Chapter 171

Chapter 171

Beep! Beep!

[Emergency! Emergency! An intruder has appeared in the residential area! An intruder has appeared in the residential area!]

A huge battleship appeared. Five people were running down Arachne’s corridor. The speeds at which they moved were remarkable. One of the five was wearing heavy armor all over his body while carrying a large tower shield; he was reaching speeds of close to 80 kilometers per hour.

“Stop the intruders!”

“Where the hell did they come from?!”

Soldiers clad in full body reinforced suits poured out to meet the intruders. The soldiers carried guns, not swords or spears! They carried laser guns that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie.

“Wedge formation!”

“Stop them!”

A male user, Adol, who wore heavy armor and carried a large shield, ran ahead while the other four in his party hid behind him. The soldiers made two rows, one sitting and one standing, and aimed their laser guns at the approaching intruders. The soldiers laughed.

“They must have gone crazy. They don’t have any barriers or force fields. Trying to block a gunshot with a shield… pfft. Fire!”

Bam!

Without making much noise, white beams of light poured toward Adol’s shield. The soldiers imagined that the shield would melt like a honeycomb exposed to fire and that Adol would subsequently collapse; however, their expectations did not come true.

Ting!

“What?!”

Unexpectedly, Adol’s tower shield completely blocked all of the soldiers’ laser attacks. In fact, this result should have been expected. The shield, which had all kinds of defense spells imbued on it, was infused with Adol’s internal energy, which allowed his shield to completely resist heat and shock energy, as well as most poisons and magic power. Adol’s shield, which was difficult to pierce through even with sword qi, wasn’t going to be penetrated by a mere laser gun. One would need at least a 900mm cannon.

Crack!

Adol used shield charging while running to attack the soldiers blocking the hallway. The soldiers were able to withstand most shocks with their reinforced suits, but Adol’s shield charging attack packed a punch more like a head-on car accident than a human-to-human collision. As if they were hit by a train traveling at hundreds of kilometers per hour, the soldiers’ bodies instantly shattered and were thrown in all directions. Most of them couldn’t escape instant death.

“Wow, I feel like throwing up. External quests are good and all, but I still can’t get used to not having the basic safeguard system features.”

“We’re allowed to loot the enemy, so don’t waste time spewing such nonsense and start packing their gear! Their gear can be sold at a very high price.”

“Not strong? Look at my shield!”

Adol growled as he showed the others his pockmarked shield. No hole or opening could be seen on the shield, but it was scratched and crumpled in various places, so it was no longer in its ideal, perfect condition. Moreover, the sorry state of his shield meant that all the defensive spells on his shield had been broken through and nullified.

“The impact force is relatively small, but the power isn’t negligible. Without me, you all would have been shredded up.”

“Yes. Our strongest tank is kind and thoughtful.”

“Ah, my shield… I need to become a Master sooner rather than later so I can imbue tangible qi on my shield.”

Seeing Adol grumbling, one of the party members asked a question.

“Huh? Isn’t sword qi usually the first thing that one develops when becoming a Master?”

“I’m a tank who doesn’t attack much, so what would I do with my sword? When tangible qi is imbued on a shield, the magic resistance stats increase tremendously, and the durability of the shield changes to almost infinite, so my fighting power will explode. If I use shield charging in such a state, even a dump truck would blow up into smithereens, no?”

While talking and making a lot of noise, the party members ran forward while gathering all the equipment and items left behind by the perished soldiers. All their movements were swift and precise.

“Check our route!”

“The route… the normal route states that we should go to the bridge, then go downstairs and move forward.”

“What’s the shortcut?”

“Go downstairs from here!”

After hearing the words of the party’s archer, Zero raised his hands. He had nearly finished his spell’s chant.

“Everyone, hide behind Hanma!”

“What? What about your shield?”

“It’s done for. I’m going to change my shield.”

Suddenly, Adol changed his gear and soon held a small shield with a diameter of about 40 centimeters. Hanma clicked his tongue as he moved to the front of the party. Zero completed his spell chant.

“Ice Missile.”

