CH 79

Teleport, find the fragment, burn it, and repeat.

We ran into a black mucus monster in the middle, but we were able to avoid it easily. At this rate, it seemed that the quest could be cleared smoothly.

Finally, the last coordinates.

Tak!

When I opened my eyes, what I saw was the hallway of a certain building.

It looked like a basement as there were no windows. The walls and floors were cleanly cleaned, but there was no sign of human’s activity.

“Where are we?”

“I don’t know…..”

The strange thing is that the surrounding scenery feels familiar for some reason.

I have no memory of entering a building like this, but the structure and the shape of the walls were not unfamiliar.

Where did I see it? Where….

As I was trying to remember, I heard a voice next to me.

“Rieul-ssi, there is one thing I want to ask you.”

“Didn’t we agree not to ask each other questions?”

“It’s not that question.”

What is that question and what is this question….

“Okay, you can just ask.”

His gaze was not directed at me. The bright light of an incandescent lamp illuminates his profile.

Ki Yoohyun opened his mouth while examining the structure of the hallway.

“Why is Rieul-ssi involved herself directly in this case? Is it because your acquaintance is the family of the Hunter who was swallowed by that monster?”

“It’s the quest….”

I blurted out the end of my words when I tried to answer reflexively. It’s because I realized that the words I was going to say wasn’t the right answer, it was just an excuse I made to myself.

It’s true that I’m bothered by the identity of the person swallowed by the monster. If it wasn’t Jina’s family, I would have felt sorry for him, but I wouldn’t have taken the risk myself.

‘That’s what the system told me, but…….’

No one forced me to follow the will of the system.

The city was thrown into chaos when monsters appeared from a huge gate in the sky. It is different from the future I knew, the things that happened before my regression, and it is not a situation that I, a non-combat F-class Cafe Owner, can solve by myself.

If it wasn’t for the information given by the system with the specific quest, then quietly evacuating with Ash would be the correct action. There are so many strong hunters in Korea, and I am not even an official hunter.

But…..

I remembered the expression on Ash’s face, the boy who was holding my hand gently while lowering his eyes.

He can’t say what’s inside his mind and hides his true feelings with a sulky expression, but even the faint trembling that he can’t hide transmitted through his hand.

I’m not a person of great morality, and I hate dangerous things. However, it’s impossible to pretend that I didn’t know anything when I saw Ash behaving like that.

So the situation is simply like this. I didn’t get forced by the quest, but the quest told me what I wanted to do.

Come to think of it, it was like that from the beginning. It was my own wish to make coffee and open a cafe, and I also wanted to help Choi Cedric at that time.

I was grumbling while following the quest of the system, but I actually wanted to do it in the end.

Suddenly, I remembered what my cat said.

“Meong, waeooong (You always say you don’t want to work, but you’re a human being who likes to increase your own work)!”

Whew, she’s right. I guess I’m the problem….

“That’s it, I just want to do it.”

“What?”

“There’s no reason. It’s just … I just can’t ignore it and acted like I didn’t know what happened.”

Ki Yoohyun smiled slightly at my rambling words. He resumed his footsteps.

“It’s here.”

Only after seeing the door at the end of the hallway he was pointing to, I knew where this place was.

A vivid guild mark engraved on the iron door.

And….

“……Rieul-ah?! Why are you here?”

My one and only cousin appeared.

Why is Kwon Jiwoon coming out here?

No way. The person closest to me is actually the final villain?

……of course it wouldn’t be such a cliche development.

“Kwon Rieul, how can you be here…..?”

“….Oppa.”

I really want to ask. Why is Kwon Jiwoon here?

Although Korea is small, what is the probability of meeting my older cousin, whose relationship with me became awkward after I moved out of the house, while I tried to kill the enemy according to the coordinate values of the system?

I couldn’t think of it right away, but now I know for sure.

This is the basement of the White Silver Guild. In the past, there was a guild common warehouse here. When my uncle was still here, whenever I came to the guild building, I always looked at the warehouse, so I got used to it. The underground warehouse where various items were stored was a place that stimulated curiosity.

Well, that story is more than a decade old.

“There were some circumstances. I came here with a teleportation scroll.”

“You used a teleportation scroll?”

“……! I can’t believe an outsider enter the guild at will. What do you think you are doing?”

Hunter Park Heeyoung, who was standing next to Kwon Jiwoon, burst into anger. Kwon Jiwoon stopped her, but her firm expression does not unfold.

‘If it wasn’t for the deputy guild leader, really.’

She has that kind of look.

It’s still the same….

Hunter Park Heeyoung, a B-class tanker of the White Silver Guild. I don’t … we’re not on good terms Every time I came to the White Silver Guild, she didn’t like my visit.

Still, her sensitive reaction just now is understandable.

All Hunter Guilds in Seoul are equipped with barriers to protect the buildings from rifts and monsters. Barrier stones for maintaining the barrier are, of course, very valuable, and are stored in the most secure place.

If I remember it correctly … just beyond this iron gate is the barrier room where the barrier stones of the White Silver Guild are stored.

Not only is the entry of outsiders strictly prohibited, but the door is not opened unless there is a special reason.

Earlier, Ki Yoohyun said that there was the last fragment beyond this door.

I glanced aside. Ki Yoohyun, who made eye contact with me, nodded slightly.

Why on earth is the last fragment in the deep part of The White Silver Guild?

