Episode 249
Whoosh!
Having teleported using a Warp Crystal, Hanbit stood facing a cold gust of wind.
A long ice wall lay before him.
It was the city-state of the Lore Confederation.
“This place is really huge, too.”
“It’s big enough to be in the top three for a single city.”
The sky marveled, while Noeul added further explanation.
Pingpong looked around, appearing slightly nervous.
“What’s wrong?”
“You never know who might be watching. You have to be careful of being followed in times like this.” He
looked as if he had just watched a movie, but he wasn't entirely wrong.
Getting a tail attached to him would only make things worse.
“Cheonho.”
Swoosh—
A tiger appeared before his eyes at the call.
Hanbit lightly patted its back and gave a single instruction.
“Stay with me until I call.”
Grrr!
Wagging its tail, Cheonho approached and stood between the twins,
with its back turned to Pingpong.
“But why are you planning to send Cheonho along?”
Haneul asked while stroking the tiger's fur.
Hanbit, scanning the surroundings and confirming there were no eyes watching, said,
"It's because of his ability. He has an exceptional power to detect surrounding creatures."
"Then how about we ambush and kill them?"
"It's possible, but try to avoid them if possible. There will likely be many enemies that you guys can't handle."
Although Haneul showed bold enthusiasm, it was still difficult for him to face top-ranked players.
Of course, considering his talent and growth rate, that was likely not a distant prospect.
"Hurry up and leave before the player arrives. I'll keep an eye on the party screen."
"We will move as safely as possible so as not to cause any worry."
With Noeul's mature words, the three began moving toward their destination.
The sight of Cheonho walking lightly alongside them was reassuring in many ways.
'This is enough.'
Hanbit, who had stood alone for a moment, pressed the streaming start button.
His purpose was to draw attention not only to the Twins and Pingpong, but also to the collaborators who would attack the occupied territory.
He wasn't just hoping to draw attention; he was hoping they would come find him in person.
-Oh.
-Hi
-You actually turned this on;
-Isn't the video from yesterday being uploaded?
-Did you really beat Rank 1?
-I did die, but didn't the episode get cleared too?
-Is that even possible?
The chat messages flooding in expressed doubts regarding yesterday's events.
Since Sirius wasn't the one hosting the stream, the truth hadn't been confirmed.
Hanbit calmly stated only the result.
“Neither the Rank 1 nor I died. I think the video will be uploaded as an edited version.”
-You survived that;
-Checking the edited version.
-First, explain the update.
-The whole world is a Black Dragon.
-People were going crazy trying to snatch the quests first. Haha
-Upvote if you're a comfortable latecomer.
The topic quickly shifted to update news.
I intended to wait and see regarding this part.
“Let's check the update together as we go. Oh, and today we'll be tackling the private zone first.”
-Private zone?
-It was a total mess there. Hahaha
-Info) The Adult faction still hasn't cleared it. "
-Seriously, their confidence is dead and they're just digging their own graves.
-The Black Dragon is different.
-Let's show them. "
News of the Seongche faction's consecutive failures had already spread far and wide.
Though, it wasn't a big deal since it was something he had anticipated long ago.
"We are in front of the Lore Alliance. I will just procure the necessary items and head over. Let's finish this quickly."
Hanbit turned his back on the long stretch of fortress walls.
Although there were tasks to be done within the Lore Alliance, conquering the restricted zone was the top priority right now.
*Smack *—
He walked in the opposite direction from where his companions had gone.
His destination was the former hideout of the exiled Crown Prince Emeter.
It was the place where the Seal of Apostasy he possessed was hidden.
It was an ill-fated relic left as a final bastion because he could not trust anyone. *
Swoosh*—
As he walked along the snowy white path, he saw himself being followed.
The movements didn't seem to be any attempt to hide.
'Looks like people from the Alliance.'
Seeing nearly 100 people suddenly appear, they seemed to be players who had been staying within the alliance.
