## Chapter 206 – 206. Ancient City
#206. Ancient City
The employee hurriedly left the consultation room, saying he would contact the party members.
Noel, who had been watching him, turned her head towards me.
“Are you really going into the gate?”
Judging from her expression, it didn’t seem like she was unhappy about going to the gate.
“Maybe? I’m going to listen to the briefing first and then decide.”
I was planning to refuse if it was too dangerous or troublesome.
I’d be fine as long as it wasn’t like the isolated gate I was trapped in with Choi Hye-na last time.
Of course, the monsters in the isolated gate weren’t that strong, but the boss, the Ice Golem, was definitely an out-of-spec monster.
Even the report based on the Archmage’s opinion mentioned that the Ice Golem was one of the top monsters that had appeared in B-class gates.
“Are you okay with going into the gate?”
“Huh? Yeah, well… I used to do it, so it doesn’t really matter.”
“Used to do it?”
“Before becoming a shaman of the tribe, I used to hunt monsters in the forest with the warriors.”
“Ah.”
No wonder she seemed too strong to be a shaman.
“…You’re not thinking anything weird, are you?”
Whether she was quick-witted or not, Noel glared at me with suspicious eyes.
“I’m not, so go take a nap.”
I hugged Noel, who had been yawning since earlier, probably because she was tired from getting up early. Soon, I could hear her even breathing.
In that state, I opened the store and looked around at the newly added products.
In the past, the most expensive item was around 1,000 coins, but now there were items worth 5,000 coins.
[Crimson Cloud Thunderclap Art (赤雲翻雷功)
Rank: Unique
A unique martial art created by Peng Yu-gang, the Blood Cloud Thunder King (血雲雷王). When it reaches its peak, crimson clouds cover the sky and lightning overturns the earth. A thunderclap art that controls immense thunder energy. Those without talent will have their dantian burned if they try to learn it.]
[Heavenly Flower Moon Shadow Sword (天花月影劍)
Rank: Unique
One spring day when the full moon rose, Swordmaster (劍后) Yoo Ha-rin, who was admiring the plum blossoms in full bloom, gained enlightenment from her shadow under the moonlight and created this martial art. It has its roots in the Moon Shadow Sword (月影劍) of Mount Hua and is now a lost martial art.]
Perhaps because I chose the martial artist as my sub-job, there were quite a few martial arts among the products.
The Crimson Cloud Thunderclap Art was 5,000 coins, and the Heavenly Flower Moon Shadow Sword was 3,000 coins.
‘They’re expensive, but not unaffordable.’
I currently have about 8,700 coins.
I wanted to buy both, but the store didn’t just have martial arts.
[Perth’s Crystal Wheel (晶圇)
Rank: Rare
Perth’s Crystal Wheel.]
The C-class monster Perth has a unique organ in its body. That’s the Crystal Wheel (晶圇).
I’ve never actually seen it, but it’s said to be the size of a finger joint, emits light, and is used as a material in alchemy.
It’s such a hard-to-find material that it’s quite valuable. Reflecting the market price, it was also quite expensive at 800 coins.
‘I’m not going to do alchemy, so I can pass on this.’
This caught my eye more.
[Aetherwing Boots
Rank: Epic
Levitation magic is built-in. If it overheats, you won’t be able to use magic for a while.]
The price was 2,000 coins, and it was a shoe with a function that allowed you to use 5th circle magic, Levitation.
After a moment of consideration, I finally boldly pressed the purchase button.
What I chose were the ‘Crimson Cloud Thunderclap Art (赤雲翻雷功)’ and the ‘Aetherwing Boots.’
I became instantly penniless with a huge expenditure of 7,000 coins in total, but I don’t regret it at all.
Of course, I wanted to buy the ‘Heavenly Flower Moon Shadow Sword (天花月影劍)’ too, but it was pushed back because it wasn’t for me to learn.
I can just make up for the coins in the gate I’m going to enter this time.
‘Since it’s the Moon Shadow Sword, it must be a martial art for women… Should I give it to Yeo-hwa or So-wol?’
It might suit Sylvia surprisingly well.
The Aetherwing Boots looked like ordinary shoes on the outside, but when I looked closely at the inside, I could see magic stones embedded in them.
It wouldn’t be possible for an ordinary person to engrave 5th circle magic into a magic stone.
If I put these shoes up for auction, they would easily fetch trillions. But I wasn’t particularly tempted.
I already have that much in gold bars, gold coins, and jewels piled up in my house.
Anyway, I was generally satisfied except for the fact that my sense of money was getting weirder lately.
I was about to change into the shoes and read the Crimson Cloud Thunderclap Art’s martial arts manual when.
Bang.
The employee came in, opening the door.
His face was covered in sweat, as if he had been running in a hurry.
“All the party members have gathered, and we’re about to start the briefing right away. Would that be okay with you?”
“Yes.”
I followed the employee to a place called the strategy conference room.
When I went inside, there were seven men and women sitting there.
All of them were B-class, and some of them were high-ranking B-class.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Yu-jun, the leader of the Burst Guild’s 1st Strategy Team. I’m not good enough in many ways, but I’ve been assigned as the party leader this time.”
“Kang Hyun-woo, C-class. This is… my girlfriend, Noel.”
