Chapter 998 – 998. Yggdrasil (7)
〈Time remaining until regeneration: 29 seconds〉
Yeah, it can’t be this easy.
Once you kill it, it’s not over.
I don’t know how many times I regenerated, but the important thing was that I had to face the same guy I faced earlier.
I sighed and then shouted to the members.
“Let’s proceed a little faster!”
“Yes!”
Everyone realized the seriousness and started running after me.
I checked the map while running.
There was one thing that came to mind through the ambiguous map shape, quest content, and monsters that suddenly appeared.
‘Pacman…’
A game where you eat all the cookies on the map while avoiding the ghosts that roam the map.
This situation was similar to that classic game.
But there was one difference.
Mmmm…
The Minotaur had been resurrected.
There was another biggest worry.
‘It won’t be just one.’
No matter how easy it is to catch, it will become very annoying as the number of monsters increases.
I spoke to the members while taking the lead.
“Do you remember the teams I gave out earlier? No matter what happens, we stick together.”
“Yes!”
The team I gave out was simple.
The members who accompanied us when climbing the Mountain of Darkness.
Since we formed the team based on the main dealer (me, Ha-yeon Min), it was a natural fit.
‘If Hayeon is there, monsters like that won’t be a problem.’
There is no need to call Thanatos’ soldiers.
Min Ha-yeon’s archery skills will be enough to deal with her.
I thought so and kept running.
As I was running around and getting the powder…
Whoa!
A purple portal was created again, and a familiar monster popped out from within the portal.
Kkeeeeek!
“Ice Drake…”
This made it clear.
‘It looks like all the guys I’ve met so far will show up.’
It was true that the guys I met when climbing the dark mountain would appear.
I instantly cut down the body of the ice drake that was screaming and running towards me.
Shoot!
Just one shot.
With that one blow, Ice Drake collapsed on the spot with a final scream.
And the message that appears as soon as you fall.
〈Time remaining until regeneration: 30 seconds〉
And as soon as I caught the Ice Drake…
Thud! Thud! Boom!
Mmmm!
At that moment, a Minotaur was rushing towards us from behind.
Min Ha-yeon immediately took out her bow from her inventory and shouted.
“I’ll take care of everything!”
Min Ha-yeon shouted like that and shot an arrow at the Minotaur.
Paaang! Paang!
Countless arrows flying with a violent sound.
Kwasik! Kwaduk!
All the arrows went straight into the Minotaur’s vital points.
Mmmm!
The Minotaur fell to the ground, complaining of pain when an arrow shot by Minha Yeon entered its body.
And then another message came out.
〈Time remaining until regeneration: 30 seconds〉
First, we were able to confirm one more fact.
‘No matter how many times you kill, it’s always 30 seconds.’
The point was that there was no separate penalty for regeneration.
Since it is probably not marked separately, the number of plays is probably infinite.
I ran forward again and shouted.
“Let’s go!”
I decided that it was no longer a situation to relax.
As time goes by, the number of monsters will increase, and as we head into the latter half, it will be very disadvantageous for us.
However, I decided that I needed more confidence and stopped after increasing some distance.
“Wait a minute.”
“?”
When I suddenly stopped, the members were puzzled.
Min Ha-yeon asked me on behalf of those members.
“Suho? “What’s wrong?”
“I want to check something.”
After some time, a monster’s cry rang out from afar.
Kueh… Hmm…
A signal that the two monsters have been revived.
Even after confirming the sound, I calmly waited there.
And after a few seconds, I was able to deduce a few facts.
‘… ‘We don’t fight with each other.’
It may seem like a natural situation, but it was one of the things I looked forward to just in case.
There are many cases where monsters fight among themselves.
And the second piece of information I found out was…
‘… It’s coming towards us.’
The fact was that the two monsters were coming towards us as if they were using a map hack.
The good news was that it wasn’t running.
[The Minotaur started running earlier after hearing the Ice Drake’s cries.]
‘…’
The monsters seemed to approach the summoner slowly and only come running when they detected hearing, visual, or even olfactory information.
I slammed Deathside on the floor to confirm the information.
Kwaaang!
“Suho, Suho?”
“Mister… ?”
All the members stared at me with surprised expressions.
But unlike their silence…
Keekeeeeek! Mmmm!
Thud! Thud! Boom!
In the darkness of the hallway, a loud roar was heard running in this direction.
“Let’s catch it first!”
