Chapter 181
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Raid Dungeon, 'Blue Overlord's Resting Place'
"So, you're suddenly sleeping in separate rooms? Pfft!"
"Yeah. I don't get it either. We've been in separate rooms for a few days now, ever since that day."
After sending Chris off to work, I logged into Astria Online and was now squatting at the entrance to the Heavenly Basin, receiving some comfort from Beimerung.
Chris, who used to greet me with a goofy smile and open arms whenever I showed up with my pillow, announced that we'd be sleeping in separate rooms for a while after we went to the hospital together.
I bit my finger, my expression sullen.
"I have no idea why. That day, I went to the hospital with Chris, we took a walk in a nearby park, and then we just went home."
"Hmm... What did you talk about in the park?"
"It was just idle chatter... about college? Things like that. ...Ah!"
I clapped my hands.
Come to think of it, I did ask a question that might have sounded a little strange.
My face flushed slightly as I leaned in and whispered into her ear, through her short pink hair.
*Whisper, whisper.*
"You know... the named monster in the Heavenly Basin, the Lamia? If you take the route where you kill the post-defense line first, she drops down from the ceiling of the Lamia hatchery with a *thud*. But... if you look up, it's hard to see, but they seem to be pressed close together, rubbing their bodies... It looks like they're doing something... strange, but I couldn't see clearly... So I got curious, but Chris just threw a fit and wouldn't answer me. S-So. How do... women do... lewd things with each other?"
As my story went on, Beimerung's face started turning even redder than mine.
Beimerung suddenly grabbed my shoulders and shrieked.
"W-W-What in the w-w-world did you ask Chris!"
"Huh?"
I tilted my head.
This was another unexpected reaction.
Chris, and now Beimerung... everyone acts strangely when I ask this question.
I'm technically an adult. And the only people I can ask about things like this are those close to me. Given my thin social circle, that's pretty much just Chris and Beimerung.
Of course, I'm aware it's an embarrassing question.
Still, isn't this the kind of thing you can ask close friends?
...Or can't you?
Was I wrong, being so bad at communicating with people?
"Umm... I'm sorry."
Feeling guilty for some reason, I apologized to Beimerung.
After that, I wracked my brain, trying to search through the faint memories of my past life, but in the end, I had to give up.
Seeing my completely clueless expression, Beimerung sighed heavily.
"Hah, this time I actually feel sorry for Chris."
Anyway, the Heavenly Basin bus service wasn't doing well. Of course, it was morning, so there weren't many customers, but today was especially dead.
I grumbled for no reason.
"The Heavenly Basin bus is a bust."
"Well, this elite dungeon doesn't have much to offer besides the first-clear quest reward. The main farming item, Sacred Stones, are tradable, right? So there are no customers riding multiple runs in a row. The only other thing to aim for is maybe the unique costume?"
Usually, an elite dungeon bus brings in pretty good profit for at least a month after it opens, but this one's honeypot ran dry in less than three weeks. It was because the nature of the items dropped in the Heavenly Basin didn't give much incentive to take the bus.
It's the same for dungeons that drop weapons, not just this one. In the end, elite dungeon weapons are just materials for crafting raid dungeon weapons. There's no need to go through the trouble of upgrading lower-tier items from elite dungeons and socketing them with magic crystals. From now on, the main thing to do in elite dungeons is to just collect coins through daily quests.
Perhaps that's why, with the Heavenly Basin elite dungeon, the structure changed so that it drops enhancement items instead of weapon crafting materials.
So, with the arrival of raid dungeons, it seems like making money through elite dungeons is slowly dying out.
After spotting Cherni chatting with users from another party a short distance away, I stared blankly at Beimerung next to me, who had a hologram up and was filling out something that looked like a roster.
"Beimerung, what are you writing?"
"Oh, this? The Red and White guild's raid assignment sheet."
"Ah."
I nodded as I looked at the screen Beimerung showed me with a bright smile.
The upcoming raid that would open soon, the 'Blue Overlord's Resting Place'.
There, Chris would not be joining the 'Red and White Attack Squad'.
Beimerung gave me a mischievous grin.
"What possessed you to form a party with Chris? I was sure you'd insist on trying it alone again this time."
"Well... something happened."
How could I possibly explain that Chris, having peered into my past in this world, knew who I was going to meet and had completely toyed with my heart?
Even Beimerung wouldn't understand. In fact, Chris probably doesn't either. Did someone from somewhere put her up to it? Even if she saw it with her own eyes, she wouldn't easily believe it. Just how much has Chris found out?
Today is full of things to worry about alone.
Then, another question popped into my head, and I tilted it in confusion.
"By the way, why are you the one making the assignment sheet?"
According to Chris, Death of Death was supposed to be the raid leader for the Red and White Attack Squad now that she was out. So why was Beimerung acting as the leader?
"Hah, Chris has this strange trust in Death. Expecting him to act as a raid leader is asking too much. All he knows is how to charge in yelling, 'Waaaargh!'"