“I’m Noel. My hunter rank is B-class, but I’m a newbie who hasn’t been registered for long, so please give me a lot of guidance.”
Her voice became even higher, as if she liked being introduced as his girlfriend.
“Ahem, ahem. I look forward to working with you too.”
The party leader’s face turned red as he looked at Noel.
The other men were the same.
Objectively, Noel has a beauty that even top-tier celebrities can’t compare to, so it’s a natural reaction.
After getting acquainted with the other party members and sitting down, the employee who guided us stood next to the screen.
“Hello, I’m Cha Eun-young, Deputy Manager of the 2nd Gate Management Department, who will be in charge of today’s gate strategy briefing.”
Gate Management Department?
I thought she was from that department because she helped me naturalize, but I didn’t know she was from the Gate Management Department.
“Then let’s start the briefing.”
***
After the briefing, we headed to the vicinity of Dobong Mountain in Dobong-gu.
It’s not in the heart of Seoul, but the party leader told me that the strategy schedule was set quickly because it was a gate that appeared in Seoul.
According to the reconnaissance team’s report, there seems to be a huge underground city beyond the gate.
Undead wearing armor are wandering around the city, and the boss is presumed to be inside the castle located in the center of the city.
‘Is the theme an underground city? That’s a rare case.’
While listening to the briefing, I decided to participate in this gate strategy.
Gates with a city theme are known to have generous rewards. In particular, the probability of artifacts appearing is high.
Of course, since we’re strategizing as a party, I can’t claim ownership of the artifact, but it might be possible to demand the artifact for Noel and me while paying an additional price.
Party members have the first right to purchase gate rewards.
“Did you all understand the precautions?”
Thud, Kim Yu-jun, wearing armor, came forward. As the party leader and main tanker of the party, he was holding a thick shield and a single-edged axe.
“It’s not like we’re doing this for a day or two, so would we not have done it?”
“Why are you using honorifics unlike yourself in the first place? It doesn’t suit you.”
“Hehe, he’s nervous.”
“You guys!”
As a party that originally worked together in the same guild, they all seemed to get along well.
“Ahem, ahem. Hyun-woo, if you’re ready, can we start slowly?”
“Yes, let’s start.”
After hearing my answer, Kim Yu-jun returned to his seat and gave instructions to the party members, hurrying up the preparations.
A little later, the party finished all the preparations and was only left to head beyond the gate.
There was no small talk.
Following Kim Yu-jun, the party leader, we slowly moved towards the gate.
As a magician, I was naturally at the very back of the line, and Noel stood next to me to protect me.
-Noel.
Just before crossing the gate, I sent a telepathic message to Noel.
-Even if something goes wrong inside, don’t worry about the party members.
Anything can happen inside the gate. I don’t want Noel to be in danger due to unexpected problems.
I told her to abandon the other party members and run away if necessary.
Of course, I don’t think that will happen in a B-class gate, not an A-class gate, with this power, but there’s always a chance.
Whoosh-
I looked at the swirling gate and slowly reached out my hand beyond it.
The scenery reversed, and I felt the magic concentration in the air increase at once.
When I opened my eyes, I was standing in a dark cave.
“Everyone, check your condition and move as assigned in advance.”
Some checked if there were any magic tools that were damaged by the gate’s influence, and some guarded the rear.
Me? I didn’t have anything to do.
It would be nice to use light magic because it’s a dark cave, but the more caves there are, the more monsters are sensitive to light, so it can be more dangerous.
Instead, the entire party was given specially made eye drops so that they could see well even in dark places.
After a while, the party started moving inside the cave. Thanks to the magic tools, there was no need to map separately.
Following Kim Yu-jun’s hand signals at the forefront, we repeated walking and stopping.
Had we walked for about 30 minutes?
The end of the passage began to appear in the distance. As the reconnaissance team reported, no monsters appeared.
What unfolded before our eyes as we guarded the rear and headed for the exit was a huge underground city.
Some of the party members seemed overwhelmed by the sight.
But soon, we hurried our steps towards the castle gate along the path that the reconnaissance team had paved. Since the ceiling was so high, there were quite a few flying monsters.
They were undead large birds called grotesque birds, and one of their characteristics was that their eyesight was deteriorated, so if you didn’t make a fuss, you wouldn’t be attacked.
While suppressing our presence and heading towards the castle gate along the road, I felt a strange sense of incongruity.
It’s too quiet.
“…Why aren’t there any monsters?”
Whether it was just my delusion or not, the party members also expressed anxiety one by one.
“That’s right, the report clearly stated that low-level monsters such as ghouls and skeletons were wandering around…”
It was definitely strange, but we couldn’t just turn back just because monsters weren’t appearing.
“…Let’s keep going for now.”
Kim Yu-jun, the party leader, chose to advance, and the party obediently followed the leader’s instructions.
Before long, we arrived in front of a huge castle gate, and we entered the city through a small door next to the castle gate.
***
Somewhere under the castle.
A man muttering something among what appeared to be human corpses suddenly raised his head and looked somewhere.
His black eyes, which didn’t even have pupils, were eerie in themselves.
“…They’ve finally come.”
The voice that flowed out beyond his parched lips was bizarre. As if piecing together the voices of countless people.
