Chapter 101 - Iluna's Quest (1)

Because many rankers were going to participate, Iluna's Quest became a worldwide hot issue.

Since everyone's attention was focused on it, 'The Gamez' had found themselves in the perfect situation to attract as many viewers as possible.

Thanks to 'The Gamez' having a very close relationship with NFM, they could show a wider variety of angles compared to other channels.

"Long time no see. Today's stage is going to be the moon, right?"

"Yes, users are calling it Iluna's Quest."

Stardust's Kim SooYong had once again been invited to comment.

They weren't going to miss out on professional knowledge about the game.

Before the show officially began, the anchor, Im SeongJun, started to lift the mood.

"Who would have thought that the stage would move to space?"

"Even inside the game, Iluna is the most alien place. There's always an eclipse going on there."

"That's amazing. Haha, I'm sure there isn't any place like that in real life."

Iluna's endless plains that appeared on the screen were covered by snow.

Users were starting to appear one by one in that snowy city.

The moment the camera closed in on a famous user, the chat window became noisier.

After the atmosphere had been decently hyped up, anchor Im SeongJun, brought up a new topic.

"I heard that Stardust is going to participate in this quest. Commentator Kim SooYong, is that true?"

"Haha, how did you already know?"

"I have lots of informants!"

Kim SooYong scratched his head awkwardly and then began talking as if he had no other choice.

"That’s true. Two members, Practice and Jini, are going to participate."

"Woah, the names of famous users have been brought up! They've recently entered the top 500 worldwide, right?"

"Yes. Both of them are growing at an amazing pace. It's as if their potentials suddenly exploded."

"Oh, speak of the devil, they're appearing on camera now!"

The cameras that NFM had provided the news channels flew around while filming what they wanted.

Basically, they were drone cameras.

After noticing the camera, both users waved their hands.

Recently, they'd become so famous that any Asra maniac had probably heard about them.

The moment they’d entered the Hall of Fame, they'd achieved Grand Master category in dueling, so it would be weird if they hadn't gotten famous.

Of course, because of the characteristics of Jini's job, she was limited to three-on-three duel formats.

"The growth rate of these two, even from the point of view of a professional gamer, is amazing. I'm sure that they'll become key players in tournaments organized in the future."

"You used to be the idol of many gamers, so if you say so, it must be true. I'm already excited about their future!"

Because Kim SooYong had been invited, Practice and Jini appeared a lot on camera.

Even after the quest began, they often showed what was happening from their point of view.

"Okay, then let's talk about the contents of the quest."

After showing the viewers around Iluna enough, Kim SooYong began explaining the contents of the quest.

Kim SooYong really knew a lot.

He understood the ripple effect of Iluna's Quest, how NPC countries saw Iluna in regards to politics, the oracle that had descended on Iluna, the Angel, and the role of «Pray».

—This was information that even most rankers didn't know.

Just that short explanation made having invited Kim SooYong worth it.

"To put it simply, users must stall for time while the NPCs are performing a ceremony."

"Yes. Because users have low Empathy, their «Pray» wouldn't have much effect."

‘Pray? Empathy? What are those?’

There weren't many people who understood what Kim SooYong was saying.

They only knew basic information about the quest. Not only did most of them not know about the game world's history, a vast majority didn’t even know that «Pray» was a skill that existed.

After noticing the atmosphere, Im SeongJoon changed topics.

"So, this time, Darkness isn't going to participate?"

Just like he said, many rankers were appearing on camera, but users of the Darkness Guild couldn't be seen anywhere.

Kim SooYong quickly answered.

"Yes, it seems like they're not going to participate this time."

"Oh, that's too bad."

Not many users knew that Darkness had decided not to take part in the quest to avoid conflict with Lattice and Ain.

"But still, there's a lot of high-quality players present. The Crimson and Claymore Guilds that are appearing right now on camera are each ranked 2nd and 4th worldwide."

"Oh, it seems like Salon has come too. He's a user famous for playing solo, right?"

"Yes, many guilds have tried to scout him, but he rejected every offer. Salon is a user famous for having very strong beliefs."

As time went on, the number of users increased a lot.

There were a total of around 1000 people that appeared!

Salon, who was a combo thief, was also among them.

Salon looked around.

There were many high-ranking Priest NPCs you wouldn't easily see in normal circumstances.

Not only that, but there were lots of famous rankers around him as well.

'I’ve also finally entered their stage.'

A few days before, after reaching level 100 and completing the job ascension, Salon had received an awakening skill point.

There were two possible uses for awakening skill points:

—The first one was to make your current ultimate attack stronger, and the second one was to change it for one of the same category.

Among those two options, Salon had chosen the second one.

He’d changed the ultimate attack he loved so much, «Sword of Despair», to «Trance».

There was only one reason why he’d made that decision:

It was because he’d been surprised by TarrTarr's video.

'Isn't that guy around here?'

Salon searched for TarrTarr, but he couldn't find him.

'Well, I guess that's a possibility.'

He soon nodded.

TarrTarr's skills were above most rankers, but his level seemed low compared to his overwhelming abilities… Maybe he wasn't able to fulfill the level 100 deadline.

