NOVEL NEXT Chapter 688
<688 – Shocking Confession (6)>
Randolph the Lake Knight knows that the powerful mana disaster of the Gold Region collides with the world’s order aiming for the preservation of the Middle Realm itself, creating a kind of spatial fracture.
He witnessed the scene where space was shattered, as if mocking their escape by lightly tossing the wand behind him.
“How could such a thing be possible?!”
“Oh, we truly face a new great evil of the world!”
“The ones once called the Three Great Evils of the world shall now become the Four Great Evils.”
The seat of the First Revolutionary was taken by the Second Revolutionary.
The Man’s Representative and the Director of the Foundation remain intact.
And here’s another one.
Dark Princess Oknodie.
A monster born that is as unsettling as the Director, called the worst of the existing Three Great Evils.
Experiencing it firsthand for even a short time has made it clear.
“That thing is a monster that cannot coexist with humanity.”
“Is there really a being more dangerous than a magical territory in this world?”
“O Randolph the Lake Knight, please guide us on the path we should take.”
Randolph was the Lake Knight who conversed with Oknodie until the very end.
Fear filled his eyes, but he knew what he had to do.
“… I will retrieve the artifact, [Wand], of my homeland and return to the Kingdom of the Lake. Then, I will strengthen the seals before the seals containing the Demon Minions and the wicked artifacts are released. I will simply fulfill the mission I was originally meant to undertake.”
Those with goals can momentarily forget the hardships and adversities of reality and do what they must.
They have the mental power to resist the allure of the valuable treasures lying deep within the magical territory and continue digging into the deepest pits of the border region.
Regaining the initial motivation, completing the mission isn’t that difficult.
At least, Randolph firmly believed that.
At least until he touched the wand tossed by Oknodie.
[O Knight of the Lake… you have found the artifact [Ego Staff of the Lake] that the kingdom’s betrayer has taken out…]
“Yes, I have. How have you been?”
[Unfortunately, I have not been well… not long ago, the entity that held me tainted the last purifying power within me with extremely high-purity Dark Mana, destroying its function…]
Randolph’s knees weakened.
“That can’t be. Then the sealing of the ominous power boiling in the lake of our homeland will be released…”
[It’s impossible for me to stop it…]
“That must not happen! There are still the [Four Kings of the Former Demon King Army] that must be sealed for another ten years in the lake!”
[Don’t get lost wondering how to fulfill your mission… the signpost for a lost lamb lies in the stars reflected on the calm surface of the lake…]
“Are you telling me to keep my composure?”
[There are ancient gods that have lost their power in this world… the Lake Goddess is also an ancient god that is fading now… before our last sacred place loses its light, gather the remains of the ancient gods and offer them to the lake…]
Randolph realized that a new way had emerged for the Lake Knights to fulfill their mission.
“There is only one individual who possesses the most remains of the ancient gods in the world. Are you commanding us to hunt him down?”
[You do not have time to hunt him down… you must gain his assistance even if it means allying with or yielding to the great evil…]
“How could you say such nonsense?!”
If the Kingdom’s Queen or citizens heard this, they would spit.
The country that produced the most Popes and Saintesses in the world.
A place that has vanquished the most evils, the homeland of the clergy.
A symbol of sealing and purification.
The country of the lake.
For one of the three artifacts representing such a country to say to ally with the great evil!
“The time I spent in the Seven Great Mountains has made the holy will imbued in the artifact lose its light. I won’t blame the wilted sprout of justice that never bloomed. Please do not utter such vile words for the hope of future generations.”
Sadness laced the voice flowing from the wand.
[You doubt me… Although I may have endured a century in the quagmire of greed, losing my miraculous power, my noble will has not wavered…]
“Then why did you utter such nonsensical words?”
[That… is because a part of the memory held by the entity that grasped me illuminated the inner lake within me…]
Dark Princess Oknodie.
Randolph was horrified at the wand’s words that it had glimpsed something from her.
A child boasting of casually destroying numerous castles and annihilating them in various ways, like a playful game.
A monster in the guise of a young girl.
The Heir of the Foundation, a new great evil born from the previous great evil.
