Spirit of the Island (1), Spirit of the Island (2)
“I think I know why I was excited earlier.”
While everyone was climbing the tree-rooted mountain, Poppy suddenly opened her mouth.
“The air on this island amplifies emotions. It is not a place for ordinary humans to stay for long.”
“But the energy of the island was condensed in the monsters we caught earlier. Because we hunted them, we were defenselessly exposed to their energy.”
“This is neither poison nor curse. It is the ‘environment’ of the island itself. Unless you leave the island, you will not be able to escape from this aura.”
Hyun could fully understand Papi’s words only after watching the video.
It was skeptical news.
That was because it betrayed the expectation that the status ailment would be lifted over time.
If this is the case until we reach the Temple of Light… Can you fight properly?
No, can I reach the Temple of Light with such a hazy mind?
‘this… .’
Did you say bad luck comes all at once?
Hyun let out a groan when he saw the monster approaching.
saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
A black spirit never seen before.
The moment I looked at him, a sudden fear and nervousness hit my brain.
Human emotions rarely fluctuate without reason.
A sudden change means that it is likely a mental attack by a monster.
“damn… Run up!”
Hyun, in the middle of a hazy mind, clenched his teeth and instructed everyone properly.
But this time I wasn’t so lucky.
[Takes 512 damage!]
[434 damage taken!]
[Damaged 602!]
… … .
Crisis upon crisis.
Unlike the guys I met earlier, the Black Spirit was a really dangerous monster.
Proof of this is that just by getting close to him, his stamina is being reduced.
The problem was that there were a lot of things similar to that guy all over the place.
Saaa! Saaaa!
‘Am I in trouble now?’
The connection cannot be terminated from the moment the monster recognizes it.
Switching to a resting state is the same as committing suicide.
It meant that he had to fight that guy while he was half awake.
‘I don’t know what’s going on!’
Suddenly, black spirits gathered around the party like clouds.
They are a type of monster that didn’t exist before.
‘How many are there… ?’
Hyeon’s fingers, counting the number of monsters, trembled violently.
I can’t accurately count the number of enemies.
Have you heard that calculations that exceed two digits are difficult in dreams?
Forgetting while counting was repeated over and over again.
It was completely different from the usual appearance of Hyun, who grasps the size and power of the enemy in an instant.
‘no… doesn’t care.’
In the end, Hyun gave up the complicated idea.
Even if the monster gets a little stronger, it’s a normal monster.
Just hit it with firepower and it’ll stop.
“Ain, catch it.”
“okay!”
clap-.
Ain flattened the edge of the vigilance scythe and changed it into a spear.
Now that precise control is impossible, a weapon that can be wielded roughly is easier to handle.
The moment he aims his spear at enemies whose identity he does not know, and is about to slice them.
“It’s not possible!”
Poppy exclaimed hastily.
“These monsters have a huge amount of energy inside their bodies! If you kill it, the condition of everyone caught in the blast of energy will deteriorate!”
It took Hyun about 5 seconds to understand the meaning of the words.
‘Oh right… I shouldn’t have caught the monsters here.’
no mind at all
I don’t know what to do or not to do.
Hyun didn’t even think about finding a way out of this situation.
However, the certainty is that it is dangerous to stay still like this.
Hyun was clicking the rest state transition button on the interface without even realizing it.
To get out of this place as quickly as possible.
No, should I close the connection instead of returning to rest?
The situation is already so hopeless that there is no turning back.
Yeah, if it’s this bad, I’d rather try the quest again later. I wonder if it will be okay… ?
“Hyun, be careful!”
Kwaaang!
Suddenly, the massive rock golem stomped down his foot with all its might, just as Hyeon had a wild idea.
The floor made of tree roots dug deep.
It was clear that if Louise hadn’t moved quickly and snatched it up, Hyun would have been mortally wounded.
Hyun didn’t have high physical strength or defense compared to his level, and he didn’t even have a passive protection skill.
“Why are you standing there stupidly!”
“huh? He said he shouldn’t fight… .”
“But where is the idiot standing still when rocks are flying?” !”
“Priestess, it seems that everyone is not coming back.”
Poppy looked around and said to Louise.
There are only two people in the party who can make normal decisions. It was only Poppy and Louise.
“I guess we have to do something ourselves now.”
