Episode 218
! Ta-da!
Having stepped out from the base, Hanbit and his party immediately began to run.
At the same time, a fierce noise rang out from the sky behind them.
Clang!
Crash!
Golden lightning rumbled like an explosion, and green waves spread out as if to devour him.
Hanbit knew the true nature of that power.
'You certainly managed to retrieve the Dragon's treasure.'
The green-patterned sword and gloves wielded by Ryu Seong-ryong were part of the Green Dragon's treasures.
A being who governs nature and poison.
While he possessed multiple treasure vaults, finding a valid one was truly a matter of luck.
Running, Hanbit immediately activated his stream.
-?
-What? When is it coming out?
-Are you able to broadcast?
-By the way, what happened to Odin?
-Who blocked him?
-I don't know. I couldn't see Nick because of the lightning.
Viewers whose video had cut off abruptly expressed their doubts.
However, for now, it was best to leave it as it was.
Grrr!
Squeak!
Just then, the sound of monsters swarming in was heard from the forest path.
Watching them, Hanbit handed the Giant Snake Heart he was holding to Pingpong.
“Use this.”
“Huh? Ah, understood!”
Pingpong quickly took it and used the heart immediately.
Crunch—
with the sensation of something being crushed, the remains of the heart slid out.
A message followed in no time.
Ding—
[Effect: Death Pulse applied.]
[Inflicts fear effects in the area around the user and slows movement.]
“Eek.”
Pingpong let out a strange sound as he looked at the grotesque heart remains.
Of course, the effect was undeniable.
“Uh, it’s slowed down!” “It doesn’t seem like they can even get close!” The twins raised their voices, observing the condition of the approaching monsters. Just as the message described, they were having difficulty approaching due to their slowed movements. The three party members, including the user Hanbit, were unaffected by it. “
Let ’s ignore them and run.” Hanbit continued to charge straight ahead. Meanwhile, non-monsters also attempted to ambush them. “Over there!” “Kill them!” Three players began to appear beyond the forest. They didn’t look like particularly formidable people. “You guys keep going.” Ta-da! Having sent his companions off, Hanbit kicked off his leg and charged at them. “Huh?” “What kind of speed is that…!” The enemies, having lost sight of his movements, let out panicked voices. It was their mistake not to switch to a defensive stance at all costs. Swish! A shadow appearing from a blind spot flashed past in an instant. Lines were slashed across the necks of the two guarding men in a flash. “Ugh!” “Ugh!” Startled, the two players let out a death cry as their bodies scattered. “Tch!” Witnessing the death of her comrades, the woman quickly stepped back and aimed her bow. However, her reaction was too late. Whoosh! Hanbit’s sword, having charged forward cutting through the air, was thrust out. The attack sliced through the bow of the woman who was about to draw it, piercing the very center of her neck. “This crazy….” Ding- [Experience points increased by 3,300,000.] [Experience points increased by 3,500,000.] [ Experience points increased by 3,600,000.] [Faction points increased by 40.] [Faction points increased by 41.] [Faction points increased by 41.] Messages appeared as her body scattered. Grrr—! Just then, the monsters, having lost the Death Pulse effect, began to move again. Gathering the items and gold dropped on the ground, Hanbit immediately kicked off, following the party. Ta-dat—! As she sped up, the backs of the three people came into view before long. Having rejoined the group, Hanbit advanced while keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings. And when about ten more minutes had passed, the surrounding scenery changed. Ding- [Area Effect: Taunt removed.] [Area Effect: Distortion applied.] [Terrain and creature shapes within the area are severely distorted.] “Ugh!” “What is this!” “S-My vision is messed up!” The terrain and human figures were twisted in an instant. The undulating landscape shook uncomfortably, as if to induce motion sickness.
"-Ugh;
-I'm so dizzy;
-How do you navigate this place?
-S-stop… …
-Teacher, I feel sick. "
The viewers, too, reacted with difficulty to the bewildering sight.
It was certainly understandable that one would feel nauseous if experiencing this place for the first time.
"You guys close your eyes and stay here. The heart effect is still active."
"Huh? I want to go with you!"
"I'll go too!"
"Ughhh…"
The twins tried to follow, while Pingpong was still disoriented.
However, moving alone was faster here.
"It will be over soon, so just wait. The heart effect works on players too, so don't worry."
Ta-ta!
Leaving the three behind, Hanbit began to run through the distorted landscape.
Although the terrain seemed impossible to distinguish, there was a way around it.
'It was true that seeing the rifts was difficult.'
One thing he discovered only after rolling around for a long time:
the distortion effect in this area was not continuous.
In the space divided into small, fragmented blocks, clear boundaries and gaps existed.
Using this as a guide was the way to break through this space.