“Uh? Uh!? Ugh!”
Min Ha-yeon, who was embarrassed, came to her senses at my words and instantly killed the Minotaur and Ice Drake that came out of the darkness.
A message displayed above a dead monster.
〈Time remaining until regeneration: 30 seconds〉
〈Time remaining until regeneration: 30 seconds〉
And the members look at me with puzzled eyes.
I pretended not to notice the message and the members’ puzzled looks and started running in the lead again.
“Let’s go! “I’ll explain as I go!”
“Uh? Ugh!”
The members started running after me again.
I took the lead and started explaining to the members the reason for my actions earlier.
Even the monster’s movement path and detection method.
The members who listened to my entire explanation…
“Ah! But… “It would be better to check when the numbers are small.”
“And… “How did you come up with such thoughts in this situation?”
Voices of admiration began to flow.
It was a shame that not only were there eyes behind me, but I couldn’t even see the members’ expressions.
After that, I waited several times to catch monsters, and was able to draw a clear conclusion.
‘… It keeps coming towards us.’
It was true that once monsters appeared, they instinctively continued to move to our location.
However, rather than being certain, it came slowly, as if I felt it instinctively.
And the moment they sense us through their five senses…
Mmmm! Hehe! Crumbling!
I came running right away.
I thought as I looked at the monsters that had grown to ten.
‘… I think it would be enough for about 200 people?’
There must have been some summoners who were eliminated during the climb due to conflict or environmental factors.
However, even if only 100 people arrived here, it was somehow manageable.
‘Or maybe the effect was so good that I couldn’t even get here…’
I caught the newly emerged monster with anxiety.
And as soon as it caught the monster, it reacted to the sound from behind and ran towards where we were.
To kueh! Mmmm!
Kwasik! Kwasik! Quad deuk!
Min Ha-yeon said as she fired an arrow at the monsters that had multiplied to ten.
“Suho! “Wouldn’t it be better if we split up like this?”
It was tempting.
Our goal is to collect soul powder and soul fragments spread across the map.
In that case, it is overwhelmingly advantageous to disperse.
But…
“No.”
I immediately opposed Min Ha-yeon’s opinion.
For efficiency, it must be dispersed.
But…
“There’s no guarantee that only guys like that will show up.”
I didn’t want to worry about efficiency while taking risks for the members.
“If something comes up that is difficult for the three of us to deal with, it’s dangerous.”
“… Okay.’
Min Ha-yeon immediately nodded her head at my words and did not complain too much.
I presented a different opinion to Min Ha-yeon.
“Hayeon, call the summons and stop them.”
“It’s okay to do it, but wouldn’t it just make things stick together?”
“If it continues like this, it could become more difficult. First, let’s distance ourselves from the monsters.”
“Okay!”
As soon as Min Ha-yeon answered, she summoned Thanatos’ soldiers.
Soldiers summoned with huge bodies.
Min Ha-yeon ordered two soldiers to block the hallway.
“I’ll send the rest somewhere else to collect the powder.”
“Good idea!”
It was a method I hadn’t thought of before, but it was a good idea.
It would be very useful if summoned creatures could also eat soul powder…
“… Sorry. I guess they can’t collect powder.”
Unfortunately, nothing useful happened.
Even if the soldiers summoned by Min Ha-yeon touched the soul powder, they passed through it without being absorbed.
“Are you okay! Because it’s already helpful enough.”
They were already helpful enough just by blocking the road.
As I moved forward while blocking the monsters…
“Phew… “I barely dropped it.”
The cries of the monsters could not be heard.
Then, as you progress, more monsters will appear, but you will be able to proceed leisurely for the time being.
‘It’s still coming towards us, but…’
After collecting soul powder and soul fragments like that…
“Is it a hole?”
I was able to arrive at a huge hall.
I couldn’t tell for sure because I couldn’t see beyond a certain field of view, but I could tell that it was different from the shape of the hallway I had passed through so far.
I was able to guess that this was a large place as the sound echoed far away before arriving back.
And just in time to arrive in the hall…
Paaaaat!
Purple light began to explode above my head.
The reason purple light exploded above my head is…
〈Soul Stone(1)〉
This was because 60 soul fragments were gathered together and converted into soul stones.
The purple color suddenly came together as if it were condensing…
“Finally one.”
It turned into a brilliant purple jewel and was placed in my hand.
A gem the size of a baseball.
