Episode 216
“Damn it! Is this the right place?”
“I don’t know! Just abandon it and run!”
An area within the Cube of Hell.
The Holy Nation players were running for their lives down the forest path.
Crunch—!
“Aaaargh!”
Screams of people echoed from somewhere.
Even in that situation, they could not stop.
It was due to a debuff applied to the area.
[Area Effect: Distortion applied.]
[Terrain and creature forms within this area are severely distorted.]
The terrain had been twisted so chaotically that it was dizzying just to look at.
They couldn't even tell if they were moving forward or who was standing next to them.
“Damn it!”
Exion, who was in charge of strategy, spat out a curse.
It was because monsters had swarmed in before they could even properly attempt anything.
The grotesque appearance, with parts of their bodies twisted as if melting, and the unexpected destructive power had turned their minds blank.
“Exion! What are you going to do! Hiyori is already dead!”
Verdict’s voice came from a distance.
Just as he said, Hiyori’s light had vanished from the party status window.
It seemed they had been taken out of the game without even reporting how they had been defeated.
“Ignore the surroundings and run only in a straight line relying on your senses! Getting out of this area is the priority, so just focus on surviving!”
Unable to think of any other way, Exion ordered everyone to fend for themselves.
Nothing could be done here.
It was a decision filled with that conviction.
“Ugh!”
“Damn it!”
Screams erupted from all directions even as they ran for their lives.
Since stamina wasn't infinite, it was difficult to escape properly unless one was wearing support shoes or magical items.
Whoosh—!
Running through the chaos for tens of minutes.
“Ah!”
Exion’s vision, which had been nearly at its limit, shifted.
A landscape came into view that was incomparably clearer than just moments before.
The reason was revealed in the message that followed.
[Area Effect: Distortion is removed.]
[Area Effect: Taunt is applied.]
[Strongly attracts the attention of monsters within this area.]
“Haa.”
Exion let out a natural sigh.
In the meantime, the other players had arrived as well.
“As for the numbers… are we the only ones?”
Verdict immediately surveyed the surroundings.
Whether by coincidence or something else, this was the Realm of Distortion where nearly twenty players had been transported together.
However, only three had arrived here now.
“Wow, that was really scary.”
Among them was a woman wearing a beret who lightly brushed off her clothes.
Contrary to her words, she looked incredibly relaxed.
[Alice]
At first, he thought that woman with yellow hair was an outsider.
But she introduced herself as a player who had started in the Holy Kingdom.
'She is hiding something.'
Verdict was certain.
He had no recollection of seeing that woman in the Holy Kingdom before.
Even if Oracle Quests were all different, it was too strange.
“The situation has improved, but we cannot let our guard down here either. We don't know when monsters might swarm in. Let's rethink our strategy first.”
Exion began to ponder the plan while surveying the surroundings.
Meanwhile, Alice stared into the void and made a strange remark.
“Wow, that’s a huge snake.”
A smile played on her face, as if she had seen something amusing.
Looking around, no snake was in sight.
Sensing Verdict’s gaze, Alice continued her explanation.
“Weren’t you watching the Black Dragon broadcast? It’s been incredibly entertaining for a while.”
“A broadcast? You had the presence of mind to watch that?”
“Why? The broadcast screen wasn’t a target for distortion, was it?”
“……?”
The conversation had gone completely off track.
Verdict, who had turned off the screen immediately within the realm of distortion, couldn’t help but be bewildered.
Feeling puzzled, he went straight into the Black Dragon’s broadcast.
“I found it. Let’s go over there.”
The Black Dragon and three people appeared on the screen.
Aside from the two siblings, the man was a face he had never seen before.
As they moved a little further, a large snake monster appeared on the screen.
‘Is there something to that monster?’
It was unclear which realm the Black Dragon had been fighting in.
However, if that man was targeting that monster, it certainly seemed to hold some significance.
Something would drop if we killed it… … .
“I’ll just get eaten for a moment. Attack its eyes when I signal.”
“What?”
With a completely unexpected remark, the Black Dragon ran toward the snake.
A moment later, it vanished into the snake's gaping mouth.
"Hmm, so it's being eaten."
Alice, who had also been watching the broadcast, nodded nonchalantly.
Verdict was about to ask if he knew something,
but he had no time to spare.
*Rustling*—!
The ground began to rumble violently in an instant.
He instinctively knew it belonged to a monster.
"Tsk."
Exion, who had been clutching his head, hurriedly looked around.
Crunch—
thud—
the sound of trees collapsing gradually grew from deep within the forest.
If hundreds of monsters were to swarm in, the outcome was far from promising.
After all, every species inhabiting this cube was powerful.
