Episode 214
Splash—
As the light that had been flickering on cleared, Hanbit found himself in a musty-smelling forest . It was a
space that seemed shrouded in a slight darkness. Had he not seen the Cube from the outside, it would have felt like nothing more than a vast forest in nature. Crouching low, Hanbit checked the message that appeared. [Common Effect: Depletion applied.] [Life and Mana cannot be recovered and will naturally deplete over time.] [Area Effect: Disappearance applied.] [Parts of the body will disappear within this area.] 'So this is the way.' Disappearance, one of the ten areas. Just as the message stated, it was a place where parts of the body would become unusable. Swoosh— Hanbit lowered his gaze. Both arms that had been there just moments ago. However, his entire right arm had turned translucent. -Huh? -Disappearance? -Does this mean he can't use his arm? -Isn't he right-handed? -This debuff is totally awful; -I'm screwed. Watching the shocked reactions of the viewers, Hanbit checked the movement of his right arm. Of course, since the Disappearance effect was applied, there wasn't even a twitch. *Swoosh* Hanbit drew his sword with his left hand. Although he was right-handed as mentioned in the chat, that was not a problem at all. After all, wielding both hands freely had been possible since the very beginning in this other world. 'Let's find the twins first.' Turning his gaze to the party sharing screen, Hanbit checked the location of the two siblings. Just as instructed, the twins had not moved a single step. But then… '… …?' As he examined the terrain around the two, he noticed something. Suspicion quickly turned into certainty. 'They weren't talking nonsense about being on the same side.' The twins were currently in the same area as Hanbit. Although their location wasn't exactly close, this fact alone relieved a great burden. It must have been Ibella, who had sent each player to a random location, who had pulled some strings. *Thump*! Pushing off with his foot, Hanbit leaped up a tree. One of the characteristics visible in the Cube of Hell is the types of monsters that inhabit it. They varied considerably, ranging from those similar in level to the ones seen in Zone 1 to individuals that could only be handled by the top advance party. Since they operated freely across all areas, dealing with them was often tricky. Ta-dat—! Hanbit moved swiftly, leaping over branches. Locating the twins was merely a product of experience. Even within forests that looked similar, there were clearly distinct terrains. Natural phenomena like the intensity of darkness and the direction of the wind were also clues. Flap—! Just then, something flew over Hanbit's head as he was crossing the tree. Twisting his body in mid-air, he slashed his sword vertically. Kaang—! His body was flung away with a sharp roar. Landing on the tree, Hanbit stared straight ahead. [Evil-Caught Iron Crow (Lv. 234)] A crow made entirely of steel, just like its name suggests. However, creatures whose only strength was such hardness were actually easy to deal with. Thud— A crack appeared in the crow's wing where the multicolored sword had slashed. Hanbit kicked off with his foot and once again… the sword… … Whoosh! Just then, something shot out of Hanbit's embrace. It was a baby tiger with pure white fur and black stripes. It was the mythical beast Cheonho. Thump! The flying tiger latched onto Iron Crow's body. Then, it began wildly flailing its claws against the cracked wing. It was the behavior that comes when instincts are intensified. "-?? -What's wrong with you again? " "-It is cute, though…" "… -Didn't you feed it? " 'Is it time to evolve already?' Cheonho is currently in Stage 1. It grows alongside Hanbit, but it takes longer than expected. It is safe to say this is the first time it has reacted this quickly. As a young individual, it shows significant changes even with just one stage of growth, so this was welcome news. Caw! The crow twisted its body, trying to shake off the Cheonho. However, it could not properly apply force to the cracked wing. Thump! Hanbit immediately kicked its foot and thrust its sword toward the crow's neck. Crunch! The blade pierced through the tough skin and shot straight through to the other side. At the same time, a message popped into my head.
Ding-
[Experience points increased by 210,000.]
'…It actually gave me experience.'
Recently, there were many instances where experience from hunting wasn't granted during episode progression.