A brilliant light flowed out that made it seem as if one’s soul would be sucked in just by looking at it.
And at the same time, a message appeared.
〈It is impossible to collect soul powder and soul fragments until you offer up a soul stone.〉
〈All participants will be given a debuff that cannot be collected.〉
At the same time as the message, a warning red aura rose above the heads of all members.
“I need to find an altar first, right?”
The moment I thought that, I heard Namgung Yuha’s voice behind me.
“Over there… “There is a structure that is different from anything I’ve seen before.”
It seemed to roughly point towards the middle of the hall.
Namgung Yuha moved in the direction indicated.
Let’s try to move to the middle of the hall like that…
“Huh!?”
Namgung Yuha took a step back from her with a shocked look on his face.
“Why are you doing that?”
“That… That is… Before…”
Namgung Yuha’s expression was more disgusting than fearful.
Namgung Yuha hesitated for a while with a disgusted expression on his face…
“Luckily she doesn’t seem to be alive. Everyone, please be careful not to be surprised.”
“…”
Everyone began to look at each other in confusion at Namgung Yuha’s words.
What on earth did you see?
I also slowly started heading towards the center of the hall with a puzzled expression.
And what came out of the darkness was…
“Altar?”
It was a huge altar.
And on top of the altar, there was also a bowl where three beads could be placed.
“Oh, that’s where you put it.”
I muttered that and slowly walked forward.
That moment…
“Wow…”
A huge stone statue appeared on the altar through the darkness.
The reason I was surprised wasn’t just because there was a stone statue.
A huge head.
It seemed like 10 meters would be enough.
However, arms and legs were clinging to one huge head like a spider.
The problem is that the legs are in the shape of human arms and legs.
It wasn’t even attached properly.
It was sticking out here and there as if it had been forced onto the face.
There were small arms and legs attached that seemed completely non-functional, as well as legs large enough to move the huge face.
It’s beyond hideous and bizarre… Furthermore, a monster that causes disgust.
Yes, I could understand up to that point.
After all, it’s a stone statue.
But the expression…
[What should I say… I’m confident that I’ve seen a lot of strange things, but that smile… I can’t keep looking at it.]
He was laughing so horribly that it made even Kang Han-na, who prides herself on having encountered some truly bizarre people, tremble.
Mouth torn all the way to the ears.
And eyes drawn like a crescent moon.
‘Armonia, isn’t that alive?’
[… The temperament window does not appear. But I think it would be good to be careful.]
While I was hesitating, the members following me also arrived at my location.
And then…
“Aaaaah!”
“Wow, crazy… It’s so fucking gross…”
Everyone took a step back as if they were feeling nauseous.
Then everyone began to comfort Namgung Yuha.
“Did Yuha see that alone?”
“If I had seen something like that by myself, I would have collapsed and cried right then and there.”
Thanks to other people seeing the statue, a consensus was formed.
And thanks to that consensus, Namgung Yuha was able to calm down to some extent.
“Thank you for your concern. Still, I kept watching… Phew… “It’s not getting any better.”
A bizarre smile and shape that I can’t get used to.
In particular, the laughter was seriously creepy.
It made me wonder if a human face could smile like that.
“First… “I will place the soul stone on the altar.”
I carefully climbed onto the altar.
I was anxious.
I didn’t even want to approach the altar because of the bizarre statue, and it even seemed like my reason was screaming at me not to place it as a soul stone.
But I did it.
Tuk.
I carefully placed the soul stone on the altar.
That moment…
“… It’s quiet.”
Nothing happened.
It was just that the non-collectable debuffs on the other members’ heads disappeared.
I turned around and said, wanting to get out of here quickly.
“Now, the other two…”
The moment you look at the members like that and say…
Paaaaa!
“!?”
The scene where Namgung Yuha was stabbing her sword at me caught my eye.
I was shocked for a moment and lifted Death Scythe.
And then a loud noise is heard.
Kwahiah ahhhhh!
Namgung Yuha’s sword contains enormous electric current…
“Yu, Mr. Yuha?”
It was ringing next to my cheek.
Namgung Yuha’s body with his eyebrows furrowed differently than usual… No, her arm started to twist to the side.
“Soo, Suho… Avoid it quickly!”
At the same time as Namgung Yuha shouted, I quickly turned around to check.
The stone statue that had a bizarre smile just a moment ago…
Hee… “It’s been a while since I got a fun toy.”
He was looking down at me with an even more creepy smile.
