MDPS 42🔐

Chapter 42

My Dark History is Too Strong

Episode 8 Update (3)

The Elven Fortress.

Its overwhelming size and majesty left the media representatives and major guilds gaping in awe.

“Wow… what even is this.”
“Just the atmosphere alone feels dangerous.”

The fortress towered high between blackened, twisted trees.
A pale fog drifted among the branches, and black ash endlessly fell from the ashen sky.

It was as if the final moments of the World Tree, scorched by the Witch of the End, had been recreated here.

Fully armed elves stood among the trees, watching the humans with sharp vigilance.

In that heavy atmosphere, Radiance Guild Master Yoon Haejun stepped forward.

“I’ll go first.”

He headed toward the bridge at the entrance.

The rotting black wooden bridge creaked with every step, making the place feel even more sinister.

“……”

When Yoon Haejun signaled it was safe, Radiance guild members followed behind him.

As soon as they arrived, a warning message appeared before all adventurers in the region.

It was a type of message none of them had ever seen in any dungeon.

《Inside the Elven Fortress, PVP is forcibly enabled.》
《In this area, PVP can be conducted without the opponent’s consent, with no penalties.》

The adventurers were shaken the moment they saw it.

Forced PVP with no penalties.

Normally, if someone initiated forced PVP, a debuff mark would remain, reducing all their stats by 10%.

The fact that this penalty had been removed was very telling.

“What the hell does this mean?”
“Looks like it’s trying to provoke infighting between adventurers.”
“I get the intention, but… do we really have to fight each other?”

Even as they asked, a “reason to fight” was immediately presented to them.

《The first conqueror of the Elven Fortress will obtain the Artifact ‘Lumiael’s Grace’.》

【Lumiael’s Grace】
Description: A blessing left by Lumiael, founder of the Elven race. If a summoned creature equipped with this artifact becomes incapacitated, it will revive with 50% HP at a 100% success rate.
This artifact is immune to effects that erase or destroy items.

Gulp.

Every adventurer who read the artifact’s description swallowed hard.

The resurrection ability alone was desirable, but on top of that, it was immune to the “erasure” effect that prevented revivals.

As adventurers began to glance sideways at one another, a mocking voice cut in.

“In a hurry, aren’t we? What’s the matter, Radiance Guild—do you want that artifact too?”

It was the Deathside Guild.

The Radiance guild members scowled in discomfort.

“We’re here not for the artifact, but to stop the threat.”
“Still acting noble, huh. For all that, your guild master was the first one scrambling across the bridge.”
“That’s because the fortress needs to be cleared quickly to prevent a dungeon break…!”
“If you were so eager to stop the dungeon break, you should have joined the coalition raid. You broke the alliance just to monopolize things, and now you want to play the saint?”

Yoon Haejun, who had been listening in silence, turned to Deathside’s guild master, Seon Seongtae.

“Master Seon. Do you mean that?”
“Mean what?”
“Master Seon Seongtae!”
“You should’ve expected some noise. He’s not wrong, after all. It was your side that first broke the alliance.”

Seon Seongtae smirked and patted Yoon Haejun on the shoulder.

“Let’s both do our best. Healthy competition. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Yoon Haejun wanted to shout back, but with so many eyes watching, he swallowed it down.

Besides, nothing had happened yet that was worth making a scene over.

Radiance’s goal was simple: clear the dungeon and stabilize society.

Let’s just focus on clearing for now.

Returning to his guild members, Yoon Haejun spoke firmly.

“We’ll proceed with the original plan. Everyone, prepare yourselves.”
“Yes, sir!”
“…But once inside, do not let your guard down. Don’t just watch for monsters—anyone who isn’t us is a potential enemy.”

And so, with tension hanging in the air, the Radiance Guild led the way as the major domestic guilds entered the Elven Fortress.

Meanwhile, I was at home spending some rare, cozy time with my family.

But the atmosphere was oddly uncomfortable.

Everyone seemed to expect I’d rush off to raid the Elven Fortress any moment, so the fact that I was just lazing around made it feel awkward.

「The situation in the fortress is grim. Fewer than a hundred adventurers remain inside…」

“Should we change the channel? Or maybe watch a movie—there’s a fun new one on Retflix.”
“Hyunwoo.”

My mother fixed me with a gaze full of words she was holding back.

“Are you sure it’s really okay without you? This whole ‘self-reflection’ thing—what did you even do wrong? Those shameless people…”

At that, my sister, Oh Hyuna, who was munching on snacks on the sofa, chimed in.

“Exactly. Oppa, you hold a national title! The first clear of the Tower of Strife.”
“Yeah, the very first title! The neighborhood ajummas bring it up every time I see them.”

Ah, so that’s why my ears have been itchy.

“Wait, even the neighbors know?”
“Of course! They just don’t know that you’re that adventurer.”
“I see.”

I thought for a moment, then spoke to reassure them.

“Don’t worry too much. I’m not taking time off because people cursed at me. I have my own reasons.”
“If you say so, then… I suppose.”

But my mother still looked unsettled.

She wanted both for her son to stay out of danger and for the disaster to be resolved quickly.

Well… who could blame her?

Our family had all suffered enough trauma from dungeon breaks to practically have PTSD.

“……”

But why was Hyuna staring at me like that since earlier?

Was she picking a fight?

“What’s your problem.”
“What?”
“Why do you keep glaring at me.”
“Oh. Want something to drink?”

Huh? She changed the subject real fast.

Yeah, she was hiding something. I could feel it in my bones.

“Hmmm.”

I got up and went to the kitchen, and sure enough, she followed me.

