Chapter 147

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 147

Chapter Title: Harlan Region Settlement

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"Tch, seventy million?"

"Jackpot."

"Whoa, that's insane."

"Holy crap."

Total of 77 million points.

I couldn't believe this was the amount you could earn in a trial like this.

While others were thrilled with a few hundred points from their third trial... this was ridiculous.

'But it's kinda ridiculous.'

Out of that 77 million, 21 million came from raiding the royal treasury.

The fact that the royals had monopolized over 25% of the national economy left me speechless for a moment.

It was a clear sign of how much they'd indulged in luxury all this time.

'Even so, who would've thought the nobles, who lived just as lavishly, didn't have much cash to their name.'

Besides that, the usable items we'd picked up were as follows.

[Small Ship]

[Changing Resonance Hammer]

[Balrog's Breath]

Every single one a Mythic item.

The [Small Ship] was a compact vessel equipped with the [Magic Engineering Engine] that Barker had prepared for us to use.

Ships would come in handy in future trials in many ways, so we hadn't sold it at the shop—we'd kept it.

'Didn't expect I could store it in my inventory, though.'

I'd tried putting a larger ship in too, wondering if it was possible, but there was apparently a size limit. What a shame.

'Next up, the hammer used by the [Royal Knight Commander].'

A rather unique item.

Its abilities apparently changed based on the user's own powers.

'In my case, it's Luck, huh?'

Curious, I had the others each hold it, and sure enough, the item's abilities shifted.

Sword Blade: ...Temporarily enhances enlightenment of the sword.

Flames: ...Unleashes flames to burn the surroundings.

Stealth: ...Perfectly conceals the user.

Normalization: ...Removes all buffs and debuffs from the target.

Each effect tailored to their [Unique Ability].

The common trigger was "on attacks, with a certain probability,"

but since the effects derived from their [Unique Abilities], most of them wondered if they even needed to use it— it felt that useless.

'Why swing a weapon to light a fire or go stealth when you can just do it directly?'

Those two were still somewhat decent. For So-hee, whose sword enlightenment was already at a profound level, it offered the same enlightenment boost.

And only with a certain probability—while swinging the weapon.

"This thing's total garbage."

"Yeah..."

...But it boosted Strength by a whopping 30.

Not a small number by any means.

'Doesn't fit our party, but someone might come along who it suits someday. Better keep it instead of selling.'

And the next item was, hands down, the crown jewel of everything we'd gotten from this trial. I pulled out the black lump of metal I'd grabbed from Barker's warehouse.

"What's that?"

"A... sword?"

"Looks more like a club."

Its crude feel definitely screamed club, but on the other hand, it was too slender to truly be one.

"The metal tapers to a point at the end, so it's definitely not a club."

Right.

It wasn't just pointy— it took on a sword-like shape enough to fool So-hee into tilting her head in confusion.

Though if you glanced at it quickly, the blade looked like a stalactite or icicle.

I gazed down at the roughly 70cm sword.

'Ha, to think I'd snag this here.'

Honestly, first time seeing it. But what excited me was the "dark and heavy flames" in the description.

I infused the sword with mana.

Roar!

"Whoa? Fire appeared."

"Ooh, the flames are taking the shape of a sword?"

"Kinda ominous, though. Black flames like that."

"Right? Seo-yeon's flames are this pretty red, but these are super murky."

I kindly explained to our cute newbie duo.

"Remember this. They call it Hellfire."

"Hellfire...?"

Hellfire isn't like ordinary flames. Like the void material used in [Dusk Veil], it can be refined, has weight, and can take a solid form.

'If void material is like mystical wind, Hellfire is flames heavy like metal—that's the common saying.'

Infuse mana, and it forms a weapon like this. Each swing against an enemy makes the flames hotter and the form stronger.

Power increases too.

Spotting a rat scurrying through the shadows, I grabbed it with telekinesis and stabbed.

Roar!

"Whoa! The sword got bigger!"

"Fascinating."

I caught more passing rats for a few more tests.

"Whoa, it grows the more you swing it? That weapon's busted!"

