Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Black Sorcerer's Legacy
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"Demon Blood Disease?"
It was a story that wasn't surprising, yet at the same time utterly astonishing.
'Even after fifty years, they still haven't cured it.'
Imagining her locked in a desperate struggle against illness for so long, Woojin couldn't conceal his bitterness.
"A cure...? Have you found one?"
He asked cautiously.
"It's not entirely certain. But we uncovered a promising lead in the ruins of the Red Tower on the Central Continent."
Gowoon glanced briefly at Luen, gauging her reaction, before answering.
'Red Tower?'
It was a place that existed in Evil Tail as well.
Known as the tower of sorcerers, home to the ranker called the Crimson Witch, Suzuki Hana.
'A cure for Demon Blood Disease in the Red Tower...'
It was solid intel.
Woojin committed every detail from the elves' information to memory and pressed on with his questions.
"What is it?"
"A tale from long ago about a black sorcerer who once roamed the Dark Forest."
'No way...'
"The Faceless Monster?"
Luen nodded at Woojin's question.
"You know of it. Then again, it's a famous legend."
'That guy again...'
His expression soured instinctively.
It was something he never wanted to experience again.
"Of course I do. I've even encountered it."
"Really?"
"West side of the Dark Forest. If it involves hunting that thing... give it up. It's impossible at your level."
It was harsh, but necessary.
'Even I don't have the confidence to beat it yet.'
Besides, if it was strong enough to wipe out even the Collectors, it wasn't worth considering.
"We know full well how terrifying that monster is. Fortunately, that's not what we're after."
"Then?"
"It's the black sorcerer who created it."
"He's dead, isn't he?"
Woojin recalled the black sorcerer's skeletal remains he'd seen in the goblin nest.
"Yes. But his relics remain."
"Relics?"
"The Red Tower's records state: 'Zion Müllenga of the Müllenga family created the Faceless Monster.'"
'So the black sorcerer was Zion Müllenga.'
After hearing about the black sorcerer from Raoul and returning to the game, Woojin had looked into the Müllenga family.
'Five brothers in the Müllenga line. Zion would be the third.'
Until now, he hadn't known which one was the sorcerer, but now the mystery was solved.
"The records say: 'Zion Müllenga used three ingredients to create the Faceless Monster.'"
Gowoon held up his index finger.
"First, the Vampire's Stake—a holy relic from the Third Papal Court devoted to the God of Light, Rasheen. Second, the Ghost Seal—a spell that binds the target the instant it's cast. And finally..."
He looked toward Luen.
She nodded, and Gowoon continued.
"Third, Camilla's Emerald Horn."
"Camilla?"
The first two items Gowoon mentioned were unfamiliar, making them hard to grasp intuitively, but the last one hit differently.
"You don't mean the Camilla I know... do you?"
"That's exactly who we mean."
Camilla of the Verdant Glade.
One of the Seven Great Spirits known as the Primordial Holy Spirit, and a unique monster that had appeared only once in Evil Tail.
"Did that guy actually hunt Camilla?"
"We don't know for sure. The records only mention that he used her horn—the Emerald Horn—as a material."
"Hmm..."
Camilla, with her white fur, three horns on her forehead, and deer-like form, belied her gentle appearance with ferocious aggression.
'If those community posts were accurate, fifty top-rankers gathered to hunt her back then... and got completely wiped out.'
Among them had been Keruga, considered Evil Tail's strongest.
'To claim a spirit like that... Zion Müllenga was even more formidable than I imagined.'
Of course, with fifty years bridging the game world and this reality, variables like gear and skills couldn't be ignored.
"The key is where Camilla's body lies."
"Where?"
Swish—
Gowoon pulled a weathered map from his robes.
It depicted not just the Dark Forest, but the entire continent.
The moment Woojin saw it, his eyes flickered.
'This... it's a world map.'
His surprise was justified.
In Evil Tail, the map was only about 30% complete.
'In the game, everywhere outside the Dark Forest and Central Continent is shrouded in black fog.'
Yet Gowoon's map detailed even those hidden areas.
'...This is bigger than I expected.'
"Camilla's corpse is in a unique dungeon between the Dark Forest and the Central Continent—Darin Lake."
Woojin looked where Gowoon pointed.
"Darin Lake..."
A name absent from Evil Tail.
"So this is the Dark Forest?"
He asked about the vast black-shaded forest region encompassing the lake, and Gowoon nodded.
'The terrain here differs slightly from the game.'
There had been no lake between the Dark Forest and Central Continent to begin with.
At that moment, Woojin recalled Kahira's words.
Rift Stones that generated dungeons.
'Over fifty years, it's no wonder new dungeons formed from Rift Stones.'
"Could I take this map?"
Gowoon looked troubled at the question.
"I'm sorry. It's our only copy..."
Woojin nodded understandingly.
