Part 2, Episode 173.
Queen of the Nymphs, Aridna.
She was the most famous NPC in Elanis, and also the most secretly hidden NPC.
And in games, NPCs with these conditions are usually bound to attract the attention of users.
Lucia was a prime example of this.
The greatest and most brilliant hero in the history of the Nymphs. Combat power comparable to the Seven Rivers.
Why?
After all, if you grab any nymph and ask her about her, she will give you a long speech about her greatness.
How strong and great a hero she was.
However, since no one has actually witnessed it, its exact strength is unknown, and some even ranked it lower than the Seven Greats…
That opinion completely vanished because of this incident.
Was her spectacular return quite impressive, considering she was known to be missing but effectively dead?
It was to the point where opinions were circulating that it might even be superior to Chilgang.
“Since they say the King of Fist, Gradit, was her disciple, that’s possible. Not that a disciple has to be weaker than their master, though.”
There is a reason why the saying “the student surpasses the teacher” exists.
While it appears that being a disciple was quite a long time ago, Lucia would have remained in her original state due to being sealed away for a long time, so perhaps the King of Power is stronger.
In any case, it was preposterous to compare the strength of the King of Power and Lucia, whom they had never even met.
It would be better to compare him to the Sword Emperor.
“I don’t really get a sense of that either. Neither of us has ever given it our all, after all…”
Well, that didn’t matter at all.
The important thing right now is why I said this…
In her case, the latter’s share was larger.
A peerless beauty
It is an adjective that always follows her.
It is said that if this were a martial arts world, she would have been given titles such as the most beautiful woman in the world or the most beautiful woman of all time.
Even when I actually saw an elf, there were videos on YouTube about the elf’s beauty and prank videos of confessions, etc.
All kinds of content received so much attention that they achieved 100 million views.
There may be several reasons for the high view count, but the biggest reason was, of course, the elf’s ‘beauty’.
But is there a beauty whom even such an elf can’t compare to?
That beauty is even the Queen of the Nymphs?
Just how pretty is she?
“There are elves in Elanis. So you’re saying you’re prettier than the elves? Is that even possible?”
Come to think of it, there are female human NPCs who are just as pretty as elves, so wouldn’t that be possible?
“Still, the feeling is different. Do the most beautiful woman in the Empire and the most beautiful woman in Elanis give off the same vibe?”
“Wow, now that you mention it, you’re right. You’re basically saying they’re going to devour all the elves.”
Naturally, users couldn’t help but go crazy for it.
Especially male users.
Of course, unfortunately, it had to stop at mere interest because the nymphs, including her representative Alowin, put up an airtight defense.
Just as one person wants to do something even more when told not to.
Rather, users became even more curious due to the blocking of this information.
Even now, you can still see comments about her appearance on the website at least once a day.
There were people who went beyond mere guessing and drew pictures based entirely on their imagination. There were even those who made them in 3D.
Although their features were all different, he had depicted women of tremendous beauty who could all be called peerless beauties.
Appearances heavily filled with the creator’s personal bias, as if being merely beautiful is all that matters.
The only similarities are that they are incredibly beautiful, and perhaps considering they are nymphs, their appearance was closer to that of a human than an elf.
It is still a famous anecdote that some crazy user in God of Savior copied that picture and asked the nymphs if they were prettier than this.
But what is also funny is that when the elderly nymph heard that question, she reportedly answered with an endlessly serious face like this.
Of course. Her beauty is truly a product of God.
In fact, for Dohyun, who had actually seen her while she was asleep, it was a remark he only half-agreed with.
Well, it is pretty in person, but is it really that good?
But at this very moment.
Dohyeon had no choice but to withdraw that thought.
Ding-
[Encountered the Nymph Queen, ‘Aridna’.]
Holding her beautiful, jade-like hands, the woman I saw up close… …
“… … Hmm. It’s pretty.”
Because it is beautiful enough to make the NPCs’ fuss understandable.
If there were a goddess of beauty, would she be like this?
Mysterious yet beautiful eyes that seem to hold starlight. Pure white skin and hair that sways as if bathed in moonlight. A tiny face with long, slender limbs.
It is simply amazing how such a prominent nose and distinct features fit entirely into that small face.
The appearance of a beautiful woman, as if sculpted by God with intent.
‘her.’
At that, Dohyeon was left speechless.
‘Is this the same person… … no, is this really a nymph?’
It was because her appearance was completely different from when she was asleep.
It wasn’t just a change that occurred because I regained my vitality upon opening my eyes.
It was just a completely different face.
It wasn’t just their faces that were different; their body types and heights were also completely different.
Why do you look at it that way?
“……No. Um, is this your real appearance right now?”
“Ah! Lord Kaiser, you must have seen me asleep. That’s right. I set up a perception-disrupting barrier just in case.”
“Perception obstruction?”
“Um… because Allowin actively pushed for it.”
He glanced at Alowin and nodded.
He was the one who woke up the Nymph Queen after handling work without resting as soon as he was rescued yesterday.
Even though he looked visibly exhausted, he nodded with such a resolute expression that I could feel his determination not to accept any rebuttal.
