## Chapter 376 – 376. God’S Atlantis
376. God’s Atlantis
“I didn’t sense any mana being used… how did you defeat the banshee?”
“Have you forgotten what our dwarves are good at?”
“…What does drinking beer have to do with it? Was the banshee’s weakness perhaps beer?”
“……”
A brief silence fell between Damon and me. Damon then opened his mouth and laughed heartily.
“Haha. That’s a funny joke. It’s true that our dwarves like beer. But that’s not the answer. The answer is the equipment I have. If you can’t catch a banshee, you just need to make a weapon that can, right?”
“I see. Is the chainmail also why curses don’t work on you?”
“That’s right. The banshee’s curse isn’t that strong, so just wearing this is enough to withstand it.”
“There was powder left behind where the banshee disappeared. What is that powder?”
“As you see, it’s banshee powder. If you use it, you can make swords sharper, or make a cloak that blocks the cold as you wish.”
Damon shook the powder in the bottle. It was a fine blue powder.
“What happens if you eat it?”
“I don’t know that either.”
“Hmm.”
I decided to feed the banshee powder to thieves or prisoners later. It might be a drug more potent than heroin or meth.
After that, the deeper we went into the ironwood forest, the more frequent the monster attacks became. It was easier to deal with the banshees flying in the air than the monster rats that crawled faster than cockroaches. The banshees weren’t as agile as I expected, perhaps because they were careless.
“It’s convenient to have a warrior of your caliber with me.”
“You’re quite skilled yourself, Damon.”
“I know it’s a platitude, but it’s nice to hear.”
We didn’t even go near the ironwood trees possessed by banshees. We immediately avoided them when we saw ironwood spirits.
“Do we just leave the ironwood spirits alone?”
“The banshees will eventually release their possession and come out of the ironwood trees anyway. To defeat the ironwood spirits, you have to cut through the steel-like wood in one go, but where would we find the time for that?”
“Why don’t we just set them on fire?”
“Do you think iron will catch fire?”
“……”
We found the white ironwood tree we were looking for.
It was more than three times larger than the other ironwood trees and was pure white.
“What do we do now?”
At my question, Damon grabbed the steel axe hanging on his back.
“Of course, we have to hack at it until the sap comes out. Then we insert a steel straw. I’ll hack at the white ironwood tree, so please protect me. Monsters always seem to interfere when I’m hacking at trees…”
It was the moment Damon started walking towards the tree.
*Kee hee hee hee.*
An eerie laughter was heard, and the sharp branches of the white ironwood tree whipped out like a whip. Damon was startled and jumped to the side, running towards me.
“Hah! Damn it!”
“Is it a banshee?”
“Ordinary banshees can’t possess white ironwood trees. It must be a banshee queen.”
Damon glared fiercely at the white ironwood tree. His expression was full of annoyance, but he didn’t recklessly charge at it.
“We’ve struck out today. Let’s go back to the village.”
“Are there no other white ironwood trees?”
“There are, but they’re too far away from here. It’s late, so it’s better to go back to the village today and go to another white ironwood tree tomorrow.”
To have to go back without getting anything because of one monster… I didn’t like it.
“Damon, no matter how I think about it, we’ve come all this way, so I don’t think we should just retreat. Let’s drag the banshee queen out and kill it.”
“Didn’t you see the branches that attacked me earlier? Those attacks will become faster and stronger the further you go inside. On top of that, white ironwood trees are much harder than ordinary ironwood trees. We’d have to hack at the white ironwood tree unless the banshee queen comes out… Ugh. It just makes me sigh.”
It did seem like it would be difficult even for me. To hack at that white ironwood tree with an axe would take several… no, at least several hours. And that’s while avoiding the attacks of the ironwood spirit.
“Damon, fire doesn’t catch on iron, but… electricity flows through it.”
I created lightning in my hand. Damon’s eyes widened, and he nodded.
“Indeed… but you won’t be able to burn the white ironwood tree with that.”
“This isn’t just ordinary lightning. I think it will work on the banshee queen possessing the white ironwood tree.”
