Chapter 869 – 869. God’S Atlantis
“We have conquered Zone 6,999, the church in the torrential rain.”
“It’s a special hidden zone. You will acquire a special item instead of zone control.”
“You have been granted the title ‘Calm Hunter’.”
“You have acquired 1 bonus stat point.”
“You have acquired 300,000 AP.”
“You have acquired the Rainstorm Flute.”
“The Messenger of Prophecy (False) gives you a prophecy.”
“An ill-fated relationship will hinder you.”
The conquest was over.
Lee Min-jung and I were moved to the forest outside the church. I absentmindedly looked up at the sky. It was a clear blue. It felt like a lie that just moments ago, dark clouds had covered the sky, and thunder and lightning had been raging. Looking around, the trees weren’t wet from the rain, and the ground was dry.
In my hand, I held a simple black flute. It was the “Rainstorm Flute.”
“Yujin!”
Yoo Seo-hee called out to me as she approached. The rest of the group was around her. No one had been left behind.
‘There must be other survivors inside the church besides us… Are they somewhere else?’
They weren’t dangerous, so I didn’t think I needed to worry about them.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine. The bad feeling disappeared as soon as I left the zone.”
“Really? Then let’s move. We’ll reach the island soon. Even if it’s tough, it’s better to rest on the island.”
「Name: Sung Yujin
Class: Lightning Cutter
Title: Destroyer of Fate
God Seat: Lord of the Sky
Affiliation: AL 401 Earth
Strength: 88 Agility: 76 Stamina: 82 Mana: 96 Luck: 38
Unique Trait: Deception (SS)
Trait: Lightning (S)
Skills: Astrape (B), Manroe (B), Lightning Speed (D)
(Status window in effect)」
I used the bonus stat point right away. There’s a saying that if you save it, it becomes useless, and I already knew where to use the bonus stat. Luck. When I get bonus stat points, I usually use them to raise this stat, which is hard to increase through normal means.
Next, I checked the item I received as a reward for conquering this special hidden zone.
「Rainstorm Flute
One-time use.
Can summon a rainstorm.
The rainstorm lasts for three hours.
Rank: S」
It was an item that could change the weather.
It was hard for me to evaluate it. These kinds of items depend on how you use them. In a zone where it doesn’t rain, it would be worth more than an S rank, but in a zone where it does rain, it would be worth less than a C rank.
Anyway, I kept the Rainstorm Flute safe. No one knows when or where it might be useful.
‘It’s a shame that special hidden zones can’t be controlled.’
As I led the group toward the island, I thought about the one remaining reward.
The prophecy that had fallen upon me.
「An ill-fated relationship will hinder you」
It was an absurdly broad statement.
An ill-fated relationship? There are countless people in this world who have an ill-fated relationship with me. And it’s natural for an ill-fated relationship to hinder me. If someone has an ill-fated relationship with me, they’ll hate me.
‘Does it mean that an ill-fated relationship will appear at a crucial moment and hinder me? Or does it mean that I shouldn’t form any ill-fated relationships from now on?’
If they had told me more details, I might have understood, but this vague way of telling me just made me annoyed. Even if I wanted to ignore it, people’s hearts don’t always work the way they want them to.
•••
「Zone 2,255. Welcome to the Eustia Island!」
We arrived at the island.
The island was bustling with a festive atmosphere, even though the ten-year festival hadn’t been officially declared yet. The number of tourists was enormous. Everywhere you looked, there were people.
The group kept exclaiming in admiration as they looked at the island. Like country bumpkins who had come to the big city. That’s exactly what they looked like.
“Don’t get swept away by the crowd and follow me closely.”
I said that and walked ahead. The first thing we needed to do was find a place to stay during the festival. Kang Myung-jin had said that any decent place would do, but I couldn’t allow a cheap place.
‘It’s not like we’re short on money, so there’s no need to stay in a cheap place.’
And in the current situation, it’s hard to find even a cheap place. Most of the places have already been taken by the people who came to the island. It’s hard to find even a carriage in the nearby cities, so why would accommodations be any different?
‘In the worst case, we might not be able to find a place to stay and have to sleep outside the island.’
I definitely wanted to avoid sleeping outside.
The place I found was a hotel in the inner part of the island. As with any city, the closer you get to the city center, the more expensive it becomes. A tall five-story building, walls over 5 meters high, and sturdy guards protecting the entrance.
It was a hotel that deserved to be called luxurious.
“I’m sorry, sir. All of our hotel rooms are currently booked, and we have no vacancies.”
The hotel manager bowed politely. Judging by his attitude and grace, he must have worked for a noble family.
“I’ll pay three times the price. Is that not possible?”
“I’m sorry. Our hotel values trust with our guests above all else.”
I stepped back. It was the reaction I had expected. They wouldn’t want to cancel existing reservations just for money, as they would lose more. Above all, people who use a hotel of this level are likely to be important figures. At the very least, they would be from a mid-sized legion or higher.
‘If we get into a conflict with a mid-sized legion, we’ll be at a disadvantage.’
The A-Plan Legion wasn’t a mid-sized legion yet.
‘Haa. When you’re weak, there’s nothing you can do. It was better when I was the emperor…’
The game world where my words were absolute law. I missed that absolute power.
“Do you know of any other luxury hotels? I don’t care how much it costs.”
“There are a few hotels on the island that are better than ours… But they’re also fully booked, so you won’t be able to find a room there either. If you had come a little earlier, it might have been possible. In the current situation, it will be difficult to find a vacant room in any hotel.”
The manager was right. But I couldn’t give up. My group and I went to every luxury hotel. But there were no vacancies.
