Chapter 996 – 996. Yggdrasil (7)
〈 Number of participants: 6. Remaining time 8 minutes 51 seconds 〉
The number that was 56 earlier had now changed to 51.
5 seconds of time.
I stared blankly for that time and only after 50 seconds did I come to my senses and open my mouth.
“It’s a story about something happening in 9 minutes.”
The members who heard me took a deep breath and began to look around with nervous expressions.
Alien darkness.
Just like when climbing a dark mountain, our vision was limited.
A view that feels like space has been cut off.
I slowly walked towards the dark place.
As I started moving, the members began to follow me carefully.
Togak, ttogak, ttogak.
Every time I took a step, the sound of shoe heels spread throughout the surroundings.
Unlike the bumpy mountain path, it was not easy to reduce the sound due to the clean marble floor.
Just by looking at it, I could see that the space we were in was inside the building.
A quiet space where not even a ray of wind flows.
As I walked through that space, I heard a whispering sound coming from behind.
“How is it? “Do you see anything?”
“… No, I can’t see it.”
It was a conversation between midspring and midautumn.
“It looks good so far… “I haven’t seen anything since I came here.”
The prophecy that was valid while climbing the Mountain of Darkness went haywire after coming here.
At the end of mid-autumn, not only I but all the members started to get nervous.
The fact that the prophecy did not arrive meant that there was a high possibility that something dangerous would appear.
Again, again…
But what we faced was not danger.
“It’s blocked.”
A wall surrounded by darkness that can be touched.
I moved slowly along the blocked road.
And the place we arrived shortly after was…
“It’s that place from before.”
It was the place we came across earlier after taking a walk around.
The space we were in was surrounded and blocked.
I couldn’t see anything beyond the dead end.
And before you know it…
“There are 6 minutes left.”
Three minutes had passed.
As three minutes passed, another message began to be written.
〈 Six participants will be granted a special skill set. 〉
Everyone was puzzled by the term special skill, but the message continued to be written without giving us any time to wonder.
〈I hope you get the special abilities you want from the center. 〉
All members who checked the message began to stare at me.
Everyone looked at me as if they were waiting for my decision.
“Let’s go.”
I nodded and headed toward the center where we arrived earlier.
At the center we arrived at…
“I guess this is it.”
A table that wasn’t there before was created, and three small jewels were placed on it.
Red, blue, green gems.
Perhaps each gem had a special ability.
The message came to mind again.
〈One person can have one special skill, and once acquired, it cannot be transferred.〉
〈 Stealth: Stealth for 9 seconds when used – Stealth canceled when touched – (Cooldown 3 minutes) 〉
〈Blink: Teleport a distance of 6 meters – Can move over walls – (Cooldown 6 minutes) 〉
〈Teleportation: When used, moves to a random location on the map – You can also move right next to it – (Cooldown 9 minutes) 〉
The red gem was for hiding, the blue gem was for blinking, and the green gem was for teleportation.
Each had their own good abilities.
But the problem is…
“I have to choose three people.”
The fact was that only three people could obtain the skill.
Minha-yeon, who was next to me, smiled and opened her mouth.
“They are like this from beginning to end.”
And Hanbom agrees.
“As expected, you were right. This space… “I’m doing this to keep us apart.”
Just as I felt, Min Ha-yeon and her group seemed to feel the same as they climbed the dark mountain.
Intentional induction of trouble.
The reason we are given three skills now is probably to encourage our fight.
But unfortunately…
“Suho, who should have it?”
Our trust was not weak enough to fall prey to such inducement.
As soon as I heard Min Ha-yeon’s words, I immediately came up with an answer.
“I think it would be better for Bom and Gaeul to have non-combat jobs.”
After hearing what I said, Min Ha-yeon and Namgung Yu-ha, who had combat professions, nodded.
“I think so too.”
“I think that would be good too.”
However, mid-spring and mid-autumn actually smiled bitterly.
“Is it really necessary?”
“That’s right. If a battle occurs, efficiency may actually decrease.”
I could understand their concerns.
A situation where you don’t know what will happen after the timer, and even the prediction of mid-autumn doesn’t activate.
Assuming that a battle will occur, it is correct to distribute skills efficiently.
Yes, that is correct.
But…
“Efficiency is not important.”
Our party does not aim for efficiency.
“Safety is the most important.”
It is safe.
Our top priority is not complete victory, but the survival of all party members.
“So, you two must take care of your skills.”
The two people smiled bitterly and nodded.
“Haha… Okay.”
“If my brother says so~”
First, I decided on two people.
And the other one…
“I think it would be better for Mr. Winter to take care of it.”
It was decided based on the opinion of Namgung Yuha.
Actually, I was thinking of giving midwinter a skill.
Midspring, midautumn, midwinter.
It was not a waste at all to give it to the three sisters.
The problem was my position.
If the leader leading the party is not fair, the accumulated dissatisfaction will inevitably become a bomb so big that it will be difficult to handle it.
In fact, Min Ha-yeon had no problem at all.
The problem is Namgung Yuha.
However, Namgung Yuha was the first to offer words of concession.
Midwinter, startled by Namgung Yuha’s words, waved her hand.
“Hey, even though I look like this, I’m still agile. Therefore…”
“Midwinter.”
“Huh?”
“Listen to me.”
“No, but…”
Midwinter began to hesitate, looking at Namgung Yuha’s notice.
You probably know midwinter well.
Namgung Yuha’s skills are far above hers, and she needs to have her skills to create a sense of stability for her entire party.
