Episode 189: Dream in the game becomes reality

44. Center of events (5)

'There's no need to think hard. There is no need for us to deal with that dangerous woman directly.'

Once the location of the devil worshipers is known, you can request support from the shrine.

Then, either a saint or a saint will come out.

Although the relationship between the Holy Land and the Allies of Elysia will become strained, from the Holy Land's perspective, the priority over diplomatic issues was the suppression of devil worshipers.

And if evidence is collected that the event at the Holy Land is not for the purpose of strengthening the religious order, but for world peace, then the Elysian Alliance will not be able to hold them responsible no matter how different their interpretation of other religions may be.

Because subjugating devil worshipers is not an option in the first place.

Rather, it was a situation where they could be criticized for protecting a devil worshiper.

Honestly, not on an intellectual level, I really doubt it, but... … .

"It looks like they are planning to mobilize saints and saints."

I nodded obediently as Blake spoke, as if reading my thoughts.

"Because that's for sure."

But he made an unexpected statement.

"Instead of that, how about we deal with him together with Arcia?"

"yes? Why take the risk?"

"Well, it's for the growth of the two of you."

It was a reasonable opinion for someone who did not know how I was raising my level.

However, no matter how much it is for growth, there is no need to put one's head in danger of death.

It is said that I grow by leveling up through games, but in reality, it is not a game.

In reality, when you die, everything is over.

'hmm?'

However, I felt something off about Blake's appearance, which seemed to encourage battle.

Maybe you know the strategy?

"If we were to deal with that woman, how should we attack her?"

"Strategy? Just go with the straight method. Arcia defends, you attack. "Isn't this the best way to fight?"

"The problem is that even Arcia doesn't seem to be able to stop it all."

Arcia might be able to survive on her own.

However, if I focus on attacking, Arcia has to take care of me as well.

I also believe that and focus on attacking.

But can we win if we fight like we have fought so far against an enemy that can attack from all directions, from front to back, from both sides, from top to bottom?

The possibility of victory did not easily come to mind.

"You're a wizard and your specialty is evasion, right? "Can't you avoid that?"

Our party's defense can be seen to be at a higher level due to not only Arcia's own strength but also my evasion ability.

However, just because I don't have eyes on my back and the soles of my feet, I have limitations.

"If the attack is within a predictable range, it can be avoided. "The speed of the fish sword is fast, but it doesn't seem like it can be avoided at all."

"If you can't predict, you can analyze."

"yes?"

"No matter how much magic there is, it doesn't make sense for that woman to be able to control every single one of 100 swords at the same time and use even the fish sword with pinpoint accuracy."

"So there are some rules for attacking that woman?"

He smiled vaguely.

I was shocked for a moment, but then I had to shake my head and say that it wasn't easy.

"If it knows that its attack pattern has been detected, it will definitely attack irregularly."

"But that impromptu anomalous attack won't have the same destructive power as before."

"What if I even patterned anomalous attacks just in case?"

"We have to predict that and plan accordingly, right?"

It's so easy to say.

As I scratched my head and looked worried, he added one thing.

"The more I look at you, the more you resemble Lucas. Although it may seem bold, it is reluctant to take action if things do not go as planned. Well, that may be a wizard's trait, but sometimes there is something to be gained by confronting it head-on. "Have you ever been in a life-or-death battle where your life was at stake?"

There are many in the game.

Because I have experienced the pain of death dozens of times in games where the sense of reality is shared.

And that became the basis for my fighting ability that was slightly above average.

However, even if one can experience the pain of death, it is difficult to consider it a real crisis of death.

In the game, there is a basic mentality that if you die, you will be revived anyway.

'I almost died when I first met Blake... … . Since the battle itself did not take place at that time, it should be considered an exception.'

Other than that, I don't think I've ever experienced a battle so intense that I felt my life was in danger.

Recently, he even hid his status as a 7th Circle Archmage and even saved his power... … .

So I had no choice but to shake my head.

"The most important thing to realize is at the crossroads of life and death."

I wanted to say it was the confirmed 9th circle anyway, but... .

Unlike me, Arcia had to overcome the wall with her own strength, so it didn't really matter.

"When you're worried, why not give it a try?"

"… … ."

"If you don't feel like it, you just have to prepare for it."

That's right.

If you prepare sufficiently, your survival ability will be greatly improved even in a life-or-death duel.

I asked Blake.

"Blake has become a 'just in case' plan… ."

"Even if you don't like it."

Well, if he can't do it, you can keep a saint or saint as a backup just in case.

In the end, the difference is whether I am willing to take risks or not.

"Whoa… … . "Let's give it a try."

"Yes, you will gain a lot."

If he had selfishly given me this advice, I would not have followed it.

But there was no change in Mangyeong.

There was no way he would mindlessly put us through the threat of death, so I decided to follow suit.

Blake looked satisfied to see me faithfully accepting his advice.

"I guess it was for today that I got the holy sword."

"Haha, I see."

After making up my mind, I stared intently at the red-eyed woman in the video.

