Chapter 193 …
– The strangest NPC in Pratel?
Ranked 9,871 in Gods of the World (GoW).
A skilled player who proudly stood among the High Rankers.
But rather than his skill, he was more famous for his nickname “Adventure King”—one of the biggest eccentric players in GoW.
Barion.
– There’s no need to think about it. Obviously, it’s Luriel.
In an interview after achieving Rank 1 in the Fourth Trial, Barion was asked which NPC he found the most strange and unique.
Without the slightest hesitation, he chose the wandering NPC Luriel.
– That stuck-up brat… no, girl… she’s different in every way.
“Different how?”
“Are you seriously asking that? Hey, Mr. Reporter, what do you think wandering NPCs usually are?”
“Uh… well…”
Normally, wandering NPCs fall into a few typical roles:
Weak “beggar” characters
NPCs who secretly provide hidden information
Traveling merchants selling hidden materials
Because of that, wandering NPCs were usually one of two things:
Important NPCs that give hidden pieces (hidden quests)
Completely useless NPCs who sometimes even harm players
But Luriel was neither.
– If it’s a young wandering NPC, they’re usually a beggar or someone who gives a hidden quest. But she’s neither. She’s as strong as a Knight Commander, yet all she does is beat up players. What’s even the point of that?
But the strange thing didn’t end there.
The real peculiarity was how Luriel herself was treated.
– Everyone knows Luriel exists, yet no one knows who she actually is. Even the NPC residents there don’t know. Does that make any sense?
She had all kinds of strange traits, yet no player or NPC knew her true identity.
Because of that, Barion became convinced of something.
– My instincts are screaming. That woman definitely has something going on. I just can’t figure out what it is. Damn it.
Barion believed that Luriel held some kind of secret.
News about the mysterious NPC—even the Adventure King Barion couldn’t uncover her secret—spread widely.
And that became the reason many players started picking fights with Luriel.
Of course, they all ended up getting beaten up without learning anything.
Flash!
[The will of the dormant Magic King awakens.]
[The will of the Ancient Human Magic King, ‘Lucir El Reyhard’, manifests.]
So Luriel was the king of ancient humanity…
And now—
Luriel’s true identity was finally being revealed.
Through the Main Quest.
No wonder nobody could figure it out…
Even Barion, the Adventure King, had never obtained the Main Quest.
Currently, Dohyun was the only player in GoW progressing through it, so it was natural that no one else could discover Luriel’s identity.
Even Dohyun himself had never imagined it.
So how could other players possibly know?
But… is this even possible?
An ancient human king wandering around as an NPC?
If that was possible, why were the other kings hiding somewhere and manifesting only their wills?
That question was quickly answered.
[The will of the Ancient Human Magic King ‘Lucir El Reyhard’ descends into the familiar ‘Luriel’.]
So this is like possession… no, more like descent.
“Sometimes when a saint or saintess has extremely high divine power, a god descends into them temporarily. It seems to be a similar phenomenon, my lord.”
“Lizari…”
Because Luriel herself was not the Magic King.
She was merely a familiar.
That makes sense.
If she had truly been the Magic King, there was no way she would only possess Knight Commander-level strength.
If she was a familiar:
It explained why nobody knew her identity
Why a young girl possessed Knight Commander-level power
Why she held the important role of Prophet
Thinking about it, Pratel had an unusually large number of magical devices.
Perhaps that was connected to her.
Just as Dohyun was considering that—
[So you are the descendant chosen by Kasiyar.]
Luriel—no, Magic King Lucir—looked at Dohyun with glowing blue eyes.
Just that alone made it hard to breathe.
Even though she was merely possessing a familiar’s body, the pressure was immense.
This must be what Refias was talking about.
When standing before a top-tier mage NPC, players felt a strange sensation they never experienced in reality.
A peculiar feeling unique to GoW.
It was mana.
Refias, the strongest Cryomancer, once described meeting the Blue Magic Tower Master like this:
“An invisible force felt like it was squeezing my entire body. I knew instantly that I could never win.”
Feeling something like that was one of the charms of GoW.
It made players feel as if they had truly entered a fantasy world.
But this… this isn’t just squeezing.
Lucir was on a completely different level.
It wasn’t just pressure on the body—
It felt like the entire space was being crushed by immense magic power.
Truly the pinnacle of those who walked the path of magic.
At least Dark King level… no, maybe even higher.
Compared to Dark King Har, the feeling was different.
When facing Har, it felt like sharp blades were aimed at your vital points.
With Lucir—
It felt like mana itself filled the entire space.
An immeasurable ocean of magical power.
