Chapter 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Stonebelly's Lost Legacy (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jinwoo heard the heavy door thud shut behind him as he stepped out of the mayor's office in Stonebelly's marketplace.
Kuung!
The mayor who had looked at him like a bug and the militia captain's greedy face flashed in his mind, drawing an involuntary scoff.
'As long as I don't die, huh.'
They saw him as cannon fodder, a disposable pawn.
Clearly, a convenient tool to claim the ruins' treasures without dirtying their own hands.
But that arrogance was Jinwoo's opportunity.
'Fine. I'll play the lead role on the stage you've set.'
He set off without delay.
No rash moves fueled by anger.
He already knew the answers; there was no need to rush.
Before heading to the ruins, though, he needed thorough preparation and time to perfectly reconstruct the scattered strategy info in his mind.
First stop: the village general store.
Stocking up on bare-minimum survival gear.
That was the foundation of any.
Jinwoo headed to the shabbiest general store in Stonebelly.
There were plenty of shops in town, but he had his reasons for choosing this one.
The door creaked open, and a hunched old man greeted him while dusting off.
"Pack me some rations, rope, and fill a canteen."
The old man eyed the pistol on Jinwoo's hip and his practiced movements closely as he listed his needs.
"You... headed to the ruins, by any chance?"
"That's right."
The old man let out a deep sigh.
"My shop's precious ancient compass was stolen not long ago. Word is the thieves holed up in those ruins. If you happen to retrieve it on your way, I'll reward you handsomely."
[Sub Quest: Retrieve Shopkeeper Billy's Compass]
[Reward: 2500 Gold, Detailed Ruins Interior Map]
'It's on the way anyway. No harm in handling it.'
Jinwoo nodded.
With all preparations complete, he rented a room at a small inn on the village outskirts.
Sitting on the bed, he unrolled the weathered parchment the mayor had given him.
'Stonebelly's Lost Legacy.'
His brow furrowed slightly.
'This quest definitely had a trap.'
He closed his eyes, sifting through memories from his Rising West days.
'Stonebelly's Lost Legacy. A trap you know about but have no choice but to walk into.'
He closed his eyes and perfectly replayed his Rising West memories.
'The "founder's monument" the mayor mentioned is actually a cursed tablet that awakens the tomb's master. He hired the Magnus Mercenary Corps as tomb raiders first to retrieve it, but those idiots accidentally triggered the curse. Now he's sending me to pit the undead against the merc remnants, let them wipe each other out, and swoop in for the spoils.'
A sneer curled on Jinwoo's lips as he pierced through every truth.
"Trash."
Suddenly, community posts came to mind.
They were filled with complaints.
Sudden zombie horde out of nowhere?
Boss magic is straight-up buggy bullshit
That line of thought clicked everything into place.
"Right, that's it."
Jinwoo's eyes snapped open.
'He has me clear the undead, then grabs the fisherman's profit at the end.'
A sneer curled on Jinwoo's lips as he grasped every truth.
"Trash."
But it didn't matter. Knowing the trap changed everything; the game was his now.
"Once the cursed tablet's true nature is exposed, the mayor's got to step down."
Jinwoo closed his eyes.
Sleep one night, leave at dawn.
A dry wind swept through the canyon.
Dust billowed up.
Jinwoo tied his horse and hid on a hill overlooking the ruins.
As expected, chaos unfolded before him.
Tang! Tang! Tang!
"Kraaack!"
"These damn corpses! Why do they keep getting back up?!"
"Don't shoot the bodies! Aim for the heads!"
Dozens of tomb raiders used crumbling stone walls as shields, locked in desperate combat with swarming undead.
Undead soldiers swung rusted swords with rotting hands.
They devoured the raiders' corpses, and some rose to swell their ranks.
Jinwoo drew his Infinite Ammo Pistol.
His finger stayed off the trigger.
'Not yet.'
They'd whittle each other down to self-destruction.
His target was one: the raider leader directing minions from amid the chaos, parchment scroll on his belt.
'The mayor's tablet and Billy's compass are on him.'
Jinwoo's eyes gleamed coldly.
He held his breath, waiting for the perfect hunting moment.
The pandemonium provided perfect cover.
For now, observe leisurely from behind the rock.
Jinwoo coldly watched the raiders and undead tear into flesh and bone in this hellscape.
'Undead patterns are simple. Front-liners are walking corpses—crush the head or they keep rising, annoying bastards.'
In the rear, a corpse shrouded in black mist issued commands.
'That's the Dread Wight, mid-level manager of this zone.'
Monster data from countless Rising West fights overlaid perfectly on reality.
"What an inefficient fight."
