Map Hack
A map hack.
Achievement [Comast Scanner] achieved! The way you used [Territory Conversion] like a radar is truly impressive, Guardian. As a reward, you have gained 10 EP, and the power of [Territory Conversion] has been slightly strengthened.
Good news.
Select a target for conversion. If you do not choose any race, a very long cooldown will be applied to [Conversion].
“Cooldown increase? That wasn’t in the explanation!”
“It is an adjustment made by the system.”
Bad news.
I get the gist of it. So you’re saying don’t use conversion as a free radar if you aren’t actually going to convert anything? Hah. I should’ve known. It was dishing things out generously for a while, and now it’s gotten stingy again.
There was no time to nurse his grudge against the system.
Time remaining for selection: 3 minutes
I have to convert something, but what?
Not wanting to waste time, Ho-yeong decided to think it over on the move.
“First, I’ll fly ahead with the mages. Paladins, please head toward that basin and join up there.”
“As you command!”
The paladins he had brought along to guard against any unexpected danger, whether monsters or another elf trap, answered at once.
“Marquis, you and Garza should ride on Vulcher’s back. There isn’t enough room for three people.”
“Then what about you?”
“I’ll manage like this. Fly, Vulcher!”
Vulcher gripped his master’s hand with his eagle talons and soared upward with all his strength.
“But what if that monster happens to let go of your hand?”
“Then the marquis can rescue me.”
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it have been better to use levitation magic from the start?”
“That would use up a lot of mana. I’d rather save your precious mana. Besides, I can see the ground clearly from up here, so this works better.”
Looking down, he saw nothing but dense forest.
Those elf bastards. If things go south, are they planning to come out of the cave and wage guerrilla warfare in this forest?
Even the Kain Kingdom’s vast fertile land was riddled with mountain ranges, jagged as broken stones underfoot.
If the forest becomes the battlefield, it’s too much of an advantage for the elves. Just look how thick those trees are. Not even a person, let alone a horse, could move through there properly.
As the kingdom expanded its power, monsters fled into the harsher mountains, and humans had no reason to climb peaks that were not only rugged but outright dangerous. Places once praised as hidden wonders had become demonic wilderness.
Time remaining for selection: 2 minutes
If they had walked, it would have taken a long time, but flying made it quick.
The basin, enclosed between mountain peaks, was broad and level enough to land in.
“Good work, Vulcher. Hide yourself in that reed field for now.”
- Ho-guhri (Understood, sir)
The autumn tint in the lush reeds made for perfect camouflage for a creature as large as Vulcher.
Time remaining for selection: 1 minute 30 seconds
Among the following races, you may choose:
- Umbrella Bats: 353 (sleeping)
- Scorpalics: 244 (sleeping)
- Chimera Carapace Insect Kimo larvae: ??? (hibernating)
- Gargoyles: 10 or more (sleeping)
Umbrella bats, huh. One by one they’re weak, but I could use them as informants. Or maybe converting the Scorpalics into temporary fighters wouldn’t be bad either.
Scorpalics were giant scorpion-type monsters. They swung around fist-sized clumps growing from their tails like maces, inflicting an area poison debuff.
Chimera Carapace Insect Kimo... what’s that? Never heard of it. In any case, the cave below must be enormous.
On the status screen, there were quite a few small animals and insects alongside the monsters.
Time remaining for selection: 1 minute 30 seconds
It would be fine to convert any monster and make it attack the elves. That would give Shrakhim an easier chance to slip out in the confusion. But right now I need a different plan.
Ho-yeong motioned to Garza.
“Garza, we’re going to do what I said earlier. Get ready!”
“Yes!”
Garza closed his eyes and took Ho-yeong’s hand.
“First, me! [Conversion]! The target is all the elves down there. The command to execute is to torment the hostages as long as possible!”
“...Didn’t you say that backwards? Shouldn’t it be to keep them alive as long as possible...?”
“You want them to torment them, not stop tormenting them?!”