“Should I summon my subordinates… ?”
“No, because they don’t have particularly big egos either. It might be the worst number ever.”
“Then what do you mean!”
“I need to get out of here at once.”
Poppy opened his mouth with a firm expression.
In a situation where Hyun was unable to judge normally, he had to take on the role of leader instead.
“What all monsters have in common is that they do not leave their designated habitat.”
“habitat… ?”
“Yes, the direction they came from was down the mountain. That means we can get out of the habitat if we head up the mountain.”
Poppy looked up high on the island.
Due to the thick fog, the visibility is only 50 meters.
Even the celestial senses were sealed, so even Papi didn’t know what was there.
“Goddess takes the lead and leads everyone.”
“Me, you mean me?!”
“I will help too. I won’t be able to fight it myself, but I’m going to try everything I can.”
The only option is to run upwards and escape the monster’s habitat.
Poppy’s choice was correct.
If Hyeon had been sane, he would probably have made the same decision.
“Sheesh, I mean stay still!”
Chaeeng!
Louise stopped Salon from swinging her sword at the monster with her spear.
“Didn’t I say that if you catch a monster, bad energy explodes!”
“Oh right… .”
“Right, no! It was a situation where something really could happen!”
If the condition gets worse, even the smallest judgment may become impossible.
Louise, who barely prevented the unexpected situation, quickly looked at the string and said.
“Hyun, assimilate with me!”
Ain’s head turned around at Louise’s words.
“What is it, Hyun likes my body more… .”
“Ain, you too, now is not the time to seduce Hyun!”
“What, what… ?!”
Ain panicked at the rare cry.
“Come on, please!”
In the midst of defeating the monsters with an undead attack, Louise shouted at Hyeon once more.
pod. Hyun accidentally used a fairy tale.
At the same time as the overlapping souls, the hopeful event of recovering the status quo did not happen.
The spirit resides in the soul, so even after Hyun assimilated with Louise, he was still in a daze.
but.
「Hyeon, now!」
“what… ?」
“Change into a resting state! I can take care of you for a while!”
“now… ?」
“okay! You are the leader who leads everyone! Shouldn’t we give orders to everyone!”
Louise understood the user’s own means of communication called capsule conversation.
I also know that Hyun and Ain often exchange conversations through that messenger.
“… !”
Just as Louise said, lightning struck Seohyun’s mind after returning to the real world.
The stuffiness that filled my head completely disappeared.
As soon as he came to his senses, Hyun started what he had to do right away.
I shouted while running the capsule messenger.
“Ahin, you may be crazy, but do as I say from now on!”
“First, turn on the broadcast!”
After a while.
Pod! The TV screen in the living room began to project Ain’s play screen as it was.
Ain’s voice came out of the speaker properly.
“Um… It’s on now.”
“look good!”
Curiously, Ain followed his words perfectly.
To the point where I wondered if she, like Poppy, had recovered from her condition on her own.
However, actions other than following her own instructions were still a mess, so Seohyun immediately ruled out that possibility.
‘It’s good that I set it up in advance!’
Louise’s intention in putting the strings into a state of rest was to convey the words through Ain.
However, Hyun had a better way in place.
A way to manipulate the capsule and in-game settings to let Ruiz hear the real voice as it is.
“Louis, can you hear me?!”
Seohyun shouted while watching Louise reflected on the screen.
The voice that had been raised in reality skipped the world and flowed from Louise’s necklace again.
“Hyun, is it Hyeon… ?”
“First of all, use the twist!”
“i get it!”
That moment.
Pod! Seohyun could see the silver-haired woman running on the screen changing into herself.
The reason for using the reversal was to make the guild members move smoothly.
Their minds are in a hazy state in the game.
If you don’t recognize Louise as ‘hyun’, there might be guild members who don’t follow instructions.
“Next, shock amplification!”
“Amplify… !”
Louise searched for her memory and activated the string skill.
In that state, when he swung his spear like a stick, he was able to clear the way forward by sending monsters away, except for those heavy like rock golems.
‘It would be better not to use the Chaos Contract.’
If you borrowed Tartar’s ‘Black Hole’ or Genie’s ‘Bind’, you could bind the monsters more easily, but Seohyun decided to stop doing that.
Chaos Contract is a skill that exchanges the most recently used skills.