With a crackling sound, an ice spear appeared in the air. Along with the appearance of the ice spear, the floor heated up red like an iron in a furnace. Rather than simply applying heat and cooling, Zero moved the heat from one side to the other, causing two effects. Soon, the ice spear suspended in air started to rotate at a high speed.

“Type Two.”

Crack!

Whoosh!

As the ice spear broke through the floor, a tremendous amount of steam rose up. The steam was hot enough to scald and burn a living being, but everyone in the party had high enough stats to withstand the high heat. However, Hanma himself directly blocked all the heat.

“I-it’s an attack!”

“Be careful!”

“W-what sorcery did they use? How did you all get here…”

“Stand back! The heat is too great!”

Screams and shouts erupted from all around the party, but the users, who had trained and experienced numerous similar situations, began to sift through the people in the room without regard. Naturally, the people in the room put up a resistance, but there was no way they could resist the powerful foreign beings who could tear iron plates with their bare hands.

“It’s this guy, right?”

“That’s right.”

At the start of the mission, the users were given a ring-shaped magic device. The users started taking these devices out. One of those captured, an old man in his 60s or so, started screaming.

“Y-you… what the hell! Do you know who I am?!”

“Nope. I don’t know.”

“Hey, I-I’m going to call my lawyer. Let go of me!”

“What is he saying?”

No matter what the old man shouted, the users subdued him. Adol forcefully pinched down on a certain part of the old man’s body and restricted his blood flow; Adol then threw his ring.

Woong!

The golden ring floated into the air and spun round and round. The eyes of Zeros, who melted the door and blocked the influx of additional enemies, widened.

“Oh, it's long-ranged warp magic.”

“To capture and warp this guy… that seems to be the setting of this external quest.”

“S-setting? You, who the hell are you…?”

Boom!

The old man who was just about to shout something disappeared in an instant. Soon, a quest clear message emerged. The party members nodded their heads.

“Okay, it’s over.”

“Thank you all for your hard work.”

“Good job~!”

“The distribution of drop items will be done once we return. Good job everyone~!”

The party members were well into enemy lines. Even though they couldn’t possibly escape, the satisfied and happy appearance and facial expressions of users, who were congratulating each other without any visible tension, caused those who were being suppressed to fall into a state of confusion.

‘What are these guys? Have they gone mad? Soon, the soldiers will be pouring in…’

‘Where the hell did these guys come from?’

Bam!

On the other side of the closed door, a continuous roar resounded. Troops, who had secured the perimeter, were about to enter the room. But the moment they broke through the door…

“W-what?!”

“They’re… gone?!”

The users’ bodies wavered like flickering candle flames before disappearing.

***

“Who were those guys? How were they able to appear here?”

“Martial arts… how were they able to wield such maniacal martial arts power…”

“They also used magic power, no? But how were they able to use such a large amount of magic power without support gear…!”

“Were they divine beings or draconic beings? Or perhaps high-level spirit species?”

The only Master level users in DIO were Arthur, Cruze, Merlin, Lancelot, Arc, and Ilyia. Rather than plateauing, the number of users playing DIO had exploded; there were nearly 5 billion active users, so the six users were the peak existences within DIO. However, the level right below them contained a relatively high number of users. The number of users who were Level 9 was around 500 users, and Level 8 users totaled in the thousands.

Though they had yet to break through the ‘barrier’ and obtain the skill to utilize mana, possess a Master weapon, or possess a Master skill, 200 of these Level 9 and Level 8 users were able to complete the event’s last mission’s 5th Stage and bring down a Level 10 monster. Unlike the level tests, which tested a user’s pure ability and skill, the event’s last mission didn’t restrict users from using their items or gear. Using this discrepancy, the users were able to output Master level fighting power.

“How are the results?”

“Currently, there have been 23 real missions conducted. Six of those missions failed. However, they failed because the users were too focused on looting rather than completing the mission objective.”

“The results aren’t too bad for a first run.”

“The missions are given similar to the level test and hard-mode quests, so it hasn’t been a jarringly different experience for the participating users. Moreover, the Star Temple grinders (those who stayed and played exclusively in one place) have been creating a playbook and spreading it across the internet, so the results should be better as time passes.”

