Chapter 145: Mag Mell, The Island of Treasures (1)
hfnp“…”AZmRu
5q4Around 2 weeks ago, was it? I was shocked by Marie’s work efficiency when I received the certificate of appointment for Grade 2 Justice of the Peace by post.61oVYdK
nnr2MBut what I certainly wasn’t expecting, was that today, I would be called to the city hall for a promotion and a word of gratitude for all my contribution to society.7504aK
Nj1What did I even do to earn a promotion? What? I arrested a bunch of criminals?8kAKh
KX64tNTo make things worse, the criminals that were supposedly arrested by me were put on display like trophies for everyone to see. Were there no human rights in this country…?Ajd
45g0Fn“Uahhkk! Korin Lorrrrk! You damned personification of a hero of justiceeee!”St957
HXyp9r“Can’t believe you foresaw my evil plan and prevented it! Impressive! The justice of this country will surely last forever with you around!”52ufC7b
rntsf“…Why the heck are these guys here?”3CAAhf
V5RT2The wanted criminals that could be arrested in ❰Heroic Legends of Arhan❱ when completing a quest line as a bounty hunter were there, screaming their guts out.qcZB
f5jAll of them were saying that they were caught by me.UQW
ryTxTydMe? When did I do this?DcjtM
zHVOl2“Congratulations, Korin! You’ll be a Grade 1 Justice of the Peace from today!”QFLZM2F
8S8gqZDI turned to the princess of the Potato Empire, who was probably the cause of all this. Looking at her giving me a steamed potato with a wide smile on her face after casting sugar on it, it was very difficult, or rather impossible to imagine all the things she must have done behind the curtains, but…FabO
5Hw1“Haa…”4ijL
VJuRM0C“Hehe. Do you want some potatoes?”oOsM
19myiQ“Maybe if you feed me.”g8Y
0TY2boI“Ahh~”ZJjLOK6
tcbAhh, whatever. I’ll just gratefully receive it.eu6vV
WCX“Kuhum.”AXYf7
iRtN4In any case, the reason I wanted to be a Justice of the Peace was because they had an undeniable authority. With just one license card that granted the emergency judging rights and the investigation authority, it was possible to temporarily have the power of the central government which was impossible for normal guardians.FnSS
I5b8Even though guardians might be incredibly strong, they were closer to mercenaries if anything.YFc
jgruiBecause they were considered wandering mercenaries under the mercenary group called the Alliance, they were separate from the central government and didn’t have much say but that wasn’t the case for JPs. Although it was common for guardians to become a Justice of the Peace, it was a status granted by the government with actual rights and authority.g90DUZ
8qgJgFor example, Lunia was in charge of maintaining the peace of the Eastern border and was also an invited instructor of the Royal Knights.lr6A
9K7WShe had a proper status and role, meaning her authority far exceeded that of a normal mercenary.TwdBKE
7Y2dQQ6Things would be different now that I was a JP. For example, Count Casseus, who possessed the castle that previously belonged to Sebancia Duke, would have told the player to capture the Sea Serpent and complete chores like dealing with the problems of the town before progressing with the quest, but if I was there as the Justice of the Peace, I could simply command him to cooperate with the public affair.3be4nvZ
PNq“Ehew~”1Zn2m
MJdYZZ“Huh? Korin? What’s wrong?”fTPyfT
GPiT“No, I was just thinking… that Senior Marie, you’re like a big bucket of good fortune~.”ynCv9L
VuOOsy6“R, really? I, I can give you more though. Are you interested in being a lord—”ctUjXN
YebU1Uz“Stop! Senior! You need to control your pace! If you’re like that all the time, you could be thrown away after you give away everything you have!”puTJ3W
aMqD7M“Will you though?”sa3jH
5Wd“No, like, I won’t but…”lMn
626vGSeWhatever the case, this lady needed a break.7bwfehB
BW6y“Next time, please talk to me first before you do something like this.”imIc3X
nVU“No!”K1iA0kS
bQF1N“Ehng?”3b0A
C6rgu2GIt was a very firm refusal. I was shocked for a bit, because of how rare it was for Marie to be so resolute with saying no.0pV
MCgvm“I want to… give before I think!”wXxMp5
YCkcZ“But why…”t7j9Tt
rJry75“Hehe. It feels good to receive surprise gifts, right?”BxCNbg
FtU1sTWMarie said with a bright smile on her face, but she seemed unwilling to back down.fwv
4fd“Let’s have some fun with just us two, and sleep together, okay?”qIy8Z
9552v“…”2h5FFVv
DhUrFine. Whatever…0pIQ
243****JVuGgO5
BJ25Inside the chairman’s office were Hua Ran, Alicia, Marie, and I.yeDThz
PudmJq“From today, you will be entering Mag Mell.”HMnY