"Hee hee."
I could kind of see it. Since Death of Death and I are both tanks with overlapping roles, we rarely ran the bus together, but he definitely wasn't the type to use his head. Death of Death would be the figurehead leader, while Beimerung would actually be doing most of the commanding.
"Anyway, I can't imagine I'll be able to perfectly fill Chris's shoes. With an amazing player like you and a brilliant raid leader like Chris together, a world first is practically guaranteed, right? Make sure you share the strategy with us~"
"Of course."
Beimerung whined, clinging to me. I smiled and nodded.
I'm a member of the Red and White guild too, after all. Even though I'm tackling this with Chris, I have no intention of ignoring my guildmates.
Anyway, the short break was over.
It's almost time.
I shot to my feet and stared intently beyond the giant cliff before me, toward the place where 'it' resided.
***
A thousand years ago, a noble knight who failed to die. The day she awakens from her long slumber.
Did I wish for this day to come, or did I not?
In the end, with a mix of many emotions, I arrived here.
*Whoooosh!*
A fierce wind blows.
From the great scar on the earth, from the abyss far below.
The wind is unpleasant. It carries a thick, demonic energy.
A desperate fight awaits. In more ways than one.
But this time, it's not a view I'm facing alone.
Beside me is a reliable companion named Chris.
"Umm..."
No, it's not just Chris. There are a lot of people.
"Are you two really doing this alone? Chris, you didn't suggest this just so you could get a carry from Rain, did you?"
"Do you think I'm like you?"
"Dumping the heavy duty of raid leader on me and running off with your young lover. How cowardly."
"L-Lover! What are you talking about!"
The entire Red and White Attack Squad had gathered around us, making a huge racket.
How did it come to this?
I had steeled myself to face the past calmly in the quiet.
"For this raid dungeon, I'm the temporary raid leader of the Red and White Attack Squad, so don't question my orders. Got it, Lee Jae-wook?"
"...Isn't Death the raid leader?"
"Hee hee."
I gave up on my solitary brooding and laughed along with them.
Besides us, countless people had gathered at the entrance to the raid dungeon, before the endless abyss, to challenge the 'Blue Overlord's Resting Place'. It seemed like even more than for the Tree of the Abyss.
And the Master of the Empire, 'Eleonora von Roeid', Melissa's descendant, approached me.
"I cannot even begin to imagine what it looks like down there. I can feel a dense demonic energy, unlike anything I've ever felt before. Perhaps this place has become the Demon Realm itself."
"Once the seal is broken."
Eleonora nodded.
"From winged beasts to creatures that can scale the cliffs. All sorts of things will come crawling out."
"Can I leave it to you?"
"Of course."
The Blue Knight, Master Melissa's descendant, Eleonora, gave me a reassuring smile.
I smiled back brightly and looked down at the purple veil halfway down the cliff, which was slowly starting to disappear.
*Vwooom!*
The noisy atmosphere vanished. The surroundings grew quiet.
"It's coming."
Whose voice was that?
At the same time.
*Kieek, kieek, kieek.*
*Shwaaaaa!*
A bizarre cry.
With a black mist that billowed up with the wind, winged beasts shot up fiercely. The beat of their wings cut through the air, accompanied by the screaming wind.
Simultaneously, there were those crawling up the cliff face. These bizarre figures, somewhere between beast and human, used four arms to dig their sharp claws into the rock, ascending relentlessly. Stones crumbled and shattered below, but their momentum did not wane.
Like a legion of nightmares erupting from a great chasm, they swarmed the cliff, their cries tearing through the wind.
The shadows of the winged beasts blot out the sun, and the creatures scaling the cliff exude a foul stench as they weigh down the rock.
Truly, a Demon Realm on earth.
It couldn't even be compared to the pandemonium of the Heavenly Basin.
I gripped Chris's hand tightly. Chris squeezed mine back.
"Those aren't for us to deal with."
"Did you drink your levitation potion?"
"Yeah. We can jump right in."
I smiled, still holding Chris's hand.
Somehow, in this moment, my mission and my past seemed to matter no more.
*Clang!*
*Ch-ch-ch-clang!*
From behind the users gathered to challenge the raid, the sound of the knights of House Roeid drawing their swords in unison rang out.
"For the Empire!"
*Swish-swish-swish!*
All the knights of the ducal house gathered here were capable of wielding sword ki.
*Thud-thud-thud.*
Blue sword ki erupted from brilliantly shining blades, and the winged beasts fell like autumn leaves.
They would hold back the monsters here.
And as for me.
*Tap.*
Hand in hand with Chris, I leaped into the great scar on the earth from which the monsters were crawling out.
[Entry Level: 55]
[Raid Dungeon (12-person recommended)]
[Blue Overlord's Resting Place]
[In 29 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes, the Blue Overlord, resurrected from the abyss, will begin his conquest of the continent.]