00852 Meanwhile, Same Time: Seven —————————- —————————–=
Ian’s tone was meaningful, but the expedition team did not feel anything strange. I guess I should say it didn’t really hit me. In fact, ancient patterns are up to interpretation, and Ian was only reciting fragmentary records that he vaguely remembered and did not know exactly.
In any case, there was little to be gained from interpreting the mural, but Eldora led her companions to the tower, saying that they should go in first. The expedition team that pushed through the old stone gate could not hide their surprise at the interior scenery that was revealed. The size of the tower seen from the outside was tall and huge, but the inside was a much larger space than imagined.
“song. “We even know the way to this floor.”
Olivia said a few words and walked briskly into the dark space. As if what she had just said wasn’t a lie, she walked along the dizzy intersection without hesitation, and after less than thirty minutes, the stairs leading up appeared in front of the expedition team.
Olivia quietly stepped back as if that was all, and Natalie quickly ran to the lead. Now, perhaps because I have something to do, my face is all flushed.
“Hi-Hi. “It’s finally an adventure, an adventure.”
“Natalie. I hope you don’t get too excited. First too… .”
“Be careful, and secondly, be careful. Okay, I got it.”
“… … .”
Natalie was quickly intercepting what she was going to say and reveling in it. For a moment, El Dora’s Ami squirmed, but she did not open her mouth anymore. Because Natalie is a truly adventurous user, and she knew that the more she enjoys a situation, the more her true skills shine.
“Okay then, let’s go in!”
Natalie exclaimed energetically as she climbed up and swung the door wide open. This floor was much darker than the first floor, and the road ahead quickly disappeared into the darkness. Natalie put the horn around his neck in his mouth and began to calmly find the way. Those following them also adjusted their weapons with a slightly nervous look on their faces. In a way, this game started from now on.
… I thought so, but the current situation inside the tower was completely different from the expedition team’s expectations. It was gloomy and dusty inside, but no monsters or traps appeared. Natalie tilted her head and paid close attention, but what if she didn’t show up? Eventually he was able to find the stairs to the third floor in about the same time it took him to get through the first floor.
The expedition team climbed the stairs in confusion, but the situation on the third and even fourth floors was similar. Only the structure changed slightly on each floor, but the eerie silence remained. As the attack continued without any interruption, the atmosphere of the expedition gradually became tense. These users were too experienced to be happy about an easy win, so they found the anxiety coming from silence strange.
“How did this happen? Elphin Road!”
Finally, before reaching the stairs to the fifth floor, Akirov couldn’t stand it anymore and screamed. There was only one case that came to mind in this situation.
“It’s obvious! When the clan members withdrew, guys like Seungnyang must have rushed in! “How on earth did you manage information!”
“You’re making it sound like it’s already been cleaned.”
“Ah, the situation now… !”
“Akirov, stop.”
As the atmosphere seemed to be getting worse, Eldorara quickly cut off Akirov’s conversation. She got his attention with a glance and looked at Natalie standing in front of the stairs.
“Have you found any traces of an intrusion?”
Natalie thought for a moment and shook her head.
“huh? no. I don’t think I saw it. “If I had seen it, I would have said it a long time ago.”
Akirov was taken aback by those words, but he clearly showed signs of wheezing. As Melinus gently encouraged her in a slightly awkward atmosphere, Natalie looked forward again. After a while, he started to climb the stairs to the fifth floor with his mouth firmly shut.
Finally, when the door to the fifth floor was carefully opened, a slightly different scene from the lower floor unfolded before the expedition team. First of all, there was only one road. Except for the passageway, which was about two meters in diameter, everything was filled with darkness, and it looked like a skybridge hanging in the air.
Natalie looked left and right and slightly raised her eyes. If this bridge is floating in the air, you should be able to see the bottom. However, no matter how much you increase your eyesight, all you see is darkness. As the thought that something was strange occurred to me, the marching speed naturally slowed down.
As a result of marching carefully, step by step, after about an hour, the bridge that seemed to last forever began to come to an end. At the end of the passage, the road suddenly widened, forming a square-like space. The moment I left the bridge and took my first steps into the square, Natalie looked ahead and suddenly let out a short exclamation.
“ah… .”
“Why are you doing that?”
When Natalie stopped walking, a handsome man wearing silver field armor with a lion symbol on it walked forward. However, the man also looked at the scene in front of him and looked as if he was at a loss for words.
The loud sound of old metal hitting the feet of the slowly walking expedition continued.
The plaza was a large space, about two hundred meters in diameter, but it was so thick with unidentifiable metal debris that there was no room to step. Some of them looked like broken pieces of weapons or half-destroyed pieces of armor, but one thing that was unusual was that most of them were towards the center. As if desperately trying to protect something and failing.
