Chapter 117

[Translator - Kiteretsu][Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 117

"Haaam, I'm feeling sleepy today."

An old man in worn-out armor yawned while standing guard.

"Ugh..."

"Please let me out... I'm going to die..."

Faint groans could be heard.

The old man was currently in the underground prison beneath the royal palace.

It was a place where criminals who had committed serious crimes were imprisoned and managed.

===

[NPC Information]

- Nickname: Caryan

- Level: 300

- Occupation: Retired Knight

===

The old man, Caryan, scoffed.

"Foolish fools. Wouldn't it have been better if you had lived an honest and upright life?"

These weren't just ordinary criminals.

To be precise, they were criminals who had attempted a rebellion within the royal palace.

In an attempt to overthrow Kaiserk V, Duke Luan, who had once lost in the struggle for the throne, had drawn his sword and staged a coup, but it was suppressed in less than two days, and they were imprisoned in this underground prison.

Duke Luan, the ringleader, was confined in the deepest level of the underground prison.

"Sir Caryan."

At that moment, a knight came looking for Caryan.

"Hmm? Why are you looking for me?"

"Well... there's a foreigner who's looking for you."

"Is that so? Where is he now?"

"He's waiting at the prison entrance. He feels it's not appropriate for him to see this sight."

"...Well, that's understandable. Then I'll take over for a bit."

"Sir? I'm about to get off work..."

"It'll just be a moment."

Caryan forcefully handed over his duties to the knight and left the underground prison.

And outside, he met Ha-Jin, who was waiting.

'I sense a faint aura. He's a knight, but his potential is lacking.'

Caryan quickly saw through Ha-Jin's level.

His aura and potential were mediocre compared to his level.

He had been momentarily curious when he heard that the foreigner who had recently performed amazingly had appeared, but his interest quickly faded.

"Hmm, why did you call for me?"

"...It's nothing else, but I was wondering if you had any insights about this item."

"Item?"

"Yes."

Ha-Jin nodded with a determined expression.

This was a precious opportunity that Jeong-Hoon had created for him.

So he didn't want to miss it.

But Caryan's expression as he looked at Ha-Jin was a bit strange.

He stared at him silently, making him nervous and gulp.

Finally, Caryan broke the silence.

"...Hey. Are you playing a joke on me?"

"What?"

"You have to show me the item for me to know if I have any insights."

He had been so nervous that he had forgotten to take out the 'Dark Lord's Memoir.'

"Ah! I-I'm sorry!"

Ha-Jin hurriedly opened his inventory.

Seeing him fumble, Caryan sighed and shook his head.

He lacks the composure of a knight...

But when he saw what Ha-Jin took out, his eyes widened like lanterns.

"Th-that's...?"

"It's the Dark Lord's Memoir."

"...Where did you get this? This isn't something you should be able to acquire."

"I was lucky."

Ha-Jin, just like Jeong-Hoon had done, mumbled that he was lucky.

But no quest appeared above Caryan's head.

'What's this? Is Caryan not the starting point?'

According to what Jeong-Hoon had said, a quest should have appeared from Caryan.

Judging by his reaction, Caryan seemed to know about this memoir.

It was strange indeed.

"I don't know anything about that item, so go back. Even if I did, I wouldn't want to tell you anything."

Caryan turned around with a hardened expression.

"...What?"

* * *

Quite a crowd has gathered.

The northern wall was bustling with countless people.

They had all gathered to witness the gate being closed.

'Shall we begin then?'

Jeong-Hoon approached the gate.

Wooooong-

As Jeong-Hoon approached, the gate started to rotate with intense vibrations.

The mana it was charging sputtered out, forming the shape of saw blades.

"It's dangerous to get close!"

Ragan, watching from the wall, shouted loudly.

"I told you I'm fine."

Jeong-Hoon turned his head and grinned in response.

[That's a mana storm. You'll be in big trouble if you approach it carelessly.]

Mana storm.

It was a phenomenon where rampaging mana was released outside the gate.