Since Louise was only focused on escaping the encirclement of the monsters right now, ‘shock amplification’ instead of ‘breathing’ might be exchanged.
‘this… !’
How many minutes did it run like that?
Louise’s face turned pale.
It was because monsters resembling wild animals appeared in the foreground.
The appearance of a new type of monster meant that there was a high probability that the top of the mountain was another habitat for them.
A flustered Louise’s voice flowed from the TV screen.
“This is the habitat of new monsters! What should I do?!”
“Stay across!”
“as it is… ?”
“You can’t go back!”
“Kuu, that’s the only thing left to do… !”
Louise gritted it.
There has never been a time when the order of the prefecture has gone wrong.
He always led everyone on the right path, and no one doubted his words.
Hyun says he will one day become king, but he already has the qualifications to become king.
So Louise decided to follow the prefecture’s instructions without question this time as well.
“Too fast now! Slow down a little!”
“Take a detour to the left, because there are fewer monsters there!”
“Tell Genie one more time to take care of the party members’ stamina!”
Looking at the screen, Seohyun constantly told Louise what to do.
Then the party slowly began to form.
It was an unbelievable sight to see a party with more than half of its members losing their judgment moving systematically.
“Okay, just keep running.”
Seohyun watched the party members follow her instructions with sweaty hands.
everything was perfect
His physical strength is sufficient, and the number of monsters is gradually decreasing.
There was no doubt that if we continued on like this for a little while, we would reach a safe place.
However, there was one thing Seohyun didn’t think of.
It is said that the energy that fills Radix Island blurs human judgment and amplifies emotions.
Louise’s judgment was fine, but her emotions were not normal.
Seohyun didn’t know that Louise’s heart, surrounded by monsters, was being chased by nervousness.
“laugh… !”
at some point.
Louise’s eyes widened.
Even if I send the monsters away, they seem to keep coming back.
It was because he made the mistake of tearing one of the monsters to pieces with his spear due to mismanagement of his strength.
Woo woo woo woo-!
The iridescent spirit pierced by the black wind-soaked spear blade broke into light while weeping bitterly.
Fire! At the same time, energy exploded in all directions.
Even Louise, who had a huge ego, felt dizzy right after receiving that energy head-on.
Of course, Poppy and his companions, who were following behind, couldn’t be safe from the aftermath of that energy.
[A certain brain wave has reached an excessive number and is forced to switch to a resting state!]
[You will not be able to reconnect to Asrian for the next hour!]
[Continuous exposure to the same environment is judged as ‘death (brain death)’, and the same death penalty applies as before!]
“Uh, what… !”
At the same time a message appeared on Ain’s log window, the screen that was playing on the screen turned off.
After a while, I could see Ain moaning as he opened the lid of the capsule.
Seohyun was unable to say anything for a while in a situation that went so differently than expected.
Louise couldn’t come to her senses.
‘What happened… ?’
The front of my eyes became colorful.
The world turned into a rainbow in an instant.
It is no longer possible to distinguish which is the enemy and which is the ally.
She’s not yet a complete archevil.
The mysterious energy that exploded in an instant was huge enough to swallow the incomplete ego of darkness.
Suddenly, a feeling of frustration welled up in my heart.
The energy of the island was still shaking Louise’s heart.
did it fail?
No matter what crisis came, Hyeon overcame it without incident, but am I not able to do even such a simple task properly?
He did everything for me, but it’s so pitiful that I didn’t do anything.
“… … .”
The iridescent vision suddenly turned to a warm white.
Louise suddenly felt the sensation of liquid flowing down her cheeks.
am i crying right now?
Can’t see ahead, can’t hear sound.
His senses had completely gone, and he had no idea what his condition was.
I just feel like my body is floating.
Fortunately, that feeling didn’t last forever.
It was because after some time, Louise gradually recovered from the hallucination.
“… … !”
Then Louise was terrified.
My vision was restored and I could see a vague sight.
Her body is being held by someone with white wings.
‘angel… ?!’
The feeling of floating was not an illusion.
Some guys are flying somewhere with Shade Guild members in their arms!
The moment Louise saw the flapping wings on their shoulders, an emergency light came on in Louise’s head.
Yes, this was the Temple of Light! An angel has come to get me!
“Let go of these!”