Then that meant it was a huge opportunity for Salon.

'They said that most enemies here were either undead or monsters, right?'

According to the quest's description, there were only a few humanoid NPCs.

Among monsters, there were some that had high intelligence, but most didn't.

The overwhelming majority of monsters were most likely undead with low intelligence, like skeletons or ghouls.

Basically, it was the perfect setting for a combo thief like him.

'I wonder what the reaction will be once I upload this quest's video. I guess it's going to receive lots of views.'

Salon, who wanted to get more famous, smiled.

But if TarrTarr were aiming for the same thing, his performance would be diminished.

Salon kept watching the faces of new users that were appearing through the warp portal.

TarrTarr didn't appear, not even at the end.

Seeing that, Salon was convinced he hadn't participated in Iluna's Quest.

'I'm lucky. This is the perfect opportunity to gain fame both inside the game and in real life!'

A smile was drawn on Salon's mouth.

He knew he wasn't as good as TarrTarr.

Even if he was someone prideful, he had eyes to analyze things objectively.

'Ugh, it will take time… But I'll catch up to you, eventually!'

He was sure that, once he got used to his new ultimate attack, he would be able to surpass TarrTarr.

No, he had to believe that.

After feeling frustrated in PvP, hadn't he decided to be the best in regards to hunting?

It was when he was thinking that…

"Oh, aren't you Salon?"

Salon, surprised, turned his head around after hearing a woman's voice.

Although it was the first time he’d seen her in real life, he knew who she was.

—Top 100 Magician user, Ramitel.

She was one of the Crimson Guild's top rankers.

As a streamer, her popularity was higher than Salon’s.

"It's really you! I'm a huge fan!"

"R... Really?"

"Yes, I watch all your videos. I've also seen the most recent one! Was the title... ‘A thesis about combos, written by a Heavens user’?"

Salon's eyes widened after listening to Ramitel's words.

He couldn't believe that she, who had millions of subscribers on YouTube, remembered the title of his video!

Salon felt something burning inside him.

'She saw my strategy video...?!'

Salon was more famous among top-rankers rather than average users.

The main reason was that most of his strategy videos couldn't be replicated by average users.

There were some users who used Salon's videos as study material, especially among rankers whose main thing was hunting.

Many bits of information were useful in Salon’s videos, even for people who weren't combo Thieves.

"If you're alone, do you want to form a party with me?"

"Wh-what…? A party?"

After a few words, Ramitel offered Salon the opportunity to form a party with her.

She was among the top five streamers on one platform.

If he could make a connection with her, Salon could use it to increase his fame and popularity!

"No… Uhmm, You see… I feel more comfortable playing alone?"

"Don't be shy."

"It's true. I… Prefer hunting alone."

He thought about it for a while but decided to refuse.

A combo Thief shone the most while playing alone.

Salon smiled bitterly as they parted ways.

Still, him refusing her offer probably made him look like a lone hunter. Right?

Ramitel was a streamer, so that scene was probably broadcasted, too.

He began wondering how many people had seen that scene.

'I hope I get more fame.'

As long as he appeared cool, he was satisfied.

'Now I only need to get good battle footage to make everything perfect.'

Smiling, Salon quietly waited for the quest to start.

* * *

Unlike users, who were excited about the event, there was a heavy atmosphere among NPCs.

A battle that would decide whether they lived or died was about to happen, so there was no way they would be able to remain calm.

All users on Iluna received a message when a wave of monsters began rushing in.

Ting-!

<Quest: Defend Iluna>

- There's only 1 magic circle left. Defend it with your life!

- The Holy Kingdom will forever remember your bravery. Even if your soul is turned into ashes and scattered away!

<Reward: Rewards will be distributed based on personal merit.>

As the Abyss’s army began their invasion, a black wave rolled through the plains.

If you looked at the scene from the top of the city, it would look as if the white land was being colored pitch-black.

Kuooo-

The number of enemies was enough to make you tremble.

Most of them were either skulls or ghouls, but among them, there were also a few high-ranking monsters, and there were even some in the back that rankers hadn’t seen before.

It was as if all the monsters of the world were gathered there and were attacking the city.

"It finally began," Radiette, who was standing at the end of the wall, mumbled while looking down.

He was the strongest being on the battlefield.

If it weren't for him, all humans there would've been killed almost immediately at the hands of monsters.

"I'm not sure how long we'll be able to hold on…"

Swoosh-!

An endless number of ice grains fell around the wall Radiette stood upon.

The Abyss’s army transformed from ice to dust, and from dust to black energy, and then scattered away. After looking at Radiette's overwhelming strength, the Priests gained courage and shouted.

"The Heavenly Being Radiette is supporting us! Fight until you cannot anymore!"

"Oh, Heavens, please give us strength...!"

The Priests began waving their wands.

As spheres of light grew in size from everywhere around the castle, the entire place was soon covered by their illumination.

The attack that was the most effective against undead, «Incineration», fell from the castle walls all at once.

An explosion of light covered the plains.

Everyone closed their eyes for a short while because of the sheer amount of light that was blinding them.

As the light died down, the soldiers were astonished after looking at the sites where the attacks had hit.

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