It was dangerous and could cause serious injuries, so one shouldn't approach it recklessly.

'Interesting.'

A sly smile crept across Jeong-Hoon's lips.

Sensing his presence, the gate, as if it had a will of its own, unleashed a mana storm.

It was designed that way from the beginning.

[Master! It's better to step back for now. Not yet.]

Even Anima tried to dissuade him.

A mana storm of this magnitude was not something a human could withstand.

Even an adult dragon would struggle to endure within the mana storm's influence.

[Even Siegfried couldn't do it! Step back quietly!]

Mukho was also serious.

It was something that even Siegfried, the first master of the Tower of Trials, couldn't do.

"Well, I wonder about that."

Jeong-Hoon, contrary to their dissuasion, jumped into the mana storm.

[You crazy bastard of a master!]

'You fool! Stop!'

The screams of Mukho and Anima reached his ears, but Jeong-Hoon paid them no mind.

'There is a way to quell the mana storm.'

Usually, there was only one way to quell a mana storm.

Release a stronger surge of mana than the storm itself and forcefully extinguish it.

But Jeong-Hoon knew another way.

A gamble he had taken in his past life when he was on the verge of death, caught in a mana storm.

That gamble had been successful.

'There are five cores in a mana storm. If I can find those cores... I can disperse the storm naturally by releasing only a small amount of mana.'

Because the theory had been established long ago.

In the past, Jeong-Hoon had recalled that theory, found the five cores of the mana storm, and quelled it.

'Hoon!'

'Wow... You're really crazy. How did you...'

Thanks to that, he had even saved the lives of his comrades who were about to be swept away by the mana storm.

Of course, they were traitors now.

Wheeeing!

As he approached the storm, the intense vibrations threatened to rupture his eardrums.

Even with Mukho equipped, the damage easily penetrated.

Nevertheless, Jeong-Hoon didn't even flinch, sharpening his keen senses to the utmost.

[Keen Senses level increases.]

He heightened his senses to the extreme and dove into the massive mana storm.

A one-time gamble.

[Argh! I'm dying! I'm dying!]

'Is your life a joke?!'

Please, be quiet.

I can't concentrate.

Jeong-Hoon's eyes darted around rapidly.

'Okay. One, two, three from the bottom left.'

Perhaps because he had experienced it once before,

Finding the cores of the mana storm wasn't as difficult as he had thought.

But the remaining fourth and fifth cores were in the upper right corner.

'It's quite a distance.'

He had to reach out to release his mana, and the distance was considerable.

Jeong-Hoon first released mana towards the nearest storm core in the bottom left corner.

Bang!

[Block is activated.]

The moment he dealt with the third core, Block activated.

It was such a sudden and powerful damage that if it weren't for Block, his entire body would have been torn to shreds, and he would have died instantly.

Jeong-Hoon quickly released mana towards the remaining two cores in the upper right corner.

With an intense vibration, the raging mana storm instantly subsided.

Wooooong-

The gate, having exhausted all its charged mana, rotated with a slight vibration.

Just because the mana storm had subsided didn't mean the gate would automatically disappear.

'I have to go in and destroy it myself.'

Since it was a Random Gate, it would be connected to a dungeon somewhere.

He had to sever that connection and close the gate to completely shut down the Random Gate.

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'Are you okay?!'

As his concentration broke, he finally heard the voices of Mukho and Anima.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

As Jeong-Hoon answered, Mukho and Anima's voices started pouring out.

[You damn master, why did you jump in while wearing me?! You could have at least taken me off first!]

'It was too reckless to just jump in... If you had failed, you would have been torn to shreds...'

Although their tones were different, their underlying concern was evident.

Jeong-Hoon nodded.

"I admit it. But there was no other way to quell the mana storm immediately."

It was a very old Random Gate.

It was natural for a mana storm to occur, and if he hadn't quelled it, the gate would have gone berserk, the storm would have intensified, and eventually, it would have consumed the entire royal capital.

Jumping in before the storm grew larger was the best option.

