4.

  The Highwood Forest was quiet. This place used to have battles occurring for twenty-four hours seven days a week. However, it was different now. The Wood Devils were standing still as if they were statues, because they couldn’t find any enemies. They stood patiently like old trees as they waited for a battle.

  A User wearing a hood was running through this tranquil stage. The User moved at high speeds to avoid the monsters. The User wearing the hood skillfully avoided moving within the Wood Devil’s awareness range and aggro range. He was blazing through the Highwood Forest at high speeds.

  In a flash, the User escaped the confines of the Highwood forest to arrive at a landscape filled with red sand. When he stepped onto the Red Desert, he immediately modified the wristwatch.

  “Slot on.”


  After the short command word, imposing pieces of spotted metal started to encase the hooded User like snakes. It started with the helm. Then it moved to the chest and limbs. In the end, the gleaming armor took form on the User, and he pushed up his face guard. His face was uncovered. One could see the sight of the Hahoe Mask.

  Hahoe Mask Hyrkan.

  Currently, Warlord was gripped with shock, fear and fanaticism. The one to put Warlord in such a state returned to the eye of the storm. He appeared at the place where the earthquake originated.

  “Uh-whew.”


  After catching his breath for a short moment, Hyrkan turned his head to look at the Highwood Forest. He had participated in an incredible battle here. The war waged here so intense, and the implications were immense. Even now he could bring up the memories of the battle at will. The memories and the feelings he had felt in the war was clear inside his mind.

  ‘I did it.’


  Of course, at the end, he had mounted the Bone Wyvern, and he had yelled out his destination. The Bone Wyvern split the winds and they had flown past the Highwood Forest. The feeling he felt from the air was also clear inside his mind. As he vividly recalled the sensation he felt, Hyrkan’s body felt an electric charge run up his body.

  Whether it was before he had returned to the past or after he had returned to the past, he had always wanted to accomplish this task, and he had done it.

  He ruthlessly stomped and crushed a 30 great guild. Now he didn’t have to to run away. He was able to hold his head up high with pride and aloofness. He was able to look down on their heads, and he could dictate their response.

  ‘Yes. This is me. This is the person I am within Warlord.’


  He had wanted to show them all. Hyrkan wasn’t someone they could step on.

  Before he returned to the past, he had been crushed before he could even struggle. It had been a one-sided affair, but this didn’t mean he was inferior to them. Hyrkan had suffered not because he had been pitifully weak.

  He wanted to improve himself to prove a point.

  ‘.……if I hadn’t been betrayed, I would have seen this sight before I returned to the past.’


  This was a sight that could only be seen after stepping over people.

  He had really wanted to see it, and he had been sure he would be able to see it.

  He had thought he would be able to step above the 30 great guilds if he stayed together with the Hahoe Mask guild. He had been able to see a sight that he always wanted to see with the Hahoe Mask guild.

  Now he had elevated by stepping on the great guilds by himself, and he could admire the scenery.

  He was still short in achieving his dream, but he was in the process of bringing it to bear.

  Hyrkan turned his head to look at the endless Red Desert.

  This was only the bottom of the scenery he wanted to see.

  Hyrkan walked towards his vision.

  5.

  [Your Level has increased.]

  When he heard the Level Up announcement, Hyrkan slid down the Sand Snake’s body as if he was on a slide.

  Then he turned his head to look at the status of the Sand Snake.

  The Sand Snakes were called the assassins of the Red Desert. However, it was in such a pitiful state that it felt shameful to attach such a notorious nickname to the Sand Snake.

  A Sand Snake was tangled up with the body of another Sand Snake. It was a sight akin to thick ropes tangled in a mess.

  The Ingredient Gem of a Sand Snake had a very low drop rate, yet Hyrkan had used the Clay Play skill to create a Sand Snake Earth Golem. This was the first time he had tried this strategy, and it was very effective.

  ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. Should that be the title of my next video?’


  Hyrkan looked at the wretched sight of the monster, and he had a satisfied expression on his face. His plan had panned out, so he felt satisfied.

  Of course, this wasn’t a cheap plan either.

  The Sand Snake’s Ingredient Gem was currently being traded for a very high price. Moreover, this result couldn’t be achieved with a normal Golem. A Golem had to be reinforced by the Transcendent Rank Ancient Power to replicate this sight.

  Currently, the only one able to use this method in Warlord was Hyrkan.

  ‘This was clean.’


  It was a key point.

  Hyrkan knew the Big Smiles guild wouldn’t continue to leave him alone. They’ll attack Hyrkan when the opportunity presents itself. No, they’ll try to create the opportunity by using all kinds of tricks.

  Moreover, this was no longer only about the Big Smiles guild. Most of the 30 great guilds would consider the Hahoe Mask as an enemy.