The marquis and his son stared in horror at the cruel command.
“This is the way to keep them alive even one second longer. Don’t worry, and prepare your abilities.”
Even so, Ho-yeong declared firmly.
Those fanatical elf bastards can’t be fully converted. At best, I can get them to carry out simple commands through temporary conversion. Even then, the success rate is probably terrible.
That is a wise choice. As explained previously in Kihara Territory, command execution through temporary conversion has a higher disobedience rate and costs more EP the more the target resists the order.
If the order had been “Do not torment the hostages,” the success rate would have been as close to zero as possible.
If I told some bitch like Lucy Perhela not to bully Shrakhim, there’d be no way she’d listen. But if I say the opposite? She’d probably keep them alive just to torment them longer.
Using the cruel nature of Lucy Perhela that he had already grasped, Ho-yeong came up with the exact opposite approach.
Conversion successful! Since the Cliad Sect’s aim is to collect “despair” from hostages, they will carry out your order very well. The effect of the conversion will directly manifest in 5 minutes.
500 EP has been consumed. Remaining EP: 1,300
Tch. Five hundred? That’s too much of a loss. Is that because conversion itself is so low-tier? Still, at least it succeeded!
He was using conversion not only to raise the hostages’ odds of survival alongside Shrakhim, but also as a stepping-stone to link it with the mages’ abilities.
“Garza, can you feel the elves’ mana?”
“Yes! I can!”
Ho-yeong activated Communion, sharing his senses with Garza.
Though only temporary, once Conversion succeeded, all of the elves’ status windows appeared on the map. To Garza, that shared connection manifested as a display of the elves’ mana gauges.
“Then it’s your turn. Say the keyword and use your ability! We don’t have much time.”
“Mana Absorption! Th-this is that ability...?”
“Yeah, stay calm.”
Garza was startled when the UI window appeared before his eyes.
Warning! It is recommended that you first identify Shrakhim’s escape route. If you absorb the elves’ mana now, they may grow wary and move to kill Shrakhim immediately.
A red exclamation mark also flashed on Ho-yeong’s status window.
“Let’s save mana absorption for later. First, mark every elf there as a target. If you’re only designating targets, the cooldown won’t kick in.”
“Yes!”
Garza locked on exactly as Ho-yeong had instructed.
“All the elves have high mana values, but one of them in particular has a truly enormous amount.”
Garza broke into a cold sweat at the thought of the cult leader’s mana.
“That’s probably the cult leader. I’ll crush that bastard’s mana first later.”
“Understood.”
Among the elves, there was exactly one whose status couldn’t be seen.
Probably it only opens when you meet face-to-face.
Following Daliha’s advice, Ho-yeong decided to identify Shrakhim’s escape route first.
“Hmm... I can’t see anything that looks like a cave entrance.”
No matter how hard he looked, there was no passage that seemed to lead downward.
“I think that place over there may be the entrance to the cave.”
The place Marquis Iolid pointed to was a rocky area where a stream ran through.
“Look there. Isn’t the water there far too clean?”
“The other pools are all cloudy, but that one is different. But couldn’t that just be because it’s running water rather than stagnant water?”
The marquis shook his head.
“Clean water carries clean mana. But there’s no mana flowing there at all. Remember? Mana dwells where water flows or where plants grow thickly.”
“Ah. Then those pointy-eared bastards must have used some kind of purifying power.”
Ho-yeong caught on.
“That’s what I think as well. They’re probably trying to stop mana flow so the place below cannot be detected. That thick stone floor is also helping sever the mana.”
The marquis and his son tried once more to cast mana-detection magic beneath the rocky stretch, but it was useless.
“That certainly seems to be the entrance, but I don’t know how to get in. Since they’ve cut off the surrounding mana entirely, there can’t be a magic circle or anything like that...”
“Byeonbangbaek-nim, maybe there’s some kind of mechanical device instead of magic?”
“Oh? That could be. As expected of Garza, is that from your experience exploring dungeons?”