If you kill a possessed creature, the possessing banshee dies with it. That was a characteristic of banshees in this world.
I threw lightning at the white ironwood tree. A blue bolt of lightning struck the trunk of the tree. Electricity spread throughout the tree.
*Pazzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!*
*Kieeeeeeeeeeeek!*
The lightning and the banshee queen’s scream overlapped.
“Oh! It’s working!”
“Haha. My lightning is ranked S! Do you think the banshee queen can withstand my lightning!”
*Pazzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!*
*Kieeeeeeeeeeeek!*
Every time I threw lightning, the banshee queen’s scream could be heard. I was excited and threw lightning continuously.
The enraged banshee queen controlled the branches of the white ironwood tree. The branches stretched out towards me, but stopped one meter away. The place where Damon and I were was out of reach of the ironwood spirit’s attacks.
“Hahahaha! It’s so fun attacking unilaterally! I like this!”
“Banshee queen! You’re the troublesome monster that’s been bothering us! Do more! More!”
As Damon cheered, the attacks continued.
Then, the banshee queen, unable to withstand it any longer, released her possession and shot out of the white ironwood tree.
She was about 1.5 times larger than an ordinary banshee and wore a cracked crown on her head.
*Kieeeeeeeeeeeek!*
The banshee screamed and rushed towards us.
“Damon!”
“Don’t worry!”
Damon stepped in front of me and swung his hammer. The hammer hit, but there was no sound. The banshee queen seemed to fly to the side, but soon changed direction and rushed towards me.
*Pazzzzzzzzzzt!*
I created lightning in my hand. Even so, the banshee queen didn’t back down.
*Kieeeeeeeeeeeek!*
She let out a painful scream and clung to my body, then slipped right inside me. I was protecting my body with mana, but was it because she was a banshee queen? I couldn’t stop the possession.
[You have been possessed by the banshee queen.]
[Your excellent mental strength resists the banshee queen’s possession.]
[The banshee queen’s possession has not been lifted.]
Normally, from the moment you’re possessed, you lose consciousness and your body is completely taken over by the banshee.
But right now, I was perfectly conscious. The problem was that I couldn’t control my body as I wanted. And that was the same for the banshee queen.
“Good heavens! Possession!”
Damon was shocked and backed away from me. It was a good decision.
“Da, Da, Damon…!”
“Huh?! Banshee queen, you fiend! What are you trying to do!”
“No! Damon! It’s me! Sung Yoojin! The banshee queen hasn’t taken control of my mind!”
“…Is that even possible?”
“Aren’t you seeing it now! The banshee queen and I are fighting for control of my body!”
I shook my body like a patient having a seizure. My limbs moved grotesquely. When the banshee queen possessing my body tried to walk forward, I moved backward. When I tried to create mana, the banshee queen interfered.
“…This is insane. What should I do?”
“That’s…”
I didn’t know either. This was the first time I’d been possessed, and I’d never looked into possession in detail.
[The King of the Heavenly Demon donates 1,000 AP.
“Do you want help? The condition is to kill one person a day for the next 100 days.”]
I was annoyed by the King of the Heavenly Demon’s offer.
“Shut up!!”
“Why are you suddenly like that? Is my voice that loud?”
“Ah, no. I wasn’t talking to you, Damon! The banshee queen is trying to seduce me without knowing her place!”
“That evil thing! Don’t fall for the banshee queen’s seduction!”
[The Lord of the Sky donates 10,000 AP.
“How long are you going to keep up this farce? Surely you’re not really being taken down by a banshee queen, are you?”]
“……”
I racked my brain. Judging by the Lord of the Sky’s lukewarm reaction, I might already have a way to get out of the banshee queen’s possession.
“Sung Yoojin! I’ll break your legs and arms for now and take you to the village! We’ll go back to the village and find a way to release the possession slowly!”
“Huh! What are you talking about!”
Has this crazy dwarf gone mad!
“That’s the only way!”
“No! Wait a minute! Please wait calmly! Lightning!”