"But it's not just getting bigger."

Nod. Each swing increased both size and weight.

'Dark attribute additional damage up by 5% too. Does it stack 5% each time?'

In a way, an insanely overpowered item.

But the moment I cut off the mana, the flames snuffed out, reverting to the shabby metal rod. Infusing mana again started it back at the small size.

"Whoa, such a cool item."

"Yeah. Looks good."

The two grade-schoolers' eyes sparkled. Those desperate gazes shifted from the weapon to me. So wide and hopeful!

Then So-hee tilted her head.

"But hasn't there been a weird smell since earlier? Like someone's grilling meat?"

"Oh, that's the smell from my hand burning."

"Huh?"

"M-Min-jun-ssi, your palm!"

The flames get hotter. That's not just fancy wording. They heat the black metal to scorching levels and burn—melt—the user's body.

An excruciatingly painful weapon that only a madman could wield.

"I'll heal you right away!"

I'd have considered ditching it without our Saintess. Items that wreck your body long-term aren't worth using.

But control the power right, and no weapon's cooler.

I flexed my restored palm and asked the two kids.

"What? Anyone wanna use it?"

"......"

"......"

The pair who'd been eyeing it like it was theirs moments ago went silent.

Seo-yeon quickly changed the subject.

"S-So, when do we hop on the ship? Farming's done, so we can head back now, right?"

"Yeah, we are. But we're not taking the ship."

"Huh? Then how?"

"We're going through the labyrinth."

"!!"

"See ya. Don't rush to the next area—rest up in the Rest Area for sure. I'll be there soon."

"Yes, Min-jun-ssi. See you in the Rest Area."

The 21 prospective Dark Bitch Squad members bowed politely to me and boarded the ship.

"We're off too! Thanks so much!"

"Goddess! Hope we meet again...!"

In the meantime, the others we'd saved bid us farewell and boarded one by one.

"Casting off now!"

Once the merchant ship finished loading, the vessel carrying the Dark Bitch Squad and the Saintess's followers headed into the pillar ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of light. Soon, only the empty ship returned.

"Alright, let's go."

"Okay."

We immediately started ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠climbing the mountain, passing the noble district toward the midway point.

The bustling city noise faded, replaced by cool winds rustling our clothes. The gentle slope suddenly steepened.

And finally.

When Harlan city and harbor looked like quaint toys below, with the vast sea stretching out, a massive gate appeared before us.

The gate was enormous and majestic, yet resembled the entrance to a giant stone chamber, clearly marking this as an ancient ruin.

"Why here? Isn't this the palace?"

Even if she'd never seen the gate before, Seo-yeon guessed right from the vibe. I shrugged it off casually.

"This palace has a path into the labyrinth."

"Oh yeah, they said if a player toy broke after messing around, they'd dump it here, right?"

"Yep."

"But isn't that monster dangerous?"

Nod. Dangerous didn't even cover it.

"One thing you gotta know: dungeons are way riskier than fields. Like how much stronger mobs spawn at night after sunset—dungeons are like those nighttime mobs."

In fact, it only burst out of the dungeon at night. Or on overcast days with storms.

Tragically, near Dissolution Day, this region hit storm season, and when the starving Minotaur rampaged out, no one could stop the massacre.

"Hey, if it's that terrifying like you say, can't we just use the letter envelope to lure it out and hunt it? Why bother going into its lair-like labyrinth?"

"It can't be caught if there are plenty of humans around to eat."

"Not even with my flames?"

Seo-yeon boasted confidently, but I nodded without hesitation.

"Nah. Eating heals all its wounds instantly. By the time we could take it down, there probably wouldn't be a soul left in Harlan. That's when we'd stand a chance."

"......"

But the royals had fallen, and the king—who held the key to open and close the labyrinth—had vanished with it. No sacrifices fed in for a while either.

In short, no survivors left in the labyrinth by now—worth a shot.

"Once we take it down, we'll use the labyrinth's exit to head to the next region."

"So we'll never have to come back here, huh."

"Pretty much."

We paused to take in the view below. The pastel-toned cityscape reminiscent of Greek Santorini. We'd stayed a long time. So much had happened.

