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Chapter 82: Darkness Hunter (1)

If things had gone as originally intended, the merfolk would have perished as per the scenario set by the developers of the game.

Although obvious, it needed to be said again: there wasn\'t any player who could be active on the ocean floor at this point of the game. Even if Kai were asked to do it again, he wouldn\'t be able to do so.

Because almost 99% of it was thanks to the Magic Conch.

When the developers received the news tomorrow morning, they would most likely look devastated. Because of Kai alone, an entire main episode was gone, along with 1,524 meticulously crafted and arranged quests.

However, Kai was not without his excuses.

"It’s their fault they made such an important dungeon accessible to even a level 70 player."

If the developers had heard this, they would have had heart attacks and lined up for hospitalization!

And...

A chill ran down Kai\'s spine as he realized one more thing.

This is insane... Then the original quest to find the Holy Ring Petra was meant to be much harder?

He would have had to wander around in the destroyed city of the merfolk, scouring the deep ocean floor and battling the nagas to search for the holy items.

Thinking of all that hard work, Kai shuddered.

It was all pure luck... but thank goodness.

While he was unsure about the other two items, obtaining the Holy Ring Petra had been very easy.

However, there was still something he did not understand.

The Church of Muldine? What even is that?

After Kai thought about who these people were that had now become his enemy, Kai reached a conclusion.

Could they have something to do with the Essence of Darkness?

If his guess was correct, then Tardal would explain it later.

Then Kai looked up and smiled awkwardly at the merfolk staring only at him.

***

"N-no...!"

"We don’t have a choice," Cyrus said in an unsympathetic tone.

Then the Magic Conch disappeared from his hand!

Kai couldn\'t help but burst into tears as he saw that.

My dream of becoming the strongest every month...

Of course, even he acknowledged that the Magic Conch was an overpowered item that disrupted balance. However, double standards were a thing—unfair if someone else did it, but reasonable if he did it.

Well, it is unfortunate, but it’s necessary to extend the magic used to obscure spatial perception... so I guess it can’t be helped.

The merfolk couldn\'t always stick around and perform magic 24/7. Moreover, the Magic Conch was a treasure of the merfolk intended to hide Aquavera.

"Ugh." Swallowing his disappointment, Kai turned to Karius. "So, you\'re planning on moving now, sir?"

"Moving? Hm, I guess you could put it that way. That’s right. We\'ve evaded the nagas’ tracking, and Tartar has eaten enough... so it\'s time to move."

"Tar... what?"

"Tartar. You must have seen it at least once, haven’t you?" Karius asked with a puzzled tilt of his head, wondering what Kai was talking about.

However, Kai certainly had no memory of seeing any strange-named object or creature. "I haven\'t..."

"...It seems like Cyrus didn\'t explain it to you on purpose to surprise you. Then you will be quite surprised."

Smirking Karius stepped outside; his robe fluttered around him.

Kai hurriedly followed him, tilting his head in confusion. "Sir, what is that?"

He saw several merfolk holding gigantic horns made of conches to their mouths.

"Ah, it\'s time to wake it up."

Time to wake up? Wake what up?

Before his question could fade, a piercing horn sound tormented Kai. "Argh... Wh-what is this...!?"

"Just endure it for a moment. Tartar has sensitive hearing and will wake up soon..."

So what exactly is Tartar!

The horn sounds stopped the moment he finished complaining. At the same time, the city began to shake.

"Uh... Uhhhhh!" Standing at the bottom of the ocean, Kai felt an earthquake and swam upward. "Th-there\'s an earthquake!"

Kai had heard of landslides in mountainous areas due to noise, but it was his first time hearing about an earthquake in the deep sea!

However, the surrounding merfolk just smiled at Kai.

Thud!

Then a gigantic pillar came into Kai\'s view. "Wh-what on earth is..."

Before he could even finish his question, the tall pillar turned its head. What met Kai\'s eyes were large, black pupils. Then the creature cried out loudly.

Kai knew of only one marine creature with such a long neck. "So Tartar is that turtle?"

"It\'s no ordinary turtle. It\'s a divine beast that has lived for thousands of years, protecting our merfolk."

"Then... what I\'ve been stepping on all this time is...?"

"It wasn\'t the ocean floor, but Tartar back shell."

That was indeed shocking news!

Thud, thud!

Tartar diligently moved its legs and suddenly stomped on the ground.

Swooooosh!

Kai had never experienced such speed since riding the Eagle’s Fortress in Everland and the Gyro Drop in Lotte World. Yet, astonishingly, neither the city, the merfolk, nor Kai himself were thrown backward.

This was because a barrier of water in front of Tartar protected them.

"...What kind of turtle is this fast!"

"Did you not know? Turtles are quite fast in the water."

That\'s an understatement...

Kai quietly swallowed his complaint and turned his head toward a strange noise coming from behind.

"Kyaaak!"

"Kraaagh!"

The nagas were seen swimming hard after they spotted Tartar, but they never managed to catch up with it.

***

Having settled in shallow waters near the kingdom of humans, Tartar went back inside its shell and fell asleep.

Kai scratched his cheek as he looked at the hundreds of merfolk who came to greet him. "Are you really going to live here? It might be bothersome with all the humans around..."

