All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 121

◈ Chapter 121

61. The Meaning of Hyakki Yagyō – 1

The village chief carefully observed Ian’s reaction.

“Um… are you not pleased? This is a very precious item.”

“Yes. I will gratefully accept it for now.”

In any case, it was definitely an amazing and precious item.

It was questionable why something like this was in such a small village.

“Is this all?”

“Yes? Would you like anything else? But there isn’t anything else that outsiders would like….”

Originally, the Geumgoga is a set with the spell to use it.

But he only gave the Geumgoga.

Ian looked at the box, nodded, and put it in his bag. The village chief was relieved.

“By the way, where are you going? Are you going up or down like the other outsiders?”

“Yes.”

“That’s even better. The outsiders have been saying this ever since the king left his position.”

“Saying what?”

“That you need a treasure to enter the king’s palace. This should be enough of a treasure….”

It would be helpful to Ian as well.

“But where did the king go?”

“Well… the king has been away for three years now. He used to be there.”

The village chief pointed to the mountain that touched the sky in the distance.

The mountain was covered in dark clouds.

It seemed to warn people not to approach the mountain.

“Until a year ago, that mountain wasn’t like that. It was a place of brilliant iridescent clouds.”

Such a mountain changed overnight.

The beautiful clouds became black storm clouds.

And strange things began to happen after that.

“Things that have never been seen before, things that only appear in legends, are happening.”

Yokai [supernatural monsters or spirits from Japanese folklore] that had only been told in stories until now had appeared.

When the king was there, there were spirits and divine beasts.

But they didn’t care about humans and didn’t pay attention to outsiders.

However, after those clouds appeared, yokai that caused harm began to appear.

“The Five Kings and their subordinates on that mountain are also like that.”

While the village chief spoke powerlessly, his daughter, the girl, was stroking Myane.

Enjoying the touch, Myane wagged its tail and rubbed against the girl’s hand.

“Ahaha!”

“Myaah~ Mya~.”

Watching the two play, the village chief felt bitter.

“That child’s mother was also eaten by the Five Kings.”

He sighed heavily.

The reason he gave Ian this precious Geumgoga was because of that.

For saving his life.

And for avenging his wife and daughter’s mother.

He was so grateful for that that he gave the most precious treasure he had.

“Now that the Five Kings are gone, this village will be a little quieter.”

“Well….”

The village chief wore a skeptical expression.

Even though the Five Kings had fallen, there were many yokai in this world that tormented people.

You never know when another yokai will appear.

“I can only pray earnestly to Buddha.”

“I see. I understand.”

Now that he had finished his business, all that was left was to leave.

“Myane.”

“Myaah~.”

Myane, who was playing with the girl, jumped up.

Quickly entering his bag, Myane waved its front paws at the girl who was waving her hand.

“Sir. If you are going to that mountain, please be careful, very careful. The yokai, I mean. They are very strong, and….”

“I am also strong.”

“…Well, I guess so?”

The Five Kings and the group that followed him.

And he recognized and caught the legendary Bidu Man at a glance, so what was there to worry about?

The village chief smiled awkwardly and stroked his daughter’s head.

“I pray that Buddha’s blessing will be with you on your way. Namu Amitabul [Homage to Amitābha Buddha]. Namu Amitabul [Homage to Amitābha Buddha].”

Ian, who received his greetings, headed to the road next to the village.

“Kirke. That cloud. Isn’t that Hyakki Yagyō [a parade of hundreds of demons]?”

In some places, it’s called the Wild Hunt, and in others, Hyakki Yagyō.

And in Ian’s world, it’s called Monster Wave.

It is a phenomenon called by various names in various other worlds.

Yokai, monsters, ghosts, or spirits.

It is a phenomenon in which they gather around the strongest among them and strengthen their power.

“But where did the king go?”

The reason why it could not be confirmed even after accessing the truth of Tianzhu was simple.

The king was not in this world.

“He wasn’t below.”

If he had been there, he would have been discovered.

Then the king of this place was on a higher floor.

“Anyway, I’ll find him as I go up.”

As he said that, a huge cow-headed yokai jumped out of the bushes on the path.

Holding a large sword, he licked his lips as soon as he saw Ian.

“Ehehehe!! You stupid human! How dare you enter the place where I, Woo-cheong, have settled?! You have guts!”

He had eaten quite a few people, as he even had a necklace made of skulls around his neck.

Ian glanced at it and waved his hand at him as he tried to swing his sword.

-Crack!!

The sharp wind that stretched out from his hand flew like a blade and pierced a hole in Woo-cheong’s abdomen.

As Woo-cheong, who spilled his liver and other internal organs through the hole, collapsed, Ian continued his steps with an indifferent face.

* * *

The place he arrived at after moving all night was much larger than the first village he went to.

The village, which was almost the size of a city, was heavily armed with quite a few people, perhaps to fight the yokai.

And there was a familiar face among them.

“Hmm? Why are you here?”

It was Widron Dupin.

The one who had previously offered Ian to join the mercenary group at the academy.

He said something to the mercenaries guarding the castle and then approached Ian.

“It’s been a while.”

“Indeed. I heard rumors that you are amazing?”

Widron smiled, wrinkling his scarred face.

Some people flinched when they saw it.

