00258 Canyon of Hallucination, a city where time has stopped —————————————- ——————————–=
I felt like I wanted to ask the inside story, but I wasn’t in the mood to force a child who didn’t want to talk. Moreover, since she was currently on an expedition, she had no time to waste time on difficult matters. So, after comforting Ansol once or twice as he just bowed his head without saying anything, I announced the resumption of the march.
The sun was setting little by little, and the day was gradually getting darker.
And when the dusk after the sun had completely set colored the entire plateau, the surrounding scenery had a very different atmosphere from when I first saw it.
Every time the wind passed by the plateau, the sound of leaves and blades of grass shaking echoed exceptionally loudly in the surrounding area. The occasional unidentified crying sound and the pitch-black scenery visible to the naked eye heightened the eerie atmosphere.
While marching, I could sometimes feel the eyes of the children behind me, wishing for rest and camping. However, I silently ignored those stares and still insisted on marching. Because the best way to traverse the plateau of delusion was to just walk without thinking.
Of course, since the field effect is something that directly brings out the inner self, it is safe to say that there are very few users who can actually do it. In that case, my current idea was to control my inner self with high-quality pills and replace the slight remaining anxiety with rapid marching. There is a problem that your physical strength continues to decline, but the more difficult it is, the more you will focus on taking each step.
“Hook, hook.”
“Huh, huh.”
How much time has passed? It seems like several hours have passed since he announced his night march. Calculated in modern time, between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.? Except for me and Go Yeon-ju, most of the people were making harsh nasal sounds. There was also a feeling that some of them were deliberately taking a break loudly, as if to make me listen. I forced the corners of my mouth to smile and slowed down just a little.
“Oh, brother.”
“huh.”
“Joe, can’t we take a break and go?”
“… hmm. Rest is good, but… . “For now, I think it is better to keep marching.”
After saying my thoughts, I slowly turned my head and saw Ahn Hyeon and Lee Yu-jeong sweating profusely. If this was the case for melee classes, ranged class users were in much worse condition. But I didn’t stop walking. He simply turned his gaze forward again, followed the traces, and opened his mouth in a low voice.
“… There are probably a few people here who thought the Plateau of Delusion was easy. Just like Anhyun did earlier, I haven’t encountered many monsters since the Mountain of Delirium. “It’s just a series of marches, so it might feel a little boring.”
“Oh, no… . Rather than thinking that way… .”
“Oh, no, bro.”
“I didn’t mean to scold you. “It’s not entirely wrong.”
When I gave them some recognition, they didn’t say anything more, as if they had made a promise.
I did not continue speaking right away. I raised my head for a moment and looked at the moon sprinkling brilliant light, and then I looked at the countless twinkling stars surrounding me. I wanted to stare a little longer at the beautiful sight I hadn’t seen in a long time, but I ended up looking away for fear of missing the traces.
Eventually, I turned my head back to its original state and stopped pausing.
“It may be a bit unexpected, but I’ll tell you something interesting, so listen. “Isn’t there a training called tightrope walking among the training that Marines in Korea receive?”
“… … .”
“But they said they make each person do a lot of push-ups before going on the tightrope. Until both arms start shaking. “You have to rely only on both hands to hold on to the rope to cross, so why did you do that right before training?”
“huh… . Are you telling me to stay calm and not spread?”
It was correct. When I nodded, Yujeong said, “Hehe.” A shy laugh was heard. I let out a weak sigh, thinking that I liked it for something so trivial.
“that’s right. Then you won’t have to look anywhere else. They say that all your attention is focused on holding the line. And if you train like that, there will actually be fewer accidents… . I think marching through the plateau of delusion is similar to that.”
“… … .”
“I’ve said it over and over again, but it’s good to rest, and rest is important. But the Plateau of Delusion is an exception. If we take a break here, one or two people will definitely relax and free up space. And the field effect will definitely come in looking for that gap. If you’re lucky and an inconsequential person shows up, you never know. But if, by chance, someone who is difficult to handle appears… .”
“Yes. I see.”
No one knows what the kids will experience in the future at Hall Plain. However, I was confident about this one thing. As you accumulate years of experience and continue to explore, one day you will find yourself in a more difficult situation than you are now.
What would it have been like if monsters attacked frequently and suffered similar fatigue from a simple march? To be honest, it has only been a long march since the Mountain of Delirium, so we have caught up to a certain extent, but if the above situation had occurred, several people would have already been knocked down.
When such a situation arises later, the greatest help can be gained from skills derived from one’s own experience. Even if it feels difficult right now, each of these experiences can serve as valuable indicators when a similar situation arises in the future. For example… . When I’m not around… .
‘Hold on. ‘Just endure it somehow and get through it to the end.’
In the end, these were all I could say to my kids. In the hope that my children would be able to feel this way in the future, I returned the slowed marching speed to normal speed. Anyway, for now, the best way was to quickly enter the Canyon of Hallucinations.
