30. Korokoro Tribe’s Village (5)
To begin with, Korokoro Tribe’s Village was not a dungeon Earth’s players had ever needed to clear with complete seriousness.
Because of its hidden-dungeon nature, once it had been cleared, it could never be cleared again—and on top of that, it was only a low-level dungeon.
Since it was merely a dungeon one passed through briefly, the players never truly tried to optimize it to the fullest. They only shared efficient methods for breaking through the set route.
But… even so, the fact that Hae Wonryang had surpassed, in a single attempt, the accumulated know-how and route strategies players had built up over years was astonishing.
Then again, Hae Wonryang had been born with the qualities of a strategist.
Ma Yuseong, with those monstrous stats of his, was specialized in going on a rampage alone, but Hae Wonryang’s field of expertise was using his head to utterly crush the other side.
‘Their primary means of attack is the javelin. If you look at the eastern and western gorges, there are steeply carved sections. If we drive them there, we can perfectly neutralize their weapons. If they try to attack, they’ll destroy each other. And even if they don’t, at the very least, we won’t get surrounded.’
‘You’re seriously trying to take on that many at once?’
‘Oh, I’m all for it. Sounds fun.’
‘You lunatics…’
Honestly, I thought they had lost their minds.
Even players who enjoyed reckless mob-herding hunts as though their lives were worth nothing would not have used a method that bold.
But Hae Wonryang’s strategy, while audacious, was precise, and not off by even the slightest margin. Just as he said, the enemies chose self-destruction.
The Korokoro tribe possessed both the strength of orcs and the dexterity of goblins, and their greatest advantage was their ultra-long-range throwing spears. Yet instead of fleeing outside their range, he actually drove them into a corner and sealed off their weapons.
Once their throwing spears were neutralized, the Korokoro tribe was no different from mindless beasts that knew only how to swing brute force around, and in the middle of them all, Ma Yuseong truly displayed the majesty of a runaway locomotive.
Driven into a corner by Hae Wonryang’s luring strategy, then watching their own tribesmen get swept away every time Ma Yuseong ran along the cliff walls and brought boulders crashing down—it was no wonder the Korokoro tribe had lost even the will to resist.
‘Haha, this is fun. Right, Yuseol?’
‘Ah, yeah…’
The two of them smashed their way through the dungeon with obvious delight, as though venting all the stress they had been carrying. Considering that this dungeon’s recommended clear level was four or five people of at least Class 3, the sight of just the two of them rampaging like that looked monstrous to me.
In my opinion, both of them had already reached Class 4. Considering they were geniuses fated to become among the strongest in the world while still in their twenties, maybe reaching Class 4 right before the summer break of their first year was not all that strange after all.
Well, anyway.
Thanks to that, I’m the one who hit the jackpot.
Bringing them along was absolutely the right call. Honestly, it felt a little wasteful that I had trained so hard all this time just to come to this dungeon, but still—it’s better to suffer less and get carried for free, right?
[The clear reward for the dungeon ‘Korokoro Tribe’s Village’ has been granted.]
[Mana +06%]
[Senses +03%]
[Stamina +05%]
[Considering your trait, the reward to ‘Mana’ is converted into ‘Strength.’]
As expected of a hidden dungeon, the clear reward was substantial. Raising stats by that much permanently in just a day or two was not easy.
[Baek Yuseol]
Stats
[Strength: 3 Stars 05%] [Senses: 3 Stars 04%]
[Agility: 2 Stars 79%] [Stamina: 2 Stars 38%]
[Durability: 0 Stars 99%] [Willpower: 3 Stars 17%]
[Mana: -]
Skill List
[Blink Lv.2]
[Taeryeong Divine Art Lv.1]
Traits
[Mana Leakage Constitution Lv.3]
[Blessing of Crimson Spring March Lv.1]
Even without this, ever since I started cultivating the Taeryeong Divine Art, my overall stats had been climbing sharply. And that was despite the fact that I only did one or two hours of physical training a day.
On top of that, maybe because I had gotten so many rewards recently, both my Strength and Senses had reached 3 Stars.
How much was that, exactly?
If I seriously punched a rock with all my might, I could shatter it with ease.
It felt like I had somehow wandered alone into a martial-arts novel while everyone else was in a mage world, but what of it? To begin with, the existence of “Baek Yuseol the character” was already a considerable irregularity even within Aether World.
Just like how my existence in Stella right now felt completely out of place.
‘It’s about time… I raised the skill rank of Mana Leakage Constitution and Blink.’
The skill experience and proficiency had piled up quite a bit, so if I cleared the next episode, maybe I would be able to raise one of the two.
“Baek Yuseol.”
“Hm?”
I was feeling quite pleased while looking over the stats, which had changed in a satisfying way, when Hae Wonryang called to me with an awkward expression.
