Episode 197
197. Episode 197
The content of the 24th floor trial was simple.
All I had to do was go down the mountain in the direction of my destination as seen from the top.
It was such a simple story, but of course, it had a catastrophic ‘natural disaster’ mixed in.
“Eww!”
Boom, bang!!
The volcanic eruption sends volcanic ash flying in all directions.
The continuous loud noises were so loud that my hearing was almost paralyzed.
Red lava was flowing down from all over the place, so if you dodge the falling rocks, your legs will melt away.
It was a trial of such difficulty that not a single monster appeared, but it was one where monsters were not even a thought.
“Hyungnim! Please, let’s go together!”
“Running away is your specialty, right? Just follow me.”
“No, you can only run away if your opponent is different! How can you run away when a volcano has erupted?”
“You’re running away well now.”
“Eww!”
– The constellations, ‘Donkey Head Snatcher’, are happily watching the Apostles, giggling and saying that they didn’t know there would be a cookie video following the highlight.
– The constellation, ‘The Hungry Prince’, has a sullen expression, saying that he can’t smell food.
Before returning, Seun escaped through a hidden fork in the road, not through the peak of the volcano, but through the passage on the opposite side.
I remember overcoming this ordeal more easily than others because it was connected to the middle of the volcano.
‘There was no hidden piece either.’
No, even if there was, there was no time to look for it when a volcano was erupting right behind us.
As for Seun, he was currently lacking in mana and internal energy, so he had no intention of forcing himself to find something.
“Tongue, bro! Up! Up! You can’t avoid that!”
Se-woon raised his head at Park Jeong-pil’s scream, which could be heard clearly even in a situation where his eardrums were frozen.
Then, a rock appeared that was incomparably larger than any other boulders I had seen so far.
It looked just like a comet, with its red-hot lava and fiery tail.
Even if it was the usual Park Jeong-pil, right now he was just as exhausted as Se-woon.
That’s understandable, since Seun had been tying up dozens of monsters while handling Dragon Heart. He knew that today wasn’t a joke, so he decided to help.
Taat!
Se-un jumped up.
Instead of avoiding it, he ran towards the falling rock.
Then, he pulled up the little bit of internal energy he had barely managed to build up and put it all into his sword.
– Blood Wolf Sword Technique’s sacrificial ritual, Blood Wolf Roar, is strengthened through internal energy.
– The power of martial arts is strengthened according to the secret of the ultimate deep attack.
Quagwagwaggwat-
In an instant, Seun’s sword was swung dozens of times.
Dozens of black energies created by this struck the rock, and eventually the rock could not hold on and burst apart.
The rock broke into dozens of pieces, scattering debris all around, but fortunately, it did not reach the place where Se-un and Park Jeong-pil were.
“Wow, you are indeed my brother!”
“Let’s go quickly without further ado.”
No matter how strong he was, it was impossible to avoid all those boulders with only physical ability when his mana and internal energy were at rock bottom.
In the original trial format, there would be a minimum amount of time to rest between layers, but thanks to the strange way the hidden trials were passed, that time has disappeared.
‘But the next trial will be easier.’
Se-Woon suppressed his fatigue and ran forward vigorously.
“Waaaaaaah!”
Behind him, Park Jeong-pil was desperately following along, screaming repeatedly as if his throat wasn’t sore.
no.
– The constellation, ‘Donkey-headed Snatcher’, bursts into laughter without even being able to catch his breath.
– The constellation, ‘Donkey-headed Snatcher’, snickers for a moment, then faints from excessive laughter.
It was rolling.
* * *
– You have successfully completed the 24th floor trial, ‘Volcanic Eruption’.
– Calculating public figures… … .
– Total accumulated merit points: 128,000 points
“Phew… … .”
Seun, who had come down to the bottom of the volcano to avoid the falling rocks, let out a sharp sigh.
It was difficult to complete the trial with only physical abilities while lacking mana and internal energy.
Perhaps, if it had been anyone else, he would have been crushed by a boulder or burned to death in the lava long ago.
‘Of course, there was a way to take a break in between.’
Originally, there were various strategies for clearing the 24th floor trial other than just running around like this.
There were places to catch your breath along the way, and at least there were places where there were fewer falling rocks after you crossed the flowing lava.
However, I didn’t want to waste time in a place where there was no hidden piece, so I went straight here.
Even without mana and internal energy, Seun believed in his body being strengthened by the power of gluttony.
“This time I really thought I was going to die… … .”
Looking back, I saw Park Jeong-pil resting with his head on the bare ground.
Well, even if he couldn’t use his martial arts skills, he was able to keep up with Seun’s speed, whose agility stat easily exceeded 200, so it was understandable that he would get tired.
“Rest. You’ll have plenty of time until the next trial.”
“Ugh, finally!”
The guy drinks the potion he received from Ihaneul as if he was thirsty, and immediately starts snoring.
