From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 45: Heracles Pt. 6

Since Lee Jun-Kyeong was unfamiliar with the information on the Catalyon Mountain Gate, he had no idea about which monster held domain over the gate as the boss.

“It’s a lion. While it’s somewhat similar to the Catalyon lions…”

Fortunately, a Hunter belonging to the Nile had spoken up first. He introduced himself as Inebu and shared the information that the other Hunters had obtained in advance.

‘So it’s Inebu…’

Lee Jun-Kyeong thought he had heard the name somewhere, but couldn’t remember exactly where. It was challenging to know the information of even a single Nile Hunter that drifted around in Egypt. Furthermore, the Demon King didn’t have much contact with them.

While he was a famous Hunter in Egypt, it was difficult for Lee Jun-Kyeong to recognize him.

Until he heard his title.

‘Amun.’

Amun, the Hero known as the Commander of Egypt. He was one of the Heroes of Egypt that would be remembered even in the future.

"...it’s much bigger and more powerful."

"Is that all?"

"You’ll understand when you see for yourself.” Inebu shrugged as if he himself didn’t know how else to explain it. However, this much information was more than enough for Lee Jun-Kyeong.

‘Hyeon-Mu.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong sent Hyeon-Mu to reconnaissance a while back, well before they had gotten close to the Hunters' encampment. Hyeon-Mu had returned quickly, and confirmed exactly what Inebu had said.

- It’s a giant lion.

There were no other special characteristics. It was just a giant version of the Catalyon lion that appeared in Catalyon Mountain. It wasn’t as large as the river worm, but Hyeon-Mu compared it similarly in size to a five-story building.

Basically, it was a giant monster.

"Are you ready?" Lee Jun-Kyeong said to Jeong In-Chang, who was holding the greatsword. They had finished all of their preparations.

‘And that punk is still well on his way.’

There was a single point of mana traveling at high speed. Perhaps the other Hunters here had also felt Demetrios’ approach as they all began to leave their positions. As Demetrios had a tendency to attack everything without discrimination, so even bystanders had to be careful. Thus, these Hunters decided to observe the situation from a place hidden from Demetrios’ view.

‘Not bad.’

All of a sudden, Lee Jun-Kyeong had become the clown put on a stage to satisfy the onlookers. However, the feeling wasn’t bad. This would be his debut to the world. If he could successfully win the battle today, the entire world would know of his existence.

The Hunters, who were secretly behind everything, would now learn his name.

‘Could I get a title from this?’

The only way one could earn a title was by having your name get discussed by other people. Sponsors desired their incarnations to make a name for themselves, so Hunters would have to build a reputation that satisfied their Sponsors in order to receive a title.

However, he had no expectations of obtaining one. ‘That would be difficult.’

Instead, he spoke to Jeong In-Chang, who was following him with a greatsword in hand.

"Congratulations in advance."

"Yes?"

"You will get a title this time,” Lee Jun-Kyeong noted. While Jeong In-Chang didn’t know about it himself, he was guaranteed to get a title. It was a title he would earn eventually, anyway.

The title, Siegfried.

[<The Prince on a White Horse> is watching you with interest.]

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> is watching you, with a bag of popcorn.]

Even the Sponsors had realized it. Soon, the end of the Battle of Champions would take place, and the Hunters who insisted on being spectators would be exposed to a troublesome affair.

***

“How do you think he’ll turn out?”

In a forest far away, there was a special item that had been lent to the spectators by one of the great Hunters of the Nile, who was above the level of a Hero. The spectators conversed as they watched the battlefield through the Eyes of Osiris. They were those that wanted to watch the Underdog, Lee Jun-Kyeong, who had decided to battle instead of leaving the gate.

“Hmm…”

Inebu indulged in the question of his colleague, Numek of Heliopolis, who was also a member of Nile and from the same division.

"It will be difficult."

They could tell that the Underdog was strong through the feeling they got in their bodies and their senses.

'He’s definitely stronger than what his accumulated experience would suggest. Unusually so.'