“L-Liz…”
“Ugh… I never get used to meeting these so-called kings.”
“Hmm…”
Even Dohyun felt tense.
Sensitive to energy, Jihad and Eliza had already hidden behind him.
Even Charlie let out a low groan.
No matter how many times they experienced it, they couldn’t get used to it.
Yet in contrast to the overwhelming aura—
Lucir’s voice was cold and calm.
[I’ve never seen Kasiyar properly handle anything. That guy does everything based on his mood. How could anyone trust him with something important? Don’t you agree?]
“…That’s true.”
Dohyun could only nod.
The brief moment he had met Kasiyar—
The man had truly seemed like a street thug.
[It’s always been lamentable that such a man is humanity’s hope. But what can we do? Humanity’s fate was decided that way.]
“….”
[So what do you think? Since fate decided it, should we simply follow his choice?]
Dohyun couldn’t bring himself to answer.
Fortunately, Lucir didn’t seem to expect one.
[As a safeguard, I had Luriel measure the qualifications of the chosen descendant. It’s a very important task for humanity.]
“What happens if someone doesn’t meet the standard?”
[Then they should be cut off without hesitation. Only those who possess the qualifications can bear responsibility for power.]
She smiled lightly while saying something chilling.
Then she shrugged.
[Though I’d like to do that… unfortunately, once a descendant is chosen, they cannot be replaced.]
“Ah…”
[Don’t relax. I can simply refuse to give you the fragment. If you want it, you must pass my test.]
Ding—
A message appeared.
[Main Quest ‘Fourth Fragment of Fate’ has been cleared.]
[Linked Main Quest ‘Trial of the Magic King’ has begun.]
[If you fail to meet the Magic King’s standards, you cannot obtain the Fourth Fragment of Fate.]
[If you wish to obtain the Fragment of Fate, you must pass her standards.]
Now Dohyun understood why the Dark King had warned him it would be troublesome.
This was the first time an ancient king gave a midterm exam.
A midterm exam… Seriously?
It felt like he had been tricked.
But Lucir’s reasoning wasn’t wrong.
And whether he liked it or not—
She was the one giving the reward.
So he had no choice but to comply.
Arguing might even cause him to lose the Main Quest entirely.
[Trial of the Magic King]
Rank: Main Quest, Job Quest
Description:
Lucir El Reyhard, the brilliant Magic King of ancient humanity.
With her cautious and strict personality, she has long disliked Kasiyar’s methods.
Their opinions frequently clashed, and this is another such case.
Pass her trial and gain her recognition.
Quest Success:
Obtain the complete Fourth Fragment of Fate
Receive rewards from the Magic King depending on performance
Quest Failure:
Postponed until the Magic King is satisfied
Time Limit: None
Fortunately, the quest wasn’t completely unfair.
It’s basically a grind quest anyone can clear eventually.
Even if you failed the standard, the quest wouldn’t disappear.
You simply had to keep trying until you satisfied her.
That was somewhat reassuring—
But Dohyun’s situation wasn’t great.
The Hero Guild will definitely try to interfere.
Now that he had openly clashed with them,
If he stayed here too long, they might sabotage him.
He was confident—
But the best option was passing immediately.
And he believed he could.
Before Lucir appeared, Luriel had already said he passed her test.
[Let’s see your qualifications.]
Lucir raised her hand.
Using both index fingers, she drew the shape of a book in the air.
Soft light followed the lines—
And a glowing book appeared.
[Magic King ‘Lucir El Reyhard’ is evaluating your qualifications.]
[Evaluation based on your Main Quest completion process and results.]
[Rewards will be determined according to performance.]
[Failing scores require a retest.]
Then she opened the book.
Flap—flap—flap—
The pages began flipping at a crazy speed.
One page.
Two pages.
Ten.
Twenty.
[…What?]
[Impossible. This many results meeting the standard? Some even exceed it…!]
The pages flipped so quickly they were hard to follow—
Until they reached the final page.
FLASH!
[All of the Magic King’s tests have been passed with perfect scores.]
[5 categories exceeded the standard.]
[Out of 12 categories, 7 achieved full marks and 5 exceeded the standard.]
[You passed her trials with overwhelming results.]
[Highest rewards granted.]
[Existing rewards upgraded to the next tier.]
Huh?
Something unexpected happened.
[Linked Main Quest ‘Trial of the Magic King’ has been cleared.]
[Reward: Two Legendary-grade items obtained.]
[Title acquired: ‘Two Legends at Once?’]
[Recorded in the Adventure Log.]
…Wait, seriously?
He had just received two Legendary rewards.