Nevertheless, the reason I was paying attention like this was because of the friendship I had built up over the years.
Midwinter suddenly revealed her closeness to Namgung Yuha, to the point where she called him her older sister.
Now that you have that kind of friendship, you probably don’t want to act carelessly.
And Namgung Yu-ha, who is 100 dans in her senses, immediately began to persuade Midwine.
“Gyeoreum, has Suho ever decided to do something out of selfishness?”
“Oh, no. “There is none.”
“I think so. I have no doubt that Suho’s decision is for everyone.”
“Ah…”
Namgung Yuha expressed her opinion with her smile, revealing her trust in me.
“So, I hope the one-person left becomes Mr. Midwinter.”
“… Thank you, sister.”
“Hehe…”
It was decided that Midwinter would have the one remaining skill.
Once the number of people has been decided.
Ironically, the members who decided to have special skills were the Han sisters.
I thought deeply while looking at Sister Han.
‘Then who has what skills…’
There are a total of three special skills.
And all three had the ability to escape danger.
And providing a means to escape from danger…
‘It means there will definitely be a fight.’
It was clear that a battle would occur.
It could be a multiple fight or a single fight, but there was one thing I was certain of.
‘No ordinary guy will show up.’
I had a feeling that this difficulty would be the last.
And as befits the end, a monster similar to Cerberus may pop out.
It was impossible to roughly distribute skills.
“Now, everyone, give your opinion. “Who should have what skills?”
We put our heads together and exchanged opinions on skill distribution.
As a result…
“Bom hides, Autumn blinks, and Winter teleports.”
It was decided to distribute the three skills to three people.
The distribution method is efficient.
It was written that the first skill, Stealth, would be canceled when in contact with someone.
“There is no explanation that it will be canceled even if you use the skill.”
In other words, it was judged to be an optimal ability for Hanbom, who can use recovery skills.
And the second skill, blinking.
Blinking was a special skill that allowed you to escape through walls.
And…
“The prophecy doesn’t work now, but if the prophecy is activated again in the future, Gaeul might find it useful.”
It was an ability quite suitable for Han Ga-eul, a prophet.
If you can predict it before it starts blinking, you will be able to move to a safer place.
And the last skill, teleportation.
Ability to randomly move somewhere on the map.
In fact, the teleportation given to Midwineul was not an ability she was given to use often.
As soon as…
“Never use it unless it is a truly dangerous situation.”
It was a skill given as a last resort.
When you need to get out of a truly emergency situation.
It was given to me to be used only in that case.
When I held both of Midwinter’s shoulders and spoke with a serious expression, Midwinter laughed with an embarrassed expression.
“Ah Okay. “I will save as much as possible.”
“And don’t hesitate to use it in a real emergency.”
I put more strength into Midwinter’s hands and spoke in a serious voice.
“I will come and rescue you as quickly as possible.”
“…”
Midwinter looking up at me blankly.
Midwinter looked up at me blankly for a while…
“… Be sure to come pick me up.”
I laughed brightly.
“If there’s a problem, I’ll come pick you up right away. Until then, take care of yourselves as much as possible.”
“Yes.”
So, after finishing my conversation with Midwinter, I turned her head and looked at her members.
The members’ expressions looking at me…
“Aha…”
“Hey…”
“Hmm…”
He sank down and looked at me with a cold expression.
Min Ha-yeon opened her mouth first.
“Now that I think about it… “You three also went to the hot springs, right?”
“And… Surely the three of you didn’t go into the hot springs together?”
“Oh, no way…”
The three women muttered as if they were longing for the answer from me, even though they already knew the answer.
I pretended not to hear the three women muttering and looked the other way.
“Well, there’s not much time left. Let’s all get ready.”
“And… “Mister, you avoided talking.”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
“We went in together…”
“…”
I didn’t give any response to the whispers.
‘Let’s make excuses later.’
Right now, the urgent priority is to resolve the situation in front of us.
I looked the other way and raised my head.
‘2 minutes…’
Before you know it, there are only 2 minutes left.
Because I decided sooner than expected, I had plenty of time.
We started simulating the situation for two minutes.
When they come together, when they disperse, and even when they are divided into teams like last time…
And virtually unexpected…
“I hope it continues like this.”
Until the start without any surprises.
Everyone smiled empty-handedly and opened their mouths as if they agreed with what I said.
“I don’t want to fall again, but…”
“I don’t like being separated from my uncle.”
“It’s fine as long as I’m not alone, but…”
Each person expressed his or her thoughts and looked at the ceiling.
10 seconds remaining.
As we stared at the remaining time, before we knew it…
0 seconds.
I was able to confirm that the time had come.
Kurrrr…
As soon as the counter ended, a shallow earthquake suddenly began to spread.
Everyone clung to me as if they were nervous.
Anxiety that it might spread to another place.
And as if to show their anxiety, everyone was holding handfuls of my clothes.
But no matter how much time passes after 0 seconds…
“Uh? “I don’t think it’s moving this time?”
The members’ appearance was right in my eyes.
“Phew… “Thank goodness.”
“I wondered what would happen if I moved again.”
Everyone was relieved that the disease had not spread, and one by one, they began to let go of their hands that were holding my clothes.
It was the moment I let go.
“Ah… I can hear the message again.”
Not only me, but all the members raised their heads as soon as they heard Namgung Yuha’s words.
There was another message floating on the ceiling.
〈Quest: Offer the soul stone to the altar.〉
〈Remaining altars: 3〉