*
The grass blades seemed to have been soaked with early morning dew, and I felt that some parts of my legs were becoming slightly moist. Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, a dusky dawn was rising in the eastern sky. There is a whitish fog covering the surrounding area. However, the slowly rising sun pierced the fog, emitting warm light and embracing the entire plateau with warmth.
The light of dawn gently seeped into the fields of the entire plateau, as if trying to drive away any lingering dusk. Soon, I took a deep breath as I saw the dazzlingly bright morning on the plateau. The scent of water mixed with the refreshing early morning air fills my nostrils.
Savoring the scent, I stopped for a moment. And it was the moment when I was about to raise my hand to signal a stop.
“evil!”
“oh!”
When I turned my head at the sound of a weak scream, I saw several children holding each other’s faces and not knowing what to do. It seems like he was walking while dozing off and couldn’t see what was ahead and crashed into it. Looking at them like that, Go Yeon-ju clicked her tongue a few times and then opened her mouth in a slightly cracked voice.
“Everyone, come to your senses. “I think we’re almost there.”
“yes… .”
The voices of the clan members did not contain any power. It was difficult to see this simply as the aftermath of a march. I, too, was feeling a slight, but field effect weighing down my whole body. I’m like this, but the burden felt by other users is probably several times greater. Last night, I selected the people who had difficulty withstanding it and gave them another dose of pills, but they remained because they did not feel anxious.
“Su-hyun. Can’t you hear the sound of water somewhere? “It seems like there is moisture mixed in the air.”
“I can hear sounds and smell things. “I think we will arrive at the Canyon of Hallucinations in a little while.”
In the end, when I came forward and helped Go Yeon-ju, the children’s droopy eyes began to come to life little by little. Soon, Anhyeon wrinkled her nose around her, tilted her head, and opened her mouth.
“That’s strange. I can’t hear any sound of water. Instead, I just smell something fishy.”
“Isn’t there a slightly fishy smell to the water?”
When Lee Yoo-jeong responded reflexively, Ahn Hyeon shook his head. And with a serious look on his face, he sniffed around Lee Yu-jeong. Lee Yu-jeong made a displeased expression with twinkles in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything else. However, An Hyun ignored Lee Yu-jeong’s favor and frowned greatly.
“no. This doesn’t smell like water, it smells like blood. Hey, did you get your period? In times like this, please exercise restraint… .”
“what? “You crazy bastard!”
Lee Yu-jeong threw a harsh kick at Ahn Hyeon’s leg. When she saw him jumping up and down, thinking he was going to die, she felt pitiful. I don’t know if it was just me, but all the female users glared at Ahn Hyeon as if they were looking at an animal.
Anyway, having changed the mood for a moment thanks to Anhyeon’s unintentional sacrifice, we started marching along the trail again.
How far did it go like that? This time, less than 20 minutes later, we had no choice but to signal a stop sign again.
As soon as I stopped walking, the clan members began to come forward one by one, looking around in all directions. Morning came before we knew it, but the fog still remained. Other places were gradually fading away, but there was a thick fog in front of us.
The moment the fog flowing from the front enveloped our feet, we felt that the air we had smelled earlier and the sound of the water we heard had become a little more clear.
“Everyone go back.”
“Su-hyun?”
Go Yeon-ju threw a question-filled comment at me, but I silently shook my head and pulled out the Sun and Moon God Sword. A reddish energy began to bloom from the sword body of the Sun and Moon God Sword, which was shaking in the sunlight.
I took three steps forward with my sword hanging down. I didn’t take any particularly grandiose stance. No, in a way, it was safe to say that this posture was my default posture. Anyway, since the current purpose of holding the sword was not to fight anyone, I immediately raised the sword to my left shoulder and then lowered it in a strong slashing position.
Shhh!
The harsh sound of a wave cutting through the wind was fired into the air, and the fired wave roughly tore through the gathered fog and rushed downward. and.
Wow! Pusssss! Splash splash! Thump thump!
“W-what is it?”
“Did the wave disappear inside?”
The sounds of something hitting something, exploding, and falling down can be heard one after another. Perhaps because the wind pressure caused by the released wave was quite strong, much of the fog that had filled the front had cleared. And when the light shined through the gaping hole, the magnificent view hidden within was finally revealed to us.
There was a deep valley with steep walls on both sides, forming a steep slope. As I looked slowly, I was able to see the height of the canyon below the cliff, which was deep enough to make me feel dizzy. Move a little closer and look down. At the bottom, I could vaguely see a transparent river flowing leisurely, like a continuous pool. At the bottom of the canyon, smoke filled with a mysterious energy and various geographical features visible in between were amazingly harmonized.