Instead, he scanned the text along the map's edges.
'Ice Archipelago, Dwarven Barrier, Haunted Harbor...'
All locations still unexplored and fogged in the game.
'The geography might have shifted, but it's worth noting.'
Who knew what he might use from the game? He slowly memorized as much as he could.
"If we find Camilla's corpse, we can cure the Queen's illness."
It was certainly intriguing.
But Gowoon's story was missing one crucial piece.
"Can I trust this?"
Was Camilla's corpse truly in Darin Lake?
And could it really cure Luen's Demon Blood Disease?
Nothing was certain.
"You can believe it."
It was then.
A high-pitched voice came from behind the group of elves.
Unlike the elves, who were mostly as tall as Woojin, this figure barely reached his waist.
"...A kid?"
"Nineteen years old. I'm an adult, despite appearances."
Astonishingly, the girl's body slowly floated up to meet Woojin's eye level.
No, a bit higher.
Looking down at him.
'Red robe.'
Woojin roughly guessed her identity.
"I'm Irurin."
She gave a slight nod toward Woojin by way of greeting, then descended back down.
"A Red Tower sorceress?"
"Yes. Or rather... I was."
Bitterness tinged her voice.
"We met her when we found the Red Tower. She heard our plight and joined us. She even uncovered the intel on the Demon Blood Disease."
Gowoon whispered quietly to Woojin.
"Fifth-circle sorceress. And probably... the sole survivor of the Red Tower."
Sole survivor.
That explained her forlorn expression.
With the entire continent on the brink of ruin, the Red Tower couldn't have endured either.
"I can vouch for the info on Camilla. My master researched the Demon Blood Disease. The best cure is drinking the living blood of the Verdant Spirit... but that's not an option now."
She spoke confidently.
"And?"
Her tone was convincing enough, but it didn't sway Woojin.
Dealing with people wasn't his strong suit.
"...Pardon?"
"You left something out. What makes you so sure her corpse is in the lake?"
In that instant, Irurin's face stiffened.
'Figured as much. She's hiding something.'
Joined them out of sympathy for the elves?
Sorcerers weren't the type to offer such charity.
Their spells packed immense power but were hard to control, making the class rarer and more difficult than others.
Sorcerers were nobility-tier alongside healers.
Naturally, they had egos to match.
'Not all of them, but eight out of ten. Same in the game—why would it be different here?'
Floating to talk down to him said plenty about her personality.
"...It's because I'm my master's disciple."
"What does that mean?"
"My master once taught Zion Müllenga."
"...What?"
In short, her master had helped create the monster now haunting the Dark Forest.
Crunch.
Raoul's death flashed in his mind, and Woojin gripped his fist without realizing.
"When my master learned the Faceless Monster was Zion Müllenga's creation, he set off for the Dark Forest five years ago."
Irurin continued hesitantly.
"But we've had no contact since."
"Who's your master?"
"...Latan Gray."
My god.
Woojin let out an involuntary dry laugh at the name.
He knew it well.
Latan Gray was currently the head of the Red Tower in Evil Tail.
'That doesn't add up.'
The timeline didn't match.
'Official site says the Red Tower's leader is an ancient sorcerer.'
Raoul had said fifty years had passed since the Labyrinth Tower's summoning.
Yet here was a nineteen-year-old disciple?
Unless Latan Gray was some long-lived elf...
'To survive from that era, he'd need unnatural lifespan extension.'
"A way to extend life..."
Something clicked in Woojin's mind.
'The black sorcerer's skill: Life Force Absorption.'
In-game, it stole the enemy's HP to heal.
'But in this reality, absorbing life force might work differently.'
Like prolonging life, for instance.
And that implied...
'The Red Tower's leader knows black magic?'
It all started fitting together.
If Latan Gray had taught Zion Müllenga black magic...
It was mind-boggling.
If true, the continent's greatest magical order, the Red Tower, was in a black sorcerer's grasp.
"No need to tense up."
Woojin, lost in thought, looked around at the odd vibe.
The elves seemed uneasy.
"I don't hold any grudge against you. Your master's sins aren't yours."
Only then did the elves' expressions soften slightly.
Irurin was their sole hope, after all.
They wouldn't want conflict.
And for Woojin, his rapport with her mattered too.
'A chance to verify Luen's cure with my own eyes.'
"So we just head to Darin Lake now?"
"That's... the problem."
Irurin looked troubled at Woojin's words.
"Problem?"
"Zion Müllenga hid Camilla's body under the lake and set up a barrier."
"Barrier?"
"Yes. Some kind of curse magic... We can't enter without dispelling it."
Gowoon answered in her stead.
"...A curse?"
In that moment,
Woojin unclasped the pendant from his neck and showed it to them.
"I think I can handle that one."
"...!!!"
It was the Pilgrim's Cross.