As it was a nation unrelated to any faction, it wasn't strange to see anyone there.
Rustle—
Hanbit calmly took a step into the snowy mountain area.
At the same time, a tremendous blizzard erupted.
Whoosh!
The force was immense enough to instantly obscure the view.
It was dangerous enough that a moment of carelessness would sweep you away.
“Ugh!”
“What is this!”
The players’ panicked voices could be heard faintly.
Fortunately, thanks to the blizzard subsiding irregularly, at least minimal tracking was possible.
Crunch—
Hanbit fumbled his way forward, treading on the snow clumped with cold.
This was because he had to stop every few steps.
"-Did you get a movement speed debuff?"
"-Slow;
" "-Is it hard to climb?
" "-Aren't you wary of monsters?"
The viewers also expressed frustration and doubt over his slow movements.
However, there was no other choice here.
It was a place where the terrain of the snowy mountain changed according to the direction and intensity of the blizzard.
It was a location that could never be found using magical artifacts or magic.
Whoosh!
After advancing like that, tapping on stone bridges for about 20 minutes,
Hanbit’s feet, battling the blizzard, came to a halt.
'Here it is.'
What lay before him was a massive canyon.
And at the center of it all stood a dome-shaped ice structure.
Crunch—
Hanbit took a step and headed toward it.
Just then, a voice came from behind him.
“Where are you going?”
A deep, confrontational voice rang out.
Turning his head, he saw nearly 50 players spread out before him.
“-Ah;
” “-The Adult Faction again?”
“-The Dark Black Dragon Lovers;”
“-Huh? Isn’t Crawler part of the Hardliners?
” “-Yeah, Rank 400.
” “-Even members of the same faction are acting like that.”
At the appearance of these troublemakers, the viewers poured out annoyed chat messages.
The player named Crawler was part of the Hardliners, but that didn’t really matter.
They didn’t look like they were on the same side to begin with.
‘He couldn’t keep up.’
Those tracking Hanbit numbered well over double his. He
had guided him fairly kindly, but it seemed he had been knocked out in the snowy mountains amidst the raging blizzard.
Not that there was any need to worry at that level, though.
“Looks like he stuck by like a rat?”
“I told you you should have kept a close eye on your back. Look at all these hyena-like humans following you!”
At the casually tossed-out question, Crawler smirked.
No matter how important power had become in this situation, that wasn’t a story that applied to everyone. After all,
there were bound to be plenty of individuals looking to grab a piece of the pie.
“Do you know where this is?”
“You said you were going to attack a restricted area, right? I suppose this is what you need for that.”
Crawler slung his axe over his shoulder.
Then, looking around, he raised his voice.
“Hey you guys! We’re both after the same thing, so let’s decide who goes in right here!”
The intention behind the words he threw at the other players was obvious.
He intended to wage a battle here to break down the wall that was the Black Dragon.
If they had followed him after watching the Black Dragon’s broadcast, they certainly couldn’t have been unaware of the power he had displayed so far.
‘Hmm.’
Hanbit surveyed the players, gauging their strength by examining their weapons and equipment.
While they were all decent, they were far from enough to face him.
They were at a level where he could take them down with just a single skill.
Hanbit, without drawing his sword, spoke in a calm voice.
“If we fight here, we won’t be able to get in there.”
“What kind of nonsense are you…?”
“Can’t you see? It’s shaking because of the loud shouts you made. If it collapses, we’re all going to die here.”
“What?”
As he nodded, Crawler’s gaze turned toward the canyon surrounding the ice structure.
Thump—
thud—
“…Tsk.”
The terrain, which had looked so solid, was indeed precariously dropping debris.
Hanbit turned around and said,
“If you get it, shut up and follow me. Whether it’s competition or whatever, I’ll take care of it inside.”
Crunch—
Leaving those words behind, the Black Dragon walked away nonchalantly.