When I turned my head forward again, I saw a huge hole where my wave had landed and a wall with cracks here and there. Perhaps some of the fallen rocks fell to the ground and some fell into the river.
The clan members, including me, looked down with our mouths shut for a while. Eventually, I came to my senses and opened my mouth to Kim Han-byeol, who was sticking her head out as if she was afraid of heights.
“Hanbyeol Kim. “How many jewels did you say you brought with you in total?”
“Ouch! yes yes? “Oh, please wait a moment.”
She let out an unusually cute scream and then hurriedly rummaged through her bag. Eventually, she took out a handful of jewels that radiated light as she spoke and showed them to me.
“It’s not as much as I thought. It is difficult to say that the maintenance efficiency is that good… . “Last time I tested it with the smallest gem, I was able to keep it for about two hours.”
“Two hours? Two hours without any effect, here… .”
“Maybe an hour… “It might not work.”
“In the end, it’s a race against time. “It seems like the kids are slowly reaching their limit.”
Even though I said that, I calmly counted the number of jewels that Kim Han-byeol was holding. And I was able to make a hopeful prediction.
‘I guess that’s enough. If I do well, I might be able to leave some money behind.’
It’s probably just my guess, but it seemed like Yeoulganyok had some pretty solid information. If we can go down the canyon in the direction we are standing now, it won’t take long to reach the ruins. Well, you would have had to have that level of confidence to even dare to attack the Canyon of Illusion.
I stretched out and looked at Kim Han-byeol and Baek Han-gyeol alternately. The mood, which had been soggy just moments before, had been revived to some extent by the discovery of the Canyon of Hallucinations. Some of the clan members I was worried about also endured it quite well. Ansol was in danger once or twice, but fortunately he endured it well. Now all that’s left is to enter the ruins.
“Then Kim Han-byeol, Baek Han-gyeol… .”
“Su-hyun. wait a minute. “Come this way.”
Just as he was about to call the two, Go Yeon-ju hit the player first. When I turned her head to ask why, she said nothing and pointed down below her. In the direction that Go Yeon-ju was pointing, several large rocks had fallen. These are probably the rocks that fell due to the wave I sent out.
“Why is that?”
“Would you like to strengthen your eyesight? “Cook, cluck.”
I felt something strange in Go Yeon-ju’s laughter at the end of the sentence. I immediately raised my magic power and heightened my senses of sight, hearing, and smell with all my might. Then, the field of view greatly expanded, and the sight of the lower part of the canyon, which I could almost grasp with one hand, came into view.
and. The moment I took a closer look at the rock that fell in the aftermath of the wave, my eyes widened.
“Kyu…” .”
‘What, is there something going on?’
—————————= Review of the work ——————– ——-=
hello. This is Ro Yujin.
Today’s KakaoTalk.
Me, “Hey, Mr. Gyoha.”
Me, “What is your Wi-Fi password?”
brother “********”
Me, “Giyeok Siot.”
Brother, “I’m reading the novel well.”
me “???”
???
『Reripple』
1. Oriental medicine mode: Congratulations on first place. It seems like it’s been a while since we’ve seen a new top comment. Hehehe.
2. Human life: It’s been a while since I left a comment, and that’s exactly what you’re saying! Taang! Bang bang!
3. Kkoya + Hot Isang: Thank you for the coupon. _(__)_ You are making a Noble subscription! You are just like me. (…….)
4. Dolong: No! What about awakening! I will harass you even more! So it’s going to be loud! Hahahaha! (Pukpuk!)
5. Gamjatteot: If the demon lord level can demonstrate 100% power, it will definitely be superior. However, that is not currently the case. To say any more would be a spoiler. ha ha ha.
6. Adumar: You can understand that part as the presence or absence of ‘records’. For example, after an expedition or an expedition in Mule, you report to the temple to build up your achievements, right? They are created as a single record and made public to users. And Soohyun gave the impression that she went to the library and read them.
7. Reinesis: No. Absolutely not. Don’t be fooled by aircraft carrier class carriers.
8. hohokoya1: I’m sorry, hohokoya1. T0T My body feels strangely droopy these days. Whoosh whoosh. It’s not like I don’t practice because I’m always teased for being Royumi. T0T
9. QuistA.Gw*(): You’re having fun! All right. Let’s have some fun here. It’s fun! Say hello! Fun “Yes! hello?” It’s fun here! Hahaha! (Pukpukpukpuk! Pukpukpuk!) Sorry. I wanted to give it a try. I apologize again. _(__)_
10. rose-mary: Kelkelkelkelkel! Ansol tastes best when it is tormented. Now, if you go inside the ruins, you will roll it around and it will make a sound… . Hmm. Oh, no.
Thank you for always reading. Your recommendations and comments are of great help.
I hope you can always read my writing with a comfortable mind.
Selection, recommendations, comments, criticism, and questions are always welcome.
fantasy,
