What dreams would you like to have? (2)
What dreams would you like to have? (2)
Nearing the heart of the World Tree.
As the energy of the presumed Spirit King intensified, the screams of the adventurers echoed with terror and fear.
"Aaahhhh!"
"What... what is that!"
He picked up his pace a bit more.
Finally, he came to the final fork in the road to the Heart of the World Tree. Turning left there would lead him to the boss.
He veered left at the fork.
Suddenly, Redin saw a man blocking the path, laughing at the adventurers who were blocked by a translucent barrier.
Wham!
BANG!
The adventurers shouted as they pounded on the wall.
"Release this! Remove the barrier!"
"Please... let me out!"
"You, I'm going to kill you if I get out!"
"Oh... it's coming... it's coming! Everybody run!"
The adventurers gathered at the entrance to the Heart of the World Tree scattered, and at the same time, the Spirit King burst forth.
A wolf made of white flames.
Black blood oozed from its red eyes, drenching its furry white coat in flames.
A sign of corruption.
"Awooooooooo!"
The wolf's howl spread, and the Spirit King began his hunt in earnest. One by one, he slaughtered the fleeing adventurers.
He must be stopped before he is completely corrupted.
To do so, he would have to take down the one in front of him. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and used a vicious slash.
Slash!
The distance was covered in an instant.
Swinging his mana charged sword.
Just as the sword was about to connect with the man's body, the man pulled back. At the same time, Arrakis's eyes activated and the world turned red.
All of his senses sent a signal.
Quickly dodging.
He twisted to the side, pulling his sword back.
Then the man's face came into view. A silhouette he hadn't seen much of, but it was familiar.
Terry's right-hand man.
Barnes the Mad Dog.
He stretched his hand toward where he once stood. A sharp, protruding nail stabbed into the air.
The entire body of Barnes is wide open.
His brain decided he should take advantage of the opening, but his body reacted before he could, and he stepped back.
Swish!
Barnes's long fingernails sliced through the air. If he'd attacked more forcefully, he might have been blown away in some place.
Barnes smirked.
"Well, that's interesting. A non-mage flying that distance. Do rats have wings these days?"
"I figured I'd need wings to hunt down assholes like you, so I got one."
"Hahaha, you're a funny one."
His laughter was relaxed.
Redin knew it, too. He knows Barne's got the upper hand because of the brief battle they just had.
Barnes ran his tongue over his lips.
"I like a crazy guy like you."
"What can I say? I hate criminal assholes like you."
"Really?"
Barnes's eyes changed.
"Then I'll play with you until you say yes, and then I'll kill you."
Barnes's eyes narrowed and he smiled a sickening smile. With it, the viscous flesh tightened like a noose.
The eyes of a predator staring down its prey.
He met his gaze, not avoiding it. Just to break the ice, he twirled his sword once, adjusting his stance.
'Huu..'
Barnes skill level is one level above his.
Expert intermediate with a glimpse of advanced.
Even if he didn't have the Blazing Soul, with his recent enlightenment and the Fairy Queen Heart, it was still a fight worth taking on.
The problem is.
"If you just stare and watch, all those assholes back there will probably die?"
Time is running out.
Through the translucent barrier, He sees the Spirit King. His face was already blackened around the edges. If that black taint reaches his tail, it's over.
It must be stopped before it is consumed.
"Tick, tock, tick. Time is running out."
Barnes taunted while smirking.
Redin could see the mockery in his eyes. He has no intention of killing me gracefully. Like he said earlier, he was going to waste his time and play with him.
In a situation where there is a huge skill gap.
To capture Barnes without killing him.
When he put it all together, it was a ridiculous level of difficulty, but a smile crept onto his face and his fingertips trembled slightly.
Soon the trembling spread to his entire body.
Adrenaline pumped through his body with a pleasant shiver.
'Heh'
The exhilaration of accomplishing something outrageous. A sensation he'd forgotten since coming here. The memories dredged up the sensation.
