MAEPG: Episode 22
Episode 22 Persona
“…What happened?”
Obor looked around in a daze.
He was gone.
No matter how much he searched, there was no trace.
“How is this possible?”
He had successfully trapped the lich by taking his time to build a barrier.
He, a True Blood, was the core, and dozens of vampires formed the framework.
And he had even personally kept the lich in check as a precaution…
“But he managed to escape the barrier using teleportation?”
Was he that strong?
Strong enough to make fools of all of them?
“There’s nothing wrong with the barrier. We couldn’t find any trace of him escaping.”
A Pureblood, specializing in blood magic, approached and reported again.
They had already checked several times.
He could have pretended to disappear and hidden, waiting for the barrier to be lifted.
So he had personally checked the interior several times while maintaining the barrier.
And if he had really succeeded in breaking through the barrier, he had ordered an investigation to find any trace of it, but…
‘He vanished without a trace.’
He had been thoroughly played.
He raided the hideout, stole the fragment, and destroyed the vampires of this branch.
And he leisurely waited in the city until they arrived, mocked them, and then disappeared.
Crackle—!
The ground near Obor exploded.
The area around him shattered, and cracks spread.
“How dare you… play me for a fool? Hans… Hans—!”
Obor, who had been venting his anger for a while, then caught his breath and looked at his subordinates who were waiting around him.
Five Purebloods and over twenty Fledglings.
“Search the city and its surroundings thoroughly. Don’t miss even the smallest clue!”
““Yes!””
At his command, the vampires scattered.
Obor looked around the place where Hans had last been.
“Grrr—”
He gritted his teeth, vowing to avenge this humiliation, when
“L-Lord Obor! It’s a disaster!”
His subordinates, who had just left, hurriedly approached him.
“What is it? Did that bastard do something?”
The first thing that came to mind was that Hans had done something before disappearing.
But the problem was more serious.
“A unit from the Main God Church, including the Paladin and battle priests, has surrounded us!”
“…Why are they here all of a sudden? No, how did we not notice them until they got here?”
The Main God Church’s special combat unit dispatched to prevent the resurrection of the Immortal King.
To prevent their target from noticing their approach and escaping, they had concealed their energy with large-scale holy magic, with even the Archbishop participating.
They had been stealthily approaching when they suddenly lost track of the Immortal King’s energy, so they quickly blocked off the surrounding area and closed in.
“…We fell into his trap. He stayed in the city and lured us here, he planned this from the beginning!”
He didn’t know how he managed to lure the Main God Church and set up a trap.
But he could tell for sure that he had been played by his scheme until the very end.
“Gather everyone and break through in one direction! We have to get out of here before dawn. Hurry!”
He could feel strong holy power rapidly approaching.
Paladins, the symbol of the Church’s military might.
And one particularly powerful energy among them.
‘Damn it! They even mobilized a Paladin!’
The pinnacle of holy knights, who had reached the master level.
Even he couldn’t ignore such a powerful opponent.
“You bastard, Hans! And those Oath of Heaven’s Defiance bastards! I’ll definitely get you back—!”
Thus, the Main God Church’s Immortal King subjugation force and the vampire clan Brokoslack clashed head-on.
It was while Han Seong-hyeon was thrashing around in his blanket.
“…What happened?”
Obor looked around in a daze.
He was gone.
No matter how much he searched, there was no trace.
“How is this possible?”
He had successfully trapped the lich by taking his time to build a barrier.
He, a True Blood, was the core, and dozens of vampires formed the framework.
And he had even personally kept the lich in check as a precaution…
“But he managed to escape the barrier using teleportation?”
Was he that strong?
Strong enough to make fools of all of them?
“There’s nothing wrong with the barrier. We couldn’t find any trace of him escaping.”
A Pureblood, specializing in blood magic, approached and reported again.
They had already checked several times.
He could have pretended to disappear and hidden, waiting for the barrier to be lifted.
So he had personally checked the interior several times while maintaining the barrier.
And if he had really succeeded in breaking through the barrier, he had ordered an investigation to find any trace of it, but…
‘He vanished without a trace.’
He had been thoroughly played.
He raided the hideout, stole the fragment, and destroyed the vampires of this branch.