Realizing that fact, Louise screamed madly and struggled.
It was to shake off someone’s hand holding him.
“Kuh… Be quiet.”
‘huh… ?’
For a moment, a question popped into Louise’s mind.
It was because as he struggled, the opponent who grabbed him seemed to be struggling.
Am I really strong?
In order not to miss the moment of slackness, Luigi struggled harder.
“I can’t be dragged away like this! In order to live with Hyun, this body… !”
“Be quiet. Human.”
“human… ? me?”
“Phew, I guess you’ve finally come to your senses.”
Vision was fully restored.
Louise realized she was flying.
About 100 meters from the ground.
Seeing the sight of hundreds or thousands of monsters roaring under his feet, he became terrified for a moment.
“Those… .”
A man answered Louise’s self-talk.
The identity of the voice was someone holding her shoulder.
“They are monsters that feed on the egos of others.”
“monster… ?”
“These are monsters without Iji. The souls taken by them end up facing the same fate as them.”
This time a woman’s voice was heard.
Louise was able to grasp the situation belatedly.
‘I’m not an angel… ?’
Angel Crystal. Or, while they have wings made of light, the wings protruding from their shoulder blades are not much different from the feathers of birds.
The man and woman flapped white and black wings, respectively, and Louise thought they looked like doves and crows.
‘Since when have fairy tales been released?’
Louise found Hyun right next to her and swallowed in a gulp.
He, like himself, was caught by someone and was flying through the sky.
Besides that, birds with white and black wings were carrying members of the Shade Guild.
“You don’t want to be dragged away?”
“… !”
“I don’t mind leaving it here if you want… .”
“Oh, no… ! I don’t mean that!”
At the words of the male joiner, Louise shook her head.
Hmm… . He looked down at Louise suspiciously, then showed a sign of acceptance in his own way.
“I must have been quite restless. It will take time for the ego to recover, so I fully understand.”
“Hehe, you should be joking about that too.”
“Well, it’s been a long time since humans have visited the North.”
Listening to their conversation, Louise began to roll her head vigorously.
Are these people enemies? Are you an ally?
It was Hyeon who always made this kind of judgment, so Louise had to think about something she wouldn’t normally do.
‘He saved me, but… .’
You can’t be relieved just because you’re not hostile.
Whoever they are, they are those who stay in the land where the Temple of Light exists.
They don’t know my identity.
If you find out that I am the Great Devil, you might drop me into a place teeming with monsters right away.
“But you are fine compared to other humans.”
It was while Louise was pondering various things that she heard the man’s muttering.
Louise shook her shoulders in surprise.
“Yes… ?”
“Is there any special reason why you are fine alone?”
“that… .”
Because it’s the devil… . Would it be a big deal if I said that?
Louise made up an excuse on the spot.
“I am a support person! I just watched from behind while my colleagues were catching monsters!”
“Hmm. then it can be What monster did you catch?”
“that… It was a spirit that shone in rainbow colors… .”
“what? Iridescent!”
In the middle of the conversation between the man and Louise, the woman, Jo-in, intervened.
“Have you met Requius? You survived after defeating it?!”
Louise felt sorry for their unusual reaction.
Louise, quick-witted, had a hunch that she had answered incorrectly.
I could already hear these screams in my ears.
To survive encountering such a terrifying monster, you must be the Great Devil!
“no… I, I mean… ! It meant that after catching a certain spirit, he suddenly became dizzy as if he was dyed in rainbow colors… !”
“It’s dizzy… .”
The one who received the horse this time was one of the other members who were flying with them.
“If it’s a spirit that causes dizziness, it must be ‘Confis’. Wasn’t it a black spirit by any chance?”
“Yeah, that’s right! Come to think of it, it must have been black!”
“Hmm, indeed. If you took the energy of the Converse head-on, you wouldn’t be able to wake up easily.”
Joiners nodded their heads in agreement.
Only then did Louise feel relieved in her heart.
It seems that the fact that I am the Archdemon has not been discovered yet.
“Aren’t you the people of this island?”
It was at the moment when Louise was about to take a breath that the woman’s question flew in.
“We know when we see outsiders. These must be the devotees who came to the Temple of Light, right?”
“… !”
In an instant, Louise’s alertness, which had been fading, rose again.
Do you believe in me… !
Indeed, these new men were minions of the Light!