"I will change the battle terrain. If we are surrounded here, we will inevitably lose."
Having made his decision, Exion decided to run along the boundary for now.
But then…
"You don't have to run away."
Alice, who was still watching the broadcast, spoke leisurely.
At that reaction, Exion's emotions surged, and he raised his voice.
“I don’t know how strong you are, but to stop the monster army, we need at least a top vanguard. If you can’t make a judgment, just quietly follow orders.”
“Exactly. We just need a player of that caliber, right?”
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
Flash—!
Just then, an intense light shot out from the sky.
And a golden lightning bolt struck the forest directly in front.
Boom—!
“Ugh!”
Exion was pushed back by the earth-shattering roar and the aftershocks.
When he instinctively lowered the hand covering his face, he saw someone’s back.
“You arrived just in time?”
“….”
The man remained silent even at Alice’s question.
With the same blonde hair, they looked like siblings.
“Let me introduce you.”
Alice smiled as if it were a familiar routine and turned her head.
Then she uttered a name she hadn’t expected at all.
“I am Odin, a new player for the Adult Faction. Nice to meet you?”
***
Gurgle—
Crunch—
Hanbit, having been devoured by the Giant Snake, was burrowing deep inside.
It had been a long time since he had felt such a terrible smell and unpleasant slime.
"-Is this for real?
" "-I can't believe I'm seeing someone get eaten by a monster.
" "-The Black Dragon really does have a bit of an attention-seeking streak ."
"-If he dies from being digested, that's legendary." "
-???: *Burp *"
The viewers simply reacted with disbelief.
Hanbit, too, had no intention of refuting it.
"I didn't really want to know, either." This
was the episode where he entered the Cube of Hell for the second time.
Having endured for 12 hours and reached his limit, Hanbit started running for his life.
In the process, he tripped and tumbled down the slope.
Unfortunately, that spot happened right on top of the Giant Snake's head, so he was devoured cleanly.
"The investigation team didn't know about it, either."
The team hadn't even realized the existence of a secret room, let alone the artifact. They
had long since finished investigating the monsters inhabiting the Cube of Hell.
However, they couldn't figure out the conditions for finding the key fragment. After all,
it was an object visible only when the Giant Snake was alive.
*Crunch!*
Hanbit continued to squeeze his way inside.
And as he moved a little further, he began to feel a vibration.
Thump—thump—
A dull, heavy rumble surged from within his warm body.
It was the intense vibration created by the snake's heart.
Crack—
Hanbit increased his speed slightly and advanced toward where the heart was located.
A position slightly off-center from the snake's core.
That was his destination.
Squirm—
The snake's body, writhing violently, hindered his movement.
Looking outside through the twins' screen, he saw that a battle was raging over there as well.
Although it was a considerably dangerous monster, he would be fine as long as he had Ping Pong's shield.
Gurgle—
His insides began to feel dangerous as they mixed with stomach acid.
Reaching the spot where the heartbeat was intensifying, Hanbit drew his sword and thrust upward.
Thud—!
Crunch—!
The snake's body folded sharply from the pain of his internal organs being pierced.
Swish—!
Hanbit widened the gap even further and squeezed his way inside.
Only after moving as if tearing through an obstacle could he reach his target.
Thump—
A red heart beating alone deep inside his body.
A yellow key fragment was embedded in the surface.
-?
-Is it a key?
"-Were you here to get that?"
"-I told you the Black Dragon has a plan.
" "-So, what kind of key is that?
" "-Does it give something?
" Viewers who hadn't heard the conversation because their microphones were off.
While various speculations appeared in the chat, Hanbit proceeded with his plan.
"Prepare to attack."
The instruction was transmitted to the twins outside via the party voice channel.
The answer came back immediately.
(Yes!)
(Ready!)
The two siblings had regained their composure compared to before.
Although Hanbit stirred around inside the snake's body, Pingpong, standing at the front, was doing his job exceptionally well.
(I'll knock off the tail and head!)
Thump—!
A shield appearing at the necessary timing to deflect fatal attacks.
It wasn't simply due to the equipment; there was clear judgment and reasoning behind his movements.
Should I say I saw the evidence that he had directly uttered the phrase "pure tank"?
Swoosh—
Hanbit reached out his hand toward the surface of the heart.
And the moment it was about to touch the key fragment.
Crack—!
An intense spark shot up.
It was a defense mechanism protecting the treasure.
"Now! Attack!"
Pow-pow-!
An explosion echoed through the hide simultaneously with Hanbit's command.
It was Noeul's magic.
(Swoosh-!)
Charging forward with a dagger, Haneul sliced through the Giant Snake's eyes and face.