  It had been so in the past, and there was no reason that would lead him to believe that things would change this time around.

  However, he didn’t plan on avoiding a fight. He’ll fight.

  As an exchange, it wouldn’t be on a stage where it gave them the advantage. Hyrkan will fight them on a stage where he’ll have the advantage.

  ‘I have to go deeper.’


  He had to move deeper into locations where powerful monsters were populated. He had to be at locations where there were a lot of obstacles and strife.

  The 30 great guild’s era of prosperity would burst like a bubble. Everything Hyrkan possessed would become effective weapons against them.

  The war that had started would end there. It’ll end when he reached the deepest location in this game.

  Hyrkan raised his head, and he looked at the large forest that looked like a mirage.

  ‘Let’s see this through to the end.’


  He’ll go to the deepest point inside this game. He’ll reach the end of this game, and it’ll be the final stage for his war.

  6.

  The Elves with red skin was aiming their arrows towards Hyrkan. The arrowheads were frighteningly sharp.

  However, Hyrkan was relaxed as he faced the arrowheads, and he folded his arms as he took everything in.

  There was a warrior of the Red Elf tribe in front of Hyrkan. The NPC named Hing was looking over the lump of gold. It had red skin and black eyes. It was also wearing an armor made out of ingredients gathered from the Sand Snake. The Red Elf was beautiful, but the sense of alienness was larger than sense of mystery he felt.

  ‘It would have been great if Whistling’s Family saw this.’


  He could imagine what Whistling and his two comrades would say. The man and the woman would talk endlessly. Hyrkan had a faint smile as he shook his head a little bit.

  It seemed he would have to set a date to meet. Them. He would meet everyone over some beer.

  If he didn’t, he realized he might regret not meeting them.

  At Hyrkan’s movement, the arrowheads of the Red Elves moved too.

  It was a warning signal telling him not to move.

  Hyrkan stopped moving.

  Then Hing also came to a stop.

  Hwee hwee!

  Hing whistled a sound that resembled a chirping bird.

  Accompanying the whistle, the arrowheads pointing at Hyrkan was lowered towards the ground.

  [You’ve gained the Title ‘Guest of the Red Elf Tribe’.]

  [You’ve completed the Quest ‘Artifact of the Elves’.]

  After he heard the Announcement for acquiring a title, Hyrkan unfurled his arms.

  “Where did you get this, human?”


  Hing approached Hyrkan, and it asked him the question. Its black eyes glared at Hyrkan, and Hyrkan spoke as he always did. He answered in a friendly manner.

  “I acquired it from the Den of the Rebels located inside the Red Desert.”


  A User should always be friendly in front of an NPC!

  Even as many things changed, this was the golden rule that must be kept by Users of Warlord.

  “How did you get in there?”


  “An enormous snake created a path, and I followed it.”


  “The Mirage Snake is still alive……”


  As Hing spoke, it looked over Hyrkan once again. Hyrkan didn’t avoid its gaze.

  Hyrkan also made observations about Hing.

  ‘From what I know, the Red Elves didn’t come out even when Warlord was pretty far down the road……’


  He had never heard about the Red Elves before.

  This was the same for the large snake named Mirage Snake. He hadn’t known about the existence of such a large monster. Moreover, he couldn’t have have even imagined such a storyline.

  However, he could guess at what was going on by looking at these events.

  ‘Hmmm.’


  A piece of a puzzle became clear inside Hyrkan’s head. The puzzle was close to being completed, so Hyrkan had a pleased expression on his face.

  “I’ll take you to our chief now. Please don’t think about doing anything foolish.”


  Hyrkan’s expression turned neutral when he received Hing’s threatening words.

  It happened at that moment.

  “As expected, it’s you.”


  A short dwarf slowly appeared from between the group of Elves.

  When it made its appearance, the Elves parted to let it through.

  “We meet again.”


  Blacksmith Olf.

  [You’ve completed the ‘Artifact of the Ancient King’ Quest.]

  Hyrkan nodded his head when he saw the NPC he desperately wanted to encounter. He gave a short answer.

  “Yes.”


  “Your path would have been difficult, and you did well in getting here.”


  “I’m trying to save the world. I can’t avoid a task, because it is difficult.”


  Instead of answering Hyrkan, Olf looked towards Hing. Olf sent some kind of signal with his eyes. Hing once again let out a whistle.

  Before the whistle could come to an end, the Elves started to retreat.

  Olf waved his hand towards Hyrkan.

  “Before you meet the chief, I have to talk to you.”


  “What would you like to say to me?”


  “I’ll tell you about the beings we have been fighting up until now. Moreover, I’ll tell you about the beings we’ll have to fight in the future.”


  When he heard those words, the puzzle inside his head was completed.

  7.