“Was there an extremely fierce battle? “It feels like I’m seeing the scenery right after the war.”
Edward, who was walking around looking around, muttered to himself.
“well. “I feel like I’m looking at the meal that a rat stole from the table.”
Akirov grumbled quietly, as if he was still thinking about what happened earlier. Just as Olivia heard those words and stopped walking and clenched her fists, Natalie, who was ahead of her, suddenly pointed in front of her.
“Uh, over there!”
All members of the expedition team reflexively looked straight ahead as indicated by Natalie. However, a few people soon showed signs of disappointment. At the edge of the center where the rubble was piled up, a total of eight pillars were arranged at regular intervals, like a circle.
It was shaped like a fan, like a cake divided into eight parts, rather than a typical circular pillar, but that was it. I can’t see anything resembling a sword sheath, let alone a holy relic, and the pillars have a strong feeling of being shabby and insignificant rather than mysterious.
Yes, it is a space where there is nothing else but this.
“What should I do now?”
Someone muttered in a slightly weak voice.
It was then.
“wait a minute.”
Suddenly, Ian’s voice was heard. Ian, crouching down as if she had cleared away the debris with her feet, is looking closely at the floor. Melinus groped his beard as he swept the ground with her hands or blew hard.
“hmm. yes. There may be a magic circle hidden by the rubble… .”
“no. It’s not a magic jinn. I kept looking at it as I came. “I didn’t see anything like a pattern.”
“huh? then?”
“It’s a line.”
Ian pointed his finger at the gray floor as if asking to take a look at this. When the expedition team gathered together, they saw that there was clearly a line drawn in a straight line with a depression as big as the knuckle of the little finger. Ian looked back and forth once and blinked quickly as if he realized something.
“This line. “It seems like it’s connected?”
“huh? Are they connected?”
“look. The direction exactly matches the corner of the pillar. And it’s heading toward the center again, right?”
“… … !”
It was definitely as he said. A look flashed through the users’ eyes. Because I understood what Ian meant.
The expedition team soon began moving around and clearing away the debris. Since we focused on clearing the parts that connected to the pillars, it didn’t take long before people heard from all over that the same string had been found.
After a while, when they discovered eight lines that exactly matched the number of pillars, the expedition’s attention naturally focused on the center. Unidentifiable debris was still piled up there, forming a hill. I didn’t think it was that strange before, but when I saw that there was a particularly thick layer, I suddenly felt it. A feeling that it might be covered, that something might be hidden.
“… Should I clean it up?”
Soon, someone spoke in a low voice,
gulp.
The sound of swallowing accumulated saliva echoed quietly throughout the anxious silence of the fifth floor.
*
North Continent.
Atlanta.
Mercenary Castle, which towered over the southern city, was in full swing with an unexpected heat. In fact, the castle had been in turmoil for some time already. It’s not just a bunch of people talking, it’s a series of loud noises and explosions, shaking the whole place. If anyone passing by heard it, they would have thought a bomb had exploded.
bang!
Like right now.
The source of the noise, to be exact, was coming from the garden of Mercenary Castle.
And, how much time has passed?
After the sound of the explosion a moment ago, the sound suddenly quieted down. I’m no longer excited, and it feels like the heat is slowly cooling down. Then, as some time passed, the figure of a young man wearing jet black armor emerged through the thick smoke.
The young man calmly looked around with a heavily drawn face. Next, he slowly lifted his left hand, turned it over, and stared at it. Surprisingly, a red-black arrow was stuck on the back of his hand and had pierced through his palm. After looking at his flowing blood for a while, he looked away with indifferent eyes. This was the direction the arrow had come from.
“This arrow… . “Are you Seon Yu-un?”
The young man, or rather Kim Soo-hyun, raised his left hand and said. Only then did they see the wound, and exclamations of surprise were heard from all directions. Several people dressed in priestly robes tried to run towards them, but Kim Soo-hyun waved his hand away and stared at the man holding the purple bow.
Seon Yu-un did not have the usual blunt face, but rather a very embarrassed expression. She looks like she can’t believe it, as if she really didn’t expect to guess. Kim Soo-hyun laughed and took out the arrow. The moment Seon Yu-un came to his senses was when the arrow that Kim Soo-hyun had thrown back came flying euphemistically, spraying drops of blood.
“Now that I think about it, I heard that the first floor of the Bottomless Pit of Death was completely cleaned not long ago.”
“yes? yes.”
Seon Yu-un hurriedly received the arrow and nodded his chin in succession.