“Yes. The Queen’s appearance is dangerous, after all. Since I will also be busy in my role as her representative, this was a necessity, not a choice.”
“ah.”
Dohyeon also agreed to that.
Aridna’s true form was certainly dangerous.
Because that was beauty that transcended this world.
If it was enough to make one understand why the saying that one sells out the country for a woman is circulating for no reason, then that says it all.
This was also the reason Dohyeon reacted somewhat awkwardly, even though he knew it was an NPC.
The owner is a man, a man.
“… … Shut up. I was just flustered because I didn’t expect it.”
“Hmm, she is certainly a peerless beauty. Even the most stunning beauties of the past empire would feel insignificant standing before her.”
Anyway, that wasn’t the important thing right now.
Why did they call me? They wouldn’t have called me just to say thank you.
To make matters worse, this is Dohyeon, who got logged out yesterday without even seeing his reward.
After enduring a day that dragged on terribly, I still haven’t been able to check my rewards because I was dragged into Aloween as soon as I logged in today.
It didn’t look like just one, but several…
I desperately wanted to check this first, but I ended up in this situation because I was called so earnestly.
Still, I was able to hear the things I had been secretly curious about on the way here.
Where the NPCs that went missing from Alloween’s Mansion went.
“Something like, they put it into the Eye of the Abyss to use when they conquered Elanis.”
The Eye of the Abyss mentioned here referred not to the genuine Eye of the Abyss, but to an artificially created imitation Eye of the Abyss.
They say they were able to escape because the hostile forces—including Behemoth, Batan, and the invaders—were all killed, causing the magic energy that needed to be supplied to the Eye of the Abyss to disappear.
Alowin’s complexion was still pale, as he had been drained of vitality while trapped there.
Even if waking the Queen up is one thing, the fact that she called me immediately when she looks like she needs a rest suggests there must be something important to do.
“……Your Majesty. You must not overexert yourself yet. Although preservation magic has been cast, your body has weakened considerably, so you must preserve your health.”
But I really wanted to thank you in person.
Having answered that way, Aridna met Dohyeon’s eyes and spoke in a sincere voice.
“Thank you so much, Kaiser. For saving Elanis. And for saving our people.”
She was sincerely grateful.
More than for saving his own life, for saving the people who had struggled to save him even at the moment he was sealed away.
Dohyeon also smiled back at that sincere heart.
It was something that had to be done. I also received something from Lucia.
Dohyeon, who had been saying that, asked as if something had suddenly occurred to him.
“Come to think of it, what happened to Lady Rucia?”
“Uh, I just woke up too, so I don’t know the details…”
“I will answer that, Your Majesty.”
Alowin, who had been listening silently, naturally took over the baton.
“Since Lady Lucia returned after such a long absence and achieved great feats… she has retired.”
“……yes?”
… … What does that mean?
How on earth did things end up leading to such a conclusion?
At Dohyeon’s reaction, which seemed to ask what kind of nonsense he was talking about, Allowin burst into hearty laughter and continued speaking.
“He said he feels uncomfortable because people talk to him too much wherever he goes. It seems he won’t come out of the forest until things calm down a bit.”
“……I see. It certainly would be tiring to walk around right now.”
“That is certainly true. Didn’t you make such a spectacular entrance?”
Jihad tilted his head in puzzlement at the words the two exchanged as if they were empathizing.
-Hmm, is that so? I actually like getting attention… Why would anyone dislike that?
-Lizarija.
Not everyone is like you. Sometimes, too much attention can be poison.
-Hmm… … .
For Jihad, who had expected more attention but had the spotlight stolen by others, it was a situation he simply could not understand.
It was when we were exchanging updates on various things.
“Ahem. Um… Lord Kaiser.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
Alowin, who had been uncharacteristically wary of the situation, cautiously broke the silence, and Dohyeon, sensing that the inevitable had finally arrived, answered immediately.
And that prediction was exactly right.
“Actually, while I did want to express my gratitude, there is one more reason why I called you, Kaiser.”
“What is it?”
“It is none other than that, but it is said that Her Majesty the Queen saw something when she woke up. Something that could not be distinguished as a dream or reality.”
“……Is it a lucid dream?”
“……They are similar, but different.”
Aridna interrupted with a somewhat stiff face.
“Everyone thinks I only have clairvoyance, but I actually have another ability. To be precise, it is an ability I gained after becoming Queen.”
“Surely not?”
“Yes. The dream I had this time. That isn’t a dream. It is something that will happen in the future.”
The queen, having said that, slowly opened her tightly closed eyes.
“I… can see the future. In the form of fragmentary scenes.”
“…….”
Ding-ding-
It was then that the notification rang.
Seeing the notifications ringing one after another, it was clear that a feast of countless messages was unfolding.
Hana Dohyeon could not fully concentrate on him.
“This future… was so bleak. It felt like witnessing the destruction of the world. Colossal presences dominating the skies and the seething darkness of the abyss beneath the earth… and even the destroyed nature. It was truly horrific.”
It was because what she said immediately afterward was quite shocking.
“And in the center of that stage…… I saw Lord Kaiser.”