My face naturally wrinkled at the loud noise, but since I had rushed all the way to the 21st floor without even getting a proper rest, I decided to let it slide this time.
‘I need to get some rest too.’
Woof-
Se-un sat upright and thought about the method.
I accepted new internal energy into my empty danjeon, and circulated new mana into my equally empty circle.
The air was murky, perhaps because of the volcanic ash, making it difficult to breathe, so I activated the Wind Curtain as soon as my mana recovered to some extent.
This was a possible method because if you focus only on the circle while standing straight, you will recover more mana than is consumed by magic.
‘Now the 5th circle is slowly being filled up.’
Is it because of the power of gluttony?
The 5th Circle Master, which had seemed so far away, was now right in front of us.
Of course, it is almost full, but for the average player, it would take at least several months of focused training to fill it up, but it was a level that could be sufficiently covered with Dragon Heart.
‘It’s a bit ambiguous here.’
Between the 24th and 25th floors.
Seundo was able to rest comfortably here before his return, but just like on the previous floor, the tower is a place where you never know what might happen.
So, after completing the trials on the next level and moving to the clan’s residence, I planned to open the circle.
“wake up.”
“Uhm, how much time has passed? Just five more minutes… … .”
“I’m going to leave you behind, so do you want to follow me in five minutes?”
“… … Hehe, sortie complete! I, Park Jeong-pil, am ready to follow you at any time!”
He had been resting so soundly that his cheeks were covered in ash from the drool he had shed.
Even though I had rested for several hours, I still felt completely tired.
Well, I can understand this much since you went through all that trouble.
“Don’t worry. The next trial won’t be that difficult.”
“Huh? How do you know that, hyung?”
“Go and check it yourself.”
As Se-Woon took a few steps forward after finishing his preparations, a message indicating the next ordeal immediately appeared.
– Welcome to the 25th floor of trials.
– Subject: Scattered Relics
– Time limit: 48 hours
– You barely made it down the volcano and found a forest covered in smoke.
– The forest contains the remains of life that perished in the disaster.
– After acquiring one relic, exit the smoke.
I only took a few more steps, but my surroundings became extremely blurry.
Black smoke filled the surroundings like fog, and at best, only about 2 meters could be seen.
“Relics? Isn’t this just a treasure hunt?”
“I told you, it won’t be that difficult.”
25th floor of trials, scattered relics.
The content is long, but as Park Jeong-pil said, its essential goal was no different from a treasure hunt.
This forest contains relics left behind by various creatures, not just humans.
Most of what humans left behind are equipment, rare monster materials, and various hidden pieces.
It was an ordeal to be able to take care of one of them.
As far as Seun could remember, it was a trial without monsters, and if the goal was simply to pass the trial, he could find the relic without much difficulty.
Of course, there were very few players who came here to look for just any relic.
Each player roams around the area until time runs out, trying to find relics that will help them.
‘I was also able to obtain some useful relics.’
Se-un’s case was different from others.
Since I was able to find various relics through the itinerary guide, I was happily pondering which ones to choose among the various relics.
Most of them were of little significance now, but I had to choose a relic that would be useful for high public service, so I was planning on finding one of them this time as well.
at that time.
– The constellation, ‘The Hungry Prince’, sniffs the air, sensing the faint scent of prey.
– The constellation, ‘The Hungry Prince’, is crying as his nostrils are filled with volcanic ash.
‘hmm?’
Beelzebub’s unexpected reaction came to mind.
The smell of prey definitely means there are monsters around here.
However, Seun, before returning, had not found a single monster even though he had spent more than a day here.
– The constellation, ‘The Hungry Prince’, convinces you that it smells delicious.
Se-woon nodded slightly.
If there is a monster here, it may also be a hidden piece.
If a monster is hidden in a trial to find a relic, there is a high chance that the monster is guarding or hiding a good relic.
Se-Woon, who had finished thinking that far, immediately rotated the circle.
– The Treasure Trove of Greed has been opened.
[ Wind field ]
– A large-range magic that creates a certain area into a land of wind.
A cool breeze blew out from Se-un’s body.
It was not an attack magic. As written in the description, it was a magic that simply changed the surrounding air currents to continuously create wind.
It is a magic that is mainly used to remove things like smoke from the surrounding area, but even that is not a preferred magic because it is high level and consumes a lot of mana.
Even so, it was the best magic for now.
The surrounding smoke quickly disappeared with the wind, and with it the ground and trees covered in ash were visible.
“Hey, I was already annoyed by the ash in my breath. You’re awesome!”
The reason for using the wind field was simple.
If there is a monster here that no one can find, I figured it would definitely be hiding in this thick smog.
If you’re lucky, the monster will reveal itself right away, or if not,
“……found.”
There were bound to be unusual areas where smoke was tightly held to hide the body even when the wind blew.
fantasy,