And he leisurely waited in the city until they arrived, mocked them, and then disappeared.
Crackle—!
The ground near Obor exploded.
The area around him shattered, and cracks spread.
“How dare you… play me for a fool? Hans… Hans—!”
Obor, who had been venting his anger for a while, then caught his breath and looked at his subordinates who were waiting around him.
Five Purebloods and over twenty Fledglings.
“Search the city and its surroundings thoroughly. Don’t miss even the smallest clue!”
““Yes!””
At his command, the vampires scattered.
Obor looked around the place where Hans had last been.
“Grrr—”
He gritted his teeth, vowing to avenge this humiliation, when
“L-Lord Obor! It’s a disaster!”
His subordinates, who had just left, hurriedly approached him.
“What is it? Did that bastard do something?”
The first thing that came to mind was that Hans had done something before disappearing.
But the problem was more serious.
“A unit from the Main God Church, including the Paladin and battle priests, has surrounded us!”
“…Why are they here all of a sudden? No, how did we not notice them until they got here?”
The Main God Church’s special combat unit dispatched to prevent the resurrection of the Immortal King.
To prevent their target from noticing their approach and escaping, they had concealed their energy with large-scale holy magic, with even the Archbishop participating.
They had been stealthily approaching when they suddenly lost track of the Immortal King’s energy, so they quickly blocked off the surrounding area and closed in.
“…We fell into his trap. He stayed in the city and lured us here, he planned this from the beginning!”
He didn’t know how he managed to lure the Main God Church and set up a trap.
But he could tell for sure that he had been played by his scheme until the very end.
“Gather everyone and break through in one direction! We have to get out of here before dawn. Hurry!”
He could feel strong holy power rapidly approaching.
Paladins, the symbol of the Church’s military might.
And one particularly powerful energy among them.
‘Damn it! They even mobilized a Paladin!’
The pinnacle of holy knights, who had reached the master level.
Even he couldn’t ignore such a powerful opponent.
“You bastard, Hans! And those Oath of Heaven’s Defiance bastards! I’ll definitely get you back—!”
Thus, the Main God Church’s Immortal King subjugation force and the vampire clan Brokoslack clashed head-on.
It was while Han Seong-hyeon was thrashing around in his blanket.
___________________
“Whew… I’m hungry.”
I put down the tattered blanket and picked up my phone, ordering chicken.
Thanks to thrashing around in my blanket for a while and releasing my inner demons, peace returned to my heart.
“Clear Mind” must have also contributed to my quick recovery.
‘It seems like I’ve built up some resistance thanks to the skill. Now I think I can deliver lines even more shamelessly!’
Not that I was actually planning to do that.
“Anyway, Hans was recalled again. Sigh.”
He couldn’t freely roam around in another world anyway, but I was planning to let him do as much as he could…
‘I didn’t expect a True Blood to appear. Should I have just left the city right away?’
He had evolved into an Arch-Lich after absorbing another fragment, so he was full of confidence.
So I thought he could easily shake them off.
‘He was stronger than I thought. I could beat him if we fought properly, but…’
There was no real benefit to fighting right now, so it was better to just avoid it.
Hans had only acquired “Forbidden Knowledge” a few days ago, so he would become even stronger if given time.
I could settle the score then.
‘Extracting the essence of “Immortality” is a bit awkward to use right now.’
I had evolved into an Arch-Lich, skipping the intermediate stage of Lich, by absorbing the second fragment.
It was a skill I gained that way, but it seemed difficult to use properly.
Hans’s essence referred to the heart that was created by fusing with the fragment.
It would be great if I could store it safely on Earth and use it, but I was skeptical whether the dark magic power from the heart, located in another dimension, would be properly transmitted to Hans.
‘I can’t directly transfer energy even with the “Avatar” skill.’
If that happened, Hans would become nothing more than an empty shell of a skeleton without the support of the heart’s dark magic power.
It would be better for Hans, who wouldn’t be easily defeated with his powerful force and could be recalled at any time, to keep it.
Still, it wasn’t completely useless.
As long as I protected the heart, even if his limbs were turned to dust, they would be instantly restored with the near-infinite dark magic power.
‘I’ll research that in the future. But it’s more efficient to train in Auterica in terms of time. I’ll have to send him back when Heinz gets further away from Azantu.’