Because he also served as the one who gathered intelligence for Nile, he knew the Underdog better than any of the rest of them. He was a new character who emerged suddenly from the Hunter powerhouse, Korea. He had cleared the special gate called the Rhine River Gate, and rumors claimed that he was a super rookie who defeated a powerful guild called the Northern Army Guild by himself.

‘Was that guild master named Choi Yeong-Seong?’

Furthermore, according to the information he had obtained through a secret route, he had a close relationship with Heimdall, a central figure of Asgard.

‘They also said that Odin was immediately interested upon setting his eyes on him as well.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong was a special Hunter, but Inebu hadn’t quite figured out exactly why he was getting so much attention. However, it was clear that his uniqueness had attracted Odin’s attention in some way or form.

Considering that he had only been a Hunter for less than half a year, it was appropriate to say that he was overwhelming compared to the Hunters who were already well known. If Inebu was forced to choose someone to compare him to…

"Maybe at the level of the heads of the secret organization,” he muttered out loud.

“Wait, what?”

“It’s not that he’s that strong now, just that he has the potential for it in the future.”

“Inebu…” Numek said, taken aback. Even in Nile, Inebu’s position was high and cemented. His intelligence and analytical power made him unmatched.

So when he judged that the potential of the Underdog approached that of the heads of the secret organizations…

Inebu commented, “That’s why we stayed behind.”

It was clear that the remaining Hunters were also observing the Underdog for similar reasons in order to understand him properly. Judging by the aura he felt, Demetrios and Odysseus were coming soon.

An overwhelming Hero, and an overwhelming Hunter.

He wondered what sort of battle the Underdog, who had chosen to face Demetrios, would show them.

Thump.

For some reason, his heart began to race.

"It’s starting."

The Eyes of Osiris, a set of blue marbles, showed the battlefield. The Underdog was facing the boss of Catalyon Mountain, the giant lion, Catalyon.

Numek shouted, "Oh! Oh!"

At the same time, the Hunter called Jeong In-Chang, began to run with a greatsword.

***

"Take the right! I'll take the left!"

They were facing off against the boss of Catalyon Mountain.

[You have encountered Catalyon.]

[Your stats have been slightly lowered due to the intimidation emitted by Catalyon.]

[You have successfully resisted; the decrease in stats will be restored.]

[You have completed ‘The One Who Resists Pressure’ achievement.]

The boss was a lion the size of a five-story building. Its teeth were more enormous than a full-grown man, and its front paws as big as an SUV.

- Aaaaaaaaaah!

The whole mountain reverberated at its roar.

"Don’t forget! You can’t tire it out too much!”

"Understood!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang finally started running toward Catalyon. Jeong In-Chang dragged his greatsword along the ground as he dashed forward. On the other side, Lee Jun-Kyeong finally didn’t have to hold back and was able to use Reign of Fire.

Flicker!

The atmosphere of the battle heated up in an instant.

- I'll cover you.

Hyeon-Mu was floating around the battlefield. Its mission was simple.

Puhaat!

“Keugah!”

Whenever Jeong In-Chang or Lee Jun-Kyeong were about to be in danger, it would actively intervene and block the boss, even if only for a moment. The three of them acted in concert, and Jeong In-Chang landed a hit on Catalyon’s steel-like front leg, slicing it open.

Grind!

Whereas, at the same time, Muspel’s Spear pierced into its back.

Squelch!

"Blaze!”

When Lee Jun-Kyeong shouted, the embedded spear began to spew out flames.

"Aaaaaah!"

Catalyon screamed out in pain, swiping forth with its front paws while simultaneously bashing the ground. Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang were thrown away by the intense movement, and the flames on its waist had been extinguished.

Although Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t have any other skills, there was a simple reason why he was shouting out loud.

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> is satisfied and empowers your Authority of Fire.]

Because that punk liked it when he did stuff like this. He had been granted a temporary Authority.

[The level of Reign of Fire has been temporarily increased.]

Lee Jun-Kyeong’s flames would be stronger as long as his Sponsor was satisfied.

Flicker.

Like a haze, the fire blazing forth around Lee Jun-Kyeong was beginning to cause the forest to warp from the heat.

