Episode 136
136. Episode 136
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the setting sun.
Just a moment ago, I was outside the castle walls, where the sun was shining brightly, but when I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them, not only the time but even the space had changed.
As I stood within the city walls, the battle that had just taken place seemed like a dream.
– Welcome to the second shelter, the sand city of Skabe.
As it was a shelter, there didn’t seem to be any time limits or goals.
This is literally a shelter. It is a space created for players who are tired from challenging the trials up to the 10th floor to rest.
Of course, there are also various activities that players can participate in, such as exchanging equipment obtained from trials or forming new clans.
Soon after, the Diablo Clan began to be summoned around Seun.
“Shelter! Shelter!”
“What a long break!”
“I survived!!”
The clan members cheered as they admired the word shelter and the peaceful-looking interior of the city.
Although I enjoyed a break at my residence in the middle, the ordeal that followed felt unusually long.
‘Well, I climbed five floors in a row.’
As you climb higher up the tower, the trials become more difficult and each theme tends to get shorter.
This has the advantage of allowing you to rest through your clan’s residence every time you finish a theme, but it also means you have to risk your life every time you challenge a trial.
Is this a case of trivialities?
Either way, it’s just forcing a choice on the players, but for now, I want everyone to enjoy the moment.
Se-woon approached Yu Seo-ah, who was still looking bewildered at the center of the group.
“great job.”
“Mr. Se-un! Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Of course. I was going to go help right away, but it didn’t seem necessary.”
“It was all thanks to Baekhyun. Not only did he come up with the plan, but he sacrificed all the undead that he had worked so hard to create.”
The details of the operation were conveyed simply.
The strategy is to tie up the boss monster’s movements with each of their own strengths and then place Baekhyun’s undead inside it to explode it.
It seemed even more impressive because I knew how hard Baekhyun had been studying corpses and creating undead during every break.
“Haha, no. No matter how important the undead are, are they more important than us? And the most important manticore is still intact.”
“If you need anything, please let me know. I will do my best to help you.”
“Thank you! Then, can I have the queen ant you got from the 9th floor? There are so many things I want to experiment with!”
“of course.”
It was now the middle of the city, and everyone was tired.
Since I can’t take her out here, I decided to hand over the ant queen’s body as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.
While they were contemplating whether to return to the clan residence or at least find lodging here, a new message appeared before the eyes of the Diablo clan.
-The commander of the South Gate, Yasha, invites the Diablo Clan to the ‘Davan Tavern’.
‘The Dave’s Bar?’
Even if others didn’t know, Se-Woon remembered.
The fact that the Dayvan Tavern is the tavern that the soldiers of the South Gate always visit once a year to celebrate after repelling a monster attack.
That wasn’t the problem.
‘It’s connected to the 10th floor trial?’
Se-un looked back on his memories before his regression.
At that time, they had successfully overcome the ordeal, but as soon as they arrived at the shelter, the soldiers paid no attention to the players.
Just like when they first arrived at the castle walls, they treated the players as ‘outsiders’, as if they had forgotten that they had fought together against monster attacks.
But now, no matter how I looked at it, the story of the 10th floor trials and the shelter seemed to be connected.
Is it because of the hidden quest? Or is it because of my relationship with Yasha?
You must attend, if only to find out why.
And fortunately, the Diablo Clan’s response was also positive.
“Oh, a tavern!”
“Wouldn’t it be okay to have a beer before taking a break…?”
“I think that would be good too… … Ahem.”
Of course, he couldn’t openly shout out that he wanted to go, so he was watching Se-woon and Yoo Seo-ah’s reactions. Even Park Jeong-pil was looking at Se-woon with sparkling eyes.
Then, Se-Woon was the first to step forward and call them.
“What are you doing? Why don’t you hurry and go?”
“Awesome! Our clan leader!”
“Let’s go!”
* * *
The location of the Dave’s Tavern was not too far away.
The location where the Diablo Clan was originally summoned was around the south gate where the Deivan Tavern was located, and it was easy to find thanks to the system kindly informing us of the location.
“Hey, it’s bigger than I thought, bro?”
When I thought of the name of the tavern, I thought it would be a small tavern run by a retired soldier, but now that I look at it, it seems to be one of the largest taverns in Skabe.
Seun didn’t know about this place because he wasn’t very interested in taverns before his return.
As I opened the door and went in, I saw soldiers already filling more than half of the seats.
They too must have rushed to the tavern as soon as they finished roughly clearing the battlefield, with their clothes covered in monster fluids and sand.
Still, no one seemed to be impressed.
Everyone was raising their beer glasses high and cheering excitedly.
Then, a soldier spots Se-un and starts banging on the table with an empty beer mug while shouting behind him.
“Attention everyone! The hero has arrived!”
“What? Oh, here it comes!”
“Commander! Where are you, Commander!”
“Come out quickly!”
Everyone who followed Seun was taken aback by the unexpectedly enthusiastic welcome.
I thought I could just sneak in and have a drink, but judging by the atmosphere, it felt like the Diablo Clan was the main character.
Soon after, Yasha heard the news and broke through the soldiers.
“I’ve been waiting! Come this way… … .”