"It will be bothersome, but we\'ll endure it. The fact that you... an apostle has appeared means that darkness will soon engulf the continent." Karius showed a moment of worry but soon smiled kindly. "But don\'t worry. No matter what dangers or darkness push against you, we merfolk will always be on your side."

"Sir..."

"Kai. We are always ready to help you."

Reassured by Cyrus\'s reliable answer, Kai shook his hand and then approached Helene, Crawford, and the white-bearded master.

"I hope the both of you stay happy," Kai said to Helene and Crawford.

"Thanks to you, it seems we no longer need to live in fear of the nagas. We are truly grateful."

"Yes, really... the two of us and..."

Helene then stroked her belly with a shy smile.

Shocked, Kai’s mouth twitched. "W-what? How many days have passed since you reunited again?"

"Ahem. Well, after sharing twenty years worth of love..."

“Th-that’s enough!” Kai glared at them and turned his head. "Master, I will be going now."

"Hmm, the two weeks we spent training together were enjoyable."

"Yes, it hurt a lot, was sad, tough, and I always wanted to quit, but it was fun."

"Come back again next time."

That was essentially saying he\'d legally beat Kai up some more!

Just as Kai backed away with an awkward laugh, Kaul bid him farewell, "Thank you, really."

"...What for? I am more grateful." Kai mumbled, avoiding Kaul\'s gaze, but then he immediately raised his hand. "I’ll really get going now. I\'ll be late for my appointment."

“Get up there safely."

"Goodbye!"

"Drop by anytime. I\'ve provided you with plenty of return crystals."

Kai then energetically stepped on the water, being seen off by the group of merfolk. The sea water burst out spectacularly, like fireworks showing the bright future for the merfolk.

Simultaneously, Kai\'s figure soon emerged from the sea.

"Whew!"

Kai, pushing back his wet hair, turned on the minimap with a grin.

His destination was the nearest teleport gate, and of course, meeting Tardal was his top priority.

***

-Isn’t it a bug?

└ They said it\'s not.

└ Still, isn’t it a bug?

└ Still, they said it\'s not.

└ Wow, but how is that even possible? Maybe it\'s...

└ They said it’s not a bug.

Before the craze of the Tag of Death had subsided, Unknown\'s name once again heated up the community. This time, the name was mentioned due to the new solo dungeon rankings he had set.

-Look, how does it make sense to clear five dungeons in three days? Not to mention, with such overwhelming records?

└ But he did it.

-Even if you look at the level... What does this guy do for a living? Wasn\'t he level 68 just recently?

└ Oh? Now that you mention it, that’s true. When did he hit level 88?

└ This is suspicious. 20 levels aren\'t easy! It usually takes at least two months...

-It seems like he used a bug or hack that the developers can\'t catch. If they admit it, their stock would plummet, so Pegasus must be denying it.

Unknown had used bugs, and Pegasus was lying to cover it up! That opinion seemed plausible, and thus the rumor spread more in the community.

-Unknown\'s videos are all CGI[ref]Computer-generated imagery.[ref], and manipulated.

-Exactly. I\'m a member of the Crimson Fist guild, and we actually won that time.

└ Nope, at least that’s not true.

└ I\'m the Orc Lord, and actually I won that time. Squeal!

└ I\'m the Orc Sorcerer...

Rumors were malicious gossip. They were no different from delusions. Moreover, there were always people who wanted to undermine successful people!

As the rumors grew uncontrollably and people began to bash Unknown, Pegasus, which had always maintained silence in any incident or accident, finally made a statement.

[We have no record of Unknown ever using any bugs. Furthermore, as a result of our monitoring, Instance Dungeon rankings have been updated through used items and skills.]

It was a short statement, but it was a powerful blow that silenced those who were indulging in spreading rumors!

However, while the statement was shocking, it was insufficient to deliver a knockout.

-Of course they would say it\'s not a bug.

└ A bug in MID Online? Naturally, that would cause the stock to drop.

Players, already viewing things through skeptical lenses, didn’t trust Pegasus\'s official announcement.

As a result, an emergency meeting was convened at the Pegasus headquarters.

"Everyone, please present your ideas to overcome this situation."

At the voice of Marco Frederic, the president of Pegasus, the employees only bowed their heads.

Despite their roles in developing and managing the game, they couldn’t freely share someone\'s personal video because the game\'s terms of service stated that they wouldn’t interfere in any way that infringed upon individual freedoms.

"Tsk. Then there\'s only one way left." Jim, observing the silent meeting room from a corner, sighed. "We have to buy the video from its owner, Unknown."

"...Would he sell it? Besides, even if the video is released, it would cause problems. Players would demand to know why Unknown doesn\'t die even when attacked... Unknown would never accept that."

Once a player reached a certain level and became a ranker, each of their skills became a hidden weapon.

Just as martial artists in novels were said to always keep 30% of their power hidden, it was the same in MID Online. If one wished to reign as a ranker for a long time, their skill and item setups, and stats had to remain confidential.

"...Regarding that, we\'ll need to discuss it with Unknown. Of course, we must accommodate his opinions as much as possible."

In the end, Pegasus raised the white flag.

There was never a bug to begin with, but what mattered was whether the investors and players thought there was one because no one would want to play a game that could be cheated by using bugs.

...It’s the guy back then. Who knew he would still be doing well.

In a blink of an eye, the fool who had boldly declared he would soon face Helik\'s judgment and lose his job had become a figure who gained the upper hand against the game company.