NOvtxXBThe Treasury of the Danann,『Mag Mell』.Zkl01E4
RiBXgwnIt was the place that contained the dormant treasures of the Danann, which the players could enter with their party members to continue Erin Danua’s legacy after her death.Qwg
VxqhWTBut this time around, Erin Danua was still alive, meaning Valtazar’s subjects wouldn’t be able to enter Mag Mell.WNw
9sVZp“I have a question. What kind of place is Mag Mell?”zVDxz
kNluNAlicia shot her hand up to ask a question. Because of all the preparations we needed to make after founding our Guardians Guild, we didn’t have much time to discuss Mag Mell, hence her question.Fwgl
dboEdp“Mag Mell contains the treasures of the distant mythical gods. In there… are the remnant thoughts and minds of the ones that used to be referred to as gods.”krpAYx9
fnkDJEven though Master had inherited everything as the Queen of Paradise, it wasn’t like she directly owned all the treasures and items.GTRqIRm
XZZJ8YThere were some like the 4 great treasures of the Danann, which were hidden in various secret lands. Master didn’t bother going around gathering all those treasures in order to respect the elders of the past.hMS
4upHsAEMag Mell, the Treasury of the Danann, was one such example.eXotL
JtL“There, you are to find the items left behind by the gods… or receive their gifts. Not all of you might obtain one though.”o5c1QMz
rzs“Can’t we just grab it?”qNt2l
d3Iez“You will see once you get there. It’s not something I can help you with either.”aVM38
GSG8After saying that, she started writing our names on the board.3Sot0l
a62Kaca“The first ones to enter will be you four, Korin, Marie, Alicia, and Hua Ran. The other guardians will enter eventually, but you will be going first. Are you ready?”YS2U10
MGffS0A“Woah, so I’m going with Mr. Korin?”dwXx
0dt19s“It shouldn’t be too difficult with Korin around.”enwxe
0noNUx“…”lENa
gLyEFThe three of them turned their eyes to me with trust.zWQ
GSJ7That’s… not how it works though.C2LiMO
iUg“Now! Let’s get moving! Clara?”ckyz
volCX“Yes, Chairman.”kUB2u8b
QRVuQXkLady Josephine took us yet again to another dimension. We were familiar with the process because we had been training in the Shadow Paradise for the past few weeks but this time, our destination was different.MryAcX
eB91ZThe place we arrived in wasn’t the flat and barren wasteland of gloom that we were used to.IXgsv
WKvCnGb“Huh? Light?”vPN0
b0EaDc“Ugh, this is too bright…!”7FlaLCq
TPyXWKgAs always, there was no sun in this world.oO8lGbL
7in4CFThere were dark clouds in the sky but the surroundings were bright – a seemingly paradoxical sight at a glance.2kQjg
DM8FMCmThe ocean waves were in turmoil while the treasures and gems scattered around were giving off light to brighten up the world around them.xkngO6e
Wfs“It really is an island of… treasures.”7M0eq
t9s6“To think there was a place like this…”9NnLv
y5E3“…”TbsKPu
yJzvQsiIsland of Treasures, Mag Mell; a complete paradise and one of the fragments of Tir na Nog. The master of this place… wasn’t Erin.moFM
g8BK“I will wait for you guys here. You need to proceed deeper into the island, and ‘they’ will come out to greet you.”mv5
y5kDqIn the last iteration, it was Lady Josephine doing the explanation but this time, it was from Master. Just like what Lady Josephine said in the last iteration, Master gave the same warning as she sent us off on the sandy shore with churning waves in the background.y8yHzC
DvICN7“You must never… never be intoxicated with happiness.”koQyv2h
H4E………jcyKGQ
k6M……cl7i
rkykOg…X0T
JDi9As we went deeper into Mag Mell, the Island of Treasures, the layer of fog that seeped out from the center of the island turned thicker and thicker.RYtb
yhj“Ugh… Mr. Korin. This place gives me goosebumps!”Xlo
Rxxrp“M, me too…”I0dPFW
g4kUnlike me, who had seen this place in the game and the last iteration, Alicia and Marie seemed frightened as they each wrapped their arms around mine.cXn
QBjLWeren’t they a lot stronger than me without my Precept activated though? Frankly speaking, I was the weakest one here without Claiomh Solais and yet here they were, relying on me instead of themselves…T5wim
zsQpNd“…”68s4
yysHua Ran, who had been marching forward with large strides with no fear thanks to her overwhelming defense, suddenly turned around and threw me a glance. When forming a party with Hua Ran, she tended to be the vanguard and that was the same this time around.wD5GufE
4mD“It’s scary.”J8VG
CYT“Huh?”jTQy613
UCX2vzu“Scary.”wyc
h3WRkYou have the most indifferent look in the world on your face. What do you even mean?BvNjD9U
