Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: From the Highest Place to the Lowest
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In the mini-dungeon, the situation Balrak had hoped for unfolded.
Adventurers discovered a stele they had never seen before.
"What's this?"
"Was there something like this before?"
"Let me take a look...."
[O explorers of the skies, if you seek new challenges, find the path hidden in the shadows.]
[A new world awaits you.]
"Find the path hidden in the shadows?"
"What does that even mean?"
"...Suddenly, I wish that guy was here."
The adventurers thought of someone currently very famous in Raider.
But that curiosity incarnate was off traveling elsewhere with his party members.
But who were these people!
Not jobless bums who wouldn't even take soldier gigs...!
Weren't they the romantic explorers of the world!
Soon, they began scouring every corner of the Sky Islands.
During their search, one adventurer had a brilliant idea.
"Why don't we climb to the highest point here?"
"Shadows come from light, so if we look down from the highest Sky Island... oh?"
"Plus, the sun's fixed in place here. That's a good idea, right?"
"So we need to head to the highest Sky Island after all."
"Was that place even accessible before?"
The adventurers were concerned about the highest Sky Island, which none of them had ever visited.
After leaping through the skies on winds dozens of times, they finally arrived near the highest Sky Island.
But they found nothing there.
Even using the Storm Altar meant for climbing Sky Islands to jump, their leap power fell far short.
As their investigation hit a wall and everyone pondered, one opinion emerged.
"What if something's been added inside the ruins?"
"""Oh...?"""
It was the ruins scattered throughout the Sky Islands!
But since the adventurers had always avoided exploring the ruins, they sighed.
"...Never thought we'd have to explore the ruins here again."
"Everyone, pull out your weapons. Anyone got blunt weapons?"
"I've only got a sword."
"Then can you use a slingshot?"
"If that guy uses a slingshot, he'll hit you instead of the golem with his rock-throwing?"
The current structure of the Sky Islands had spirits wandering the outer areas.
Inside the ruins were various traps, small golems, and chests rewarding junk items.
The problem was that golems crumbled into dust when destroyed.
In other words, there wasn't much gain from exploring the ruins.
And these were mostly adventurers wielding bladed weapons.
Slicing at golems that were basically rocks?
On top of that, elves were snapping up all the spirit stones, driving prices ever higher.
So even if you smashed chests for rewards, it was more profitable to hunt the low-grade spirits wandering outside the ruins.
That's why, aside from the dwarf survey teams studying Sky Island tech, almost no one explored them.
Now, in this situation, what choice would Balrak make?
Even outside the main dungeon, here was some "abandoned content" from the dungeon.
And hoo~?
It linked to the ocean-side content?
Soon, a consumable item was naturally added to the ruin exploration reward chests.
And!
"Don't the golems seem dumber than before?"
"Yeah?"
A patch lowering the golems' aggression made it easier for adventurers to explore the ruins.
A little while later, the adventurers took some hits from ruin traps.
But finally, they reached the chest at the end of the ruins.
"What's this?"
"A transparent orb with wind swirling inside...."
"Super mysterious."
"And multiple ones per chest?"
Thus, they obtained the mysterious wind orbs.
Unsure what they were, the adventurers tried to take them outside.
But...
BOOOOM!!
"Gyaaaaah!"
"W-what just happened?!"
"The wind orb exploded near the portal?!"
Balrak and the dungeon bosses, worried the wind orbs could be weaponized if taken outside, set them to auto-explode near portals.
In the end, thanks to one sacrifice, the adventurers learned you die if you take a wind orb outside.
They had no choice but to figure out their use within the Sky Islands.
Soon, humans, elves, and dwarves who obtained wind orbs gathered to discuss.
And reached one conclusion.
BOOOOM!!
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!"
"Oh, it really works?"
"Wow~ how high does this go?"
"So if we smash it and head to the altar, it amplifies the wind power?"
"But only usable once... means we gotta keep raiding ruins."
"Anyway, now we can reach the highest Sky Island!"
The wind orbs were limited in number.
So they selected personnel to climb the highest Sky Island: five from each race, totaling fifteen.
"Wow~ from up here, you can't even see the bottom."
"Is this what gods see when they look down on the world?"
"Hey, human! Quit messing around and come over here! Found something weird!"
"The dwarves found something?"
"Let's check it out!"