“To be honest, when I first heard that I was taking on a challenge, I thought it was crazy, but I have no choice but to admit it. “It was the perfect trick.”
“Oh, no. I know you’ve been watching, and it’s all thanks to my colleagues… .”
This time he quickly shakes his head and speaks gibberish. Although it was only a single wound on the back of the hand, for Seon Yu-un, the fact that he hit Kim Soo-hyun was a very surprising thing. So much so that his mind became confused.
“Hmm.”
Kim Soo-hyun let out a satisfied groan and scanned the garden once more. With a light wave of my hand, two swords flew from somewhere and were slung at my waist.
“Everyone seems to be working hard. “That’s all for today.”
After saying that, he turned around and started walking towards the main castle. As soon as Kim Soo-hyun’s appearance disappeared, deep sighs flowed from all over the garden.
“Fubububu!”
Ahn Hyeon, who was lying upside down on the ground, managed to pull his head out and shake it vigorously. As I spat out the dirt that had penetrated into my mouth, I saw Jin Soo-hyeon lying down and laughing.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Hey, did you just see your face?”
Of course, Anhyeon, who was stuck in the garden, couldn’t see it. Jin Soo-hyun made a truly pitiful look and giggled like a crazy person.
“what a waste. “I should have seen it.”
“How was it?”
“You said it looked like you had been completely punched? Doesn’t that mean we’ve finally succeeded in attacking?”
“… … .”
Pointing over his shoulder with his thumb, Seon Yu-woon stands blankly, clutching the arrow given to him by Kim Soo-hyun. Jin Soo-hyun giggled and continued talking excitedly.
“Now I have no choice but to admit it. “You said it this way.”
“I don’t know.”
Jin Soo-hyeon boasted as if he had succeeded in the attack, but Ahn Hyeon’s reaction was sour.
“what? why? Tell me to be more happy. This is how successful an attack has been… .”
“Why don’t you look around?”
As Ahn Hyeon spoke as if scolding him, Jin Soo Hyun looked back at the garden in confusion. Eventually, when his eyes blinked three or four times, his excited face slowly subsided and an awkward look took its place. Of course, the sparring just now involved not only Seon Yu-un, Ahn Hyeon, and Jin Su-hyeon.
Shin Jae-ryong is stretched out in a flower field and looking at the sky, while Im Hanna is hanging on the branch of a large tree and folded in half. Cha Hee-young was curled up and crying, clutching her abdomen, and Yu-jeong Lee could not be seen where she had gone. Ansol and Jegal Haesol were floating along the waterway, passed out and friendly with each other, as if they were sailing boats.
with a plop!
“Oh really.”
No, it looks like Jegal Haesol was awake. He barely held on to the edge of the waterway and climbed up, gritting his teeth as he looked in the direction where Kim Soo-hyun had disappeared.
“Does this make sense? “Is that person a fraud?”
“Clan Lord. “Don’t say it’s that.”
Lee Yoo-jeong, who appeared limping and had no idea where she came from, spoke in a weak voice. The reason was quite miserable.
“No, how can everything that contains magic be cut off and explode? “What is my magical ability?”
“… … .”
“And what on earth are those swords? Since it was so blocked, I thought it wouldn’t work in general, so I used an intangible, colorless, odorless, and silent spell, but oh my god? The sword bastard intercepts it himself? Please do as well. “Are there any cases of penises like this?”
“… … .”
Ahn Hyeon secretly sighed as he watched Jegal Hae-sol pour out his angry voice like a rapid-fire gun. But soon she smiled bitterly. Was today the day when Jegal Haesol participated in his first official sparring?
Then you will understand. Because Ahn Hyun also felt similar feelings when he faced Kim Soo-hyun in Steel Mountains.
*
“Ouch, ouch.”
As I poured the potion, the back of my hand tingled as if static electricity was rising. I think I bought the arrows at the auction house for no reason. I knew there was a curse, but when I actually experienced it… . Oh, did Hwajeong treat you right away?
I smiled sheepishly and spread half of the potion evenly, drank the remaining half in one go, and stood up. When I went out to the terrace, I saw a garden that had been dug up and destroyed in various places.
Although it wasn’t an objectively beautiful scenery, I still felt proud. Now that sparring has become almost an official schedule, the improvement in the skills of clan members is visible. If you keep dealing with me, you probably won’t be that surprised if you see quite a few demons.
Of course, I also gain something. So, should I say it is a kind of training?
Looking back, after starting this session, I did not spend as much time on training as I thought. Well, there was no need to do it, but now things are different.