*Grrr!
* *Screaming!*
The creatures attempting to launch an attack from all sides tried to unleash their claws and teeth.
However, they could not catch Hanbit, who was running alone.
*Sniff!*
The speed, a combination of the leap of the wind and the footsteps of the shadow, blurred even the distorted surrounding landscape. He
ran like that for a moment.
Reaching near the center, he slowed down.
At the same time, the rippling space returned to normal.
"-Huh?
" "-Is it over?
" "-Did we finish them off?
" "-Isn't this just the eye of a typhoon?"
"-There is something over there.
" "-Look at that fancy tree;"
A faint light rose from the short grass covering the ground.
On a large tree at the center, pink flowers bloomed splendidly.
*Crunch—*
Hanbit approached and reached out his hand amidst the abundant flowers.
As if responding to that movement, the branches spread apart, and the space began to reveal itself. *
Rust—*
A small flower bud emerged from within.
There, a yellow key fragment lay as if being embraced.
Hanbit cautiously moved his hand and pulled out the piece.
Ding-
[Second Secret Room Key Fragment obtained.]
-?
-Found it already? This easily?
-Where did the Black Dragon that was being eaten by snakes go?
-Fact) You guys can't even make it this far.
-Seriously, I passed out from dizziness.
Although the viewers reacted with disbelief, this place was by no means an easy territory, as some in the chat suggested.
One wrong move and it was easy to end up endlessly circling the same space.
There were even investigators who met a futile death here.
Ta-ta-!
Pushing off again, Hanbit headed toward where the three were.
“Oh!”
“Lord Black Dragon!”
As he returned quickly, the twins greeted him.
Pingpong, standing beside him, was still in poor condition.
However, he had deployed his shield effect and was ready to react immediately.
He didn't miss the flinch he made the moment Hanbit approached.
'Is this the last one?'
Only one key fragment remained.
This side required a bit of planning.
“We’re going into the Realm of Poison now. Take one of these.”
Hanbit took a small silver crystal from his inventory and handed it to everyone.
It was an item rarely obtained from Crystal Golems inhabiting the Iceberg Zone.
It was a consumable worth millions of won that, when used, provided resistance to poison effects for a certain period.
“Let’s go.”
Hanbit led the three of them toward the other boundary.
Grrr—!
Creak—!
The monster attempting to approach froze in terror.
Given the nature of the space, they would never encounter the players.
Ding—
[Area Effect: Distortion removed.]
[Area Effect: Poison applied.]
[You will be exposed to one type of poison effect randomly within this area, and additional poison effects will be applied by terrain features.]
As they exited the boundary, the surrounding landscape changed along with an alarm.
It was a scene of a forest emitting an ominous aura.
Dark purple mist and sticky liquids were visible, covering the ground, bushes, and trees.
“Wow!”
“The poison really doesn’t work!”
“Ooh…!”
The three people who saw the effect of the modification showed a surprised reaction.
However, Hanbit's situation was different.
[Effect: Deadly Poison applied.]
[HP decreases by 10 percent per minute.]
“Huh?”
“Lord Black Dragon!”
As if they had seen the broadcast screen, the twins’ eyes widened.
Watching their reaction, Hanbit spoke calmly.
“I didn’t use the crystals.”
“What? Why? Because of us?”
“Surely not because you ran out of them…”
The startled two spoke in flustered voices.
Before any apology could appear on their faces, Hanbit corrected the misunderstanding.
“I didn’t use them on purpose. Because they are needed to find the key fragments.”
-?
-What are you trying to do now?;
-If it works this time, I’ll admit it.
-The unforgettable impact of the snake.
The condition for finding the key fragments in this area was simple yet peculiar. It
was one of dozens of poisoning effects.
This was because they had to find it and absorb it with their bodies.
They could not reach it while holding crystals.
“I will protect you!”
Pingpong raised his voice in joy as they broke free from the distortion.
It seemed they had had a considerably hard time.
“I’m fine. Not that I would have the presence of mind to do so anyway.”
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
Whoosh!
Just then, a fireball flew in from the dark forest.
“Ugh!”
Startled, Pingpong quickly turned in that direction.
Boom!
The magic exploded violently upon impact with the shield. But
the attack didn't end there.
Crackle!
Swoosh!
A continuous barrage of electric spheres, sharp streams of water, and wind wedges rained down on Hanbit and his party.
However, Pingpong’s Guardian Shield remained steadfast.
'There are quite a few of them.' As
the aftershocks of the magic dissipated from sight, a group of players standing in the distance came into view.
Nearly twenty of them.
Whether by coincidence or intention, they were all the Adult Faction players seen at the entrance.
“They aren’t coming any closer.”
The Giant Snake’s heart was still active.