Heinz the Second was currently traveling to Tillak City with his companions, resupplying and gathering information.
It wasn’t good for him to stay near their territory for long in his vampire state, so he was planning to move further away.
Fortunately, he was able to conceal his presence as a vampire after becoming a Pureblood, and tracking him became more difficult after killing Wirach, his direct descendant.
‘No, they probably think he’s already dead. Hans caused such a ruckus.’
Still, it was better to avoid standing out, so he had to be careful.
“But we gained a lot. Heinz the Second obtained a useful combat ability, and Hans absorbed another fragment.”
And we also obtained all sorts of wealth and magic tools.
It was a very satisfying result.
“We’ve been quite active, so our Karma must have increased quite a bit, right? Let’s see how much is left until the next unique skill enhancement… Huh?”
I opened the Karma Shop and froze for a moment after checking the number.
『Unique Skill Enhancement (700,000)』
『Status Enhancement - View Details』
『Karma Owned - 731,002』
“…Is it this generous normally?”
I didn’t have much Karma left after using it to increase my physical abilities a while ago.
But now it was full.
The Brokoslack Clan was said to be one of the top three in the vampire world, but they were a minority in Auterica, and Azantu was just a small city on the outskirts.
“Does that mean the Immortal King’s Fragment is that valuable? Or maybe the fact that I sowed discord between the vampires and Oath of Heaven’s Defiance had an effect.”
I thought about it for a moment and came to that conclusion.
The more Karma, the better, and what was important now was that I could enhance my unique skill one more time.
‘I don’t really need anything in particular, but how will it evolve? Will I get one more avatar?’
I immediately chose to enhance it with an excited heart, and a throbbing headache came.
After a short while, I realized that I could create one more avatar.
And that wasn’t all.
“Oh?”
《The unique skill grows and unlocks its potential. You have acquired the special skill “Persona”.》
I happily checked the information, as I had been hoping for a related skill.
“Mind Hub” had been very helpful, so I was overjoyed.
But…
“Ha…”
My expression hardened unconsciously, and a wry laugh escaped my lips.
The growth of unique skills occurred in the direction needed by the user.
So the system judged that I needed “Persona”.
The effect of the skill was simple.
It was a skill that allowed me to imbue my emotions into an avatar, using it as a vessel.
“…”
Time passed endlessly in silence.
As I sat there blankly, I realized that I was unconsciously shaking one of my legs.
…It was the leg that had recently recovered, the leg that still bore the mark of ‘that day’.
The leg that was now smooth without any scars.
I closed my eyes and sank into thought in the silence.
I think I understood why this skill appeared.
I slowly looked back on the past.
I mingled with the people I first met in another world and built relationships with them.
I became an undead, dealt with dark mages, and subdued villains on Earth.
I sacrificed myself to help siblings in need and defeated the vampires of the city.
‘Me, who had been cooped up in my room for two years.’
Me, who was afraid of the outside world and had only one friend left.
Yes, in fact, all my actions after obtaining “Avatar” were nothing more than playing a game.
It was realistic because it was immersive and I could experience everything directly, but it wasn’t reality to me.
I talked to NPCs without feeling shy, and I treated punishing villains and helping the weak like clearing quests.
I was adventuring through another world brightly and cheerfully with an avatar, but in reality, I was still confined to my room.
The mark on my body had disappeared, but my mind was still stuck in that time.
“Whew—”
I sighed once and opened my closed eyes.
The quiet house.
The faint humming of the refrigerator was particularly annoying today.
There was no trace of life in the house that was once bustling and lively.
The space that I had thought of as a sanctuary felt like a coffin, trapping me in the silence, gathering dust.
The sense of dissonance from facing the reality I had been trying to ignore was suffocating.
“Hans.”
As I muttered softly, darkness spread across the floor, and Hans slowly rose from it.
Even though he was suppressing his energy in every way, he still exuded an aura of fear that made anyone who saw him tremble.
He was several times more terrifying than when he was a Demi-Lich.
“Transfer the stagnant, rotting emotions into a vessel…”
I focused on Hans and used “Persona.”
Loneliness, sadness, anger… all the negative emotions that had accumulated naturally flowed into him.