The abilities gained by succeeding the Sword Lord are certainly good, but they require a high level of control. If you do not use your abilities properly, they are nothing more than a pearl necklace on a pig’s neck, so you must make it yours as soon as possible and become accustomed to using it.
“hmm… .”
Still, looking at the garden doesn’t mean I’m completely worried. I’m guessing that Seungwoo Cho will probably come by within five minutes. Just yesterday, people were crying and crying, asking people to stop sparring in the garden, asking if they knew how much money it would cost to restore it, and saying that they should build a new gym instead… .
smart.
Oh, is it already here? This is a little fast.
“Come on in.”
I quickly sat down on a chair, thinking that if I got a hint of something to say, I would have to show the back of my hand. However, the user who came in after the door clicked open was not Cho Seung-woo.
“Hanbyeol Kim?”
“yes yes. hello.”
Hanbyeol Kim bowed his head and for some reason he came in. He holds a pile of records tightly in his arms. He asked, “Why did he come here?”
“what’s the matter?”
“Because of the report… .”
Take a look. In fact, it wasn’t a very pleasant visit at this point. Because I had just finished sparring, my body was drenched in sweat and I wanted to wash it off quickly.
“Is it urgent?”
“yes? Oh well… . are you busy?”
“no. As you can see, I sweat a lot. “It smells a bit.”
“ah. “I’m fine.”
It’s okay… ?
Suddenly I had a strange feeling. Kim Han-byeol’s attitude is not the same as before. Her previously cold eyes seem very nervous today, and she keeps stuttering or blurting her words… .
“sorry. If you don’t mind, I’ll come back at night… .”
At that time, Kim Han-byeol muttered with a puzzled face.
… Ah, now I understand. My schedule has been quite hectic lately, so I guess I’m sorry for interrupting my brief rest. You have a beautiful heart.
“are you okay. I guess I came because I needed a report. “But why isn’t Jeong Ha-yeon coming?”
“You’re very busy.”
“Oh yeah?”
“yes. And now it’s time for me to learn… .”
Right. I nodded and shook my head. After all, Mercenary itself is extremely busy these days, and I know that Ha-yeon Jeong is currently responsible for more than four tasks. And Kim Han-byeol was the vice-captain of the wizard class, so it wasn’t particularly strange for him to come to report.
When I thought about that, a smile suddenly appeared.
“Why are you smiling?”
“just. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Are you excited?”
“Hehe.”
Isn’t that right? It feels a bit refreshing. The chick, who knew nothing at the time of the rite of passage, has grown up so wonderfully(?) that he even came to report on it. I even felt like the times had come to an end. Perhaps Hanbyeol Kim feels the same way.
“good. Then report it.”
I sank down into the chair and lifted my chin.
“Fuyu, yes.”
Hanbyeol Kim took a deep breath, adjusted her posture, and began to walk carefully. I just wanted to say it was okay to do it on the spot, but he also has a strong sense of pride. Thinking that I could overlook a few mistakes, I stared at Kim Han-byeol, who was slowly approaching.
however.
“… … ?”
Kim Han-byeol’s steps did not stop.
He suddenly turned around, came back to the side, and suddenly bent down and fell down. And then she crawled all of a sudden into the desk and disappeared.
After a while.
“then… .”
At the same time, you can feel the sweat-soaked pants being gently pulled off,
“Bo, I’ll start by watching.”
Kim Han-byeol’s face peeked out from under the desk.
“… … .”
… uh?
—————————= Review of the work ——————– ——-=
Phew, I’m barely uploading it. Episode 7 will probably end next episode. Kim Soo-hyun’s point of view completely returns starting from episode 4, but we’ll get through episodes 6 to 5 as quickly as possible.
And as I briefly left a comment yesterday, I am entering reserve force mobilization training today. It is a 3-day, 2-night enlistment training, with a total of 28 hours from March 31st (Tuesday) to April 2nd (Thursday). I think I’ll probably get 10 hours, 10 hours, 8 hours, and I’ll probably come home late at night when I get home from work.
Actually, I really didn’t want to go at this time… . When I called the Military Manpower Administration, they said that if I fail to participate in mobilization training even once without any special reason, I will be prosecuted. -_-a I was told there would be a fine of about 50, so I just surrendered.(?)
Well, some of my readers may have already finished it (personally, I’m so jealous. ㅜ.ㅠ), but since everyone in the reserve force receives it without exception, I’m going to receive it with a happy heart. Also, the fourth year ends this year, so this also means the end of my enlistment training. haha.
Anyway, I need to update and pack the necessities I need for 3 days and 2 nights. Well, I will come back with the final episode of Episode 7 on Saturday, April 4th. Have a happy day to all readers. _(__)_
fantasy,