Soon, they discovered devices where the Sky Islands' shadows began due to the sun.
But the devices had a strange shape.
"What is it? Wings or something?"
"And there's a metal bar below... you grab it and wait there?"
"Hey, dwarf folks, what the heck is this made of?"
"We don't know either. The wing-like part seems like composite fabric—super tough and light."
"Could make great inner armor."
"Hang on, let's test it."
Zzzzt!
"As expected, it crumbles to dust when broken. And an identical device respawns right away."
"Guess we have no choice but to use it."
Unsure how it worked, the female adventurer who lost rock-paper-scissors stepped up to try it.
"Ughhh... did I say that for no reason?"
"Marin, you'll respawn if you die, so what's the worry?"
"Think like Eric. Like Eric."
"Then you do it!"
Anyway, adventurer Marin grabbed the strange device's metal bar and waited.
Then numbers appeared on the floor, counting down.
"C-countdown?!"
"Wait, are we flying with that thing from here?"
"What?! Don't tell me that now!!!"
They realized too late it was a device for flying through the skies—
The count hit [0].
A massive gust erupted from behind the device, flinging Marin and it outward from the Sky Island.
Fwoooosh!!
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!"
Unsure what would happen, she gritted her teeth and clung to the bar.
But she soon noticed something odd.
'M-my body's light?'
It was as if wind filled to her toes, swallowing her weight.
Marin felt herself gently lifted by something.
Then, translucent beings appeared one by one before her eyes.
Small forms like the sky.
Faint and transparent like wind, they spun in the air, finger-sized.
"L-low-grade wind spirits?!"
Marin instinctively shrank back.
What if these little ones attacked!
—But only for a moment.
The spirits actually helped her fly safely through the skies.
With the spirits' aid, Marin rode a safe hang glider and took in the scenery.
"Wow...."
Gliding through the skies above the Sky Islands, she felt one with the wind.
Not only the fresh air brushing gently, but soaring like a bird through beautiful Sky Islands and vast skies—what human could experience that?
Cute low-grade spirits smiled and greeted her from the side.
And she saw it.
From the highest Sky Island, something incongruous.
Like ink spilled in the air, a black threadline stretched.
The wind spirits grasped Marin's intent and adjusted the hang glider.
She followed the black threadline.
Normally, updrafts from below prevented reaching the very bottom of the Sky Islands.
But following the shadow from the highest one downward, she reached the bottommost Sky Islands.
And what Marin saw there—
"It's the ocean?!"
White seagulls soared over the sea just like her.
Soon after flying with the seagulls.
The shadow from the Sky Islands broke, and an island appeared ahead.
She landed on it shortly after; the wind spirits waved goodbye and vanished.
The hang glider disappeared too.
"Huh?"
Thus, Marin arrived alone on the uninhabited island, becoming the first to reach the mini-dungeon's ocean content.
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Finally, someone reached that island!
"Big bro, that adventurer looks a bit dim... you sure she's okay?"
"She'll respawn if she dies there anyway, and we've placed info steles like on the Sky Islands, so no issue."
Still, the players saw through the stele hint right away!
I figured they'd find the golden spirits sooner....
Gamers with some experience, huh?
Anyway, proper exploration starts once follow-ups arrive, so full ocean content activation will take time.
"Plus, they have to build ships there, so even longer."
"Building ships there was wild too. Different woods just bond right away...."
"Has to be that fast, or crafting would take forever. But in return, we'll see some wildly creative ships, right?"
"Hmm... kinda exciting."
"By the way, kid. Didn't the young ones freak out seeing the ocean undead?"
"I thought they'd shy away at first, since the vibes clash so hard with the nature spirits below.... But surprisingly, no reaction."
"Is that so?"
Then the dungeon merchants must've pulled some strings.
Probably negotiated something between the spirit realm and undead before entering my dungeon?
"More than that, folks entering the boss room where big bro is have dropped off sharply lately."
"Yeah... now even the knights who came to the dungeon have all gone off to work. Can't be helped. But we can resume training now, so let's call it a win."
With no old knights hitting the boss room, I suddenly had tons of free time.
What else to do?
Back to training. Training!
"Boss!"
"Balrak bro!"
"Oh? Looks like Damien and Ferguson finished work and came back."
Karian's third supreme training got an AS update this time—perfect timing to test performance.
Soon, we headed to the training room.