*Pazzzzzzzzzzt!*
Electricity flowed through my body. The movement of my body and mana was still being interfered with, but the lightning was activated because it was a skill. Electricity flowed through my body, but the banshee queen wasn’t harmed. That’s because my body itself wasn’t harmed by lightning.
‘Should I use Deception (SS) to change the status window to Heavenly Demon? No, it doesn’t seem like it would work since my body isn’t changing…’
Is the Heavenly Demon Divine Art the answer? Perhaps the Heavenly Demon Body has resistance to possession.
‘…Judging by the Lord of the Sky’s reaction, there is a way! …Ah!’
I got it.
“Lightning Speed!”
I activated the skill I had most recently obtained in the ‘God’s Atlantis’ world.
My body turned into a lightning body. As my body turned into lightning, its form temporarily disappeared.
*Kieeeeeeek?!*
The possession was released. The banshee queen was bewildered in front of me.
“Ten Thousand Thunders!”
Lightning tore through the banshee queen’s body.
[You have acquired 410 AP.]
In the place where the banshee queen disappeared, powder and a bracelet had fallen.
“Amazing! To think you’d kill the banshee queen in such a way!”
Lightning Speed was released after three seconds, and I returned to my original body. I picked up the bracelet and powder that had fallen on the ground.
[Banshee Queen’s Powder
A high-quality material used in various places.
It has the effect of blocking the cold. It can reveal the invisible.
Rank: B]
[Banshee Queen’s Bracelet
Only women can use it.
Depending on the mana, you can fly freely in the sky for a certain amount of time.
Mana +5
Rank: A]
I didn’t know much about the banshee queen’s powder yet, but the banshee queen’s bracelet was quite a good item. The ability to fly was useful, and the effect of increasing mana was good. Although it had the condition that only women could use it.
‘This… I should give it as a gift. Who should I give it to?’
Damon approached. I quickly hid the bracelet behind my back.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of coveting your things. Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“…Would you give me the banshee queen’s powder? I won’t ask for it for free. I’ll pay a good price…”
“I’ll think about it. Let’s collect the white ironwood sap first.”
It seemed that the banshee queen’s powder wasn’t just a material that blacksmiths could use. I thought I could sell it for a higher price in the city.
Damon asked while collecting the sap.
“You’re not going to sell the banshee queen’s powder? I’ll pay a generous price.”
“Here, have a bottle of beer.”
“Kiyaaaaa! Beer after a battle is truly special!”
•••
I often visited the ironwood forest.
It was more beneficial to train the Heavenly Demon Divine Art in the cool air of the ironwood forest than to waste time meaninglessly in the village.
That day, too, I was diligently training, killing monster rats and banshees.
I sensed a different presence than usual.
‘…What is it?’
It was a presence that felt much clearer and darker than the monster rats and banshees. I moved towards the place where the presence was felt.
A dark, smoky substance was left in the air and was gradually dissipating. I moved at a fast pace. The further I walked, the darker the smoke became.
And finally, I was able to find it.
It was a black horse with eight legs wrapped in black smoke.
[World Leap (Pseudo) is looking at you.]
*Twitch.*
I stopped in my tracks.
World Leap. True name Sleipnir.
A divine beast that appears in various areas. It can be tamed, but you have to fight and win. And even if you tame it, it will disappear immediately if it judges that you don’t have the qualifications of an owner.
In the original story, Kang Myungjin kills Sleipnir as soon as he encounters it. He had a dragon, so he had no attachment to Sleipnir.
‘…Can I kill it with my current skills?’
[The Lord of the Sky donates 100,000 AP.
“A dog’s horse. Kill it.”]
100,000 AP.
The Lord of the Sky was more serious than ever.
‘Oh well!’
I couldn’t afford to be at odds with the Lord of the Sky here. I shot lightning with Ten Thousand Thunders.
“Puh-hing.”
Sleipnir lightly turned its body to avoid the lightning, mocked me, and then ran towards the sky. I tried to chase it, but it was already too late. Sleipnir had disappeared.
[World Leap (Pseudo) remembers you.]