Everyone was afraid of him because of his fierce impression and large size.

“It’s nothing.”

“Hey. You’ve risen to the ranks of the strongest, so how can it be nothing? Well. Let’s put that aside. Did you come to exterminate monsters?”

“I want to go up.”

“Is this your first time here? Then you’ll have to exterminate monsters?”

He pointed to the mountain.

The clouds on the mountain began to wriggle.

“Originally, you could go up if you passed the king’s test. But the king has been gone since last year.”

“I heard about that.”

“Really? Anyway, you need proof to get in there.”

Ian took out the box the village chief had given him.

The village chief said that he could go up if he had this.

Widron frowned when he saw the Geumgoga inside.

“Isn’t that what the village chief of Hasam Village had?”

“Do you know him?”

“He said he would give it to me before. But I didn’t know how to use it, so I just gave it back.”

That was understandable.

This requires a spell to use it properly.

If not, it was just hard gold.

Widron held up the whip that was fastened to his waist.

“Wouldn’t it be better to get something like this?”

It was one of the treasures used by a Taoist wizard in Tianzhu.

It was a whip that could control flames and boasted quite a powerful power.

Widron, who proudly showed off the whip that Ian also knew, smiled slyly.

“How is it? Isn’t it awesome?”

“Yes. Well, it looks good.”

Ian said as if he wasn’t very interested.

Widron clicked his tongue at his indifferent reaction and continued.

“Anyway. The bottom of that mountain is surrounded by fog. If you enter the fog that is not a designated path, you will come back.”

“I see.”

“A man named Subhuti has been blocking the path without that fog since a year ago.”

“Is it right after the king disappeared?”

“It was a few days later.”

And he said.

To catch 100 yokai.

Those who can’t do that don’t deserve to go up.

“How does he know if you’ve caught 100 or not?”

“I don’t know either. But he easily picks out the ones who aren’t, so I guess that’s how it is.”

“But you don’t fight the one blocking the road very well.”

If you’ve come this far, you’ll be at least an Expert.

Still, it’s amazing that he’s following his words so obediently.

When Ian asked, he shrugged.

“There are some who fight. But Subhuti is incredibly strong. He’s almost at the level of a Sword Saint. There was even a time when a Sword Saint fought him and just retreated.”

“Oh ho.”

“And once you fight, he goes into the fog. And then the fog blocks the road.”

And then he doesn’t come back for two weeks.

Therefore, those on this floor could not fight and win against him, so they were just following his words.

“And catching yokai here isn’t a bad thing either.”

Everyone knew that this was another world.

But even so, they are people who can communicate.

Isn’t it a bad thing to catch yokai that threaten them?

“And as you got it, you’ll know, but if you help people, you’ll often receive artifacts.”

The explorers who come here eventually come for artifacts.

As such, if you have to do it anyway, you fight with a happy heart.

“Subhuti will come out of the fog in three days. So how about we move together until then?”

If it’s a strong person like Ian, there won’t be anything to hold him back.

Widron suggested with a smile, but he shook his head.

“I’m fine.”

“Tsk. Really? Then be careful. I know you’re strong, but the monsters here use human language.”

Some even look like people.

They even seduce people and kill them secretly.

Widron, who warned him to be as careful as possible, returned to the mercenaries, and Ian entered the village.

As he saw from the outside, the inside was also a fairly prosperous village.

There are many explorers climbing the tower.

Not only them, but there were also temporary temples of the Solar Cult and the Lunar Cult in the village.

Whether they accepted the residents of Tianzhu as believers, people in the attire of the residents of this world were coming out of the two temples.

It was quite a peaceful village.

And in that peaceful village.

“Kyaaaa! Save me! Save me!”

A cry that shattered the peace erupted.

What came out of the alley screaming was a woman in the attire of this world.

Pale and running away, she approached Ian and shouted in a desperate tone.

“Please help me! Please help me! Those vicious people are trying to kill me….”

Two people came out of the alley chasing her.

Both were wearing familiar white masks on their faces.

“…Ian Brandon.”

They are swordsmen of the Sword Flower Unit.

The two swordsmen pointed their swords at the woman.

“That’s just something in the form of a person, not a person.”

“Please save me! Please…! Suddenly those people….”

The woman said desperately, with tears in her eyes.

Ian stared at her intently.

“Hey. Why are you being like this….”

“Shyaaaaaak!!”

-Slash!!

Myane too.

Kirke too.

Ian too.

They easily recognized the woman’s sense of incongruity.

That’s why there was no hesitation in wielding the sword.

She is split by his sword from shoulder to abdomen.

The moment the woman’s body was cut, a centipede that had been suffering inside came out.

“Ugh! A, a yokai!!”

Ignoring people’s screams, the centipede, who was struggling to get out of his body, eventually ran out of strength and died.

The people who saw it were relieved and praised him, but Ian only turned his head and looked at the sky.

“Why are you being like this….”

At his gaze, the swordsmen of the Sword Flower Unit also looked at the sky.

And they froze.

The dark clouds that were only near the mountain were dividing and moving.

And one of them was approaching the village.

While the panicked people were rampaging, only Kirke spoke calmly.

Suddenly, the malice that had been hidden until now soared.

Watching it, Ian shook his head.

“There are really disgustingly many.”