Should I assume it was given as a clear reward instead?
About 200,000 from a single monster was a substantial amount.
“Come back. Let’s go.”
Grrr—!
Cheonho, who had been vigorously swinging his claws, quickly returned to my embrace.
Hanbit kicked off his feet again and headed toward the first destination.
Swish—!
Splat—!
Monsters kept appearing along the path.
After swiftly dealing with them as he advanced, he stopped on a slope beneath a tree.
“Lord Black Dragon!”
Noeul, who had been keeping watch on the surroundings while holding his staff, raised his head to greet me.
His whispering voice was a reaction of vigilance against nearby dangers.
-?
-You found me already?
-Didn't you watch the party video?
-No, even if I did, how would I know where it was?
-It is easier to just give up on understanding.
“So it was snow. It feels really awkward, doesn't it?”
“…Yes. Even though it wasn't real, it was actually a bit scary.”
The body part Noeul had lost was his right eye.
The darkness cast over his translucent pupil must have instilled fear in him in many ways.
“Lord Black Dragon, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Let’s go to Haneul.”
“Yes!”
The two moved inward together.
Since the distance was quite long, Hanbit ended up carrying Noeul on his back.
“Lord Black Dragon, up ahead!”
The boy, along with the Spirit of Light, kept a vigilant watch over the surroundings.
Reacting immediately, Hanbit quickly dealt with the monsters approaching from all sorts of routes.
Fortunately, they weren’t difficult to handle yet.
Ta-dat—!
Their speed gradually increased as they moved along the tree.
Just then, Hanbit, who had been monitoring the shared screen, spoke directly through the party voice channel.
“Haneul, step back.”
It was an instruction given by someone who had discovered something.
However, for some reason, no change appeared on the screen.
It was strange that there wasn’t even a reply.
'…Could it be.'
The effects of loss were bound to erase even the senses.
Just as Noeul had lost his sight, it wouldn’t be surprising if Haneul had lost something as well.
Hiss—!
Realizing the problem, Hanbit quickly attempted to send instructions via message.
However, the situation changed first.
Whoosh!
A long spear flew in from behind Haneul's head.
The one who revealed himself was Hiyori, a player from the Holy Kingdom.
(Ugh!)
Just before the attack struck, Haneul narrowly dodged the spear.
A trail of wind rippled around him.
It was the power of a spirit.
(He dodged that?)
Hiyori let out a hollow laugh as she watched the spear thrust into the air.
Although she couldn't see her comrade, she still lacked sufficient evidence to be certain.
(Clang!)
Haneul's battle had already begun.
Purple mist scattered around him.
It was the power of the Cloud Mist Spear Hiyori wielded.
The blue rings swirling around him were the effect of a magical artifact.
Pfft!
Quadruple!
Attacks from magical artifacts swarming from all sides, in addition to the spear, shattered Haneul's armor and inflicted wounds.
It was a movement clearly intended to torment him rather than simply kill him.
"-Huh?
" "-Crazy;"
"-Isn't that the person we saw in Episode 6?"
"-He hit Haneul?
" "-Which company does he belong to? "
Ta-dat!
Hanbit sped up even more and charged forward, cutting through the wind.
And just as he arrived where Haneul was, Hiyori, who had been fighting, quickly stepped away.
"Lord Black Dragon, a Holy Kingdom player…"
Noeul, who had been checking the screen while being carried, also realized the situation.
Hanbit went down under the tree and approached Haneul, who was standing there holding a sword.
Crack—
whoosh—!
A dagger flew in, twisting its body the moment he took a step closer.
The attack stopped right in front of Hanbit's nose.
"Ah!"
A wave of relief washed over Haneul as he opened his eyes wide.
Translucent ears were visible through his hair. To make
matters worse, not just one, but both were missing.
It made sense why he hadn't even had the peace of mind to check the broadcast screen.
Hanbit delivered a message.