  “This occurred in the distant past…… There was a time when every living creature walked on the ground. It was a brilliant era. However, when this brilliance turned into arrogance, he appeared.”


  “Who was it?”


  “A Dragon. You can think of him as them or him. You can even think of him as multiple beings.”


  “What did the Dragon do?”


  “Judgement. He showed, who was the owner of this land. He gave judgement to the arrogant beings, who considered these lands to be theirs.”


  “When you refer to it as a judgement……”


  “In the beginning, he used the Power of Corruption. It didn’t matter if one traversed this land by ground or air, he corrupted them all. Then he started a war with the beings, who insisted on being the owners of this land.”


  “Ah. That’s the power used by the Immoral Prince……”


  “Bayan Dean Un…… No, I guess I should call him the Immoral Prince. That’s right. His power was the same as the power from before. The Immoral Prince found the Power of Corruption, and he started researching ways to use this power. That was…… It was the same for the owners of the Ruined Kingdoms. They fought against the Power of Corruption. They used the power within the Power of Corruption. They used a power called the Ancient Power. They knew it was inevitable. They knew the judgement of the Dragon would arrive some day. They knew it, because it happened before in the distant past.”


  “So what happened next? ”


  “The Dragon raged. This was why he used his five Powers to curse the world. The north was cursed with Frost. The Urugal mountain range, which bisected the world, was cursed with Fire. The south……”


  “It all fell. I saw what happened. I saw the result.”


  “Yes, the prosperous regions fell to the Curses. The Kingdoms of that time became ruins. However, not every Kingdom fell. While the Dragon was using its power to spread the Curses, an Ancient King, who was referred to as the War King, took up a shield and spear capable of defeating the Dragon. He confronted the Dragon. This king had used the world as bait, so the Dragon would turn his five Powers into Curses. He waited for the only opportunity he would be able to defeat the Dragon.”


  “Did he kill the Dragon?”


  “As the battle came to a close, the Dragon ran away. It had received a large wound, but it would be able to show itself once again in the future. However, all the Kingdom had already fallen by the five Powers of the Dragon. The world was already in ruins. The Dragon’s Army and the Corrupt Army was still destroying the world. The Barbarian King was carrying out the Dragon’s Judgement as proxy. He is now in a stasis. He could carry out his duty when needed. In front of such opposition, no new kingdoms could be built. This was why the rebels went underground as they prepared for the counterattack. Then they started leaving hints all over the world about this fact. They planted flags that’ll be held up by the rebels in the future.”


  “So it is possible to counterattack now?”


  “The method had already been revealed before. You need Powers that’ll counteract the Dragon’s five Powers. You also need the War King’s shield and spear.”


  “The five Powers?”


  “The four Powers has already been acquired. The only one left is the Power of Judgement. You have to acquire the Power of Storm from the Barbarian King. The Barbarian King is sleeping right now. He could wake up at any time. A small stimulus could awaken him from his sleep. This is why the Arch Mage’s barrier was placed over the sleeping place of the Barbarian King. This was to make sure the Barbarian King couldn’t be awoken easily.”


  “So we just have to kill the Barbarian King.”


  “.……it isn’t as easy as it sounds. The Barbarian King carries out the Dragon’s Judgement. He controls the Power of Storm. He also keeps numerous number of monsters to act as his hands and feet. If you rashly awaken this being, you might mistakenly turned the world into ruins again.”


  “However, we can’t always avoid this. We can’t wait for the Dragon to heal from its injury. We have to kill it before that happens. Isn’t that the right answer?”


  “······can you actually defeat the Barbarian King?”


  Hatch, who had been listening to the story, spoke in a confident manner.

  “We are the Storm Hunters. I don’t know about anything else, but we can control the Power of Storm.”


  “Mmmm.”


  Ahimbree thought over Hatch’s answer. After a brief moment, it brought out a Golden Conch.

  “This is the key that will show you where the artifact of the War King is hidden. This will be enough to waken the Barbarian King from its sleep. You don’t even have to dispel the barrier. You just have to move close to it, and the Barbarian King will break through the barrier. My teacher Bokan had created this barrier. It was meant to keep people out. It wasn’t meant to cage the Barbarian King. I’m afraid my teacher would be furious if he heard my words right now.”


  “Please do not worry. I guarantee we’ll defeat the Barbarian King.”


  “It might not be possible with only your forces. You should request help from the Hiban Kingdom. Their elite knights are called the Order of the Steel Lion. They’ll open up the path for you. When they arrive here, you can go with them.”


  “Understood, teacher.”


  After his conversation, Hatch grasped the Golden Conch. He had an odd expression on his face.

  ‘The M.I made an awesome game. Since it has made such an awesome game, it is the duty of the gamers to leave behind an awesome record for this amazing game.’