"Farewell."

"Had fun—bye!"

Leaving the beautiful vista behind, we entered the palace.

An oppressively deep silence.

The space devoid of any signs of life was lit only by the faint glow of fluorescent stones piercing the darkness.

'Summoning the [Royal Knight Commander] with the letter envelope must've hit them hard.'

The palace was dead quiet as a result, until suddenly mechanical engine whirs and chainsaw buzzes echoed.

Reaching the vast courtyard leading deeper into the palace, I knew for sure.

'It's fully reverted to normal operations.'

No trace of humans anywhere—just four dozen murder machines patrolling and maintaining the ruins.

And spotting us, they slowly converged.

Lots of them, but after farming ancient golems to death in the sewers, they were no match for us.

"Dickhead, we taking these out too?"

"Of course."

"Sweet, first strike wins!"

Whoosh!

Seo-yeon swept her arm forward dramatically. Red flames fanned out in a cone instantly.

「!!」

The flames clung to the golems, swelling their bodies in seconds and incinerating them.

「Ma, manual check in progress.」

Engulfed golems staggered, reciting manuals amid the blaze.

「In, intruder response protocol activated.」

Whirr! They raised circular sawblades and menacing mechanical arms, charging us. But they couldn't breach the wall of me and So-hee.

Bam! Bam-bam!

I deflected the onslaught of three [Magic Engineering Golems] from the front. Meanwhile, So-hee used clones on either side to block one each.

They had numbers, but only five could attack at once.

In the narrow passage from entrance to courtyard, their massive bulks prevented more.

「Cr, critical damage occurring.」

One by one, flames caused malfunctions.

「Severe damage to parts. Initiating disposal protocol.」

Arms and heads drooping, they shut down one after another.

"Loot!"

The fight ended, and the two kids rushed out. Crack! Now as adept as me at ripping out [Magic Engineering Cores].

Thus, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we cleared the golems in this massive ruin, pushing deeper—selling off excess [Malfunctioning Cores] at the shop midway.

"How much farther?"

"Almost there."

Barker's map guided us to the end.

"But it smells kinda nasty."

"Yeah, makes me wanna puke."

"Proof we're close."

We arrived in a vast chamber. Only a hole in the floor, but you know that feeling?

Even with nothing there, something felt off—skin crawling.

'Guess countless people got tossed down this pit.'

The foul stench rose from within. Sera picked something from the edge.

"Eek! S-Sera, get that away."

"Huh, a finger?"

"Eyes here too."

So-hee checked fragments caught between floor cracks.

"Not our kind—locals."

Pointed ears confirmed it—not quite human.

"Bodies of those massacred by golems on the day we invaded, unable to escape."

I stood from my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crouch and scanned around.

...Not here.

Out the room, backtracking the path. The party hurried after.

"Hey, weren't we going into the labyrinth? Skipping it?"

"Just barging in, we'd wander days. It's a proper labyrinth."

"Then what?"

"Ah, found it."

I stopped at a door, floor scuffed heavily—clear sign.

Creeeak. Pushing it open, the party's eyes widened.

"Wh-what's this? Treasury?"

"Did we miss stuff?!"

The room overflowed with items.

"Nah, more like a trash bin."

"Huh?"

"They clear corpses right away, but stash items here till full, then haul to waste processing... Lucky they haven't yet."

"...All this is trash?"

Incredulous faces.

"Looks awesome though?"

Even ornaments from the lavish royals—of course they looked good.

"But to the golems maintaining the ruins, it's just filth dirtying the place."

More than expected. Then again, knight said 4,000 troops always stationed here.

All their gear had to go somewhere.

'Anyway, junk gathers here. So the item I want should be too.'

My party dove in to sell items off. I easily found what I sought.

Royal sorcerer—I couldn't summon him without knowing his face, but now I had his incense burner too.

All set. Head down, take out the region's final boss, done.

"I'll go first. Come down one by one when I signal."

Nod.

Deep breath. I descended into the pit, foul black rot clinging. My body slid fast, sucked into the darkness below.