Chapter 490 – 490. God’S Atlantis
490. God’s Atlantis
Kang Min-jin’s goal this time is to simultaneously conquer four areas to gain dominance.
Area 6,331, the Land of the Enraged Prince.
Area 6,332, the Garden of the Sorrowful Queen.
Area 6,333, the Castle of the Obsessed King.
Area 6,334, the Tower of the Sleeping Princess.
Officially, they are targeting three areas, but the last hidden area, ‘Area 6,334,’ is intended to be conquered under the guise of coincidence. The reason is to avoid suspicion. If he knows too much about the hidden area, his companions might suspect him.
‘The important thing isn’t that.’
What Kang Min-jin will gain by dominating these areas. All of it can be handed over to Kang Min-jin. Except for one thing, the Sleeping Princess.
‘I can’t give a woman, especially a beautiful one, to Kang Min-jin.’
So, he has to sneak the Sleeping Princess away. But to do that, there are more than one or two problems to overcome.
The biggest problem is that I can’t separate myself and do individual activities. There’s no opportunity for me to break away during the conquest process. If I force individual activities, Kang Min-jin will deeply suspect me.
‘I have to find a way. A way.’
***
「To enter Area 6,331, the Land of the Enraged Prince, a condition is required.」
Kang Min-jin took out a large, old key from his pocket. The key seemed to glow slightly, and the invisible barrier blocking our path disappeared.
「The condition has been met. You may enter Area 6,331, the Land of the Enraged Prince.」
「To dominate Area 6,331, the Land of the Enraged Prince, a hidden condition must be met.」
The hidden condition is that Areas 6,332 and 6,333 must also be conquered.
“Let’s prepare before entering.”
Kang Min-jin spoke in a more rigid tone than usual. Everyone acknowledged that it was more efficient, so there were no complaints.
Following the strategy Kang Min-jin had taught us before, we wrapped our entire bodies with thick cloth, leaving only our eyes exposed.
“Ugh… I expected it, but it’s really uncomfortable.”
Yoo Seo-hee, who had preferred sexy outfits since becoming a succubus, grumbled softly. The thick cloth completely hid her figure, which was meant to entice men.
“……This is better, actually.”
Joo Seo-hyun sighed and said. She had recently been wearing revealing bunny girl outfits every night.
After putting on the prepared clothes and rechecking our belongings, we finally entered Area 6,331 with Kang Min-jin’s short command.
“Let’s go.”
It was a vast wasteland. But it was definitely not an ordinary place. An ordinary wasteland wouldn’t have a river of bright red lava flowing on one side.
The air felt suffocatingly hot. The surrounding temperature quickly exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.
I wanted to throw off the thick cloth I was wearing, but if I did, I would feel even more pain. This thick cloth was blocking the special sunlight.
“……”
Kang Min-jin stood still and took out a compass from his pocket.
「Guide’s Compass (S)」 It is a compass that points to the destination when you are lost. I had obtained it about two months ago at Kang Min-jin’s request.
I had used it a few times, but it wasn’t a very good item unless it was a situation like this.
“It’s to the lower left. Let’s move in an A formation.”
A formation.
It’s the most basic formation.
Kang Min-jin, Ji Young-bin, and I stood at the front, followed by Joo Seo-hyun and Lee Min-jung. At the rear were Rilsne, Yoo Seo-hee, and Yoo In-ha.
Rilsne was originally in charge of scouting, but she would be active in the next area.
“……”
We were silent.
We had the leisure to chat. There were no monsters in sight, and all we were doing was walking through the wasteland. But the moment we opened our mouths, hot air would fill our mouths, and if we took a deep breath, we would feel the pain of our lungs burning.
“Stop. Spatial change!”
The space rippled, and the scenery changed. In this area, the space changes at regular intervals. It’s the opposite of spatial movement. We stay still, and the space moves.
“Master! Which way should we go?!”
Ji Young-bin, a warrior who had recently joined with the elf, asked. His eyes, looking at Kang Min-jin, were filled with trust and respect.
“The compass… is pointing backward. Reorganize the formation and move.”
Area 6,331 is a trial-type area. If you hadn’t studied the strategy beforehand and prepared, you could wander around here for days and end up as a withered mummy.
It would be nice if we could solve things by just walking, but there were monsters here too.
Black stones suddenly rose from the wasteland.
Stone Golems.
Non-living monsters that need to have their bodies shattered or their cores destroyed.
But what you need to know here is that even monsters you know can have slightly different characteristics in each area.
“There are six Stone Golems in total. Ji Young-bin, you take the three on the left. Sung Yu-jin, you take the three on the right. Finish them before they merge into one and become more troublesome.”
“Leave it to me!”
“Yes, sir.”
Ji Young-bin and I drew our weapons from our waists. He had a greatsword, and I had the Hwaryeon Flying Blades. Then, we opened the cap of our water bottles, poured cold water on our weapons, and charged towards the black Stone Golems.
‘I was bored just walking, so this is perfect. Die!’
The blade cut through the Stone Golem’s body as smoothly as butter. This is because their weakness is the cold water on the blade.
I quickly dispatched the Stone Golems and looked at Ji Young-bin. His processing speed was slower than mine. Unlike me, who moved lightly and agilely, Ji Young-bin dealt with the Stone Golems heavily and solidly. Our fighting styles were completely opposite.
“Both of you did well.”
“Haha. It was nothing!”
Unlike Ji Young-bin, who was delighted by Kang Min-jin’s praise, I took it for granted.
***
Four hours after we started walking in Area 6,331.
We took a break. Proper rest gives vitality to a person’s mind and body.
I took this opportunity to approach Rilsne, who was grooming her bow.
