Chapter 118: Village of Korokoro Tribe (2)

Chapter 118: Village of Korokoro Tribe (2)

Since the dawn of the age of magic, over a thousand years had passed. Yet, there were still vast and numerous uncharted topics which couldnt be conquered even by the mages.

What lies beyond that sky?

Is time-reversing magic theoretically possible?

Can mana particles be observed?

And so on.

Even now, countless uncharted fields were being explored by magic scholars, but as is characteristic of unknown realms of study, answers seemed elusive.

And in such a magical society, there existed an exceptionally mysterious entity known as the 'dungeon.'

What was a dungeon?

Unlike the Persona Gate, it was a natural phenomenon which didnt borrow the power of the otherworld.

There were dungeons created by ancient mages, and in other cases, the space itself became distorted and turned into a dungeon.

All such dungeons shared a single common purpose.

Once you enter, you cannot escape until you destroy the core that maintains the dungeon's form.

Unlike the Persona Gate, which required one to achieve specific objectives, it was genuinely straightforward.

When one cleared a dungeon, he would get a permanent upgrade in the level of his abilities or an increase in maximum mana capacity.

Since it also offered rare rewards that couldn't be bought with money, every mage in this world looked forward to entering the dungeons.

Baek Yu-Seol was no exception. Although he lacked mana, he could still hope for increases in other auxiliary abilities.

Moreover, it was possible to come across artifacts; ancient relics from a distant ancient era.

They were different from the 'items' developed in the current age, so visiting dungeons was highly recommended if one had the chance.

Of course

Dungeons couldnt be discovered just anytime.

Even an ordinary place today might become a dungeon the next day, or its entrance might open if special conditions were met.

Dungeons were truly unpredictable.

As a result, it wasn't particularly strange that a student from the prestigious Stella Academy had discovered something which couldnt be easily found by even professional treasure hunters.

"It's a dungeon. Are there three of you?"

Instructor Hanwol carefully examined the Dungeon Expedition Application Form submitted by Baek Yu-Seol and asked.

Mayuseong, Haewonryang, and Baek Yu-Seol nodded.

"Yes."

"The three most attention-grabbing individuals going on an outing. Be cautious as paparazzi might follow you."

Baek Yu-Seol hadn't experienced such a thing in games, so he didn't know, but in reality, somewhat famous mages enjoyed popularity similar to celebrities, and paparazzi did follow them at times.

Perhaps it was due to Mayuseong and Haewonryang's extraordinary talent and sculpted features that surpassed human norms; they had been receiving significant attention since their first year.

"Especially Baek Yu-Seol."

"Yes?"

"You should be especially careful.

Be careful of what?"

"Didn't you hear what I just said? Don't get caught up in unnecessary trouble with the paparazzi. Just focus on clearing the dungeon quietly and return."

"... Don't you usually give proverbs at times like this?"

"Proverbs, huh? Do it yourself."

He was kind of cold, but he used to care about Baek Yu-Seol back in the day.

"Anyway, try to return by the weekend at the latest. If three days pass, we'll send a rescue team."

"Understood."

Starting from the second year, you could receive special missions, allowing you to skip classes for a whole week if needed.

However, as a first-year, Baek Yu-Seol couldn't do that since they were considered young chicks.

Anyway...

So, the three of them set out on an outing with dungeon exploration as their mission.

On weekends, whether it was staff or students, there was usually a considerable crowd heading out.

So, they left early in the morning and quickly made their way to the Warp Hole Gate and exited.

The Warp Hole was indeed a convenient mode of transportation, but unlike Earth's KTX, it wasn't available everywhere, so the primary means of transportation in Aether World were still airships and trains.

Especially since their destination was quite remote, they had to transfer trains quite frequently, and Haewonryang was a big help here.

{KTX:- Korea Train Express.}

"If we use this tickets, we can directly access Adelza's platform without having to change trains on the 1 and 7 Red Lines.

*Now, I can finally take a break*

There was still some time left until the entrance to the dungeon would open, so he closed his eyes.

* * *

The Tozmic Train consisted of a total of nine compartments. It wasn't a particularly large train to begin with, and there were few passengers going to Mestel.

Given the low passenger count, those boarding the Tozmic Train were quite scarce.

Azmik Kostalin hummed a tune and applied black nail polish to her nails. Her man named Kalaban, who was sitting next to her, spoke with an annoyed expression.

"Azmik, the smell is terrible."

"Just endure it a bit. I had to use seven nails to hunt down a magical warrior in a previous battle, so I have no choice."

"Anyway, you're quite picky about annoying things..."

Azmik and Kalaban.

At first glance, one appeared to be human, and the other looked like a dwarf, but in reality, they were dark mages who had given their souls to the otherworld.

Azmik was feeling unusually good. Ever since she could infiltrate human society, she had started to enjoy human culture, and traveling by train was one of her hobbies.

However, her partner was just annoyed.

"I want to catch and devour at least one magical warrior."

"Are mages really that delicious?"

"At least more delicious than beasts. They use their heads and manipulate mana even as they're about to be devoured. Do you know how fresh that living mana is?"

"Um, I don't know!"

As if she would know.

Azmik was a vegetarian.

Ding!

A vibration echoed from Azmik's chest, who was quietly applying her nail polish. She couldnt put down her nail polish, so she asked.

"Can you take it out for me?"

"I don't want to touch your disgusting body."

"Heh, too bad."

With no other choice, Azmik put down her nail polish, and took out a small square box from her pocket.

When she opened it with a clink, space warped, and words appeared in the empty air.

Azmik, Kalavan.

"Yes, yes!"

Report your current location.

"Hmm, let me see..."

Azmik gazed out the window silently. Then she said, "I can see trees and mountains outside!"

Don't joke around.

She said were going on a trip to Mestel.

Then you must have boarded the 'Tozmic Train.' What's the exact train number?

"Train number 1097."

This time, Kalaban answered.

Then, a message appeared a few times as if showing the satisfaction of the sender, and then it was edited.

You're lucky. I'm sorry to disturb your journey, but it's a mission from the Dark Mage Alliance. Crash the last compartment of the train right now.

"Huh? Why?"

There are three Stella students on that train.

"Really? But is it worth sending a mission from Dark Mage Alliance just to capture Stella students?"

We don't know. It might be a special Stella student on board. In any case, if you successfully complete the mission, we'll add an extra week to your vacation. Good luck

Click!

As soon as the communication ended, Azmik excitedly said to Kalaban, "Did you hear that? An extra week of vacation!"

"But they won't give us an extra bonus."

"It's an entire week of vacation!"

"I get it, darn it. Let's complete this quickly and come back."

Kalaban stood up, revealing his massive body, and cracked his neck while muttering.

Even if Stella students had extraordinary talents

They were just students in the end.

They might not be of much value, but Kalaban hoped they at least tasted decent as he followed Azmik to the back of the train.