“Only tire it out slightly!” he commanded.

At this point, it was possible for them to take down Catalyon, but the timing wasn’t right. They couldn’t kill the boss yet; they were waiting for a certain punk.

‘He needs to come first.’

When Demetrios arrived, that would be when the real raid would begin. Until then…

“Our goal is to make it reach phase two!”

…Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang aimed to make the Catalyon Lion even more furious and lose control.

***

- Grahhhhhh!

A huge roar echoed across Catalyon Mountain—no, it echoed throughout the entire gate. All of the Hunters who had entered the gate understood that the boss battle had begun. However, there weren’t many surviving Hunters left, and most of them were either watching the battle itself or were in the process of escaping the gate.

As for the rest of them…

"Looks like it’s begun."

Demetrios held another dead Hunter in his grasp and had met many Hunters as he followed the trail of mana that Lee Jun-Kyeong had left behind. Every single one of them wound up becoming his prey.

"Looks like I should be grateful to them."

Thanks to the easy supply of prey, Demetrios slowly sank into a berserk fighting spirit and bloodlust that he had not felt in a long time.

George interjected, “Control it. We’ll reach the fight you always wanted soon.”

Demetrios retorted angrily, “Shut up.”

George's expression hardened.

'Is the madness starting?'

Demetrios was powerful enough to single-handedly destroy the Hunter collective, but that wasn’t the sole reason why Olympus had held him back. While he only killed for good reasons, the more he killed, the more he fell into madness.

That was the price he had to pay for his great power.

[<The One Who Tramples the Monsters> encourages you further.]

It was the tendency of the giant's Sponsor.

‘It can’t be…’

George felt a shiver go down his back. There was no way. Could the Underdog…

‘Does he know about this?’

Was that why he had made them meet other Hunters along the way, forcing Demetrios’ erosion into madness?

‘No. There’s no way he knows.’

Demetrios’ madness was a secret among secrets, even within Olympus. Even Odin of Asgard wouldn’t know this. There was no way that the Underdog would have done this knowingly.

However…

‘If, by chance, he does know…?’

On the off chance, it was all a trap… Another shudder went down George’s spine.

"Demetrios."

"What?" the giant snapped.

"Do you think you can hold onto your sanity?”

At George's sincere tone, Demetrios's red and bloodshot eyes began to return to their original light again.

"I told you, don't worry."

He tossed the corpse he was holding away and turned to George.

"I grew stronger too. I told you, I’m not controlled by the madness anymore."

George looked into Demetrios' eyes. Realizing that the giant’s words were true, he sighed in relief. It seemed as though he wouldn’t have to worry about the worst-case scenario.

"Is it now time for the main dish now?"

Demetrios began to exude an overwhelming amount of mana. Although he had been releasing it earlier, he hadn’t unleashed all of his power. His mana began to spread wildly around him. Demetrios was an overwhelming Hero and an even more overwhelming Hunter. He was one of the Heroes who supported Olympus.

‘He’s one of the few S-Rank Hunters in the world.’

That was Demetrios. He wasn’t the head of Olympus, but one day, he would rise to the top and fight for the world he envisioned.

“I’ll trust you,” George said to the fully powered Demetrios.

“I told you to trust me.”

Demetrios prepared for the battle while pumping his muscles and was ready to head to the final battle.

"Let's go."

Bang!

As Demetrios slammed the ground, the surrounded mana compressed to a single point, exploding with an incredible sound. A beast that could be compared to—no, a beast that was even stronger than Catalyon was climbing the mountain.

1. I’m assuming the name ??? is Egyptian, which the closest equivalent would be Inebu/Inbu (wall/fortress), which is part of a longer word Inbu-hedj(white wall/white fortress). Inebu-hedj was one of the nomes (administrative divisions) of Ancient Egypt. Its capital was Memphis.

2. This is referring to the madness of Heracles that Hera had placed on him for being the bastard child of Zeus. He ended up killing his wife and children, which led him to undergo the Twelve Labors of Heracles. The first labor was slaying the Nemean Lion.