The Archmage’s Destruction Strategy - Chapter 44

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#044. Adventurer Guild

“Has the Awakened Association looked like this since before D-day?”

Shirasaki Miyu nodded at Sung-jun’s question.

“Well, forming parties, taking Corrosion Entity hunting quests, and settling payments were similar from the beginning. If there’s something different, it’s that everyone’s outfits have changed strangely. And there weren’t this many people before.”

“Does the increase in people mean new Awakened have appeared?”

“I don’t know. If the Oracle Maiden in Japan hasn’t returned to her world and continues performing awakening ceremonies, that’s possible, but…”

“Oracle Maiden?”

“That’s what they call Pioneer Pandora in Japan. She actually wore shrine maiden robes too.”

After thinking for a moment, Sung-jun rejected that hypothesis.

“If there’s no other way to create new Awakened, the people here probably aren’t new Awakened.”

“Why do you think that?”

“In the first place, it was Teacher who created the teleportation magic that brought the Pioneers from the Otherworld to Earth. That magic was a spell designed to send all teleportation targets back to their original world on D-day. Teacher could buy time by bypassing it since she’s a mage herself, but I doubt a Pioneer called the Oracle Maiden would have such abilities.”

Sung-jun speculated that people had gathered like this because the Corrosion Entity appearance phenomenon that had been occurring intermittently nationwide was now concentrated at specific points called dungeons, and Shirasaki Miyu, who heard Sung-jun’s words, also nodded in agreement with his opinion.

Saying that seemed more likely.

Having exchanged opinions this way, Sung-jun’s group began earnestly gathering information at the Awakened Association.

The setting for his disciple Seoa and himself remained the same hastily made one from when they hitched a ride on the truck – siblings who had been in an emergency bunker and came outside after 8 months, with the additional setting that Shirasaki Miyu, already an Awakened, had found the two and protected them until here.

Having roughly coordinated their story this way, Shirasaki Miyu immediately approached a woman who appeared to be a receptionist and spoke to her.

Then the receptionist, after talking briefly, made an extremely surprised expression and hurriedly ran up to the second floor.

“You’ll probably have a meeting with the association administrator. Before that, you don’t have guild member cards, right?”

“Guild member cards?”

When Sung-jun asked, Miyu showed her palm.

Then suddenly, something like a golden glowing card appeared above her empty palm.

“Awakened from the Japan Awakened Association receive cards along with their awakening abilities from the Oracle Maiden on the day they awaken. The cards contain information about names, identities, adventurer rankings, and artifacts received upon awakening.”

Sung-jun picked up the Awakened card placed on Shirasaki Miyu’s palm and examined it from various angles.

He soon discovered that it was an object made with a kind of magic, not human scientific technology.

“This itself is also a kind of magical artifact. There’s probably someone among the Awakened who received an artifact that creates these. This was mass-produced using that person’s ability.”

“Even if you say you were hiding in a bunker, if you received Awakened certification before, they’ll try to verify this. This is an object bound to individual Awakened, so it can’t be stolen. I should have mentioned it earlier, but it was only used within Japan, so I only remembered after talking with the receptionist.”

“This much isn’t a problem. If it’s an object made with magic, I can just create it with magic.”

When Sung-jun spread his palm, an identical-looking guild member card floated above his palm.

“A guild member card? This should be absolutely impossible to replicate?”

“In the first place, it was the Previous Demon Lord who created the device that issues these cards. The ‘Pandora’s Box’ itself that grants abilities to Japanese Awakened belongs to Teacher. Like the seven blood vessels we recovered from China, Pandora’s Box is also something Teacher lent to Pandora.”

In the world where Minastrias existed, she possessed the key to a treasure trove passed down through generations of Demon Lords.

Countless magical artifacts created over hundreds of years of fighting to eliminate Silermantis by Demon Lords, each of whom could be called the pinnacle of magical history.

When Minastrias came to Earth with other Pioneers, she allowed them to each bring one magical artifact from the treasure trove, and they each came to Earth with artifacts that caught their fancy.

“Then you know information about all the other artifacts too?”

“No, what I know is only the seven blood vessels that the Chinese Pioneer ‘Kwon Hwang’ Drenex possessed. The rest is speculation.”