“… Good. Penalize those who failed their mission. Also, get rid of the hard-mode and officially open the missions. Whenever there’s work to be done, we can set requirements and put them to work.”

“Okay. I’ll tell the others and present you with a report soon…”

Bam!

At that moment, the door swung open with tremendous force, and a woman with black hair entered the room. She was DIO’s original designer and developer, Jenica.

“Tan! Are you crazy?! Already revealing users…! Moreover, why did you release the technology seal?!”

“Don’t get too worked up, Jenica. I didn’t do anything special.”

Tan, a middle-aged man, maintained a relaxed expression while Jenica fumed with anger. It was true that Jenica had enormous rights and power as DIO’s first developer, but she didn’t build DIO’s system by herself; she was only able to create DIO with the help of the [Union]. Tan, who can be said to be a key executive of the [Union], had some authority over the operation of DIO.

In fact, DIO wasn’t a completely new creation; it was the result of imitation. DIO’s original inspiration source was Illusion, a warrior nurturing system created by the gods in the past. The improved system of an already widely known program was created by Jenica, a mage strong enough to overcome even the great heroes and demon kings. who saved the four dimensions with the rulers of the Six Worlds hundreds of years ago.

In fact, the plan to use ordinary human souls to create warriors that even transcendentals couldn’t deal with was an impossible concept, but the direct participation of a group of gods who were part of a group called the Zodiac Inn, which contained as many as twelve high-ranking gods, made the impossible possible. Even among the zodiac gods, the dragon god and the tiger god, who had risen to the level of the god of magic and the god of martial arts respectively, were gods who obtained the highest divine rank amongst the zodiac gods. Jenica, who did not have enough power, had no choice but to borrow the power of the Union.

“It doesn’t matter what you do now. DIO isn’t a new concept. There is precedent. If users receive an attack that damages their souls…”

“The factions that are well informed and quick-witted have already noticed to some extent. There is no need to keep a secret unless one can maintain perfect security.”

“Tan, you bastard…”

As Jenica deeply frowned, she exuded a tremendous amount of pressure that weighed down her surroundings. Tan’s expression changed. Among the [Noblesse], the ruling executives of the Union, Tan was considered one of the more powerful Noblesse; however, he couldn’t help but be cautious when facing Jenica.

Jenica, the immediate disciple of the God of Magic and the one who absorbed Syndroia and assimilated it into the world, was already strong enough to disregard the words of a great mage or arch mage. Whenever she exerted her power, even gods who had existed for eons couldn’t hide their surprise. Although she had existed for less than 1000 years, as she was born as a human being, Jenica already possessed power that surpassed that of a demon lord.

“Ugh! Oof!”

Boom!

Nearby, Melton, a boy in his early teens who was looking at the two with an anxious expression, collapsed, releasing the transformation spell that was placed on his body, and returned to his original, true form. Surprisingly, his true form was a plump, long-haired cat. If one were to try and find a similar species on Earth, Melton’s original form closely resembled a Persian black cat.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was an ordinary cat. Melton was a member of the Prajna species. The Prajna species possessed extraordinary intelligence, a monstrous memory that surpassed that of a modern supercomputer, and superpowers from birth that were capable of killing intermediate demons. Moreover, Prajna species beings had a very long lifespan, and like dragons, they were a species that obtained transcendental powers just from gaining age.

“Hehehe. Really, you’re disgustingly overpowered. A being born from such an insignificant bloodline…”

“Wow, I never thought a wise and knowledgeable dragon-species being would be such a species supremacist. Aside from the fact that your words would offend the Celesti gods, what gives you the confidence to do what you’re doing now? Is it possible that you’re still blinded by your heyday self and unable to accept reality?”

Whoosh!!

Tan’s body radiated an enormous aura, which collided with Jenica’s energy, but it was still insufficient to overwhelm Jenica’s energy. If he could return to his past, heyday self, Tan might just be able to fight on equal footing against Jenica, but right now, he had no chance. However, Tan started laughing. It was because he saw a large man appear behind Jenica.