JSeTZWi“Sca… Ran says she’s scared.”NeRH
ysI“Ah, I see…”JpEgrmK
3w6Z1That made sense; their feelings might be different despite sharing the same body.Eyq
ZYABut both of my arms were occupied already because of Alicia and Marie…uC6
x3mKjxV“Nn? In that case, Miss Hua Ran, you can hold Senior Marie’s hand!”gDIuZJ
Uunk6C4“What?”S1RHd
HAw“Huh?”IeW
m437WAlicia grabbed Hua Ran, who had a befuddled look on her face, and placed her hand on top of Marie’s.8eoY
BqID“…”d775tS
qZTJB7“…”S842A4g
B4Gl“If we all hold hands like this, I’m sure it won’t be scary!”arG
3PBfWe were walking forward hand-in-hand in groups of two when Alicia grumbled a complaint while shivering from the cold mist.Vu21
AjOqiV“Ugh… I hate this spooky feeling…”Q0tNn
Lcq“I’ve never seen you have a problem with demonic spirits though?”Vsp6B4
QZdzb“Cutting demonic spirits is one thing. I just don’t like this kind of atmosphere!”naMGm
G51ybS“Well… Anyway, you can’t treat the spirits here like demonic spirits.”H8AM
bI80IL“Mr. Korin, do you… know something about this place?” Alicia asked.avx6
t2cDDVN“This is the resting abode of the gods. Technically, it’s closer to an assembly of the remnant minds of gods, but you get the point.”TCCGjFv
VtKRather than ghosts and demonic spirits, it was most accurate to see this as the place that contained the ‘history of gods’.zR1G
DeLJust like how humans went to heaven or hell after death, gods remained behind at Mag Mell upon death. They did exist here, but it was more correct to say that their existence had been recorded down here, instead of saying that they were alive.Nfda
1OyZvjAt least that was the impression I received when I saw the Danann in Mag Mell in the last iteration.7D1ziL
vdp“At the start, we have to work together as a team but each and every one of us needs to work hard as well.”x63AftF
vA7HGWJThe method of obtaining a treasure from Mag Mell was simple.3KrIQeZ
df1s3NRoam around the island with three party members and meet one of the Danann of this place. They would give trials or ask questions in stages, and the number of people that could take the next trial depended on how many were able to survive the previous one.M21SSLI
WsjFor example, if 1 person failed at Stage 1, only 3 people were allowed to attend Stage 2 onwards.54qe
IKOfsxR“It’s important to pass the first trial. Not only does it have the lowest difficulty, but it also affects the difficulty of the next stage. It gets harder if more people fail Stage 1.”dc0pW
UQrz“Really?”uD3p
dWL8A5tBecause of that, the old-timers of the game tended to immediately load the previous game data and start over if the other characters apart from the player failed their trials. If the player failed the trial, they would be immediately kicked out of Mag Mell, but if the non-playable characters failed the trial, then that increased the overall difficulty of the next trials.ZajY5U7
nEvnxE0That was why the players aimed for 100% perfection with Stage 1, and looked to start over if two or more failed Stage 2.c6sCS4
pP23Y“Umm… Korin. Can I ask something?”JOcnc
4qyT1Turning around, I saw Hua Ran and Marie looking our way after letting go of each other’s hands. Weren’t you guys scared?LlXPdCa
Y3uaBI“What’s that thing you’ve been carrying the whole time?”pm7
5dxVp“You mean this?”UjdLZ
XuUHWvkWith a grin, I showed off the basket on my back.iK2kI
bxvyRBs“Huhu. This is what will let us meet the gods we want.”H8qiY
Z3MsSGThis place was where you received trials from gods, and each of these trials were different and it depended on the characteristics, personality, and mythology of the random god you encountered.Z8xUrA
h5gHwcThat was why the ‘items that were related to the gods’ were important.9W8qq1
5ePpRvIt was because the gods showed more intrigue at the ones that carried around items that were related to themselves. The thing I was carrying behind me was none other than the [Head of the Hundred-legged Four-headed monster, Mata], which was beaten to death by the great King of Gods, Dagda.567cPA7
UkcFvcBy the way, the trials given by Dagda were along the lines of, ‘Go catch some of this,’ and ‘Cook some delicious food,’ so he was very well known among the forums for being the easiest god.KDF
BiOZ“Huhuhuhu…”i8yXE
1fjMarie, Hua Ran, and Alicia… All of them were superhumans with exceptional combat power. They would easily be able to pass Dagda’s first trial…!HtUSDr
snX—————nepiTa
JuyOy—————B8a5
otEQD—————UOZjmT
0GL2h7bAfter advancing through the island for who knows how long, the mist suddenly turned incomparably thick as it covered our sight.rKlt48