"You Rat, your eyes have changed, are you serious about taking me on?"
"Yes."
"I almost fell asleep waiting for you."
He didn't answer.
He stomped the ground, channeling his mana.
He lunged.
Aiming for Barnes's left arm.
If he can't kill Barnes, he needs to be easily subdued, or at least disable one of his limbs.
A sword strike at breakneck speed.
The sword made a long arc, and just as it reached Barnes's arm, he lowered his arm and plunged his neck into its place.
"Kill me."
'He knows I can't kill him.'
This guy is a master at finding weaknesses in others and exploiting them.
"It's obvious."
He pulled the sword back towards his body and twisted it.
Pivoting, he aimed for Barnes's leg.
Barnes managed to dodge, and the counterattack came right back at him. Razor-sharp nails flew from both hands.
He leaned backwards.
He avoided Barnes' attack by supporting his back with The Shadow's hand. He watched the nails cross in front of him and swung his sword.
Clang!!
Rather than cutting through the nails.
The fingernails wrapped around the sword like tree trunks. He pulled his sword out, trying to fall away.
Swish!
His arms got nicked.
Blood trickled down and it stung.
He channeled more mana into the blade, increasing its cutting power, and Barnes pulled back, releasing his nails.
A fair distance away.
He glanced back to check on the Spirit King.
In that brief moment, it was now half stained.
He took a calming breath.
It took him two furious slashes to gain a good enough grasp on Barnes.
To capture him.
He needs to increase his speed.
To the point where Barnes can't react.
There is only one possible method.
Taking out a magic scroll from his subspace pouch. A premium scroll obtained from the Roswen Guild's Mage Chen.
"Wind Field."
A small wind rose around me.
The wind gradually grew in size and filled the cave. The path was made as desired.
Whoosh!
Raising up the sword, he took a stance.
Before, he couldn't handle the wind's power, but now that he had the Fairy Wings, he was able to handle it, if only for a moment.
Every ounce of mana was channeled into the body and sword.
Mana consumption has been reduced by the effects of the Fairy Queen's Heart, and the same amount of mana can now be used for five times as much power.
Shadow Hands.
As the shadow rose from behind Barnes, he used all of his mana to fly like the wind.
Whoooooooosssshhhh!
"Arrgggghhhhh!"
* * *
"Rebecca, you go into the dungeon first and help Redin."
At Harris's command, Rebecca moved directly into the queen-level dungeon.
There were guards stationed at the entrance.
Drawing her sword, she quickly cleared them out and entered the dungeon.
'Up ahead.'
Rebecca felt an intense energy coming from that direction.
Although she didn't know what it was, she had a feeling that wherever Redin was, he'd be there.
Immediately, she sprinted towards it.
When she got there, she found Redin and a man she didn't recognize engaged in combat. She kept her distance and watched the situation unfold.
Not wanting to distract him from his current work.
'Wind?'
The wind rose around Redin.
With it, mana flowed out of Redin's body. Streaks of blue, clear as day.
To be able to compress mana to such a degree was a sign of great skill in manipulating it.
'This is ridiculous.......'
Just a few months ago.
When she and Redin had fought their first battle in the Special Task Force, Redin hadn't been able to control his mana like that.
Her fists clenched at the intense aura she sensed from Redin.
Jealousy that had been forgotten for months.
The memory of that time came flooding back.
'I was definitely stronger back then.'
Still, the feeling of jealousy was due to Redin's rapidly growing talent in such a short time.
Eventually, his talent blossomed.
He caught up to Rebecca's skills.
'I envy you.'
If only she had that talent.
She could have avenged her mother.
It didn't bother her when she couldn't see it, but after seeing how strong he had become, she envied him even more.
'I told you, 'Don't be envious. You're talented enough, and one day you'll bloom.'
The words of her teacher.
In her mind, she knew this, but she couldn't help but feel envious.
Thinking that she'd grown a bit during the mission, she sighed, realizing that she still had a long way to go.