Hans, being an undead, accepted it like a sponge, perhaps because they were a good match.
“Whew… Is that it?”
As I faced the accumulated negative emotions and transferred them, my heart felt lighter than ever.
It wasn’t about completely discarding emotions.
It was closer to neatly organizing them in a box so that I could take them out and use them whenever I needed.
After all, even avatars were a part of me.
“I’m fine, but is Hans okay?”
He was already an undead with a strong negative influence, so if that got worse…
I focused my consciousness on Hans and observed his inner self.
I didn’t feel anything particularly strange.
Rather, it seemed like handling dark magic power became easier, perhaps due to the influence of absorbing the negative emotions.
[…Pain and despair are companions in life. It doesn’t really bother me anymore.]
I unconsciously muttered those words without even realizing it at first.
It just felt natural.
“Huh—?!”
Then I suddenly felt a sense of dissonance and jumped up.
No, it was definitely something I said, but…
[Hehehe… I see. Does an avatar imbued with emotions develop a personality accordingly? It’s only natural, in a way.]
Hans let out a cynical laugh.
It was so natural that it gave me goosebumps.
‘Did I project a part of my inner personality? I definitely can’t let this guy appear in front of people.’
I could control it if I wanted to, but if I wasn’t conscious of it, my speech pattern would naturally change.
Was this a side effect…
“Well, whatever. It doesn’t matter, since Hans won’t be interacting with people anyway. As long as it’s helpful to me.”
I came to that conclusion and nodded when
Thump!
A crashing sound erupted from afar.
Wail—!
Then the sound of sirens started to be heard.
It was faint because it was quite a distance away, but I could roughly guess what had happened.
‘A terrorist attack by a villain?’
Villains had become rampant lately, and incidents and accidents had increased.
The news and the internet were full of related stories.
‘But it’s not like I can actively intervene…’
If it happened right in front of me like last time, it would be a different story, but I didn’t want to go out of my way to find trouble.
I had nothing to gain from intervening, and it wasn’t like I was directly harmed.
I tried to ignore it and waited for the chicken I had ordered to arrive.
Buzz—
After some time, a text message arrived on my phone with a buzzing sound.
-Delivery Tribe has sent you a message.
-The store you ordered from, ‘Cerberus Three Chickens’, has been closed due to an accident.
-Your order has been refunded. We apologize for the inconvenience.
I stared at the message for a moment and then looked out the window.
I estimated the direction of the commotion and compared it to the location of the chicken restaurant I had ordered from.
“…Ah.”
It was the best restaurant I had found after trying out several chicken places.
They used fresh chicken, the outside was crispy and the inside was juicy, and they always satisfied me with their variety of sauces and generous portions.
I had always ordered from there whenever I ate chicken for the past year or so.
The owner was a kind person who even gave me extra service because I was a regular…
“…So, I ignored it, and now I’m being harmed.”
Maybe I was looking for an excuse.
A way to rationalize myself.
A justification for making an irrational decision.
[Does one need a reason to destroy evil? No. The order of the world is shaken, and chaos reigns, so lawless individuals run rampant everywhere. …Now I shall be their law.]
Hans, who was standing next to me, disappeared into the shadows.
Yes, I made various excuses, but the conclusion was one.
I hated villains.
“Whew… I’m hungry.”
I put down the tattered blanket and picked up my phone, ordering chicken.
Thanks to thrashing around in my blanket for a while and releasing my inner demons, peace returned to my heart.
“Clear Mind” must have also contributed to my quick recovery.
‘It seems like I’ve built up some resistance thanks to the skill. Now I think I can deliver lines even more shamelessly!’
Not that I was actually planning to do that.
“Anyway, Hans was recalled again. Sigh.”
He couldn’t freely roam around in another world anyway, but I was planning to let him do as much as he could…
‘I didn’t expect a True Blood to appear. Should I have just left the city right away?’
He had evolved into an Arch-Lich after absorbing another fragment, so he was full of confidence.
So I thought he could easily shake them off.
‘He was stronger than I thought. I could beat him if we fought properly, but…’
There was no real benefit to fighting right now, so it was better to just avoid it.
Hans had only acquired “Forbidden Knowledge” a few days ago, so he would become even stronger if given time.
I could settle the score then.