The sun began to set. The island was bathed in the light of the sunset, but none of us could simply enjoy the beautiful scenery.
“Sub-Master, wouldn’t it be okay to find a reasonably good place to stay?”
Ji Young-bin asked.
“The situation is the same with reasonably good places. And look over there.”
I pointed to one side. People were trudging along the main street, heading out of the city gates. They had given up on finding a place to stay and were going to camp outside the city. The problem was that there were thousands of them.
“They couldn’t find a place to stay, so do you think we’ll be able to find one easily?”
“…Aren’t we going to have to sleep outside too? It looks like we’ll have to find a spot to camp soon…”
“Young-bin is right. Let’s go out and find a spot quickly. If we’re late, we won’t be able to get a good spot.”
Lilsne tapped her feet a few times. She seemed anxious after seeing so many people leaving the island.
“…Haa. I hate sleeping outside…”
Yoo Seo-hee muttered. Like her, no one wanted to sleep outside, even if they didn’t say it out loud. Especially sleeping outside with strangers. Just thinking about it was unpleasant, and there would be many problems.
“We’re not sleeping outside. Sleeping outside after coming all this way… Are you crazy? Follow me. I’ll show you the Sub-Master’s abilities.”
“Yujin, are you thinking of buying a house? If it’s a short-term rental… it might be possible.”
“That’s not much different from the hotels. Since it’s this time of year, we’ll be ripped off, and mid-sized legions or higher have plenty of money.”
I led them away.
The Eustia Island is a planned city. It’s a city that was planned from the design stage. Commercial areas, residential areas, and military areas are separated. Among the residential areas, there is an area exclusively for nobles.
‘It takes more than ordinary money and status to buy a mansion in this area.’
I strode toward the noble area.
I was stopped at the entrance to the noble area. Surprisingly, it wasn’t soldiers but knights who were acting as gatekeepers.
“Please stop for a moment. This is not an ordinary area. Are you a noble?”
“I’m not a noble.”
The knight’s eyes narrowed. It was because my tone was arrogant even though I wasn’t a noble. It was a tone that looked down from above.
“…Are you from a famous legion? Even if you are from a famous legion, you cannot enter this place unless you are a noble. Unless you have an appointment with a noble. If not, please step back.”
The knight placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. It meant that he would use force if I didn’t step back. The group except for me tensed up. The pressure from the knight was extraordinary. A knight working on the island. He was different from the riffraff we had met so far.
“I am this kind of person.”
I handed a piece of paper to the knight. The knight looked at the paper with narrowed eyes and then was startled.
“An inspector’s appointment?! You were, you were Balderte’s inspector? I didn’t recognize you, Inspector! I’m sorry!”
The knight hurriedly bowed his head.
If it were an ordinary inspector, it might have been different. But I was an inspector recognized by the Balderte Duchy. An inspector directly appointed by the Phantom Duke, one of the five pillars of the empire!
‘It’s a good thing I had the appointment letter.’
I had unofficially relinquished my position as an inspector, but this appointment letter was real. I’ll explain the situation to Elena later, and she’ll forgive me. I’ve suffered so much for her, she can at least do this much for me.
“Can I go inside now? And I would like you to guide me to the Balderte mansion.”
“I… I’m sorry, but we need to verify your identity.”
“What? You’re saying that even after seeing this inspector’s appointment?”
“It’s an order directly from above… And we can’t let you in with just an appointment letter… There are so many crazy people in the world, so there’s a possibility of impersonation. I’m really sorry!”
“……Tsk. It can’t be helped. How will you verify my identity?”
“We will send someone to the Balderte mansion to contact them. If the Balderte family’s butler vouches for you, the identity verification will be complete.”
It was efficient. But it was a problem for me. Elena wasn’t on the island right now. She was scheduled to appear during the festival.
My plan to freeload at the Balderte mansion might be ruined.
“Wait a minute.”
“Yes?”
“I can vouch for him.”
I took out the conch shell that I had received from Elena before. Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary conch shell.
「Voice Buried in the Wind
A pair of conch shells.
No matter how far apart you are from the target, you can have a real-time conversation as long as you are under the same sky.
Rank: A」
“Ah, a communication tool? You have a convenient item.”
I nodded at the knight’s question and sent a signal to the conch shell. After waiting for about 30 seconds, I was connected to the other party.
“What is it? I’m busy. If it’s a trivial matter, talk to me later.”
Elena’s indifferent voice was heard.
“Your Excellency, the esteemed Duke Balderte! This is Sung Yujin, your Excellency’s loyal inspector!”
I shouted loudly.
“……What?”
I explained the situation. Elena’s sigh was transmitted through the conch shell.
“…Listen, knight. This man is the inspector I appointed, and he is a servant of the Balderte family. There was a slight misunderstanding, and I was unable to inform the mansion’s butler. I will vouch for his identity, so let him in.”
The knight was flustered. His eyes were shaking like a ship facing rough waves. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
“B-but Your Excellency…”
The knight couldn’t continue. He couldn’t dare say that he couldn’t confirm if she was really Elena Balderte just by her voice.
“You’re doing a good job. I don’t dislike diligent knights like you. Wait there for a moment. I’ll send a message to the mansion’s butler.”
“Yes, yes. Thank you, Your Excellency Duke Balderte!”
The knight bowed deeply toward the conch shell. The connection to the conch shell had already been cut. It was a ridiculous sight.
And a little later, an old butler appeared from inside the noble area. He bowed politely to us.
“I am the butler, Sergio. I heard from the head of the family and have come to escort the guests.”
“Please guide us.”
My group and I followed the butler into the noble area. As I did, I patted the knight on the shoulder.