But no such device was found anywhere.
From the map, it’s clear that Shrakhim’s escape route is right around here. But if so, does that mean there’s only one place he can escape from? It’s strange after they made so many magic circles to kidnap people. Ah! Maybe this was built as an exit only.
Comparing the places where the hostages had vanished on the map, Ho-yeong finally got a sense of it.
“So that stone floor itself is the door?!”
Ding!
Quest location discovered!
📍 Location: The cave basin
🎁 Reward: Bonus quest progress
Looks like I got it right. So Shrakhim bursts out from there?
A new piece of information appeared in the bonus quest window.
Warning! Priestess Vailin of the Cliad Sect will soon come up to guard the entrance. Time remaining: about 3 minutes.
Tip: It is recommended that you subdue her instead of killing her.
“As I thought, it seems to open from the inside rather than the outside. Soon someone will open the door and an elf will show up on his own. Since it says she’s coming up, I’m guessing it’s some kind of lift mechanism.”
“Then what do you plan to do? Kill her?”
“We’ll hide and watch what happens for now. If we kill her the moment she appears, those bastards will get suspicious. Still, it’s a shame they sent some nobody. They should’ve sent someone important.”
Ho-yeong couldn’t hide his disappointment.
If the cult leader were the one coming up, it would’ve been easy money. I could’ve just taken him out on the spot. At the very least, send one of the Four Heavenly Kings...
He was already thinking it would be enough to snipe the elves coming up, then flee on Vulcher’s back.
Should I just blast the cave outright? But then Shrakhim and the hostages would all die. No cheating. Even without that, we still have a good enough chance.
The easy, fast path flashed through his mind, but Ho-yeong chose to walk the righteous road instead.
“Garza, hide our presence with magic. We can’t be spotted by whoever comes up to stand guard.”
“Yes. Then I’ll cast a transparency spell-”
“No, spatial-light modulation and phase distortion magic would be better.”
“To know that spell, you really are well versed in magic. But wouldn’t transparency magic be better if we’re trying to subdue an elf who appears here?”
“Did you already forget? I can’t use mana. Is it fine so long as you aren’t the only one helpless?”
“Ah. I’m sorry... huh?!”
While Garza hesitated,
- Crack.
The rocky ground split in half, and the earth shifted apart to either side.
“Damn it. Hurry up, Garza! Set the range around those rocks. Marquis, pardon me for a moment.”
Ho-yeong scooped up the marquis, whose footing was poor, and ran with him in his arms.
Once they had concealed themselves and looked down into the cave, a gold notification window appeared.
Enemy hideout confirmed!
📍 Location: Cave map acquired
🎁 Reward: Vital information aiding the progress of the main quest
A map showing the cave’s geography in sharp, distinct lines had been obtained.
Good, this is almost over!
Ho-yeong pulled a potion from his pocket and held it out to Marquis Iolid.
“Marquis, drink this potion quickly.”
“What is it? Is this also a holy relic of the angels?”
“Something like that. More importantly, we’re short on time, so hurry!”
The bottle looked cold enough to raise gooseflesh just by looking at it.
“Ugh. I-it’s so cold! I don’t know what this is, but if I drink it my old heart might stop compl-”
“Just bear with it and swallow. Quickly!”
Rapid Freeze Potion
- Price: 100 RP
- Grade: Advanced Item
- Type: Active / single-use consumable
- Effect: When consumed, you may designate one ability and reset its cooldown.
- Side effect: That ability’s cooldown will be increased by three times or more for one use.
Nowhere in the tooltip did it say only I had to drink it! Then it should work on a hero’s skill too, right?
The cooldown for Hero Ashk Iolid (Lv. 2)'s skill [Magic Scan / Mana Scan] has been reset.
Ho-yeong’s prediction had been correct.
“Marquis, now’s the chance while the ground below is fully visible. Please identify the spells laid over the cave. Especially any magic circles that look like traps!”