“We need to divide the rewards.”
“Oh, right.”
“However…”
He spoke while setting the spoils on top of a rock of moderate size.
“Only two ‘artifacts’ dropped.”
“Really? Lucky.”
“But there are three of us.”
Ah. I got what he meant.
Artifacts were relics from ancient times—rare objects that displayed abilities similar to those of modern items.
Of course, even if they were called rare, they were discovered from time to time while exploring dungeons or ruins. But artifacts with the abilities of top-grade items could fetch truly astronomical prices.
The artifacts dropped in this dungeon were not particularly expensive, but they were valuable enough that you could at least call them rare wherever you went.
‘A ring and a bracelet…’
I checked their abilities roughly.
The ring that increased the maximum capacity of mana suited Hae Wonryang, and the bracelet that sped up spell casting was a perfect fit for Ma Yuseong, who was a knight.
“You two take them.”
“…What?”
“You’re okay with that? What about you, Yuseol?”
“I don’t need them.”
Item technology had not yet advanced to the point of surpassing ancient artifacts, but if I really put my mind to it and suffered a little, I could make things like these myself.
Besides, the reason I had come here in the first place was not because of the artifacts.
“This is enough for me.”
When I pointed at the object I wanted, Hae Wonryang and Ma Yuseong’s expressions turned strange.
“That’s…”
“It’s just a stone monument…”
“Yep.”
What I wanted was none other than an ordinary stone monument embedded in the floor. Or rather, something presumed to be a fragment of a monument that had been shattered to pieces.
This was one of the keywords leading to the ruins of ancient Carmenset.
Gather these fragments, and you could open the gate to the ruins. Hae Wonryang and Ma Yuseong still had no ability to detect or appraise ancient objects, so to them it would look like nothing more than a piece of rock—but I had already confirmed it through the Jikbakguri Glasses, so there was no mistake.
“Honestly. I guess you’re both too blind to tell, but this is worth more than those.”
“…May I take a look?”
“Do whatever you want.”
Wearing an expression of disbelief, Hae Wonryang inspected the monument carefully. Ma Yuseong, curious as well, even took out some kind of special equipment, but it still seemed difficult for either of them to identify what it really was.
“Mm, I’ve got no idea. What about you?”
Ma Yuseong looked puzzled, while Hae Wonryang pressed his lips tightly together, clearly frustrated that he could not identify the monument.
Anyway, now that the reward distribution was finished, it was about time to head back.
The exit was in the same place we had entered. Which meant that if we went out carelessly, we could end up getting hit by the train. But I had already investigated what hours the train passed through that stretch, so right now it was safe.
The only real concern was whether the Dark Mages might still be waiting outside.
“That won’t be a problem. They scattered that much dark mana around—there’s no way mage warriors didn’t respond.”
“True.”
They must have run off long ago.
“Then that’s reassuring. Let’s go out right away.”
I checked the train schedule, and there was a full hour of safety both before and after this time.
Hoo!
At the place where the dungeon core had shattered, a small rippling warp flow flickered. As we walked toward it, it felt for a moment as though the world were collapsing in on itself, and then we returned to our original location.
Murmur, murmur!
“Past this point is restricted!”
“Hey! No entry! You there, reporter! Don’t cross the police line!”
…At the loud commotion, I could only stand there blankly for a moment.
“W-what?”
An enormous crowd had gathered on the cliffside rail line where the train passed.
People in police uniforms, white-coated researchers who appeared to be from the Arcane Investigation Unit, guards in light armor, mage knights in robes, and even reporters camped out with cameras in hand.
Around us, a yellow boundary line marked RESTRICTED AREA had been set up, and a powerful barrier shimmered faintly over it.
“What in the…”
What kind of situation is this?
Before I could even finish the thought—
“There! Those are the Stella cadets!!”
The instant someone shouted that, an overwhelming storm of camera shutters and flashes exploded.
Click-click-click!
“How did you survive that mad killer?!”
“Please, just one comment!”
“We heard there was a fierce battle inside the train—please tell us what happened at the scene!”
Reporters screaming at the top of their lungs.
“You lunatic press bastards! Get back already!”
“They’re about to break through the barrier!”
The guards trying to stop them.
“What… this reaction, is it a spatial transfer?”
“A dungeon appeared at a location like this?”
“But if that were the case, the entrance should have been detected. Are you saying it was a dungeon that couldn’t be entered by ordinary means? That makes no sense. What is the mechanism?”
And even the magic researchers, who had already sunk into a world of their own.
“What the hell is all this…?”
After coming back out of the dungeon, it somehow looked like total chaos had broken loose outside.
—Please read this chapter only on MugenCodex.—
Main Building of the Stella Knights.