He who had felt the fear of death merely from facing the embodiment of evil now only felt terror at the spirit’s words that it had glimpsed her ‘inner self.’
“What on earth did you see that you suggest tolerating collusion and submission with another great evil?”
[It is… countless possibilities of destruction… death rising from the deepest darkness of the Underworld, giants crashing down mountains, the eternal night that arrives with the full moon…]
“!!!”
[In the face of a world-scale massive mana disaster, the world order will expend all its strength, and the world will fall, the repercussions of which cannot be fathomed even in the Golden Region of the Seven Great Magical Territories…]
It was no time to discuss sealing the dry mana in the lake.
Right now, the world began to face a crisis.
[The intent of the new great evil invading the magical territory also lies in the subjugation of the magical territory for the manifestation of the world domain… the time while her steps remain in the Gold Region is the little time left for us…]
Randolph reflected on his doubts about the spirit’s will and vowed.
“I will follow the light that you guide.”
The Man’s Representative.
As Randolph the Lake Knight commenced pursuit towards the most secretive matter of the Three Great Evils, a small seed with the potential to become Oknodie’s [Adversary]
began to emerge.*
Golden Region of the Seven Great Magical Territories.
Magical Territory of Isolation.
Beyond the first layer [Border Region], instead of the muddy traces of excavation or treasures scattered chaotically within them, a splendid golden city began to appear.
Seeing this, the Evil Sage Guakjo, trying to win favor as a Knowledge Specialist, immediately began to prattle on.
“This place is the [Golden City] Avalon, which existed in ancient times. It is also a city named after Avalon, the owner of a city and a high-class merchant class.”
“Wow, smart!”
“Avalon also played the major role in causing the mana disaster that birthed this Magical Territory of Isolation. The closer you get to the center of the city, the more high-value materials will be discovered at a more frequent rate. The difficulty of obtaining them, their danger, and the amount of gold coins consumed by merely staying there will also increase significantly.”
Some game settings follow fixed elements, but some less important settings change randomly.
The secrets of the Golden Region could be thought of as fixed elements, but unexpectedly, this time, a few different names are mentioned with every playthrough.
“The secret of the event dungeon doesn’t really concern a story-chaser!”
If the story is different, does that give different achievements, you ask? If the functions of the cities are the same, then that ain’t necessarily true.
Even if they’re all disaster-causing ancient cities, just because they have different names doesn’t mean they matter!
Rather, fixed elements are rare artifacts, like the [Too Smart Staff] that I just sent flying.
“If every item coming out of the drop table changes each time, it would be mentally exhausting and annoying!”
The problem lies in the wand’s performance.
Carrying it around is somewhat akin to holy items worn by priests or saintesses that somewhat imitate the effects of the Holy Sword, but equipping it brings out rather pesky side effects.
Strangely, those who wield the wand start losing morale and do dangerous things only to end up dead!
“It’s a bit dangerous for newbies, but since I gave it to a knight from the Kingdom of the Lake, there shouldn’t be any backlash, right?”
The Kingdom of the Lake simply tosses the retrieved holy artifacts into their lake.
This reinforces the sealing rituals of the wicked beings sealed in the lake.
Thus, it can be said to be the correct usage of the item since those who suffer due to the wand naturally disappear.
“By the way, have you heard about the Dark Princess? There’s a story that beings avoiding being completely stripped of their items and functions in the Magical Territory of Isolation haven’t escaped and instead turned into [Items] of the city.”
“Uncle, how do you know that?”
“The bad guys tend to pick up stories from those in the same industry. There’s a rumor that there’s an organization that intentionally sabotages the escape of annoying opponents and turns them into [Items] to gather them.”
“Gasp, is that really true?”
“Isn’t it quite frightening? Although not as much as the Dark Princess, our realm of villains isn’t trivial either…”
“Ugh, if I had known this would happen, I would have brought all the kids I had soaked until now here!”
“Huh?!”
If only he had transformed those lousy assassins worth no experience that occasionally invade the Academy into items and sold them for cash, that would have been rather delightful!
In regret, Guakjo averted his gaze with a slightly subdued expression.