Louise feigned composure.
When I thought of what Hyun would have done in this situation, it was a bit awkward, but I was able to continue acting.
“No, that’s right. This is my first time on this island.”
“Well, I knew that. Because no human wants to climb the northern route of Radix Island without going crazy.”
“Except for the humans who are new to the island.”
“… … .”
In such a delicate atmosphere, the members of the Shade Guild, including Louise, were held in the hands of the members and continued their flight.
Most of the monsters swarming on the ground have disappeared, and the tree roots that make up the island’s ground have become a bit thinner.
How long will it fly like this?
Uneasy, Louise cautiously looked up and asked.
“Where are you trying to take me… ?”
“It’s a halfway town.”
“Town… ?”
“This is where our Corkes live. There is a road leading from the village to the south of the island. I will give you directions when we arrive.”
“Where is it?”
“there. It is a place with sharp peaks.”
Before I knew it, the fog had lifted considerably.
As the female joiner said, Louise was able to spot a terrain with sharp peaks rising in the distance.
It looks close from a distance, but is it actually a considerable distance?
It was more than 30 minutes later that Louise arrived at the midtown village.
***
The village on the hillside was really a small village.
No, it was so small that it was embarrassing to even call it a village.
On top of a large tree, in a cave-like root sparsely rising, it was a halfway village where only about 50 Corkes people lived.
Even the place is at the end of a tree that rises very high like a bird’s nest, so there is a strong possibility that people who don’t know the existence of the village will pass by this place without knowing anything.
‘What happened… .’
Even when connected after an hour, Hyun’s condition was still not normal.
No, it was much worse than before.
Just as Louise’s senses were distorted, it was because the party’s vision was completely white.
Hyun keeps muttering nonsense.
It was only thanks to Louise’s help that he was able to return to his original state.
Louise caught the old join at a shop in a midtown village and explained the circumstances of the party.
“Tsk tsk, your colleagues were attacked by spirits?”
“Yes, is there no way to cure it…? ?”
“It’s not that simple. You just have to leave Radix Island. It’s because it’s affected by the island’s unique air and can’t keep up.”
“Other than that?”
“The only thing we can do is to alleviate the condition for a while.”
“At least that, please… !”
Hyun and other members of the Shade Guild took suspicious herbs, and were finally able to come to their senses.
“omg… !”
“I can finally see the front! It sounds right too!”
“Me too, the dizzy feeling in my head is completely gone!”
The old man added a word to the party who were spouting their own feelings.
“It’s not cured, so be careful.”
After a while, Hyun, who finished grasping the situation, asked.
“Thank you for helping us. But what should I pay attention to?”
“It’s a trembling of emotions.”
“yes… ?”
“Even if you regain your senses and restore your senses, you won’t be able to do anything about human emotions. You’ll get angry more easily than usual for small problems, and you’ll be happy for trivial things again. If such a state lasts for several months, a disease develops in the heart.”
According to the old man’s explanation, humans exposed to the aura of Radix Island always complain of two types of symptoms.
The first is a clouding of judgment.
Paralysis of reason and distorted senses are part of it.
And the second is the amplification of emotions.
The old man revealed that this second effect could not be remedied with herbs, and could only be remedied by leaving the island.
“Did you know that the slope to the north is much steeper than to the south?”
“… I know.”
“That’s why the north is dangerous. The energy spreads evenly across the land in the south, but here in the north, the energy density is abnormally high, so unusual phenomena often occur.”
In addition, he added that the symptoms of amplifying emotions would become more severe the higher the temple was located.
The reason is that the energy of the island is more concentrated in the north than in the south and in the highlands rather than the lowlands.
“Emotions are over-amplified… . It sounds like nothing special at first glance, but it’s actually a very serious symptom. Emotions are directly related to self-control.”
“… .”
“People who cannot control their emotions can do anything. Besides, since you’ve been attacked by spirits, your immunity must have weakened even more. If you understand what I mean, you’d better finish your work as soon as possible and leave this island.”
“… Thanks for the advice.”
Hyun could understand exactly what the old man said.
What’s the point of telling me to leave the island? Because the idea came to me out of nowhere.
Something I would never normally think of.
This is what it means to amplify emotions.
All Hyun could do now was to promise not to be swept away by amplified emotions again.