As if they had checked the broadcast, they gave up on approaching and opted for a long-range attack.
“Shall I handle this?”
Haneul said, straightening his dagger.
However, the situation was still dangerous.
“They must have detox-related items over there, too. Just wait a moment.”
Swoosh—
Hanbit lowered his stance and assumed a sword-drawing position.
Confirming this, the group of players immediately began their defensive countermeasures. They
were fully prepared in their own ways, ranging from magic and magical tools to players wielding shields.
Bang—!
Crack—!
Attacks continued to fly in during that time.
Trusting Pingpong’s defense, Hanbit remained focused without wavering.
And the moment a sufficient amount of wind gathered.
Whoosh—!
The sword cut through the air in a wide arc.
Whoosh—!
A blade of wind formed along the trajectory, slicing through the air and rushing forward fiercely.
But…
“Huh?”
“That direction is…”
The twins reacted in bewilderment.
The blade of wind was aimed not at the enemies, but at the top of them.
It was enough to render the enemies’ thorough defenses useless.
Of course, that, too, was according to plan.
Swish—!
The blade of wind struck dozens of trees, extending out with a crisp cutting sound.
Swoosh—
The trees, their upper trunks severed, tilted and fell to the ground.
“Ugh!”
“Get out of the way!”
Startled enemies quickly dodged the falling debris and stepped aside.
But that distance was not enough.
Kwa-kwa-kwa—!
The top of the tree, having fallen to the ground, roared and shook the earth.
Swoosh—!
At the same time, a sticky liquid spread like a flood.
It was the poison held within the leaves and branches.
“Ugh!”
“W-what is this! Why is there poison…!”
“This is insane!”
The players, covered in the poison, waved their arms in panic.
Countless messages were flashing before their eyes.
It was obvious that poison was stacking up to an extent that it would be difficult to even count.
[You will be exposed to one type of poison effect randomly within this area, and additional poison effects will be applied due to terrain.]
The reason the poison zone was dangerous was not because of the random effect. It was
the additional poison caused by terrain.
There was no set limit to that influence.
If dozens of trees held dozens of types of poison, it was a space where all those effects would engulf their bodies.
It must have been enough to destroy even the items designed to counter poison.
Checking on the enemies lying sprawled on the ground, Hanbit looked at the three of them and said,
“Let’s go. You can kill them all.”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
“I’ll help too!”
Swoosh—!
Bang—!
Hanbit’s party approached immediately and easily dealt with the incapacitated enemies.
[Level increased by 2.]
[Stat points added by 2.]
[Faction points added by 860.]
-Shudder;
-They died so helplessly. Lol
-If you hit first, you deserve to die.
-The rewards are sweet.
-Maybe it’s better if they come in a group?
The number of enemies eliminated was as fast as the four of them moved.
Since the impact of the poison was significant to begin with, most of the credit went to Hanbit.
Footsteps—
Having finished collecting the gold and items, they leisurely walked further inside.
It was no surprise they reached their destination, the Swamp of Poison.
“Stay here.”
Swoosh—
Hanbit calmly stepped inside and entered the sticky swamp.
[Effect: Deadly Poison applied.]
[Effect: Paralysis applied.]
[Effect: Weakening applied.]
… … .
The poison effects stacked rapidly with every movement.
His arms and legs stiffened, and his vision gradually blurred.
Crack—
Hanbit slowly moved toward the center.
Then, he suddenly dove into the swamp.
Splash—
A hand squirmed inside the blind interior.
When it grasped something rock-like, the awaited message appeared.
[Effect: Void Poison applied.]
[Entering Void State.]
Whoosh—!
His vision turned black along with a single sentence.
Hanbit's body, left all alone, felt nothing.
However, he knew all too well that this was the curse of illusion.
Swoosh—
Even in the sensation that time seemed to have stopped, Hanbit wandered through the void space in search of his target.
The search, which had taken over 10 hours on the first attempt,
gradually decreased to just 5 minutes.
And once again, that effort brought swift results.
Ding-
[You have obtained the third secret room key fragment.]
[All applied poison effects will disappear.]
Swoosh-
Along with the accompanying message, the scenery returned in an instant.
The swamp of poison Hanbit had been trapped in was empty to the point of being anticlimactic.
-??
-Huh?
-What is this?
-Is it a trick?
-No, it was real?
Viewers who couldn't understand even while watching the broadcast.
This was also the reason the investigation team hadn't found even a trace of the key fragments.
Swoosh-
Hanbit took three key fragments out of his inventory.
As he carefully stacked them, a message appeared again.
[You have obtained the secret room key.]
The key completed in less than 30 minutes.
Now, all that remained was to obtain the artifact.
Turning around, Hanbit said to the three people waiting for him,
“Let’s go.”