Senior Knight Beido was kneeling on the floor in the office of the General Commander’s chamber, his face set rigidly. In front of him sat a man at his desk, working with a dim expression that looked as if all emotion had been swallowed by darkness. Without even sparing Beido a glance, he spoke.
“Senior Knight Beido, belonging to the 3rd Mage Escort Battalion of the Betelgeuse Order.”
“…Yes, sir.”
“You made a very interesting mistake this time.”
“I’m sorry!”
Thud!!
Beido smashed his forehead into the floor.
It was an act of excessively violent submission, utterly unworthy of the Stella that was supposed to live by honor and dignity…
But the person before him was “Arain, General Commander of the Stella Knights.”
He had been summoned all the way to the General Commander himself over his failure in this mission. Under the circumstances, should he not beg forgiveness with whatever extreme behavior it took?
Beido bitterly regretted his mistake.
‘I’m the idiot.’
He had assumed the train would be safe. He had been told to guard them closely, but disguising himself felt like a bother, so he had boarded another car and dozed off. As a senior knight, he had let himself relax because he had been assigned a mission that normally went to junior knights.
And then, of all times, the worst Dark Mages had appeared and attacked the people he was supposed to protect.
‘…No. It’s not “of all times.”’
He had been thoroughly trained to respond to danger anytime, anywhere.
“You used to be fairly diligent and useful… once upon a time.”
At Arain’s words, Beido clenched his lips tightly.
“Have you grown too complacent just because you became a senior knight?”
“I’m sorry!!”
Thud!
He slammed his forehead into the floor once more, and blood ran from his brow.
Arain seemed to frown, perhaps irritated even by that commotion, but unfortunately, Beido could not see his face.
Of course—
‘This is interesting.’
To Arain, Beido’s blunder itself hardly mattered at all.
‘Baek Yuseol again…’
A flicker of interest crossed Arain’s face, a face people often said always looked draped in dark shadow.
Again and again, danger had come for Baek Yuseol.
The necromancer’s attack, the Persona Gate, Meizen Tiren’s dark-magic corruption, and this time even a murderer appearing on a train.
And yet Baek Yuseol had navigated every single one of those situations flexibly and perfectly.
“To be honest.”
“…Yes, sir!”
The moment Arain spoke, Beido answered loudly, assuming he was about to judge his fault. But Arain had lost interest in Beido’s mistake a long time ago.
“I dislike young geniuses.”
“…Pardon?”
What kind of random statement was that all of a sudden? Even as Beido lifted his head in confusion, Arain continued speaking.
Perhaps what he needed was simply anyone at all to listen to him.
“Those who realize, at a young age, that their talent shines… nine times out of ten, they break before they even make it past their teens.”
Arain had never been called a genius.
If anything, he had once been a failure.
There had always been geniuses all around him. Whenever he took one step forward, they were already ten steps ahead.
But that was precisely the problem with geniuses.
Those who walked in great strides of ten steps at a time would suddenly grow frustrated and collapse the moment even a small wall appeared before them.
Because they had walked such smooth roads all their lives, the idea of climbing over the wall never even occurred to them.
Ordinary people were different.
Before them lay not a smooth road, but rough and jagged cliffs. Enormous effort was required to take even a single step forward, and even if they crossed one wall, another would immediately block their path.
And yet ordinary people kept going. Because they had already learned how to overcome walls, they could continue carrying that will onward.
That was Arain as he was now.
A man once called mediocre, once left behind by others, who had become the General Commander of the strongest knight order in the world.
“That is why I dislike geniuses…”
By Arain’s standards, Baek Yuseol was a genius.
A genius capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the famous Ma Yuseong and Hae Wonryang.
But Baek Yuseol had something different from ordinary geniuses.
He was undoubtedly walking a smooth road lit by his own talent, and yet, as though he had once been a failure himself, he had also perfectly learned how to climb over walls.
‘They said he has a body that cannot use magic, didn’t they?’
A genius born with a body that could not help but be a failure, yet who had discovered talent in another field.
He rubbed his wrist. Long ago, he had been cursed by a witch, and because the curse still had not been lifted, his skin had blackened.
Even his remaining lifespan was probably not very long.
Before then, he had to find a successor to the position of General Commander of the Stella Knights as quickly as possible. He had meant to choose, as the next commander, not a genius but a diligent ordinary person.
‘But if it is this kind of genius…’
Perhaps he might be the most fitting candidate for this position after all.
Arain thought that, then shook his head and set down Baek Yuseol’s file.
‘Mana Leakage Constitution, was it?’
What a cruel pity. That such a child was walking a fate similar to his own.
What did it matter how much of a genius Baek Yuseol was?
He too was living a life with an expiration date.
Still, whatever the case…
‘…It might not be a bad idea to see his face in person at least once.’