‘Extracting the essence of “Immortality” is a bit awkward to use right now.’
I had evolved into an Arch-Lich, skipping the intermediate stage of Lich, by absorbing the second fragment.
It was a skill I gained that way, but it seemed difficult to use properly.
Hans’s essence referred to the heart that was created by fusing with the fragment.
It would be great if I could store it safely on Earth and use it, but I was skeptical whether the dark magic power from the heart, located in another dimension, would be properly transmitted to Hans.
‘I can’t directly transfer energy even with the “Avatar” skill.’
If that happened, Hans would become nothing more than an empty shell of a skeleton without the support of the heart’s dark magic power.
It would be better for Hans, who wouldn’t be easily defeated with his powerful force and could be recalled at any time, to keep it.
Still, it wasn’t completely useless.
As long as I protected the heart, even if his limbs were turned to dust, they would be instantly restored with the near-infinite dark magic power.
‘I’ll research that in the future. But it’s more efficient to train in Auterica in terms of time. I’ll have to send him back when Heinz gets further away from Azantu.’
Heinz the Second was currently traveling to Tillak City with his companions, resupplying and gathering information.
It wasn’t good for him to stay near their territory for long in his vampire state, so he was planning to move further away.
Fortunately, he was able to conceal his presence as a vampire after becoming a Pureblood, and tracking him became more difficult after killing Wirach, his direct descendant.
‘No, they probably think he’s already dead. Hans caused such a ruckus.’
Still, it was better to avoid standing out, so he had to be careful.
“But we gained a lot. Heinz the Second obtained a useful combat ability, and Hans absorbed another fragment.”
And we also obtained all sorts of wealth and magic tools.
It was a very satisfying result.
“We’ve been quite active, so our Karma must have increased quite a bit, right? Let’s see how much is left until the next unique skill enhancement… Huh?”
I opened the Karma Shop and froze for a moment after checking the number.
『Unique Skill Enhancement (700,000)』
『Status Enhancement - View Details』
『Karma Owned - 731,002』
“…Is it this generous normally?”
I didn’t have much Karma left after using it to increase my physical abilities a while ago.
But now it was full.
The Brokoslack Clan was said to be one of the top three in the vampire world, but they were a minority in Auterica, and Azantu was just a small city on the outskirts.
“Does that mean the Immortal King’s Fragment is that valuable? Or maybe the fact that I sowed discord between the vampires and Oath of Heaven’s Defiance had an effect.”
I thought about it for a moment and came to that conclusion.
The more Karma, the better, and what was important now was that I could enhance my unique skill one more time.
‘I don’t really need anything in particular, but how will it evolve? Will I get one more avatar?’
I immediately chose to enhance it with an excited heart, and a throbbing headache came.
After a short while, I realized that I could create one more avatar.
And that wasn’t all.
“Oh?”
《The unique skill grows and unlocks its potential. You have acquired the special skill “Persona”.》
I happily checked the information, as I had been hoping for a related skill.
“Mind Hub” had been very helpful, so I was overjoyed.
But…
“Ha…”
My expression hardened unconsciously, and a wry laugh escaped my lips.
The growth of unique skills occurred in the direction needed by the user.
So the system judged that I needed “Persona”.
The effect of the skill was simple.
It was a skill that allowed me to imbue my emotions into an avatar, using it as a vessel.
“…”
Time passed endlessly in silence.
As I sat there blankly, I realized that I was unconsciously shaking one of my legs.
…It was the leg that had recently recovered, the leg that still bore the mark of ‘that day’.
The leg that was now smooth without any scars.
I closed my eyes and sank into thought in the silence.
I think I understood why this skill appeared.
I slowly looked back on the past.
I mingled with the people I first met in another world and built relationships with them.
I became an undead, dealt with dark mages, and subdued villains on Earth.
I sacrificed myself to help siblings in need and defeated the vampires of the city.
‘Me, who had been cooped up in my room for two years.’
Me, who was afraid of the outside world and had only one friend left.
Yes, in fact, all my actions after obtaining “Avatar” were nothing more than playing a game.
It was realistic because it was immersive and I could experience everything directly, but it wasn’t reality to me.
I talked to NPCs without feeling shy, and I treated punishing villains and helping the weak like clearing quests.