As soon as I opened the fridge, she turned her head and asked:

“You… have something to say, right?”
“Uh?”
“Thought so. You screwed something up, didn’t you.”
“What?! No! I didn’t do anything!”
“Then what is it.”
“Ah, never mind. Forget it. No drinks. Mom! I’ll go to the convenience store!”

Yep. She was hiding something for sure. Sibling instinct never lies.

“Hey. I’m coming too.”
“Why are you following me?”
“I need to buy something too.”

Time to have a proper talk with my little sister.

Recently, Hyuna had been lost in thought.

About her future.

Thanks to me, she no longer had to worry about making a living, and could study in peace.

But even while studying, she couldn’t focus like before.

The reason was simple.

Not long ago, she had opened a strange package addressed to her…

《Congratulations! You, Astaroth, have awakened as an Adventurer.》

Just like that, she had awakened as an adventurer.

And ever since, bizarre messages kept flooding in—claiming she had ranked #1 in PVP, set records, received special privileges… none of which made sense to her.

Should I tell oppa? Or just hide it?

Unsure what to do, she’d tried to probe me about what it was like to be an adventurer.

— Not you. You’d have to be reborn.

…Of course, I hadn’t reacted well.

So she started secretly researching on her own.

And before long, she realized just how valuable the special privileges she had received were.

That’s when it hit her.

— This is totally pearls before swine.

For someone like her, who didn’t even know the “g” in “game,” to receive such insane privileges…

The achievements and rewards were clearly things that should’ve belonged to her brother.

But when she tried to hand them over, she found they were all soulbound—untradeable.

What was she supposed to do? Should she tell him now?

If only she hadn’t opened that package, she wouldn’t be in this mess.

“Ah, crap! What do I do?!”
“Gah! You scared me! Turn on your blinker before barging in!”
“Oh, you were next to me?”
“What the hell were you thinking about to not notice?”
“…Come here for a sec.”

At the convenience store’s outdoor table, Hyuna sat me down and squeezed her eyes shut before blurting out a question.

“Oppa. Do you know something called Astaroth?”
“What? Some kind of tart? Is it a new trend?”
“No, you idiot! Astaroth! That demon you like!”
“Oh! Yeah, I know it. Why? You trying to recommend me a webtoon?”
“No! Be serious for once!”

Her reaction made me sit up straighter.

“Alright, I’m ready. What is it.”
“Oppa… was your Legend Seven account name Astaroth?”

The moment she said it, my brows furrowed.

“How do you know that?”
“So it’s true… it really was your account. What do I do now?”
“What are you talking about.”
“Sorry. I think I stole your account.”
“…Huh?”

I scowled, not understanding her words.

“What are you even saying?”
“No, listen. A while back, some package showed up saying it was a reward or something. I opened it and found a bunch of weird tickets. When I touched them, I got rewards and… awakened as an adventurer. Sorry!”
“WHAT?!”
“I’m so sorry! I know I deserve a beating! But I didn’t know! I really didn’t know what it was! I’m sorry!!”

She slammed her head onto the table in apology.

But instead of anger, cold sweat broke out on my back.

Ah, right. I made that sub-account under her name, didn’t I?

I’d completely forgotten.

Astaroth.

A sub-account I made under Hyuna’s name, used exclusively for PVP.

I couldn’t really PVP on the Lucifer account…

After all, if I used the Seven Deadly Sins skills in PVP, I’d be exposed instantly.

Back then, I was obsessed with my “shadow ruler” roleplay, hiding my true power as much as possible.

But when I tried PVP without those abilities, my bond with them immediately dropped.

So I scratched the itch using a sub-account.

Since Legend Seven only allowed one account per person, I’d borrowed Hyuna’s identity.

I never imagined that account would also receive special privileges.

Well, I guess it makes sense—after all, I was practically eating #1 in PVP every day.

Hyuna thought she had stolen my rewards, but really…

She awakened because of me, didn’t she?

Seeing her so guilty made me feel a bit guilty myself.

Still, I was curious. What exactly had she received?

“So, what did you get?”
“A… Mythic-grade Summon Ticket.”
“Whoa, that’s a pricey one.”
“But… it’s kind of weird. It only lets me summon specific creatures.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, the names were strange too. Stuff like ‘Witch’s Follower’ or ‘Lab Assistant.’ I guess they already have an owner?”

…Right. Now I remembered.

Old habits die hard. Even on Astaroth, I had gone full roleplay mode.

Summons that were basically henchmen of episode villains—the loyal subordinates of Lucifer.

If she had those…

“Anyway, I’m really sorry! I’ll do anything to make it up to you!”
“…You said it yourself.”
“Huh?”
“Then starting tomorrow, join Ascend and start training.”
“Wh-what?”
“There’s a guy there named Go Insoo. Think of him as your senior. Learn from him.”
“Wh-wh-wh-what?!”
“And later, join my guild too.”
“O-okay… wait, does that mean you’re letting me be an adventurer?”

What was there to “allow”?

Hyuna, the moment you received that privilege, your student days were over.

“If you want it, then do it. If not, just keep studying.”
“No! I’ll do it! I want to be an adventurer!”

An unexpected but capable ally had fallen into my lap.

Someone I could truly trust to fight by my side.

…Wait. Does that mean Hyuna also has to roleplay like I did?

Now that I thought about it, I’d left behind some pretty cringey history on Astaroth too…

Still, compared to my villain-level roleplay, her summons were tame. She wouldn’t have to risk her life like I did.

Though, of course, she would still have to throw herself fully into second-year-middle-school-disease acting. Hahaha!