Gulp. I swallowed my dry saliva without realizing it. It definitely smells of something illegal.

So far, I’ve been steadily following the ‘I was a novice village innkeeper, but now I have to face monsters‘ route. When I followed the quest, I refused the development that the villain was actually a close person. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten tired of such a twist.

Furthermore, how will Kwon Jiwoon react if I ask him to open the barrier room where outsiders are not allowed to enter?

“…….”

While I was hesitating, unable to speak directly, Kwon Jiwoon spoke to Ki Yoohyun.

“I’ve seen you before. Aren’t you Hunter Ki Yoohyun?”

“……Long time no see.”

“What is your relationship with Rieul?”

“Haha, I’m close with Rieul-ssi. I’m accompanying her.”

“…….”

Kwon Jiwoon turned his head and looked at me again with a look of disapproval.

I was in a mess after running and rolling in the mall. As if he had guessed something had happened when he saw me, he approached me and quickly poured out words.

“Kwon Rieul, it’s dangerous out there now.”

“Huh? Uh…..”

“Since you said you became an Awakened, I won’t ask you how you showed up here. We’re in an emergency because of the occurrence of an unprecedented Otherworld Gate. I’ll send Hunter Park Heeyoung with you, so go home right away.”

“Wait, wait, Kwon Jiwoon!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Before I go back … I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Say it.”

“Here, we have to open this door.”

“……! Do you realise where we are and what you’re saying? It’s not a place to open out of curiosity.”

Park Heeyoung rushed in.

“Seeing you say that, you must have a reason.”

“…Yes, it’s a long explanation … there might be something wrong inside.”

“All right.”

Unexpectedly, Kwon Jiwoon listened to me without asking any more questions.

“Deputy guild leader! I am against it.”

“Hunter Park Heeyoung, step back.”

The moment Kwon Jiwoon unlocked the seal of the barrier room and pushed the heavy iron door to the side, the wrong was immediately apparent.

The barrier room was a small room with white stones on the floor and walls. It’s not a specific item, but the entire room was a device that maintained the barrier of the White Silver Guild.

The barrier was densely engraved in silver letters on the square rock on the floor. The wall served as a medium to activate the barrier.

The room was all black now. It was black all over, as if paint had been poured on the whole room, and the letters, which was originally silver, was in a rusty color.

“Ugh…..!”

And there is a strong smell that you can still feel even when you pinch your nose. It’s not a mere bad smell.

This was … this was the smell of rotting corpse.

“What the hell happened?”

In a hurry, Kwon Jiwoon was the first to run into the barrier room. He checked the rock on the floor and sighed.

There was a large bird on the rock. The feathers, which was originally beautiful colors, was discolored to black. It wings were broken and it couldn’t move properly.

Every time it flapped, a sound filled with pain was heard, and the bird’s eyes were wet with tears.

The dark red marks scattered around it … it’s the blood of the bird.

I knew right away that death was near.

The smell was coming from this bird. As if foreshadowing the end that was approaching, the bird drooped. The blackened feathers were fluttering before they fell to the floor.

Why is this bird in the sealed barrier room?

“Who did this?”

Kwon Jiwoon shook his head low.

The last time he checked the barrier room was three days ago. At that time, he said, there was nothing wrong. It is a place where no one can easily enter and exit, and there is no sign that the door has been opened by force.

Kwon Jiwoon and Hunter Park Heeyoung, who stood next to him, do not seem to know what is going on.

In panic, I hurriedly approached the rock and tried to take a look, but Ki Yoohyun grabbed my shoulder.

“Rieul-ssi, it’s that bird.”

“….what?”

His voice, which had always been calm, trembled slightly.

“The fragment … that bird, it’s inside the Long-tailed Phoenix.”

Tiling!

As soon as he finished speaking, a quest notification popped up.

2. Find the Fragments of the imitation of ‘Shining Trapezohedron‘.

Destroy the Fragments 4/5: (Unachievable)

A notification that told me it cannot be achieved, followed by the next quest that appeared immediately.

3. Fragment Fused with Sacrifice

Blackened sacrifice: The Long-tailed Phoenix and the last fragment are completely fused, making them impossible to separate.

Choose one method to destroy the last fragment.

When the Time Limit (03:05:11) has passed, the quest will fail.

Destroy the Last Fragment 0/1: (Incomplete)

I’ve heard the name of the Long-tailed Phoenix.

Certainly … I remembered what the giraegi, no, the journalist, who came to the store said.

“The Long-tailed Phoenix is not an ordinary monster!”

“It emits an ether of light, and lives only in special areas among dungeons.”

“It’s more than a monster, it’s a Holy Beast.”

It was said that the phoenix had the power to purify its contaminated body by itself, but…….

It seemed to have lost its power now.

“Grooo…..”

The black bird spat out a painful sound. As I brought my hand closer, I felt a burning sensation. The pain of the dying bird swallowed by the darkness was too vivid.

It was sad.

In addition, if it’s fused with this bird, how are we going to deal with the fragment?

As soon as I thought so, the notification window popped up again.

[ 1. Sacrifice: Burn the Long-tailed Phoenix (Difficulty: Easy) ☜ Recommended

2. Sacrifice: Purify the Long-tailed Phoenix (Difficulty: Special Hard)]

“……!”

Again.

The system again forced me to choose.