[Tsk, anyway, please leave me out of things like this next time.]

'Heh, you were the one who was most worried about Master.'

[What?! When was I?!]

'You were crying and making a fuss. Probably.'

[Shut up!]

They were worried about Jeong-Hoon, but in an instant, they started bickering.

"Alright, alright, stop it and let's go in."

Now that the storm had calmed down, it was time to close the gate.

As Jeong-Hoon stepped onto the slightly vibrating gate, his body was instantly sucked in.

* * *

Silence fell among the crowd bustling on the wall.

After a few seconds, the silence was broken, starting with one person.

"Wow!"

"Th-the mana storm has subsided!"

The foreigner had quelled the violently swirling mana storm.

"Unbelievable!"

"He solved a problem that even the Magic Tower couldn't, just like that!"

Some were excited.

"Sob...!"

"Huu... To think I'd see that damn storm disappear with my own eyes."

"Rix! You bastard, are you seeing this?"

Some were weeping.

"..."

And some were speechless with shock.

Ragan, who was watching, belonged to the third group.

'No one has ever been able to quell that mana storm.'

Countless people had died trying to get close to that mana storm.

Therefore, the best they could do was to protect Märchen from the monsters pouring out of that damned gate.

But now.

Hoon, the foreigner who had made a significant contribution by achieving a nearly 90% contribution rate in the previous Monster Wave, had even quelled the mana storm.

"C-commander...? Now that the mana storm is gone, can we destroy the gate?"

"I don't know yet."

"What?"

He didn't know.

How could he, who couldn't even handle the mana storm, know what would happen next?

He had no choice but to trust Hoon, who had confidently declared that he could eliminate the gate that caused the Waves.

'Luke, it seems your plan is going to fail spectacularly.'

Ragan looked towards Luke.

Luke was staring blankly at the gate where the foreigner had disappeared, completely dumbfounded.

* * *

[Theme Dungeon: Ilion Castle]

[You have discovered an undiscovered Theme Dungeon! You will be awarded 10,000 achievement points.]

The gate this time was connected not to an ordinary dungeon, but to a Theme Dungeon.

And it was Ilion Castle.

"Huh... Unbelievable."

He never expected that out of all the dungeons, it would be connected to Ilion Castle.

[Why? What is this place?]

Mukho, sensing something unusual, asked in a curious voice.

"...A place that no one has cleared yet."

And it was also the Theme Dungeon where Jeong Chang-Ho, one of the traitors, had discovered the Unique-grade 'Rune.'

'I practically gave up on it and didn't even bother...'

To find this Theme Dungeon, one had to reach level 201 and complete the 3rd job advancement to move on to the next town.

However, before that, Jeong Chang-Ho had already searched and cleared this dungeon.

Even if he devoted all his time to growth, it would have been extremely tight... so he had reluctantly removed it from his plans.

And now he had entered that very dungeon.

Moreover, he was the first to discover it.

'Such an unbelievable thing is happening!'

Jeong-Hoon's face flushed with excitement.

Honestly, the 'Rune' was too precious an item to give up on like that.

He didn't have to give up on it anymore.

'Master, be careful. This place seems quite dangerous.'

Anima seemed tense, sensing the unusual energy around them.

It was understandable.

The level of this Theme Dungeon was a whopping 260.

It was a level far higher than any dungeon he had entered before.

'Ah, I do have one. Have you heard of Ilion Castle?'

Jeong Chang-Ho's self-boasting had started with his characteristic arrogant smirk.

At the time, Jeong-Hoon had been the weakest among his comrades, so he had listened attentively to his heroic tales.

Ilion Castle.

He said he had struggled quite a bit in this Theme Dungeon because of the special abilities the monsters possessed.

"I guess I'll be using Leviathan here."

And Leviathan was designed to overcome those special abilities.

[Leviathan's Wrath]

- Type: Passive

- 5% chance to inflict a debuff that ignores defense for 10 seconds upon attack. (Activates up to 3 times per target)

- Does not activate if the level exceeds 120.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]