I was adventuring through another world brightly and cheerfully with an avatar, but in reality, I was still confined to my room.
The mark on my body had disappeared, but my mind was still stuck in that time.
“Whew—”
I sighed once and opened my closed eyes.
The quiet house.
The faint humming of the refrigerator was particularly annoying today.
There was no trace of life in the house that was once bustling and lively.
The space that I had thought of as a sanctuary felt like a coffin, trapping me in the silence, gathering dust.
The sense of dissonance from facing the reality I had been trying to ignore was suffocating.
“Hans.”
As I muttered softly, darkness spread across the floor, and Hans slowly rose from it.
Even though he was suppressing his energy in every way, he still exuded an aura of fear that made anyone who saw him tremble.
He was several times more terrifying than when he was a Demi-Lich.
“Transfer the stagnant, rotting emotions into a vessel…”
I focused on Hans and used “Persona.”
Loneliness, sadness, anger… all the negative emotions that had accumulated naturally flowed into him.
Hans, being an undead, accepted it like a sponge, perhaps because they were a good match.
“Whew… Is that it?”
As I faced the accumulated negative emotions and transferred them, my heart felt lighter than ever.
It wasn’t about completely discarding emotions.
It was closer to neatly organizing them in a box so that I could take them out and use them whenever I needed.
After all, even avatars were a part of me.
“I’m fine, but is Hans okay?”
He was already an undead with a strong negative influence, so if that got worse…
I focused my consciousness on Hans and observed his inner self.
I didn’t feel anything particularly strange.
Rather, it seemed like handling dark magic power became easier, perhaps due to the influence of absorbing the negative emotions.
[…Pain and despair are companions in life. It doesn’t really bother me anymore.]
I unconsciously muttered those words without even realizing it at first.
It just felt natural.
“Huh—?!”
Then I suddenly felt a sense of dissonance and jumped up.
No, it was definitely something I said, but…
[Hehehe… I see. Does an avatar imbued with emotions develop a personality accordingly? It’s only natural, in a way.]
Hans let out a cynical laugh.
It was so natural that it gave me goosebumps.
‘Did I project a part of my inner personality? I definitely can’t let this guy appear in front of people.’
I could control it if I wanted to, but if I wasn’t conscious of it, my speech pattern would naturally change.
Was this a side effect…
“Well, whatever. It doesn’t matter, since Hans won’t be interacting with people anyway. As long as it’s helpful to me.”
I came to that conclusion and nodded when
Thump!
A crashing sound erupted from afar.
Wail—!
Then the sound of sirens started to be heard.
It was faint because it was quite a distance away, but I could roughly guess what had happened.
‘A terrorist attack by a villain?’
Villains had become rampant lately, and incidents and accidents had increased.
The news and the internet were full of related stories.
‘But it’s not like I can actively intervene…’
If it happened right in front of me like last time, it would be a different story, but I didn’t want to go out of my way to find trouble.
I had nothing to gain from intervening, and it wasn’t like I was directly harmed.
I tried to ignore it and waited for the chicken I had ordered to arrive.
Buzz—
After some time, a text message arrived on my phone with a buzzing sound.
-Delivery Tribe has sent you a message.
-The store you ordered from, ‘Cerberus Three Chickens’, has been closed due to an accident.
-Your order has been refunded. We apologize for the inconvenience.
I stared at the message for a moment and then looked out the window.
I estimated the direction of the commotion and compared it to the location of the chicken restaurant I had ordered from.
“…Ah.”
It was the best restaurant I had found after trying out several chicken places.
They used fresh chicken, the outside was crispy and the inside was juicy, and they always satisfied me with their variety of sauces and generous portions.
I had always ordered from there whenever I ate chicken for the past year or so.
The owner was a kind person who even gave me extra service because I was a regular…
“…So, I ignored it, and now I’m being harmed.”
Maybe I was looking for an excuse.
A way to rationalize myself.
A justification for making an irrational decision.
[Does one need a reason to destroy evil? No. The order of the world is shaken, and chaos reigns, so lawless individuals run rampant everywhere. …Now I shall be their law.]
Hans, who was standing next to me, disappeared into the shadows.
Yes, I made various excuses, but the conclusion was one.
I hated villains.
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