Count Huntington was relieved to learn that Mikaelovich was safe and sound, no longer caring about his whereabouts.

“You’ve done well.”

As soon as the Count clapped his hands, a guard came over with a pouch filled with coins.

A total of 100 gold coins, a fair bit of money for a mercenary.

Compensation based on results, as promised. Of course he can choose a different reward. If he so desired, he could choose some land with a small estate. Still, coins would be more useful in the upcoming war.

Woohyuk however, made an unexpected decision.

“I’ll take 50 gold, as well as the unfinished painting.”

Mikaelovich had asked that he bring him the painting he had been working on.

Count Huntington stares at Woohyuk with a stern look.

“You are quite wise, choosing a way to get both.”

For Huntington, it wasn’t too difficult to hand over the canvas. After all, Mikaelovich had already announced in his letter that he wouldn’t be able to work on it for some time.

Although he might return someday to pick up his brush once more, until that time came the unfinished painting was worthless.

After obtaining his rewards, Woohyuk began to investigate the whereabouts of the Redhawk Alliance. Of course they had yet to actually form an alliance, but were destined to do so because their goals all aligned.

“Have the spirits found nothing?”

“Indeed, maybe it’s because there have been too many people passing by.”

Woohyuk’s question put Undine in a difficult spot.

The general principle was that spirits didn’t involve themselves in human affairs. Unless they were contracted with a human, spirits would go to their own dimension, becoming one with nature.

They were completely indifferent to what occurred in the mortal world unless a creature such as a Demon drew their attention.

“I guess there must be some nobles supporting the large clans from behind the scenes.”

Jung Sanghoon who had been silent this entire time, suddenly spoke up.

There was the possibility that some vassal had betrayed Count Huntington.

“Perhaps that is the case.”

“Then we should tell the Count….”

“It’s not like him knowing will make any difference.”

Many nobles had already turned their backs on the royal family. Unless they obtained proof, pretending to be ignorant was the safer choice.

If the nobles were to catch wind of that fact that their plans had been discovered, they might choose to move up the timeline instead.

‘Either way, they are like mice trapped in a jar.’

Loengreen and Aris were secretly watching over Count Huntington, so the rebels wouldn’t have an opportunity to strike.

As the party stared into the empty fields, the sound of wheels rolling was heard in the distance.

Dulgruk, Dulgruk

‘Huh? Isn’t that...?’

Woohyuk’s eyes narrowed as he watched the light brown carriage approach.

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