Raiders fought bravely with guns and pickaxes, but their weapons only shattered bones, not the cores.
"Kraaack!"
The vicious cycle: downed corpses rising to drag down allies.
The tide visibly turned to the undead.
Through a game screen, it was just dumb NPCs.
This vivid death scene stirred a strange sensation.
Blood stench, tearing flesh.
Terror-filled screams.
All real.
Yet Jinwoo's heart stayed eerily calm.
Just another quest to clear.
'They're clueless NPCs; I'm the player who knows it all.'
As he analyzed coolly, the raiders' lines collapsed.
The balance tipped further to the undead.
"Damn it! We'll all die like this! Get the tablet!"
Finally, the voice Jinwoo awaited rang out.
The merc leader's desperate shout prompted a subordinate to pull out the weathered tablet—the mayor's "founder's monument."
'Idiots. Think that'll make the undead obey?'
That tablet didn't control them.
It was the trigger to fully awaken the tomb's master!
Jinwoo couldn't wait longer.
Ziing!
[Red Eye Activated!]
His vision tinted red, crosshairs appearing over undead heads.
Shick! Shick! Shick!
Jinwoo burst from cover, piercing heads of blocking undead precisely.
They toppled like harvested wheat!
In the time before revival, he sprinted madly.
Target: the raider officer with the tablet.
Raiders recoiled in confusion at the intruder.
Jinwoo leaped over undead corpses, closing distance in a breath.
"You...!"
As the officer raised the tablet in shock, Jinwoo's barrel flashed first.
A blue streak pierced his wrist; the leader screamed, dropping it.
"Phase two engaged."
That instant.
—Kraaaaaaaa!
A dimension-shattering scream erupted from underground, shaking the ruins.
The fallen tablet glowed black; the central stone sarcophagus shattered.
Emerging: a massive skeletal knight in an ancient king's helm.
The Whispering Ruins' master opened its eyes.
Phase 2 began.
"Foolish raiders... and you. All shall become part of my tomb!"
The undead king's overwhelming pressure froze survivors—even lesser undead.
Only Jinwoo stayed composed.
'Finally out, final boss.'
He remembered.
'Infinite Ammo Pistol won't kill it. Revival gimmick.'
One way to clear this tomb.
He swiftly snatched Billy's ancient compass and the mayor's cursed tablet from the fallen leader's pouch.
Then charged the undead king.
"Foolish mortal!"
The king swung a massive rune-etched greatsword.
Kuung!
A massive shockwave rocked the floor, whipping up a gale.
"Ugh!"
Jinwoo barely dodged, racing to the ruins' depths.
A collapsed altar ahead.
Its center: a groove perfectly fitting the compass.
'This tomb was meant to seal it. The key is...'
"Time to sleep again, corpse!"
As the king closed in behind, Jinwoo slotted the compass without hesitation.
Wuuuung—!
The ruins blazed with blinding white light.
Light chains from the altar bound the king.
"Y-You... heir of Atlas...! Impossible...!"
The king's scream faded into light; all undead crumbled to dust.
[Linked Quest: Stonebelly's Lost Legacy - Complete]
[Sub Quest: Retrieve Shopkeeper Billy's Compass - Complete]
In the now-silent ruins, system messages confirmed his success.
Jinwoo gazed at the cursed tablet in his pouch.
The mayor awaited this ominously pulsing thing eagerly.
No reason to linger.
Pshuk! Puk!
He finished off surviving raiders, looting their pockets swiftly.
Among them, a letter stamped with a red seal from an officer's pouch.
"Just like the original."
Grinning rot-like, Jinwoo pocketed what might be more valuable than the tablet.
"Nothing useful. Mobs, I guess."
Other loot was disappointing.
He headed straight to his horse.
The wasteland cooled as sunset approached, exhaling chilly winds.
Mounted, he drew his two new trophies.
One hand: the cursed tablet, still emanating eerie chill.
The other: the compass, warm from the altar's light.
'Light and dark.'
Jinwoo sneered.
Dark to the mayor, light to the shopkeeper.
The world was ironic.
He stowed the tablet.
The faint malice sharpened his mind.
'Handing it back plain would be boring.'
Various knowledge flashed through his mind.
He rechecked the ideal scenario against Stonebelly's mayor.
Beyond simple rewards, make them pay dearly.
Reinforcements for Windhill.
And more—squeeze every last drop.
That letter was the perfect bargaining chip.
Stonebelly's lights flickered in the distance.
Jinwoo lightly pulled the reins.
"Wait up, mayor."
A cold smile played on his lips.
"I'll deliver exactly what you wanted, nice and polite."