Watching his retreating figure, the players exchanged wary glances before cautiously following him.
Clack—
Advancing straight ahead, Hanbit arrived in front of a dome-shaped ice structure.
The gaping entrance looked nothing but black.
“Go in first.”
Hanbit said to Crawler, who wore a displeased expression.
At that, he furrowed his brows deeply.
“What kind of nonsense is this? You go in first.”
“Really? Won’t you regret it? There might be some benefits to being first in.”
“…….”
At the mention of a plausible possibility, Crawler’s eyes wavered.
He was a personality that was quite easy to read.
“Seriously, no one’s going in?”
Hanbit encouraged the other players to take a chance.
However, no one moved rashly.
– “Everyone’s scared. Hahaha.”
– “Level;
” – “Just bring the #1 ranked player.
” – “The reason you guys can’t reach the top.
” – “That’s true for us too…
” – “T_T”
The viewers who had been teasing them fell into self-reflection, but in a situation like this, making a choice was bound to be difficult.
After all, even though it was just a game, there was a severe penalty for death.
Of course, it was also true that those who overcame that were the ones who could climb higher.
“Then I’ll go first, I guess.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Hanbit stepped into the pitch-black space.
Whoosh—
A sensation of falling accompanied by a slightly unpleasant foreign feeling.
When that ended, the surrounding view brightened.
Shhh—
The interior looked entirely like a frozen tomb.
There were traces of it having been used as a hideout, but even that was only a small part of it.
It had been nearly 20 years since Crown Prince Emeter had used this place.
“What?”
“Ice?”
Just then, players appeared from the back.
Everyone who had been outside had already arrived.
“What is this place?”
Crawler asked, aiming his axe once again and surveying his surroundings.
Hanbit approached the wall, tapped the ice, and spoke.
“As you can see, it’s a tomb. Didn’t they say it’s over 1,000 years old?”
“…A tomb?”
The atmosphere shifted strangely at the ominous word.
Just as an inexplicable silence fell, an alarm rang.
Ding-
[Field Quest]
I address those who have come to the Fallen King’s Ice Palace.
Resolve this curse-like craving to open the path to me.
Objective: Sacrifice souls exceeding the threshold to resolve the curse.
Reward: Unlock the King’s Tomb.
Time Limit: 10 minutes.
[Effect: The Curse of the Abandoned Ice Palace is applied.]
[The chill of death engulfs your body.]
“What?”
“A, a curse?”
The players’ eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the quest and debuff.
Upon confirming the same message, Crawler spun his head.
“Black Dragon! You knew it all along…!”
He tried to swing his axe while cursing.
However, his body was already immobile.
*Crack*
—Before he could even realize it, a freezing effect spread, encroaching upon every part of his body.
It fell upon every player equally.
Except for one person, of course.
“See, you should have thought it through.”
The Black Dragon, not frozen to the slightest, strolled leisurely among the players.
And the moment he stopped in front of Crawler.
“You bastard…!”
*Thud*
—Every player's body froze completely.
*Ding*—
[Soul offering successful.]
[Field quest completed.]
[The King's Tomb is unlocked.]
-Wow. Hahaha
-Frooooosh!
-So this is how it turned out;
-You shouldn't have followed me.
-???: When you think it's too late, it's already too late.
-LOL
One of the effects possessed by the Legacy of the World Tree.
It was to grant immunity to all harmful effects.
That was also the reason he wanted to finish the World Tree's business well, no matter what.
Boom!
A fierce vibration soon shook the space.
Turning his gaze, he saw the wall directly in front of him opening horizontally.
Footsteps—
Hanbit took a step forward along the blue floor.
Thump—
A large, chilling room appeared inside.
At its center stood an altar.
'It's still there.'
Approaching closer, Hanbit picked up a small box placed on the altar.
When he opened it, a red seal was revealed.
[You have obtained Artifact – Seal of Heresy (Rank 8 – Epic).]