“Huh! What the?!”

The large man’s slashing strike left a deep cut from Jenica’s right shoulder to her pelvis area. It was a fatal, ragged wound that seemed to have been made by a garden hoe.

“You were distracted.”

“No… I wasn’t!”

Jenica wasn’t careless. She possessed amazing wisdom, so she had assumed all possible situations and developments. The moment she realized that Tan was revolting, she expected that a helper would appear to help him. However, the helper who appeared exceeded her expectations.

“Cronos? Crazy. Does this represent the demon world’s intentions?”

“No. This act is based purely on my personal intention and opinion.”

“Mobilizing a demon king with a personal intention… it seems you haven’t quite woken up yet.”

Raising her red spiritual qi, Jenica instantly healed her wounds. However, Jenica made an ugly expression. She had succumbed to the attack because she wasn’t properly prepared; she had been too proud of her own strength and cognitive ability.

‘However, even so, mobilizing Cronos, who is famous for his indifference…’

Sword Demon King Cronos. In the past, among the Olympian gods, Cronos was the most powerful and highest ranked deity. Although Olympus was destroyed, and he subsequently became a god who lost all his powers, he gained the power of martial arts and ascended to the position of a Demon King after inhabiting a demon’s body. And behind Cronos was…

“Don’t criticize Tan too much. He just followed my request.”

“Demonic Dragon Saranis…”

The being that appeared with a smile was a dragon species. She gained her lofty deity status as the daughter of the Dark Dragon God, the protector of darkness and freedom, and she was the wife of the Sword Demon King, Cronos. Although she possessed far less than Jenica or even that of a Demon Lord, she still wasn’t a weakling that Jenica could simply ignore. Since Jenica was already facing an uphill battle against Cronos and Tan, the inclusion of Saranis made her prospects even more dire.

Each and every one of her opponents were undoubtedly inferior to Jenica, but they weren’t beings that Jenica could simply ignore. In particular, Cronos was strong enough to stand his ground against Jenica in a one-on-one situation.

“Wow. I never thought a demon king could be swayed to act like a servant by a woman.”

“I’m sorry, but now you’re just dragging out the time and delaying the inevitable…”

An intangible air stream spewed out from the sword of Cronos, who raised his sword with an unshaken expression on his face. His strike was the Celestial Rite, a gathering of huge magic powers that went beyond pinnacle swordsmanship movements. It was a signature move that only the Sword Demon King, Cronos, could carry out.

“… Ugh, to be looked down upon to this extent.”

Tap.

Jenica sighed lightly and snapped off the necklace that was around her neck. Dozens of beads tethered to her necklace’s string flew down her body as Jenica suddenly unleashed a huge amount of magic power.

“You were sealing your powers.”

A smile appeared on Cronos’ face. A colossal collision of magic power crushed the space.

“Ugh, This is like a shrimp’s back exploding due to collateral damage from a whale fight.”

The Persian cat, Melton, groaned and took refuge in a corner. Melton, who had lived for 700 years, was one of the most powerful members of the Prajna species, but even he was too weak to participate in this battle. That is to say, he wasn’t at their level.

“… Hmm?”

A question popped into Melton’s mind as he crouched in the corner and observed the fight. He was looking at the marbles rolling on the ground.

‘… the number of beads… don’t match up.’

Though he had only glanced at Jenica’s necklace and was preoccupied with rushing to safety, Melton couldn’t confuse the number of marbles, which totaled less than a hundred, that fell from Jenica’s necklace. However, the ensuing collision of forces caused Melton to bow his head and unfurl a force field. The fight was a chaotic mess. Melton wouldn’t be able to survive if he wasn’t careful.

“Ouch! Part of my tail has burned!”

Melton cried out as he further curled up into the corner. He was now curled up like a ball.

‘Oh, I don’t know! Maybe one of them stepped on a bead and broke it!’

Perhaps because he was inflicted with a flame spell carrying a curse, Melton concentrated his energy on his throbbing tail and poured all his power into putting up a defense.