"Haa......."
Composing herself, she looked at Redin.
Boom!
In an instant, Redin's body disappeared.
She couldn't follow it with her eyes. It was an incredibly fast movement.
At the end of her line of vision.
Redin was standing behind the man.
'Wings?'
The faded wings vanished with the wind.
"Arrgggghhhhh!"
The man screamed as both his arms were cut off, and Redin pulled out a pair of handcuffs from around his waist and cuffed them to the man's legs.
Then he lifted his head and looked over.
"Rebecca?"
Rebecca stuttered, startled.
"Huh? Oh... long time no see?"
"Well, I'd love to say hello, but I was wondering if you could help me with the Spirit King in there, since I'm all out of energy with this guy."
"Sure."
* * *
The situation was quickly cleared up.
Shortly after Rebecca arrived, Harris and the other Gold-ranked adventurers joined in and defeated the Spirit King.
The dungeon was then cleared.
The survivors made their way out of the dungeon.
"Smaneg's people told us to send someone from our guild to take it over."
Harris himself traveled to the Smaneg Guild to conduct the seizure, followed by the rest of the Special Task Force.
"I'm just going to make one last stop."
He left Barnes with Rebecca.
He took a quick stop at the shantytown.
Before returning to Burning Hell, he should pick up the last thing he came here for.
"You can come out now."
The Fairy Queen popped her head out of his breast pocket.
She looked around curiously.
"It's quite a change."
"It will change even more."
Queen-level labyrinths.
Dungeons will begin to disappear, and the world trees planted deep within will begin to grow again.
Adventurers will move their bases to new places, and a fairy kingdom will be established, led by the Fairy Queen.
"There are still demon cults in this world, right?"
"Yes."
"I'm going to... stop them this time. Oh, and if you need any help in the future, let me know."
Although he wasn't aiming for this.
Fairies would be a great help.
"Yeah. Will do."
Redin walked into the shanty town and reached the old man. The old man was wearing a tattered cloak.
He slowly approached him.
When the man heard the sound of his feet, he slowly lifted his head, and the Fairy Queen flew out of his pocket.
"You were once a little boy, but a long time has passed."
"Aaah..."
Tears fell from the old man's eyes.
The Fairy Queen transformed into her human form and wiped the old man's tears with her hand.
"I know it must have been hard and exhausting, but thank you for not giving up for so long, because because of you, I and the other fairies were able to escape from the Demon Cult."
"I'm glad..."
The old man smiled.
"Now that everything has been settled, you can dream in peace."
"Thank you for your efforts."
In the Fairy Queen's arms, the old man closed his eyes. At that moment, a golden light emanated from the old man's body.
He reached out and grabbed the old man's hand.
The old man's status window appeared. He copied the new skill that appeared at the bottom of the Possessed Skills section.
[Copy Phalaenopsis (S)].
[Phalaenopsis Dream]¹
-Allows you to dream of one thing.
With that, the light from the old man's body took the form of a small fairy and flew with the Fairy Queen to the location of the World Tree Seed.
-A boy who wanted to be a fairy dreamed of becoming a fairy.
-A fairy who wanted to save her friend dreamed of becoming a boy and saving a fairy.
Ending of Hidden Quest.
[What dreams would you like to have?]
The reward is being able to dream.
"A sword."
[You dream of being a Sword.]
[If you have this dream, you can obtain the Divine Sword Unity. Do you want to dream it?
"Uh."
A skill that all sword wielders wish they had.
If he had that.
He'll be able to raise his skill level in an instant.
And dreams aren't something he can choose just once.
[After 30 days, you can choose a new dream].
'Heh.'
'Should I go to Burning Hell now?'
** ** **
TL/N:
1. Korean idiom that translates to "a dream of a tiger going down to a market." This idiom is used to describe a situation where someone has a grand or ambitious dream that is unlikely to come true or is unrealistic. It implies that the dreamer is being naive or foolish.