"Let's move to another area. The debuffs will change once we get out, so it will be much better."
“I’m fine. If there is anything you need to do here, you can do it.”
Despite the seriousness of his wounds, Haneul spoke with a brave face. He was
in a situation where recovery was impossible due to a common debuff.
Even without pain, a psychological burden was bound to be felt.
Watching this, Hanbit’s expression grew slightly colder.
‘I can watch the stream, so that’s it.’
The players of the Holy Kingdom could watch the broadcast freely. It was
a situation he had braced himself for since resuming streaming.
Although it was the cause of an overwhelmingly unfavorable battle situation, the desire to turn it off had actually vanished.
Swoosh—
Hanbit took a dark red crystal from his inventory.
It was a summoning stone imbued with madness.
Pop!
As he used it immediately, a shimmer emanating from the crystal dug into the ground.
And a moment later.
Swoosh—
Ten fully armored elites of the Madness Legion appeared.
Hanbit took several bright red cubes from his inventory again.
A piece of paper attached to the surface in an X shape caught his eye.
He strapped it to the clowns' bodies and gave the order.
“Kill everyone except my comrades.”
Ta-ta!
The legion immediately scattered in all directions.
Watching this, Noeul asked,
“Lord Black Dragon, what did you attach?”
“Remember what we did at the Madness Legion’s castle? It’s similar to that.”
“Ah!”
As soon as he mentioned that name, Noeul realized the plan as well.
The Madness Legion’s castle they had conquered in the basement of the Vortex Tower.
They had experience dealing with it decisively by causing massive explosions using light-attribute bombs and paper clones.
The cubes attached to the Madness Legion’s bodies were made of materials far more expensive than that, even infused with Sallion’s flames.
If you count the cost alone, it must have cost nearly 200 million.
'There must be a lot of them.'
The players he had observed at the entrance.
It was highly likely they were similar to, or even stronger than, the group he had encountered in Episode 6.
It would be difficult for the current Madness Legion to kill them easily.
However, when it came to locating enemies, they were top-notch.
'I messed with the wrong person this time.'
Taking an ambiguous stance in this cube was strictly forbidden.
If someone had provoked them first, the wisest course of action was to retaliate with retaliation many times greater.
The fact that they had raided Haneul and fled was probably a secondary matter.
Whoosh—
Just then, light began to flicker in the summoning stone imbued with madness.
It was a sign that at least five entities had entered combat.
"Let's go up."
Ta-ta!
Hanbit led the twins to the top of a tall tree.
Then, the forest came into view.
The surroundings, densely packed with trees and bushes, stretched endlessly.
"Don't be surprised."
"……?"
When he sent the message again, Haneul looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Turning his gaze straight ahead, Hanbit clutched the paper in his hand.
"Fire Burst."
Whoosh—!
The ejected flames incinerated the paper in an instant.
At that moment, a massive radiance erupted from all corners of the forest.
Flash—!
A blindingly intense light.
Simultaneously, a tremendous roar followed.
Pow-pow-pow—!
The impact of the flame explosions from ten locations scattered intense heat, engulfing the entire forest.
It was enough to swallow up not only the Realm of Loss but also its surroundings.
“Ugh!”
“Hot!”
The twins were pushed back by the heat storm.
Hanbit, standing guard behind them, gazed at the summoning stone in his hand.
Thanks to releasing the summon at the moment of the explosion, he had not lost the Legion of Madness.
It had been a long time since he had timed it so perfectly, but fortunately, his senses were still sharp.
Whoosh—!
The still-burning flames gradually spread across the wide forest.
Ding-
[Experience points increased by 200,000.]
[Experience points increased by 3,800,000.]
[Experience points increased by 220,000.]
[Experience points increased by 250,000.]
[Experience points increased by 3,500,000.]
[Experience points increased by 4,200,000.]
… … .
Experience point messages appeared immediately.
Perhaps because they had encroached upon other areas, the number of dead players exceeded 10.