“Speculation?”

“Right. Among them, the identity of Pandora’s Box in Japan isn’t that difficult to predict. An artifact that binds magical artifacts with various abilities to the souls of those who desire awakening. It hides its form as a box for deception, but its essence is…”

“A key… perhaps?”

Seoa, who had been listening to Sung-jun’s words, spoke carefully.

Assuming you could choose only one treasure from the treasure vault of successive Demon Lords where such powerful magical artifacts slept, a loophole that could make all the treasures in the treasure trove yours by choosing just one.

It was an irregular choice like asking a genie who would grant one wish to increase the number of wishes.

“Right. Pandora, who received the right to choose an artifact last among the Pioneers, requested not another artifact but an artifact with the authority to access the treasure trove – the ‘key’. And the strongest evidence that this is certain is the grimoire that Shirasaki possesses, Baphomet.”

In the first place, Baphomet was one of the failures among numerous attempts to attack Silermantis.

It could be called a very powerful grimoire in that it allowed even people who couldn’t use magic at all to freely use high-circle magic, but it was a grimoire abandoned because it could only use magic from open pages, making multi-complex casting beyond dual chanting impossible due to this fatal flaw.

Sung-jun, who had heard from his teacher about the Previous Demon Lord who was a genius at grimoire development, also knew that the grimoire should be sleeping in the treasure trove.

“Baphomet is a powerful artifact, but it’s not an artifact worth a Pioneer specifically choosing to bring. If we’re talking about grades, it’s significantly inferior to the seven blood vessels. But having it means someone took the key to the treasure trove.”

Deducing that what Pandora took was the key to the treasure trove through the given information wasn’t that difficult.

So Sung-jun had been speculating that the key would be in Japan based on the characteristics of Japanese Awakened even before D-day occurred.

And that speculation became certainty when he saw the Baphomet that Shirasaki Miyu carried.

“I came to Japan this time precisely to recover that key. Just like in China where we cast a curse with the seven blood vessels to make conventional weapons work on low-grade Corrosion Entities, the key will be an important material for a blessing spell with the entire Earth as its range.”

“That means we need to defeat the apocalypse-class Corrosion Entity that appeared in Japan, just like we defeated Yeojiggwi to activate the curse spell?”

The moment Sung-jun nodded, the receptionist who had gone up to the second floor came running toward Sung-jun’s group.

“The Guild Master has granted your audience request.”

***

“Guild Master. Wasn’t the original title Association Branch Chief?”

“When times change, titles change too. Since D-day, Awakened belonging to the association call themselves not Awakened but names like adventurers or hunters. Most people call the association not by its original name but the Adventurer Guild. The title Guild Master isn’t an official designation either.”

“Well, looking at the Awakened gathered on the lower floor, they’re all wearing fantasy-like outfits.”

The Guild Master of Nagano and Shirasaki Miyu were meeting for the first time, but she was calmly conversing with the Guild Master as if addressing a subordinate.

And the Guild Master was treating her, much younger than himself, with a respectful attitude.

Sung-jun noticed from their interaction that a hierarchical relationship based on Awakened rankings existed among Japanese Awakened.

“Miss Shirasaki. If it’s not rude, may I ask about your companions?”

When Miyu nodded at the Master’s question, Sung-jun delivered the fake scenario he had prepared to the Guild Master.

Then the man, who had been nodding, looked at Sung-jun and Seoa and said:

“That means you two are Awakened who received the awakening ceremony right before D-day and evacuated to an underground bunker? Then you naturally have guild cards too, right?”

When Sung-jun extended his palm at the man’s words, a copper-colored card floated above Sung-jun’s palm.

It was a beginner Awakened card that Sung-jun had pre-adjusted based on Shirasaki Miyu’s advice that the color changes according to rank.

“Mine is here too.”

When Seoa also extended her hand following Sung-jun, a card floated above her palm as well.

Then the man picked up both their cards and headed toward a crystal orb on his desk.

“…What’s that?”

“Ah, if you only received the awakening ceremony and never took on Awakened requests, you might not know. This is a verification crystal orb. When you place guild cards on it, it can check for forgeries. All Japanese Awakened have their names and abilities registered in the database connected to this crystal orb.”