9Tcwak0The three girls were confused but I had been expecting this to happen the whole time.AMgjVD
0Q6gfvAWhat came next would be a 1-on-1 encounter with Dagda. Even though that old man had a fiery temperament, he was a generous one so this was going to be great!DHJI
SnmJE-Diding~!DFr
nyXFrom within the thick layer of fog that concealed the three girls, the melody of a beautiful instrument started to flow into my ears.U21Z3
VZwKxF“An instrument?”UVS
6fNCFDagda, that old man, did own a harp. After all, his third trial was about retrieving the harp that was stolen by the giants.ZFq
YWqLulu~lu Lala~bdZSk
XB4kThe clear and beautiful voice that followed the instrument was so sweet and wonderful that it could bewitch any living being, and yet it also contained the saddest melody… Huh? Wait, this wasn’t the voice of Old Man Dagda, was it?q5vpkOj
AtjfP0“…”vLmM
EnTlGiII walked forward under the guidance of the melody as the voice and the instrument became clearer over time. Soon, the fog dissipated, revealing a golden harp with a beautiful luster.KzjRM
AbMHa6“Fuckkkk…”8IwE01
TlYFYo“Welcome, visitor. A hero who has come for a trial. I am Mac Ind Og… The son of youth and the God of Love, Oengus.”dn2jIm
Hfg8It wasn’t Dagda.foTMA
slWDtwDThe beautiful youth with fancy blonde hair looked at me with a smile.ZCu
X0h“Why…”tz9
kP6n“That monster head you have with you. It’s actually a trophy of my father and a present which he had given us siblings. Aiya~. It brought back good memories, you see.”eL2K2
ffXGCWhy would you give something like that as a gift to your son? Was he a psychopath? I guess he had too many children because of his adulterous personality.ri2EU
NBjQHow can a man leave aside his lifelong partner and have affairs left and right?cCeqwvT
hDF9tFIn any case, I had taken the Mata’s head in order to meet Dagda, but if Dagda had given the heads to his children as a gift… it wasn’t strange for the children to also show interest in these heads, but…jJMDzS
VMws‘Huu… it’s alright. It’s a little different from what I had planned, but things have never gone well for me anyway. Plans are there to be broken, right?’G37I
f7FCRegardless, it was true that I was a bit concerned. A trial of the God of Love… what kind of trial was this god called Oengus going to give out?MIQDxEd
m9rj7I had no idea because there was no such god called Oengus that appeared in the game in the first place. There were only five gods including Dagda that came out in the game, but that was clearly no longer the case.KZt7
jHk616“Anyway! The fact that you have come here means that young Danann of Justice, the Goddess of Heroes has sent you here, yes? I’m sure you are aware, but we do not readily give treasures that could turn normal people into heroes.”OX68h
sSGL“…Haa. I am aware. What trial are you going to give us?”bN13izH
Fg0vgY“Simply put, it’s a contest between you and the three beautiful ladies.”wJNse
ZyPMJ“Sorry?”i1CRS
ADzfIt was hard to tell what exactly the content of the trial was going to be, but all the mythological gods were like this. Dagda was the only exception that did not beat around the bush, and the other gods that came out in the game all spoke of gibberish that confused the player.i03sG3x
mKo“Haa, but if it’s those three…”vN5S
uqy2Objectively speaking, those girls were a lot better than me. It might be difficult for all three of them to pass but… Maybe two of them could pass at least.QQkMbQ
YM4OHonestly, I had a feeling that all of them would succeed except for Alicia.dff
fcCjY63“Ah, looks like my explanation wasn’t enough. The main figure of this trial is not me, but you.”3GpqTG
hsC“Huh?”f920HH
Xxt“You would lose your memories for a bit but… Well, I wish you all the best.”T4tr
ik6KS“Hnn?”NXl
t3JSZ-Diring~LqF
bNr1The harp played once as my vision started to fade.IKty9lw
OV7IThe main figure of the trial is me? What did that even mean?U5e
Fav12Time flew by.GumRp
bj7After who knows how long, my vision turned clear again, revealing Oengus and the dumbstruck look on his face.wAd
RXir“…Young man. You are quite the man.”q4V
G6y“Ugh… What do you mean by that?”rdbnF
ND0xc“You have passed the first trial. I certainly wasn’t expecting such overwhelming results. You have truly enlightened this me, the Danann of Love.”Tkf
KQe“Passed? What have I even done to…”2Na0hF
Rqo“By the way, the three girls have failed. Aiya~ that was a complete defeat on their part.”qIAw
FzYxbM“…What?”U3n
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