Yasha tried to show them to their seats, but there was no place in sight where all of the Diablo clan could sit.
Just as I was thinking about sitting down among the soldiers, taking a quick look around, her voice filled the tavern.
“You guys! What are you doing instead of making a seat?”
“Yes, yes!”
“All of you, stand up!”
“Oh, why this way!”
“If you have less experience than me, then just shut up and stand up!”
Boom!
The soldiers on the right moved hurriedly, and in an instant, about eight tables were emptied.
There were soldiers who rolled on the floor in a hurry to get out of the way, but instead of asking if they were okay, they were just grabbed by the back of the neck and dragged away, asking why they weren’t getting out of the way quickly.
Yasha, commander of the South Gate.
I always thought he had a calm and cool personality, but I didn’t know he had this kind of charisma.
There was a good reason why the soldiers followed her so well.
Well, thanks to that, the Diablo clan, including Seun, was able to settle down comfortably.
“Thank you for coming. Did you get some rest?”
“No, we were just wondering if we should find a place to stay.”
“Don’t worry about that. There’s a nice place to stay behind the tavern, so we’ll make a reservation for you.”
Her words caused the people of Clan Diablo to cheer.
Even if you return to your residence, there are places to sleep and wash, but they still can’t compare to the fluffy comforters of a proper lodging.
I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take this opportunity to buy a lot of daily necessities and decorate my residence.
“Oh, is this them? They sure look like they’re all working hard!”
While I was talking to Yasha, a large man approached me with some drinks and food.
One of his legs looked a bit weak, and it was easy to guess that he was a retired soldier.
“This is the owner of the tavern, Davean.”
“I heard the news! Everyone’s been doing great, so I can’t just sit back and do nothing! Hey, John! Brad!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Let’s put some effort into cooking today! Let’s set the most popular items!”
“Hehehe, it’s been a while since I’ve shown off my cooking skills! Even if my legs break, you can’t say anything!”
“Of course! If you see that we’ve run out of alcohol or food, you’re all fired!”
“yeah!”
Even though he was a retired soldier, could it be because he understood how it felt to stop a monster attack? All the staff at the tavern, including Deiban, seemed to be happier than the active-duty soldiers.
Before long, the table was piled high with all kinds of food.
Scorpion skewers, grilled lizard, cactus steak, etc. These were strange and unfamiliar foods, but judging from the atmosphere, they seemed to be quite popular foods here.
People were hesitant to eat it at first.
gulp.
“This is so delicious, bro!”
“Oh, is it edible?”
“How long has it been since I’ve had a proper meal!”
-Constellation, ‘The Hungry Prince’ drools so much that the floor becomes wet.
People soon started to fall in love with Skabe’s food.
It didn’t look like magic had been developed, but somehow they managed it, and there were ice cubes floating on the beer.
Whether the soldiers’ cheerful mood was contagious or not, the Diablo Clan table was soon filled with loud laughter.
As the mood grew, the soldiers came closer and began to offer drinks, and the awkward atmosphere completely disappeared.
A few good-natured men were the first to squeeze in among the soldiers, and soon everyone was clinking glasses together.
“It’s all thanks to you all.”
“I heard that you have been holding it back well up until now.”
“That’s true, but it was inevitable that casualties would follow whenever a monster attacked. This is the first time that there were no casualties, let alone injuries.”
Yasha’s face was slightly red as he emptied a new glass of beer.
Although he was a commander. No, because he was a commander, the joy of protecting the soldiers was even greater.
“Besides, this attack was particularly powerful. If it weren’t for you, we might not have been able to defend the walls.”
Certainly, the Diablo clan contributed greatly to this raid.
Although the difficulty level increased because Seun cleared the hidden quest, it was Yasha who requested the investigation in the first place.
The fact that they reached number one in the rankings proved the great contribution of the Diablo Clan.
After a brief conversation, the words I had been waiting for finally came out of her mouth.
It was something Se-woon couldn’t say first because of the atmosphere.
“Oh, I will compensate you as soon as things are sorted out.”
“Thank you.”
“However, I think I should report directly to the lord regarding your contributions this time, as well as regarding the sorcerers.”
“How long will it take?”
“It won’t take long. I’ll be there tomorrow morning.”
Hidden quest completed by Seun, The Banished Shaman.
This was by no means a light matter.
Because a sorcerer who was driven out of the city was preparing a plan to destroy the city.
What would happen if that news reached the lord’s ears?
Perhaps, you may be invited to the inner sanctum of Skabe, which you have not been able to enter even before the return.
‘Come to think of it, I heard there was a mural in Naeseong that looked similar to a statue.’
I thought that if I ever get the chance, I should check out the mural.
Se-Woon is certain that the statue has something to do with Outer, but the more information the better.
As I was gathering my thoughts, a familiar voice was heard from the center of the tavern.
When I turned my head, Park Jeong-pil was raising his glass full of beer and raising his voice.
“Okay, everyone, focus! Raise your glasses!”
“You know how to drink!”
“Everyone worked hard today, so let’s forget about all the hardships and drink like crazy today!”
“Cheers!”
Okay!
That night, the lights in the Davenport stayed on until the dawn air blew.
fantasy,