The moment she heard the man’s words, Seoa’s complexion began turning pale.

If what the man said was true, it seemed Sung-jun’s hastily made guild cards wouldn’t pass the verification process.

However, even after the man contacted both their guild cards to the crystal orb, the orb showed no particular reaction.

“They’re definitely registered on the list. Sorry for doubting you.”

Having completed identity verification this way, Shirasaki Miyu immediately explained the circumstances to the Guild Master according to the scenario Sung-jun had told her beforehand.

A scenario where she had been cooperating with artifact research at a research facility cut off from external contact at the government’s request before D-day, and recently met Sung-jun’s group who had emerged from a bunker while returning after the research ended.

At her explanation that they needed information about Japan’s changes after D-day, the Master briefly explained what had happened.

That special areas called ‘dungeons’ had appeared near major cities nationwide.

That unlike gates that disappear when cleared, dungeons have the characteristic of not disappearing even after clearing the boss.

That ‘black rain’ began falling from the sky, causing all crops grown throughout Japan to wither and die black.

That ‘harvest sites’ where food could be obtained exist in dungeons.

That substitutes for fossil fuels like gasoline could be made using ‘magic stones’ obtainable by hunting Corrosion Entities in dungeons.

Thanks to this, Japan’s current economy depends entirely on dungeons – this was the Guild Master’s explanation.

“Then we can explore dungeons too?”

The Master answered Shirasaki Miyu’s question.

“It’s possible, but except for Miss Shirasaki, your companions will only be allowed to enter up to the 1st floor.”

“Why?”

“Because Awakened are irreplaceable military power. To prevent unnecessary waste of power, the government strictly controls floor entry restrictions based on rank. To challenge unexplored floors independently without government notification, you’d have to become a member of one of the only 5 raid clans that exist in all of Japan.”

“Raid clans?”

“Clans granted the authority to issue raid orders, which are like Awakened conscription orders. Currently, the five clans ‘Wollyeong’s Arang’, ‘Infinity Blade’, ‘Indomitable Shield’, ‘Obsidian Spear’, and ‘Goddess’s Guidance’ have this authority.”

“If you join them, you can attack any floor of any dungeon you want?”

“From the 20th floor and above, even the highest-rank adventurers can’t attack with independent parties, so they issue raid quests composed of 20 or more people. When a raid is activated, adventurers who want to participate apply for raid participation in party units.”

“It’s really like a game…”

When Seoa, who had been listening to the Guild Master’s explanation, spoke, the Master also agreed with her opinion.

“Actually, when first building the system, we referenced games and novels considerably. Besides the advantages of being easy to understand and intuitive, participating adventurers tended to be more motivated too.”

Sung-jun’s group continued asking various questions to gather additional information after that.

Then they went outside and discussed future plans.

What steps to take to achieve Sung-jun’s goal of recovering the ‘key’.

After going through such a lengthy discussion, Sung-jun was finally able to establish a concrete plan for what came next.

“Whatever we do, raising our adventurer rank is essential in this world. There are limits to what we can accomplish as a solo party.”

“So what we need to do now is register a party and run dungeons? It sounds like something from a game or novel, so I’m getting excited.”

Sung-jun smiled upon hearing Seoa’s words.

Honestly, even he found many interesting aspects in Japan’s Awakened system that borrowed from game and novel systems.

Moreover, the dungeon’s characteristic of having only a fixed number of Corrosion Entities appear repeatedly provided optimal conditions for raising his disciple Seoa’s magic proficiency.

“Good. Then let’s start registering a party right away. For now, just the three of us as a registered party. Since we lack information about the Corrosion Entity that appeared in Japan, the most urgent thing is obtaining the authority to access information.”

“For something that’s supposedly about information gathering, you’re making quite an expectant expression.”

“As long as we don’t lose sight of our purpose, enjoying ourselves a little isn’t bad either. Thanks to successfully casting the spell in China, humanity should have bought quite a bit of time.”

Imagining the enjoyable events that lay ahead, Sung-jun said.

“Then from now on, let’s experience the ‘game-like system’ that Japan has prepared.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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