That attack, gnawing at its weak points, clearly had an effect.
Thump-!
Slurp-!
The snake's body began to thrash about wildly.
Crack-!
The sparks spewing from its heart became irregular, as if in a rampage.
And when it weakened momentarily, Hanbit quickly reached out.
Crunch-!
A key fragment torn off, surface and all.
The result led directly to a message.
Ding-
[First Secret Room Key Fragment obtained.]
-Swoosh
-Too easy, right?
-There is a secret room?
-Upvote if you are a viewer who feels dizzy at the thought of trying this yourself.
-Okay.
The first fragment obtained without any damage.
Quickly placing it in his inventory, Hanbit wrapped the wind around his multicolored sword blade.
Swoosh-!
The sword, drawn with immense force, traced a long trajectory.
*Crack*—the
snake's body split along that line.
As the darkening forest came into view, Hanbit quickly slipped outside. He
then turned and moved toward where the snake's head lay.
*Thud*—!
He thrust his sword toward the forehead, and the blade pierced deeply.
The Giant Snake, clinging to a faint breath, met its demise just like that.
*Ding*—
[Experience points increased by 10,000,000.]
[You obtained the Giant Snake's Heart (Rank 7 – Heroic).]
Experience points and items arrived with the subjugation.
The heart was a valuable asset for the area to be entered later.
“Lord Black Dragon!”
“I apologize for the lack of firepower!”
Just then, the twins rushed closer.
“Wait.”
Hanbit reached out and stopped the two.
It was due to the slime soaking their bodies and the stench.
'…It was like this back then, too.'
The Cube of Hell, which he had encountered with his disciple in a previous cycle.
Thanks to that child taking on the role of the twin, we were able to finish safely.
The image of them rushing toward me with their noses covered flickered before my eyes.
“Undine.”
Whoosh!
The water that instantly enveloped my body washed away the filth in an instant.
Whoosh!
Salist, the fire spirit who had appeared on her own accord, spewed heat as if drying up the moisture.
It was also a small protest against not being summoned.
“Thank you, both of you.”
Whoosh !
As I expressed my gratitude, the forms of the two spirits immediately faded.
But suddenly, they stepped forward head-on. Whoosh ! Whoosh! The condensed power of the spirits was instantly scattered into the air. At the same time, an intense light flashed in the sky. Rumble! A vivid golden lightning bolt. It pierced through the spirits' power and headed toward Hanbit. And just before that lightning struck, the earth spirit, Gnome, moved. Crunch! Rock armor enveloped his body in an instant. Crash! The lightning struck that solid wall, scattering with a tremendous impact. Tuk-
Hanbit, who had been watching the rocks shatter and scatter, turned his gaze straight ahead.
“…This is unexpected.”
A blonde man gleaming alone on the dark forest ground.
Hanbit recognized his face.
“I see Mr. Odin here.”
-?
-Huh?
-Yes?
-How did Odin get here?
-I thought his episode was reset?
-??
The viewers were taken aback by his appearance.
“Huh?”
“If you mean Odin, the Odin from the advance party?”
“Didn’t he subjugate the Snow Drake alongside Lord Black Dragon?”
The three people watching nearby also widened their eyes.
That is how widely known Odin was.
“…….”
However, the man at the center of the mystery did not speak.
Realizing something was off, Hanbit placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“It feels like we should fight, am I right?”
“…Yes, that is correct.”
The answer to that question was somewhat ambiguous.
And the aura of power emanating from it was also different from the past.
*Crack—!*
A small golden figure scurried about by Odin's bedside.
Hanbit, watching it intently, noticed something.
"…A High-Ranking Spirit?"
A High-Ranking Spirit, distinct even from the Mid-Ranking ones.
As a member of the First Lieutenant's Vanguard, he was not a player who handled spirits.
Yet, suddenly, a High-Ranking Spirit appeared, and one with an electric attribute at that.
How should he interpret this?
"I will not let my guard down."
As if his character remained unchanged, Odin
raised his hammer with an honest demeanor. Sensing that conversation was impossible, Hanbit also aimed his sword.
A brief silence followed.
The two took a step almost simultaneously.
Ta-da!
Crackle!
Spreading wind and electricity, the distance between them narrowed.
And just before their weapons could create a powerful impact,
Tick-tock—
the sound of the second hand ticked, and their bodies froze.
Swoosh—
a man appeared in the gap.
The name tag on his head was clearly visible.
[Seongryong]
"Excuse me for a moment."
Thump—
the man placed a hand on the shoulder of the stiffened Hanbit.
At the same time, my vision turned black, and a sensation of transference enveloped my body.