Normally, Rilsne would either be holed up in her room or out somewhere, and it was rare to meet her. Even if you approached her, she would quickly leave. Here, she had nowhere to run.
I imagined Rilsne’s golden hair and slim figure, hidden by the thick cloth clothes, and said.
“It’s been quite a while since we’ve known each other, but we’re talking in this situation, Ms. Rilsne.”
“……I have nothing to say to you.”
Rilsne was cold to everyone, not just me. The only person she talked to in the A-Plan Legion was almost exclusively Kang Min-jin.
“Come on. Aren’t we fellow Legion members? A simple conversation is okay.”
Perhaps she noticed that I wouldn’t give up easily. She was silent for a moment and then said.
“……I have no interest in that simple conversation. What do you want from me?”
“There’s no special reason… I’m just curious. We didn’t have elves in our world.”
“Ha. Being an elf doesn’t make much of a difference. Humans and elves are just races with intelligence.”
Her attitude was too prickly, and I felt a brief surge of annoyance that quickly disappeared. It was fortunate that my face was covered by the thick cloth.
I racked my brain to think of a way to continue the conversation.
“Ms. Rilsne, you joined the A-Plan Legion at Min-jin’s recommendation, right? To be honest, I can’t trust you.”
“Is that so? I feel the same way, so we can just ignore each other.”
Her green eyes were still indifferent.
“……If we can’t trust each other, shouldn’t we become a relationship where we can trust each other? We’re fellow Legion members, and there will be many times when we have to fight back-to-back.”
“There’s a misconception that many people have. Just because you belong to the same Legion doesn’t mean you become family. And I only joined the Legion after receiving fair compensation from Master Kang Min-jin.”
“So… for Ms. Rilsne, the Legion is a kind of business?”
“Yes. That’s correct. I want to rest, so won’t you leave me alone? Having unproductive conversations is a waste both mentally and physically. Especially in a situation like this.”
It was certainly unpleasant to open your mouth and have hot air enter your body. But I didn’t want to waste this opportunity to talk to Rilsne.
“I see that I didn’t consider the situation. I’ll give you this.”
“……You took out a frozen water bottle from your pocket… Is that an interdimensional pocket?”
Rilsne was wary but quickly took the frozen water bottle from my hand and put it in her bosom. The ice would melt quickly, but it would cool her body in the meantime.
“No. It’s a power I have. Ah, it’s a different power from my unique trait.”
“The ability to create water? No. If that were the case, you wouldn’t have been able to create a water bottle. What kind of ability is it?”
“You seem curious about my ability.”
“……No. It was a slip of the tongue. I will use the water bottle gratefully.”
Rilsne got up. It seemed like she was going to leave herself because I kept asking questions.
“I’d like to talk to Ms. Rilsne a little more. Is it possible if I pay you?”
Clink, clink.
I shook a pouch of money in front of Rilsne. It contained 10,000 pennies. It was a very large amount for a short conversation. Her green eyes were fixed on the money pouch. As the money pouch moved to the right, her eyes followed.
“……Talking itself is an act of giving out information. Fine. Since you’re paying, I’ll indulge in your conversation for a while.”
Rilsne grabbed the money pouch tightly and assessed the amount of money.
“About 10,000 pennies. I’ll talk only for that value.”
“Haha… Ms. Rilsne, you seem to like money a lot?”
“I trust money. You can’t do everything with money, but you can solve most things with it.”
“How old are you? Ms. Rilsne’s voice sounds a bit young… and it’s hard to guess an elf’s age just by looking at their appearance.”
“I’m 24 years old. Don’t speak informally to me just because you’re older than me. I don’t care about Korean culture of respecting elders.”
“Okay. Then, can I ask what you’re going to do with the money you’re saving?”
“That’s a question worth more than 10,000 pennies.”
That meant she had no intention of answering. I threw out questions at random.
“……What’s your favorite food?”
“I’m not picky about food… but I prefer expensive food if possible. And that’s the end of the conversation.”
“What? I haven’t even asked a few questions yet?”
“Including the previous conversation, it’s worth more than 10,000 pennies.”
Rilsne left without hesitation.
‘……Should I chase after her, pay more money, and continue the conversation?’
After careful consideration, I decided to stop. If I tried to force a conversation with her, I might only create more animosity.
I got up and walked towards where Yoo Seo-hee and Joo Seo-hyun were.
***
「Moving to Area 6,332, the Garden of the Sorrowful Queen.」
We left the wasteland after six hours and entered the next area.
It was a very well-maintained garden. A garden with ornate flowers and lush trees artificially shaped.
Unlike the wasteland, the temperature was normal. As soon as we arrived, we threw off our thick cloth clothes. We could hear the sound of people inhaling fresh air from all over.
“Min-jin.”
I called out to Kang Min-jin. Kang Min-jin, who had been looking at the garden blankly, turned his head towards me.
“What is it?”
“I need to go to the bathroom for a bit… Well, there’s no bathroom here, so I’m going to take care of it behind that tree over there. Just wait for about 5 minutes.”
“You can take your time. I’m planning to rest here for about 20 minutes and prepare for the conquest.”
“5 minutes is enough. I don’t have constipation that would require me to go for 20 minutes.”
I headed behind a tree a little away from the group. Fortunately, this was the entrance area of the zone, so everything nearby was just ordinary plants.
‘The Sleeping Princess. If I can’t get her, I can have someone else do it.’
I had someone more trustworthy than anyone else.
‘Yuria.’
[Summoning character. Target: Yuria Grace]
[Remaining summon duration for Yuria Grace: 30 days]
A maid with a gentle smile appeared before my eyes.