With so many monsters swept up as well, the experience points gained were substantial.
Enough to level up by four stages.
-Huh?
-No. Hahaha
-Damn, they just blew up the forest;
"Why look for an enemy? You can just burn them. "
"LOL
."
Calling the spirit's name, Hanbit embraced the twins with one hand.
Then, he lightly jumped down from the top.
"Ah!"
"Waaah!"
Startled by the sudden situation, the twins screamed.
*Thump!
* Stepping on a tree trunk in mid-air, Hanbit descended to a lower altitude.
*Swoosh!*
Even though he threw himself into the flames, a curtain of water created by the Undine protected him.
In the meantime, Hanbit reached his target.
"Damn it…"
A woman staggered through the flames.
It was Hiyori, who had attacked the sky.
Judging by her tattered state, it seemed she had almost no stamina left.
*Crunch*
Hanbit lowered the twins to the ground and approached where she was.
"…!"
At the same time, Hiyori stopped in her tracks upon spotting Hanbit's party.
Her eyes seemed to know what was about to happen.
Seeing that one of her fingers was translucent, it made sense why she had moved so boldly.
“Lord Black Dragon, may I finish this?”
Sky asked, as if a surge of resentment had surfaced.
I nodded, and she stepped forward.
“Do you think I’m just going to let you get away with it?”
Gritting her teeth, Hiyori staggered and raised the spear she had been leaning on.
The menacing ring still lingered nearby.
But this was not a situation for an ambush.
Ta-ta—!
Silver afterimages scattered from Sky’s dagger as it glided forward.
Hiss—!
The spear thrust out a little late, and the blue ring flew in.
Sky lightly dodged them and instantly got behind her.
Thud—!
“Ugh!”
Hiyori’s eyes widened at the dagger embedded in her neck.
“Seriously, this sucks.”
Swoosh—
Her body disintegrated with her last words.
It was a futile death brought about by a needless ambush.
-Clean
-Restless
-If you landed the first hit, you deserve to die. -Seriously,
you never learn.
-Do not mess with the Black Dragon if possible.
“Oh.”
On the floor lay the items and gold she had dropped.
*Thump*
—Haneul picked them up, quickly approached, and showed them the items.
The gold was meager, but the items weren't bad.
[Renfa's Ring]
The true identity of the ring that had been bothering Hiyori.
This, too, was an item obtainable in a dungeon within the Holy Kingdom's territory.
As an auxiliary weapon that aided the user's attack and defense, it was highly useful.
"You use this, Haneul."
"Really? Thank you!"
When the ring was handed to her, Haneul accepted it happily.
If you consider it a trophy, perhaps it should be said that it had found its rightful owner.
"Let's get out of here. We don't need this territory anymore."
Having finished tidying up, Hanbit was about to walk toward the boundary of the territory.
Just then, a sound came from the scorched bushes.
*Swoosh*—
It didn't feel like a monster's.
Judging it to be a player, Hanbit quickly thrust his sword.
*Whoosh*—!
"Ugh!"
A strange scream echoed along with the blade slicing through the air.
When the scorched bushes were cleared away, a man lying on the ground was visible.
[Pingpong]
-?
-Who are you?
-How did your nickname get to be Table Tennis?
-Why is your hair like that?
-Is it a concept?
“Pingpong?”
The name tag that appeared above his head was something he had never seen before.
Among the players he had seen at the entrance, no one had a name like that.
“Who are you? Are you part of the reinforcements from the Holy Kingdom?”
“Huh? No, I’m not! I really am not!”
Pingpong hurriedly waved his arms and stepped back.
Was the empty space in the center of his hair an effect of the Disappearance?
“You’re not lying, are you? You must be a member of the Holy Body Faction.”
Hanbit pressed him, his suspicions unresolved.
At that, Pingpong raised his voice as if he were being wronged.
“I’m a moderate, a moderate!”