* * *

There are no borders between the eight countries belonging to the Elysian Alliance.

The division of nations was merely a division of races, and the residential areas of each race were scattered throughout the Allied Powers according to their preferred terrain, so dividing the border itself was meaningless.

The reason why the country can be maintained in this unique way is because all the different races of the Elysian Alliance have a sense of being one community.

To put it positively, solidarity is good.

To put it worse, a small twist could put the entire country in crisis.

"Thank you for your hard work. "I heard a saint came out, right?"

"Uh, it looks like they were on standby just in case. It seems like they thought they had prepared thoroughly... … . Well, being pregnant like this is no big deal to me."

Benician is the only land city of the mermaid tribe in the Elysian Federation.

The city, famous as a floating city, was formed along the River Styx, the lifeblood of the Allies connected to the sea.

Since the mermaid people's main area of ​​activity is the sea and rivers, they do not have much interest in land on land.

Therefore, even though it belonged to the Allied Powers, Benician was the only mermaid city on land.

At the center of Benetian, there is a deep underground palace that appears to be a relic from the mythical era, and in that underground palace, a group of people were sitting at a round table.

There are a total of 5 people.

Four of them were humans and one was a mermaid.

"Anyway, I'm not showing off… … ."

"Isn't Celine's charm her boastfulness and outspokenness?"

The eyes of everyone sitting around the round table were focused on the red-haired woman.

The woman placed the compass on the table, and everyone who saw the Orichalconje ​​item filled with divine power frowned.

This was inevitable due to the dark magic they possessed as devil worshipers.

A man with mermaid-like blue hair and black eyes with large pupils reached out for the relic.

Normally, when black magic touches a relic, it will cause a reaction, but the relic that touched his hand was gentle.

In other words, he is an ordinary person and not a devil worshiper.

The mermaid threw the relic in the middle of the table and said with an expression of displeasure.

"You understand their position, right? This made Seongji even more excited and had no choice but to rush in. "Then it becomes difficult for us to help you."

At the sight of the mermaid showing even a hint of disgust, Grandal, a man in a suit who had given Celine information about the sacred site's probe in the park, responded coldly.

"You probably aren't in a position to choose between cold and hot food, right? If Rondel's circumstances change drastically according to the goddess's plan, you will be the ones who will suffer the most. "The polluted seas of that world would be poisonous to mermaids."

"Know. But isn't it only when we see a possibility of success that we support these disgusting people? If you guys are wiped out by the Holy Land before we can even try anything, we'll have no choice but to retreat. "I have no intention of becoming a public servant to the world just because I don't like the goddess's will."

"Are you saying that you would throw away the future of your species for the sake of immediate survival?"

"I don't think this is a line to be heard from a devil worshiper who seeks destruction and chaos."

It was a conversation between a mermaid and a devil worshiper that gave off the feeling that they had inevitably come together.

However, it seems that even among devil worshipers there are people with different ideologies.

Unlike the man in the suit, who could only suppress his anger despite the mermaid's arrogant attitude, the large black man sneered, revealing his fangs that seemed to have been intentionally sharpened.

"You demon lord is so servile. You teach your worshipers how to endure in order to achieve their goals. "Why not just get rid of that guy?"

Grandal burst into laughter at the black man's remarks.

"You are too simple. So, every time the demon kings of this world come down with difficulty, they are defeated in the end."

"what?"

As the black man and Grandal growled at each other, Celine put her feet up on the table with a thud.

Then, the robe naturally fell down, revealing her white calves.

Since she always wears loose-fitting robes and doesn't expose any skin except her face, her calves, which are easily visible when a woman wears a skirt, looked provocative for some reason.

She spoke to the mermaid, the black man, and Grandal in an annoyed tone.

"So you got caught? "I stole the search device anyway, so there's no need to rob the base anymore."

"Um, well… … ."

"That's right."

Traffic was easily stopped thanks to her words.

Meanwhile, an androgynous figure, unknown whether he was a blonde woman or a man, blushed and defended Celine.

"As expected, our Celine. "I heard it breaks."

"You just shut up."

So they started talking about their future plans.

"It is impossible to interfere with the goddess in the first place. "All we can do is prepare."

"But we need time to prepare."

"The good news is that the time difference between the two worlds is about 1:10. In other words, in this world, we have 10 times more time."

"Couldn't we increase the number of countries that share the same ideas?"

"That's nonsense. No matter how right you say things, you are ultimately devil worshipers. "No one will listen."

The meeting was getting more heated.

An androgynous person who had been teasing Celine while fiddling with the stolen relic suddenly hardened his expression and observed the relic intently.

"uh?"

And after a while he… … .

He shouted this with a very urgent face.

"Damn, this is fake!"

"what?"

-Quaaaang!

At the same time, a loud explosion sounded near the ceiling of the underground cavity where they were hiding.

"shit! "It's a surprise attack!"

At that, the five people at the round table suddenly stood up.

Unless you're a fool, you can't possibly not know.

They fell into a trap.